Vancouver Canucks Sign Danny DeKeyser To PTO
The Vancouver Canucks are bringing in some extra defensive depth, signing free agent Danny DeKeyser to a professional tryout. The veteran will attend training camp with the Canucks and try to earn an NHL contract.
DeKeyser, 32, has spent his entire career to this point with the Detroit Red Wings, playing in 547 games over parts of ten seasons. Undrafted, he was a hometown kid that made good, playing for Western Michigan before going almost directly to the NHL as a steady two-way presence.
With a career-high in points set way back in 2014-15, there isn’t a lot of offense left in the veteran. DeKeyser registered just 11 assists last season and failed to score a single goal. But for experience and defensive ability – especially on a PTO – you could certainly do worse.
The Canucks, who are currently over the salary cap ceiling, may even have a deal done with DeKeyser, whose agent told ESPN just a week ago that he was confident his client would get a contract before training camp. As we’ve seen in the past, sometimes teams that have little cap flexibility bring a veteran in on a PTO only to sign them just as the season begins, once some other mechanisms (like in-season LTIR) can be used.
If DeKeyser does land a spot with the Canucks, he would be joining a defense corps that has both aging veterans and young talents. Quinn Hughes leads the way and Travis Dermott was brought in as a younger option, but Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Tyler Myers, and Luke Schenn are all on the wrong side of 30 and likely not bringing as much to the table as they once did.
Adding another piece for a low cost (even perhaps league minimum in this case), certainly seems prudent, especially when Tucker Poolman‘s status is still up in the air.
Minor Transactions: 09/09/22
Another week down and we are getting closer and closer to the start of the regular season. Things kick off in less than a month when the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks battle in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8. The regular season in North America begins a few days later.
As we inch toward the starting line, all of the notable minor moves will be covered here.
- Joseph Blandisi, a player with more than 100 games of NHL experience, has decided to take an AHL deal with the Toronto Marlies, staying put after a strong minor league campaign. The 28-year-old had 29 points in 43 games for the Marlies last season, playing very close to his hometown of Markham, Ontario.
- Defenseman Devante Stephens, a fifth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres, has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Tucson Roadrunners. Stephens spent last season with the Abbotsford Canucks, scoring 15 points in 59 games. After spending the beginning of his pro career in the ECHL, Stephens’ play in Abbotsford has seemingly established him as an AHL-caliber player and landed him this one-way AHL deal with the Roadrunners.
This page will be updated throughout the day
Last 10 Restricted Free Agents
And then there were ten. After Cayden Primeau inked his deal yesterday, there are now ten restricted free agents who have not yet signed contracts for next season. These players must be signed by December 1, or they will not be eligible to play in the NHL at all.
Jason Robertson, the young Dallas Stars forward, leads the way as the most impressive name, though many others represent key players for their respective teams.
The Los Angeles Kings, for instance, have two young defensemen on the list who each showed last season that they could be big parts of the future. Michael Anderson and Sean Durzi were each key in the team’s playoff run, with the former averaging more than 20 minutes a night during the regular season.
Arizona’s Barrett Hayton is a bit of a headscratcher, given how much cap space the team has, but his development has been anything but normal to this point, so it fits the pattern. The 22-year-old forward has played in 94 games at the NHL level and just 35 in the minor leagues since he was selected fifth overall in 2018.
The full list is:
Arizona Coyotes
Calgary Flames
Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
New York Islanders
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vegas Golden Knights
Several of these players are likely already signed, with teams only waiting to clear additional cap space before officially filing the deals. Others may end up missing part of training camp or even the regular season, as they try to work out the best contract for the present and the future.
West Notes: Oilers UFA Possibilities, McLeod, Rookie Faceoff
The Edmonton Oilers added a quality AHL scorer in Justin Bailey to their organization, bringing him in on a PTO and an AHL deal. That doesn’t mean they’re done adding, though, and The Athletic’s Daniel Nugent-Bowman reports via a team source that the Oilers are considering adding a forward on a league-minimum deal, similar to the contract Ryan Murray recently signed. (subscription link) Per Nugent-Bowman, the Oilers are discussing three players: Zach Aston-Reese, Riley Nash, and Jake Virtanen.
Aston-Reese, 28, is likely the name Oilers fans would most want to see on their roster out of that group of three. Aston-Reese, whose free agency our John Gilroy profiled last month, is a capable defensive winger and someone who could chip in as a safe, reliable bottom-six option. Nash, 33, represents the most experienced option, as he has over 600 NHL games under his belt. Nash split time between the Syracuse Crunch, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Arizona Coyotes last season, and managed to get into eight playoff games on the Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup Final. The recent not guilty verdict in Virtanen’s sexual assault trial could be the reason why Virtanen’s name is coming up again for NHL opportunities after a year in the KHL. Virtanen, a former top prospect who scored 18 goals in 2019-20, is the player of the three who would likely present the most on-ice upside to the Oilers but also come with his fair share of baggage and controversy.
Now, for some other news from across the Western Conference:
- The Oilers still have restricted free agent Ryan McLeod left to sign, and Nugent-Bowman reports that the deal should come around a $975K cap hit. That’s a relatively small cost, but since the Oilers have little cap space to work with the deal hasn’t been completed yet. Per Nugent-Bowman, the “inability to make a trade” involving one of the Oilers’ higher-priced players such as Tyson Barrie, Jesse Puljujarvi, or Warren Foegele has held up the progress on finalizing McLeod’s deal.
- We recently covered how the San Jose Sharks would be hosting a tournament for prospects from six NHL teams. Today, each of those six teams (the Sharks, Kings, Ducks, Coyotes, Avalanche, and Golden Knights) announced their rosters for the camp. There are quite a few notable names to look forward to at that tournament, including first-round picks Quinton Byfield, Mason McTavish, William Eklund, Conor Geekie, Oskar Olausson, and Brendan Brisson, among others.
Offseason Notes: Hurricanes, Lundqvist, Doan
Although player transactions rightfully take up most of the attention in the offseason, a team’s additions to their coaching staff and hockey operations department can also play a significant role in whether the organization finds success. Today, the Carolina Hurricanes made three additions to their hockey operations department. The team hired Earl Schwartz as a compliance assistant, and Ellen Etchingham and Sidney Morin were named professional scouts.
Schwartz’s title may not make his role on the Hurricanes immediately clear, but based on the team’s description, it seems his work will revolve around the salary cap. The two new professional scouts the team hired, Etchingham and Morin, both have extensive experience in hockey. Etchingham, who Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek called “one of the smartest people” he’s ever met, has written about hockey since 2007, while Morin is a player for the Minnesota Whitecaps of the PHF and an Olympic Gold Medalist.
Now, for some other news from across the NHL:
- It wasn’t long ago that Henrik Lundqvist was the on-ice face of the New York Rangers, and now in retirement, he’s positioned himself to be the off-ice face of the franchise. Today the Rangers announced that Lundqvist has joined Madison Square Garden in a “unique new role that helps support business operations for each company.” Lundqvist will continue his work as a studio analyst for Rangers broadcasts on MSG Network, as well as work in various roles across Madison Square Garden ranging from alumni relations to the Garden of Dreams Foundation.
- While the Rangers’ franchise icon is doubling down on his involvement with the organization, the Arizona Coyotes’ face of their franchise is heading in a different direction. Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Shane Doan is taking a “step back” from his role as Chief Hockey Development Officer for the Coyotes. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports added some context to this move, stating that Doan still “wants to be in hockey ops somewhere” but it likely won’t be with the Coyotes. Of note is the fact that Doan’s son, Josh Doan, was drafted 37th overall by Arizona at the 2021 NHL draft and is currently the captain of the Arizona State Sun Devils hockey team.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Justin Bailey To Professional Tryout
9/8/22: While CapFriendly reported that Bailey signed a PTO with the Oilers, we now have some more clarity on where Bailey will be playing hockey full-time next season.
Per a team announcement, Bailey has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Oilers’ American League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. So, even if Bailey is unable to earn an NHL deal out of training camp, he will remain within the larger Oilers organization and factor in likely as a scoring-line player for the Condors.
9/7/22: The Edmonton Oilers have added some veteran talent to their training camp roster, signing forward Justin Bailey to a PTO, per CapFriendly.
This move comes after we covered how the Oilers were looking for some additional depth pieces at this stage of the offseason market. After signing Ryan Murray to a one-year league-minimum deal, they have added to their forward depth by getting Bailey into the mix for a job in the preseason.
Bailey, 27, was a second-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres at the 2013 NHL draft and has spent the past three seasons in the Vancouver Canucks organization. Last year, Bailey split time between the Canucks and their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. For Vancouver, Bailey got into 14 games and registered 12 hits, six penalty minutes, and six blocked shots in just over nine minutes of ice time per game. Bailey also spent time as a healthy scratch for the Canucks.
At the AHL level, Bailey had more success, scoring 15 goals and 27 points in just 30 games. Bailey has long been a quality AHL scorer, ever since he scored 20 goals and 45 points in his first professional season with the Rochester Americans. In 296 career AHL games Bailey has scored 111 goals and 198 points.
In Edmonton, Bailey will have a chance to compete for a spot at the bottom of the team’s lineup. He’ll likely compete with Tyler Benson, Greg McKegg, and Brad Malone for a depth role. With a strong performance in camp and in the preseason, Bailey could earn himself a two-way deal and a chance to get into games for the Oilers this season. Even if Bailey struggles, though, it’s still overwhelmingly likely that he’d have strong interest on an AHL deal.
Minor Transactions: 09/08/22
The feeling of hockey is starting to come back, as players report to team facilities to get their workouts in and new faces arrive to start familiarizing themselves with the area. In just a few weeks there will be NHL action, meaning time is running out to make those last-second roster changes. As always, we’ll keep track of any notable minor moves right here.
- The Hershey Bears have agreed to terms with Michael Kim and Matthew Strome, signing them to AHL contracts for the upcoming season. The Strome last name will certainly draw some attention, though he hasn’t been nearly as successful as his brothers when it comes to professional hockey. Selected 106th overall in 2017 by the Philadelphia Flyers, Strome has been playing in the ECHL for parts of the last few seasons, only seeing a full AHL campaign in 2021-22 for the first time.
- Alexandre Carrier (no, not that Alexandre Carrier) has signed with the Savannah Ghost Pirates for the upcoming season. This Carrier is a 31-year-old ECHL stalwart, who has made a career in the low minors without ever being much of an offensive threat. In 357 games, he has just 23 goals and 71 points but has racked up 615 penalty minutes.
This page will continue to be updated with any further transactions
Jonathan Bernier Not Expected To Be Ready For Start Of Season
The New Jersey Devils went out and got a goaltender this offseason, trading for and then signing Vitek Vanecek to a three-year, $10.2MM contract. Given that we’re now a few weeks from the start of the regular season with both Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier still on the roster, it was unclear exactly how the position would shake out.
In his latest for NJ.com, Ryan Novozinsky relays that a source close to the situation told him Bernier “definitely won’t be ready for the start of the season.” The veteran netminder had hip surgery in January and appears poised to start the season on the sidelines. It is not clear when he will be back, which will certainly raise some alarms over whether his career is nearing an end.
Bernier, 34, has played more than 400 games in the NHL but just 34 since the start of the 2020-21 season. Incredibly, during that long career, he has never posted a save percentage under .902 in a season in which he appeared at least five times. His .912 career number is impressive, especially when you consider some of the brutal teams he has played behind.
The 2015-16 Toronto Maple Leafs won just 29 games and finished dead last in the league, leading to the selection of Auston Matthews that summer. The team’s leading scorer (Nazem Kadri) had just 45 points. Despite that, Bernier posted a .908 save percentage in 38 appearances. In 2019-20, the Detroit Red Wings won just 17 games, finishing dead last in almost every category during a historically-bad season. Bernier, ever the stable presence, posted a .907 in 46 games.
While he has never been the best goaltender in the league, it’s been a long productive career for the 2006 11th overall pick. Hopefully, this latest injury can be resolved at some point and he can return to the ice.
For the time being, it’s Vanecek and Blackwood in the crease for the Devils, though they do have some additional depth at the position. Both Akira Schmid and Nico Daws played NHL games last season and will be needed if the team suffers another injury.
U.S. Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces 2022 Inductees
The class of 2022 has been announced for the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. Five new hockey icons will receive the honor; Jim Johannson, Steve Cash, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Monique Lamoureux-Morando, and Ryan Miller.
The induction event–the 50th anniversary of the Hall–will be held on November 30, 22 in St. Paul Minnesota. Mike Trimboli, president of USA Hockey, released a statement:
These five individuals have had a tremendously positive impact on hockey in America. They have all made countless contributions to the game throughout their impressive careers and their impact will be felt for years to come. We look forward to honoring them as the 50th class of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in November.
There are few people who have impacted hockey as much as the late Jim Johannson, who spent nearly two decades at the top of USA Hockey and had an effect on so many of the best players to come from America. The USA Hockey College Player of the Year award was renamed to the Jim Johansson Award in 2019 after his passing, and his addition to the Hall of Fame was only a matter of time.
Cash, one of the best sled hockey players of all time, has three Paralympic gold medals and five World Championship titles. He made his debut on the international stage at the age of 16 and posted an all-time record of 129-40 with an incredible .898 save percentage over his career in goal for Team USA.
The Lamoureux twins, as they came to be known, were some of the most dominant players in the game during their time, winning six World Championship golds, an Olympic gold, and several other silver medals on the international level. Having last competed for Team USA in 2018, they were always going to go into the Hall together.
Miller, perhaps the most recognizable name to NHL fans, had one of the most successful professional careers ever from an American-born netminder. His 391 regular season wins rank 14th all-time among NHL goaltenders, and he won the Vezina trophy in 2010 as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. Internationally, Miller won an Olympic silver medal at the 2010 Olympics, where he posted a pristine .946 save percentage to lead the U.S. team within inches of gold.
It is easy to forget just how dominant Miller was at the college level, given his success in the NHL. He won the CCHA Best Goaltender award in each of his three seasons at Michigan State, posting a career .941 save percentage during his 106 NCAA games. He won the Hobey Baker in 2001 and was a first-team All-American in both his sophomore and junior campaigns. He retired in 2021 following his 18th season in the NHL.
Snapshots: Karlsson, Perreault, Kadri
The San Jose Sharks appear to be headed for a rebuild, after trading away franchise icon Brent Burns this summer, or at least a retool around some of their younger options. What that meant for Erik Karlsson, the 32-year-old defenseman with a long injury history and an $11.5MM cap hit wasn’t clear, until he spoke with Corey Masisak of The Athletic.
Karlsson was very clear that he won’t be seeking a trade out of San Jose explaining that he “committed” to the organization a long time ago. He has had some preliminary talks with Grier about the direction of the team but isn’t looking to abandon ship. Of course, while his no-movement clause allows him to decide things like that, it isn’t necessarily up to Karlsson in this case. There aren’t many teams who would be able to afford his deal even if San Jose retained part of it, especially because it still has five years left on it.
- Mathieu Perreault has retired and joined TVA Sports, according to a release they issued yesterday. While he hasn’t announced it personally, last season did seem like a farewell for the 34-year-old, who played 25 games for the Montreal Canadiens an experience that he called a “childhood dream.” Selected in the sixth round of the 2006 draft, Perreault managed to work his way through the minor leagues and put together an NHL career that spanned more than 700 games. His best season came in 2016-17 with the Winnipeg Jets, when he finished with 45 points (in just 65 games).
- Now that Nazem Kadri has signed a lucrative, long-term deal, he’s decided to give back to the place that raised him. The veteran forward has made a $1MM donation to the London Health Sciences Centre, establishing the Nazem Kadri Surgical Centre. Kadri signed a seven-year, $49MM contract with the Calgary Flames last month.