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Philadelphia Flyers Interested In Matvei Michkov

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The biggest question at next Wednesday’s draft will be how far top Russian prospect Matvei Michkov falls – if at all. Over the past few days, the consensus had become that he wouldn’t get out of the top eight selections, with the Washington Capitals set to take the offensive dynamo if he fell to them.

It seems they may not get the chance. The Philadelphia Flyers are one of many teams set to meet with Michkov in Nashville early next week before the draft commences, and The Fourth Period’s Anthony DiMarco says the team is “seriously considering” selecting him with their seventh overall selection if he’s still available.

Exactly where Michkov would go in the draft has been a roller coaster all season. A surefire top-three selection at the beginning of the season, even with the off-ice factors surrounding any Russian prospect, an early-season injury and subsequent slow start at the bottom of the lineup with KHL club SKA St. Petersburg hurt his stock slightly.

Players like Swedish center Leo Carlsson and American center Will Smith soon surpassed him on some public boards. NHL Central Scouting finished the season with Michkov as the second-ranked international skater behind Carlsson.

Michkov had an exceptional finish to the KHL campaign after being loaned to basement-dwelling club HK Sochi, scoring nine goals and 20 points in 27 games and finishing first on the team in points per game, a massive achievement in the second-best league in the world as an 18-year-old. But off-ice concerns about his stability as a top selection only intensified, as teams couldn’t get any meetings with him while in Russia, and he wasn’t present at the draft combine – both for reasons reportedly out of Michkov’s control. It led to speculation that he could fall out of the top ten entirely.

But with the news that Michkov was coming early to Nashville and opening up opportunities to speak with NHL teams and Washington’s reported willingness to take him, interest in Michkov from the first few teams selecting in the draft has once again spiked. As indicated by multiple previous reports, any team selecting Michkov will likely need approval from ownership, given the potential lost value on the pick if he never comes over to the NHL.

Michkov never coming over is an improbable scenario, but a team will almost definitely have to wait three seasons before they see him on this side of the Atlantic. He’s under contract with St. Petersburg for three more seasons, and one of the KHL’s powerhouses likely wouldn’t be too keen on letting go of one of the highest-ceiling talents in the entire sport.

He would immediately become the best prospect in the Flyers organization – yes, even ahead of top collegiate scorer Cutter Gauthier. Philadelphia’s new front office seems to be content with a proper rebuild, though, and Michkov’s potential arrival in 2026-27 could line up perfectly with the team beginning to turn the corner back toward contention.

New York Rangers Confirm Coaching Staff Additions

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The New York Rangers have confirmed the hires of three previously reported coaching staff additions this morning. Former Buffalo Sabres head coach Phil Housley has been named an associate head coach, while Dan Muse and Michael Peca were named assistant coaches.

Housley is the main attraction here, bringing over two decades of coaching experience (nearly a decade in the NHL) to the Rangers’ completely overhauled bench, led by veteran head coach Peter Laviolette. Housley had worked under Laviolette with the Nashville Predators from four seasons (2013 to 2017) before heading to Buffalo, where he spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns as their head coach. He then spent three years as an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes until the 2022-23 campaign, which he took off from coaching.

Housley also has a solid bit of experience dealing with younger players and achieving success in the process, capturing the gold medal at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship with the United States. Muse joins him in that regard, spending the last three seasons as the coach of the U.S. National Team Development Program, which has churned out a number of elite prospects such as Cutter Gauthier, Frank Nazar, Jimmy Snuggerud, Lane Hutson, Logan Cooley, and Luke Hughes, as well as 2023 eligibles such as Gabe Perreault, Oliver Moore, Ryan Leonard, and Will Smith in that time. He was the video coach for Housley’s win at the 2013 World Juniors and got a gold medal of his own as the Americans’ head coach at this year’s U18 World Juniors tournament.

Muse and Peca have both also worked with Laviolette, with Muse spending three years as an assistant in Nashville while Peca worked with Laviolette as a player development coach with the Washington Capitals in 2020-21. The Rangers didn’t disclose the specific roles each coach will be taking on with the team.

The additions fill out a coaching staff that was nearly wiped clean after the team parted ways with head coach Gerard Gallant and assistants Gord Murphy, Jim Midgley, and Mike Kelly. Only goaltending coach Benoit Allaire remains from last year’s core coaching staff.

Pittsburgh Penguins Facing Big Decision On Jake Guentzel

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Josh Yohe and Rob Rossi of The Athletic write that the Pittsburgh Penguins have a big decision to make on star winger Jake Guentzel as the team enters the free agency period. The perennial 30-goal scorer has a year left on his contract at the bargain price of $6MM and is just a year away from reaching unrestricted free agency. Guentzel’s extension is a delicate balancing act for the Penguins as they are likely at the tail end of their window to contend and they have a lot of needs, but Guentzel remains Sidney Crosby’s favorite linemate and is still highly productive.

Guentzel had 36 goals and 37 assists last season in 78 games in what a lot of people considered a down year for the 28-year-old. He and Crosby were still able to provide much of the scoring for the Penguins, but they did have several cold stretches where they weren’t able to find the net. The team faltered in these stretches due to the lack of a strong supporting cast.

Yohe and Rossi wonder if the Penguins might considering trading Guentzel rather than signing him. The return for the player would likely allow the Penguins to fill in some of the many holes they have, but it would create big hole in their top-6 on Crosby’s wing. Yohe and Rossi point out the risk involved would be great, but signing a small, slow forward to a lucrative long-term deal on the wrong side of thirty carries a great deal of risk as well.

The Athletic projects that Guentzel’s next contract could have an average annual value around $9.2MM. That would make him the highest paid Penguin, and while Guentzel has been incredibly consistent throughout his career, he would spend much of his next contract without the benefit of Sidney Crosby as his center.

Guentzel is also one of the few roster players the Penguins have who doesn’t have trade protection, meaning that if Dubas and company want to turn over their underwhelming roster then Guentzel might be the biggest trade chip they could dangle.

Panthers Notes: Defense, Hanifin, Duclair

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On today’s episode of TSN’s Insider Trading Pierre LeBrun said that the Florida Panthers are looking to upgrade their defense as they head into the summer. It’s not a surprise to hear this as their defensive core was badly banged up after the playoffs and the left side of their group leaves a bit to be desired. They will also need to contend with free agent departures and Aaron Ekblad likely missing the start of the season with a shoulder injury.

All these issues have Florida reportedly shopping for defensemen via trade. Florida doesn’t have much in the way of cap space with just over $10MM available, so any trade might need to be dollar for dollar. The other issue they may come up against is their lack of trade capital, the Panthers don’t have a first-round pick until 2026 after dealing three first-rounders last year and this could lead Florida to make an old-fashioned player-for-player hockey trade with a team seeking forward help.

In other Panthers notes:

  • One name that LeBrun brought up when discussing the Panthers search for defense was Calgary Flames rearguard Noah Hanifin. The former fifth overall pick reportedly informed the Flames that he doesn’t plan to sign an extension, meaning that the one year remaining on his current contract is likely to be his last in Calgary. Hanifin had seven goals and 31 assists in 81 games for Calgary last season and has been mentioned in multiple outlets as a possible trade target for the Panthers. The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie wrote a column this week talking about a possible Hanifin to Florida connection, but did also bring up the Panthers lack of tradeable assets as a possible roadblock.
  • LeBrun goes on to talk about one move the Panthers could make to acquire some trade bait and that is moving forward Anthony Duclair. The 27-year-old has one year remaining on his contract at a very affordable $3MM cap hit and is just a year removed from scoring 31 goals. The Panthers may not be able to sign Duclair long-term and might be able to get some assets for him to flip for a defenseman. LeBrun goes on to say that he doesn’t think Florida wants to trade the former third overall pick, but they are fielding a lot of calls and could move him for the right offer. Duclair only dressed in 20 games in the regular season, but he was terrific in the playoffs where he put up four goals and seven assists in 20 games helping the Panthers reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Offseason Notes: Wheeler, Staal, Bunting, Ekman-Larsson

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Former Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler is set to part ways with his team this summer, and on TSN’s Insider Trading program Pierre LeBrun put that quite succinctly, stating Wheeler “will not be playing for the Jets next season.” But where the two-time All-Star will end up playing next season remains a mystery, as is what exact method will be used to finalize his exit from the Jets. LeBrun reports that Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and Wheeler’s representation are working collaboratively to find a solution for Wheeler, and potential outcomes include not only a trade or a traditional buyout, but also a combination of both wherein Wheeler is traded to another club and then bought out by his new team.

The Jets have gone down that route with players in the past, such as in 2018 when they sent Joel Armia and draft picks to the Montreal Canadiens so Montreal would buy out the contract of netminder Steve Mason. A Wheeler buyout would cost a team $2.75MM against the cap for the next two seasons, and with the buyout deadline looming next Friday the Jets will need to either come to terms on a Wheeler trade with another club or figure out whether they or another club will be on the hook for Wheeler’s buyout.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • It has long been expected that Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal’s pending unrestricted free agency was more of a formality than anything else, and that the 34-year-old center would end up re-signing with the franchise he’s been with since the 2012 offseason. But according to TSN’s Darren Dreger on Insider Trading, that may no longer be the case. Dreger reports that Staal’s camp “has supplied” the Hurricanes “with a number of options” on a new deal but that their negotiations are “at an impasse,” and that owner Tom Dundon will need “to move from his position” in order to re-sign his captain. Dreger adds that if that doesn’t happen, we “absolutely could see” Staal “as a free agent on July 1st.” That would be a decently shocking outcome for Staal and the Hurricanes, though it now seems like a once-remote possibility Hurricanes fans may need to begin preparing for.
  • A player that is looking like he’ll hit the free agent market at the start of the new league year is Toronto Maple Leafs forward Michael Bunting. TSN’s Chris Johnston reported on Insider Trading that while Bunting “would love to remain” in Toronto there “have been no substantive negotiations” on a contract extension. Johnston adds that Bunting is “likely headed to the marketplace” where he could receive contract offers that exceed what the Maple Leafs are in a position to offer. Bunting, who will turn 28 in September, scored 23 goals and 49 points last season and established himself as a legitimate NHL scoring option in his time with Toronto.
  • While the Vancouver Canucks made the decision not to pay Oliver Ekman-Larsson to play for them moving forward, it seems other teams on the open market will be more than happy to add the 902-game veteran to their lineup. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports on Insider Trading that Ekman-Larsson’s next contract “could be one year or as many as four years” in term, and won’t come at a bargain-bin rate simply because Ekman-Larsson is already owed money from Vancouver. Dreger adds that Ekman-Larsson would like to sign with a contending team, and he could be eyeing a trip to the free agent market similar to Ryan Suter’s in 2021, when Suter landed a four-year $3.65MM AAV deal from the Dallas Stars.

Latest On Tyler Toffoli

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Earlier today, we covered reports out of Calgary stating that several important Calgary Flames players, namely Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, and Mikael Backlund, were not planning to sign contract extensions to remain with the team beyond next season. Now, another name can be added to the list of likely-to-depart players: Tyler Toffoli.

DailyFaceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that Toffoli “plans on not re-signing in Calgary,” and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds “Calgary has made [Toffoli] available for trade.”

It’s another significant blow to the Flames’ hopes of Stanley Cup contention in the near future as the Flames are now readying for the possibility of trading their leading scorer from last season. Toffoli, 31, had a stellar 2022-23, setting a career-high of 34 goals and 73 points.

While he missed the postseason, the two-time Stanley Cup champion captained Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, with his third-period snipe on German netminder Mattias Niederberger effectively clinching the trophy for his country.

But while Toffoli seems to still be in the prime of his career and on a team that won a playoff series just a year ago, these reports indicate that he’s likely to continue his career elsewhere. He’s set to cost $4.25MM against the cap for one more season before hitting unrestricted free agency, and given his exceptional form last season he’d likely be a coveted player on the trade market.

There happens to be a useful comparable to project a potential Toffoli trade this summer: the 2021 deal that sent Toffoli to Calgary. He was coming off of a season where he scored at a 44-goal 69-point pace with the Montreal Canadiens and net his team a first-round pick, a fifth-round pick, and a solid prospect in Emil Heineman.

While Toffoli only has one year of team control left on his contract compared to the two-and-a-half years left on his deal at the time of the last trade, his increased offensive production is likely what will keep his trade value high.

One would imagine Calgary would be looking for a first-round pick as a starting point for any Toffoli trade, though with players such as Nazem Kadri, Jonathan Huberdeau, and MacKenzie Weegar already signed to long-term deals, it’s also feasible GM Craig Conroy might try to target NHL-ready players in return for Toffoli rather than draft compensation.

In any case, this news adds yet another challenge for Conroy to navigate in his first offseason as Brad Treliving’s successor in Calgary. It definitely isn’t an ideal situation for the franchise to be in, but thanks to Toffoli’s exceptional 2022-23 season the team could very well view trading the player as a valuable opportunity to improve the franchise’s long-term outlook rather than a difficult setback.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Bjork, Simashev, World Juniors

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While former college hockey star Anders Bjork finished his season on a high note after a trade to the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring five points in his last four games and eight in 13 games overall, it seems Chicago won’t be issuing a qualifying offer. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that the Blackhawks “aren’t planning to give a qualifying offer,” though that “doesn’t mean the Blackhawks won’t necessarily re-sign” Bjork, just that they don’t want to issue a qualifying offer at a value of $1.8MM. (subscription link)

Set to turn 27 in August, Bjork spent most of last season in the AHL with the Rochester Americans, the longest stretch he’d spent in the minor leagues in his career. He’d previously been mostly an NHL option, with AHL stretches limited to just a handful of games. He didn’t overwhelm with Rochester, scoring 25 points in 42 games, and was eventually traded to Chicago for future considerations. Bjork showed some life under head coach Luke Richardson in Chicago, and that solid run of eight points in 13 games should serve him well heading into the open market, even if he may not receive a contract at the same value as his qualifying offer.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Russian blueliner Dmitri Simashev was recently ranked 19th in Bob McKenzie’s final draft rankings of the cycle for TSN, though he could end up going even higher than that at the draft next week. As relayed by CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal, Simashev’s agent Dan Milstein says 24 of the NHL’s 32 teams have asked for a meeting with Simashev at the draft in Nashville. He’s a rangy six-foot-four blueliner currently under contract in the KHL through 2024-25. He’s widely regarded as a high-upside prospect with tantalizing physical tools, and in a draft thinner on defenseman compared to forwards, Simashev could be a fast-rising prospect.
  • Hockey Canada, the CHL, and the IIHF announced today that the 2025 World Junior Championships will be played in Ottawa, Ontario. The Senators’ home arena, Canadian Tire Centre, will serve as the event’s primary location with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s’ TD Place as the secondary venue. Canada has won three of the last four WJC events and will hope to take home the gold medal on their home turf just as they’ve done the past two events.

Offseason Checklist: Seattle Kraken

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The offseason is now fully underway after Vegas took home the Stanley Cup which means that it’s time to examine what each team will need to accomplish over the coming months.  Next up is a look at Seattle.

2022-23 was a storybook campaign for the fresh-off-expansion Seattle Kraken. The team set the record for improvement in the standings from year one to year two of an expansion franchise, at least since the Original Six era. Their 100 points were only good enough for a Wild Card spot in a tight Pacific Division race, though it didn’t matter – they knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game First Round battle. After nearly vindicating the Dallas Stars, losing 2-1 in Game 7 of the Second Round, Kraken general manager Ron Francis needs to push the right buttons to keep the team’s momentum in a decidedly forward direction.

Solidify The Crease

Seattle got vintage Philipp Grubauer in the postseason, although his .903 save percentage and 2.99 goals-against average were both still the worst marks of his four playoff runs as his team’s full-time starter. Inconsistency and truthfully horrid play between the pipes at times has been the franchise’s largest weakness over the past 24 months, although the team’s depth has developed to a point where it can largely mask that shortcoming. In 94 games as a Kraken, Grubauer’s regular-season record is much less kind – a .891 save percentage and 3.04 goals-against average are simply not good enough for a team to contend for a championship. That’s nearly 35 more goals conceded than an average netminder given the same workload. Pending UFA Martin Jones posted a sparkling 27-13-3 record when in net for Seattle this season but had just a .886 save percentage, getting plenty of goal support.

The team has some flexibility with Jones surely headed to the open market, but Grubauer is locked in at a $5.9MM cap hit through 2026-27. Moving on from him likely isn’t realistic this summer – he’s still shown flashes of solid play and is a well-liked teammate in the room. If they were to trade him, though, the time is now after a temporary boost in stock from his playoff performance.

Seattle isn’t too pressed for cap space, although much of their projected $20MM of availability (CapFriendly) will go to a new deal for defenseman Vince Dunn. Could the team go internal for Grubauer’s partner, possibly Joey Daccord? They’ll need to re-sign him, as the 26-year-old is a pending Group VI UFA, but he rode a .926 save percentage in 26 playoff games for the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds in their first season before bowing out in the final. The team is sure to move out Chris Driedger and his $3.5MM cap hit, as the 29-year-old didn’t play in the NHL this season after being sidelined due to injury to start the season and then slipping to the AHL behind Jones, Grubauer, and later Daccord. Among goalie options on the open market, there are certainly a few with more experience than Daccord that could be had for Driedger’s money (or less).

Long-Term Deal For Dunn

Seattle’s success came by committee this season – especially among their offense, where all of their top 12 forwards contributed between 0.4 and 0.9 points per game. The 26-year-old Dunn (mentioned earlier) was absolutely a standout among his defensive counterparts, though, recording team-highs in assists (50), time on ice (23:40), and plus-minus (+28). He notched a career-high 64 points on the whole, spectacular value for just a $4MM cap hit.

A restricted free agent with arbitration rights, he’s due a sharp raise this offseason – one Seattle absolutely has the cap room to accommodate. Advanced metrics have hinted at a Dunn breakout for many years, although maybe not one of this scale.

He’s of the perfect age to sign a longer-term deal. While the maximum eight years may be a little much, given he’d be 34 when the contract expires, it wouldn’t last too far into his decline (if at all). He may not be a perennial elite defender (and shouldn’t get paid like one), but he’s shown he can be a bonafide top-pairing player.

Start Extension Talks With Beniers

The Kraken don’t have much in the way of true star power, but they’re only a season or two away from having one. 20-year-old Matthew Beniers is a surefire bet to take home the Calder Trophy next week, and he’s grown into the team’s de facto number-one center after just 90 career games. He struggled in the faceoff circle heavily this year, but other than that, he scored 24 goals and 57 points in 80 games and took just one minor penalty all season.

That being said, he’s entering the final season of his entry-level deal. The Kraken would be wise to negotiate an extension with him as soon as possible, trying their best to keep Beniers’ cap hit down on a long-term agreement – if Beniers is willing to discuss one.

The 6-foot-2 Massachusetts product excelled defensively in his rookie year, showing he’s on track to become the two-way force the Kraken thought they were getting when they selected him second overall in 2021. This much offense so soon in his development bodes well for him to become one of the more complete centers in the NHL in a few years’ time – the type of player they’d need to pay an extreme premium for at the end of a bridge deal.

Add On Defense

The Kraken are more than apt on offense, with youngsters like Shane Wright and Tye Kartye already on the outside looking in when it comes to the team’s opening night depth chart. The team will have some cap space to utilize after signing Dunn to an extension and rectifying their goalie situation, though, and they’ll be able to use it to pursue a right-shot defender on the open market to complete their top four.

Justin Schultz is a spectacular power-play quarterback but best suited for third-pairing usage at even strength. With Dunn, Adam Larsson, and Jamie Oleksiak comprising the trio of the most oft-used Kraken defenders, the team’s obvious hole is a more skilled partner for the hulking Oleksiak.

William Borgen has turned into a full-time NHLer, but for a team on the upswing and looking at Stanley Cup contention in a few years, he’s not the best fit in a top four. Could they pursue a Matt Dumba, Radko Gudas, or Scott Mayfield type to fill out their only depth weakness? A potential Oleksiak-Gudas pairing would be more than enough for Pacific Division rivals to approach the offensive zone with fear.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 6/22/23

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We’re now less than a week away from the draft. Trades and extensions are set to dominate the news wire over the coming weeks, but we’re still taking a moment to check in on some notable moves outside of the NHL. Today’s notable minor transactions will be displayed here:

  • Former Anaheim Ducks winger Giovanni Fiore is on the move overseas, joining KHL club Admiral Vladivostok on a one-year deal for 2023-24. Since leaving the North American circuit in 2020, the Canadian had three productive seasons in Germany with the DEL’s Eisbaren Berlin, totaling 46 goals and 86 points in 133 games. An undrafted free agent signing out of the QMJHL by the Ducks, Fiore played his sole NHL game back in 2017-18, his first season of pro hockey.
  • Ex-Los Angeles Kings prospect Cole Hults will play in his second European league in as many years, signing a one-year deal with Slovak club HKM Zvolen. A 2017 fifth-round pick, the bruising two-way defender had a very successful stint at Penn State before turning pro, where, unfortunately, his offense never translated. He spent just one season in the Kings organization, recording five points in 19 games with the AHL’s Ontario Reign before he was traded to the Arizona Coyotes in 2021. The team opted not to qualify him when his contract expired a year later, and he continued his pro career overseas with Italian club HC Bolzano, where he dominated defensively in the ICEHL.
  • 2018 Stanley Cup Champion Shane Gersich won the Calder Cup in dramatic fashion last night, and now could be headed to play in Europe for the first time in his career. The 26-year-old longtime Washington Capitals farmhand reportedly has an agreement with Vasteras IK, a team in Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan, per SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson. Gersich has 113 points in 277 career AHL games across five seasons but had fallen out of the regular lineup in Hershey, only playing in six total playoff contests.
  • After fifteen seasons with the Vaxjo Lakers, where he helped the club earn their promotion from the second-division HockeyAllsvenskan, four SHL titles, and reach the Champions Hockey League final, team captain Erik Josefsson, 36, has announced his retirement. A staple for a consistently competitive SHL side for the past fifteen years, Josefsson played over 750 games for Vaxjo and scored nearly 150 points at the top level of Swedish hockey. He captained them to a league championship this spring and now retires as the club’s all-time leader in games played.
  • Former Buffalo Sabre Nick Baptiste has signed a one-year contract with reigning Liiga and Champions Hockey League champions Tappara Tampere. Baptiste heads to Nokia Arena from Cologne in the DEL, where he scored 14 goals and 34 points in 46 games. This won’t be Baptiste’s first time playing in Tampere, as he scored 21 goals and 35 points for Tappara’s neighbors, Ilves Tampere, in 2021-22. Baptiste last played in North America in 2020-21 with the AHL’s Texas Stars, scoring 12 goals and 23 points in 34 games in Cedar Park.
  • 2014 Dallas Stars second-round pick Brett Pollock had an extremely successful run with Slovakia’s HC Kosice after his mid-season transfer from the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star, and now he’s extended his contract with Kosice. Pollock left China to sign in Slovakia in December of last season and made an instant impact. He scored 11 goals and 19 points in 24 regular-season contests and led Kosice to a Slovakian championship leading their league’s playoffs in goals with seven in 17 games. Pollock is a former ECHL All-Star who has found success as a journeyman scorer in recent years, with stops in Germany, Sweden, and China. He last played in North America in 2019-20 in the ECHL with the Allen Americans and will now get some more stability and continuity in his career thanks to this extension with Kosice.
  • Former University of Denver star defenseman Joey Laleggia signed a two-year contract with Switzerland’s HC Lugano, joining a whole host of former NHLers such as Mikko Koskinen, Markus Granlund, and more. While Laleggia never made the NHL himself, he was a productive offensive blueliner at the AHL level and a highly-decorated player in his days in the NCAA. He was a Hobey Baker Award finalist and was his conference’s player of the year. He has played the entirety of his overseas pro career in the SHL, and led all HV71 blueliners with 33 points in 40 games last season.
  • While Anaheim Ducks prospect Sasha Pastujov prepares to make his professional debut in North America, his two brothers Nick Pastujov and Michael Pastujov have made the choice to continue their pro careers overseas. The pair have signed contracts with the ICEHL’s Pioneers Vorarlberg, joining the league’s worst-performing club from last season. Pioneers struggled mightily to score goals last season, with their season-long total of 92 goals, well below the league-average mark of 140. The hope is that the Pastujov brothers can help in that regard, as Nick captained the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks and scored 35 points in 42 games last season while Michael contributed a solid 26 points in 37 games for the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Latest On The Calgary Flames

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2023 is quickly shaping up to be one of the most monumental summers on the trade market in a while, especially for the Calgary Flames. The team has a star class of players destined for unrestricted free agency in 2024, and uncertainty looms over many of their potential extensions.

They did have some clarity on the plans of defenseman Noah Hanifin, who’s not expected to re-sign and is likely destined for a trade at some point before next year’s deadline. Today, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli comes bearing concerning news: Elias Lindholm did not accept a high-paying, long-term extension, and the Flames remain in the dark on what his future plans are, although he notes general league speculation is leaning toward Lindholm not extending.

Not only that, but Seravalli also believes potential captaincy candidate Mikael Backlund is also leaning toward not re-signing in Calgary, although the situation is fluid.

Lindholm is solidly the team’s number-one center and was a linchpin of their success in 2021-22, helping guide them to a Pacific Division title with a career year. He maintained some strong all-around play this year despite losing both his linemates from that season, Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk, but his offense dipped to 22 goals and 64 points in 80 games after a 40-goal campaign the year before. He’s still a bona fide top-six center in his prime – someone that Calgary would love to have down the middle for the next few seasons without much center help on the way. He’s entering the final season of a bargain bin deal that pays him $4.85MM per season.

The news around Backlund is certainly the more surprising item here. Drafted in 2007, the 34-year-old is a true Flames lifer and has played in over 900 games in a Calgary jersey. He managed a career year offensively last season with 56 points in 82 games, and he remains one of the best shutdown centers in the game.

If he does end up on the move and opts not to re-sign with Calgary, Backlund has a modified no-trade clause that permits him to name 10 teams he’ll accept a trade to. He’s in the final season of a contract paying him $5.35MM per year.

While it’s not the direction the franchise envisioned after locking up Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri last season, they’re under new management with Craig Conroy at the helm of the front office. He’s got a unique opportunity here to jumpstart a rebuild in a massive way, as he should be able to garner multiple first-round picks and high-end prospects if Backlund, Hanifin, and Lindholm all end up on the trade market.

One thing’s for sure – the only any of these players could avoid a trade is by signing an extension. After losing Gaudreau for nothing to the open market last season, Calgary won’t be willing to take that same risk with any of their 2024 unrestricted free agents.

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