Snapshots: Greig, Weiss, Khudobin
One of the brightest stars in the Ottawa Senators’ deep prospect pool is left-wing Ridly Greig, who’s coming off a gold-medal-winning effort as a member of Team Canada at the 2022 World Juniors. 2021-22 was a banner year for him, notching 63 points in just 39 games as the captain of the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings before joining Canada for the tournament. There, he registered six points in five games.
Unfortunately, his tournament was cut short by an injury and Greig missed the team’s semifinal game against Czechia and the gold medal game against Finland, and he played just 3:58 in the team’s quarterfinal round game against Switzerland. Now, TSN’s Bruce Garrioch reports he’s out three to four weeks with a separated shoulder and will likely miss Ottawa’s rookie tournament games. However, general manager Pierre Dorion did note that Greig will be healthy for the preseason, where he’s expected to get a long look in camp but is likely destined for a big role with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.
- Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald reports that Colorado Avalanche draft pick Tyler Weiss is likely moving on to a pro career after not registering for classes at the University of Nebraska Omaha. Weiss’ signing rights are still held by the Avalanche, so after scoring 33 points in 36 games last season in Omaha, Weiss will likely sign within the organization before the start of the season.
- Dallas Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika believes that a pre-season trade is the most likely outcome for the future of Stars netminder Anton Khudobin. Khudobin struggled through last season with injuries, playing in just nine games and posting a .879 save percentage. With Jake Oettinger expected to reprise his starting role and Scott Wedgewood signed on a cheap one-way deal as the backup, there’s simply no room left for Khudobin in the organization.
Nashville Predators Loan Joakim Kemell To Finnish Team
Joakim Kemell was one of the brightest stars for Team Finland in their silver medal effort at the 2022 World Junior Championship. After the Nashville Predators drafted him 17th overall in 2022 and signed him to his entry-level contract earlier this summer, though, he’ll be headed back to JYP in the Finnish Liiga for another season next year, per the team.
As Kemell wasn’t drafted out of the Canadian Hockey League, he could, in theory, have suited up for the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals next season if Nashville and Kemell believed that was the best solution for him. However, it appears all parties involved believe another season in his home country against some more seasoned players is the better option for Kemell.
An unexpected faller in the 2022 draft, Kemell showed why the teams that passed on him were wrong with 12 points in seven games at the World Juniors earlier this month. He had 23 points in 39 Liiga games last season with JYP as well, and he’ll be expected to play an increased top-six role next season.
Minor Transactions: 08/22/22
The opening of the week has brought some big news into the NHL cycle, a rarity for this late in August. With the New York Islanders signing all of Noah Dobson, Alexander Romanov, and Kieffer Bellows today, Islander fans can rest easy knowing some important young players are guaranteed to show up for training camp on time. However, there are many other destinations in the hockey world worth paying attention to, and we’ll keep track of those non-NHL transactions today right here.
- The Charlotte Checkers have signed forward Ethan Keppen to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him into the Florida Panthers system after going undrafted. Keppen was originally a 2019 fourth-round pick of the Vancouver Canucks, but the team elected not to sign him to an NHL contract after two separate AHL stints over the past two seasons. He’ll head to Charlotte with his exclusive NHL rights having expired, where he’ll look to make an impact after scoring 23 goals and 40 points in 42 games last season with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds.
- The Hershey Bears today have signed forwards Ryan Scarfo and Alexandre Fortin to AHL contracts for the 2022-23 season. Scarfo, a 28-year-old minor hockey veteran, had a career-best 12 points in 63 games last season with the Rochester Americans. He’ll try and stay on the Bears roster, but could be a candidate for designation to the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. Fortin, 25, has 24 games of NHL experience that came in 2018-19 with the Chicago Blackhawks. Last season, Fortin had nine points in 34 games with the Laval Rocket and 13 points in just 12 games with the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
New York Islanders Sign Noah Dobson, Alex Romanov, Kieffer Bellows
Per a series of team announcements Monday morning, the New York Islanders have finally locked up a trio of restricted free agents in defenseman Noah Dobson (link), defenseman Alexander Romanov (link), and forward Kieffer Bellows (link). Dobson and Romanov have signed three-year deals, while Bellows has signed a one-year deal.
The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports Dobson’s deal carries a $4MM AAV, while TSN’s Chris Johnston reports Romanov’s deal has a $2.5MM cap hit. CapFriendly reports Bellows’ contract carries a $1.2MM cap hit, all in base salary.
Dobson, 22, enjoyed a career season in 2021-22, something that couldn’t be said for much of the team. The team’s 12th overall selection in 2018 displayed his full potential, leading the team’s blueline with 51 points in 80 games while averaging over 21 minutes a night. His defensive game has remained solid throughout his three-year career so far, but it was his offensive vision and confidence that spearheaded his breakout this year. He was never drafted to be a defensive stalwart, but not being a liability in his own end of the ice certainly helps his case to continue developing into a superstar defenseman.
Romanov, however, was drafted to be that defensive stalwart, and he took a real step towards that last season in Montreal despite playing in a porous system. Acquired this offseason in exchange for the 13th overall pick, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello gets a great value signing here with a three-year term on that $2.5MM cap hit. Romanov showed that he can be a dependable defensive presence while playing top-four minutes, a role he’ll undoubtedly continue on the Island this season. A stark upgrade over the play of Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene, Romanov could likely play with Dobson on the team’s second pairing, one that could end up being their best one in a few seasons’ time. He set career-highs in 2021-22 with 79 games played, three goals, 10 assists, 13 points, and an average time on ice of 20:24.
Bellows has struggled to crack the lineup on a nightly basis under former head coach Barry Trotz, and he’s hoping a new face behind the bench will get him some more playing time. His offensive numbers finally showed great promise at the NHL level last season, posting 19 points in 45 games despite playing under 12 minutes a night. He’ll compete with veterans like Matt Martin and Zach Parise for spots in the lineup, as he’ll try to work his way into a consistent bottom-six role (with some power play time, hopefully).
All three players will again be restricted free agents at the end of their contracts.
Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Mike Vellucci
Via a team release this morning, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall announced that the team has re-signed assistant coach Mike Vellucci to a two-year contract extension.
Vellucci, 56, is an extremely experienced and decorated coach and manager across the AHL and OHL. He served as the GM and head coach of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers from 2001 to 2014, where he took home an OHL championship in 2007 and Coach of the Year honors in 2007 and 2013.
He then moved on to the Carolina Hurricanes organization, where he served as an assistant general manager and the director of hockey operations from 2014-2019, including spending the last two years as the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Charlotte. With the Checkers in 2019, Vellucci coached at the AHL All-Star Game, won the Calder Cup, and was named the AHL Coach of the Year. He then spent one year as the GM and head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before joining Pittsburgh’s NHL staff.
Since joining the Penguins as an assistant coach in 2020-21, Vellucci has primarily been responsible for managing the team’s forwards and penalty-killing units. The team has a record of 83-41-14 since Vellucci joined their NHL staff, but he’s yet to experience a playoff series win with the Penguins at this level.
Speaking on the deal today, Hextall gave the following statement:
Mike is a dedicated coach who has proven to be a valuable addition since joining Pittsburgh. We’re excited to have him back behind the bench for two more seasons.
Pittsburgh’s penalty kill is ninth overall in the NHL (81.5%) since Vellucci joined the bench in 2020. This season, he’ll be tasked with working newcomers like Jan Rutta into the penalty-killing fold while still working closely with the team’s offense.
Five Key Stories: 8/15/22 – 8/21/22
It took longer than many expected but the last big domino of the UFA market fell this past week, immediately resulting in a notable trade as well. Those are among the top stories from the past seven days.
Veteran Signings: Jack Johnson will soon be participating in his 17th NHL season as the veteran signed a one-year, $950K contract with Chicago. The 35-year-old had nine points in 74 games with Colorado in 2021-22 on their third pairing and should play a similar role with the Blackhawks, allowing them to keep a prospect in the minors for further development to start next season. Meanwhile, a pair of NHL veterans opted to head overseas. Winger Colton Sceviour opted to take a one-year deal with Bern in Switzerland after splitting last season between Edmonton and their AHL affiliate while Cedric Paquette is on his way to the KHL on a one-year pact with Dinamo Minsk.
Turris Retires: While those veterans found new homes on the ice, long-time NHL center Kyle Turris found a new home off the ice as he retired and was named a special advisor to the general manager and player development coach with Coquitlam of the BCHL. He hangs up his skates at the age of 33 after a 14-year NHL career that saw him put up 425 points in 776 games with four different teams. While he won’t be playing, Turris will still be collecting NHL money for a while yet as he will receive $2MM per season from Nashville through the 2027-28 season.
Kadri To Calgary: While there had been plenty of speculation (and seemingly even expectation) that Nazem Kadri would wind up with the Islanders, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the 31-year-old center inked a seven-year, $49MM contract with the Flames, one that contains a no-move clause in the first four years and a 13-team no-trade clause in the final three seasons. Kadri is coming off a career year with the Avalanche where he posted 87 points in 71 games while averaging over 19 minutes per game for the first time. He also played a big role in Colorado’s run to the Stanley Cup as he collected 15 points in 16 games in the playoffs. While it took a while for his deal to come around, Kadri has the long-term security he was seeking, and interestingly enough, it comes with the team that he actually invoked his no-trade clause to avoid joining just a few years ago.
Monahan To Montreal: For the Flames to be able to afford Kadri’s $7MM AAV, they needed to create some salary cap space. They did just that, sending center Sean Monahan along with a first-round pick to Montreal for future considerations. The 27-year-old has one year left on his deal with a $6.375MM AAV and is coming off hip surgery for the second straight season while he had just 23 points in 65 games. The draft pick features plenty of various conditions that could make the pick convey anywhere between 2024 and 2026 and is certainly one of the more complex arrangements ever seen on a future draft choice. Meanwhile, the news isn’t good for Canadiens goaltender Carey Price as he won’t be ready to start the season with GM Kent Hughes suggesting it’s unlikely he’ll be able to play in 2022-23 if he is ever able to return. Montreal will place him on LTIR which creates the cap room for them to take on Monahan’s deal.
Talks Going Nowhere: At this point, most remaining restricted free agents are ones coming off their entry-level contracts that didn’t have any negotiation rights. One of those is Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin and his agent, Lewis Gross, voiced his frustration with the lack of progress made in negotiations, stating that “negotiations are going nowhere”. The 22-year-old has long been viewed as a future long-term piece of Toronto’s back end and he had 16 points in 51 games last season but was scratched in the playoffs. With the depth that the Maple Leafs have on the left side of their defense corps, playing time will be difficult to come by which could also be playing a role. Toronto is in a spot where they’ll be hard-pressed to re-sign Sandin and stay cap-compliant so a resolution that comes sooner than later would be ideal to give them more time to make the money work.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
2008 NHL Draft Take Two: First 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.
The summer doldrums often provide opportunities to look back at the past – moves that have worked out and others that didn’t go exactly as planned. The same can be said for draft picks – some early selections have panned out and become franchise players while others came up well short of expectations. In the past, we’ve looked back at the drafts in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and now, it’s time to do the same for 2008.
This draft class was a pretty strong one with 33 players (and counting) playing in at least 500 NHL games while it also has some All-Stars and future Hall of Famers. On the flip side, there were four players who never saw a taste of NHL action and certainly won’t be slotted as high in our redraft.
Over the coming weeks as we wait for training camp to begin, we’ll be going through the 2008 NHL Entry Draft to have the PHR community select who they would have picked knowing the result of the player’s career. We’ll include a list of players to vote for, and update the first round as it progresses.
The Tampa Bay Lightning had the first pick in 2008 after winning the lottery to hold onto the top selection. They were faced with the choice of picking a franchise center or a franchise defenseman with Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty being the consensus top two selections in Brian Lawton’s first draft at the helm. Obviously, they opted for the former and Stamkos has been as advertised as the leading scorer from this draft class although Doughty has played the most games and has been nominated for end-of-season awards more frequently. With the benefit of hindsight, did Tampa Bay make the right choice or would they have been better off with the franchise defender instead? Or someone else entirely?
With the first pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Tampa Bay Lightning select? Cast your vote below.
2008 Redraft: First Overall
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Steven Stamkos 70% (2,308)
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Drew Doughty 10% (318)
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Roman Josi 9% (292)
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Erik Karlsson 4% (126)
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Alex Pietrangelo 2% (74)
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John Carlson 1% (27)
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Michael Del Zotto 1% (17)
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Matt Martin 0% (16)
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Gustav Nyquist 0% (10)
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Tyler Ennis 0% (10)
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Zach Bogosian 0% (10)
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Josh Bailey 0% (7)
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Jared Spurgeon 0% (7)
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Jake Gardiner 0% (7)
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T.J. Brodie 0% (6)
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Jacob Markstrom 0% (6)
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Adam Henrique 0% (5)
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Braden Holtby 0% (5)
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Jordan Eberle 0% (4)
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Derek Stepan 0% (4)
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Tyler Myers 0% (4)
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Cam Atkinson 0% (3)
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Mikkel Boedker 0% (3)
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Jake Allen 0% (3)
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Travis Hamonic 0% (3)
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Colin Wilson 0% (1)
Total votes: 3,276
App users, click here to vote.
Snapshots: Backstrom, Miller, Connolly
Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom has put together an incredible career, especially considering that he has been dealing with chronic hip pain for parts of at least half of it. Up until this season, Backstrom has missed very little time due to injury throughout his career despite the nagging injury, however as the injury became more and more unbearable, the veteran knew he needed to address it for real, not simply ride it out. That ultimately lead to hip resurfacing surgery back in June, a procedure that should alleviate much of Backstrom’s day-to-day pain, but could affect his long-term career plans, much as the procedure did to Ryan Kesler and Ed Jovanovski.
Recently, Backstrom sat down for an interview with Swedish website expressen.se to discuss life before and after the surgery (link to original Swedish article). Washington Hockey Now’s Sammi Silber broke down Backstrom’s interview, originally in Swedish, profiling the Capitals star’s road to recovery (link to Silber’s article in English). Of note, Backstrom said prior to the surgery he had trouble doing things as simple as tying his shoes or putting on his socks. He added that skating had become easier than walking at times with the injury. On the brightside, however, Backstrom says that since the surgery, his quality of life has improved greatly and he’s been able to enjoy the offseason. Though the injury can end the careers of professional athletes, and there’s no timetable on when or if Backstrom can return, the All Star says that he’s not ready to think about hanging up his skates and for the first time in a long time, feels optimistic about where things are. Despite the injury and his age (34), Backstrom remains an incredibly important part of the Capitals’ build and has three more seasons at a $9.2MM AAV left on his contract.
- CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal appeared on the Sekeres and Price podcast to discuss the impact that Nazem Kadri‘s free agent deal will have on 2023 UFA and current Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller. In sum, Dhaliwal told the pair, “Kadri’s agent did J.T. Miller‘s agent a favor,” referencing the seven year, $49MM contract Kadri signed with the Calgary Flames. Looking a little deeper at what Dhaliwal means, Kadri is about to turn 32 years of age, coming off a career-best 87 points in 71 games, crushing his previous career-best of 61 points in 82 games back in 2016-17. If Kadri, who is a year-and-a-half older than Miller will be next summer, can secure a seven-year deal after one 87-point season, “there is no way Miller will accept anything under seven or eight years.” While there’s never been anything stopping Miller from setting that as his asking price, Kadri’s contract simply helps Miller make his own case for at least the same, if not a better contract. Miller is coming off his own career-best of 99 points in 80 games, but also boasts an impressive 46 points in 53 games and 72 points in 69 games the two seasons prior. Still, it will be up to Miller to have another stellar performance like he did this year if he wants to easily secure a contract greater than Kadri’s.
- An interesting bit of news, if it can be called that, was free agent forward and former Capital Brett Connolly joined several members of the Capitals at an informal skate at the team’s facility in Arlington, Virginia on Friday. Connolly skated alongside John Carlson, Lars Eller, Carl Hagelin, Garnet Hathaway, Hendrix Lapierre, Joe Snively, Sam Anas and Alexander Alexeyev, and though he was a teammate of a few of them from 2016-19, he wasn’t skating with them as a teammate Friday. The veteran forward instead told El-Bashir he was in town for personal reasons and simply needed a place to skate. An NHLer, and one who helped bring a Stanley Cup to D.C., Connolly was simply able to skate in a familiar place with some familiar faces. The veteran is currently a UFA awaiting his next deal, which could likely be on a PTO and invite to training camp with an NHL team looking for a proven offensive weapon.
Free Agent Profile: Cody Eakin
In order for the inaugural Vegas Golden Knights team to have the historic season that they did, they required a full team effort with contributions up and down their lineup. Offensive performances from William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, David Perron, and Reilly Smith, backed by future Hall-of-Famer Marc-Andre Fleury in net, highlighted the team’s success, but secondary performances were able to vault a solid team into one that came just a few wins shy of a Stanley Cup title in just it’s first try. One of those performances was from veteran forward Cody Eakin, who Vegas selected from the Dallas Stars in the 2017 Expansion Draft.
Originally a third-round pick of the Washington Capitals in 2009, Eakin established himself as a complete player and dangerous scorer, breaking out the year after he was drafted with a 47-goal campaign for the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL in 2009-10. After another strong WHL season in 2010-11, Eakin made his NHL debut in his first full professional campaign in 2011-12, putting up 27 points in 43 games for the Hershey Bears of the AHL and another eight points in 30 NHL games for the Capitals. Following that season, he was dealt to the Dallas Stars, where he spent the majority of his career to-date. Eakin would play parts of four seasons in Dallas, having one of the best seasons of his career when he recorded 40 points in 78 games in 2014-15. Ahead of the 2016-17 season, he signed a four-year, $15.4MM deal to stay with the Stars, but wound up with Vegas for most of the final three years.
With Vegas, Eakin became a crucial depth piece for the organization as it chased an ultimately elusive Stanley Cup. Perhaps the best season of his career thus far came in 2018-19, setting career-highs in goals, with 22, and points, with 41, in 78 games. In the final year of his deal, Vegas dealt Eakin to his hometown Winnipeg Jets before he hit free agency in the 2020 offseason. The veteran would sign a two-year, $4.5MM contract with the Buffalo Sabres, but his production dropped off sharply, recording a mere 19 points in 115 games over the two seasons, a far cry from the 22 goals and 41 points he was just two seasons removed from when he signed in Buffalo.
Now a free agent more than a month after the market opened, the versatile forward appears to be paying for his struggles in upstate New York. As effective as Eakin is in his own end, on the penalty kill, and in the faceoff circle, it’s hard for almost any team to justify giving Eakin the roster spot and time-on-ice necessary to be effective with such little offensive production. The ability to score is there for Eakin, however he hasn’t produced 30 points since that career-best 2018-19 and that regression came with him still in his prime.
Stats:
2021-22: 69 GP, 4-8-12, -15 rating, 22 PIMs, 74 shots, 56,0 FO%, 13:35 ATOI
Career: 701 GP, 110-146-256, -25 rating, 278 PIMs, 1,016 shots, 50.7 FO%, 15:16 ATOI
Potential Suitors:
As discussed, given the complete lack of offensive production the past couple of seasons, it would be tough to find a team that could justify giving regular minutes to Eakin. His game is primarily focused on defense and playing in his own zone, so not having a stellar track record on the other side of the puck is understandable, but there is a clear difference between the 0.41 points-per-game Eakin averaged from 2013-14 through 2018-19, and the 0.21 points-per-game he’s averaged since.
All of that said, there are still several extremely valuable things Eakin brings to the table. For one, his ability to play in his own zone and kill penalties, something he’s been doing his entire career. Experience doing this and the ability to work with a team’s younger players on this can be extremely valuable. Speaking of experience, Eakin has been to a Stanley Cup Final and has 50 playoff games of experience under his belt. Not only that, given his play style, he’s been trusted in some of the most crucial moments of those playoff games before. Having been there, and done it, a team bringing in Eakin as a situational player can expect him not to be phased when the time comes.
The usual suspects for forwards in these Free Agent Profile articles tends to be the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders, who could both use some help up front. However, Eakin doesn’t seem to make sense for either, who have a few options already that play a similar role. An option that could make sense is a reunion in Vegas. With Robin Lehner headed to LTIR, Vegas will have a little more space with which to work, and though it won’t allow for any groundbreaking moves, bringing in a familiar face to do the little things might be preferable to a veteran-heavy team like Vegas as opposed to a younger player with little NHL experience or some sort of a shuffle of taxi-squad players.
Projected Contract:
This late in free agency with many organizations set on their rosters, and especially now with his regression, it’s hard to imagine Eakin will see the sort of money he earned when he signed with Dallas in 2016 or Buffalo in 2020. Still, at 31 years of age, Eakin’s career is far from over, even if he’s approaching the tail-end of his prime years. Instead of hoping to extend his career just a bit longer, he is more likely still in a position to try to rebound and get back to the player he was in Dallas and Vegas not too long ago.
This might require him to take a league-minimum $750K contract, or even a two-way deal. It could also come on the heels of a successful PTO stint, which may be the most likely scenario at this point in the offseason. A PTO might actually be a favorable opportunity, with the signing team wanting to evaluate Eakin, they would put him in positions to succeed and show he’s capable of the rebound, which could ultimately lead to be more consistent opportunities out of the gate.
Mason McTavish Named 2022 World Juniors MVP
After his Team Canada won gold last night at the much-delayed 2022 World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish was named the tournament’s MVP by the IIHF. He also took home the IIHF Directorate Award for Best Forward, while Florida Panthers prospect Kasper Puutio won Best Defender and Minnesota Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt won Best Goalkeeper.
This World Juniors team was the seventh different team McTavish played on in the 2021-22 season if you count the canceled WJC in January as a separate team. He saved his best performance of the year for last, leading the tournament with an astounding 17 points in just seven games. As captain of the squad, McTavish led the team in goals with eight and tied his future Ducks teammate, Olen Zellweger, for the team lead in assists with nine.
McTavish’s next stop will be Ducks training camp next month. While not a guarantee, it would be a shocking development at this point if McTavish was not a full-time member of the Ducks next season.
In the WJC playoffs, McTavish played at least 20 minutes of every game Canada played, including a whopping 26:50 in their gold medal game overtime win — not to mention his game-saving save just seconds before the eventual winner.