Detroit Red Wings Hire Bob Boughner, Alex Westlund
The Detroit Red Wings have brought in some experience to help Derek Lalonde’s transition to head coach, hiring the recently-dismissed Bob Boughner as an associate coach. The team has also brought in Alex Westlund as goaltending coach for the upcoming season.
Boughner, 51, was fired by the San Jose Sharks when they decided to allow the incoming general manager to choose his own coaching staff. That ended a run that spanned parts of three seasons, in which he went 67-85-23. While you certainly can’t blame Boughner for all of the Sharks’ struggles, moving back to an assistant role seemed likely given how late he was released into the open market.
In fact, he’ll get an associate role in Detroit, giving him even more responsibility and sway with the organization as they transition away from Jeff Blashill and into a new coaching era. Lalonde has head coaching experience at the USHL, ECHL, and AHL levels but not in the NHL, where he has only served as an assistant. Having a veteran like Boughner, who also played more than 600 games in the NHL, should only aid his move to head coach.
Westlund, meanwhile, is coming over from the Hershey Bears, where he has served as goaltending coach for the last five years. The former minor league goaltender last played in 2013-14 with the Wheeling Nailers and actually carved out quite a professional career despite standing just 5’9″, a height that is usually dismissed by most scouts. He’ll now get a chance to work with Alex Nedeljkovic and Ville Husso at the NHL level, while helping the development of top prospect Sebastian Cossa, the Red Wings’ goalie of the future.
Florida Panthers Sign Eetu Luostarinen, Lucas Carlsson
The Florida Panthers have announced a new two-year contract for Eetu Luostarinen, avoiding restricted free agency with the young forward. Puck Pedia reports the deal carries a $1.5MM cap hit, paid in full base salary each season. The team also inked defenseman Lucas Carlsson to a one-year, two-way contract to avoid restricted free agency, which CapFriendlyNo contract details were included. has an $800,000 cap hit and $300,000 minor salary with $400,000 guaranteed.
General manager Bill Zito did release a statement on the two players:
Eetu is a selfless, dependable and cerebral player who plays with consistency each and every night. We are excited to have him back in our lineup for the upcoming campaign.
Lucas is an effective two-way defenseman who possesses a high compete level. We are pleased that he will remain a part of our organization as we head into next season.
Luostarinen may not be a household name yet but he was an important piece for the Panthers this season, offering versatility and size to the bottom six. The 23-year-old center scored nine goals and 26 points in 78 games, averaging just over 13 minutes a night while racking up more than 100 hits. Averaging more short-handed ice time than any forward not named Aleksander Barkov or Anton Lundell, his role is integral to the machine that Zito and the Panthers have built, even if it’s hard to see much more offensive production coming in the future.
Selected 42nd overall by the Carolina Hurricanes, Luostarinen was part of the Vincent Trocheck trade in 2020 and quickly showed that he could handle himself at the NHL level. It’s not to say more offense is impossible from the 6’3″ forward, just that his role in Florida is likely to stay limited to defensive minutes for the time being. The team has so many established offensive players ahead of him that his deployment will likely stay heavily skewed to his own end of the rink, tasked with protecting the lead and taking some of the defensive burdens off of Barkov.
A two-year deal will leave Luostarinen as a restricted free agent in the summer of 2024, though by then he will be eligible for arbitration.
Carlsson worked his way into 40 NHL games this season and is Florida’s likely go-to man for their seventh defenseman spot. In his first “full” NHL campaign, Carlsson averaged just 12:43 per game but managed three goals and six points.
Buffalo Sabres Extend Brandon Biro
The Buffalo Sabres have done a little bit of RFA work, signing Brandon Biro to a new two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $762.5K, meaning that the young forward will earn the NHL minimum in both years.
Biro, 24, was really just barely getting his feet wet in professional hockey this season, after playing in only 15 games for the Rochester Americans in 2020-21. It was an impressive 2021-22 campaign for the undrafted free agent from Penn State, who racked up 41 points in 48 games at the AHL level and even made his NHL debut.
This two-year deal will give him some added stability and allow him to focus on his development, or even compete for a job in camp. Given that he is still waiver-exempt, it may be difficult to land that full-time role in Buffalo. More likely, he’ll split time between the two levels this season, playing a big role for the Americans while adding another handful of games in the NHL. As the Sabres grow an exciting young core of high picks, they’ll also need players like this to fill in the gaps.
Detroit Red Wings Acquire Ville Husso
The Detroit Red Wings have decided to bring in another goalie, acquiring Ville Husso from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a third-round pick in today’s draft. The team then quickly signed Husso to a three-year extension, keeping him from unrestricted free agency next week. The deal will carry an average annual value of $4.75MM.
The Red Wings, who have Alex Nedeljkovic coming off an inconsistent season and signed for just one more year, needed another goaltender if they want to be competitive in the Atlantic Division this season. By acquiring Husso, they’ve grabbed one of the top options on the market.
Already an extremely shallow pool, the group of free agent goaltenders is getting smaller by the minute. Husso and Marc-Andre Fleury are now off the market, while Alexandar Georgiev is no longer expected to join them after being traded to the Colorado Avalanche. It leaves Darcy Kuemper and Jack Campbell in line for a big payday, as the two remaining options that could be considered starting goaltenders.
Husso, 27, had been considered a top goaltending prospect for years but it took until the 2021-22 season for him to get a real opportunity in the NHL. He ran with it, posting a .919 save percentage in 40 games and essentially stealing the starter’s role from Jordan Binnington. In his first taste of playoff action, he faltered and gave that job right back but the Finnish netminder has still shown he can be a strong option at the NHL level.
With Nedeljkovic, who has also shown flashes of brilliance over his relatively short NHL career, the Red Wings have a young, competitive tandem that should push each other for playing time this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Arizona Coyotes Acquire Zack Kassian
We have another trade. The Coyotes, who earlier tonight cashed in some of their draft capital to move up to the 11th overall pick, are making another move. They have acquired forward Zack Kassian, the 29th overall pick, a 2025 second-rounder, and a 2024 third-rounder from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for pick 32. To put it more simply, the Oilers are moving down two spots and trading two future mid-round picks in order to clear Zack Kassian’s contract off their books.
The Oilers, desperate to improve their team after an encouraging run to the Western Conference Final, want to be active this offseason in making improvements to their roster. They have been interested in a variety of goalies, but with cap space at an absolute premium, they have now decided they’ll need some more wiggle room in order to get a deal done. Trading Kassian’s cap hit gives GM Ken Holland more room to work with as he chases free agent goalies, such as Jack Campbell, or other established players in free agency.
For the Coyotes, this move adds a few more picks to GM Bill Armstrong’s stockpile. The Coyotes add two decently valuable picks as well as the right to move up a few spots in tonight’s draft in exchange for taking on Kassian, who had six goals and 19 points in 58 games this year. If Kassian can perform well in Arizona, it’s possible that the Coyotes will have the option to retain salary on his deal in order to flip him to another club. For now, though, the main priority will be the draft picks acquired in the deal.
We knew going into this summer that teams such as Chicago and Arizona would be active in weaponizing their cap space in order to acquire future assets. Now, on the night of the draft, both teams have made moves to do exactly that.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first on the details.
Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Petr Mrazek
The Blackhawks aren’t done. They’re back in the first round, acquiring the 25th overall pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs as well as goaltender Petr Mrazek in exchange for the 38th overall pick. The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli first reported the trade, which has since been confirmed by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. The trade creates an additional $3.8MM in additional salary cap space for the Maple Leafs over each of the next two seasons.
For the Blackhawks, who are entering the next phase of a full-scale rebuild, the trade gives the team their third first-round pick of the evening after entering the day with zero picks in the round. The team used the pick to select Sam Rinzel, a Minnesota high school defenseman who was projected to go in the middle of the second round. The interesting wrinkle to this selection is that Chicago may have been able to simply utilize the 38th overall selection they traded away to select Rinzel, however draft-floor chatter may have made Chicago move quicker than they had intended.
The deal is a no-brainer for Toronto, who was already tight on salary cap space, giving them some breathing room, and doing so at the cost of sliding down just 13 spots in the draft order. Mrazek struggled greatly this season, posting a 3.38 goals-against average and .888 save-percentage in 20 games, dealing with injuries and even being placed on waivers. One issue with the deal is is it leaves the Maple Leafs without either of the goalies they started their season with, as All Star Jack Campbell is set to hit the UFA market. However, this trade opens up room for the team to take a run at keeping Campbell in the fold, or at least find a replacement.
Joe Sakic Wins GM Of The Year
Joe Sakic won many awards as a player, and now he has one as an executive. The Colorado Avalanche GM has won the Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award. Sakic edged out Chris Drury of the New York Rangers and Julien Brisebois of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the award.
Sakic led the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup title this year, and his work, especially this year, went a long way to getting them there. Savvy trades for Darcy Kuemper, Artturi Lehkonen, and Nazem Kadri provided the team with crucial difference-makers that all played a role on their cup run. His trade for Devon Toews especially is one of the most lopsided trades in recent NHL history. Sakic’s shrewd free-agent moves, highlighted by his acquisition of Valeri Nichushkin, helped support the core of players the Avalanche drafted.
Sakic, a Hall of Fame player, is now building an executive career that could eventually come to rival the success of his playing career. The Avalanche look like they could be contenders for many years to come, and they’re in that position thanks in large part to the work Sakic has done. Now, Sakic has even more recognition to show for that work, in addition to the Stanley Cup ring he won earlier this summer.
Philadelphia Flyers Select Cutter Gauthier Fifth Overall
One of the best fits heading into the draft seemed like the Philadelphia Flyers and Cutter Gauthier, and it worked out for both sides. The big winger–who will be transitioning to center for Boston College–goes fifth overall.
If Gauthier can handle that transition, this could be a huge upside play for the Flyers. Finding centers this big, fast, and skilled is almost impossible outside of the draft, and rare to find even there.
The USNTDP standout is headed the college route and won’t be joining them in the fall but could be a one-and-done player for BC. Philadelphia has been clear that they don’t want a full rebuild, meaning waiting multiple years for their top pick might not be ideal.
Seattle Kraken Select Shane Wright Fourth Overall
When the Seattle Kraken arrived in Montreal, they probably didn’t think they would be making this pick. Shane Wright is the fourth-overall selection and will join the NHL’s newest franchise.
Captain of the Kingston Frontenacs, Wright is coming off a season in which he scored 32 goals and 94 points in 63 games, an impressive total considering he started slow after missing the entire 2020-21 campaign when the OHL canceled the season because of COVID-19 restrictions.
It was in late 2018 that Wright applied for CHL exceptional status, which would allow him to enter the major junior league a year early. He wouldn’t turn 15 for another month, and wouldn’t be granted the status for another three, but there was already a momentum growing for the young center from Burlington, Ontario.
When he was just 13, top NHL player agents had lined up to advise him through the process, knowing that there was a potential star in the making. By the time he made his OHL debut in the 2019-20 season, he was already the odds-on favorite for the top spot in 2022, and he didn’t disappoint. As a rookie, he not only scored 39 goals in 58 games, snapping the puck past goaltenders from all angles but Wright was also named an alternate captain for Kingston, the youngest in team history.
The scene was set for him to follow in the footsteps of other exceptional players, including Connor McDavid, John Tavares, and Aaron Ekblad, who had all been taken at the top of their respective drafts as well. When he was granted the status, he was still comparing himself to Mathew Barzal, focusing on the offensive abilities of the New York Islanders star. Today, he says he would rather model his game after Patrice Bergeron, with defensive ability and the “details” of the game ranking just as importantly.
Having dropped to Seattle, general manager Ron Francis will happily snap up the top prospect and give him the chance to pair with Matty Beniers down the middle to prove those three teams wrong.
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Kirby Dach
Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes has made his splash. The Canadiens have dealt defenseman Alexander Romanov and pick 98 to the New York Islanders for the 13th pick. They then sent pick 13 and 66 to Chicago for center Kirby Dach. The teams have all announced the trades.
This is an absolute whopper of a three-team deal. The Blackhawks, who already acquired a first-rounder earlier today, add a second top-fifteen pick in exchange for Dach, the third-overall pick in 2019. They also add the 66th pick as part of the deal as well. For Chicago, this is another move for Kyle Davidson in his quest to add more long-term future assets. Dach was a promising prospect but a mix of injuries and underperformance is what has led to this trade. The Blackhawks, who entered today with no first round picks, have now amassed a small stockpile of picks in very short order.
For the Islanders, GM Lou Lamoriello adds a young defenseman who plays the sort of highly physical, rugged game that the Islanders covet. Romanov, 22, was a second-rounder at the 2018 draft and already has 133 NHL games to his name. His offensive upside is still up for debate, but he has played an increasingly important role in Montreal and should step into the Islanders defense and play immediately. There were defensemen set to be available at thirteenth overall, but Lamoriello and the Islanders seemingly preferred a more NHL-ready option with that pick.
In Dach, the Canadiens add a player who only a few years ago was the third-overall pick. Dach is a big center who starred for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL, scoring 72 points in 62 games in his final season there. Dach has struggled in the NHL, perhaps a signal that he should have spent more time developing in Saskatoon before making the transition to the professional game. Dach has 59 points in 152 games and it could be that a change of scenery is exactly what he needs to get his career back on track. It’s a major risk for the Canadiens, as they’re spending a top-fifteen pick on a player who has thus far struggled to be a difference-maker at the NHL level. That being said, if the Canadiens’ evaluation of Dach is correct, they could be adding the type of big, top-six center that is coveted by most GMs and unlikely to be available to them at pick 13.