Sabres Notes: Young Players, Okposo, Injuries
On what is expected to be a busy Monday around the NHL with the deadline to submit rosters approaching at 5:00 pm ET today, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams met with the media this morning to discuss, primarily, his new leadership group that features the club’s 20th captain, Kyle Okposo. Adams praised Okposo’s leadership and his relationship with teammates and echoed much of the same sentiment towards alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons. The GM also lauded defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, now a full-time alternate captain, for his development not only on the ice, but as a person in the locker room and his drive to get better.
Beyond the new leadership group, Adams touched on several other news and notes, including the status of several of the team’s young players like John-Jason Peterka, Jack Quinn, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. As to Peterka and Quinn, Adams seemed to indicate that both would be on the team’s opening night roster, saying the body of work the pair had put in with the AHL’s Rochester Americans last year shows that they are “ready to take the next step.” Adams continued, referring to the team’s entire young core, including names like Peyton Krebs and Mattias Samuelsson as well, that they will ultimately need to get more and more reps in to continue to develop at this level. On Luukkonen, Adams was impressed with his offseason and training camp efforts, but appeared to confirm the expected, that the goaltender would begin the season in Rochester with veterans Eric Comrie and Craig Anderson on the NHL roster. Seeing Luukkonen spend another year in the minors may not necessarily be exciting news for Sabres fans, however giving him regular starts should make a strong contribution to his overall development.
- Also from Adams’ availability, when discussing his new leadership group, he touched on the contractual future of captain Kyle Okposo, who is in the last year of a seven-year, $42MM deal, saying the team had yet to discuss an extension with their veteran. That news, combined with some of the objective disappointment on both sides over the life of the contract, might seem to point to a parting of ways at the end of this year, however given the fact that the team named him their captain with just one year left on his contract, with other cornerstone options available, indicates that there is a chance the winger could be back. Any extension with Okposo surely won’t match his current deal, but if he can repeat on his impressive 21 goal, 45 point 2021-22 season, he should find his way to a relatively strong payday.
- On the injury front, goaltender Malcolm Subban, who left last night’s Rochester preseason game with an injury, could be out for some time, Adams said. The team is still awaiting a further update on Subban. Forward Riley Sheahan will begin the season on injured-reserve as well, the only player expected to be there on the opening night roster, says Adams.
Five Key Stories: 10/3/22 – 10/9/22
The regular season is underway for two teams while the rest of the league gets started in the coming days. Accordingly, activity has picked up over the coming days and the upcoming week will likely be a busy one. Before that, let’s take a look back at the key stories from the week that was.
Under The Knife Again: The long-term injury to Marco Scandella was supposed to present an opportunity for Scott Perunovich to earn a regular spot in the lineup. Unfortunately for him and the Blues, that’s not going to happen as he’ll miss at least the next six months and will need shoulder surgery. It’s the second major shoulder injury of his career although it’s not the same issue as the torn labrum that cost him the 2020-21 campaign. Perunovich was a productive defenseman in college and averaged more than a point per game in 17 contests with AHL Springfield last season but he’ll be waiting a while now to have a chance at making a consistent impact in St. Louis.
Extending In Calgary: MacKenzie Weegar’s camp was hoping to get an extension worked out before the season and they got their wish, inking a max-term eight-year deal that carries a $6.25MM AAV. The defenseman was the other key roster player that came as part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade this summer. (The other roster piece, Jonathan Huberdeau, inked a max-term extension himself not long ago.) Weegar has blossomed from being a late-round pick in his second year of eligibility to an all-around impact defender and will help anchor Calgary’s back end for years to come. Meanwhile, the team will continue to be led behind the bench by Darryl Sutter, who agreed to a two-year extension of his own. The reigning Jack Adams Award winner was entering the final year of his deal and at 64, a short-term agreement was expected. He’ll be leading a new-look Flames squad that also lost Johnny Gaudreau this summer while they also picked up Nazem Kadri.
Staying With The Islanders: Recently, Mathew Barzal had indicated a desire to get a long-term deal done with the Islanders and they were able to do just that as the center signed a max-term eight-year, $73.2MM ($9.15MM AAV) contract extension that begins next season. The pact will give him a 22-team no-trade clause when he becomes eligible for one in 2024-25. Barzal burst onto the NHL scene in 2017-18, leading the team in points with 85 while winning the Calder Trophy. However, he has failed to come close to that output since then, topping out at 62 over the last four years. With that in mind, the price tag might seem a little steep but this deal ensures that New York will have their top center locked up for quite a while as they hope that the coaching change to Lane Lambert will help Barzal regain some of his lost production.
Creating Cap Room: There are some teams that need to free up cap space and not a lot of teams are willing to take on extra money. Vancouver was a team wanting some flexibility while Chicago had made it known they’d be open to doing so at the right price. That right price evidently was a 2024 second-round pick as the Blackhawks acquired one along with center Jason Dickinson from the Canucks in exchange for defenseman Riley Stillman. Dickinson struggled mightily in his only season with Vancouver (after they moved a third-rounder to get him) with just 11 points in 62 games, hardly a good return on a $2.65MM investment that runs through 2023-24. Stillman, meanwhile, makes $1.35MM in each of the next two seasons, giving Vancouver $1.3MM in cap room while filling a short-term void on the back end with both Tyler Myers and Travis Dermott out of the lineup right now.
Finding Middle Ground: The belief was that the Stars were going to work out either a short-term bridge deal or a long-term pact with RFA winger Jason Robertson. In the end, they settled on something in between, agreeing to a four-year deal that carries a $7.75MM AAV. Notably, this does not walk the 23-year-old to unrestricted free agency as he’ll still have one year of RFA eligibility remaining where he’ll have arbitration rights and be owed a $9.3MM qualifying offer. Robertson is coming off a breakout year that saw him finish second on Dallas in scoring for the second straight year while posting 41 goals and 38 assists in 74 games, becoming an integral part of their forward group in the process. This deal ensures he’ll be in the lineup on opening night while guaranteeing him an even bigger payday in 2026.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Hague, Donskoi, Romanov
With the start of the season fast approaching for the 30 teams that didn’t play overseas, Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague remains one of two remaining restricted free agents. Jesse Granger of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner is believed to be seeking an AAV a little under $2MM on a two-year contract or under $3MM on a three-year agreement. On the surface, those asks are certainly reasonable as Hague had 14 points in 52 games last season while averaging 18:40 per night; that cost for a fifth defender isn’t particularly high. However, as is quite often the case with Vegas, their cap situation is quite tight which probably isn’t helping things here.
Speculatively, they might prefer a one-year deal that could be closer to the $1MM mark, one that hands him arbitration rights next summer but gives them more flexibility this season. Either way, the pressure will be on both Hague and the Golden Knights to get something done sooner than later.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Kraken have placed winger Joonas Donskoi on injured reserve, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). He has been battling an upper-body injury for the last couple of weeks and while his official designation has been day-to-day up to this point, clearly, he’ll be out a little longer. He’s coming off a tough first season with the team after scoring just twice in 75 games and this certainly isn’t the start to the year he was hoping for. His absence should allow Daniel Sprong – whose tryout was recently converted to a full contract – to break camp with Seattle.
- The Department of Player Safety announced that Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov has been fined $5,000 for charging, the maximum allowed under the CBA. The incident occurred early in the third period on Rangers center Vincent Trocheck with a minor penalty being assessed on the play. Romanov was the Islanders’ big acquisition this summer, being acquired back at the draft along with a fourth-round pick from Montreal in exchange for the 13th selection.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2022-23 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Washington Capitals
Current Cap Hit: $88,821,666 (over the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Martin Fehervary (one year, $791K)
F Connor McMichael ($two years, $863K)
McMichael had a relatively quiet rookie campaign with the Capitals easing him into the thick of things. If he gets put into a more prominent role this season due to injuries, his offensive production could jump to a point where Washington wants to do something longer-term but at this point, a bridge deal is likely heading his way two years from now.
Fehervary’s rookie campaign was more impressive. He ranked third among Washington’s defensemen in ATOI while chipping in with plenty of physicality and some decent secondary production. This is the type of profile that some teams will look to try to do a long-term deal now to try to get him at a lower rate than market value at the end of the deal (think six years and an AAV over $3MM) but Fehervary would be better off waiting until next summer as a repeat performance could push a bridge deal towards the $2.5MM mark.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Connor Brown ($3.6MM, UFA)
F Lars Eller ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($800K, UFA)
F Carl Hagelin ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Garnet Hathaway ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Matt Irwin ($750K, UFA)
D Nick Jensen ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Marcus Johansson ($1.1MM, UFA)
D Dmitry Orlov ($5.1MM, UFA)
F Conor Sheary ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Dylan Strome ($3.5MM, RFA)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk ($950K, UFA)
Brown was Washington’s big addition up front this summer, coming over in a trade from Ottawa. With the Sens, he became a crucial two-way winger that can log heavy minutes but he likely won’t need to play 20 minutes a night with the Capitals which won’t help Brown’s market next summer. Right now, his next AAV should be in the $4.5MM range but if he’s able to show more offensively, he could surpass the $5MM threshold. Eller has been a solid third center for a long time in Washington for the last six years but is getting toward the point where there should be an expectation of diminishing returns. A return is definitely possible but after being at this AAV for nine years (including this one), he’s likely looking at a small dip a year from now.
How Strome fares will also play a role in Eller’s future. Non-tendered by Chicago, he signed with Washington where he’ll have a legitimate shot at a consistent top-six role. If he thrives, they’re likely to want to keep him over Eller moving forward. He had a strong market this summer in free agency and even a decent season in the 40-point range should nudge him towards at least a small raise next summer where he will once again be arbitration-eligible. Hagelin’s short-term future is in question as he tries to work his way back from an eye injury. He has been skating but didn’t suit up in the preseason. At this point, if he gets another deal, it’ll be a one-year agreement at a substantially lower rate (closer to the minimum) while he’s heading for LTIR to start the season.
Sheary is coming off one of the best seasons of his career and should be in line for a similar spot on the depth chart this year. That said, his profile (small and skilled) is the one we’ve seen have weaker markets than expected in free agency lately. Another 40-point season wouldn’t hurt his value but he might be someone that lands closer to $2MM on the open market than $3MM even with that production. Hathaway had a career year last season with 14 goals which chipping in with his usual physicality. Depth players often don’t have big markets in free agency but if he produces near that level again, power forwards are the exception which could push his AAV over the $2MM mark. Johansson decided to stick around after being brought back at the deadline and after two straight low-price, one-year deals, it’s safe to say that this is his market moving forward unless he has a surprisingly strong offensive season.
Onto the defense where all but one player is on an expiring deal this season. Orlov is the most prominent of the group and is also coming off a career season offensively. A few years ago, he was logging upwards of 23 minutes a night but over the last two years, that has dipped to the point where his usage is more of a second-pairing player which is notable. He’ll be 32 next season and while the offensive boost helps, that should more or less offset the reduced role. Orlov will still get a long-term deal but if he prioritizes getting as long of a deal as possible, there’s a chance that the AAV could come in slightly below his current rate. Otherwise, a medium-term agreement should cost somewhere in the $5.5MM to $6MM range.
Jensen also had the best year of his career and provided some value on what previously looked like a deal that was well above market value. Even so, his long-term track record is that of a third-pairing player and that will be hard to shake. The fact he’s right-handed certainly helps (the side that’s typically in higher demand) but it’s hard to forecast a raise at this point. A similar season to 2021-22 could help him land a similar AAV next summer though. Gustafsson, van Riemsdyk, and Irwin are all veteran depth players who aren’t going to command sizable raises at this point of their careers. It’s possible that van Riemsdyk will eclipse the $1MM mark but he shouldn’t get much more than that while the other two are likely to be close to the minimum moving forward.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Anthony Mantha ($5.7MM, UFA)
F Tom Wilson ($5.167MM, UFA)
The Capitals paid a high price to acquire Mantha and they haven’t been rewarded for it thus far as the veteran has missed most of the last two seasons due to injuries. When he has played, he hasn’t produced at the level of someone at his current AAV either. Some of that again is injury-related but it’s safe to say that they haven’t got what they bargained for from Mantha so far. The same can’t be said for Wilson. His contract seemed like a considerable overpayment at the time to many but that isn’t the case now. Despite the penalty and suspension trouble he gets into, he produces at a high enough rate to make him a true top-six power forward which is something that is very hard to find and is always in high demand. At this point, he should surpass the $6MM mark on his next deal.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Nicklas Backstrom ($9.2MM, UFA)
F Nic Dowd ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7.8MM, UFA)
G Charlie Lindgren ($1.1MM, UFA)
F T.J. Oshie ($5.75MM, UFA)
Backstrom picked the right time to sign this contract as it came just before the pandemic shutdown that has since flattened the cap; had he waited, the AAV almost certainly would have been lower. His hip injury situation has been well-documented and he’ll begin the year on LTIR. It wouldn’t be surprising if he was there for the entire year which would give Washington some extra space to work with this season. Kuznetsov has had some ups and downs which makes the value he provides each year range from poor to solid. He’s coming off a year that saw him produce at nearly a point per game and if he stays near that mark, they’ll get good value moving forward. With Backstrom out long-term, there’s extra pressure on Kuznetsov now.
Oshie saw his output dip sharply last season on a points-per-game basis which wasn’t entirely unexpected as he’s now 35. He’s in the back half of the long-term deal he signed which provided Washington with some cap-friendly years and now they’re entering the years that won’t be so team-friendly. Dowd is being paid as a fourth-line center but his usage has been closer to that of a third liner the last couple of seasons and as someone that can kill penalties, win draws, and can score at a decent depth rate, the Capitals are doing quite well with this deal. He’ll be 35 when this deal is up though so chances are that he won’t be able to command much more than this on his next contract.
Lindgren has spent the majority of his career in the minors but is coming off a strong season in the minors that was good enough to land him a three-year guarantee. Notably, the full amount can be buried in the AHL without cap penalty if he struggles but if he can give them 20-25 serviceable starts, Washington will be pleased with the contract and he’ll be boosting his value for his next trip through free agency.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Pierre-Cedric Labrie
6:00 PM: PuckPedia reports that Labrie’s AAV will be $770,800 and that the deal contains $500K in games played bonuses. That oddly-specific cap number will be for LTIR optimization purposes while the presence of the performance bonuses will stay in Tampa Bay’s pool when Labrie is inevitably sent to the minors. That will give them some extra flexibility when calling up players on entry-level deals with performance bonuses during the season.
12:50 PM: No, it’s not 2013. The Tampa Bay Lightning are bringing back veteran forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie on a one-year, two-way contract, according to a team release. Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Labrie last played in the NHL in the 2013-14 season, a 13-game stint with the Lightning. Undrafted, the 35-year-old forward has five points in 46 career NHL games, all of which came in a Lightning uniform between 2011 and 2014.
A power forward, Labrie stands at an imposing 6′ 3″ and 227 pounds. He split the 2021-22 season on an AHL contract with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Syracuse Crunch, the latter of which is the AHL compatriot of the Lightning. Labrie tallied six goals, 10 assists, 16 points, and 54 penalty minutes in 56 games after spending the previous two campaigns with Eisbären Berlin in the DEL.
Labrie’s last NHL contract was in 2017-18, signed with the Nashville Predators. He spent the entirety of the season in the AHL and was dealt in a minor-league swap to the Arizona Coyotes in February 2018.
It would be rather shocking to see Labrie get NHL ice this season, but with the organization’s depth continually stripped away as a result of salary cap casualties, it’s not impossible. More than likely, though, he’ll be tasked again with playing a supporting AHL role to the next generation of Lightning players.
Marco Rossi, Calen Addison Make Minnesota Wild Opening Night Roster
The Minnesota Wild announced via video on their website that prospects Marco Rossi and Calen Addison have both made the team’s opening night roster. In the video, Wild GM Bill Guerin and Head Coach Dean Evason sit down with each player individually to let them know they’ve made the team, and in Addison’s case, discuss becoming a full-time NHLer. Both players have made their NHL debuts, Addison playing as much as 15 regular season games last season on top of three playoff contests, but now both appear to be on their way to regular NHL roles. Michael Russo of The Athletic also reports that veteran defenseman Andrej Sustr has also made the opening roster.
Russo dove deeper into the team’s decision to keep two of its exciting young players on the roster, speaking with both, who reiterated their excitement at the news. Addison, who was originally a draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, was acquired by the Wild in February of 2020 in the deal that sent forward Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh. After finishing up his junior career in 2019-20 with the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, Addison turned pro full-time in 2020-21, playing the majority of the season with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, making his NHL debut for Minnesota as well. Last season, Addison continued his AHL development, but appeared in 18 NHL games between the regular and postseason.
Rossi was Minnesota’s first round, ninth-overall selection in the 2020 draft coming off an impressive two-year stint with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL, which included an incredible 120 points in just 56 games in 2019-20. However, a case of COVID that included long-term symptoms set Rossi back and raised concern that it could affect his development. The young forward was limited to just a single game in 2020-21 while playing in the Swiss league. Rossi would come over to North America for the 2021-22 season, and fears of his long-term hockey ability being set back were soon gone as the then-20-year-old scored 18 goals to go with 35 assists in 63 AHL contests for Iowa.
Now left in a precarious position with $12.7MM in dead cap in 2022-23 (going up to $14.7MM the following two seasons), Minnesota will need to find as much cost-controlled talent as it can get, especially after trading star forward Kevin Fiala. Though Addison and Rossi are largely unproven at this level, if Minnesota wishes to compete like it has the past few seasons, both will have to step up as regular contributors.
Avalanche Notes: Waivers, Newhook, Helm
Saying the Colorado Avalanche have had a flurry of waiver-wire activity over the past couple of days surely wouldn’t make them unique; that would make them about a dime-a-dozen amongst other NHL clubs. However, their situation has created some buzz, and now we’re getting some clarity on it as well that not all teams necessarily provide. For one, as reported by Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater, former top prospects Shane Bowers and Martin Kaut, who were both placed on waivers yesterday, cleared and have been assigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Given the sheer number of players being placed on waivers this weekend, it’s not shocking that this pair would clear, especially given their lack of NHL success, however it was interesting to see the two placed on waivers given their former status as prospects and their still relatively young age (both are 23).
Turning to today’s waiver players, we noted earlier in today’s Waivers tracker that the Avalanche have put forwards Anton Blidh and Mikhail Maltsev on waivers. When head coach Jared Bednar met with the media, including Dater, earlier today, he shed some light on why that decision was made, indicating the two players were placed on waivers for “cap flexibility” purposes. That itself is not particularly surprising, considering that’s likely the reason for many waiver placements around the league right now, but Bednar did continue, saying that he felt Maltsev was “too quiet” in camp. The coach also added, without naming any specific names, “there’s a lot of guys that can ‘play hockey.’ But we’re trying to win.”
- For the most part, training camp is used as a time to decide who makes the roster, and for those who have already secured a spot, it may be about deciding where they play and what role(s) they occupy. That was set to be the case this camp for Avalanche center Alex Newhook, who appeared to be in line for the open second-line center job that was left vacant by Nazem Kadri who signed with the Calgary Flames. However, the team also inked veteran center Evan Rodrigues to a one-year, $2MM contract his offseason, giving Newhook formidable competition for the role. With camp in the rear-view and a focus on the regular season ahead, it seems as though the Avalanche have not made a concrete decision on who will occupy what role. Instead, Bednar told the media, including Dater, that he will give Newhook a real, everyday chance to win the job over “a couple of months.” The decision to essentially not make one, appears to make sense. Operating this way will not only to allow Colorado to evaluate team chemistry and see how Newhook’s development continues, but also to see where Rodrigues stands, who broke out with 43 points in 82 games last year.
- On the injury front, Bednar said veteran forward Darren Helm likely won’t be able to play until “some time” early in the season. Helm, who played through an abdominal injury during Colorado’s Stanley Cup run last spring, is still recovering. A lack of a concrete timetable at this juncture is a bit concerning, however an early season return is nonetheless encouraging.
New York Rangers Sign Jimmy Vesey
Jimmy Vesey has officially found his way back to the Big Apple. The New York Rangers announced this afternoon that they’ve signed the forward to a one-year deal. The team has not yet disclosed the salary or whether the contract is a one-way or two-way deal. The New York Post’s Mollie Walker reports that the deal is worth $750,000, the league minimum. Vesey had been in Rangers camp on a PTO after spending the 2021-22 season as a member of rival New Jersey Devils.
Much like Zach Aston-Reese who signed moments earlier with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Rangers bring in a scrappy two-way forward of their own who should help them round out their game and contribute to the unsung areas of the game. Vesey was in fact one of the league’s better penalty killers during his time in New Jersey, where he also added an additional eight goals and seven assists in 68 games. Now 29, Vesey returns to the Rangers for the first time since the 2018-19 season, a career-year for him, but his last in Manhattan before the team dealt him upstate o the Buffalo Sabres that offseason.
Vesey is perhaps best known as the exciting prospect out of Harvard University who ultimately refused to sign his ELC with either team that held his rights – the Nashville Predators, who drafted him, and the Sabres, who acquired his rights. After becoming a free agent in the summer of 2016, a then-23-year-old Vesey opted to sign with the Rangers. The forward was far from bad during his first stint with the team, but he had failed to live up to the lofty expectations many had set for him. After being dealt to Buffalo in 2019, he bounced around, eventually spending time with Toronto, New Jersey, and even briefly the Vancouver Canucks.
Despite not putting up the offensive numbers he was once able to earlier in his career, Vesey did impress this season with the Devils, his ability to work hard and kill penalties evident, which seemed to give him an opportunity this offseason to prove he still belongs in the NHL. The Rangers gave him that opportunity with an invite to training camp in early September and the winger returned the favor with a strong showing in camp. Now, as the Rangers eye their first Stanley Cup since 1994, they’ll have another veteran to rely on, especially in the difficult situations along the way.
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Zach Aston-Reese
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced the signing of forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year contract. The Athletic’s James Mirtle adds that the deal is worth $840,630 exactly. Aston-Reese had been in camp with Toronto on a PTO, but after a strong preseason effort, the defensive-minded winger has not only earned himself a contract, but a one-way deal that is $90K above the league minimum. The signing was first reported by the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
Brining in the experienced Aston-Reese on a PTO earlier this summer seemed like a no-brainer for Toronto, who is up against the cap ceiling and searching for talented, veteran depth to round out their roster. With the signing, Toronto is just over $2.98MM above the salary cap ceiling, but are expected to add defenseman Carl Dahlstrom to season-opening LTIR, and have already placed forwards Kyle Clifford, Adam Gaudette and Wayne Simmonds as well as defenseman Victor Mete on waivers earlier today. While the signing only adds to their complex salary cap situation, the organization has made a habit under Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas of utilizing every last dollar to maximize their roster.
For Aston-Reese, the deal represents good value considering what his offseason looked like. The career-Pittsburgh Penguin was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks last March in the Rickard Rakell trade, but was allowed to walk as a UFA at the conclusion of last season. Many had forecasted Aston-Reese for a guaranteed NHL contract, presumably coming on day one of free agency. Instead, nearly two months had gone by without the winger generating much interested, at least that was known. Toronto, who was known to be looking for affordable, gritty two-way depth in the wake of Jason Spezza‘s departure, seemed like a perfect match, and the club invited him to camp on a PTO in early September.
Clearly, Aston-Reese’s experience and training camp performance impressed Toronto, who rewarded him with a one-way contract. Having only been signed to a PTO until now, Aston-Reese had been free to sign with any team, not just Toronto. But, the chance to join an exciting Maple Leafs roster and use his talent and playoff experience as the organization looks to take the next step should be an exciting opportunity beyond what the contract says.
Arizona Coyotes Claim Juuso Valimaki
According to TSN’s Chris Johnston, the Arizona Coyotes have claimed defenseman Juuso Valimaki off waivers from the Calgary Flames. He is the only player from yesterday’s waivers complement that failed to clear.
Valimaki is the second player from the 2017 NHL Draft’s first round to get moved today after the St. Louis Blues dealt Klim Kostin to the Edmonton Oilers. Valimaki was the 16th overall selection.
It’s hard to classify Valimaki’s career at this point. If you’d consider him a bust, it’s certainly not his fault – he’s missed considerable time to injuries over the course of his development, including the entire 2019-20 season. Valimaki played in just nine NHL games with the Flames in 2021-22 after being a full-time player in 2020-21, though, and he had 18 points in 35 games with the AHL’s Stockton Heat. His role within the organization was slipping under the new Darryl Sutter regime.
Now, he gets his second shot at a regular lineup spot, this time with the Coyotes. With Jakob Chychrun injured to start the season, Valimaki could conceivably even earn a top-four spot, slotting in on the second pairing behind Shayne Gostisbehere at left defense. He was passable as a full-time player in that 2020-21 season, notching 11 points in 46 games and holding his own during what was a tough season for the Flames overall.