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New York Notes: Wahlstrom, Nelson, Trouba, Barbashev

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Breaking down a variety of Islanders topics in a mailbag published Thursday, Arthur Staple of The Athletic believes a waiver placement is the most likely option for winger Oliver Wahlstrom when training camps wrap up in a couple of months.

The Isles avoided an arbitration hearing with Wahlstrom last month, settling with the RFA on a one-year, $1MM contract. But it was clear at the time that the settlement didn’t necessarily mean he’d be back in an Islanders uniform next season.

Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has been shopping the 2018 11th overall pick as far back as the June draft, but Staple believes offers for the winger have “been tepid at best.” He also says that Wahlstrom likely doesn’t have a path to regular bottom-six minutes under head coach Patrick Roy, but that he also “would need to have an incredible camp to secure a top-six spot.” His trade value will remain the same if he sticks in the press box, and the Isles don’t have the cap flexibility to routinely make a seven-figure cap hit player a healthy scratch. For that reason, if Wahlstrom finds his way out of Long Island in the coming weeks, it’ll likely be on the waiver wire.

Here’s more from the New York teams:

  • The Isles have a bevy of crucial pending free agents, namely second-line center Brock Nelson. Staple believes they’d consider shopping Nelson before the trade deadline “if they’re well out of [the playoff race],” but if they opt to work on an extension, it’ll likely result in a long-term deal to keep his cap hit down. The cap-strapped Isles also need to ink star blue liner Noah Dobson to a new deal next summer – he’s a pending RFA. Nelson turns 33 in October, so a seven or eight-year extension would take him into his 40s.
  • Last month, the dust largely settled on a hectic summer for Rangers captain Jacob Trouba with a report that he was likely to remain with the Blueshirts this season after a heavy dose of trade rumors. The 30-year-old, who has two years left on his contract with a hefty $8MM cap hit, told The Athletic’s Peter Baugh that he’s happy to remain with New York and excited for the upcoming campaign. “It’s part of the business,” Trouba said. “I knew that part of my contract turned this year (to a no-trade list), and I submitted a list. That’s what I did. All the other noise was pretty much noise.” The defender also dispelled any notion that there was a rift between he and Rangers GM Chris Drury, saying communication with the entire front office was “great the whole time” throughout the summer.
  • The Rangers no longer own the signing rights to 2022 fifth-round pick Maxim Barbashev, but he’s staying in the organization on a one-year contract with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, the team announced today. The 20-year-old winger is coming off a disappointing fourth junior campaign in which he was limited to 35 points in 59 games between the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats and Shawinigan Cataractes. His signing rights lapsed after he wasn’t signed to an entry-level contract by the Blueshirts before June 1, but he’ll now get a bit of runway with Hartford to prove he can adjust to the pro game.

Denis Gurianov Signs Two-Year Deal In Russia

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August 1: The KHL’s rush of transactions today continues. Gurianov’s two-year deal with CSKA was cemented today, per the league.

July 4: Not long ago, it looked as if Denis Gurianov was set to be a key secondary contributor for Dallas.  However, he has struggled considerably for the last couple of years and it appears he’s opting for a change of scenery as Alexander Balabanov of Sport-Express reports that the winger is expected to sign a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.  Back in April, it was reported that this was the likely outcome for the unrestricted free agent.

The 27-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2015 and while he didn’t become a consistent top-six option for the Stars, he put up a 20-goal season and averaged 30 points between 2019-20 and 2021-22, earning himself a couple of $2.9MM paydays in the process.  But he struggled in 2022-23, eventually being moved to Montreal who elected to non-tender him that summer.

Last year, Gurianov didn’t have a great market in free agency, waiting ten days before securing a one-year, $850K deal with Nashville.  Things didn’t go well there either as he cleared waivers at the end of training camp, playing in 27 games with AHL Milwaukee where he had 30 points.  That earned him a promotion in January but he played sparingly with Nashville for two months before being traded to Philadelphia where he played even less down the stretch.  All told, he finished up the campaign with just 18 NHL appearances where he had one goal and one assist.

With a market that doesn’t appear to be materializing for him in North America, it would make sense for him to return to Russia where he’d have a chance to play a prominent role much closer to home.  Assuming a deal is finalized, Gurianov will depart the NHL with 298 career appearances where he put up 52 goals and 61 assists.

Ruslan Iskhakov Signs Two-Year Deal With CSKA

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August 1: Iskhakov has signed a two-year deal with CSKA, the team announced on Telegram on Thursday. His NHL signing rights will still belong to the Islanders when his KHL contract expires in 2026.

July 6: After making his NHL debut late in the season and even getting into a playoff game, it seemed reasonable to think that winger Ruslan Iskhakov was in the Islanders’ plans for next season, at least as a player who could be called up early when injuries struck.  However, it doesn’t appear as if that will be an option as Championat’s Dmitry Storozhev relays that Iskhakov is one of six players expected to sign with CSKA Moscow of the KHL in the coming days.

The 23-year-old was a second-round pick (43rd overall) of the Isles back in 2018 despite being one of the smallest players in that draft class, coming in at just 5’7.  He spent two years at the University of Connecticut before turning pro, spending time in both Finland and Germany before coming back to North America for the 2022-23 campaign.

In his two seasons with AHL Bridgeport, Iskhakov was one of their most consistent scoring threats.  He finished third in rookie scoring in 2022-23 with 51 points in 69 games and nearly duplicated that last season, tallying 50 points in 69 games while adding an assist in his lone regular season appearance with New York.

That was enough for the Islanders to tender him a two-way qualifying offer last month worth a little under $814K at the NHL level.  However, it appears that Iskhakov will eschew that to return home where he hasn’t played since before being drafted.

Worth noting is that CSKA Moscow is under sanctions from the IIHF regarding their handling of Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov, including a two-year ban on transfers.  However, Storozhev notes that the State Duma adopted a bill that allows leagues to approve regulations regardless of international federations, effectively bypassing the IIHF sanctions which will allow Iskhakov and others to join CSKA in the near future once the bill is signed into law.

Sharks RFA Egor Afanasyev Signs Three-Year Deal With CSKA Moscow

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Sharks RFA left winger Egor Afanasyev is returning to his native Russia. He’s signed a three-year deal with CSKA Moscow, per a press release from the Kontinental Hockey League.

Afanasyev, 23, was drafted 45th overall by Nashville in 2019. He signed his entry-level contract later that summer, spending one season on loan to the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires and another on loan to CSKA before arriving in the Preds’ system in earnest in 2021. The 6’4″, 212-lb winger spent most of the last three seasons playing with AHL Milwaukee, only making 19 NHL appearances for Nashville in brief call-up duties in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He posted a lone goal and a -8 rating while averaging 11:04 per game.

The Preds parted ways with Afanasyev in June, trading the RFA’s signing rights to the Sharks in exchange for struggling 2020 first-rounder Ozzy Wiesblatt. San Jose issued Afanasyev a qualifying offer before the June 30 deadline, retaining his signing rights, but weren’t able to agree to a deal. Shortly after free agency opened, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reported that Afanasyev was set to sign a two-year deal with CSKA. It ended up being a year longer than expected, but negotiations for Afanasyev to return home have evidently been ongoing for months.

Afanasyev has rarely played in Russia throughout his junior and professional career, however. He came to the United States in 2016, suiting up for a Detroit-based U16 team before beginning his major junior career in the United States Hockey League. His only notable experience in the Russian pyramid came on his one-year loan back to CSKA in the 2020-21 season, where he recorded six points (two goals, four assists) in 16 KHL games. He also appeared on brief loans to Zvezda Moscow in the VHL, Russia’s second-tier pro league, and Krasnaya Armiya Moscow in the MHL, Russia’s top junior league.

The three-year deal with CSKA isn’t quite long enough to walk Afanasyev to unrestricted free agency in the NHL’s eyes, though. He’ll be 26 years old upon expiry, so if he wants to return to the NHL in the summer of 2027 when his KHL deal runs out, the Sharks will still have his signing rights. Afanasyev won’t be a UFA until his 27th birthday, which is Jan. 23, 2028.

Alexander Barabanov Signs With KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan

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Alexander Barabanov, who’s spent the last four seasons in the NHL with the Maple Leafs and Sharks, has signed a two-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan in Russia, per a team release.

The 30-year-old winger arrived in the NHL as an undrafted free agent signing by Toronto in the 2020 offseason, but couldn’t break through amongst a deep Maple Leafs offense. The Russian had just one assist through 13 games in fourth-line minutes before the Leafs traded him to San Jose for minor-league forward Antti Suomela, giving Barabanov a better chance at frequent NHL minutes.

It was a prudent move from the Sharks. Barabanov quickly became a top-six option for a paper-thin San Jose forward group, averaging north of 15 minutes per game in each of his three full seasons in the Bay Area. In 2022-23, he was their best winger not named Timo Meier, finishing fifth on the team in scoring with 47 points (15 goals, 32 assists) in 68 games. A pending UFA, some thought San Jose would move on from Barabanov last summer, but he was still with the Sharks come opening night.

Unfortunately, 2023-24 proved to be somewhat of a nightmare for Barabanov. A finger injury cost him a good chunk of the first two months of the campaign, and a lower-body injury kept him out of action at the end of the season. Overall, he was limited to 46 contests, struggling with only four goals and nine assists for 13 points despite still seeing top-six minutes. He shot a career-low 6.0% and had a -24 rating, although he still managed to post strong possession numbers compared to his teammates.

But with the lack of production on the league’s worst team, it wasn’t surprising to see a report last month that Barabanov was receiving calls from Kontinental Hockey League teams to return home. He was previously a member of SKA St. Petersburg from 2013 to 2020, recording 137 points (62 goals, 75 assists) in 262 games in parts of seven seasons. SKA’s roster is full after making a notable signing of their own yesterday in Evgeny Kuznetsov, so he won’t be returning there. But the St. Petersburg native still finds a good landing spot with Ak Bars, which also added NHL veteran Nic Petan to its forward group last month.

Barabanov played 206 NHL games over his four-year stint in North America, scoring 32 goals and adding 75 assists for 107 points with a -58 rating.

Central Notes: Stars, Utah, Nabokov

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After losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals in last year’s playoffs, the Dallas Stars went through numerous changes this summer — especially on the blue line. However, general manager Jim Nill does not believe the team has taken a step backward as referenced in an interview with Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the NHL.

In the interview, Nill is quoted as saying, “I think our team might be a little bit better than we were last year at this time, and now let’s see. Let’s get the season started. Let’s see where we’re at“. The Stars will bring back one of the best offenses in the league next year even while losing veteran Joe Pavelski to retirement. The emergence of Mavrik Bourque and Logan Stankoven should give Dallas some continuity in their offense and create one of the deeper lineups in the league.

It’s difficult to imagine Nill believes the defense has gotten better than last season as the team effectively swapped Chris Tanev, Jani Hakanpaa, and Ryan Suter for Mathew Dumba, Brendan Smith, and Ilya Lyubushkin. The organization will have a little financial wiggle room after getting Thomas Harley locked into a new deal but it may not be enough to round out the top four. If the Stars cannot make it to the Stanley Cup Final again next season, it would not be surprising if defense is the culprit.

Other Central notes:

  • The Utah Hockey Club has shored up its ECHL affiliation as the organization announced a one-year agreement with the Allen Americans of Allen, TX. The short length of the affiliate agreement may indicate that Utah is hoping to eventually organize a deal with the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL after their current deal with the Colorado Avalanche concludes. The Americans started play in the ECHL for the 2014-15 season and immediately won back-to-back Kelly Cup Finals. In the meantime, the Americans have qualified for the playoffs in every season but one.
  • According to Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now, Colorado Avalanche prospect Ilya Nabokov has had his contract restructured in the KHL. After paying him three million rubles for the 2023-24 KHL season, Metallurg Magnitogorsk is now set to pay 22 million rubles to the young netminder. Nabokov is the de facto starter for Metallurg after earning a 23-13-3 record in 43 games last year while holding a .930 save percentage. The new pay will not influence the length of the contract; however, as Nabokov is still expected to make it to North America next year.

Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Clifford, Kulich

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The Montreal Canadiens are set to begin the 2024-25 NHL season with approximately $5.45MM in cap space. With no other restricted free agents left to sign, the organization may weaponize its cap space and effectively buy draft and prospect capital (Article Link).

The Canadiens hold a major trump card up their sleeve as the team could still place goaltender Carey Price on long-term injured reserve once this season begins which would open up another $10.5MM in cap space for next season. Montreal is no stranger to weaponizing their cap space as general manager Kent Hughes has swung trades in the past which netted them a first-round pick for taking on the contract of Sean Monahan and a second-round pick to take on 40% of Jeff Petry’s salary.

There are several teams close to the cap including the Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, and Nashville Predators. A few of these organizations will utilize LTIR in their own right once the season opens up to shed some salary but some could call the Canadiens in the upcoming weeks to gain some financial breathing room for next season.

Other Atlantic notes:

  • Veteran forward Kyle Clifford refuses to hang up his skates as Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News reports Clifford has re-upped with the Toronto Marlies on an AHL contract for the 2024-25 season. Clifford is a veteran of 753 games at the NHL level with the Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs while helping the Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2014. For the better part of the last three seasons, Clifford has been riding out the twilight years of his career with the Marlies. In 108 games with the storied AHL franchise, Clifford has scored 21 goals and 51 points while collecting 224 PIMs.
  • The Buffalo Sabres offensive core has become a little too crowded for prospect Jiri Kulich. In an article today from Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News, the Sabres organization is waiting for Kulich to ’tear up the league’ before giving him a full-time shot at the NHL level. The young forward has been a solid scorer for the Rochester Americans over the last two years as he’s scored 51 goals in 119 games and another seven goals in 17 postseason contests. Buffalo is looking for Kulich to expand upon his 0.76 PPG thus far and raise his level to one of the better point producers at the AHL level.

Pacific Notes: Mylymok, Goure, Draisaitl, Canucks

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The AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames, the Calgary Wranglers, made a pair of signings today as Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports the organization has signed forward Connor Mylymok to an AHL contract and has also signed forward Deni Goure to an AHL contract. Both players will be making their AHL debuts next season.

Mylymok is not unfamiliar with professional hockey as the youngster racked up three goals in 11 games with the Idaho Steelheads at the end of last season. After finishing off a two-year stretch with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in which he scored four goals and 14 points in 47 games, the Jackson, MS native transferred to Niagara University last year. He achieved his most productive season with the Purple Eagles, scoring six goals and 11 points in 37 games.

The Wranglers should get more offensive proficiency from Goure who recently finished a five-year career with the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack. From 2019-24 (albeit losing the entire 2020-21 season), Goure suited up in 259 games for the Attack and was nearly a point-per-game player with 102 goals and 251 points. He’s a bit undersized at 5’10” but does play with a speed to his game that should transition nicely to the AHL.

Other Pacific notes:

  • Although there have been some rumblings behind Leon Draisaitl’s next extension with the Edmonton Oilers, it does not appear that a signing will happen anytime soon. Ryan Rishaug of TSN reports that the two sides have been in touch over the summer but negotiations on the extension have not commenced. The Oilers’ recent hiring of Stan Bowman to the general manager position may have delayed the signing. Still, the news is surprising as reports from earlier in the month indicated that Draisaitl and his agent were hoping for a deal to be done by the end of August.
  • Rick Tocchet and his fellow members of the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff are preparing for a three-day summit as referenced in an article from Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Subscription Article). The group’s primary focus is to address the Canucks offense for the 2024-25 NHL season and how best to score on the rush and make in-game counter adjustments. Opposing teams caught on to the fact that Vancouver’s offense was being run from the back by Quinn Hughes and Filip Hronek, limiting their productivity for the rest of the season. Although the Canucks will still look for a fair bit of offense from their defensive core, Tocchet is looking to engage the entire group rather than having a one-dimensional scoring system.

International Notes: Team Canada, Kuznetsov, Chernyshov, Rendulic

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Team Canada is already making significant preparations for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament that is set to take place in mid-February next year. The organization announced four assistant coaches who will be on the bench with the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jon Cooper. Bruce Cassidy of the Vegas Golden Knights, Peter DeBoer of the Dallas Stars, Rick Tocchet of the Vancouver Canucks, and Misha Donskov of the Stars will all represent their native Canada in next season’s tournament.

All four assistant coaches have previously served with Team Canada in varying capacities. Cassidy suited up for Team Canada in the 1984 IIHF World Junior Championship but did not earn a medal while also playing for Canada’s National Team during the 1986-87 season where he scored three goals and nine points in 12 games. As a player and a coach, the 4 Nations Face-Off will be Cassidy’s official return to Team Canada.

Tocchet joins Cassidy as the only other member of the staff to be joining Team Canada as a coach for the first time. Tocchet played in the 1987 and 1991 iterations of the Canada Cup where Canada secured gold against the Soviet Union and the United States. Vancouver’s head coach suited up for Team Canada’s World Championship after his dominant 1989-90 season concluded.

DeBoer and Donskov have considerable experience coaching Team Canada with most of their work coming in the World Junior Championships. DeBoer served as an assistant coach with Team Canada for the 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2015 tournaments with Canada winning gold in the final year. Similarly, Donskov served as a video coach to Team Canada during their pursuit of gold in 2015 while winning another gold medal with the team in 2016 as an assistant coach.

Other international notes:

  • Former forward for the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes, Evgeny Kuznetsov will be leaving for his native Russia as SKA St. Petersburg announced they had signed the veteran to a four-year contract earlier today. Kuznetsov will earn $950K in each year of his deal with access to substantial bonuses. According to Daria Tuboltseva of RG.org, Kuznetsov will earn $3.5MM if he reaches the top three in scoring, $3.5MM if he reaches the top three in goal scoring, $3.5MM if he reaches the top three in +/-, and $1.2MM for winning the Gagarin Cup. This means that on his four-year contract, Kuznetsov will have the opportunity to earn $47MM in salary if he can achieve all his bonus markers.
  • Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka, reports that Sharks’ prospect Igor Chernyshov has terminated his contract with Dynamo Moscow and will head to North America for the 2024-25 NHL season. There has been no indication that San Jose is trying to sign Chernyshov to his entry-level contract. Chernyshov was a potential first-round talent in the 2024 NHL Draft that fell to 33rd overall in the second round. The OHL’s Saginaw Spirit selected Chernyshov in the most recent OHL Import Draft with the 56th overall selection, and he will likely suit up for them next season.
  • Former depth forward for the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks, Borna Rendulic, has decided to extend his stay with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL. According to EliteProspects, Rendulic is in agreement with St. Petersburg on an extension that will keep him with the organization for the 2024-25 KHL season. Rendulic was acquired from HC Sochi last year and 11 goals and 27 points in 51 games to close out the season.

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