Arizona Coyotes Sign Ivan Prosvetov
The Arizona Coyotes have inked goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to a one-year contract, avoiding restricted free agency this summer. The young netminder is coming to the end of his entry-level contract and would not have had arbitration rights. General manager Bill Armstrong released the following statement:
We are very pleased to sign Ivan to a contract extension. He is a big, athletic goaltender who is very talented. We look forward to continuing to watch him develop.
Prosvetov, 23, has made a handful of appearances at the NHL level already, entering the net three times in each of the last two seasons. Selected 114th overall in 2018, the Russian-born netminder had already come to North America to play in the NAHL and USHL before his draft, and then spent the 2018-19 campaign in the OHL. That meant getting him into the organization was no issue, though the results have not followed in the years since.
Through those six NHL appearances, the 6’5″ goaltender has just an .858 save percentage, but it’s his performance at the minor league level that is perhaps more concerning. He posts an .880 save percentage in 45 games this season for the Tucson Roadrunners, a step backward from the numbers he put up in his first two go-rounds. While there is obviously still plenty of potential, Prosvetov will need to start delivering results if he’s to really be in the Coyotes’ plans for the NHL level.
Maple Leafs Make Front Office Changes
Though they won’t be making sweeping changes, the Toronto Maple Leafs front office will look a little different next year. David Alter of The Leafs Nation reports that senior director of player evaluation Jim Paliafito and hockey research and development analyst Cam Charron are no longer with the club.
Paliafito is the bigger news here, as he has been with the club since 2015 and is often credited with finding some of the late-round or undrafted European players the team has iced over the last several years. After spending several years as the general manager of the Saginaw Spirit, he joined the Maple Leafs for the 2015-16 season in the same player evaluation role he is now exiting.
Involved in the recruitment of players like Nikita Zaitsev, Ilya Mikheyev, and others, Paliafito impact has been significant on the Maple Leafs, despite the lack of organizational playoff success that has been achieved with this group.
Charron meanwhile has been with the team’s analytics department since 2014, when Brendan Shanahan took over the organization and made sweeping changes to the front office and hockey operations.
David Perron Fined For Cross-Checking
The St. Louis Blues are down to their last strike, on the brink of elimination after last night’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche, but at least they won’t be without one of their top players. David Perron has avoided suspension and earned a $5,000 fine for his cross-check on Nazem Kadri, one of a number of questionable incidents involving the Blues’ sniper in game four.
The incident in question occurred partway through the second period and resulted in a two-minute minor from the on-ice officials. At the same time, Pavel Buchnevich took a penalty for roughing on Kadri, after Perron and the Avalanche forward came together in the neutral zone. It wasn’t the only time Perron received a cross-checking penalty in the game–he was given a two-minute minor in the first period after delivering one to Cale Makar–and also likely wasn’t the only clip the Department of Player Safety reviewed from last night’s match.
Still, Perron was also the Blues’ best offensive player last night, scoring twice to take his playoff totals to nine goals and 13 points in ten games. Losing that kind of production would have been a devastating blow as the team tries to claw out of the 3-1 series deficit. A fine means the league will be closely watching his conduct for any further supplementary discipline but means he can stay in the lineup and try to help the Blues stay alive tomorrow night.
Philadelphia Flyers Interviewed John Tortorella
The Philadelphia Flyers have already been linked to Barry Trotz in their head coaching search and now another big-name free agent has been connected to the team. John Tortorella has interviewed for the position, according to Kevin Weekes of ESPN. Weekes notes that it is “one of the coaches” that has been interviewed.
Tortorella, 63, last coached in the NHL during the 2020-21 season, spending the interim as an analyst with ESPN. The fiery competitor has one of the highest profiles of any coach in the league due to a combination of his success and very public spats with players and media. Only 13 men have won more regular season games as a head coach in the NHL, and Tortorella also has a fair bit of postseason success–including a Stanley Cup championship in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
A career that includes time with the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets, Tortorella should be very familiar with Philadelphia and the Flyers organization. Like Trotz, his time in the Metropolitan Division could provide an inside track, though, with so many qualified candidates on the market, it is hard to know exactly which path the team will choose.
Recently, Jeff Marek of Sportsnet gave his take on the situation during an episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, explaining that the Flyers do not appear to be in any rush to name a head coach. Still, with now Trotz and Tortorella connected to the team, they are certainly not shying away from the big–and likely expensive–options.
The Flyers are still on the hook to pay Alain Vigneault $5MM per season through 2023-24 but also have a clear impetus from ownership to turn things around quickly. Chairman Dave Scott told reporters that he was giving general manager Chuck Fletcher a “blank check” to fix things, and with the long-term extension of Rasmus Ristolainen, followed by this coaching search, it appears as though there is no time for a tear down in Philadelphia.
Morning Notes: Raanta, Girard, Sabres
The Carolina Hurricanes had Frederik Andersen on the ice at morning skate again today, taking normal shots at one end of the rink. The 32-year-old goaltender has not yet appeared in the playoffs after suffering a late-season injury, despite being the primary winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy for the lowest goals-against average in the league.
His partner for that award, Antti Raanta, will start again for the Hurricanes and has done everything possible to prove he is ready for this moment. Mark Lazerus profiles Raanta in his latest for The Athletic, noting the long road the veteran netminder has taken to get to this point. Through nine games in these playoffs, the 33-year-old has a .939 save percentage, allowing just 15 goals on 246 shots.
- Samuel Girard may not be taking part in the rest of the playoffs but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to leave his teammates alone. According to Mike Morreale of NHL.com, the injured defenseman was at yesterday’s morning skate after being released from the hospital and is in “good spirits” according to head coach Jared Bednar. Girard suffered a broken sternum in game three, but he was able to watch his club secure a game four win and a stranglehold in their second-round series against the St. Louis Blues. There is no official timeline released for Girard’s recovery but he will not return even if the Avalanche advance.
- With the Florida Panthers being swept out of the second round, the Buffalo Sabres now know exactly where they will be selecting in the first round. CapFriendly tweets out that the Sabres have secured picks nine, 16, and 28, with the latter being from their Sam Reinhart trade with the Panthers. That’s an impressive haul for a team that already has two first-overall picks in the mix and several other young impressive talents up front. The Sabres now have to find a way to put it all together and finally contend for the playoffs.
Oscar Fantenberg Signs In SHL
Any chance of Oscar Fantenberg returning to the NHL has likely disappeared. The veteran defenseman has signed a four-year contract with Linkoping HC in the SHL, taking him through the 2025-26 season.
Fantenberg, 30, played the last two seasons in the KHL with SKA St. Petersburg and competed for Sweden at this year’s Olympics. Undrafted, he found some sustained success in North America a few years ago, playing 124 games with the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks, even reaching the Conference Finals in the 2020 bubble playoffs.
Now signed for four years back home, Fantenberg will likely complete his hockey-playing circle back in Sweden after suiting up all over the world. Hopefully, his return will be as successful as his last year before leaving. In 2016, he helped Frolunda to an SHL title, a Champions League title, and participated in the World Championship for his country. He’ll return seeking some of the same accomplishments, this time with a different club.
Ducks Prospect Lucas Elvenes Signs In Sweden
May 24: The contract for Elvenes in Sweden has officially been announced, noting that it is for two years.
May 11: While it has taken a few months longer than he originally planned, Ducks prospect winger Lucas Elvenes is expected to return to the SHL and sign with HV71, reports SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson, who adds that several other teams in Sweden’s top league also were showing interest in him.
Back in January, the 22-year-old worked out an agreement to mutually terminate his contract with Vegas with an eye on him going back to play in his native Sweden (and quite possibly the Olympics). But to get to that point, he had to clear unconditional waivers first. He didn’t.
Instead, Elvenes became just the second-ever player to be claimed from those waivers as Anaheim picked him up with an eye on bolstering their farm team. He did just that as he collected 33 points in 43 games with San Diego, a nice improvement on the 10 in 20 contests he had with Henderson. However, it wasn’t enough to earn an opportunity to suit up with Anaheim.
Now that his entry-level contract is set to expire in July, Elvenes now has the chance to go back overseas without any restriction and he appears to be set to do so. The Ducks can retain his NHL rights by issuing him a qualifying offer and there’s little reason for them not to do that as they’d be able to hold onto his rights through the 2026-27 season in case he decides to try playing in North America again down the road.
Tempe Set To Discuss Coyotes Arena Plan Next Month
There could be some potential clarity coming on the post-Arizona State University living situation for the Arizona Coyotes. The City Council of Tempe, AZ is set to discuss the team’s proposed arena and entertainment district plan in a June 2 meeting, according to PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan.
Earlier this year, the Coyotes closed on a multi-year agreement to play their home games at the new multipurpose arena at ASU. With the capacity at this arena expected to be under 5,000 fans, it’s painstakingly obvious that this isn’t a long-term solution. The team, however, still doesn’t have a solid future after the agreement with the school ends.
Enter Tempe, where the Coyotes have been trying to forge a home for years. The entire point of the ASU agreement is to hopefully build a relationship with the Tempe community, demonstrating to the city that the struggling team is worth housing.
The team is locked into ASU for three seasons with the option for a fourth. If the team wants to ensure they’ll be able to stay in the desert at the end of that deal, time is starting to tick on the Coyotes to get the city of Tempe to approve an arena deal.
Philadelphia Flyers Extend Linus Sandin
The Philadelphia Flyers are in hot pursuit of one of the NHL’s biggest-name coaches, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting some offseason work done as well. The Flyers announced today that they have re-signed forward Linus Sandin to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000.
Sandin, 26, is an undrafted player who has spent the past two seasons in the Flyers’ organization. He is the brother of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin. He is a veteran of four SHL seasons, having played for two clubs: HV71 and Rogle BK. After a first season in the SHL where he struggled to score, Sandin began to figure things out and scored 35 goals over the next two seasons. He had 10 points in 20 games in 2020-21 before coming over to the Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and posting a healthy 10 points in 26 games. This season he had 20 points in 36 games and made his NHL debut. For Sandin, this extension and his choice to remain in North America indicate that he is committed to building off of this past season in order to keep his chances of getting back into an NHL lineup alive.
Sandin is hardly a prospect at 26 years old, but he still has only 63 games of experience on North American ice and is an established, quality player at the SHL level. So his ultimate place within the Flyers organization is hardly a settled matter. As the Flyers embark on an offseason where there could be major changes, bringing Sandin back into the fold gives the club a low-cost player who has the chance to become something if he plays well.
Kristian Vesalainen Signs In SHL
May 23rd: The signing is now official, with the Malmo Redhawks officially announcing the addition of Vesalainen today.
May 21st: Jets winger Kristian Vesalainen has failed to make much of an impact in his four seasons in North America and it appears he’s opting for a change of scenery as Expressen’s Johan Svensson reports that Vesalainen is expected to sign with Malmo of the SHL for next season with an official announcement coming as soon as next week.
The 22-year-old was a first-round pick of Winnipeg back in 2017 (24th overall) but has failed to produce with any sort of consistency. He played in 53 NHL games this season but managed just two goals and one assist while averaging just 8:40 per contest. In the minors, he hasn’t fared much better as his best output was a 30-point showing in 2019-20, hardly the type of numbers teams want to see from a first-round prospect.
As a result, a return overseas certainly would make sense for Vesalainen. He’s waiver-eligible beginning next season and as a result, he’d likely be earmarked for another limited role if he stayed with Winnipeg who almost certainly wouldn’t want to expose him to waivers to get him back to AHL Manitoba. But if he wants to play a bigger role and show that he still has some offensive upside, playing in Sweden will give him a better chance to do just that.
As Vesalainen is a restricted free agent this summer, the Jets can still retain his NHL rights by issuing a qualifying offer. In doing so, they’ll at least have the right to try to bring him back in a couple of years if his performance improves overseas which would give them one more chance to salvage some value out of a draft pick that hasn’t panned out so far.