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Winnipeg Jets Sign Mason Shaw, Haydn Fleury

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According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Winnipeg Jets have signed forward Mason Shaw to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K at the NHL level and $350K in the AHL. In a follow-up report, Dreger also reports the Jets have added defenseman Haydn Fleury on a similar one-year, two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL and $400K in the AHL.

Shaw joins the second organization of his career after spending the last seven years with the Minnesota Wild organization. During the 2022-23 NHL season, Shaw put together a quality season as a bottom-six forward as he scored seven goals and 17 points in 59 games. Although he contributed nicely as a tertiary scoring option, Shaw had his season cut short by an ACL tear and would not play again until this past March.

The depth forward couldn’t muster up a repeat of his 2022-23 campaign as he only scored one goal and three points in 20 games for the Wild this past season. While playing for the Wild’s AHL affiliate in Iowa, Shaw operated more in a middle-six role as he scored 43 goals and 121 points in 197 games over seven years in AHL Iowa.

Fleury is much more of a journeyman compared to Shaw as he’s joining the fifth organization of his career. The former seventh overall pick of the 2014 NHL Draft also has much more experience at the NHL level as he’s competed in 268 games split between the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and Tampa Bay Lightning. Fleury should start as the seventh defenseman in Winnipeg as he offers the team a lot of flexibility in case of injury given that he can play on both sides of the blue line.

Central Notes: Marchessault, Levshunov, Jiricek

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After forward Jonathan Marchessault signed a five-year, $27.5MM contract with the Nashville Predators at the start of free agency, one of the main questions surrounding his departure from the Vegas Golden Knights is how hard the team tried to retain him. Nick Kieser of 102.5 The Game reports that Vegas offered Marchessault a similar salary but the years offered were well off his expectations.

Questions will surely arise about why the Golden Knights were unwilling to offer one of the original ’misfits’ a five-year term; especially if they were willing to compete with other teams on salary. Marchessault had spent the last seven years of his career in Vegas where he’s recorded 192 goals and 417 points in 514 games while scoring another 36 goals and 75 points in 95 playoff games en route to a Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup Championship in 2023.

In the end, Marchessault decided to join former captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Steven Stamkos in Nashville for the next several seasons. In an article from Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow of WFTV9, Stamkos and Marchessault called each other regarding Nashville as the two were hoping to land in the same destination.

Other Central notes:

  • There has been some speculation about the future of the Chicago Blackhawks’ first-round pick, Artyom Levshunov, on whether he will stay another year at Michigan State University or start the year in Chicago. If Levshunov decides to turn pro, the Blackhawks are leaning towards having Levshunov start with their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs according to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago will certainly not want to rush Levshunov’s development as he is coming off a 35-point season in 38 games for the Spartans and the Blackhawks do not appear ready to contend for the playoffs quite yet.
  • Another Central Division team will take it slow with their first-round selection of the 2024 NHL Draft. Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Dispatch reports the St. Louis Blues are leaning towards sending Adam Jiricek, the 16th overall pick, to the Ontario Hockey League instead of staying in Czechia. Jiricek only played 19 games for HC Plzeň this past season due to injury and would join the Brantford Bulldogs if he moved to North America.

San Jose Sharks Announce Full Coaching Staff

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The San Jose Sharks have announced their full coaching staff for the 2024-25 NHL season as well as a few new hires. Assistant coach Brian Wiseman, goaltending coach Thomas Speer, video coach Nick Gialdini, and assistant video coach Cody Ward will all return to the organization as the team has hired Doug Houda and Jeff Ulmer as assistant coaches.

Houda joins the Sharks organization after spending the last two years in the same role with the New York Islanders. It is interesting to see Houda earn a job as quickly as he has considering his lackluster performance with the Islanders’ penalty kill over the last two seasons. Before being hired in New York to serve as the team’s penalty kill coach, the team sat fourth in the NHL in the 2021-22 season with an 84.19% penalty kill. Since Houda’s hire, the team fell to ninth place in the 2022-23 season with an 82.19% success rate and even further to the league’s worst last year with a 71.49% success rate.

Ulmer earns his first role on an NHL bench after spending the last three years with the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, the Abbotsford Canucks. Focused primarily on the team’s powerplay and forward group, the AHL Canucks finished sixth in scoring in the AHL while sitting second in their division with a 23.0% clip on the powerplay.

In the front office, the Sharks also announced the hire of former power forward Ryane Clowe as the team’s new assistant general manager. Clowe assumes his new role after being a special advisor to general manager Chris Drury of the New York Rangers last year. The former player has vast experience with the Sharks organization already as he suited up in 432 games for San Jose between 2005-2013 and scored 101 goals and 217 points in the process.

Sharks Sign Andrew Poturalski

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According to an announcement from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, the San Jose Sharks have signed forward Andrew Poturalski to a two-year, two-way contract. With several prospects hoping to make the jump to the AHL level this season, the Sharks organization has added one of the premier minor league scorers over the last several years.

Poturalski originally came to professional hockey with the Carolina Hurricanes as an undrafted free agent from the University of New Hampshire. Most of Poturalski’s career has been spent in the AHL as he’s collected only six games at the NHL level since the start of the 2016-17 NHL season. Now 30 years old, Poturalski’s trophy case already carries the 2021 and 2022 John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL’s top scorer, the 2019 Jack A. Butterfield Trophy, and Calder Cup rings from the 2019 and 2022 AHL playoffs.

Outside of his most recent Calder Cup victory in 2022, Poturalski has also helped the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, appear in back-to-back Calder Cup finals. There is quite a lot of work to be done with the Barracuda as the team has not qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs since the 2020-21 AHL season.

It will be difficult for AHL San Jose to find a more capable player, however, as Poturalski seems to win wherever he goes. Over the last three years, Poturalski has scored 54 goals and 194 points in 169 regular season games while scoring another 13 goals and 45 points in 47 postseason contests.

Predators Sign Kieffer Bellows

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The Nashville Predators have signed forward Kieffer Bellows to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775K at the NHL per a team announcement. Bellows will join his fourth organization in as many years as a player heading into his seventh professional season.

Bellows’ prospect pedigree has fallen remarkably considering his selection in the NHL Draft. The New York Islanders drafted Bellows with the 19th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft and he would only score 11 goals and 25 points over 68 games with the organization. Although extending a lengthy leash to Bellows considering his underwhelming performance with the organization, he was eventually claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers in October of the 2022-23 season.

The young forward didn’t perform any better upon his change of scenery as he only mustered three goals in 27 games for the Flyers. Since suiting up for Philadelphia in the waning days of the 2022-23 regular season, Bellows has not returned to the ice in an NHL game. Shortly after the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, Bellows signed a professional tryout agreement with the Toronto Marlies without receiving any offers from NHL teams.

Bellows performed very well on his PTO with the Marlies as he scored 27 goals and 49 points in 52 games. Behind finishing fifth on the team in scoring, Bellows has now collected 64 goals and 109 points in 189 games at the AHL level. Because of his strong performances in the minor leagues, the Predators likely pursed Bellows to help their AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

Golden Knights Sign Akira Schmid

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The Vegas Golden Knights have signed goaltender Akira Schmid to a two-year, one-way contract with a salary of $875K in both seasons, per CapFriendly.

It’s been under a week since the Golden Knights acquired Schmid and Alexander Holtz from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Paul Cotter and a third-round pick in 2025. Due to his approximate $850K salary from 2021-2024, Schmid’s qualifying offer with Vegas would have been close to $900K, which the team decided not to extend to Schmid.

Only on the free agent market for a few days, Schmid officially joins the Golden Knights with plans on starting the year with their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. Vegas already filled the hole left by the trade of Logan Thompson, as they’ve signed goaltender Ilya Samsonov to assume the role of backup.

The past two seasons for Schmid could not be more dissimilar even though he totaled nearly the same amount of games played. On the backs of an impressively strong year from the rest of the young roster, Schmid recorded a 9-5-2 record while posting a .922 save percentage and 2.13 goals against average. Somehow, in only a year, Schmid recorded a 5-9-1 record for New Jersey, earning a .895 SV% and 3.15 GAA.

It will be difficult for Vegas to surmise exactly what goaltender they will be getting after such a stark contrast in performance. By starting in Henderson, Schmid will join a team on the rise as they look to qualify for the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 AHL season.

Kraken Sign Josh Mahura

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The Seattle Kraken have signed defenseman Josh Mahura to a one-year, league-minimum contract, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Mahura moves to Seattle after not receiving a qualifying offer from the Florida Panthers. He was left without much to base negotiations on, with lower-body injuries in December and March, in addition to healthy scratches, limiting Mahura’s year to just 30 games and nine assists. He was much more productive last year, his first year in Florida, recording a career-high 16 points in 82 games. It stands as his only full year in the NHL up to this point. In total, he’s managed 45 points across 191 games – enough to hold Mahura in the limbo of a seventh-defender for both the Florida Panthers and Anaheim Ducks since 2018.

Mahura will now look to bounce back from ailment and absence with a prove-it deal in Seattle. He’ll stand to benefit from Seattle’s departure from Brian Dumoulin, though Mahura will still need to compete with players like Ryker Evans and Jamie Oleksiak for ice time. This deal will also reunite Mahura with Brandon Montour, who he occasionally played alongside with the Panthers. Montour signed a much heftier seven-year, $50MM deal with the Kraken on July 1st.

Despite meager scoring through his first stint in the NHL, Seattle’s pass-first style could be a nice match for Mahura, as he looks to regain the strong scoring he boasted in juniors.

Ducks Acquire Robby Fabbri

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The Anaheim Ducks have acquired Robby Fabbri and a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for goaltender Gage Alexander. The conditions of the pick have not yet been revealed. Alexander is currently attending Anaheim’s development camp, which is set to conclude on July 5th.

Fabbri moves to Anaheim after a small resurgence with Detroit this season. He posted 18 goals and 32 points across 68 games – the highest he’s scored since he managed 18 goals and 37 points as a rookie in 2015-16. The performance was a nice bounce back to form after Fabbri suffered the second torn ACL of his career in March of 2022. The injury held him out of a combined 80 games across the second half off 2021-22 and first-half of 2022-23, with Fabbri totaling 46 points in 84 games in the games he did play.

Now Fabbri, and his $4MM cap hit ext season, will move to an Anaheim Ducks team built around skill, while Detroit hopes to add yet another top goalie prospect in Alexander, a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He’s since played in his first two professional seasons – recording five wins and a .887 save percentage in 16 AHL games, though most of his time has been spent in the ECHL backup role.

Detroit coupled this move by signing veteran winger Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year, $9.5MM contract. That leaves them with roughly $20MM in remaining cap space, with restricted free agents Lucas Raymond and Joe Veleno still awaiting new contracts. The Wings will be left one forward spot short after re-signing their RFAs, though that role could be filled by top prospects like Nate Danielson, Marco Kasper, or Carter Mazur.

Red Wings Sign Vladimir Tarasenko To Two-Year Deal

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The Detroit Red Wings have signed winger Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year, $9.5MM contract. The deal carries a cap hit of $4.75MM.

Tarasenko continues his tour around the NHL with this deal, after interrupting an 11-career in St. Louis with a trade to the New York Rangers last season, where he got to play with close friend Artemi Panarin. Tarasenko scored 21 points in 31 regular season games with the Rangers, after posting 29 in his final 38 games with the Blues. He added four points in seven postseason games, before entering unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career.

Tarasenko took his talents to the Ottawa Senators with the freedom – signing a one-year, $5MM contract. He was a stout second-line scorer with the Senators, netting 17 goals and 41 points in 57 games. But with hopes of the playoffs dwindling, Ottawa traded Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers at the Trade Deadline, receiving a third-round pick in 2025 and 2026 in return.

The move to Florida gave Tarasenko yet another chance to chase the Stanley Cup, after lifting it with the Blues in 2019. He seemed determined to cease the opportunity, recording 14 points in 19 games during Florida’s smash end to the season. But Tarasenko struggled to maintain that scoring in the postseason, netting just nine points in 24 postseason games – though three of those points came in the seven-game Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers.

Despite a relatively unproductive postseason, Tarasenko has maintained his top-end scoring – after serving in a proud role on St. Louis’ top lines for over a decade. Originally the 16th-overall selection in the 2010 NHL Draft, Tarasenko made his NHL debut midway through the 2012-13 season, having already spent four years in Russia’s KHL despite being just 21. And much like his career in Russia, Tarasenko proved quickly productive in the NHL, recording 19 points in his first 38 NHL games and ranking 12th in Calder Trophy voting. He followed the performance with 21 goals and 43 points as a sophomore, before truly breaking out in year-three, with a dazzling 37 goals and 73 points in 77 games. Not to be outdone, Tarasenko followed it with 40 goals and 74 points the following year, then 39 goals and 75 points the year after that.

Those seasons still hold Tarasenko’s career-high in goals, though he managed a career-high in points in the 2021-22 season, his age-30 season, netting 82 across 75 games.

And while he’s slipped from his days of routine 30-goal, 70-point seasons – Tarasenko can still be relied upon for 20 goals and 50 points outside of a top line role. He’ll now bring that scoring upside to Detroit, where he’ll – ironically – serve as the replacement for former long-time teammate David Perron, who in turn filled Tarasenko’s role with the Ottawa Senators.

Tarasenko’s new role could also pair him across from former Rangers teammate Patrick Kane, who signed a one-year deal with the Wings ahead of free agency. The duo of veteran scorers will join Alex DeBrincat and presumably Lucas Raymond – though he remains unsigned – as Detroit’s top-six wingers this season.

Flyers Sign Bobby Brink

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Bobby Brink to a two-year, $3MM contract. The deal will carry an annual average value of $1.5MM.

This marks Brink’s first true pro contract, earning a salary north of $1MM after spending the three years of his entry-level contract clawing his way up to the NHL lineup. Philadelphia selected Brink in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft, after a smash year with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. He moved to the University of Denver following his draft year, netting 24 points in 28 games as a freshman. That scoring earned him a spot among Philadelphia’s top prospects, though a torn labrum would limit his sophomore year to just 15 games and 11 points.

But Brink made an emphatic return in 2021-22, recording 57 points across 41 games as the Denver Pioneers chased a National Championship. He signed his entry-level contract and made his NHL debut after the end of his collegiate year, totaling four assists across the first 10 games of his career to end the 2021-22 campaign.

Despite the quick start in the NHL, Brink was moved to the minors for all of last season, recording 28 points in 41 games along the way. That’s where he began this season as well, though he was called up after scoring 13 points in 13 games to start the AHL season. Brink moved into Philadelphia’s extra forward role, appearing in 57 games and recording 23 points while rotating in to the team’s bottom-six. His new two-year deal should give him a bit of cushion to get comfortable in his newfound NHL role, though Philadelphia’s recent signing of Matvei Michkov could give Brink some competition in the lineup.

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