New Jersey Devils Sign Jesper Boqvist
The New Jersey Devils don’t have to worry about a negotiation with Jesper Boqvist, as the young forward has accepted his qualifying offer and signed a one-year, two-way contract for 2022-23. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $874,125 and an AHL salary of $70K.
While some players would give up a little on the NHL salary to secure a better minor league guarantee, Boqvist is obviously confident that he will spend most of the year in the NHL again this season. The 23-year-old played 56 games with the Devils in 2021-22, scoring ten goals and 23 points in the process.
Selected 36th overall in 2017, it’s been an interesting road for the Swedish forward. It looked as though he was going to make the jump directly from the SHL to the NHL in 2019, when broke camp with the club and played 34 games through the first part of the season. But he ended up sent back to the minor leagues in January, and would make just one more NHL appearance before the league was shut down early.
While we waited for things to start back up in 2020-21, the Devils decided to loan the young forward back to Sweden. On his return, he once again wasn’t able to fully establish himself in the NHL, splitting time between New Jersey and Binghamton. Even this past season, he spent seven games with the Utica Comets.
One would think the minor leagues are behind him now, given the fact that he is no longer waiver-exempt. If the Devils wanted to send him to the AHL, he would need to be offered to all of the other teams first. With his upside and performance, there’s little chance he would make it through at this point.
Still, it’s not like there is a ton of room in the New Jersey lineup. After adding Erik Haula in the Pavel Zacha trade and signing Ondrej Palat, the team has nine forwards on one-way contracts plus Miles Wood to sign as a restricted free agent. With Dawson Mercer securing a spot while on his entry-level contract and Alexander Holtz likely doing the same, there isn’t going to be a ton of playing time to go around. If Boqvist wants to be a key contributor, he’ll have to earn is with consistent play.
The young forward will still be a restricted free agent next summer.
Staff Notes: McDonald, Boumedienne, Bradley
The Colorado Avalanche had a vacant assistant general manager position after promoting Chris MacFarland earlier this summer, and have decided to go outside the organization to fill it. The team has hired Kevin McDonald as their new AGM, taking him away from the St. Louis Blues where he has worked for more than two decades in a variety of roles.
McDonald was most recently the general manager of the Springfield Thunderbirds, St. Louis’ AHL affiliate, a team that was just today named “Team of the Year,” for excellence both on and off the ice. The long-time scout had also served as an AGM for the Blues over the years after starting his front office career with the New York Rangers.
- Columbus Blue Jackets director of pro scouting Josef Boumedienne has been named assistant general manager of the Swedish national team, through 2025-26. He joined the Blue Jackets front office as a European scout nearly a decade ago and was promoted to his current role last summer after a short stint as head coach of Brynas IF in the SHL.
- The University of Vermont has added Brendan Bradley to the staff as a volunteer assistant, as he transitions into the next part of his hockey career. The 29-year-old forward played four years for the school (and served as captain) before a relatively short professional career mostly spent in the ECHL. He last played for the Kalamazoo Wings in 2018-19.
Winnipeg Jets Sign Jeff Malott
July 22: The Jets have officially announced the contract, confirming the term and NHL cap hit.
July 21: The Winnipeg Jets are bringing back restricted free agent forward Jeff Malott on a two-year, two-way contract, per CapFriendly. The contract carries a $762.5K cap hit and will take him to unrestricted free agency in 2024. The breakdown is as follows:
2022-23: $750K NHL salary, $125K minors salary
2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $175K minors salary
Malott made his NHL debut this season, playing just 4:06 in a singular game. He did manage to take a minor penalty in that time as well. That’s not a strong indicator of his overall success, though, as he’s put together two strong professional seasons since graduating from the Cornell University program in 2020.
He was stuck in the ECHL for four games in 2020-21 but made an impact when given the chance in the AHL with Manitoba, notching 14 goals, six assists, and 20 points in 34 games during his first professional season. He solidified a top-six role in Manitoba this past season, too, breaking the 20-goal mark and finishing with 41 points in 62 games.
He’ll be turning 26 next month, and while there’s likely not a whole lot of long-term NHL upside with Malott, he’s showing he can be a solid contributor at the top of an AHL lineup and should be higher up on Winnipeg’s list of call-up options.
New York Rangers Re-Sign Tim Gettinger
The New York Rangers reached an agreement with restricted free agent Tim Gettinger, re-signing him to a one-year contract. Today is the last chance for players to accept their official qualifying offer. In his case, it would have been a two-way offer worth $787.5K at the NHL level. PuckPedia reports that instead, Gettinger has agreed to a two-way deal that will carry an NHL cap hit of just $750K, though he has secured a better AHL salary at $125K.
Gettinger, 24, has been an injury call-up for a handful of games in each of the last four seasons, though they haven’t been very productive appearances. In 16 NHL games he still hasn’t scored a goal, with just one assist coming in the 2019-20 season. In the minor leagues though, the 6’6″ forward has been a force, throwing his weight around and contributing offensively whenever he can. In 45 games this season, he had 25 points for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
It’s unlikely that the fifth-round pick will ever become much of an offensive player at the NHL level but his size makes him a potential fourth-line option at some point down the road. In his 16 career games he has 40 hits, despite averaging just nine minutes of ice time, a pace that would put him among the league leaders if given a full 82-game season.
The Rangers have shown a preference for that kind of physicality in the bottom six, though there are already several players on the NHL roster that can provide it. With that in mind, Gettinger is likely ticketed for the minor leagues once again, unless injuries provide him another opportunity to jump into the lineup to start the year. In order to go to Hartford, he’ll need to clear waivers again, as he did last October.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Owen Sillinger, Olivier LeBlanc To PTOs
July 22: Another day, another tryout in Columbus. This time, it’s Cleveland Monsters defenseman Cole Clayton that will get an invitation to the NHL camp, according to CapFriendly. Clayton had 16 points in 55 games as an AHL rookie this season.
July 21: Per CapFriendly, the Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Owen Sillinger (yes, Cole’s brother) and defenseman Olivier LeBlanc to professional tryout contracts. Both players spent parts of last season with their AHL affiliate in Cleveland.
Owen, 24, had a strong 2021-22 campaign with 47 points in 39 games at Bemidji State University during his senior year. He had a strong first professional stint, too, notching nine points in 17 games with Cleveland. He’s on an AHL contract for next season, so he’ll be within the organization no matter what, but a strong training camp performance could earn the older Sillinger brother an NHL contract.
LeBlanc, 26, is entering his third professional season but hasn’t played a whole lot since finishing his career at the University of New Brunswick. He’s still looking for his first AHL goal, tallying three assists in 28 games over the last two seasons split between Cleveland and the Belleville Senators. He spent more time last season in the ECHL, scoring a goal in five assists for six points in 19 games with the Kalamazoo Wings. He’s also on an AHL deal with Cleveland for next season, and now the former captain of the QMJHL’s Cape Breton Eagles will attend an NHL camp.
Arttu Ruotsalainen Signs In Switzerland
Despite specifically denying intentions to go to Switzerland this offseason, Arttu Ruotsalainen has indeed signed overseas, inking a one-year deal with EHC Kloten. The young forward received a qualifying offer from the Buffalo Sabres, meaning they will retain his exclusive NHL rights.
Ruotsalainen, 24, signed out of Finland in 2020 as an undrafted free agent after lighting up the professional ranks there, and quickly established himself as a depth option for the Sabres. In 2020-21 he scored five goals and six points in 17 NHL games, and this past season it was more of the same, with four goals in 18 matches.
Where he really stood out was in the AHL, where Ruotsalainen had 76 points in 80 games including an outstanding playoff run with the Rochester Americans this spring. In ten games, he scored eight goals and 12 points, picking up some of the goal-scoring slack for a young core that at times looked a bit overwhelmed. With Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs failing to score even a single goal in the postseason (though Krebs did have 11 assists) it was up to Ruotsalainen and J.J. Peterka to carry the load.
Now, with him heading back overseas, it’s unclear where Ruotsalainen’s future with the Sabres lies. It appears that he was hoping for a full-time NHL opportunity when he came to North America, something that will be difficult to accomplish as Buffalo’s roster is filled more and more by top young talent. The fact that he stands just 5’9″ won’t help his case there either, despite the top offensive ability he has shown at basically every stop. Even his NHL numbers–seven goals in 35 games despite averaging fewer than 13 minutes a night–suggest that he could be of use at the highest level, but we’ll have to wait and see if he ever gets that chance again.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Lucas Edmonds
July 22: The Lightning have officially announced the three-year contract.
July 21: The Tampa Bay Lightning nabbed one of the top overage selections available in the 2022 NHL Draft, and now they’ve signed him to his entry-level contract. Per CapFriendly, the Lightning signed Lucas Edmonds to a three-year entry-level deal carrying an $861,667 cap hit. The contract breakdown is as follows:
2022-23: $750K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $105K GP bonus
2023-24: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K GP bonus
2024-25: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K GP bonus
The 21-year-old Edmonds got on teams’ draft radars this season when he returned to North America after spending the majority of his development in Sweden. He never really excelled in the Swedish junior ranks, and he couldn’t latch on to a role last season when given the professional opportunity in Sweden’s second-tier league. A move to Kingston in the OHL though, playing on the same team as fourth-overall pick Shane Wright, unlocked Edmonds’ offensive production. In 68 games, the playmaking winger rocketed to the top of the scoring list with 113 points in 68 games, with 79 of those points coming in the form of assists.
Edmonds’ projection is a bit fuzzy, as while he did exhibit potential this season, he was playing against players in lower age classes as an overage player in the OHL as well. It must have been enough to convince Tampa’s scouting department, though, as they took him inside the top 100 selections at 86th overall.
With Edmonds unable to return to juniors, he’s likely destined to make his professional debut for the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch next season.
Simon Despres Signs In Austria
It’s off to Austria next on Simon Despres‘ hockey world tour, which has taken him through Slovakia, Sweden, and Germany the last few seasons. The veteran defenseman has signed a new contract with Villacher SV for the upcoming season.
Despres, 30, was originally selected 30th overall in 2009 by the Pittsburgh Penguins and quickly became a top prospect, making it to the NHL by the 2011-12 season. A few years later the Penguins would flip him to the Anaheim Ducks in order to bring back Ben Lovejoy, a move that did ultimately help them win the Stanley Cup in 2016.
It is in Anaheim where things started to go wrong for Despres, who experienced several concussions and was eventually bought out by the Ducks just a year into his new five-year $18.5MM contract. In fact, Despres played just a single NHL game under that contract and yet will still be earning a paycheck from the Ducks through 2024-25.
Since a failed comeback attempt with the Laval Rocket, Despres has been playing in various leagues around the world, including the KHL, SHL, and most recently the DEL, where he spent the last two seasons, winning the championship both years. The 6’4″ defenseman had the kind of all-around talent that is so desirable in today’s game but will go down as something of an unsolved mystery thanks to injury–at least in terms of his NHL career.
Poll: Who Does Matthew Tkachuk Get Traded To?
Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk‘s arbitration date on August 11 looms, but we know now that it’s only a matter of time before he suits up for another NHL team. Tkachuk told the Flames this week that he won’t re-sign long-term, either forcing a trade now or letting him walk for nothing as an unrestricted free agent next summer. With teams having spent a lot already during the free agency period, though, does a good Tkachuk trade exist with a team that he’s willing to stay with?
It’s a rarity that a restricted free agent is able to force a change of scenery like this, especially one of Tkachuk’s caliber. Easily one of the top wingers in the league (and top forwards in general), his unique fiery brand and 100+ point scoring potential is an incredibly valuable package. He finished the 2021-22 campaign with 42 goals, 62 points, and 104 points, all career highs, and received votes for the Hart and Selke Trophies.
He’ll be on his way out of Calgary, though, joining ex-teammate Johnny Gaudreau as marquee players to leave the team this summer. Having grown up in St. Louis, and with his father Keith still working for the team, a potential union between the Blues and Tkachuk has been a long-standing open secret. The Blues have been reported to be in talks with Calgary about Tkachuk, and it was also reported that St. Louis was on the small list of teams Tkachuk would accept a trade to.
While the report was contested and isn’t verified, Vegas, Florida, Nashville, and Dallas were also all teams that Tkachuk would sign a long-term deal with. While the cap situation for most of those teams isn’t favorable, Nashville and Dallas do have some more wiggle room than the rest in terms of tradeable assets that would head the other way.
So, PHR readers — where does Tkachuk end up to begin the 2021-22 season? Does he finally head home to St. Louis, does a dark horse team sweep him up, or is the relationship between him and Calgary somehow salvaged?
Who Acquires Matthew Tkachuk?
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St. Louis Blues 43% (3,435)
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Dark horse team 34% (2,748)
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Nashville Predators 6% (497)
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Florida Panthers 6% (487)
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Dallas Stars 5% (398)
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Vegas Golden Knights 3% (209)
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Stays in Calgary 2% (198)
Total votes: 7,972
Mobile users, click here to vote!
Seattle Kraken Sign Carsen Twarynski, Kole Lind
6:37 pm: CapFriendly reports that Lind’s deal has an AHL salary of $150K with $175K guaranteed, while Twarynski’s deal has an AHL salary of $110K.
2:55 pm: The Seattle Kraken have agreed to terms with two of their restricted free agents, reaching one-year, two-way deals with Kole Lind and Carsen Twarynski. Both players were eligible for arbitration but did not file. Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press reports that Lind’s deal will carry an NHL salary of $850K, while Twarynski’s is the league minimum of $750K.
Lind, 23, was selected from the Vancouver Canucks in last year’s expansion draft and ended up playing 23 games for the Kraken. He scored eight points in those games despite limited minutes and actually is showing a bit of upside as a potential full-time option for the team moving forward. In the minor leagues, the winger scored 17 goals and 35 points in 46 games while racking up a team-leading 106 penalty minutes.
That included multiple fighting majors, as the hard-nosed winger continued to play a physical brand of hockey despite not being the biggest player on the ice. If he can continue to bring that kind of versatility, a bottom-six role seems like a realistic outcome this season if he can prove himself in camp.
Twarynski, another original Kraken, was the team’s pick from the Philadelphia Flyers in the expansion draft last year despite not showing a ton of offensive upside so far in his professional career. That continued this year with just five goals and 18 points in 71 games with the Charlotte Checkers, making him a potential non-tender candidate.
Instead, he’ll be coming back to the organization and is likely headed for the minor leagues once again, this time with the Coachella Valley Firebirds in their inaugural season. The 24-year-old forward does have 22 games of NHL experience with Philadelphia but hasn’t really shown anything other than physicality in those matches, registering just a single goal.