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Jets Acquire Dylan Coghlan From Hurricanes

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Saturday: The deal is now official, per an announcement from the Hurricanes.  The official return is future considerations.

Friday: The Jets are set to acquire the signing rights to RFA defenseman Dylan Coghlan from the Hurricanes, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Winnipeg is sending a conditional seventh-round pick to Carolina in return, per Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey.

Coghlan, 26, went undrafted but got his start back in 2017 when the Golden Knights signed him to an entry-level contract. Coghlan developed well in Vegas, spending another year back in juniors and another two in the AHL before jumping to a taxi squad role for the 2020-21 season. He avoided any minor league assignments with the Knights after that, recording 19 points in 88 games during the following two seasons while primarily serving as their extra defenseman. His time in Nevada came to an end when he was sent to Carolina as a sweetener to take the final season of Max Pacioretty’s deal in the summer of 2022.

The right-shot blue liner struggled to find a role with the Canes, though. He spent most of the 2022-23 season in the press box, only appearing in 17 games (three assists, -1 rating, 12:43 ATOI). He also had two goals and an assist in five games on a conditioning loan to AHL Chicago in December.

The Canes liked him enough to qualify and re-sign him on a one-way, $850K deal last summer, leading most to believe he’d be on their opening night roster. That wasn’t the case, though, as he failed to crack the team out of camp and was waived in October. Without a dedicated AHL affiliate last season, the Hurricanes found a home for him on loan to the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Blues’ primary affiliate.

Coghlan earned a couple of recalls throughout the season that resulted in a lone appearance for Carolina, but he otherwise played with a chip on his shoulder in Springfield as he looked to give himself another NHL chance. The British Columbia-born defender suited up in 61 games for the T-Birds, earning an All-Star Game appearance and leading all AHL defensemen in goals with 16. He added 25 assists for 41 points, breaking his previous career high of 40 set in his first pro season.

He’ll look to leverage that shot and his 6’2″, 207-lb frame into a roster spot with the Jets in the fall, assuming he signs a new deal. Winnipeg is looking for added defensive depth after losing Brenden Dillon to the Devils in free agency and buying out Nate Schmidt. They’ve already made one acquisition in veteran Colin Miller, who will be Coghlan’s chief competitor for minutes as a fellow right-shooting D-man. They’ll likely rotate in bottom-pairing minutes behind Dylan DeMelo and Neal Pionk.

Rangers Loan Kalle Vaisanen To Finnish League For 2024-25 Season

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Back in April, the Rangers signed winger Kalle Vaisanen to his entry-level deal and it looked like he’d be playing his first full season in North America in 2024-25.  However, that won’t be the case as Ilves in Finland’s Liiga announced that New York has agreed to loan Vaisanen to them for the upcoming year although he might participate in training camp with the Rangers in the fall before going over.

The 21-year-old was a fourth-round pick by New York back in 2021, going 106th overall after a strong showing offensively in Finland’s junior system.  Vaisanen has spent the last two full seasons at the top level but unfortunately for him, production has been rather difficult to come by.  He had five points in 47 games in 2022-23 and only boosted that output to nine goals and five helpers in 58 games with TPS last season but impressed enough to get his first contract and a late-season stint with AHL Hartford.

While it would have made sense for Vaisanen to get a full season in with the Wolf Pack, they’ve decided it’s better to let him get another year in back at home though he’ll now do so with a new team.  Once his campaign in Finland comes to an end, Vaisanen will likely return to North America and could very well get into a handful of games in Hartford as he did last season.

West Notes: Coachella Valley, Bertuzzi, Levshunov

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The Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL have announced their second head coach in franchise history by hiring Derek Laxdal. Laxdal will have some big shoes to fill as the new head coach of the Seattle Kraken, Dan Bylsma, coached the team to back-to-back Western Conference Finals championships.

Laxdal brings considerable experience in coaching and winning to the young AHL franchise. The veteran coach spent five years as head coach of the Idaho Steelheads in the ECHL from 2005-2010 and earned a winning record each year in addition to winning the Kelly Cup in 2007 and as runner-up in 2010. Laxdal parlayed this success in Idaho to Edmonton where he would coach the Wheat Kings of the WHL for the next four years.

Getting his first nod to join an NHL organization, Laxdal was hired as the head coach of the Texas Stars in 2014, the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. The AHL Stars missed the playoffs twice during Laxdal’s five-and-a-half-year tenure behind the bench but also managed to finish as runner-ups to the Toronto Marlies in the 2018 Calder Cup Finals. Laxdal was promoted to assistant coach in Dallas until 2022 and has spent the last two years serving as head coach and assistant general manager of the OHL’s Oshawa Generals.

Other West Notes:

  • Although Tyler Bertuzzi would ultimately sign a four-year, $22MM contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, he did not enter the summer believing they were interested. His first contact from the organization came from veteran Nick Foligno, who alerted Bertuzzi to Chicago’s interest, according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. Foligno and Bertuzzi have briefly played with each other during the 2022-23 season as both were rostered on the regular season champion Boston Bruins.
  • Staying in Chicago, the team has yet to decide on the future of recent second-overall pick, Artyom Levshunov. Scott Powers of The Athletic reports the general manager of the Blackhawks, Kyle Davidson, says he believes there are benefits to Levshunov signing with the organization and continuing his development in Rockford, or staying another year at Michigan State University. There are arguments on both sides of the debate but Levshunov has little else to prove at the NCAA level as he became one of the most dominant defensemen in the country as a freshman.

Anaheim Ducks Re-Sign Pavol Regenda

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Shortly after signing their first-round selections from the 2024 NHL Draft, the Anaheim Ducks got to work on some of their internal restricted free agents. The organization announced they have signed forward Pavol Regenda to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 NHL season worth a league minimum $775K salary at the NHL level.

Regenda will enter his third season with the Ducks organization after signing as an international free agent on June 1st, 2022. In the two years before his initial deal with Anaheim, Regenda suited up in 93 games for HK Dukla Michalovce in Slovakia where he collected 26 goals and 64 points. Regenda has also joined Team Slovakia in the last three World Championships where he has scored six goals and eight assists in 23 tournament games.

The Michalovce, Slovakia native is becoming quite the secondary scorer in the Ducks organization as he’s collected 32 goals and 59 points in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls over 104 regular season games. Regenda has finished eighth and seventh in scoring for the Gulls in back-to-back years, respectively, but the team has failed to qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs throughout his tenure.

Regenda may find a spot on Anaheim’s bottom six this upcoming season to provide additional offense as a physically capable power forward. The Slovakian winger may be a solid candidate to replace Ross Johnston on the team’s fourth line but could use more seasoning at the AHL level.

Colorado Avalanche Re-Sign Jason Polin

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Keeping a bit of internal depth through the system, the Colorado Avalanche have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with forward Jason Polin. As an undrafted free agent, Polin signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Avalanche in late March of 2023.

It is difficult to say anything other than ’subpar’ regarding Polin’s first full season within the Avalanche organization. This past season Polin dressed in 42 games for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, where he only mustered four goals and 10 points overall. Colorado hoped for much more production coming from Polin considering his collegiate career at Western Michigan University.

Polin spent four years for the Broncos and was named team captain before the 2022-23 NCAA season. In 39 games that season, Polin potted a whopping 30 goals and 47 points while collecting five hat tricks throughout the year. Polin tied the would-be third overall pick of that year’s draft, Adam Fantilli, in goals across the entire NCAA. Adding to his resume; Polin set an NCHC record for goals scored during the regular season and was named NCHC Player of the Year and NCHC Forward of the Year while finishing top-10 in Hobey Baker Award voting.

Polin has already collected seven games at the NHL level with the Avalanche in which he has scored one goal. With Colorado being desperate for cheap depth at the forward position, they may give Polin another chance in the NHL. However, if he cannot produce similarly to his playing days in the NCAA, his time with the Avalanche organization may only last another season.

Ducks Sign Beckett Sennecke, Stian Solberg To Entry-Level Contracts

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Another top-10 selection from the 2024 NHL Draft has signed an entry-level contract as the Anaheim Ducks announced the team has agreed to terms with Beckett Sennecke. The Toronto, ON native was drafted by the Ducks with the third overall selection of last week’s draft.

According to CapFriendly, the deal will have a base salary of $875K at the NHL level with a $97.5K yearly signing bonus in addition to $1MM per year in performance bonuses. After factoring in the performance and signing bonuses attached to the deal, Sennecke will have the ability to make $1.975MM per year on his entry-level deal.

Sennecke was one of the later risers in the draft after an outstanding performance in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs this past year. The young forward scored 27 goals and 68 points for the Oshawa Generals over 63 games in the regular season and scored an impressive 10 goals and 22 points in 16 postseason contests. Not only did Sennecke lead the Generals in goals and points throughout the 2024 OHL playoffs — he led the entire league.

Even though he is considered a considerable reach with the third overall pick, the Ducks are still getting an exceptional talent. Sennecke has mature awareness and puckhandling for his age and should help Anaheim on both sides of the puck.

Outside of Sennecke, the Ducks have also signed 23rd overall pick from the 2024 NHL Draft, Stian Solberg, to his entry-level contract according to a team announcement. Solberg spent last season playing for Vålerenga of Norway’s top professional league, the Eliteserien.

In 42 games against other professional players, Solberg scored five goals and 15 points while carrying a +2 rating. Also putting in impressive work during the postseason, Solberg scored two goals and nine points in 17 postseason contests while his regular season scoring was the fourth-most by a defenseman under the age of 18.

Next season, Solberg is expected to take his talents to the Swedish Hockey League where he will play for Färjestad BK. The club has a decent history of producing NHL-caliber defensemen as Fredrik Olausson, Jonas Brodin, and Oliver Kylington, among others are products of the 91-year-old Swedish franchise.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Caleb Jones

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The Los Angeles Kings brought some depth to their defensive core announcing a one-year, two-way contract with defenseman Caleb Jones. It will mark the second year in a row that Jones will have to settle for a league minimum contract on the open market.

Jones originally signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes last offseason but couldn’t find any playing time on a deep Hurricanes blue line. Carolina traded Jones to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Callahan Burke exactly two months after signing the depth defenseman. He would go on to split the year between the Avalanche and their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

During his time in the American Hockey League, Jones managed six assists for the Eagles over 12 games and produced a -2 rating. He was recalled on three separate occasions to the Avalanche on an emergency loan and would end up playing 25 games where he tallied five helpers. Still, Jones was rarely used by Colorado during his time on the NHL roster as he only averaged 12:12 of ice time per night. Nevertheless, the team still opted to use him when they could, and Jones was able to suit up in three postseason games for the Avalanche for the first time since the 2019-20 Stanley Cup playoffs.

It will be interesting to see where Jones fits into the lineup for Los Angeles as the team already has eight defensemen signed to NHL contracts without factoring in the next deal for Jordan Spence. In all likelihood, Jones will start the year with the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario, CA unless there is an injury to the blue line during training camp.

Florida Panthers Sign Jaycob Megna

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The Florida Panthers announced the team has signed defenseman Jaycob Megna to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 NHL season. The deal will pay Megna the league minimum of $775K at the NHL level as Megna joins the fourth organization of his career.

Two summers ago, Megna signed on with the San Jose Sharks on a two-year contract paying him $1.525MM over the contract. Megna would not last long in San Jose on this contract as the team moved him to the Seattle Kraken in early February of 2023 in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick. Serving as depth for the Kraken as they made their way to the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, Megna managed six games down the stretch.

With an injury to start the year and improved defensive depth on the NHL club, the Kraken placed Megna on waivers nearly two weeks after he finished his conditioning stint in AHL Coachella Valley. The Chicago Blackhawks claimed Megna on waivers and gave the defenseman much more opportunity at the NHL level. Megna logged 17:31 of ice time on average in Chicago while suiting up in 44 games for the Original Six franchise. The defenseman only tallied two assists on the year but did block 87 shots and made 60 body checks on opponents.

Over the first few days of free agency, the Panthers have lost considerable depth on their blue line with the departures of Brandon Montour, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Josh Mahura. Despite the loss of talent, Megna should start the season with the team’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte while being able to fill in for injury at any point during the regular season.

14 Players Elect For Salary Arbitration

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and originally produced by the National Hockey Leaguer Players’ Association, 14 players have elected for salary arbitration this summer. The deadline for team-elected arbitration is tomorrow. Friedman also notes the arbitration hearings will happen between July 20th and August 4th. To add context, not every one of these players will appear for a hearing with their respective teams as they may continue to negotiate on a new contract. However, each player who elects for salary arbitration is now prohibited from negotiating with other teams or signing an offer sheet. Here is a list of the players that have elected for arbitration:

F Beck Malenstyn (Buffalo Sabres)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres)
F Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes)
D Jake Christiansen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Kirill Marchenko (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings)
D Spencer Stastney (Nashville Predators)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (New York Islanders)
D Ryan Lindgren (New York Rangers)
D Ty Emberson (San Jose Sharks)
D J.J. Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning)
F Connor Dewar (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Buffalo Sabres Sign Henri Jokiharju

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Rather than wait for an arbitrator to sort out his next contract, the Buffalo Sabres, and Henri Jokiharju have agreed to a one-year, $3.1MM contract. The deal will keep Jokiharju in Buffalo for his sixth season with the team and he will become an unrestricted free agent upon expiration.

Jokiharju is coming off arguably the best individual season of his career as he scored three goals and 20 points in 74 games for the Sabres while averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time per night. The Finnish defenseman has become much better defensively as he led the team with a +14 rating and finished the season with a 92.0% on-ice save percentage in all situations. He didn’t spend too much time this past season on Buffalo’s special teams but would be the first option in case of injury.

The deal also ensures that the Sabres will bring back a nearly identical defensive core to last season as they improved dramatically in keeping the puck out of their net. During the 2022-23 NHL season Buffalo finished 26th in the league in goals against per game with a 3.62 mark and watched it fall to 2.96 this past season which was good for 11th in the league. If the defensive can hold strong and the offense can rebound to the tenacity it showed during the 2022-23 season, the Sabres should be well positioned to earn a playoff spot this upcoming season.

Buffalo now has approximately $13.7MM left in cap space to work with and new contracts are needed for remaining restricted free agents Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. None of the three should eat much into that number especially if the Sabres can keep them on shorter-term contracts.

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