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Wyatt Kalynuk Signs With Liiga’s Pelicans

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Pelicans of Liiga, Finland’s top-level professional league, have signed free agent defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk to a one-year deal, per a team press release.

Kalynuk, 27, spent last season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds while on a two-way contract with the Blues. He became a UFA at the end of the season after finishing fourth among Thunderbirds defenders in scoring with five goals, 13 assists and 18 points in 66 games with 65 PIMs and a -1 rating.

A seventh-round pick of the Flyers in 2017, Kalynuk spent three seasons at Wisconsin but opted not to sign with Philadelphia upon graduating. Instead, the Manitoba native inked an entry-level deal with the Blackhawks in 2020 after a junior year with the Badgers that saw him post 28 points in 36 games while serving as captain, earning Big 10 First All-Star Team honors.

Kalynuk made his NHL debut in his first professional season, suiting up in 21 games with Chicago during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. The left-shot defender stayed on the NHL roster or taxi squad for most of the year, doing well in a bottom-pairing role with four goals, five assists, and 25 hits while averaging 16:16 per game with a -6 rating. In his short stint with AHL Rockford that year, he was elite offensively, with 10 points in only eight games.

But things went downhill from there for Kalynuk, who played only five NHL contests the following season. His effectiveness in the minors was also diminished, but he was still Rockford’s second-highest-scoring defender with 27 points in 52 games. Still, it wasn’t enough to convince Chicago to keep him around, and they opted not to issue him a qualifying offer when his ELC expired in 2022.

Kalynuk has since played exclusively in the minors on two-way deals, suiting up for the Blues’, Canucks’ and Rangers’ primary affiliates. After failing to repeat his previous offensive success wherever he went, it’s not surprising to see the blue-liner opt for perhaps a bigger role in Finland. He leaves the AHL behind after 74 points in 187 games over the last four years.

He’ll be Pelicans’ second defenseman with NHL experience on this season’s roster, joining former Hurricane Michal Jordan. The Lahti-based club will suit up in the Champions Hockey League beginning next month after finishing as the runner-up to the Liiga championship last season.

Morning Notes: Laine, Red Wings, Swoyer

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Scott Billeck of The Winnipeg Sun writes that he doesn’t believe the Winnipeg Jets will pursue a reunion with former Jet Patrik Laine. Billeck cites the Jets’ lack of cap space and poor fit as the reasons Winnipeg would pass on the former 2016 second-overall pick. The Jets would need to move out money to acquire the Columbus Blue Jackets forward, even if Columbus retained half of Laine’s cap hit (something they are hesitant to do).

Winnipeg currently has Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabriel Vilardi, Nikolaj Ehlers, Brad Lambert and possibly Vladislav Namestnikov slated to play in their top six, and new head coach Scott Arniel reportedly would like to add Cole Perfetti into the mix as well, further crowding the top two lines. The Jets could move Ehlers out via trade given his contract situation and hesitancy to sign long-term, but he could provide a lot more value to Winnipeg if the new coaching staff can deploy him properly.

In other morning notes:

  • Detroit Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde plans to increase the leadership roles of youngsters Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond next season (as per Helene St. James of Detroit Free Press). Lalonde adds that he isn’t worried about the ongoing contract negotiations between the team and the two franchise cornerstones saying that whenever they have spoken this summer, they have not discussed the contract situation. Detroit has used a rotating leadership group the past couple of seasons, relying solely on veterans to fill the assistant captain roles. But with the Red Wings ready to take the next step, it appears they are also ready to allow their younger stars to have a bigger role in the leadership of the team.
  • The Toledo Walleye of the ECHL announced that they’ve signed former Pittsburgh Penguins defensive prospect Colin Swoyer for the 2024-25 season. The 26-year-old joined the Penguins organization on an amateur tryout in March 2022 and eventually signed an ELC. He played 45 AHL games over parts of three seasons and spent the majority of last season with the South Carolina Stingrays, registering two goals and five assists in 40 games. During his AHL career, Swoyer has split time between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Hershey, tallying a goal and 13 assists.

Penguins Notes: Crosby, Malkin, Werner

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Sidney Crosby’s 37th birthday came and went without a contract extension, which was always the plan according to Rob Rossi of The Athletic. Many believed Crosby would be extended on August 7th due to his superstitious nature, however, the 19-year veteran remains without a contract past next season.

Rossi’s league sources have informed him that the Penguins and Crosby remain on the same page when it comes to his new deal and the team is confident that they will reach a new agreement. Rossi also notes that Crosby has reportedly told those close to him that he plans to re-sign with Pittsburgh and that his priority this summer has been on his training for next season.

In other Penguins notes:

  • Rossi also squashed a rumor from earlier in the week that Penguins center Evgeni Malkin intended to retire from the NHL after next season and forgo the last year of his four-year contract. Malkin told Rossi that he hasn’t given any thought to retiring a year early and intends to play out the final two years of his contract. The 38-year-old is coming off the worst offensive season of his 18-year career but spent most of last year saddled with replacement-level wingers. Malkin managed to dress in all 82 regular season games for the second consecutive season and posted 27 goals and 40 assists while averaging 18:35 of ice time per game.
  • Teddy Werner will move into Dave Beeston’s role with the Penguins as alternate governor after Beeston’s departure from the Fenway Sports Group (as per Rossi). Beeston’s exit left the Penguins without a liaison to their ownership group and the senior vice president for Fenway Sports Management will fill in the role that had been occupied by Beeston for the past two years. Werner is the son of FSG chairman Tom Werner and has previously worked in Major League Baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Free Agent Profile: Kailer Yamamoto

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It has been a rather steep fall from grace in recent years for unrestricted free agent winger Kailer Yamamoto.  Thought of as a key piece of Edmonton’s core just a few years ago, he now finds himself looking for a new deal more than a month into free agency.

Yamamoto first made a big impact late in the 2019-20 season, turning a midseason recall into a permanent stay with 26 points in 27 games, suggesting that he could be an important top-six piece for the Oilers in the process.  After his output dropped the following season, Yamamoto rebounded well in 2021-22, notching 20 goals and 21 assists in 81 contests while adding seven points in 14 playoff contests.

Unable to afford a long-term agreement, the two sides worked out a two-year, $6.2MM deal, effectively a second bridge contract which was a reasonable move for both sides.  But it didn’t work out as planned.  His production dipped to 25 points in 58 games, resulting in Edmonton moving him to Detroit in a cap-dumping move before free agency last summer.

But as it turns out, the Red Wings didn’t want him; they took him on to get the negotiating rights to Klim Kostin as part of that swap.  They weren’t able to flip Yamamoto so they ultimately bought him out, paying only one-third of the deal to do so since he was only 24 at the time.

Yamamoto quickly caught on with Seattle, inking a one-year, $1.5MM deal, a fair price tag for a player looking to rebuild some value.  But that didn’t happen.  He struggled offensively with the Kraken, collecting just eight goals and eight assists in 59 games.  Rather than qualify him at $1.5MM and give him arbitration eligibility (where his prior production with Edmonton) would have positioned him for a fair-sized raise, Seattle elected to non-tender him and clearly, his second trip through unrestricted free agency hasn’t gone as well as he was hoping for.

Stats

2023-24: 59 GP, 8 G, 8 A, 16 PTS, -9, 18 PIMS, 11:59 ATOI, 53.3 CF%
Career: 303 GP, 58 G, 76 A, 134 PTS, +20, 124 PIMS, 15:33 ATOI, 51.5 CF%

Potential Suitors

There are a couple of types of potential fits for the 25-year-old.  Teams that are looking for offensive depth in their bottom six might have him on their list of options.  Meanwhile, rebuilding teams looking for someone who might be able to help for the medium term (he still is controllable through arbitration through 2025-26) could be inclined to give him a shot.

In the East, Montreal has at least a short-term opening up front with the recent injury to Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Yamamoto would give them a bit of offensive punch and speed in a bottom-six group that is veteran-heavy.  The fact that he had success playing with Leon Draisaitl could appeal to a team like Pittsburgh who has been looking for consistent wingers to play with Sidney Crosby.  They’ve tried several players in that role with varying degrees of success; perhaps Yamamoto could be worth a look there.  Ottawa, meanwhile, has lost some winger depth between trades dating back to last season and free agency and could benefit from another offensive option to shore up their depth.

Out West, Colorado had a lot of success on a low-cost one-year deal for Jonathan Drouin last summer.  Yamamoto fits that type of bounce-back profile that could be a mutual fit.  He’d have to take a fair-sized pay cut to make it work, however, with Valeri Nichushkin expected back early in the season, putting his cap hit back on their books.  If Yamamoto is willing to take a low-cost contract, Dallas would also be a fit as they’ve had success integrating offensive players in their bottom six.  With Evgenii Dadonov a year out from free agency, Yamamoto could plausibly slide into that spot in 2025-26, potentially making him a multi-year fit.  Winnipeg was a mid-pack team offensively last year and hasn’t added much on that front so he could be a fit there depending on how long (and expensive) Cole Perfetti’s next contract winds up being.

Projected Contract

Being a late non-tender, Yamamoto wasn’t eligible to land on our Top 50 UFA list but might have made it towards the back end had he been eligible.  But players who make it to this point unsigned generally don’t fare well in terms of their next contract.  Most of the best fits are teams that will be looking for a bargain so if he’s looking to go to a playoff-bound team, he’s likely going to have to come in at $1MM or lower.  If a lower-end team wants to take a flyer on him, the price tag could land a bit above that but at this point, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to match the $1.5MM he made last season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

West Notes: Lindstein, Podkolzin, Chmelevski

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When the Blues signed prospect Theo Lindstein back in March, they gained assignment rights on him as a first-round pick, meaning they could have assigned him to their AHL affiliate.  However, the blueliner confirmed to Gefle Dagblad’s Daniel Sandstrom that he will remain with SHL Brynas for the 2024-25 season and will not attend training camp with St. Louis next month.  Lindstein was the 29th overall pick in 2023 after playing a regular role for them in the SHL.  Brynas was relegated to the second-tier Allsvenskan last season where he had 15 points in 49 games plus four more in 13 qualification games to get them back up to the top level.  Because Lindstein clearly won’t play in ten or more NHL games this coming season, his contract will slide and still have three years remaining on it heading into 2025-26.

Elsewhere out West:

  • In an interview with Cherkas Atlant (video link), Canucks winger Vasily Podkolzin admitted that he was surprised to receive his two-year, $2MM contract extension in mid-April. The 23-year-old spent the bulk of last season in the minors with AHL Abbotsford and wasn’t overly productive when in Vancouver, collecting just two assists in 19 games.  That had the 2019 first-round pick expecting to be traded at some point but instead, he’ll get a chance to lock down a full-time roster spot in the fall.  Notably, Podkolzin is now waiver-eligible so it seems likely he’ll at least stick at the back of their roster after training camp.
  • Speaking with Sport-Express’ Ivan Bohun, Sharks RFA forward Sasha Chmelevski indicated that he still intends to return to the NHL despite signing a three-year extension with Salavat Yulaev in late April. The 25-year-old has 24 career NHL appearances under his belt where he has 10 assists but he elected to return home where he has been quite productive.  Last season, Chmelevski picked up 27 goals and 29 assists in 67 games, leading to some speculation that San Jose might be able to trade his rights.  Chmelevski thinks a trade could have been an option but clearly, one never materialized.  Once this contract ends in 2027, Chmelevski will be 28 and an unrestricted free agent and it appears that will be when he attempts to return to North America.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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Things have slowed down considerably after a hectic rush to begin free agency. With the dog days of summer in full swing, it’s time to open up the mailbag once again.

Our last one came in the more immediate aftermath to the draft and free agency and was broken into two pieces. The first looked at whether the Golden Knights could deal from their blue line depth to improve their depth scoring, whether Utah could move on from Barrett Hayton, and a few remaining storylines to keep an eye on this offseason, among other things. The second dealt with the best lineup fit for Steven Stamkos in Nashville, how the Flyers may alter their roster ahead of Matvei Michkov’s arrival, and the Stars’ cup chances.

You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below.  The mailbag will run on the weekend.

Poll: Who Will Be The NHL’s Next Captain?

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August is finally here, marking the time of year when teams reconvene at their home rink and begin hardy planning for the upcoming season. That step will come with extra work for the six teams around the league who don’t currently have a captain.

Many of these teams, including Seattle, Anaheim, and Utah, have gone years without a captain – instead opting to disseminate responsibilities among multiple assistant captains. All three teams are amidst staunch rebuilds – with Utah even mapping out relocation – and are likely waiting for their top prospects to take a few more steps before earning the role. The trio of Matthew Beniers, Leo Carlsson, and Logan Cooley seem prime for that ascension with their respective teams, though they each have multiple challengers lining up behind them. The Buffalo Sabres are in a similar grouping, as they transition from a veteran-laden lineup to one of the league’s youngest rosters.

The Chicago Blackhawks also fall into the aforementioned discussion – not carrying a captain since legendary centerman Jonathan Toews ended his career in 2022. Toews leaves massive shoes as Chicago’s leader, after co-heading three Stanley Cup wins alongside winger Patrick Kane. Naming a successor will formally carry Chicago into a new era – one without many of the faces that came to define Chicago hockey in the 2010s. Teenage phenom Connor Bedard seems like a great option to lead that transition, after netting 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games last season – the most of any rookie Blackhawk since Artemi Panarin in 2016, and Kane before him. But Bedard is still young and was limited to a partial season last year by a jaw injury. Those factors could hold him back from Chicago’s prestigious ’C’. If that is the case, it doesn’t seem any of the team’s veteran leaders, including Nick Foligno and Seth Jones, would inspire Chicago to name a captain too early.

And while Chicago’s next captain will lead the team through new scenery, it’s the Tampa Bay vacancy that headlines the off-season. The Lightning now sit without a captain for the first time since 2002, after franchise icon Steven Stamkos chose to sign with the Nashville Predators in his first trip to unrestricted free agency. Stamkos wore the ’C’ for the last 10 years and established himself as a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer in that span, leading Tampa Bay to two Stanley Cups and setting the franchise’s all-time records in both goals and points scored. Like in Chicago, the Lightning will be entering a new era with their next captain – though they’re much more prepared for the vacancy than their counterparts. While forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point could both serve as strong replacements, it’s defenseman Victor Hedman that offers the same rugged veteran leadership brought by Stamkos. Hedman recently signed a four-year extension in Tampa, taking him through his age-37 season and, potentially, the end of his career. He’s already appeared in 1,052 games with Tampa Bay – the most of any Lightning other than Stamkos – and holds the franchise records in all three scoring stats, among defenders. Transitioning from Stamkos to Hedman should prove more of a light handoff than a total change in power, which could be enough to sway a Lightning franchise that hasn’t gone longer than one year without a captain since naming Paul Ysebaert as their inaugural ’C’.

Mapping out when captain announcements will come is often a fool’s bet, but the candidates to earn the NHL’s next ’C’ seem to be becoming clearer. Who will it be? Will Tampa jump to another veteran, will Chicago move into their next step, or will an oft-captain-less team commit to their young guard? Let us know by voting in the poll below and discussing in the comments.

Who Will Be The NHL's Next Captain?
Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay 70.38% (625 votes)
Connor Bedard, Chicago 20.95% (186 votes)
Matthew Beniers, Seattle 5.07% (45 votes)
Leo Carlsson, Anaheim 3.60% (32 votes)
Total Votes: 888

If the embedded poll isn’t showing up, use this link to vote!

Snapshots: NCAA Recruitment, Colorado, Lekkerimäki

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The NCAA commitment window opened to the 2008 birth year on August 1st, bringing another wave of top young players to the collegiate level. International recruits have so far headlined this year’s class, with five Europeans and 13 Canadians already announcing their commitments. Among the notable international commits is hefty centerman Caleb Malhotra, who went eighth overall to Kingston in this year’s OHL Draft, but solidified his plans to play outside of the OHL with a commitment to Boston University. Malhotra is emerging as a top Canadian in the 2008 birth year – even despite battles with injury this season. He played in just 48 games, though he still did enough to score at a point-per-game pace and earn a five-star rating from PuckPreps, who praised his mobility and puck skills.

Malhotra – the son of longtime Vancouver Canucks center Manny Malhotra – is a cerebral playmaker, who knows how to use his frame and stickhandling to create space. With a college commitment out of the way, he’s now set for the Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL. Malhotra is undeniably one of the BCHL’s top recruits and will now look to vindicate the expectations around him, and quickly bounce back from injury, by finding scoring quickly at the juniors level. If all goes well, he’ll enter BU with the same lofty expectations.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The AHL’s Colorado Eagles have announced they’ve hired Kim Weiss as a video coach and Matt Zaba as a goalie coach. Weiss moves to the pro level after becoming the first female coach in D-III history this season, serving behind the bench of her alma mater Trinity College. Trinity won their conference championship under Weiss’ guard – earning her a ring after losing in the NAHL’s 2023 Robertson Cup semifinals with the Maryland Black Bears. Zaba is also moving from American juniors, having spent the last seven seasons as the goalie coach for the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. He’s built up multiple NHL prospects over that span, including Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Filip Larson, Calgary Flames prospect Arseni Sergeyev, and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Isaiah Saville. He’ll now join that trio at the AHL level – coaching in familiar territory after starting his career at Colorado College. Zaba is also an alum of one NHL game, 66 AHL games, and 31 ECHL games – though much of his personal playing career was spent in Austria and Italy.
  • The Vancouver Canucks are facing a list of lineup questions as training camp approaches, shares Thomas Drance of The Athletic, who highlighted the right-wing role next to Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson as the team’s most glaring hole. Drance mentioned Nils Hoglander as an early favorite for the role, though he’ll face pressure from new signee Daniel Sprong. However, Drance also noted that star prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki could be a dark horse to round out what should be Vancouver’s scoring line. Lekkerimäki won the SHL’s ’Rookie of the Year’ award last season, after posting 19 goals and 31 points in 46 games with Örebro HK. He signed his entry-level contract and moved to the AHL after Örebro’s early playoff exit – adding two points in six more games with the Abbotsford Canucks. Lekkerimäki is an effective scorer, with an eye for the offensive zone and hard snapshot – though his size has some worried about how he’ll adjust to the next step. It seems he’ll have a chance to answer that bell at training camp, as he fights for a significant role out of the gates.

International Notes: Beaudin, Schmiemann, Zahejsky

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Some notable minor transactions from around the hockey world today as August moves along:

  • Former Senators center J.C. Beaudin will remain overseas this season after signing a one-year deal with Finland’s TPS, per a team announcement. Beaudin, 27, was a third-round pick of the Avalanche back in 2015 but didn’t make his NHL debut until 2019-20 with Ottawa, posting an assist and a -4 rating in 22 games. He spent the following two seasons in the AHL with Belleville and Laval before heading overseas in 2022. He signed with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the German DEL, where he racked up 22 goals and 48 points in 90 games over the last two seasons.
  • Defenseman Quinn Schmiemann is making his first jump across the pond, as Slovakia’s HC Dukla Trencin announced on Facebook that they’ve signed the 23-year-old to a one-year contract. Schmiemann was a sixth-round pick of the Lightning in 2019 out of WHL Kamloops but never signed, instead beginning his professional career in the Canucks organization on an AHL deal with Abbotsford in 2022. Schmiemann rarely got into the lineup in Abbotsford and was sent back to the Lightning organization at last season’s AHL trade deadline, finishing the season with the Syracuse Crunch. The 6’2″, 201-lb left-shot defender had four goals and 10 assists for 14 points and a +10 rating in 67 AHL games the last two years and will now head to Europe after failing to land an NHL contract.
  • A potential first-round pick in next year’s draft is coming to North America. Czech forward Vit Zahejsky has signed a scholarship and development agreement with WHL Kamloops after they selected him second overall in last month’s CHL Import Draft, the team announced today. Zahejsky is one of the younger players in the 2025 class and doesn’t turn 17 until this weekend. The 5’10”, 170-lb forward spent last season in his native Czechia with HC Karlovy Vary’s U20 club, managing 19 goals and 39 points in 42 games against much older competition. He’s currently representing Czechia at this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he has a goal and an assist in two games.

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