Wild Have Reportedly Offered Max-Term Contract To Kirill Kaprizov
While it took a long time for Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov to come to North America, he proved to be well worth the wait. His rookie season was strong enough to make him a top contender for the Calder Trophy (the finalists will be revealed for Rookie of the Year on Thursday). With Minnesota opting to burn the first year of his contract in the bubble, Kaprizov is already up for his second contract. The team certainly wants to keep him around for the long haul as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the team has already offered a maximum eight-year contract with an AAV around the $8MM mark. That would certainly represent a substantial raise from the $925K (base salary and signing bonus) he made on his entry-level pact.
The 24-year-old led the Wild in scoring this season with 27 goals and 24 assists in 55 games while logging just over 18 minutes a game. His ice time increased slightly in the playoffs but he was only able to manage two goals and an assist in their seven-game loss to Vegas in the first round. While he has several strong years in the KHL under his belt, having just one year of NHL experience makes this type of offer much riskier but clearly, GM Bill Guerin is comfortable with it.
However, the fact the deal isn’t done is also noteworthy. It could be for a couple of reasons as well. The simple one is that his camp may want more money to buy out five years of UFA eligibility but it’s also possible that they prefer a shorter-term deal that would allow him to hit the open market while he’s still in the prime of his career. By then, the salary cap should be starting to go up again as well which could increase his earnings ceiling.
Regardless, Guerin’s offer is quite the opener. After waiting so long to get him in a Minnesota uniform, it’s certainly understandable that they want to keep him around for as long as possible. We’ll see over the coming months if Kaprizov is open to sticking around for the long haul.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Lindberg, DeBrusk, Houde
Former NHL forward Tobias Lindberg won’t be coming back to North America anytime soon, after signing a new contract with Sodertalje SK in the Swedish second tier. A fourth-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2013, Lindberg made it all the way to the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015-16, suiting up six times for the club and recording two points. The winger recorded 29 points in 38 games for Vasby IK last season, while leading the entire Allsvenskan in penalty minutes with 121.
Now 25, Lindberg’s NHL rights were relinquished when the Pittsburgh Penguins decided not to qualify him in 2019. If he ever decided to come back to North America, he would be an unrestricted free agent able to sign with whoever he likes.
- The Department of Player Safety decided that Jake DeBrusk‘s cross-check on Scott Mayfield last night did not rise to the level of a suspension but have fined the Boston Bruins forward $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for the incident. Engaged in a battle in front of the net, DeBrusk landed a forceful cross-check to the back of Mayfield’s head, which did not result in a penalty.
- The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have decided to sign Samuel Houde to an AHL contract for the upcoming season, now that his junior career is over. Selected 133rd overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2018, Houde never signed and was an unrestricted free agent. Serving as captain of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens this season, the playmaking forward recorded 35 points in 38 total games.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 06/01/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in the COVID-19 Protocol. Here is today’s list:
Colorado – Jayson Megna
Vegas – Brayden McNabb
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
We’re now just a day away from the Golden Knights being without McNabb for game two against the Avalanche, as today’s list had no changes. Vegas was run out of the building in game one and could use the veteran defenseman to help slow down the Colorado attack. McNabb last played on May 24 however, so could actually need some time to get back to speed once he is removed from the protocol.
St. Louis Blues Sign Keean Washkurak
The St. Louis Blues have signed prospect Keean Washkurak ahead of today’s deadline, inking the young forward to a three-year entry-level contract. Washkurak appears to be an oversight on CapFriendly’s list of expiring draft rights, as his also would have expired if not signed today given he was selected out of the OHL in 2019. The confusion likely comes from Washkurak spending most of this season with HK Levice of the Slovakian league, but a return to North America and the AHL last month on an amateur tryout would have put his timeline back on its original track.
Washkurak, 19, scored 19 points in 21 games overseas but was more notable for his physicality. He led the league in penalty minutes with 110 in the regular season and added another 26 in the playoffs. Even though he stands at just 5’10”, Washkurak has always been known for his ability to “play bigger,” being compared to 6’5″ power forwards for his strength and fearlessness.
Originally selected in the fifth round, he recorded 52 points in 49 games for the Mississauga Steelheads in 2019-20 and will try to continue his offensive development in the Blues’ system. He’ll turn 20 later this summer and can go right to the AHL next year, after getting into three games with the Utica Comets down the stretch.
Karel Plasek Signs Entry-Level Contract
As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have come in under the wire with a contract for prospect Karel Plasek. The deal will keep Plasek from becoming an unrestricted free agent later today when his draft rights would have expired. The three-year entry-level contract will start next season and brings the Czech forward into the organization after an eye-opening season for Brno Kometa.
Plasek, 20, is expected to report to Abbotsford next season according to Thomas Drance of The Athletic, who notes that it is his hockey IQ that the Canucks are excited about. The young forward has been playing at the highest level in the Czech Republic for several seasons, recording 10 points in 44 games Brno this year. It’s not that he is expected to be an offensive leader in Vancouver, but a valuable depth player that can move around the lineup.
Obviously, that’s a far-fetched dream at this point, given how much development he still needs, but if Vancouver is going to really turn the ship around they’ll need to start producing their own homegrown bottom-six talent instead of paying for it on the open market. Plasek is exactly the type of prospect that can turn into that, but the organization and player have work to do in the coming years to get him there.
Florida Panthers Re-Sign Kevin Connauton
The Florida Panthers have re-signed one of their depth defenders, inking Kevin Connauton to a one-year, two-way contract. PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry an $825K cap hit in the NHL with a $300K AHL salary and a total guarantee of $350K. Panthers GM Bill Zito released a short statement on the deal:
Kevin is a veteran defenseman who provided our club with invaluable stability and leadership both on and off the ice. We’re pleased to have him return to our defensive corps for the 2021-22 season.
Connauton, 31, was signed by the Panthers on the first day of this season, after spending last year almost entirely in the minor leagues. Though he played just four games during the regular season with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20, he ended up suiting up four times for them in the postseason. This year for Florida was much of the same, though he didn’t even get to play in the AHL, instead spending most of the year as a taxi squad extra. The veteran defender played just seven games, recording a single point.
Still, bringing back a defenseman that can do a little bit of everything and has over 300 games of NHL experience is never a bad thing, as long as the price is right. In Connauton’s case, the two-way deal certainly indicates a positive cost-value equation for the Panthers. Even if he doesn’t see much action in 2021-22, he’s a nice piece to have in case of injury.
Jacob De La Rose Returning To Sweden
It certainly hasn’t been the NHL career that many envisioned for Jacob de La Rose when the Montreal Canadiens selected him 34th overall in 2013. A big, physical center that had already played at a high level in Sweden as a teenager, de La Rose’s offensive game was supposed to mature and develop in North America. It never did, with his best offensive year coming in the AHL when he scored 31 points in 62 games for the St. John’s IceCaps. In his 242 NHL games, split between the Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues, the 6’3″ forward registered just 38 points. Now, as restricted free agency approaches for the final time, de La Rose is going back home.
The 26-year-old has signed a three-year contract with Farjestad BK in the SHL, meaning that even if the Blues qualify him this summer, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent by the time this deal expires. It’s hard to even envision him returning to the NHL at this point, given how rarely he was given more than fourth-line minutes throughout his career. Through those 242 games he has averaged fewer than 12 minutes a night, and that is skewed heavily by his usage early on. Unless an offensive explosion happens in Sweden, this may be the last you hear of de La Rose on this side of the pond.
If that’s the case, it is just another poor outcome for a player selected high by the Canadiens in the mid-2010s. de La Rose followed first-round pick Michael McCarron in 2013, with Zach Fucale coming two picks later. In 2014 it was Nikita Scherbak and Brett Lernout with the first two picks, and in 2015 Noah Juulsen and Lukas Vejdemo were the team’s top two selections. Amazingly, it’s perhaps 2014 seventh-round pick Jake Evans that will make the biggest impact from those three classes (honorable mention to Artturi Lehkonen), after his strong performance as a two-way player this season.
Ottawa Senators Sign Viktor Lodin
The Ottawa Senators have inked a prospect just ahead of the deadline today, signing Viktor Lodin to a two-year entry-level contract. Lodin would have become an unrestricted free agent later this afternoon had he not signed, but the Senators obviously convinced him to join the organization. Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion released a statement:
Viktor gained significant professional experience by playing an integral role in Timra’s championship win last season. A bit of a late bloomer in that he was drafted as a 19-year-old, he’s a big forward who can play either centre or wing and possesses high-end skill with a raw ability to score.
Lodin, 21, was the 94th overall selection in 2019, picked out of the SHL. There were high hopes given his place at the highest level in Sweden as a teenager, but things didn’t go quite as smoothly in his post-draft season and he ended up spending half the year in the Allsvenskan (second tier). This year he was back there with Timra, but his offense exploded with 40 points in 47 games, helping the club secure promotion once again. If that kind of breakout can be maintained, the Senators have added another forward prospect to a system that is overflowing at this point.
In fact, the team already has 34 contracts signed for next season with 14 pending restricted free agents on the books. If all of them are retained, the team is coming awfully close to the 50-contract limit already. With that in mind, Ottawa will become an interesting team to watch navigate the offseason as they try to improve the young core they’ve built and start to compete for the playoffs.
Pittsburgh Penguins Permit Jim Rutherford To Interview Elsewhere
If there was a free agent market for front office executives, a Hall of Famer just became a UFA. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins have given teams permission to speak with Jim Rutherford before his contract expires later this month. As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote yesterday, there are no current general manager vacancies in the league, but Rutherford could be a fit in a different role.
After resigning from his position with the Penguins earlier this year, Rutherford’s name has been routinely brought up by insiders speculating on his next move. It has always seemed likely that he would return in some fashion, though it’s not clear if he’ll be taking over the day-to-day work of a GM or joining an organization in a president role. It’s also not clear which teams have spoken to him at this point.
Even if you disagree with some of his moves, it’s hard to see Rutherford as anything other than a legend in the sport. A three-time Stanley Cup winner as an executive, he has been a GM in the league since 1994. Known as a risktaker and willing trade partner, there have been some wild deals swung by Rutherford over the years. Even some of the moves that were lambasted at first, like acquiring Mike Matheson this past offseason, end up turning out okay in the end. That’s not to say he is infallible, but a team looking for stability in its front office could do much worse than bringing in someone with decades of experience.
Nashville Predators Sign Juuso Parssinen
June 1: The Predators have officially announced the deal, confirming the three-year, entry-level contract.
May 29: The Nashville Predators have reportedly come to terms with an upstart forward prospect. Contract resources CapFriendly and PuckPedia both reports that the club and 20-year-old forward prospect Juuso Parssinen have agreed to the required three-year entry-level contract beginning in 2021-22 and carrying a $850,833 cap hit. The alleged contract breakdown is as follows:
- 2021-22: $750K base salary + $92.5K signing bonus and $82.5K games played bonus
- 2022-23: $750K base salary + $92.5K signing bonus and $82.5K games played bonus
- 2022-23: $775K base salary + $92.5K signing bonus and $57.5K games played bonus
Parssinen has improved by leaps and bounds since being selected by the Predators in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft. Picked 210th overall, Parssinen was just eight selections away from going undrafted altogether. However, Nashville has to be glad they used a late-round flier on the Finnish product. Parssinen had played only seven games in the Liiga, Finland’s top pro level, and had recorded just one point when he was selected by the Predators. The following season, that production climbed to 12 points in 31 Liiga games, while Parssinen also enjoyed his best per-game scoring season at the U-20 junior level. And this season? The young center played exclusively in the Liiga to the tune of a whopping 42 points in 55 games, good enough for second on TPS in scoring and even earning him an alternate captain role despite his young age. He also added four points in seven games for Team Finland at the World Junior Championship, holding is own playing with and against elite NHL prospects.
While Parssinen’s scoring progression in Finland is enough to get Predators fans’ attention, they may not want to get too excited. Although Parssinen is now officially under contract, he also just signed a two-year extension with TPS back in February. That could mean that the promising young pivot remains overseas on loan for at least one, if not two years. However, when Parssinen does finally arrive in Nashville he will be that much more polished a player. At about 6’3″ and 200 pounds, there is also little concern about him adjusting to the bigger, stronger, more aggressive North American game.
If a late seventh-round pick with net front presence and leadership ability drafted out of Scandinavia who surprises with his impressive European production sounds familiar to Predators fans, it should. In many ways, Parssinen’s path to this point mirrors that of former Nashville star Patric Hornqvist, the 230th pick in 2005 out of Sweden’s Djurgardens IF. If Parssinen has the chance to even come close to making the impact on the organization that Hornvist did, perhaps it isn’t too early for fans to get excited.