Pacific Notes: Weegar, Flames, Stone
The Calgary Flames quickly signed newcomer Jonathan Huberdeau to an extension after acquiring him from the Florida Panthers, and will now try to do the same with MacKenzie Weegar, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
Weegar met with Flames general manager Brad Treliving last week and both sides apparently have had good discussions about a long-term extension. Calgary, says Pagnotta, hopes to have something done by training camp or at the very latest, the start of the regular season.
- On the same NHL Network appearance, Pagnotta also noted that the Flames are still looking to add another free agent forward, mentioning Evan Rodrigues and Sonny Milano in particular. Rodrigues had 19 goals and 43 points in 82 games last season, while Milano racked up 14 goals and 34 points in 66 games.
- When Jackie Spiegel’s latest piece came out for NHL.com, examining the health of Vegas Golden Knights star Jack Eichel, one line caught the attention of many fans. It read that Mark Stone would miss training camp as he continues to recover from back surgery in May. Golden Knights insider Gary Lawless tried to clarify, noting that just because the team has indicated that Stone would be ready for the start of the regular season, it doesn’t necessarily mean he will be missing training camp. A return to full health for Stone would be a huge boost for Vegas, after he was limited to just 37 games last season.
Prospect Notes: Dickinson, Hamara, Lindgren
The Niagara IceDogs have had a tumultuous 12 months, and things aren’t slowing down. The OHL team will not have top pick Sam Dickinson in camp according to Jeff Marek of Sportsnet, confirming earlier reporting from Matt Young of OHL Tonight.
Dickinson, the fourth-overall pick in this year’s OHL draft, was also picked late by the Chicago Steel of the USHL and could see his CHL rights traded to the London Knights according to Young. Both powerhouse organizations are known for being able to recruit talented youngsters, given their elite development programs.
- The Kitchener Rangers, meanwhile, announced some good news today by signing Tomas Hamara to a standard contract. The Ottawa Senators third-round pick was the 26th selection in the CHL Import Draft and will come over from Finland, where he has played the last several years. The Czech-born defenseman signed his entry-level contract with Ottawa in July.
- Speaking of 2022 draft picks, Buffalo Sabres prospect Mats Lindgren (son of former NHL forward Mats Lindgren), has been traded from the Kamloops Blazers to the Red Deer Rebels for the upcoming WHL season. Lingren was the 106th player selected last month, joining a Sabres prospect pool that is loaded with young talent.
Arizona Coyotes Promote Lee Stempniak
The Arizona Coyotes have promoted long-time NHL forward Lee Stempniak to director of player development, after he joined the front office last year as a hockey data strategist.
General manager Bill Armstrong released the following:
We are very pleased to name Lee as our new director of player development. Lee was a hard-working player who had a very good career. He understands what it takes to get to the NHL and we are confident that he will do an excellent job developing our players.
Stempniak, 39, ended his playing career in 2019 after more than 900 games at the NHL level, including parts of two seasons with the Coyotes. A deadline swap seemingly every year, he played on ten different squads over his 14-year career, most notably with the St. Louis Blues, where he reached a career-high 52 points in 2006-07.
In his new role, he will oversee the development of the team’s drafted prospects, along with those in the minor league system.
Hamilton Bulldogs Hire Laura Fortino
The first female assistant coach in OHL history will be Laura Fortino, who was officially given a full-time position with the Hamilton Bulldogs today. Fortino will not only serve as an assistant coach but also as the team’s director of player development.
Bulldogs general manager Steve Staios released the following:
We are incredibly excited to welcome Laura to our Hamilton Bulldogs family. Laura exudes the passion, character and leadership that we covet in Hamilton. We have witnessed firsthand through our training and development camps over the years, her ability to coach and mentor players. Laura’s playing experience and success speaks for itself, she has been an instrumental part on many Championship teams and undoubtably will carry on that success as a Coach.
Fortino, 31, is a decorated athlete, with Olympic and World Championship gold medals, a CWHL title, and two nominations for the Patty Kazmaier Award. The Hamilton native has been part of the PWHPA for the last several seasons, and had been helping with the Bulldogs’ camps in the past.
The Bulldogs, led by head coach Jay McKee, reached the Memorial Cup final this season, after winning the OHL Championship. The powerhouse club, which included Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish, went 51-12-5 during the regular season.
While that success may be difficult to replicate next season, the program has celebrated two championships in four years and has done a great job preparing young players for the professional level.
Victoria Royals Hire Morgan Klimchuk
Selected 28th overall, with the pick the Calgary Flames received for Jarome Iginla, Morgan Klimchuk will join the group of players that only ever played a single NHL game. The 27-year-old has joined the coaching staff of the Victoria Royals of the WHL, signaling a definite end to his professional career.
Klimchuk last played during the 2019-20 season with the Belleville Senators, scoring 12 goals and 26 points in 49 games. In 2021-22 he coached U15 prep players at Edge School, a private athletic academy outside of Calgary. Through 274 AHL games, he scored 62 goals and 133 points.
While he has quite a bit of work ahead of him, these kinds of early retirement stories can lead to extremely young head coaches at the professional level. Klimchuk was picked in the same round as Nathan MacKinnon and Aleksander Barkov, for instance, players who are still right in their prime on the ice.
Five Key Stories: 8/22/22 – 8/28/22
The final full week of August often marks the start of the final push to get contracts done with training camps now just a few weeks away. That was indeed the case from the past seven days as the majority of the top stories were on the signing front although there was a notable one on the business side of things as well.
Bridge For Zadina: With Filip Zadina having another up and down season with Detroit last season, a bridge deal was expected. In the end, that’s what he received as he inked a three-year deal that carries a $1.825MM AAV. The sixth-overall pick in 2018, Zadina had 10 goals and 14 assists in 74 games with the Red Wings last season which isn’t where he was supposed to be after being a top scorer in junior. This deal gives Detroit a chance to continue to bring him along slowly and evaluate him at a relatively low cost. The 22-year-old will still have one year of RFA eligibility remaining at the end of this contract and will be owed a $2.19MM qualifying offer along with salary arbitration rights.
Texier Won’t Play With Columbus: After being granted a leave of absence for the final two months of 2021-22 following the deaths of two family members, it was expected that Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier would be back in the lineup with Columbus next season. However, that won’t be the case as instead, the team announced that the 22-year-old won’t join the team at all next season. Instead, an agreement has been worked out between Columbus, Texier, the NHL, and the NHLPA which will result in Texier being suspended for the season while allowing him to sign a one-year deal with Zurich of the Swiss NLA to play closer to home. The Blue Jackets won’t incur any salary cap charges for Texier next season while the one year remaining on his contract is expected to roll over to 2023-24.
Stastny To Hurricanes: With Max Pacioretty heading for LTIR for most of the season, Carolina had the ability to use some of his cap hit to look for a replacement player. They did just that as they signed veteran center Paul Stastny to a one-year, $1.5MM contract that also contains $500K in bonuses if the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup. The 36-year-old is coming off a quality season in Winnipeg that saw him record 21 goals and 24 assists in 71 games and certainly left money on the table to join Carolina. He will give them a quality backup plan if Jesperi Kotkaniemi isn’t ready to move into the center spot on the second line following the departure of Vincent Trocheck and with 103 career playoff games under his belt, he’ll be one of their most experienced postseason performers.
Islanders Sign Three: The Islanders took care of their NHL restricted free agents as they announced new deals for winger Kieffer Bellows plus defensemen Alexander Romanov and Noah Dobson. Bellows received a one-year, $1.2MM deal on the heels of a 19-point season, his first with regular NHL action. Romanov, meanwhile, inked a three-year contract that carries a $2.5MM AAV. He was New York’s big acquisition this summer after being acquired at the draft from Montreal along with a fourth-round selection in exchange for their first-round pick and will be tasked with locking down a spot in their top four. As for Dobson, his contract was also for three years at a $4MM AAV. He is coming off a breakout year that saw him put up 51 points in 80 games while logging over 21 minutes a night. While the cap hit is certainly a bargain for that production, the term of the deal takes him a year away from UFA eligibility which does carry some risk.
Kessel To Vegas: Phil Kessel will take aim at the NHL ironman record in the opening month of the season as a member of the Golden Knights after Vegas signed him to a one-year, $1.5MM deal. The 34-year-old had just eight goals with Arizona last season but still managed 44 assists. The Golden Knights lost some offensive depth on the wing with the departures of Max Pacioretty, Evgenii Dadonov, and Mattias Janmark so Kessel will help to replace some of that lost offense. In order to afford him, they are dipping into the cap space freed up following the loss of Robin Lehner and his $5MM AAV for all of next season following hip surgery.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Los Angeles Kings
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.
Los Angeles Kings
Current Cap Hit: $80,986,667 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Tobias Bjornfot (one year, $894K)
F Quinton Byfield (two years, $894K)
F Arthur Kaliyev (two years, $894K)
F Rasmus Kupari (one year, $863K)
D Jordan Spence (two years, $820K)
Potential Bonuses
Bjornfot: $262.5K
Byfield: $2.65MM
Kaliyev: $150K
Kupari: $350K
Spence: $82.5K
Total: $3.495MM
Kailyev had a decent first full NHL season, notching 27 points in 80 games in a limited role. He’s likely to remain in the bottom six for a little while yet which will likely have him trending towards a bridge contract in 2024, one that would still more than double his current price tag. Byfield, the second-overall pick in 2019, had a quiet rookie year and is unlikely to play any higher than the third line with the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart. Accordingly, a big-ticket contract isn’t coming his way in two years’ time; both sides will want a short-term pact. Kupari was a serviceable checking forward last season which isn’t bad but they’re hoping for more offensively from him. A similar showing this season will put his bridge contract in the $1.5MM range.
Bjornfot was a fixture on the third pairing for most of last season and it will be interesting to see if head coach Todd McLellan pushes him a little higher in 2022-23. His limited offensive upside will limit his earnings potential (especially if they try to work out a long-term deal) but he’ll have a shot at doubling his price tag next summer. Spence could be a waiver-exemption roster casualty in camp but after logging nearly 20 minutes a game in limited action last season, he has earned a longer look. It’s a bit early to forecast his next deal but as someone that was quite productive in the minors and did well in his first NHL stint, he’s someone that could be poised for a considerable jump on his second deal.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Jaret Anderson-Dolan ($750K, RFA)
F Lias Andersson ($750K, RFA)
D Alex Edler ($750K, UFA)
F Brendan Lemieux ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Trevor Moore ($1.875MM, UFA)
G Jonathan Quick ($5.8MM, UFA)
F Gabriel Vilardi ($825K, RFA)
F Austin Wagner ($1.133MM, RFA)
Potential Bonuses
Edler: $750K
Moore is coming off a breakout year that saw him more than double his previous career-high in points while establishing himself as a fixture on the second line. At this point, both sides will want to see how things go next year; a repeat performance could put him closer to the $3.5MM to $4MM mark while a dip closer to his career averages would knock at least a million off of that range. Lemieux quickly re-signed after being non-tendered but will need to establish himself as more than just a fourth-line energy winger if he wants an opportunity to really get to that next salary tier. Wagner spent all of last season in the minors but could be back on the fourth line at some point. Otherwise, all but $8.3K can be buried in AHL Ontario if he clears waivers again.
Among the younger forwards, Vilardi was quite productive with AHL Ontario last season but didn’t produce much with the Kings, just seven points in 25 games. That got him a one-year bridge deal. At this point, he’s likely to break camp as he’s now waiver-eligible but this could be a make-or-break year with several other youngsters in the pipeline. Andersson and Anderson-Dolan are in similar situations, players who are also now waiver-eligible and haven’t produced much to date in the NHL. Until they can establish themselves as regulars, they’ll be going year-to-year on their deals.
Edler was once again limited due to injuries last season but he did well in a supporting role when he was in there, resulting in a one-year extension. At 36 and with his injury history, he’ll be going year-to-year on similarly-structured deals for the rest of his career.
Quick has been a fixture between the pipes for the Kings for more than a decade. Heading into last season, his contract looked like a considerable overpayment for someone that was expected to be pushed down into the second-string role. However, he then went out and became the 1A option once again which changes the outlook of his contract considerably. Quick will be 37 when his next contract is signed so he will likely be going year to year moving forward but if he can even keep a grab of a platoon spot, he should have some interest on the open market in the $3.5MM range next summer. Will he be willing to leave Los Angeles, however? That one remains to be seen.
Signed Through 2023-24
F Viktor Arvidsson ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Carl Grundstrom ($1.35MM, RFA)
F Anze Kopitar ($10MM, UFA)
F Blake Lizotte ($1.675MM, RFA)
D Jacob Moverare ($762.5K, RFA)
D Matt Roy ($3.125MM, UFA)
D Sean Walker ($2.65MM, UFA)
Kopitar has been the top center for the Kings for most of his 16-year career and even if he hasn’t produced at the level of a high-end pivot, his defensive play has made him a true number one. However, he’ll be 37 two years from now and the days of him logging over 20 minutes a night should be done by then. His next contract could very well be his last and should be either two or three years with an AAV closer to the $6MM mark as long as he can still play at a second-line level by the end of the 2023-24 campaign.
A new team was just what Arvidsson needed as he had a nice bounce-back year after a pair of quiet seasons at the end of his tenure with Nashville. He fit in nicely on the second line, one that was very effective defensively, good offensively, and carried plenty of possession. Continuing that combination for the next two seasons would give him a good chance of adding another million or so on his next contract. Lizotte just wrapped his first full NHL season on the third line which understandably resulted in a short-term second contract. He’ll need to establish himself as capable of playing a bit more than 12 minutes a night by 2024 as otherwise, he could be one of those arbitration risks that teams are opting to walk away from more frequently. Grundstrom has provided the Kings with plenty of physicality, albeit in a limited role and with the look of their roster right now, his short-term fortune isn’t likely to change. That could put him in the same situation Lemieux was last month, getting non-tendered to avoid arbitration.
Roy has never been a particularly flashy defenseman which is what made this deal – originally a four-year pact – a bit of a head-scratcher at the time. However, he continues to be a reliable role player and he stepped up quite nicely when injuries arose last season. As is the case with Bjornfot, his limited offensive upside will limit the price tag of his next contract but there’s room for him to add a little more to his current AAV. Walker missed all but six games last season due to a knee injury and has been used as a fifth defenseman when he has played over the last couple of years. As teams look to trim costs by going with more cost-effective depth players, that could be a challenge for Walker unless he can step into a top-four role. Moverare is now waiver-eligible and with him signed for two years at the minimum, he’s a risk to be claimed off waivers so he’ll likely enter the season as their seventh defenseman although that’s not great from the perspective of his next contract.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Alex Iafallo ($4MM, UFA)
G Calvin Petersen ($5MM, UFA)
Iafallo is the ideal winger in the sense that can play different roles and succeed in all of them. That type of versatility can be quite valuable to a team and he has done well in that role with the Kings. On the other hand, with some wingers feeling the pinch in recent UFA contracts, this also now looks like a bit of an above-market contract. The financial landscape should change by the time this deal is up though so the valuation of the contract might be different a couple of years from now.
Petersen signed this contract a year ago as an extension to his now-expired deal so this will be his first year with the weight of expectations that a deal like this carries. Instead of being a second option making less than a typical backup, he’s now tied for 14th in AAV among all NHL goaltenders despite having just 91 career regular season games under his belt. If he can wrestle back the starting role and play 50-55 games a season, they’ll get good enough value out of this deal but that’s a bigger question mark now than it was a year ago.
Examining Trade Options For San Jose’s Goalie Surplus
Generally speaking, extra depth is rarely a bad thing to have. That extra impact forward, carrying more than four top-four defensemen, these are often elements of successful teams. But that same argument doesn’t apply to goaltending as almost all of the time, carrying three is seen as less than ideal and teams will often move their extra option before too long.
San Jose is presently an exception to that idea as they’re carrying three NHL goaltenders in Kaapo Kahkonen, Adin Hill, and James Reimer. All three are on short-term deals (Reimer and Hill have one year left and Kahkonen two) and all three make between $2.1MM and $2.75MM. At least from a contract standpoint, they’re more or less interchangeable.
But Kahkonen was brought in from Minnesota at the trade deadline and then given the two-year deal so it stands to reason that they don’t want to move him. That leaves the 26-year-old Hill and the 34-year-old Reimer as their two trade options with the latter only making $75K more than the former. The Sharks might prefer to keep the younger Hill but his trade value might be better depending on who shows interest.
With that in mind, let’s examine some of the teams that might be interested in adding one of San Jose’s netminders even with most of the goalie movement being done for the summer.
Arizona
The Coyotes know they don’t have their backup goalie on the roster yet. Karel Vejmelka is unproven as a starter so adding a second netminder that could play close to half the games wouldn’t hurt. Yes, they’re a team with an eye on the future but they can still try to lose competitively. Would they trade for Hill after moving him to San Jose just over a year ago or would they prefer Reimer? If not one of them, they’ll be watching the waiver wire in October.
Minnesota
There isn’t a true opening with Marc-Andre Fleury as the starter and Filip Gustavsson as the backup but Gustavsson is coming off a tough 2021-22 campaign with Ottawa. Playing Fleury heavy minutes would carry some risk so while Gustavsson is the backup of the future, GM Bill Guerin might want to assess if they’d be better off with a more reliable second option even if it forces them to turn around and carry three goalies with Gustavsson now being waiver-eligible.
Philadelphia
Back in May, it looked like the Flyers had their goalie situation figured out as they were able to sign highly-touted prospect Ivan Fedotov to partner up with Carter Hart. However, the netminder is now serving in the Russian military which will take him out of the equation. Felix Sandstrom is likely next in line but has just five career NHL appearances under his belt. Philadelphia is looking for more short-term success so adding a more proven backup is something GM Chuck Fletcher will likely be looking into.
Vegas
Following the season-ending hip surgery for Robin Lehner, GM Kelly McCrimmon came out and said his intention is to go with Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit as their tandem. Thompson has shown promise but his NHL experience is limited while Brossoit has been hit and miss in his career. If things don’t go well early on, they could look to turn to San Jose for a chance at an upgrade.
Washington
This might seem a little odd considering that they just signed Charlie Lindgren to a three-year deal to be Darcy Kuemper’s backup. But Lindgren’s cap hit is right at the line of being fully buriable in the minors if a better option presents itself. Their LTIR situation with Nicklas Backstrom gives them some extra flexibility to add a short-term deal so if they trust Reimer or Hill over a goalie that has just 29 games of NHL experience and finished up the AHL playoffs as the backup, GM Brian MacLellan will likely check in on what that upgrade would cost.
Winnipeg
They added David Rittich as a low-cost backup early in free agency, handing him a one-year, $900K contract. That can be fully buried in the minors if a better option presents itself. The Jets still have considerable cap space at their disposal and are a team with an eye on winning in the present so if they aren’t able to add at other positions, turning around and upgrading Connor Hellebuyck’s backup would be a reasonable backup plan.
Obviously, not all of these teams are going to make a move between the pipes in the coming weeks so the options for GM Mike Grier are going to be limited. If he wants to get top value – the asking price for Reimer is believed to be a second-round pick – he might have to wait until the season starts to see if injuries force someone’s hand. Otherwise, it will be a limited market for whichever one he decides to move. Surplus quality depth at most positions is usually a good thing and could yield a strong return in a trade but for goaltenders, it’s just not the case.
Free Agent Profile: Daniel Sprong
Daniel Sprong‘s development as a professional hockey player has been a rather interesting case to follow and at age 25, the final returns on the winger may not be finalized just yet. Born in the Netherlands, Sprong began his amateur hockey career rising through the ranks in Quebec, culminating with three years as a member of the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders. As an Islander, Sprong was an offensive force, putting up 30 goals and 38 assists in 67 games as a rookie, following it up with another 39 goals and 49 assists in 68 games the year after.
That summer, Sprong was selected 46th overall in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. As is commonplace in today’s NHL, the overwhelming majority of players selected outside of the first round, and most of those too, don’t make the jump to the NHL right away, instead continuing their development for another year or two, or more. However, Sprong was able to make the jump to the NHL immediately, debuting in Pittsburgh to start the 2015-16 season. An 18-year-old Sprong would play in only 18 games, scoring a pair of goals before being sent back to Charlottetown, recording 46 points in 33 games there. After the end of his QMJHL season, Sprong returned to the pro ranks, this time with Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, where he had five goals and a pair of assists in 10 playoff games. Although he was able to hold his own professionally as an 18-year-old, the Penguins opted to keep Sprong in Charlottetown in 2016-17 for one more season of development, the winger having another sensational season: 59 points in just 31 games.
The next year, Sprong had his first full professional season, spending the majority in the AHL, impressing with 32 goals and 33 assists in 65 games. A dominant AHL season on his resume, Sprong appeared poised to take the next step at the NHL level, but stumbled out of the gate with just four assists in 16 games to start 2018-19 with Pittsburgh, who dealt him to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Marcus Pettersson. It looked as though Sprong found his groove in Anaheim, adding 19 points in 47 games, 14 of which were goals. But, the following season, Anaheim would keep him in the AHL, where the forward couldn’t repeat his previous production, stepping back to 27 points in 39 AHL games.
Anaheim ultimately moved him to the Washington Capitals in February of 2020, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic would pump the brakes on any opportunity with the Capitals until the 2020-21 season. Then, Washington made Sprong a regular part of their lineup, as he contributed 13 goals and seven assists in 43 games in the shortened campaign, very much on par with his 2018-19 season. Sprong’s 2021-22 was another similar effort with 14 points in 47 games for the Capitals ahead of a March trade, this time to the Seattle Kraken, where he registered six points, all goals, in 16 games.
A RFA at season’s end, the Kraken chose not to qualify Sprong, the organization instead overhauling much of its forward group. Now, Sprong finds himself a UFA a month-and-a-half after the market opened looking for his next opportunity, which could come with his fifth NHL franchise. While he may not be any sort of high-end scoring option at the NHL level, Sprong does possess speed and an NHL caliber shot proven to put pucks in the back of the net at some frequency. On top of that, he is a bona fide scorer in the AHL.
Stats:
2021-22: 63 GP, 14 G, 6 A, 20 pts, + o rating, 8 PIMs, 153 shots, 12:59 ATOI
Career: 202 GP, 46 G, 24 A, 70 pts, -10 rating, 30 PIMs, 414 shots, 12:06 ATOI
Potential Suitors:
At this point in his career, it doesn’t appear Sprong’s place in the NHL is, or ever will be, as an everyday option for a team. However, he has shown he can handle NHL action when pressed into duty. In other words, he could be the perfect depth forward for an organization. On top of that, his ability to produce in the AHL is of value not only to AHL teams, but an NHL organization looking to establish a winning culture in their minor league system.
An ideal organization would be one that has a place to offer Sprong top-six minutes on their AHL squad, but maybe doesn’t have the layers of depth it would want to in case of emergency (think of the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators last fall). Sprong wouldn’t be the most valuable piece in whichever organization he’s a part of, but having him help an AHL club win hockey games, giving prospects a chance to understand winning and playing important professional games, while giving an NHL team an experienced player to join them when things get rough with injury or COVID, could lead to Sprong being a quietly vital part of the organization.
Projected Contract:
Even after the Kraken failed to qualify Sprong, it wasn’t unthinkable that he could get a guaranteed one-way contract this summer, especially given his skillset, previous contributions, and his age, though even that wouldn’t have been much more, if at all, above the $750K minimum salary. However, at this point in free agency, Sprong is most likely going to have to settle for a two-way deal. That wouldn’t necessarily be the worst option, as it could open up additional doors for Sprong to contribute and play important minutes at either level, which at 25 years of age, could still serve to grow his stock as a player.
Minor Transactions: 08/28/22
While the IIHF Women’s World Championship continues in Denmark, with Team Canada again dominating the pack, things on this side of the Atlantic Ocean are much slower this weekend. Despite multiple NHL-quality free agents remaining on the market, movement has stalled in recent days. But the season is starting much sooner for European and junior leagues than it does for the NHL and AHL, so those teams continue to make transactions to get ready for opening night. We’ll keep a list of those right here.
- Amidst many QMJHL trades today, Carolina Hurricanes prospect Robert Orr was dealt from the Halifax Mooseheads to the Gatineau Olympiques in exchange for a second-round and fifth-round draft pick. Taken 136th overall in 2021 after the familiarly named forward notched 32 points in 41 games, his production stalled this year with 44 points in 63 games. Hopefully, a move to Gatineau helps get the still-18-year-old’s development back on track.
This page will be updated throughout the day.