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Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Sam Poulin

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed top prospect Sam Poulin to a three-year entry-level contract. Poulin was selected 21st overall in this June’s draft, and played last season with the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford released a short statement on the signing:

Sam is a good, young forward whose style is hard to play against. He has had a good training camp and we’re happy to get him signed and look forward to watching his development.

Poulin, 18, will be heading back to the Phoenix this year as a potential dominant player in the CHL. Last season saw him record 76 points in 67 games, a number he should easily eclipse this time around as long as he continues to play his solid two-way game that allows the coaching staff to keep him on the ice. A candidate for the Canadian World Junior team at some point, Poulin recently won the gold medal at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament.

As they have for a decade, the Penguins will hope to support Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin up front with their draft picks and college signings, needing only a silver of production to help out their star centers.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/20/19

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Like always, we’ll keep track of all the training camp cuts right here. It is important to note that today is the first day teams can place players on waivers for the 2019-20 season, meaning a flood of moves will likely come in over the next few days. Keep checking back to see the updated list:

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

F Nathan Noel (to Rockford, AHL)
F Graham Knott (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tim Soderlund (to Rockford, AHL)
F Dylan McLaughlin (to Rockford, AHL)
F Kris Versteeg (to Rockford, AHL)
F Tyler Sikura (to Rockford, AHL)
D Chad Krys (to Rockford, AHL)
D Jack Ramsey (to Rockford, AHL)
D Jake Ryczek (to Rockford, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Egor Sokolov (released from PTO)

Dallas Stars (per team release)

F Tony Calderone (to Texas, AHL)
F Josh Melnick (to Texas, AHL)
D John Nyberg (to Texas, AHL)
D Ondrej Vala (to Texas, AHL)
G Colton Point (to Texas, AHL)
F Diego Cuglietta (released from ATO)
F Parker MacKay (released from ATO)
D Tanner Jago (released from ATO)
F Corey Elkins (released from PTO)
F Brad McClure (released from PTO)
F Anthony Nellis (released from PTO)
G Tomas Sholl (released from PTO

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Tyler Benson (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Cameron Hebig (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Kirill Maksimov (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Cooper Marody (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Ryan McLeod (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
F Anthony Peluso (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
D Caleb Jones (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
D Dmitri Samorukov (to Bakersfiled, AHL)
G Dylan Wells (to Bakersfiled, AHL)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F Will Bitten (to Iowa, AHL)
F Connor Dewar (to Iowa, AHL)
F Brandon Duhaime (to Iowa, AHL)
F Ivan Lodnia (to Iowa, AHL)
F Dmitry Sokolov (to Iowa, AHL)
D Brennan Menell (to Iowa, AHL)
D Stepan Falkovsky (to Iowa, AHL)
G Dereck Baribeau (to Iowa, AHL)
G Kaapo Kakhonen (to Iowa, AHL)
G Mat Robson (to Iowa, AHL)
F Alexander Khovanov (to Moncton, QMJHL)
F Olivier Archambault (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
F Kyle Bauman (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
F Mitch McLain (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
F Tyler Sheehy (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
D Nicholas Boka (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
D Alex Breton (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)
D Jack Sadek (released from PTO, will report to AHL training camp)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Jake Elmer (to Hartford, AHL)
D Brandon Crawley (to Hartford, AHL)
D Vincent LoVerde (to Hartford, AHL)
D Darren Raddysh (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (per team release)

D Maxence Guenette (to Val-d’Or, QMJHL)
F Tristan Scherwey (to Bern, NLA)
F J.C. Beaudin (to Belleville, AHL)
F Michael Carcone (to Belleville, AHL)
F Mark Kastelic (to Belleville, AHL)
F Jack Rodewald (to Belleville, AHL)
F Andrew Sturtz (to Belleville, AHL)
D Jonathan Aspirot (to Belleville, AHL)
D Nick Ebert (to Belleville, AHL)
D Hubert Labrie (to Belleville, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)

F Kyle Criscuolo (to waivers on 09/21)
D Tyler Wotherspoon (to waivers on 09/21)
D Nate Prosser (to waivers on 09/21)
D T.J. Brennan (to waivers on 09/21)
D Reece Wilcox (to waivers on 09/21)
F Cal O’Reilly (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Greg Carey (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Maksim Sushko (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Gerry Fitzgerald (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F David Kase (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Pascal Laberge (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Isaac Ratcliffe (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Matthew Strome (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Rob Michel (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D David Drake (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Josh Couturier (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Felix Sandstrom (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
G Kirill Ustimenko (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team release)

F Chase Berger (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Jordy Bellerive (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Jan Drozg (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
F Ben Sexton (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Matt Abt (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Michael Kim (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Jon Lizotte (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Alex D’Orio (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
G Dustin Tokarski (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)
D Calen Addison (to Lethbridge, WHL)

St. Louis Blues (per team release)

F Cameron Darcy (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Zach Nastasiuk (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Evan Polei (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to San Antonio, AHL)
F Alexei Toropchenko (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Jake Christiansen (to San Antonio, AHL)
D Rob O’Gara (to San Antonio, AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Paul Cotter (to Chicago, AHL)
F Lucas Elvenes (to Chicago, AHL)
F Ben Jones (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jake Leschyshyn (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jermaine Loewen (released from ATO, assigned to Chicago, AHL)
F Tye McGinn (to Chicago, AHL)
F Gage Quinney (to Chicago, AHL)
F Jonas Rondbjerg (to Chicago, AHL)
D Brayden Pachal (to Chicago, AHL)

Nathan Legare Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed one of their recent draft picks, inking Nathan Legare to a three-year entry-level contract. Legare was selected 74th overall in June after the Penguins traded up. GM Jim Rutherford explained just why the team already signed the young forward:

Nathan has had a really strong training camp thus far. We’ve been impressed with his offensive instincts and his overall approach to the game. We’re thrilled to get him signed.

While third-round picks don’t often crack an NHL roster right away, Legare is doing everything he can to change that this summer. After starring at the prospect tournament, Legare has been one of the Penguins’ best forwards through the first part of the preseason—even scoring two goals 23 seconds apart yesterday—and Josh Yohe of The Athletic tweets that keeping him around for the start of the season “hasn’t been ruled out.” That would be an incredible accomplishment for a player who didn’t even crack the top-50 among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting pre-draft ranking.

The Montreal native exploded onto the junior scene last year with 45 goals and 87 points in 68 games for Baie-Comeau and has certainly made a good impression on the Penguins staff. Even if he is sent back to the QMJHL for the year, you can bet Legare has shot up the depth chart already and should be in the plans down the line.

Penguins Tried To Move Tristan Jarry This Summer

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  • The Penguins explored trades involving goaltender Tristan Jarry this summer, notes Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. That’s not entirely surprising considering the three-year deal that they handed Casey DeSmith last season which makes Jarry the potential odd man out.  He needs to clear waivers to make it back to the AHL so presumably, teams that might have interest would be limiting their offers accordingly knowing there’s a good chance that he’ll be available for free over the next couple of weeks.

Metropolitan Notes: Jarry, Johnson, Patrick, Kempny

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have a goaltending dilemma approaching them. The team has three goaltenders who are competing for the two spots on the Penguins roster with Tristan Jarry battling with incumbent Casey DeSmith for the backup spot behind Matt Murray. However, while the competition was the exact same one year ago, the Penguins were able to keep all three by simply sending Tristan Jarry to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL.

That may not be as easy this year, according to TribLive’s Seth Rohrabaugh. Jarry, who was waiver exempt last season, no longer will be, meaning Pittsburgh would have to pass him through waivers if they want to send Jarry back to the AHL. Rohrabaugh adds that the Penguins did attempt to move the 24-year-old this summer, but failed to get a decent return on any trade. However, general manger Jim Rutherford may have no choice but to look at trade options once again and even have to settle for a late draft pick as there is a good chance the team could lose him if Jarry can’t beat out DeSmith. Either way, there is a good chance Pittsburgh might lose one of their goaltenders before the season starts.

  • Sticking with the Penguins, The Athletic’s Rob Rossi (subscription required) writes that while Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Jack Johnson says he’s equal at playing on both sides of the defense, head coach Mike Sullivan says he intends to move him back to his natural left-side in hopes of getting more out of the 32-year-old blueliner. Sullivan prefers to keep all his defensemen on their natural side, if possible. At the moment, the coach has Johnson penciled in next to Justin Schultz, who brought out the best in him.
  • Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi reports that Philadelphia Flyers forward Nolan Patrick skated today and attended a team meeting, but the 20-year-old is considered week-to-week due to an upper-body injury. Patrick, who already moved back a line after the team signed Kevin Hayes this summer, must prove that he can avoid the injury bug as the center has struggled off and on with minor injuries throughout his first two seasons.
  • J.J. Regan of NBC Sports writes that Washington Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny is doubtful to play in the preseason after undergoing surgery to repair a torn left hamstring in April, but the Capitals hope that he might be ready for the start of the regular season. Kempny, who has become one of Washington’s most reliable defensemen since they acquired him from Chicago at the 2018 trade deadline, but the 29-year-old hasn’t skated yet at any team practices.

Reactions To Mitch Marner Signing

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It’s been nearly 48 hours since the Toronto Maple Leafs signed winger Mitch Marner to a six-year, $65.36MM deal, giving the team three players who will take up $33.52MM in cap space for the next six years, a significant amount for just three players. Regardless, stories about Marner’s new deal has been flooding the internet since Marner’s signing on Friday. Here are some reactions from around the NHL:

  • It was expected that Marner’s signing would start a chain reaction of RFA signings with Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning likely to be the first domino to fall. However, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that both sides were far apart in negotiations with the most recent offer weighing in at three years and $5.7MM. Considering the cap situation surrounding the Lightning, working out a deal that makes both sides happy could be quite the challenge.
  • The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) points out that the Marner signing will likely have little to no effect on the Point signing. While the market seems to have opened up for RFA’s like Marner, the Lightning have made it clear they are sticking to their organizational philosophy of signing their RFAs to bridge deals before eventually offering them long-term deals. That’s how they have done it with Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Andrei Vasilevskiy.
  • Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun writes that Kyle Dubas is finally done with signing all his big-name free agents over the last couple of years, but notes that it took a toll on the young GM, who admits that he made a few mistakes. Dubas admits he should have locked all three restricted free agents (Marner, Auston Matthews and William Nylander) at once last year rather than allowing the negotiations go down to the wire. “You learn about the process, of things you do differently for the next time,” Dubas said. “With William, I wish we’d have been on it earlier, with Auston’s case, we had the information and we were projecting headward to go with him. In the end, I’m happy we’re able to deliver all three and bring John in as well.”
  • The Toronto Sun’s Kevin McGran writes that Marner and the Maple Leafs have been miles apart for months, but it was Marner who blinked first this time. It had been made quite clear that Marner wanted two things out of the negotiations, which included remaining a Maple Leaf as well as he didn’t want to miss any games. However, after Marner budged, so did Toronto. “We had a sit-down on Thursday for quite a while,” said Dubas. “It was great for Mitch to tell me how he felt, and me to explain where we were at and what we were proposing and so on. About how he fit into the team, how the team was going to move forward and everything of that nature. It was a real positive in the process.”
  • The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) writes that the Maple Leafs signing of Marner puts even more pressure on Toronto’s young core. The core of Matthews, Marner and Nylander will have to now start winning and not just finally a first-round victory in the playoffs. The expectations are even higher with most fans now expecting a Stanley Cup win in the near future. Unfortunately with all the money thrown at those three (along with John Tavares), the Maple Leafs aren’t likely going to be able to bring in extra help at the trade deadline or the offseason and the team may lose more and more talent due to their long-term salary cap issues.
  • The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel (subscription required) writes that the Toronto Maple Leafs were in tough situation while trying to lock up all their young forwards, but now that everything is completed and signed, the team will not regret signing all of them to long-term deals. The team’s core is now set and now Dubas must be able to find the pieces to fill in over the next few years despite the fact that Toronto will be in salary cap trouble for many years to come.

Metropolitan Notes: Konecny, Kuznetsov, Rust, Van Riemsdyk

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There was some hope that after Ivan Provorov signed, the Philadelphia Flyers would put all their attention to their other unsigned restricted free agent, Travis Konecny with the hopes of getting him to training camp as quickly as possible. Instead, that hasn’t happened yet with Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi reporting today that no progress was made between the two sides on Saturday.

Philadelphia Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault expressed his disappointment that Konecny isn’t in camp yet as he will be missing valuable time learning the new coach’s system.

“I’m very disappointed that T.K. is not here,” Vigneault said after his first practice leading the Flyers (via NBC Sports’ Jordan Hall). “It’s the start of a new era, a new group, I felt that it was very important for everybody to be here.  With my time in the NHL, my experience, anybody that falls behind — whether it’s injury or in T.K.’s situation not coming to camp — usually it takes them a little bit of time to get back at it, especially at this time with a new coaching staff and new way of doing things. It’s unfortunate, but I’m going to work with the players that are here and going to work extremely hard with those players.”

Konecny could also find himself sliding down the lineup if he can’t get back to camp quickly. On day two of training camp, Vigneault used rookie Joel Farabee (in place of Konecny) with first-liners Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux, with the rookie faring quite well and getting praise from Vigneault.

“He showed that he belonged there,” said Vigneault.

  • With a three-game suspension hanging over Evgeny Kuznetsov to start the season for inappropriate behavior, Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden suggested that Kuznetsov is likely to get a lot of exhibition action during the preseason to make up for the three suspended games, according to Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. NHL.com’s Tom Gulliti adds that Kuznetsov’s $7.8MM AAV will not against the Washington Capitals salary cap during the suspension, which could be a benefit to the team, which is currently over the cap.
  • The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) writes in his most recent mailbag column that the Pittsburgh Penguins most valuable and likely trade chip is forward Bryan Rust. The 27-year-old scored 18 goals and 35 points last season and is a key depth option, but at $3.5MM per season, Rust is the perfect candidate to solve some of the team’s cap issues, although the Penguins’ preference is to find a team that would be willing to take on Jack Johnson and his four years at $3.25MM AAV contract.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes revealed that they don’t expect defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk to be ready for the start of the season, according to NHL.com’s Michael Smith. The 28-year-old van Riemsdyk underwent surgery on his left shoulder in May and has been cleared to begin skating without contact after team practices. “I don’t expect him to be ready for the start of the season,” Hurricanes President and General Manager Don Waddell said. “It just depends on how things go for him. There’s no reason to rush him back in game one or game two. It’s a long season. If we’re going to go deep, we’re going to need him. We’ll be very patient.”

 

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Marcus Pettersson

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As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a one-year, one-way deal and will have him in training camp. Pettersson accepted his qualifying offer salary of $874,125. GM Jim Rutherford released a short statement on the deal:

Marcus is a smart, reliable defenseman who improved our defensive corps after coming over from Anaheim last year. We are fortunate to have a good, young defenseman of his caliber in our top-six.

Pettersson, 23, will come back to the Penguins on a very reasonable deal after he broke out as a full-time player last season. Originally selected in the second round by the Anaheim Ducks, he ended up on Pittsburgh as the return for Daniel Sprong and immediately found a home. Playing nearly 18 minutes a night, Pettersson recorded 19 points in 57 games with the Penguins and finished tenth in Calder Trophy voting. After Erik Gudbranson was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks, the two made up a very solid second pairing and actually posted some of the strongest possession numbers on the team.

That strong season made many expect a more expensive deal for the young defenseman, but the Penguins have convinced him to come back for at least one more year at a reduced price. While it doesn’t give them much certainty going forward, a near-minimum contract that can be plugged in gives the team a lot more flexibility in designing their roster. The Penguins currently project just over the cap meaning there very well could be another trade coming at some point, though with such a low number for Pettersson they could actually just start the season with fewer than 23 players on the roster and make the decision down the line.

Either way, something will have to change at some point on the blueline. The team has up to nine defensemen with NHL experience and all of them will require waivers in order to be sent to the minor leagues. If they all get through training camp healthy, Rutherford will have to make a decision on who he wants to expose to the rest of the league.

Pettersson will be a restricted free agent again next season and will have arbitration rights.

Morning Notes: Theodore, Flyers, Pettersson

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You can bet Shea Theodore didn’t have the summer he was expecting. After failing a random drug test at the World Championship because of an elevated hormone level, Theodore was informed that it was not because of a supplement but he in fact had testicular cancer and would need surgery right away. The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman opened up about the situation in an article for the Players’ Tribune today, explaining that though it was a frightful time in his life he has fully recovered.

Theodore said that Phil Kessel reached out this summer to give his support, given that the veteran forward dealt with the same diagnosis years ago. Theodore credits that drug test with potentially saving him from a battle that would have much more difficult, and implores everyone to get checked regularly and be open with your physician.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers are getting closer to a deal with Ivan Provorov, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. The two sides are still working through the negotiation and both three and six year deals are on the table, but things have turned positive in recent days. It seems as though things aren’t so rosy for the other Flyers’ RFA, as McKenzie tweets that Travis Konecny is not close to a new deal. The pair are huge parts of the Philadelphia future and will hopefully join the team in training camp soon with freshly inked deals.
  • That’s exactly what is happening for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who is joining the team and expected to sign in the “next day or so” according to McKenzie. The deal will be a short-term contract, but would mean the team has their full complement of players in camp. The Penguins do appear to have too many NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster at the moment, meaning a trade or waivers is coming for at least one. Of course, that is contingent on the rest of the group staying healthy through camp, which is not a certainty anywhere around the NHL.

College Notes: Phillips, Schingoethe, MacDonald

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Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Clayton Phillips will be playing closer by this season, and sooner than expected as well. Phillips notified the University of Minnesota back in June that he would be transferring and most expected that he would return to the USHL this season before resuming his NCAA career. That won’t be the case. Phillips has already landed at a new school, a Big Ten Conference of the Gophers in fact, and will be eligible to play immediately. Penn State University announced today that Phillips has joined the program and are excited to have the smooth-skating defenseman for the final two years of his NCAA eligibility. A third-round pick of the Penguins in 2017, Phillips is still a somewhat raw talent, but has the physical tools to be a pro player. While neither a high-scoring blue line threat nor a shutdown defender, Phillips is a great skater and puck-mover. His ability will certainly be an upgrade for the Nittany Lions and he hopes the Penguins as well down the road.

  • The University of Denver picked up a nice commitment today in 2020 NHL Draft-eligible forward Wyatt Schingoethe. The 17-year-old center is set to play a second season with the USHL’s Waterloo Blackhawks this season, who announced he would then join the Pioneers. Schingoethe impressed with 33 points in 62 games in his first junior season last year and looks to take another step forward this season. Scouting source Future Considerations currently has Schingoethe ranked No. 92 in their pre-draft rankings, which could very well put him in third-round range next spring, or even higher with a breakout season. NHL teams will surely put some extra stock into the fact that he is heading to Denver too, one of the top college programs in the country.
  • Not to be outdone, another elite collegiate team, Boston College, has also landed a notable commitment. 16-year-old forward Cameron MacDonald, who drew attention last season with a stunning 126 points in 52 games at the midget level, announced on Twitter that he has signed on to join the Eagles, at least in a few years. MacDonald, not to be confused with defenseman Cameron McDonald of the rival Providence College Friars, put himself on the list of early names to watch in the 2021 NHL Draft class with his performance last season. He’s taking his talents to USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede this year – and likely the year after as well – and if his offensive ability translates, he will certainly be a prospect to keep tabs on. The Nova Scotia native has the makings of a game-changing pickup for Boston College.

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