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Minor Transactions: Kempe, Novak, Berger

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Former Coyotes forward Mario Kempe is continuing his career overseas on a one-year contract with Austria’s EC-KAC, the club announced.

The older brother of top Kings winger Adrian Kempe is entering his 18th professional season, the vast majority of which were spent in Europe. Now 36, he was a fifth-round pick of the Flyers back in 2007 but only played five games for their AHL affiliate in 2008-09 before returning overseas. His only NHL experience came later in his career with Arizona, recording a 6-7–13 scoring line in 70 games across the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Injuries have diminished the once-effective scorer in recent years. He spent last season in Finland with Tappara, scoring 11 points in 30 games for the Liiga club. He now joins EC-KAC in the ICEHL – still a major pro league in Europe, but not at the level of the KHL, SHL, Liiga, or Swiss NL. He’s spent most of his career in his native Sweden, recording 56 goals and 115 points in 328 career SHL games for Djurgårdens IF, MODO Hockey, Rögle BK, and Luleå HF.

More moves from around the hockey world:

  • The Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, announced today they’ve signed forward Jakov Novak to a one-year deal. He spent the last two years in the Canadiens organization on minor-league deals with AHL Laval and ECHL Trois-Rivières. He was over a point-per-game for the latter club last season (57 in 53 GP) en route to a Kelly Cup championship. The 26-year-old winger was a 2018 seventh-round pick of the Senators but had his signing rights later traded to Montreal, which never signed him to an NHL deal.
  • The Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are signing left-shot defender Carter Berger, Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports. Berger, 25, was a fourth-round pick by the Panthers in 2019 but never signed. He spent his first pro season last year under contract with AHL Hartford but played almost exclusively on assignment to ECHL Bloomington, where he had an 8-25–33 scoring line with a -7 rating in 67 games.

Mammoth’s Caleb Desnoyers Has Wrist Surgery, Out Three Months

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Mammoth center Caleb Desnoyers, whom they selected fourth overall in this year’s draft, has undergone successful wrist surgery, the team announced Thursday. He’ll be sidelined for approximately 12 weeks while recovering, keeping him out of training camp and delaying his season debut until early November.

Whether that debut comes in the NHL with Utah or back with the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats remains to be seen, but it’ll likely be the latter. Desnoyers wasn’t viewed as a likely selection to make the jump to the NHL in his post-draft season anyway, and a lack of training camp time to show he can hang with the big guns definitely won’t help his case.

Desnoyers has been dealing with wrist issues for nearly a year. He declined to participate in pre-draft combine testing after playing through injuries to both of his wrists since November, he told Scott Wheeler of The Athletic back in June.

While his initial MRI indicated he would be able to rehab his wrist issues without surgery – an assessment Mammoth general manager Bill Armstrong concurred with, per Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune – something’s changed in the last several weeks. If his subsequent recovery goes to plan, though, it won’t take too big a bite out of a pivotal point in his development.

More of a cerebral-type center with decent size and some room still to grow into his 6’2″ frame, Desnoyers was among the most decorated players in the QMJHL last season. After recording 84 points and a +51 rating in 56 games for the Wildcats, he was named the league’s Best Professional Prospect, their Personality of the Year, and was included on the league-wide First All-Star Team at season’s end. The St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, native also added 30 points in 19 postseason games en route to a league championship, leading the playoffs with 21 assists and earning MVP honors.

Desnoyers is the highest-drafted player out of the QMJHL since the Rangers took Alexis Lafrenière first overall in 2020. While he may need an additional year of runway, the Mammoth are likely anticipating him joining them full-time for the 2026-27 season to complement an expertly constructed young center corps already headlined by Logan Cooley.

Flyers Believe Tyson Foerster Will Be Ready For Opening Night

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Flyers general manager Daniel Brière believes winger Tyson Foerster “should be ready for the season,” he told Bill Meltzer of NHL.com and Hockey Hot Stove.

Foerster had an elbow surgery earlier in the offseason aimed at addressing an infection he developed following an injury sustained while playing for Canada at the World Championship. Brière told Meltzer that “everything looks good right now” in terms of Foerster’s recovery, signaling the results of his reported follow-up MRI in late July were promising.

That knowledge may have played a small part in their joint decision to have 2025 top pick Porter Martone make the jump to NCAA hockey with Michigan State this season instead of having him compete for an NHL job in camp. A Foerster absence in camp and at the beginning of the regular season would have opened up another opportunity for one of the Flyers’ myriad young wingers to get a taste of NHL action, but if the team is anticipating him being available, that’s a top-six job they no longer need to worry about for the first few weeks of the year.

Getting a healthy Foerster out of the gate is a crucial step toward any postseason hopes the Flyers have. The 23-year-old is fresh off a career-high 25-goal season – second on Philly last year behind star rookie Matvei Michkov – and signed a two-year, $7.5MM extension in May to keep him away from restricted free agency. He’ll be penciled into a top-six role, which could be on a line with captain Sean Couturier or offseason trade pickup Trevor Zegras if he’s deployed down the middle.

Panthers Sign Mike Benning To Two-Way Contract

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The Panthers have signed RFA defenseman Mike Benning, according to a team release. The deal is a two-way pact, although financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Benning remains in the Florida organization after spending his first two professional seasons with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers while he played out his entry-level contract. While he missed nearly 20 games last season due to injury, he upped his offensive production to 23 assists and 32 points in 54 games after posting 26 points in 72 games in his rookie season for Charlotte. That wasn’t enough to get him an NHL call-up, though, and he became an RFA this summer without a top-level game to his name.

As a 10.2(c) player with fewer than three years of professional experience, Benning was ineligible to sign an offer sheet or to request an arbitration hearing upon receiving a qualifying offer in June. He was locked into a new deal with the Panthers as a result, one that presumably includes a raise over the $80K minors salary dictated by his ELC and maintains his waiver-exempt status for one more season.

A fourth-round pick by the Cats in 2020, Benning always faced an uphill battle for NHL minutes because of his 5’9″, 176-lb frame. Despite that, he was a dominant two-way threat in college at the University of Denver. His standout sophomore season in 2021-22 saw him record a 15-23–38 scoring line with a +32 rating in 41 appearances. Not only did he help the Pioneers to an NCAA championship, but he was also named the MVP of the national tournament. He recorded 34 points in 39 games the following season to be named the NCHC’s best offensive defenseman before turning pro with the Panthers in 2023.

Because of his underwhelming frame, he’ll need to become an undeniable offensive force at the minor-league level to sniff an NHL role. While he’s steadily improved since making his pro debut, that hasn’t quite happened yet. Today’s deal gives him another year of runway and ideally at least one call-up opportunity to prove he could at least be effective as a power-play specialist.

The Panthers have now filled 45 of their 50 contract slots for 2025-26. They have no other unsigned RFAs remaining, at least among players who haven’t already agreed to contracts overseas.

Morning Notes: Hutson, Papaioannou, Rodrigue

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Extension talks between the Canadiens and pending 10.2(c) RFA Lane Hutson are still in their preliminary stages but have been “very amicable,” sources tell RG’s Marco D’Amico.

D’Amico deep dives into a couple of peculiarities impacting Hutson’s next deal, the first of which is his inability to receive an offer sheet next summer due to his lack of professional experience. That takes significant pressure off the Canadiens to rush things with the reigning Calder Trophy winner while also somewhat limiting Hutson’s leverage to command north of $10MM per season on a mid-to-long-term deal, as some have speculated.

After erupting for 60 assists and 66 points in all 82 games in his first crack at the NHL, Hutson will be up for his first standard contract at just 22 years old with five years of team control remaining. That means a long-term deal may not be in the cards – a four-year contract would give them one more try at negotiating with Hutson under team control and would allow him to land a payday at age 26 amid his peak.

That could result in a more conservative cap hit in the $8.8MM to $9.5MM range when an extension does get done eventually, D’Amico writes, citing other 10.2(c) comparables in the past few years like Brock Faber, Quinn Hughes, and Jake Sanderson. They’re also likely keeping talks quiet until another 10.2(c) RFA defenseman, Luke Hughes, signs his next deal with the Devils to give Hutson’s camp a more recent comparable to work with.

More from around hockey today:

  • The ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers have named Ryan Papaioannou as their new head coach, their NHL parent Penguins announced. Papaioannou, 41, had been the GM and head coach of the junior ’A’ Brooks Bandits since 2009-10, spending nearly all of that time in the Alberta Junior Hockey League until they moved to the British Columbia Hockey League last season. He guided the Bandits to five AJHL titles, one BCHL title, and won AJHL Coach of the Year honors three times (2013, 2019, 2022). He succeeds Derek Army, who left to become an assistant coach with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, as Pittsburgh’s second-tier affiliate bench boss.
  • Former Oilers depth netminder Olivier Rodrigue has signed a one-year contract with Kazakhstan’s Barys Astana in the KHL, per a club announcement. The 25-year-old had spent the last five years in Edmonton’s system, primarily with AHL Bakersfield, but was not given a qualifying offer this summer following a tough campaign. He was limited to a .897 SV%, 3.12 GAA, and an 18-16-8 record in 41 showings for Bakersfield. He also made his NHL debut, allowing four goals on 29 shots across one start and one relief appearance.

League Notes: Berglund, Brazeau, Gorges

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In an effort to strengthen the team’s depth chart and offer lineup flexibility for new head coach Dan Muse, Pittsburgh Penguins GM Kyle Dubas signed forward Justin Brazeau to a low-key, two-year, $3MM contract this offseason. Brazeau, in turn, is looking to build on the confidence he’s developed over the past few seasons, per team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.

Brazeau, 27, made the most of his first full NHL season last year. In 57 games for the Boston Bruins, the 6’6″, 220-pound winger averaged 12:58 of ice time per night and produced 10 goals and 20 points. He was then flipped to the Minnesota Wild in March, but couldn’t find similar offensive production, posting just two points in 19 games. Still, he finished the season with career highs across the board, including games played (76), goals (11), points (22), hits (123), and blocked shots (38). After bouncing around the ECHL and AHL for much of his pro career, Brazeau is looking to continue to build on his growth from last season.

“With every game, every day in the NHL, I think my confidence has kind of started to build and grow, getting adjusted to the speed of the game and the timings and stuff like that,” Brazeau said. “So, I don’t think it’s any one thing in particular. I think it’s just kind of that confidence and knowing that you belong in this league and you can be a good player.”

Brazeau, whom Dubas originally signed to his first pro contract during their time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, seems to fit the type of player the Penguins targeted this offseason. While it’s still unclear what head coach Dan Muse’s system will emphasize, the organization has clearly prioritized adding size and physicality to the lineup. Alongside Brazeau, Pittsburgh also brought in physically imposing players like forward Anthony Mantha and defensemen Connor Clifton and Alexander Alexeyev. The team also re-signed depth forward Bokondji Imama, who racked up 45 hits and 30 penalty minutes in just 16 games last season.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The World Junior Summer Showcase (WJSS) recently wrapped up, and several prospects impressed on the international stage, including Philadelphia Flyers 2024 second-round pick Jack Berglund. As team reporter Bill Meltzer outlines, the 19-year-old native of Sweden produced seven points in five WJSS games, which included two even-strength goals and two power-play goals. Berglund, who already stands at 6’2″, 210 pounds, also showcased a physical brand of hockey and mixed it up several times against Team USA and Team Finland. A center with strong defensive grades, Berglund spent most of last season playing with Färjestad BK of the SHL, Sweden’s top professional league. He posted just three points in 17 games, but served as one of the youngest members of the team. With a solid showing at the WJSS and his North American pro debut on the horizon, Berglund will be a player to watch for the Flyers.
  • NHL veteran and alum Josh Gorges has been added to the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets coaching staff, per a team release. Gorges, 40, appeared in 783 games over 13 NHL seasons, and most recently laced it up with the Buffalo Sabres during the 2017-18 season. The rugged defender produced over 1,500 blocked shots and 1,000 hits during his career, which included stops in San Jose, Montreal, and Buffalo. In the late 2000s, Gorges was a staple in the Habs lineup, appearing in 80 or more games on three different occasions. The announcement is a bit of a homecoming for Gorges, as he played four seasons with Kelowna from 2000-2004.

Snapshots: Belleville, Lightning, Tullio, AHL

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In the wake of groundbreaking news regarding a new NHL arena, the Ottawa Senators have also announced a three-year extension of the Belleville Senators’ lease agreement with Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre. The deal additionally includes the option to extend for an additional five years, effectively gluing the AHL Senators to Belleville until between 2030 and 2035.

Ottawa will make a confident move to keep their AHL club just a few hours away. This news comes despite the fact that Belleville has ranked in the bottom-three of AHL attendance in each of the last two seasons, with an average of 2,823 fans each game per HockeyDB. Belleville did come closer to 3,000 fans per game this season, and will look to cross that mark with a new commitment to the city.

Their one-ice performances have fluctuated in their eight years of existence. The Baby Sens have made the postseason only twice, though they did finish first and third in their division in 2020 and 2021, when the postseason was either cancelled early or outright. The club has shown glimmers of hope, and should only improve as Ottawa continues to stack their depth chart.

Other quick notes from across the NHL:

  • In more arena news, the Tampa Bay Lightning have announced a new name for their home base shares Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. The arena formerly known as AMALIE Arena will now be named Benchmark International Arena, after naming rights were sold to the Tampa-based acquisitions firm. Details of the sale were not revealed, other than that it will run for multiple years and include $3MM in nonprofit contributions to the arena. Amalie Motor Oil Company, who held the naming rights since 2014, will continue to serve as a corporate partner of the Lightning.
  • Right winger Tyler Tullio will continue his journey across the AHL. He has signed a contract with the Tuscon Roadrunners for next season, per Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey. Tullio was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in 2024, as part of the deal that swapped top prospect Matthew Savoie for pro center Ryan McLeod. He spent 30 games with the Rochester Americans, before being loaned to the Calgary Wranglers for the rest of the season. He totaled 15 points in 43 games this season, just narrowly below the scoring pace he managed when he scored 21 points in 54 games in 2023-24, or 26 points in 63 games in 2022-23, with the Bakersfield Condors. Tullio was a fifth-round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft and should provide a nice boost of speed to Tuscon’s lineup.
  • The AHL has named Stephen Thomson as their new Vice President of Hockey Operations, per NHL.com’s Mark Divver. Divver adds that Thomson will be responsible for overseeing on-ice operations, including management of officials and disciplinary processes. Thomson has been with the AHL’s league office since 2022. He will replace Hayley Moore, who left for a role with popular agency Quartexx Management. The AHL also announced that Jeff Jordan has been hired as the Director of Hockey Operations and Central Registry after spending the last five years with the Springfield Thunderbirds. The league has also promoted Michael Demarin to Senior Manager of Hockey Administration and Governance; and Shannon Chiras to Manager of Hockey Operations.

Kraken Hire Zac Dalpe, Adam Purner To Development Team

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The Seattle Kraken have announced two late-summer hires. Recently retired pro Zac Dalpe will join the club as a Player Development Consultant, and Adam Purner will take on the role of Video Analyst, in the 2025-26 season. Dalpe played through over 15 years between the NHL and AHL lineups, while Purner has spent the last three seasons as the video coach for the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Dalpe will waste no time in continuing his career in the hockey world, as he lands this role just over a month after announcing the end of his playing days. He was once a top center prospect, originally drafted in the second-round of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. Dalpe followed his draft with two seasons at The Ohio State University, where he emerged as a key part of the offense – netting 70 points in 76 games before turning pro in 2010. He seemed to be set for much of the same success at the pro flight, with 64 points in his first 70 games in the AHL.

But Dalpe struggled to maintain his scoring into the NHL flight. His career was defined by lofty scoring in the minors, but minimal scoring in the majors. Despite that, the reliable center was able to work his way to 168 appearances at the NHL level over the course of 12 seasons. He played with six clubs over that period, including four years in Carolina’s pipeline and three years with Columbus. He totaled 32 points in those appearances. Dalpe’s spot starts in the NHL were rounded out by an impressive 392 points in 574 games, and 15 seasons, in the AHL. He was a true pillar of any lineup he joined, and spent the last six seasons of his career serving as a team captain – broken up as two years wearing the Cleveland Monsters ’C’, and four years leading the Charlotte Checkers.

Dalpe’s career was defined not by lofty stats or many accolades, but instead true year-over-year reliability and a willingness to fill any role his teams needed. He’ll now use those attributes to support Seattle’s young guns as they ramp into the NHL.

Joining Dalpe will be acclaimed video coach Purner, who supported the Hershey Bears in their run to Calder Cup Championships in two of the last three seasons. Purner’s career began with five seasons as the video coach for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. He followed that stint with two years in a minor-league role with the New Jersey Devils’ organization, split between one year with the Binghamton Devils and one year with the Utica Comets. Purner will now receive his first NHL opportunity just a few hours away from where his career began.

Bruins’ James Hagens To Return To Boston College

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Boston Bruins top prospect James Hagens has announced he will return to Boston College for his sophomore season. In a brief interview with Scott McLaughlin of Boston’s WEEI 93.7, Hagens shared that he’s in no rush to advance to the next step, acknowledging that development is a, “marathon, not a sprint”. Hagens revealed the news while participating at the Bruins’ 14th annual back-to-school celebration, alongside current Bruins Mason Lohrei and John Beecher.

Few announcements will shake the college scene as much as the news of Hagens’ return. He was among the best freshmen in college last season, tracking to 37 points in 37 games. That scoring earned him a unanimous selection to Hockey East’s All-Rookie team – an accolade he shared with teammate Teddy Stiga and Boston University rival Cole Hutson. Hagens reached those heights while filling an interesting role with the Eagles, stepping in between wingers Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard after the two spent their last three years centered by San Jose Sharks prospect Will Smith.

Each of Perreault, Leonard, and Hagens scored fewer points than the Eagles’ top-line managed in 2023-24, though it seemed that was more the cause of a low-scoring year across Hockey East. The top unit recorded points on 36 percent of BC’s goals this season, an ever-so-slight improvement over the 34 percent contributed by Smith, Leonard, and Perreault in 2024.

But while Hagens faced questions of his scoring upside relative to other top draft-eligible talents in the NCAA, it was hard not to be impressed by his on-ice results. He’s long been a dynamo among his age group, with an innate ability to predict movement and put himself in position to make a play. Hagens is strong on the puck – with an ability to use finesse moves and bulky shoulders to force his way into the dangerous areas of the ice. More than that, he showed clear signs of improvement as the year went on – developing his physical presence and ability to make a difference even when he wasn’t the first man in on a play.

Those signs of growth give Boston a prospect to be excited over. Hagens was lauded as the clear first-overall talent in the 2025 draft class, prior to the beginning of the 2024-25 season. Much of that claim came from his command of the U.S. NTDP over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, where he served as the team’s top-line center and snappy playmaker next to electric goal-scorer Cole Eiserman. With Eiserman’s help, Hagens was able to become the fifth-highest scoring player in NTDP history, with 187 points in 118 games. He also set the scoring record at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in 2023, with 21 points in seven games, and the World U18 Championship in 2024, with 22 points in seven games.

Hagens will be returning to a fresh-faced Boston College lineup next season. Both Leonard and Perreault signed their NHL entry-level contracts at the end of last season, leaving the Eagles with vacancies on both wings on their top-line. One of those spots will be occupied by Stiga, who has shown years of chemistry playing next to Hagens. The other spot will be closely contested, but could land in the hands of transfer forward Ryan Conmy, or fellow Bruins draft pick William Moore. Hagens and Moore will be two of six Bruins prospects on next year’s Eagles squad, providing local fans with plenty of reasons to walk to Conte Forum when the puck drops.

Patrick Thoresen Announces Retirement

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Former Edmonton Oilers forward Patrick Thoresen has announced his retirement from professional hockey, via a social media post from the SHL’s Djurgårdens IF. Thoresen has spent the last 17 years marching around European pro leagues. He has played with teams in four different countries, and eight different leagues, in that span. Now, after winning a HockeyAllsvenskan championship with Djurgårdens last season, the 41-year-old left-winger has decided to hang up his skates.

Thoresen’s history in the NHL is rather brief. He went undrafted through eligibility in the 2002, 2003, and 2004 NHL Drafts – falling through a combined 27 rounds in the old nine-round format – despite recording a combined 191 points in 131 QMJHL games during his draft-eligible years. Thoresen returned to Europe for in the 2003-04 season and quickly stood out as a pro. He scored 41 points in 38 games in Sweden’s top minor league, then continued to produce for Djurgårdens in the SHL (then the SEL) with a combined 50 points in 80 games over the next two seasons.

The strong performances in Sweden were enough to catch the eye of the Edmonton Oilers, who signed Thorsen to his first NHL contract in May of 2006. He was a major standout during the team’s 2006-07 training camp and earned a spot on the opening night roster. But he struggled to maintain the momentum into his first NHL season, and recorded just 16 points and 52 penalty minutes in 68 games of his rookie season. He returned to Edmonton in the next year, but was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers mid-season after scoring just three points in 17 games with the Oilers. He added five more points in 21 games with the Flyers – a slowdown that seemed to clearly paint a mismatch between Thoresen’s style and the NHL. His action with the Oilers and Flyers was intercut by 34 games and 32 points in the AHL.

With two years of struggles behind him, Thoresen opted to return to Europe via a move to Lugano of the Swiss National League in 2008. He instantly bounced back to form, recording 63 points and 48 games of the 2008-09 season, then signing with the KHL’s Ufa Salavat in the following summer. Thoresen maintained his point-per-game scoring in Russia, and served as a crucial piece of Ufa’s run to the league championship in 2011 – the most recent title-win in club history. He moved to SKA following his championship run, continued to score, and eventually led SKA to their own championship run in 2015. In total, Thoresen managed 358 points in 375 games in the KHL between 2009 and 2015.

The next three seasons were spent in one-year stops with Djurgårdens, Zurich SC, and SKA – before Thoresen opted to become the face of the Norwegian league in 2018. He continued on through various levels of Norwegian pros until this past season, when he returned to Djurgårdens to support their surge back to the SHL. With 41 points in 48 games from Thoresen, Djurgårdens was able to lean on a long-time veteran in their push to a league promotion.

Thoresen was a fixture of Norway’s Men’s roster from 2003 to 2025. He appeared with the team in every year, even through international moves, and has served as one of the club’s captains since 2012. Like he did in every league he played in, Thoresen emerged as a star scorer for the Norway squad, and even recorded five points in three games of this year’s Olympic Games Qualifiers, at the age of 40. He retires as Norway’s leader in goals (47) and points-per-game (0.98) through 131 international games.

Thoresen will hang his skates up with a strong bid for being the greatest Norwegian pro of all time. His accomplishments spanned borders, and include two championships in the KHL, two in Norway, one in the HockeyAllsvenskan, and a former SHL MVP award. While he’ll move on from his playing career, it’s hard to imagine a veteran of more than 20 pro seasons will stay away for long.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports.

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