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Blues Sign Pierre-Olivier Joseph

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July 3: Joseph’s deal with the Blues is now official.

July 2: The St. Louis Blues are expected to sign defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-year contract, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports (Twitter link). The deal was confirmed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who shared that it is a one-year deal with a $950K cap hit (Twitter link).

This reported signing comes on the same day that St. Louis traded for Mathieu Joseph, Pierre-Olivier’s brother. The siblings will reunite in St. Louis, after not playing together since the 2012-13 season, well before either of their QMJHL careers.

Pierre-Olivier Joseph fought his way into first-round precedent through his juniors career, getting selected 23rd-overall in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona traded Joseph’s rights before the end of his juniors career, dealing him to the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside Alex Galchenyuk, in return for Phil Kessel, Dane Birks, and a fourth-round pick.

Joseph turned pro just a few months later, recording 17 points in 52 games with the 2019-20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The low-scoring rookie year has stood out as an oddity for Joseph, who earned a call-up to the NHL with 13 points in 23 AHL games the following year. He recorded five points through 20 NHL games in 2020 and 2021, though he wouldn’t establish a full time role until the 2022-23 season.

Finally playing through his NHL rookie season, Joseph managed five goals and 21 points in 75 games, becoming a solid member of Pittsburgh’s blue-line. That role slipped a bit this year, though, after a lower-body injury forced Joseph to miss a month of action in November/December. His spot on the team’s bottom pairing didn’t seem as secure upon his return, likely not helped along by Joseph’s 11 points in 52 games.

Joseph, who turned 25 on Monday, will now pursue a more concrete role on a St. Louis blue-line no longer featuring Marco Scandella. That should slot Joseph in behind Torey Krug and Scott Perunovich on the Blues’ depth chart, though he might face heavy competition for minutes from veteran Nick Leddy. Joseph’s ability to earn a strong role despite that competition will like be what the Blues look for, as they plan for him to become a restricted free agent next summer.

Hurricanes Sign William Carrier To Six-Year Deal

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July 3: Carolina has now confirmed the terms of Carrier’s contract.

July 1: The Hurricanes have pried longtime Golden Knight William Carrier away from Vegas. The checking winger is joining Carolina on a six-year deal worth $2MM per season, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports.

Carrier, 29, provides solid checking depth for a Carolina squad that lost a lot of key pieces today on the open market. Seven of his eight NHL seasons have come in Vegas, where he accumulated 99 points, 183 PIMs and 1,116 hits in 372 games. He won the Cup with them one year ago, providing some crucial depth point production with six points in 18 games.

The deal is indicative of a recent trend for physical, two-way responsible checking wingers – long-term agreements are becoming closer to the norm. Miles Wood is a notable recent example – he received a six-year, $2.5MM AAV deal from the Avalanche last summer.

Carrier will fill a lot of the duties Jordan Martinook has for the Canes in the past few seasons. Martinook is sticking around, inking a three-year deal today, but the loss of forwards Jake Guentzel and Teuvo Teräväinen without any real replacement means he’ll be relied upon for point production higher up in the lineup. Carrier routinely averages around 11 minutes per game and will be best suited to continue in a fourth-line role.

Panthers Sign Anton Lundell To Six-Year Deal

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The Panthers announced the signing of RFA center Anton Lundell to a six-year deal. It’s reportedly a $5MM cap hit for the 2024 Stanley Cup champion, per PuckPedia, who also has the full breakdown of the deal.

Lundell, 22, has been a rock-steady third-line center for the Cats for the past three seasons. He’s yet to recapture the rookie form that placed him sixth in Calder Trophy voting and even earned him Selke Trophy consideration in 2021-22, though. He needed a new contract this summer after giving the Panthers three years of high-end performance on his entry-level contract, carrying a dirt-cheap $925K cap hit.

He wasn’t a major factor offensively in Florida’s 110-point campaign last year, recording 13 goals and 35 points in 78 games. But he’s been a possession monster during his time in the pros, consistently averaging over 15 minutes per game. With Lundell on the ice this season, the Panthers controlled 56.4% of shot attempts and 53.2% of expected goals, the latter being a quite respectable career-low.

Lundell’s playmaking exploded in the playoffs this season, though, tying for second on the team with 14 assists in 24 games. He added three goals for 17 points and had a +8 rating, the highest among Florida forwards, as he played a key depth role in helping the Panthers win their first championship in franchise history.

$5MM annually is a decent chunk of change, though, especially for a player who projects to serve as their third-line center for quite a while. Captain Aleksander Barkov remains signed through 2030, and while Sam Bennett’s deal is up next summer, they’re already making significant progress on an extension. Lundell becomes their fourth highest-paid forward next season, only behind Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk.

That center logjam will likely keep his minutes about where they are, limiting his potential for offensive growth. But he’s still among the best third-line pivots in the league and likely still has a bit more room to grow, making him a high-value bet in the 2C spot down the line if Bennett’s deal ends up being a short-term one.

Lundell will be a UFA upon expiry in 2030, along with Barkov and Tkachuk. His $30MM total value makes it the largest RFA contract GM Bill Zito has handed out while at the helm in Florida.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Atlantic Notes: Skinner, Henrique, Panthers, Burrows, Korpikoski

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Adam Henrique and Jeff Skinner both ended up in Canada in free agency, joining the Oilers on cheap short-term deals. It was a not entirely unexpected reunion for the former, but the latter was a late addition to the UFA market after getting bought out by the Sabres.

But Edmonton wasn’t the only northern club looking to pounce on their services. The Maple Leafs had demonstrated significant interest in both, especially Skinner, TSN’s Chris Johnston said on SDPN’s “The Chris Johnston Show.” He didn’t say how competitive the offers were compared to the $3MM AAV the duo both landed in Edmonton on two-year and one-year deals, respectively.

In talks with the Leafs, Skinner was told he’d be given a chance at top-line minutes alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, per Johnston. That’s similar to the situation he’ll have in Edmonton, where he’s likely to suit up as their second-line left wing alongside Leon Draisaitl with another free-agent addition, Viktor Arvidsson, on his right flank. It projects to be the best group of secondary scorers the Oilers have iced in the Draisaitl/Connor McDavid era.

While Toronto was active on the back end, adding defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jani Hakanpää and Chris Tanev, they’ve made no notable changes to a forward group that averaged a horrid 1.57 goals per game against the Bruins in their first-round loss, other than losing Tyler Bertuzzi to the Blackhawks.

Other updates from the Atlantic:

  • Add the Panthers to the list of teams departing the Bally Sports family of regional sports networks. Much like the Coyotes and Golden Knights last season, they’ll be partnering with Scripps Sports to facilitate the local broadcast of their games next season and beyond, per a team announcement yesterday.
  • The Canadiens won’t have Alexandre Burrows back behind the bench as an assistant coach next season, but he’s not departing the organization. He’s instead been assigned to a player development role at his request, VP of hockey operations Jeff Gorton said yesterday. They’ve also added longtime NHLer Lauri Korpikoski as their player development coach in a Europe-based role. Korpikoski last suited up in the NHL for the Blue Jackets in 2017 but was active overseas up until 2022-23.

Capitals Re-Sign Hardy Häman Aktell, Riley Sutter To Two-Way Deals

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The Capitals have re-signed left-shot defenseman Hardy Häman Aktell and right winger Riley Sutter to two-way deals, according to a team release. Both contracts carry $775K cap hits with a $350K AHL salary for Häman Aktell and a $150K AHL salary for Sutter.

Häman Aktell, who turns 26 tomorrow, returns for his second season in North America after signing a one-year entry-level contract with the Caps last offseason. Nashville’s 2016 fourth-round pick never signed with the Preds, staying in his native Sweden up until last season and letting his exclusive signing window lapse.

It took a while for Häman Aktell to land an everyday role in the top-level Swedish Hockey League, but upon doing so in 2020, he immediately became a part of a strong Växjö Lakers club that won two SHL titles in the span of three seasons. Between the 2020-21 and 2022-23 campaigns, Häman Aktell recorded 63 points (17 goals, 46 assists) in 151 games along with a +40 rating.

His first season with the Caps was unimpressive, though. He spent most of it on assignment to AHL Hershey, where he didn’t make as much of an impact offensively as expected, with only 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 55 regular-season games. A rash of injuries on the Washington blue line early in the season did give Häman Aktell the chance at his NHL debut, recording an assist and a -2 rating in six appearances while averaging an extremely limited 10:38 per game.

He ended his season on a high note, though, breaking out for five goals and four assists in 17 postseason games as he helped guide Hershey to its second straight Calder Cup. His signing rights stuck with the Caps as an RFA this summer after they issued him a qualifying offer prior to the June 30 deadline.

Sutter, 24, will return for his sixth campaign in Hershey next season. A third-round pick of the Caps in 2018, he’s yet to make his NHL debut but has garnered over $700K in estimated career earnings (CapFriendly) and has played a depth role in Hershey’s back-to-back championships. The son of NHL veteran Ron Sutter had a career-high nine goals and 23 points in 66 games for the Bears last season and is one of their biggest bodies at 6’4″ and 207 lbs. Like Häman Aktell, Washington had issued him a qualifying offer to keep him as an RFA.

Hurricanes Sign Riley Stillman To Two-Way Deal

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The Hurricanes have signed left-shot defenseman Riley Stillman to a two-way deal, per a team release. The blue liner will earn $775K at the NHL level and $150K at the AHL level next season with a $350K guarantee.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for the 26-year-old, whose father, Cory Stillman, suited up in parts of four seasons for Carolina and was a part of their Stanley Cup-winning squad in 2006. The defender is coming off a highly disappointing 2023-24 season. After participating in his first training camp with the Sabres, who acquired him from the Canucks in February 2023 trade, he didn’t crack the NHL roster and was unclaimed on waivers. He struggled on assignment to AHL Rochester, limited to six points and a -4 rating in 47 games before lower-body surgery ended his season in early April. Stillman is a penalty-kill specialist first and foremost, though, so his lack of offense wasn’t overly shocking.

Prior to 2023-24, Stillman made 158 NHL appearances from 2018-19 to 2022-23, skating for the Blackhawks and Panthers in addition to his time in Buffalo and Vancouver. He’s accumulated four goals, 22 assists and 26 points in his career, laying the body well with 318 hits but failing to control possession at even strength. He’s controlled 46.3% of shot attempts and 46.0% of expected goals.

The Hurricanes have been focused on replenishing their defensive depth since free agency opened Monday, dishing out multi-year deals to Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker. Stillman should provide them with an NHL-experienced call-up option if needed but will likely hit waivers again in the fall and start the season on assignment to AHL Chicago. Carolina lost Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei to the open market this week and also lost some minor league defensive depth when they non-tendered Griffin Mendel.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Tyler Motte

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The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Tyler Motte to a one-year deal worth $800K. The 29-year-old spent last year with the Tampa Bay Lightning, tallying six goals and three assists in 69 regular season games and a single goal in five playoff games.

The journeyman will join his seventh NHL organization and continues to find work in the league despite being a light scorer and undersized. A fourth-round pick in 2013, Motte has just 49 career goals and 41 assists in 400 NHL games.  His best offensive season came in 2022-23 when he split time between the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers, Motte finished the year with eight goals and 11 assists in 62 games.

Signing with Detroit marks a homecoming for Motte as he is from St. Clair, Michigan and he played his college hockey with the University of Michigan. Motte spent three years in the NCAA with Michigan and had an offensive breakthrough during the 2015-16 season, posting 32 goals and 24 assists in 38 NCAA games.

Motte’s one-year deal marks his third straight trip through unrestricted free agency that has resulted in a one-year deal as last summer he signed a matching one-year $800K with Tampa Bay, while in September of 2022, he signed a one-year $1.35MM with the Ottawa Senators. Motte will be a free agent once again next summer.

Jets Sign Jaret Anderson-Dolan To Two-Year Deal

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7:26 PM: The Jets have officially signed Anderson-Dolan to a two-year deal for $775K at the NHL level (as per Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun). The first year of the deal is a two-way contract, with the second year as a one-way deal.

12:49 PM: The Jets are expected to pick up versatile depth forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan on a two-year deal, Mayor’s Manor reports.

Once a second-round pick of the Kings in 2017, Anderson-Dolan has now moved to his third squad in the past few months. He began last season in a 13th-forward role for Los Angeles, his usual spot on the depth chart for the past couple of years. But after providing serviceable depth scoring in 2022-23 (12 points in 46 games), the offense dried up. Shuffling in and out of the lineup when injuries dictated his presence, Anderson-Dolan managed only one goal and three assists through his first 30 games of the year.

That led the Kings to place him on waivers ahead of the trade deadline to open up some roster flexibility, upon which he was claimed by the Predators. The move to Nashville didn’t yield any more opportunity for the 5’11”, 200-lb forward, though. He played just once in the Preds’ final 18 games of the season, posting a -1 rating and two shots in 13:39 of ice time in his lone appearance against the Blue Jackets on April 13. He was then scratched for all six games in Nashville’s first-round loss to the Canucks.

Anderson-Dolan should land a bit more opportunity in Winnipeg, which will look for its depth forwards to step up after losing Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli to free agency yesterday. His usability at center helps his case for minutes, but he’s been somewhat rocky in the faceoff dot with a 45.2% career win percentage. He’ll likely compete for roster spots and ice time with the likes of David Gustafsson, Axel Jonsson-Fjällby and Rasmus Kupari in training camp.

In 127 career NHL games, Anderson-Dolan has 15 goals and 28 points with a -31 rating. He’s still young enough to be an RFA upon expiry of his new deal, at which point he’ll be 26.

Metro Notes: Tarasenko, Perreault, Hurricanes

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a contract offer to free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko. Fresh off the second Stanley Cup of his career and his first with the Florida Panthers, Tarasenko passed through the first day of free agency unsigned. It’s familiar territory for the 32-year-old as he didn’t sign a contract last summer until July 27th.

Tarasenko is no longer a perennial 30-goal scorer, but he remains a solid option on the wing, particularly for the Penguins who are looking for short-term options to play alongside Sidney Crosby. Tarasenko had a good year for Ottawa and Florida, tallying 23 goals and 32 assists in 76 regular season games.

The Penguins have just $3.5MM in available cap space (as per CapFriendly) at the moment but could bury salary in the AHL to open up room should they decide to do so. They also have a stockpile of fourth-line options and could presumably trade Lars Eller or Noel Acciari to open up room for Tarasenko.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today tweeted that New York Rangers forward prospect Gabe Perreault will be going back to Boston College for his sophomore season in the NCAA. The Rangers’ 2023 first-round pick (23rd overall) isn’t sure what direction he will go after the season but given his numbers last year in the NCAA (19 goals and 41 assists in 36 games) it’s fair to wonder if he’ll turn pro. Perreault is the son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault and shares many of the same on-ice traits as his father, right down to their height at 5’11”. He has yet to sign his entry-level contract but at this point, it doesn’t appear to be an issue that is bothering Rangers management.
  • David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweeted that the Carolina Hurricanes will be hiring a new president for the organization with an announcement coming in the coming weeks. Former president and general manager Don Waddell resigned back in May and his GM duties were eventually handed off to Eric Tulsky. Waddell oversaw the Hurricanes’ business operations for nearly ten years after he was hired back on July 1st, 2014. There are no indications as to who the Hurricanes new president could be, and it will add another layer of change to an organization that has seen quite a bit of it over the past six weeks. Carolina was busy in the first two days of free agency as they looked to replace the losses of Brett Pesce and Jake Guentzel who both signed elsewhere.

Blues Sign Adam Jiricek To Entry-Level Contract

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The St. Louis Blues have signed 2024 first-round pick Adam Jiricek to his entry-level contract (Twitter link). Jiricek becomes the first prospect from his draft class to sign an entry-level deal, even beating out unanimous first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini.

To see Jiricek become the first of his class to sign is a bit of a surprise after a lower-body injury ended his season in December. He played in just 22 league games this year – split between three outings in Czechia’s U20 league and 19 in the Czechia Extraliga. Jiricek scored just one assist in those appearances. His low scoring continued through international play, with Jiricek failing to score in 10 games with Czechia’s U20 team but recording four points in nine games with their U18 squad.

The allure of Jiricek – aside from the precedent set by his brother David Jiricek – is undoubtedly his performance in his age-17 season. He was among Czechia’s best prospects that year, posting 29 points in 41 U20 games and two assists in 12 Extraliga games. That scoring still doesn’t illicit much – but it was a promising start when combined with just how smooth and strong Jiricek’s ability to shut down opponents looked. He thrived at stopping opponents at the blue-line, keeping them from ever setting up too much in his own zone. When he won the puck back, Jiricek was quick to get his head up and find the right play – all boosted by strong edges and open hips giving Jiricek seamless skating.

But it’s never easy to bet on injury, especially with a top-20 pick, like the Blues have with Jiricek. With his entry-level contract in place, the Blues could be gearing up to either bring Jiricek over to their farm system, where the team could ensure he bounces back from a long stint off, or they could be preparing to send him to the CHL, where his rights are owned by the Brantford Bulldogs. That will be the next stop for Blues fans to watch for, as they wait with baited breath to see how their latest first-round pick will pan out.

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