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Canadiens Hire Pascal Vincent As AHL Head Coach

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According to a club announcement, the Canadiens have named Pascal Vincent as the next head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. Vincent’s appointment comes nearly a month after he was fired as head coach of the Blue Jackets.

Vincent, 52, returns to a minor-league head coaching role after spending the last three seasons behind the Columbus bench. After being brought on as an associate coach ahead of the 2021-22 season, he was promoted to head coach shortly before the 2023-24 season due to Mike Babcock’s abrupt resignation following an NHLPA investigation. Under Vincent, the Blue Jackets remained rather hapless, limping to a 27-43-12 record and their second straight season with fewer than 30 wins.

But Vincent has a more comfortable track record of success in the AHL, where he served as head coach of the Jets’ affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, from 2016-17 to 2020-21. With the Moose, Vincent took home the AHL’s Coach of the Year Award in 2017-18 after guiding them to a 42-26-8 record, their third-best in franchise history.

Vincent is no stranger to the Montreal/Laval market. He was born in Laval and served as the general manager and head coach of the QMJHL’s Montreal Juniors from 2008-09 to 2010-11. The Canadiens were on the hunt for a new head coach for the Rocket after Jean-François Houle, who they signed to a multi-year extension in May, left the club to take over as head coach of Clarkson University.

List Of Expiring Qualifying Offers

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July 16: Beckman (NJD), Coe (SJS), Heinola (WPG), LaCombe (ANA), Nesterenko (ANA), Robertson (NYR) and Søgaard (OTT) signed new contracts yesterday. Everyone else remains an RFA, but their qualifying offers have expired.

July 15: The deadline for remaining RFAs to sign their qualifying offers is 4 p.m. CT today. If a player doesn’t sign their qualifying offer, the team that owns their signing rights still has first right of refusal or draft choice compensation should they sign an offer sheet with another team, but a guaranteed offer is no longer on the table from their current team. Teams can extend QOs past today’s deadline on a case-by-case basis if they notify the player in writing. Players who are 10.2(c) RFAs or those who have filed for arbitration are ineligible to sign offer sheets.

Each player’s qualifying offer cost is in parentheses. The cost is calculated based on the player’s actual salary, not cap hit, in 2023-24. A specific breakdown can be found over at PuckPedia. All QOs are one-year deals.

Even if a player has already signed overseas or in another league, their qualifying offer is technically still active until this afternoon’s deadline.

Anaheim Ducks

D Jackson LaCombe ($874,125) 10.2(c)
F Nikita Nesterenko ($874,125) 10.2(c)

Boston Bruins

F Marc McLaughlin ($813,750)
G Jeremy Swayman ($3.475MM)

Buffalo Sabres

F Peyton Krebs ($874,125)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ($971,250) filed for arbitration
F Beck Malenstyn ($813,750) filed for arbitration

Calgary Flames

F Adam Klapka ($813,750)
D Yan Kuznetsov ($866,250)
D Nikita Okhotyuk ($813,750)
F Jakob Pelletier ($874,125)
F Cole Schwindt ($874,125)
D Ilya Solovyov ($813,750)
G Dustin Wolf ($813,750)

Carolina Hurricanes

F Jack Drury ($874,125) filed for arbitration
F Seth Jarvis ($874,125)
F Martin Nečas ($3.5MM) filed for arbitration

Chicago Blackhawks

D Louis Crevier ($813,750) 10.2(c)
D Isaak Phillips ($840,000)

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Kent Johnson ($874,125) 10.2(c)
F Kirill Marchenko ($874,125) filed for arbitration
F Cole Sillinger ($874,125)

Dallas Stars

D Thomas Harley ($874,125)

Detroit Red Wings

F Jonatan Berggren ($874,125)
F Lucas Raymond ($874,125)
D Moritz Seider ($874,125)
F Joe Veleno ($866,250) filed for arbitration

Edmonton Oilers

D Philip Broberg ($874,125)
F Dylan Holloway ($874,125)

Los Angeles Kings

F Quinton Byfield ($874,125)
F Arthur Kaliyev ($874,125)
G Erik Portillo ($826,875)
D Jordan Spence ($813,750)

Minnesota Wild

F Graeme Clarke ($813,750)

Montreal Canadiens

D Justin Barron ($874,125)
D Arber Xhekaj ($813,750)

Nashville Predators

D Marc Del Gaizo ($813,750)
F Juuso Pärssinen ($813,750)
D Spencer Stastney ($874,125) filed for arbitration
F Philip Tomasino ($874,125)
D Adam Wilsby ($813,750)

New Jersey Devils

F Adam Beckman ($874,125)
G Nico Daws ($813,750)
F Nolan Foote ($874,125)
D Santeri Hatakka ($813,750)
F Dawson Mercer ($874,125)

New York Islanders

D Dennis Cholowski ($813,750)
F Simon Holmström ($874,125)
F Ruslan Iskhakov ($813,750)
F Oliver Wahlstrom ($917,831) filed for arbitration

New York Rangers

F Karl Henriksson ($874,125)
D Ryan Lindgren ($3.6MM) filed for arbitration
D Matthew Robertson ($840,000)

Ottawa Senators

G Kevin Mandolese ($813,750)
G Mads Søgaard ($874,125)
D Lassi Thomson ($874,125)

San Jose Sharks

F Egor Afanasyev ($813,750)
F Thomas Bordeleau ($874,125) 10.2(c)
F Brandon Coe ($813,750)
D Henry Thrun ($874,125) 10.2(c)

Seattle Kraken

F Matthew Beniers ($874,125)
D Peetro Seppälä ($813,750)

St. Louis Blues

F Mikhail Abramov ($813,750)
F Nikita Alexandrov ($874,125)

Tampa Bay Lightning

G Hugo Alnefelt ($813,750)
F Waltteri Merela ($813,750)

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Connor Dewar ($892,500) filed for arbitration
F Nicholas Robertson ($813,750)
F Alex Steeves ($813,750)

Utah Hockey Club

D Victor Söderström ($874,125)

Vancouver Canucks

G Arturs Silovs ($813,750)

Vegas Golden Knights

F Ivan Morozov ($874,125)

Winnipeg Jets

D Ville Heinola ($874,125)
D Simon Lundmark ($813,750)
F Cole Perfetti ($874,125)

Overseas Signings: LaDue, Brooks, Reinke

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A few players with NHL games under their belt have headed overseas within the past 24 hours:

  • After nearly breaking out as a roster regular with the Kings before the pandemic, Paul LaDue’s days in the NHL appear to be over. MoDo of the Swedish Hockey League has signed the 31-year-old defenseman to a one-year deal. LaDue is coming off a two-year, two-way deal with the Islanders that was spent entirely on assignment to AHL Bridgeport. The North Dakota native was once a solid puck-mover at the AHL level during his days in the Los Angeles system, but his offense dried up with the Isles, going without a goal and registering only 16 assists combined over 93 games the past two years. LaDue last suited up in the NHL with the Islanders in 2021-22, his lone appearance in a New York sweater. The other 69 of his 70 career NHL games came in L.A., where he scored five times and added 13 assists for 18 points in parts of four seasons.
  • Center/left winger Adam Brooks is heading to Germany on a one-year deal with EHC Munich of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Brooks, 28, heads to Europe for the first time after spending the first seven years of his professional career in North America, primarily in the AHL. Like Ladue, he hasn’t seen NHL ice since 2021-22, instead suiting up for the past two seasons with AHL Lehigh Valley while under contract with the Flyers. Brooks posted 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 43 NHL games for the Canadiens, Golden Knights, Jets and Maple Leafs from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
  • Still in the DEL, Eisbären Berlin has inked right-shot defender Mitch Reinke to a one-year contract. Injuries limited Reinke to just 25 games with AHL Coachella Valley last season after he signed a two-way deal with the Kraken late in the offseason. The 28-year-old has just one NHL game to his name, coming with the Blues back in 2017-18 after they signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech. Since then, the entirety of his pro career has been spent in the AHL, although he did also make one playoff appearance for the Blues in 2021 after spending a good chunk of the COVID-shortened season on the taxi squad. Reinke is a good puck-mover and strong skater and, if healthy, should be able to rehab his value in Germany and potentially earn another NHL contract next summer.

AHL Notes: Checkers, Sonne, Hall

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The Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League have a new controlling interest as the team announced that Zawyer Sports & Entertainment has acquired the majority ownership in the team. The team’s now-former majority owner, Michael Kahn, will remain on as the team’s largest minority owner. Kahn was previously the controlling ownership party since 2006.

It will be Zawyer Sports & Entertainment’s first crack at an AHL franchise as the ownership group already carries a considerable presence in the ECHL. According to the public announcement, the group owns and operates the Jacksonville Icemen, Tahoe Knight Monsters, and the Savannah Ghost Pirates. The team also manages the Allen Americans and the Atlanta Gladiators of the ECHL.

Nothing will change in the day-to-day business operations or the front office of the Checkers per the agreement and the team will still serve as the primary affiliate of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. In regards to the purchase, CEO of Zawyer Sports & Entertainment, Andy Kaufmann said, “The Checkers are a team rich with history and an incredible fan base and we are honored to do our part in making Checkers Nation proud – not just on game days, but all year long in this very special community. We have already made an impact here in the community with Gastonia Baseball, and we are eager to grow our footprint in the region by providing local families with quality entertainment, community outreach and competitive hockey“.

Other AHL notes:

  • With assistant coach Jessica Campbell graduating to the NHL level with the Seattle Kraken — the team’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, was on the search for a new coach. The team ended their search today by announcing the hire of Brennan Sonne as the team’s new assistant coach. Sonne recently earned a remarkable record as head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades for the last three years. Under his tutelage, the team amassed a record of 136-54-13 while reaching two WHL Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
  • It didn’t take Curtis Hall long to find a new home after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Boston Bruins as the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters announced they had signed the young forward to an AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. Hall has spent the last four years with the Bruins organization split between the AHL and the ECHL. It has been difficult for him to factor into games, however, as Hall has scored six goals and 16 points in 124 contests at the game’s highest minor league level.

Islanders Sign Jesse Pulkkinen To Entry-Level Contract

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According to player agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, the New York Islanders have signed Jesse Pulkkinen to a three-year, entry-level contract. Like most signings from the Islanders organization, the deal’s financial terms were not disclosed and likely won’t be until the end of the summer.

Pulkkinen has spent the last five years coming up through the JYP system of the Finnish Liiga; culminating in being selected with the 54th overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. He scored 11 goals and 28 points for JYP’s U20 team in 18 games while also collecting two goals and eight points in 29 games for JYP’s top team in the Liiga. He played in 12 contests for Team Finland’s U20 roster last year and scored four goals and eight points overall.

According to multiple scouting reports for Pulkkinen, the Finnish defenseman has above-average puckhandling skills and is also unafraid to use his body during the play. Pulkkinen regularly used his puckhandling ability to lead the forecheck while using his 6’6″ frame to his advantage against opponents.

There are some criticisms around Pulkkinen’s ability to read the ice and make a good first pass. As a second-year draft-eligible player during the 2024 NHL Draft, Pulkkinen may be several years away from impacting the Islanders’ organization. If his development continues and he can improve upon his weaknesses, there is no question Pulkkinen has the opportunity to crack New York’s top four in the future.

Los Angeles Kings Extend Quinton Byfield

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According to a team announcement, the Los Angeles Kings have signed forward Quinton Byfield to a five-year, $31.25MM contract. The deal will pay the former second-overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft an AAV of $6.25MM and will end after the 2028-29 NHL season.

Shortly after the Kings announced the signing, PuckPedia reported the breakdown of his contract:

2024-25: $775K salary with $5.5MM signing bonus
2025-26: $4MM salary with $3MM signing bonus
2026-27: $4MM salary with $1.5MM signing bonus
2027-28: $6.25MM salary
2028-29: $6.25MM salary (10-team M-NTC clause)

The deal comes as a mid-term agreement between Byfield and the Kings organization which likely gave both sides a little of what they wanted. The Kings will buy up the rest of Byfield’s RFA eligibility and one year of unrestricted free agency at a reasonable price tag while Byfield has set himself up for a long-term agreement heading into his age-27 season.

The first three years of Byfield’s career did not go as planned as the young forward scored eight goals and 33 points in 99 games. Despite the modest production on the scoresheet, Byfield showed an ability to be a physical player at a young age, maturity in the dot with a faceoff percentage of 45.0%, and above-average production in terms of defensive and possession metrics. One of the biggest counterarguments to Byfield’s lack of scoring during the early stages of his career centered around his usage by Los Angeles as he only averaged 13:21 of time per game.

Finally averaging more than 15 minutes a night and thrust into a role in the team’s top six — Byfield had a breakout campaign this past season. The young forward scored 20 goals and 55 points in 80 games while primarily playing next to Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Playing well in the Kings’ defensively sound system, Byfield also achieved a CorsiFor% of 59.4% during the 2023-24 season as well as a 93.2% on-ice save percentage in all situations.

With Kopitar potentially entering the last two years of his career, Byfield may begin to challenge for a center position. Nevertheless, Byfield should continue to be a factor in the team’s top six and will likely continue on the team’s top line. After securing the first 20-goal campaign of his young career — Byfield could become a 30-goal player rather quickly on this new contract.

Dallas Stars Sign Emil Hemming To Entry-Level Contract

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The Dallas Stars have inked their first-round selection of the 2024 NHL Draft as the team announced they have signed winger Emil Hemming to a three-year entry-level contract. The contract is scheduled to start during the 2024-25 NHL season but the Stars organization has not indicated where Hemming will suit up next season.

Hemming is coming off his first professional season with TPS of the Finnish Liiga where he suited up in 40 games and scored seven goals and 11 points. The young forward also spent 13 games with TPS U20 in the U20 SM-sarja where he scored 11 goals and 18 points. Including all the offensive prospects available in the 2024 NHL Draft, Hemming arguably featured the best possible shot from the forward group.

The Vaasa, Finland native was electric on the international stage for Team Finland last year as he scored seven goals and 11 points in nine total contests for Team Finland’s U18 club and posted two goals and eight points in eight games for Team Finland’s U20 roster. Hemming should return to TPS for the 2024-25 season but may feature with the organization’s AHL club in Texas towards the end of next season.

The Stars still have a deep forward group up front for the next couple of years but it is aging. Forwards Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Matt Duchene, and Evgenii Dadonov are well into their 30s and Dallas may have decent timing with Hemming’s eventual debut.

New Jersey Devils Sign Adam Beckman

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The New Jersey Devils have agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with forward Adam Beckman. Beckman will earn the league minimum of $775K in the NHL with a salary of $125K in the AHL ($150K guaranteed).

Beckman was recently acquired from the Minnesota Wild organization in exchange for Graeme Clarke. Beckman spent three professional seasons for the Wild after finishing his major junior career with the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League. He quickly became one of the better point producers with the team’s AHL affiliate in Iowa as he scored 57 goals and 108 points in 181 games.

There is some criticism of Beckman’s play on the defensive side of the puck during his time with the AHL Wild as he finished with a -29 rating in total. Iowa finished top-15 in goals against during the first two years of Beckman’s tenure with the team but finished tied for 29th this past season with the San Diego Gulls.

Beckman did suit up in 23 games for Minnesota over the last three years as an injury replacement but didn’t factor too much as he averaged 10:02 of ice time per game. He still has yet to register his first goal at the NHL level but has collected three assists up to this point.

It’s unlikely that Beckman will start the season in New Jersey as he’s most likely destined for the AHL with the Utica Comets. The Devils improved their forward depth this offseason by bringing in Tomas Tatar, Stefan Noesen, and Paul Cotter which should eliminate space for Beckman to crack the roster. Beckman should likely serve as an injury replacement in New Jersey while adding solid scoring depth to the Comets.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Kevin Mandolese

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The Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche got together on a minor trade today as the Senators announced the team had sent the signing rights to goaltender Kevin Mandolese and a seventh-round pick in 2026 to the Avalanche in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2026. Colorado has also confirmed the trade.

Mandolese will join the second organization of his career after spending his entire professional life with the Senators organization after being selected by the team with the 157th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. He’s mostly spent time as the backup for the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, as he’s earned a 28-28-5 record in the last four years in 66 games while posting a .896 save percentage and 3.30 goals against average.

He has fared slightly better in the ECHL with the Atlanta Gladiators and Allen Americans in limited action by posting a 6-7-1 record over the last three years in 15 contests while recording a .921 SV% and 2.77 GAA. Mandolese will likely end up with Colorado’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, and could even spend time with the Utah Grizzlies, the organization’s ECHL affiliate.

The native of Montreal, Quebec suited up in three games for the Senators during the 2022-23 NHL season and stopped 109 of 119 shots. Mandolese recorded two quality starts in his only NHL appearances and earned the only NHL win of his career after stopping 46 shots against the New York Islanders.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Ville Heinola

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The Winnipeg Jets will keep around a depth defenseman for the next two years as the organization announced a two-year, $1.6MM contract for defenseman Ville Heinola. The contract will keep Heinola around for his fifth and sixth seasons with the club while becoming arbitration-eligible at the end of the deal.

The future was bright for Heinola after being selected by the Jets with the 20th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft but the organization’s habit of slow-playing prospects to the NHL level has prohibited Heinola from showing the best of his abilities up to this point in his career. Heinola has factored into a handful of games for Winnipeg over the last five years but has failed to play more than 12 games in a season up to this point.

Because of his usage as one of the team’s depth defensemen, Heinola has played 35 games for the Jets since the start of the 2019-20 season and has registered one goal and 11 points. The Finnish blue-liner has averaged 15:15 of ice time in his games at the NHL level but recently recorded the lowest average of his career in 2022-23 with 13:16.

Heinola spent the entire 2023-24 season with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose where he recorded 10 goals and 27 points in 41 games. He demonstrated more of an ability to score goals after posing three goals and 37 points in 48 games the year prior.

Winnipeg’s defensive core has been thinned out this offseason which may lead to a regular role for Heinola this upcoming season. However, with defensemen Dylan Samberg and Logan Stanley also looking for a regular spot in the lineup, Heinola may have his work cut out for him during training camp in September.

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