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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.

Sabres Acquire Ryan McLeod, Trade Matt Savoie To Oilers

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3:33 PM: The Sabres organization have confirmed the trade with Edmonton.

3:08 PM: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres are working on a trade that would send Ryan McLeod to the American Northeast. In a follow-up report, Friedman suggests the Oilers will receive forward prospect Matt Savoie from the Sabres and will additionally send Tyler Tullio to Buffalo.

The Sabres were intent on improving their middle six and bottom six this summer and will acquire McLeod as he enters the last year of a two-year, $4.2MM contract. Featuring breakneck speed and a high motor in the offensive zone, it will be difficult to find a better player than McLeod to plug into the Sabres bottom-six. During the past three years in south-central Alberta, McLeod has suited up in 209 games for the Oilers, scoring 32 goals and 74 points while averaging 13:43 of ice time per night.

Outside of the topical statistics, McLeod is an analytical dream. He has averaged a 52.7% CorsiFor% throughout his career which will give the Sabres a boost in the possession game after finishing the 2023-24 season with a 51.2% team average in the category. According to HockeyReference, McLeod has an E +/- of 20.3 throughout his career showing that he limits his opponent’s ability to score when he is on the ice. The Sabres improved considerably in this department last season, and McLeod will help continue that effort and be an effective penalty killer.

Tullio is also heading to the Sabres organization and will likely start the year with the team’s AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. The Oilers selected Tullio with the 126th overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft and he has spent the last two years playing for the Bakersfield Condors. Tullio has scored 22 goals and 47 points over 117 games in AHL Bakersfield and should slot into a bottom-six role with the Americans.

Edmonton will not come away unhappy from this deal as they’ve acquired quite a prospect in Savoie. The young center is two years removed from being the ninth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and recently finished his playing days in the Western Hockey League. Savoie split the 2023-24 WHL season between the Wenatchee Wild and Moose Jaw Warriors in a season where he scored 30 goals and 71 points in only 34 games. Continuing to prove his offensive prowess in the playoffs, Savoie scored 10 goals and 24 points in 19 postseason contests for the Warriors as he led his team to the Memorial Cup semifinals.

Savoie eventually made his professional debut last season in AHL Rochester where he scored two goals and five points in six contests. One could reasonably assume that Savoie will start the 2024-25 NHL season with the Condors but could be a sneaky option to be called up and placed next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Whatever his pathway is, the Oilers bring in a cost-effective option who can immediately play in the team’s top six.

Capitals Sign First-Rounder Terik Parascak

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The Capitals have signed right winger Terik Parascak to his three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced today. It carries a the maximum ELC cap hit of $975K.

Parascak was the Capitals’ lone first-round selection in last week’s draft, coming off the board at 17th overall. He was one of the WHL’s most unexpectedly prolific scorers last season, exploding for 105 points (43 goals, 62 assists) in 68 games with the Prince George Cougars. The 6’0″, 173-lb forward led all WHL rookies and goals and points and finished eighth in scoring leaguewide after suiting up in just four contests for the Cougars in 2022-23, instead spending the campaign with a U18 prep program.

For his stellar rookie showing, Parascak received CHL All-Rookie Team honors and was named to the WHL’s B.C. Division Second All-Star Team. Those 105 points were the most by a rookie in all CHL leagues (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) since Patrick Kane had 145 and Sam Gagner had 114, both in the 2006-07 campaign. He tacked on 14 points in 12 playoff games to end the season as the Cougars were eliminated in the Western Conference Final.

But as such a late bloomer heading into his draft year, Parascak didn’t land the draft acclaim that you’d expect from those stats. He was ranked 15th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and was viewed as a consensus late first-round pick. TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts landed him at No. 25, so Washington pounced on the winger a tad earlier than expected.

That’s because, as Elite Prospects outlines in their 2024 NHL Draft Guide, there are major concerns about his skating and ability to drive play on his own, especially in transition. He struggled to exit his own zone cleanly throughout the season. It’s worth noting that Prince George had two other 100-point players: Wild 2023 second-rounder Riley Heidt (117) and Washington UDFA signing Zac Funk (123), both older than Parascak. They certainly helped bolster his scoring totals.

Parascak will be loaned back to Prince George next season, in all likelihood, bumping the start of his ELC to 2025-26. The 28-year-old is a May 2006 birthday, so Washington can execute that entry-level slide twice.

Penguins Re-Sign Corey Andonovski To Two-Way Deal

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The Penguins have re-signed right winger Corey Andonovski to a one-year, two-way deal, the team announced today. It carries the league-minimum $775K cap hit. The team didn’t disclose his AHL salary.

Andonovski, 25, is coming off his second full season in the organization, both of which have been spent entirely on assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, aside from a one-day call-up last October that didn’t result in his NHL debut. He set career highs in 2023-24 with 23 assists and 30 points in 63 games, leading WBS forwards in assists and ranking fifth on the team in points.

Dating back to his AHL debut on an ATO for the Baby Pens to close out the 2021-22 season, Andonovski has 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 130 games. The 6’1″, 194-lb forward was initially an undrafted free agent signing out of Princeton, where he recorded 21 goals, 29 assists and 50 points in 80 career NCAA games.

While he’s taken a step forward, the chances of him making his first NHL appearance on this new deal are slim. There is a bevy of either more experienced (Jonathan Gruden, Bokondji Imama) or higher-ceiling (Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin) forward options available in the Pittsburgh system that would likely get a call-up ahead of Andonovski.

As he was this summer, he’ll be an RFA again in the 2025 offseason. He still won’t require waivers to head to WBS in the fall, although it’s his last season with an exemption.

Senators Sign Jan Jeník To Two-Way Deal

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The Senators have signed right winger Jan Jeník to a two-way deal, according to a team announcement. The deal carries a $775K cap hit and NHL salary with a $190K AHL salary. Ottawa acquired Jeník’s signing rights – he was an RFA – from Utah in a swap Wednesday that sent forward Egor Sokolov the other way.

Jeník, 24 in September, was selected by the Coyotes in the third round of the 2018 draft out of his native Czechia. After splitting the beginning of the 2018-19 season between the first and second leagues in the Czech pyramid, Jeník arrived stateside midseason to play junior hockey with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. It would be another season and a half before he made his NHL debut, receiving a brief two-game call-up during the shortened 2020-21 season. He got off to a hot start, scoring in back-to-back games against the Sharks while averaging 12:05 per game.

However, it wasn’t a sign of things to come. Jeník spent much of the next two seasons in the minors, where he produced well with 47 points in 51 games and 23 points in 30 games in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns with AHL Tucson. It didn’t result in much NHL opportunity, though, as he made only 15 appearances during that time in which he scored twice and added an assist with a -6 rating. That led Jeník to reportedly seek a trade the following summer before eventually relenting and signing a two-way deal to return to Arizona for 2023-24.

Last season again yielded little NHL opportunity for Jeník, limited to one assist and a -1 rating in five games while averaging a paltry 8:23 per contest. His point-per-game production with Tucson also took a hit, decreasing to 0.65 (36 points in 55 games) after putting up 0.92 and 0.77 the prior two years. Now, he officially joins a Senators squad that’s lost some scoring depth this summer, giving him a chance to compete with players like Angus Crookshank, Zack MacEwen and Zack Ostapchuk for a roster spot during training camp. He would require waivers to head to the minors if cut, but he cleared last fall without incident.

Flames Sign Zayne Parekh, Two Others To Entry-Level Deals

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The Flames have simultaneously signed a trio of prospects to three-year, entry-level contracts, including 2024 ninth-overall pick Zayne Parekh (as relayed by Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson). Right winger Matvei Gridin, who they took with the 28th overall pick last week, and 2023 second-rounder Étienne Morin also signed their rookie deals.

Parekh, 18, stands the greatest chance out of the trio to be on the opening night roster in October, although it would still be a surprise. The right-shot defenseman has arguably the highest offensive ceiling of any blue liner in this year’s class, even ahead of the Blackhawks’ second-overall pick, Artyom Levshunov. He was electric for the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit last season, leading them across the board with 33 goals, 63 assists and 96 points in 66 games with a +39 rating. It would be an impressive feat for any draft-eligible skater, but especially from the back end.

He went a bit later than most people expected him to go, too, so there’s a fair bit of steal potential with the pick. Elite Prospects ranked him as the No. 5 prospect in the class, while TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s polling of NHL scouts yielded him at No. 8. He was the third defenseman off the board after Chicago took Levshunov and the Senators selected Carter Yakemchuk.

If Parekh does make the NHL squad out of camp, it’ll likely be on a nine-game trial to avoid burning the first year of his entry-level deal. At such a young age, another year with Saginaw would be beneficial to round out his two-way game. His ELC is eligible to slide twice, and he won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment until 2026-27.

The 18-year-old Gridin also put pen to paper on his ELC, confirming he won’t be attending the University of Michigan in the fall as previously expected. Instead, the Flames will loan him to his junior club. The QMJHL’s Val-d’Or Foreurs took him first overall in the CHL Import Draft later this week, but they’re expected to deal him to the Rimouski Océanic before training camp begins, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler reports. That would mean he’d play in the 2025 Memorial Cup, with Rimouski hosting the event. Only a few scouting sites pegged him as a late first-round pick – many more had him going in the second round. He was ranked 37th in McKenzie’s year-end polling. Gridin, a native of Kurgan, Russia, had 38 goals and 83 points in 60 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL last season.

Morin, 19, is a left-shot defenseman who went 48th overall in the 2023 draft. He’s a physically involved two-way threat who had a bit of a step back in his post-draft season, posting 12 goals and 37 assists for 49 points with a -9 rating in 58 games for the Moncton Wildcats of the QMJHL. He’d posted better offensive and defensive results the year prior, with 72 points in 67 games with a +29 rating. Calgary is expected to loan Morin back to Moncton for his final season of junior hockey this season, sliding the beginning of his ELC to 2025-26.

Kraken, Eeli Tolvanen Agree To Two-Year Deal

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Minutes after signing top prospect Berkly Catton to his entry-level contract, the Kraken have also come to terms with RFA winger Eeli Tolvanen on a two-year deal, the team’s Alison Lukan relays. It carries a $3.475MM cap hit, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Tolvanen sticks around in Seattle after heading to the Pacific Northwest a year and a half ago, picked up off waivers from the Predators. The winger, who was a late first-round pick of Nashville in 2017, finally broke into a consistent top-nine role with the Kraken. The 25-year-old has been an effective producer while averaging around 15 minutes per contest, putting up 0.53 points per game since his acquisition.

But after setting a career-high with 18 goals split between the Kraken and Preds in 2022-23, Tolvanen took a small step back this past season. He was still good for 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists) in 81 games, but he checked in a tad below expectations given he scored 16 goals in only 48 games after the move to Seattle the year prior.

His possession metrics were a bit of a toss-up, too. Seattle controlled 50.8% of shot attempts and 50.3% of expected goals with Tolvanen on the ice at even strength, both checking in just below team averages. He was among their most physical players, though. His 210 hits were second on the team only to rookie Tye Kartye (229).

Even if he didn’t have the 20-plus goals Seattle was hoping for last year, Tolvanen has fully solidified himself as an everyday contributor with some upward mobility. That earns him a fair-value bridge deal that comes in shorter and cheaper than what Evolving-Hockey had outlined in their projections (four years, $4.345MM AAV).

With Tolvanen signed, top center Matthew Beniers is the only notable RFA that general manager Ron Francis still needs to sign this summer. They’ll have around $8.15MM in cap space to do so after today’s signing, which could be a tight squeeze. After giving out big money in free agency to Brandon Montour and Chandler Stephenson, that suggests a bridge deal for Beniers could be likely too. Notably, Beniers isn’t eligible for salary arbitration.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kraken Sign Berkly Catton To Entry-Level Deal

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The Kraken have signed center Berkly Catton to his three-year, entry-level contract, a team announcement states. Catton was the eighth overall selection in the draft one week ago. His deal carries the maximum ELC cap hit of $975K.

He’s the second player from the class to sign his rookie deal, joining Blues defenseman Adam Jiříček, who they took 16th overall. While it’s unlikely Catton will crack the NHL roster in the fall, signing him to his ELC now at least affords him the option. Catton also earns a $97.5K signing bonus with today’s news, per PuckPedia. The deal is also broken down into $877.5K of base salary annually and up to $1MM in Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses on a yearly basis.

Catton is already used to Washington State, suiting up for the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League for parts of the last three seasons. The 5’11”, 174-lb pivot led all WHL draft-eligibles in scoring last season, finishing fourth in the league with 116 points (54 goals, 62 assists) in 68 games. He’s one of the 2024 class’ fastest players and is an extremely well-rounded offensive talent, although there are some natural concerns about his lack of physicality and strength against larger opponents.

Since his 20th birthday doesn’t fall until January 2026, Catton won’t be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment in 2024-25 or 2025-26 – he needs to be returned to his junior team. If he plays fewer than 10 NHL games in each of those seasons, his contract could slide to as late as 2026-27 before kicking in. His signing bonuses are paid out regardless, though, slightly lowering the cap hit of his deal.

AHL’s Charlotte Checkers Sign Aidan McDonough

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The AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the Panthers’ top affiliate, have picked up left winger Aidan McDonough on a one-year deal, a team release states. McDonough will now try and work his way back up the professional ladder after being non-tendered by the Canucks last week.

Just a couple of years ago, McDonough looked to be a seventh-round steal for Vancouver. After selecting him in 2019, McDonough had a spectacular collegiate career at Northeastern that saw him produce 66 goals and 124 points in 124 games across four seasons while assuming the captaincy in his final season. He signed his entry-level deal to close the 2022-23 season and immediately made his NHL debut with the Nucks, scoring a goal and posting a -2 rating in six games while averaging 9:19 per contest.

But this past season was a tough one for the 6’2″, 201-lb winger. He didn’t crack the Canucks’ roster out of camp and was assigned to AHL Abbotsford, where he remained the entire campaign. His offensive numbers on the farm weren’t up to expectations, limited to only 11 goals and 19 points in 58 games. It was enough of a letdown that Vancouver’s front office decided they’d seen enough of the prospect, deciding not to issue him a qualifying offer and let the 24-year-old reach the UFA market early.

Now, it’s up to McDonough to produce well on his minor-league deal. While he’s playing in the Panthers organization, Florida doesn’t acquire his signing rights with this move, and he can still sign with any NHL club.

SHL’s HV71 Signs Tanner Kero

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HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League has signed forward Tanner Kero, according to a team release. Kero wasn’t signed to an NHL contract in 2023-24 but did spend the season in the Avalanche organization on an AHL deal with the Colorado Eagles.

Kero is a veteran of five NHL seasons between 2015-16 and 2021-22, playing 134 games and scoring 11 goals and 24 assists for 35 points with a +9 rating. Most of that time came on the right wing, but he did log significant time at center in his first couple of campaigns in a depth role for the Blackhawks.

An undrafted free agent signing by Chicago out of Michigan Tech in 2015, Kero has long been a consistent AHL scoring presence but has only challenged for full-time NHL usage on a handful of occasions. After appearing in three straight campaigns with Chicago to begin his professional career, he spent the entire season in the minors after being traded to the Canucks in 2018 and again after signing with the Stars as a free agent in 2019.

But the pandemic yielded some opportunity for Kero, who avoided minor-league assignment entirely in 2020-21 and instead spent the campaign on the NHL roster or the taxi squad. He was extremely serviceable in a fourth-line role for Dallas that year, posting three goals and 10 points in 39 games, outmatched only by his 16-point, 47-game campaign with Chicago in 2016-17. But he struggled to have the same effect the following season, going without a goal and logging just three assists with a -5 rating in 23 games. That’s the last we’ve likely seen of Kero in the NHL.

Kero will now test international waters for the first time in his career with the Jönköping-based HV71, who narrowly avoided relegation to HockeyAllsvenskan last season after finishing 13th in the SHL with a 13-30-5-4 record. His 106 goals and 274 points in 402 career AHL games suggest he should have success in Sweden in a middle-six role. It’s a one-year deal, so an exceptionally strong showing for Kero, who turns 32 later this month, could lead to an NHL return.

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