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Andrew Poturalski Signs In KHL

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In late May, the Sharks and winger Andrew Poturalski agreed to mutually terminate the final season of his contract, allowing him to pursue an option overseas.  That opportunity has now come to fruition as Avangard Omsk of the KHL announced (Twitter link) that they’ve signed Poturalski to a one-year contract.

The 31-year-old has been a prolific scorer at the AHL level but it has not translated into many NHL opportunities.  Last season, Poturalski was the top point producer in the AHL with 30 goals and 43 assists in just 59 games with AHL San Jose but he only got a chance to play in three games with the Sharks, something he voiced some frustration about after the season.

For his career, Poturalski has played in 527 AHL games over parts of ten seasons, notching 161 goals and 332 assists.  The bulk of that production has come over the last five years when he led the league in scoring three times.  That included a 101-point showing in 2021-22, the first player at that level to crack 100 points since the 2009-10 campaign when a pair of Hershey players reached that plateau.

But for all that production in the minors, Poturalski has seen action in just nine NHL contests over four seasons where he has a trio of assists.  Instead of continuing to be a top threat in the AHL and hoping for a chance at some point in the NHL, he walked away from a guaranteed $500K payment from the Sharks and will try his hand at something different as he makes the jump overseas for the first time.

Snapshots: Penguins, Mason West, World Juniors

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As the Pittsburgh Penguins’ former ownership group continues to explore the possibility of buying back into the team, the Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey broke down the potential pros and cons of the move. Fenway Sports Group has said that they’re only interested in selling a small portion of the Penguins, which appears to be something that interests Mario Lemieux and his former leadership group. However, Mackey wonders if there a path to where FSG would consider a full sale. There is precedent for FSG principal owner John Henry selling a team just a few years after purchasing it. As Mackey notes, in 1999, FSG purchased the MLB’s Marlins for $150MM, only to sell them three years later for $158.5MM. With the Penguins largely struggling since FSG’s purchase of the franchise, and the team now fully engaged in a rebuild, now could be the right time make a business decision. Even if Lemieux and his partners were to return as minority owners, Mackey emphasizes how meaningful that would be for the city.

Elsewhere around hockey:

  • The Team Canada National Junior Team has announced its roster for the National Junior Summer Showcase, per a team release. The 44-player roster features 22 first-round picks and eight second-rounders. Some of the names added to the roster include New York Islanders’ 2025 first-overall pick Matthew Schaefer, San Jose Sharks’ 2025 second-overall pick Michael Misa, and Cayden Lindstrom, selected fourth overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2024. Of note, eight first-round selections were listed as players who were invited, but unable to attend, including 2025 draft picks Caleb Desnoyers, Roger McQueen, and Carter Bear. The tournament is set to take place from July 27 to August 2 and serves as a precursor to the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship.
  • Chicago Blackhawks 2025 first-round pick Mason West is committed to his future in hockey, but that hasn’t stopped college football programs from reaching out to the 17-year-old, reports The Athletic’s Scott Powers. The 6’6″, 218-pound forward also starred as a high school quarterback in his native Minnesota. While NCAA football programs have continued to contact West after being drafted 29th overall by the Blackhawks, he has remained steadfast in his commitment to hockey, per his high school football coach, Jason Potts. Potts said West has continued to receive interest, noting, “Recruiting is out of hand… But again, Mason’s just focused on his goals and what he wants to do. And he’s really good at blocking distractions out and then just enjoying the experience.”

 

Free Agent Profile: Alexandar Georgiev

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Despite posting solid career numbers and demonstrating the ability to step up as a number one goaltender when needed, free agent Alexandar Georgiev is coming off the worst season of his career, which has made his NHL future uncertain. Split between the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks, last season Georgiev posted a less-than-desirable 7-19-4 record to go along with a .875 save percentage and 3.71 goals against average.

While that performance may be enough to keep Georgiev from getting a guaranteed deal in the NHL, it’s far below his otherwise solid career numbers. Given that the Bulgaria native is still 29 years old, he could still generate interest from a team in need of an experienced backup or simply someone to provide organizational depth.

Georgiev also isn’t far removed from significant success in the league. In the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, he combined for 78 wins with Colorado, leading the league in victories both years and earning his first career All-Star selection. His performance during the 2022-23 season, in which he posted 40 wins and a .918 save percentage, earned him a seventh-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting. That success makes last season’s steep decline all the more puzzling, and may be enough for a team to view last season as more of a one-off.

Stats

2024-25: 49 GS, 7-19-4, 1152 SV, .875 SV%, 3.71 GAA, 0 SO, 2671 MIN, .362 QS%
Career: 288 GS, 151-108-26, 7,892 SV, .903 SV%, 2.99 GAA, 15 SO, 17,010 MIN, .500 QS%

Potential Suitors

At this point in the process, most teams have a clear idea of who their starter and backup will be for next season. However, teams not fully comfortable with their backup situation may take a chance on Georgiev bouncing back from his difficult 2024-25 campaign.

One of Georgiev’s former employers may fit this bill. The New York Rangers — where he began his career — currently have 39-year-old Jonathan Quick set to back up star Igor Shesterkin. While the Rangers do have prospect Callum Tung waiting in the wings, the 21-year-old will need another year of development in the AHL. Adding Georgiev could provide valuable depth within the organization, offering a veteran presence to mentor Tung and someone they can rely on in case of injury.

Teams not expecting to contend next season could also take a run at Georgiev, hoping he can revitalize his career, potentially making him a valuable trade asset come the deadline in March. However, those same teams might be better off giving opportunities to prospects looking to establish themselves in the league.

Projected Contract

Georgiev just finished the final year of his three year, $10.2MM contract, which came with a $3.4MM AAV. Unless he experiences a complete resurgence, those kinds of numbers are unlikely to come around again for Georgiev. For now, he’d likely be open to any one-way deal, even if it’s at the veteran minimum. At this stage of the offseason, no option is off the table, including a two-way contract, a PTO, or even a return to Russia, where he began his pro career and holds dual citizenship.

Photo credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Mike Grier’s Drafting Propelling Sharks To Certain Future

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The San Jose Sharks have ranked dead-last in the NHL for two straight seasons. They’ve allowed the most goals-against (1,495) and scored the second-fewest goals-for (1,051) of the 2020s. And yet, it’s hard to imagine the Sharks’ headed towards anything other than an exciting, and profitable, future. With the help of the draft lottery, San Jose has built out a prospect pool that not only sits atop the league, but truly stands apart as well-crafted, high-performing, and set for cohesion at the NHL level.

That’s a fairly easy feat to pull off for a team that’s landed talent as prolific as William Eklund, Macklin Celebrini, and Will Smith. The trio have already emerged as prolific NHL scorers. Eklund reached the dazzling 40-assist mark as a 21-year-old this season. He was helped mightily along by Celebrini, who led the team in scoring with 25 goals and 63 points despite missing 12 games. That mark stands as the second-most from a Sharks rookie this century, behind Logan Couture’s 65-point rookie year. Smith ranks third on that list with 18 goals and 45 points this season.

Those three will serve as the cornerstones of San Jose’s offense moving forward. Given how great their starts have been, it’s hard to imagine the talent set to join them. San Jose landed OHL exception-status star Michael Misa with the second-overall pick this season, following a season where he led the OHL in scoring with 62 goals and 134 points in 65 games. It was a finish in the realm of former OHL greats like Patrick Kane, John Tavares, and Steven Stamkos. Misa has long been considered a superstar in his age group, and seems to have well outgrown the junior flight with his performance this season. With a hefty frame, pro-level skating, and a clear scoring knack – it seems well possible that he could push into the NHL as soon as next season.

San Jose had plenty of time to watch Misa as he faced off against a string of their top prospects this season. Winger Kasper Halttunen shined through as a strong, persistent sniper sat on top of the London Knights offense. He finished the regular season with 21 goals and 41 points in 38 games, then ramped to 15 goals and 21 points in 17 playoff games en route to an OHL and Memorial Cup championship. He was physically imposing, with the boost of tons of finesse on the puck and a killer wrist-shot. Those same descriptors could apply to Quentin Musty, who scored 30 goals and 59 points in 33 games with the Sudbury Wolves across the league.

San Jose also laid claim to another bruting OHL winger in Igor Chernyshov, who racked up an incredible 19 goals and 55 points in just 23 games playing opposite of Misa.

All three wingers seem to offer the hefty physicality and hard shot to compliment the nimble skill of players like Celebrini and Smith. If they can’t, San Jose has plenty more productive scorers rounding out their forward pool – players like Cameron Lund, Collin Graf, and Joey Muldowney.

While that list, and many more, fall into place on offense – the defense already seems to sit in the hands of Sam Dickinson. He won the OHL’s Max Kaminsky ’Defense of the Year’ Trophy with a lofty 29 goals and 91 points in just 55 games this season. He was electric in all aspects, showing the physical fundamentals to dominate the defensive zone and the all-out confidence to dominate on offense. Dickinson will also have a clear path to make the NHL roster out of training camp, helped along by the recent trade of Henry Thrun.

Dickinson’s presence could go long in paving the path for Shakir Mukhamadullin and Luca Cagnoni. The pair have each flirted with routine NHL icetime, though Cagnoni has earned the step headed into next season with an impressive 16 goals and 52 points in 64 AHL games this season. With none of the three firmly rooted in the NHL just yet, San Jose has brought in a trio of veterans – Dmitry Orlov, John Klingberg, and Nick Leddy – to help man the ship in the short-term.

The trio of defense prospects compliment each other nicely – with a mix of beefy, all-three-zones finesse in Dickinson, nimble skill in Cagnoni, and poised defense in Mukhamadullin. But they’re joined outside of the pro ranks by fellow physical, offensive-defenseman Eric Pohlkamp. Pohlkamp scored 35 points in 44 games with the University of Denver last season – and now seems well positioned to become the Pioneers’ #1-defender after Zeev Buium signed his entry-level deal.

But the Sharks are well positioned to ramp up their blue-line over the next few years. The 2026 draft class is rife with blue-chip defensemen – including Keaton Verhoeff, Chase Reid, Daxon Rudolph, and Ryan Lin. A top pick next year would likely mean another top defense prospect. Even if it doesn’t, San Jose could get another shot in 2027, with superstar defense prospect Landon DuPont already pushing himself above the rest of the pack.

The group is backed by perhaps the top goalie prospect in the world in trade-acquired Yaroslav Askarov, who posted a .923 save percentage in 22 AHL games this season and seems well set on earning San Jose’s starting role soon.

General manager Mike Grier has only promoted a few draft prospects to the NHL in his three years at San Jose’s helm. But many, many more have gone on to find starring roles on their teams and top scoring leaderboards. Grier has found that array of success all throughout the draft – from Celebrini at first-overall, to Cagnoni and Pohlkamp in the fourth and fifth rounds. Even more exciting, he seems well set to continue landing draft steals through two exciting classes in 2026 and 2027.

Plenty still hinges on the question of how all the pieces come together at the NHL level. There’s no guarantee that everything will click for 82 games of an NHL season, or how soon it will be until San Jose can pull their best prospects together. But they’re on the ramp to success, with plenty of strong performances already behind them, and even more set to come as soon as next season. For all of the claims of how to rebuild, it’s the Sharks who seem to be truly defining how to grow through strong draft picks.

Photo courtesy of Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images.

Sabres Sign Conor Timmins To Two-Year Deal

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed defenseman Conor Timmins to a two-year, $4.4MM contract per a team release. Michael Augello of The Hockey News first reported the move. The two sides will avoid an arbitration date with this move, after previous reports claimed they were still far apart on a new deal. Buffalo acquired Timmins and Isaac Belliveau from the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2025 NHL Draft in exchange for Connor Clifton and a second-round pick.

Timmins will double his salary in his new landing space, after spending the last two seasons on a two-year, $2.2MM contract originally signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023. The deal came on the heels of Timmins’ first full season with the Leafs, though his year was ultimately limited to 25 games by a long-term, lower-body injury. He scored 14 points in those appearances. That was enough to set up a return to the NHL ranks for the 2023-24 season, though Timmins was again limited to 10 points in 25 games due to routine injury.

The battles through health have headlined much of Timmins’ career, but strong play on both sides of the ice have kept him fixed in NHL lineups despite limited minutes. He found a bid of, mostly, clean health in the 2024-25 season – and managed to step into 51 games through the first half of Toronto’s season. He recorded eight points, 24 penalty minutes, and a plus-two in those appearances. But with Toronto tinkering with their blue-line in the Spring, Timmins was shipped out to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Trade Deadline alongside forward Connor Dewar in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick. Timmins finished his year with seven points and a plus-nine in 17 games with the Penguins and will now be set for yet another move in the Eastern Conference.

Buffalo clearly sees potential in Timmins. They shipped out established defender Clifton and a valuable draft pick to land Timmins’ negotiating rights, and will now sign him to a hardy contract relative to his experience in the league. He’s been a stout, two-way defender in his healthy minutes – capable of moving the puck, shutting down opponents, and throwing hits. But he’s yet to appear in more than 51 games with one club in a single season, and has averaged just 27 games per season through his six-year NHL career. A move to Buffalo will mark a chance to truly plant his feet, and break out in the way many expected when he went 32nd-overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.

Blues Leaning Into Culture Of Change After Offer Sheet Success

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Plenty has been made about the St. Louis Blues’ utilization of two offer sheets last summer. They signed forward Dylan Holloway and defender Philip Broberg away from the Edmonton Oilers, and even dealt the Oilers defense prospect Paul Fischer and a 2028 third-round pick for their compliance. The move proved to be successful beyond anyone’s expectations, with Broberg and Holloway each stepping up as thee man at their position through multiple points in the year. On the heels of a big payout, general manager Doug Armstrong and successor-to-be Alexander Steen have leaned fully into change.

The effects were immediate. St. Louis was well outside of playoff standing at the end of the 2023-24 season, and didn’t appear improved enough to sway that headed into the 2024-25 campaign. But with two new faces leading the charge, the team surged to a promising 18-17-4 record through the first half, even despite a November injury to Broberg. That was encouraging enough to push Armstrong to trade for former top-pair defenseman Cam Fowler, finally pulling him away from years of middling with the Anaheim Ducks.

The move, again, worked to perfection. With Broberg and Justin Faulk on one pair, Fowler was paired up with red-hot Colton Parayko, and the former-Duck worked his way to an impressive 36 points in 51 games before the end of St. Louis’ season. The move to acquire Fowler was another low-bet, high-reward gamble, coming at the price of a 2027 second-round pick that was offset by the Blues receiving a fourth-round pick in return. It was also yet another feather in Armstrong’s trade belt that sparked a continued desire for shaking things up. St. Louis waived Brandon Saad in January to make additional room for rookies like Zachary Bolduc, Dalibor Dvorsky, and – more intently – Jimmy Snuggerud. All three showed strong flashes, and affirmed Armstrong’s decision to bet on red.

The spirit of change can not get tied down by sentiment. Even with Bolduc breaking into the league with 19 goals and 36 points, Armstrong opted to move him to the Montreal Canadiens for a right-defense solution in Logan Mailloux this summer. The move headlines a heap of continued changes this off-season, which includes the additions of Pius Suter and Nick Bjugstad; and the subtractions of Radek Faksa and Nick Leddy.

The Blues are now positioned to enter next season with at least three summer additions in tow – a number that could rise following trade speculation for winger Jordan Kyrou. Those numbers don’t include any potential young standouts at training camp, and it doesn’t seem out of the question that one of Dvorsky, Justin Carbonneau, Nikita Alexandrov, or Aleksanteri Kaskimaki make the team out of camp.

Soon, the Blues will go through more change as Armstrong steps down from his decade-long post for rookie GM Steen – a move that’s expected to occur next summer. That will be plenty of a spark to continue the club’s drive for change, new looks, and new opportunity. They returned to the postseason – but to a quick exit – this season. It will be the duty of a retooled lineup to continue one step forward this season. If they can, the Blues’ eye for risks could land the team quickly back to the perennial playoff position they’ve enjoyed for much of the last 15 years.

Luke Philp Signs With SHL’s Farjestad BK

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Free agent center Luke Philp has signed a contract with Farjestad BK of Sweden’s SHL, per a team release. This marks the first overseas move of Philp’s six-year pro career. He’s only played in the AHL up to this point, across tenures with the Stockton Heat, Rockford IceHogs, and Hershey Bears.

Philp signed with Stockton as a college free agent in 2019. He spent the three years prior as a top forward with the University of Alberta in Canada’s USports leagues, scoring 93 points across 78 total appearances. Philp kept up  his slick offense in his move to the pro flight, netting 19 goals and 31 points in 52 games of his rookie AHL season. He continued to score through a rising role Stockton’s lineup over the next two seasons – 61 points in 96 games – which set Philp up for a opportunistic move when he entered free agency in 2022.

Philp chose to leave Stockton for an improved lineup role in Rockford for the 2022-23 season, marking the Canmore-native’s first time playing for a team south of the border. It proved to be a wise bet – as he blazed his way to 29 goals and 53 points over the course of 60 games. He even earned the first three games of his NHL career – suiting up for two games in January and one in March as an injury fill-in, and recording his first assist.

The momentum seemed to set Philp up for a dominate 2023-24 season – but tragedy struck when he tore his Achilles tendon just a few games into the season. He’d return for a handful of playoff games, but ultimately scored just eight points across 19 total appearances. That halted momentum prompted a move to Hershey for this season. He again fought through injury, even sustaining an injury in the first period of Hershey’s first game of the season. Perhaps it’s that sense of bad luck that will now push Philp to one of Sweden’s top lineups. He’ll join Joakim Nygard, Oskar Steen, and Radim Zohorna as a few of many teammates with NHL and AHL experience.

Pacific Notes: Miromanov, Phillips, Cholach

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The Flames haven’t done much this summer on the back end.  Joel Hanley was re-signed after he became an unrestricted free agent, Kevin Bahl received a long-term deal, and Rasmus Andersson has not been moved despite plenty of trade speculation.  The expectation is that 2024 first-rounder Zayne Parekh will be on the roster as well; he remains ineligible to be sent to the AHL.  As a result, Postmedia’s Daniel Austin suggests that Daniil Miromanov could be the odd man out on the back end barring any further movement.  The 28-year-old played in a career-high 44 games last season, notching nine points and 55 blocked shots while averaging 17:41 per contest.  A right-shot defender signed for one more year at $1.25MM, there’s a good chance Calgary would be able to generate some trade interest in him in training camp if he does wind up being on the outside looking in at a roster spot.

More from the Pacific:

  • Still with the Flames, prospect Mace’o Phillips has decided where he will be playing this season. Green Bay of the USHL announced on its Instagram page that the blueliner has committed to playing for them in 2025-26.  Phillips was a third-round pick last month by Calgary, going 80th overall after spending last season with the U.S. National Team Development Program.  It should be one-and-done with the Gamblers as Phillips is expected to suit up for the University of Minnesota in 2026-27.  By delaying going to college, the Flames could have up to five years to sign him to his entry-level contract.
  • While now-former Golden Knights prospect Artur Cholach didn’t sign by the June 1st deadline leading to his rights being relinquished, he will remain with the organization as their AHL affiliate in Henderson recently announced that the blueliner had signed a one-year contract for the upcoming season. The 22-year-old was a sixth-round pick back in 2021 and played his first professional campaign last season, getting into five games with Henderson and 54 with ECHL Tahoe where he had seven goals and 16 assists.

Avalanche Sign Daniil Gushchin

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It didn’t take long for the Avalanche to come to terms with their newest acquisition as PuckPedia reports that Colorado has signed winger Daniil Gushchin to a one-year, two-way deal.  The agreement will pay $775K in the NHL, $150K in the minors, and has an overall guarantee of $200K.

The 23-year-old is coming off a strong year in the minors with AHL San Jose, one that saw him post 28 goals and 23 assists in 56 games, surpassing the 50-point mark for the second straight year.  However, that level of success didn’t yield much in the way of an NHL opportunity as Gushchin played in just a dozen games with the Sharks in 2024-25, bringing his career total to 18.

Accordingly, Gushchin acknowledged earlier this month that he was undecided about re-signing with San Jose or if he’d be open to accepting one of the offers he was receiving from back home in Russia.  It appears the two sides found a solution that worked for both sides as Gushchin wasted little time signing with his new team while the Sharks added Oskar Olausson from the Avs to likely take the spot earmarked for Gushchin with the Barracuda, pending waiver clearance.

Colorado has had a lengthy rotation of fourth liners in recent years with Jared Bednar struggling to find a few players that he’s comfortable with in that role.  That played a big role in the Avalanche dressing no fewer than 30 forwards for at least two games, 11 of those logging an ATOI of under 10 minutes per game, or fourth-line minutes.  They haven’t done much in the way of adding extra low-cost depth this summer so Gushchin – now waiver-eligible for the first time – should get a legitimate chance to land a spot on the fourth line at some point next season.

East Notes: Blake, Red Wings, Prokhorov

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Late Thursday, the Hurricanes raised some eyebrows when they signed winger Jackson Blake to an eight-year, $45MM contract extension after just one professional season.  It was reported at the time that the deal carries some salary deferrals; PuckPedia relays (Twitter link) that a total of $15.9MM in signing bonus money over five seasons in the agreement is deferred to July 1st, 2034, the day after the deal expires.  In doing so, the cap hit goes from $5.625MM per season to $5.117MM.  As part of the contract, Blake also gets a 10-team no-trade clause starting in July 2031 that will remain in place until 15 days before the 2034 trade deadline.  Given that the other years of the deal cover RFA-eligible seasons, he wasn’t eligible for trade protection in those campaigns.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • Bob Duff of Detroit Hockey Now speculates that the Red Wings might not be done with moves on the back end this summer. They added Jacob Bernard-Docker and re-signed William Lagesson but with the tendency to carry eight defensemen under GM Steve Yzerman, a bit more depth would be useful so that they don’t necessarily have to bring up a youngster from AHL Grand Rapids at the first sign of injury.  Alternatively, they could stand to benefit from trying to upgrade their current top six, a group that largely struggled last season and has pretty much been untouched over the offseason.
  • Islanders prospect Daniil Prokhorov has signed a tryout deal with Dynamo Moscow, the KHL team announced. The winger was a second-round pick last month, going 42nd overall after putting up 20 goals in 43 games at the MHL level.  A big winger standing six-foot-six, Prokhorov is certainly a project player for New York and will need a few more years back home whether he’s able to crack the KHL roster this season or not.

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