Snapshots: Lovejoy, Bennett, Canucks, Lombardi
It’s not uncommon for players to reunite with former coaches and/or a general manager who has previously acquired that player at a previous stop. There is familiarity between coach and player and in the case of GMs, a belief in the abilities, sometimes untapped, of the player. That scenario played out this summer when the New Jersey Devils brought in two former Penguins, defenseman Ben Lovejoy in free agency and winger Beau Bennett via trade, reuniting them with general manager Ray Shero and head coach John Hynes. As Andrew Gross writes in his Fire and Ice blog, those additions should have come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the situation.
Shero spent eight seasons at the helm in Pittsburgh, selecting Bennett in the first-round of the 2010 entry draft. Clearly Shero still believes in Bennett’s upside as evidenced by the Devils giving up a third-round pick – a substantial asset – to Pittsburgh in exchange for the winger. Bennett scored six goals and 12 points in 33 regular season games in Pittsburgh in 2015-16 but appeared in just one postseason game as rookies Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust passed him on the team’s depth chart.
The Devils finished last in the NHL in goals scored during the 2015-16 season, and even after adding LW Taylor Hall in the summer, the team could use more scoring depth. Bennett hopes to be able to provide that and reward Shero’s faith in him.
Lovejoy cited the presence of Hynes as instrumental in his decision to sign with the Devils in the offseason.
“(Hynes) was my defense coach when I played in Wilkes-Barre. I played for him for a full season. He knows my game. It’s not going to be a surprise here. He knows exactly what he’s getting. That’s the reason I’m here. I know the coaching staff through Wilkes-Barre when Ray and (assistant GM) Tom (Fitzgerald) were running the organization the first time I was in Pittsburgh. Those are guys I trust and know. I’m here because they trust me.”
The veteran of eight NHL seasons will be asked to add leadership and experience to a young-ish defense corps that only has one other defender – Andy Greene – over the age of 26. Lovejoy doesn’t bring much of an offensive game to the table but has generally been a responsible blue liner and has posted a negative plus-minus rating just once in his career.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- GM Jim Benning and head coach Willie Desjardins are well aware the team has some ground to cover if they want to make the playoffs in 2016-17 after missing the postseason by 12 points this past season. But as Derek Jory of the Canucks official team site reports, both manager and coach are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming campaign. Desjardins: “We have more depth at every position and I feel we’re stronger at every position.” Benning, for his part, believes adding Loui Eriksson and Erik Gudbranson this summer along with a return to health for center Brandon Sutter will bring needed leadership as well as depth to the club: “We’ve added more depth to our group and adding Loui Eriksson, who I feel is a good player, a healthy Brandon Sutter, adding Erik Gudbranson; we’ve added some leadership in that room to help our young players along, so I’m real excited.”
- Two days after watching Team USA elimination from medal contention at the World Cup of Hockey, the man ultimately responsible for assembling the team, Kings GM Dean Lombardi, defended his roster construction strategy: “We’ve got some darn good players, but the reality is that matchup on a skill basis, if you want to go head-to-head and play a skill game, your odds of winning that game when you look at those matchups is not very good.” While Lombardi is likely correct in his assertion that Team USA wouldn’t have been able to match the skill and talent of the Canadiens no matter who they brought to the tournament, the choice to emphasize grit and heart ignores the NHL’s recent shift to a quicker game that values speed over other traits. Of course we’ll never know whether a Team USA roster including Tyler Johnson, Kyle Okposo, Kevin Shattenkirk and Phil Kessel – for example – would have been better equipped to beat Canada, but it’s clear they couldn’t have done any worse.
Snapshots: Rangers, Bolland, Flyers, Rust, Sheary, Kuhnhackl
The New York Rangers directed much of their offseason focus to building up quality depth at the forward position, adding free agents Michael Grabner, Josh Jooris, Nathan Gerbe and Jimmy Vesey while also acquiring center Mika Zibanejad via trade. However, besides deepening their forward group, another intended consequence of their moves was to get younger across the board, as Steve Zipay of Newsday notes.
The team dealt 29-year-old pivot Derick Brassard to get the 23-year-old Zibanejad while also waving goodbye to free agent centers Eric Staal, 31, and Dominic Moore, 36. New York will be adding the 23-year-old Vesey to its lineup and expect Pavel Buchnevich, 21, to make a run at a regular role up front.
On the back end, 40-year-old Dan Boyle opted for retirement while the Rangers were forced to trade the rights to Keith Yandle for salary cap reasons. In their places, the Rangers acquired 29-year-old Nick Holden and will give 22-year-old former first-round pick Brady Skjei every opportunity to win a spot in the top-four.
All told, the team shaved about 2 1/2 years off the average age of the players on their roster from a year ago. Whether or not this infusion of youth will manifest into a deep playoff run after a disappointing first-round exit this past season remains to be seen, of course.
More notes from around the NHL:
- As expected, Arizona’s Dave Bolland failed his physical and will be placed on LTIR to start the season, tweets Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. Bolland, who was acquired from Florida along with prospect Lawson Crouse in a deal motivated largely by finances, appeared in just 25 contests last season with Florida. Back and ankle problems will keep the veteran forward off the ice for the foreseeable future and could jeopardize his playing career. Bolland is due $5.5MM over each of the next three seasons but if placed on LTIR the Coyotes would be able to clear the cap hit from the books. Additionally, since the contract is insured, the club will only have to pay out $1.1MM in actual cash with insurance covering the balance.
- The Philadelphia Flyers, under general manager Ron Hextall, have assembled one of the best prospect pools in the NHL and a few of those kids will have a chance to earn a roster spot this season, as Dave Isaac writes in his preview of three potential roster battles. Hextall was quoted as saying that, “whoever comes in, has to come in and make us a better team.” Isaac mentions that blue liner Ivan Provorov has the skill to make the Flyers better but also acknowledges it won’t necessarily be easy to beat out one of the veterans already on the roster. Up front, Isaac suggests Travis Konecny, who like Provorov was a first-round draft choice in 2015, could make the club as a bottom-six forward. Konecny potted 30 goals and tallied 71 assists last season in the OHL, splitting the campaign between the Ottawa 67’s and the Sarnia Sting.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins impressive run down the stretch of the regular season coincided with the promotion of three relatively unheralded young players. Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes how just 12 months ago Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnhackl were three rookies eager to make a good impression in training camp. Now a year later they are Stanley Cup champions with each having played a role in Pittsburgh’s dominant run through the postseason. The trio contributed 12 goals and 24 points during the playoffs while adding speed and tenacity to the lineup for the Penguins. As they enter what would be their first full seasons in the NHL, each player hopes to prove they can play at a consistent level throughout an 82-game schedule.
Atlantic Division Notes: Lupul, Marchand, Galchenyuk
TSN’s Frank Seravelli reports that Joffrey Lupul is rumored to have failed his pre-season physical and expects to start the NHL season on injured reserve. The oft-injured Maple Leafs forward only played in 46 games last year, scoring 11 goals and 3 assists.
Lupul has faced a variety of injuries in his career, but none more severe than his back issues which have sidelined him for significant periods of time. When healthy, Lupul is an excellent contributor, but his repeated injuries often derail successful campaigns.
Lupul began his Maple Leafs career with a bang, netting 45 goals and 105 points in his first 110 contests spread out over parts of three seasons in Toronto after a 2011 deadline trade with Anaheim. His strong play led to a massive five-year contract extension worth $26.25MM in total despite the fact the skilled forward had seen action in no more than 66 games in a single season since 2008-09. Unfortunately for both parties, Lupul has missed nearly a full season’s worth of games (76 in total) since inking that extension and has produced just 0.46 points-per-game during that time.
The Maple Leafs are currently over the cap by $827K, but moving Lupul to LTIR will free up $5.25MM in space. Assuming Stephane Robidas also starts the season on LTIR, the Leafs go from slightly over the cap to over $8MM under the cap. The Leafs will have the option of freeing up additional space by placing Nathan Horton on LTIR as well, which would further lower their overall cap commitment to around $60MM.
Lupul was originally the seventh overall pick in the 2002 NHL entry draft, chosen by the Anaheim Ducks. Ironically, he has twice been included in trades involving Chris Pronger, first going from Anaheim to the Oilers in exchange for the Hall of Fame defenseman, then returning to the Ducks as part of a package that saw Pronger head to Philadelphia. Toronto would acquire Lupul and Jake Gardiner from Anaheim as part of a trade for veteran blue liner Francois Beauchemin.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Joe Haggerty joined local Boston sports talk show, Toucher and Rich, and discussed Brad Marchand‘s pending free agency. Marchand, of course, ranked 6th in the NHL in goals scored in 2015-16, tallying a career high 37. He is currently playing on what many consider to be the best line in the World Cup, skating on the left of all-world pivot Sidney Crosby with Bruins teammate Patrice Bergeron on the right. Haggerty opines that the Bruins need to lock up the agitating winger before he hits the free agent market, suggesting it will take a seven-year contract with an AAV of $7MM per season. He also listed the Penguins as a potential suitor should Marchand make it to free agency. Haggerty cites the fact both Marchand and Crosby are originally from Nova Scotia and that the success the two players are experiencing at the World Cup might prompt an impassioned plead to Penguins management from their best player to go get Marchand. Of course while Marchand might be getting a glimpse of how fun it might be to play with Crosby every day, he’s also reminded of just how good playing with Bergeron is.
- It appears the Montreal Canadiens have anointed Alex Galchenyuk as the team’s #1 center, with head coach Michel Therrien saying he plans to start the talented American on the top line with Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher, as Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports. Galchenyuk, who has moved back-and-forth between wing and center since breaking into the league in 2012-13, may have finally earned the trust of the coaching staff on the heels of a strong 30-goal campaign, which included netting 18 over the team’s final 27 games. Veteran center Tomas Plekanec will then assume the role of #2 pivot and is expected to have new offseason additions Andrew Shaw and Alexander Radulov on his wings.
*Mike Furlano contributed to this post.
2016-17 NHL Over/Unders
After giving us their opening Stanley Cup odds last week, Las Vegas odds-maker Bovada was back at it again today, releasing their over/under for each NHL team’s total points in the upcoming season. Not included on the list (below) are the Dallas Stars, who were left off the board by the odds-makers until more information is available regarding the injury to Tyler Seguin. The Stars are an unpredictable pick at this point regardless, as both Seguin and Jamie Benn are banged up, Valeri Nichushkin is suddenly gone, and the defense is still a risk following the departure of three starters.
While the points projections generally mirror the Stanley Cup odds, Bovada has certainly predicted some interesting scenarios. Despite having the highest Cup odds in the East, the Penguins are again expected to finish behind the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division. On second thought though, a slow start to the regular season for the defending champs would not be much of a surprise, nor would another postseason collapse for Washington. Elsewhere in the division, the Islanders and Rangers are projected to be in a dead heat for that final divisional seed, with the loser slipping into a wild card spot. Staying in the East, they see the Canadiens and a healthy Carey Price skyrocketing from their 82 point finish a year ago to 96.5 points in 2016-17, with the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators taking a corresponding dip in the standings. Out West, the battles atop each division promise to be similarly tight as they were last season, but the projected jump by Calgary and Edmonton of 10+ points from bottom dwellers to playoff contenders may be a story to watch. The good news for Vancouver Canucks fans is that they’re expected to finish with more points this season than last. The bad news? It will be good enough for last place in the league.
The easiest over to take out of this group is likely the St. Louis Blues. Although they lost captain David Backes and have to see if Jake Allen can handle his bigger workload in net, the Blues are set at 101.5 points, a mark they have beaten easily in each of the past three seasons. The Ottawa Senators are another good over, as they have hardly changed their roster this summer and finished with 85 points last year and more than that the two years prior. Their 80.5 line seems unwarranted unless you believe the rest of the Atlantic Division is in for a big year. That seems unlikely, especially when it comes to the aforementioned Canadiens, who are an easy under. Yes, the loss of Price for much of 2015-16 hurt the Canadiens, but they also had a lot of trouble scoring goals as well. The effects of the trade-off between P.K. Subban and Lars Eller for Shea Weber, Andrew Shaw, and Alexander Radulov have yet to be seen, but one would think that it’s not enough to justify a 14 or 15 point increase in points. The Oilers, somewhat obviously, are also a good choice for an under. If this many seasons of “this is the year” followed by a lottery pick haven’t tempered your expectations of Edmonton yet, nothing will. Even if they do finally improve in 2016-17, will it really be to a high-80’s point total? Doubtful.
Washington Capitals 107.5 points
Tampa Bay Lightning 106.5 points
Pittsburgh Penguins 103.5 points
Chicago Blackhawks 102.5 points
St. Louis Blues 101.5 points
San Jose Sharks 100.5 points
Los Angeles Kings 99.5 points
Anaheim Ducks 98.5 points
Florida Panthers 98.5 points
Nashville Predators 98.5 points
Montreal Canadiens 96.5 points
New York Islanders 95.5 points
New York Rangers 95.5 points
Minnesota Wild 94.5 points
Boston Bruins 92.5 points
Detroit Red Wings 90.5 points
Philadelphia Flyers 89.5 points
Calgary Flames 87.5 points
Edmonton Oilers 87.5 points
Winnipeg Jets 87.5 points
Colorado Avalanche 86.5 points
Columbus Blue Jackets 84.5 points
Buffalo Sabres 83.5 points
New Jersey Devils 82.5 points
Ottawa Senators 80.5 points
Toronto Maple Leafs 80.5 points
Carolina Hurricanes 78.5 points
Arizona Coyotes 76.5 points
Vancouver Canucks 76.5 points
East Notes: Kessel, Daley, Pulkkinen, Mueller, Ekblad
Penguins right winger Phil Kessel and defenseman Trevor Daley are both on track in their recovery from injuries sustained in the postseason, writes Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Kessel had hand surgery back in July and isn’t expected to participate in much (if any) preseason action but anticipates he’ll be ready when the puck drops to start the season:
“I’ll obviously be out there skating in camp. I’ll progress as it goes. But I’ll be ready to start the first game of the year. … (The hand) feels a lot better now than it did last year.”
As for Daley, who broke his ankle in the Eastern Conference Finals, he has been training hard on the ankle for the last three or four weeks. He’s set to begin his first full season with Pittsburgh after being acquired from Chicago last December.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- Red Wings right winger Teemu Pulkkinen has been cleared for contact following shoulder surgery back in June, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. Pulkkinen struggled in his first full NHL campaign last season, spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch. He got into just 36 games, recording six goals and six assists, a disappointment considering he had scored just over a point per game in the AHL. The 24 year old is hoping to be able to get into a couple of games towards the end of the preseason with the hoping of being available for Detroit’s season opener. His recovery appears to be well ahead of schedule as he was originally expected to miss 4-6 months.
- Forward Peter Mueller, who is attending training camp on a PTO, is open to signing an AHL contract, reports WEEI’s DJ Bean. The willingness to play in the minors hasn’t always been there as two years ago Mueller requested his release after training camp with St. Louis, who had planned to send him to their AHL affiliate. Last season, Mueller played with Malmo of the SHL, picking up 13 goals and 12 assists in 43 games. His positional versatility could come in handy for the Bruins as Mueller has spent time at all three forward positions in recent years.
- The Panthers have decided to bring Aaron Ekblad back to Florida, which all but confirms that he will miss the remainder of the World Cup of Hockey, tweets Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinel. Ekblad, who was on Team North America, missed Monday’s game due to an upper body injury. Still with North America’s back end, Columbus defenseman Ryan Murray missed practice today but is expected to play tomorrow vs Sweden, reports ESPN’s Craig Custance.
Snapshots: Fleury, McDavid, Oilers Training Camp Battles
If he had it his way, Marc-Andre Fleury would spend the rest of his career in Pittsburgh.
The first overall pick in 2003 has been with the Penguins his whole career, winning two Stanley Cups. However, there are two major roadblocks to Fleury’s wish: next summer’s expansion draft and teammate/ heir apparent Matt Murray.
The 31-year-old Fleury had an unbelievable season in 2015-16, winning 35 games and posting a 0.921 SV%. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion towards the end of the season, which allowed Murray to take over the starters role on his way to the Penguins’ Stanley Cup victory.
In an interview with Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Fleury said both he and Murray give the Penguins a chance to win games, and “bottom line, that’s what matters. It doesn’t matter who’s in the net.”
Fleury said he met with management after last season and knows where he stands.
When asked if he would request a trade to get more starts, Fleury was emphatic, “No. No. No. I’ve always said this is like my home. I wish I could play here my whole career.”
With next summer’s expansion draft looming, the Penguins will only be able to protect one goaltender. It seems unlikely they would chose Fleury at the expense of the 22-year-old Murray. Fleury has a no-move clause and will need to be protected by his team, unless he chooses to waive it. The Penguins may ask him to move before then, to avoid losing him for nothing, but Fleury isn’t thinking about that, telling Bombulie he plans on going with the flow, and that he’ll “see what happens”
In other news from around the hockey world:
- Team North America coach Todd McLellan isn’t worried about Connor McDavid going pointless in the World Cup preliminaries. According to TSN’s Frank Seravelli, McLellan thinks McDavid needs to be more selfish, comparing it to McDavid’s first three games in the NHL, where he was “asking for permission” while he was feeling out the style of play.
- Back in Edmonton, the Oilers expect college free agent Drake Caggiula to contend for a forward position to start the season, according to Bob McKenzie (via Chris Nichols). The smaller Caggiula models his game after Bruins star Brad Marchand: pesky, fast, and skilled.
- The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples has a new article on Oilers camp invite Kris Versteeg. Staples praised Versteeg as “the kind [of player] the team needs and has sorely lacked”, calling him an “excellent bet”. Versteeg has played with Milan Lucic, trained with Brandon Davidson, and played for GM Peter Chiarelli. He cited McDavid, Rogers Place, and playing close to home as reasons for picking the Oilers over other teams who offered PTOs.
Can’t Miss Games Of The 2016-17 Season: January and February
The start of the NHL regular season may be a month away with the World Cup of Hockey and preseason still to come, but it’s never too early to get excited for the best slate of games the NHL has to offer this season. Here are the can’t miss-games for the start of the new year:
January 1st – Detroit Red Wings vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
An Original Six battle AND it’s outdoors. That’s what the NHL is bringing fans with the Centennial Classic, kicking off the 100th season of the league. The Atlantic Division foes will take the ice at BMO Field on New Year’s Day, as Mike Babcock takes on his former team, who will be marching towards their 26th straight playoff appearance.
January 2nd – Chicago Blackhawks vs. St. Louis Blues
The Winter Classic gets bumped to the next day, as the St. Louis Blues will host an outdoor game against the rival Chicago Blackhawks. While tight playoff races will still be months away, the first battle between Central Division contenders in the new year could have a lasting affect on their postseason chances. This is one you don’t want to miss.
January 12th – New Jersey Devils vs. Edmonton Oilers
In one of this summer’s biggest moves, the Oilers traded franchise cornerstone Taylor Hall to the Devils in exchange for defenseman Adam Larsson. What will happen when the former face of the franchise returns to Edmonton? If the teams’ performances to this point haven’t pointed to a winner in the deal, then this game should give everyone a good idea.
February 25th – Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Yet another outdoor contest, the Penguins and Flyers, perhaps the best rivalry in hockey right now, square off at Heinz Field in an epic showdown. With more than just a win on the line, prepare for a big-time battle between two talented teams. An added bonus: the trade deadline will be just days away, adding more pressure to the result of the game if one (or both) of these teams find themselves on the buyer-seller line this season.
Can’t-Miss Games Of The 2016-17 NHL Season: October
The start of the NHL regular season may be a month away with the World Cup of Hockey and preseason still to come, but it’s never too early to get excited for the best slate of games the NHL has to offer this season. Here are the can’t miss-games of October:
Oct. 12th – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators
The puck drops on a new NHL season at 7pm ET in the Canadian capital, as the Sens host the Leafs in a rivalry match-up. With #1 overall pick Auston Matthews and newly acquired keeper Frederik Andersen expected to be among many new faces in the Toronto lineup, the Leafs will have a clean slate as they start the year off against old friend Dion Phaneuf and an Ottawa team looking to get back to the playoffs.
Oct. 12th – Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers
Later that night, the Oilers will open the brand new Rogers Place for it’s first NHL regular-season game, as they welcome their Alberta rivals. Edmonton will definitely be curious to see if the newly-acquired Adam Larsson can help to slow down the Flames’ dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Leaving behind Rexall Place and the many memories (though few good ones in recent years) they had there, the Oilers will look to start the season off on the right foot in a new building, while Calgary hopes to play spoiler.
October 13th – Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The home opener for the 2015-16 Stanley Cup champs comes against none other than the 2015-16 President’s Trophy winners, as fans are treated to a battle of talent and intensity between two fierce rivals on just Day 2 of the NHL season. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will each look to start off strong and lead their teams to victory, as the Penguins begin a title defense and the Capitals begin another long march toward that elusive Stanley Cup championship.
October 20th – San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins have another big game a week later, this time against their Stanley Cup competitors, the Sharks. The 2016 Stanley Cup final was one of the best in recent memory, with immense speed and talent on both sides and young goalies Martin Jones and Matt Murray standing on their heads. Though nothing can make up for falling short when it mattered most, you can bet that captain Joe Pavelski and the Sharks will be fired up for some revenge in this game.
October 23rd – Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets will get their first taste of outdoor hockey, as they square off against the Oilers in the Heritage Classic. Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, will host the game as these two Canadian teams look to battle it out, and at least put on a better show than the much talked-about Alumni Game.
Penguins Notes: Pouliot, Dumoulin
While Pittsburgh defenseman Derrick Pouliot is hoping for a much better start to this season (including a regular spot in the lineup), that might be a tall task for him to achieve, notes Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pouliot went into training camp last season with the expectations that he would become a regular player but instead was cut and spent most of the year with their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Pouliot wound up getting into just 22 regular season games with the Penguins plus a pair of postseason contests, collecting seven assists along the way. He was much more productive at the AHL level, scoring six goals and 17 assists in just 37 games.
While the departure of Ben Lovejoy to New Jersey potentially opens up a spot on their blueline, the team also brought back Justin Schultz who was acquired at the trade deadline who now figures to play a regular role. Both of those players are right hand shots while Pouliot is a lefty but the 22 year old spent time on the right side at the junior level, making him an option on both sides. When asked about possibly playing his off-side (much like Trevor Daley does), Pouliot noted that, “It’s something I’m comfortable with, and, if it’s a spot I could fit in, that’d be great.”
On his natural side, Pouliot will be looking to displace Ian Cole on the third pairing but Cole brings a physical element to the Penguins’ lineup, something that some of their other rearguards don’t bring to the table.
Further creating a challenge for Pouliot was Pittsburgh’s decision to bring in David Warsofsky, Steven Oleksy, Stuart Percy, Cameron Gaunce, and Chad Ruhwedel during free agency. All five of those players have NHL experience and could potentially push for a spot as well. On top of that, all of the newcomers are waiver eligible while Pouliot is exempt for this season so he could find himself a victim of a numbers game if one or more of those offseason additions impress in training camp.
Pouliot has long been regarded as one of Pittsburgh’s defensemen of the future but he will be in tough to secure a top six role with the team this season.
[Related: Penguins Depth Chart]
More from the Penguins:
- Defenseman Brian Dumoulin is poised to have a breakout season, writes Jason Mackey, also of the Post-Gazette. The 25 year old saw his ice time jump to over 21 minutes a game in the postseason while playing a top four role, one he is expected to reprise in 2016-17. While he didn’t score during the season last year, he picked up a pair of postseason goals including the opening tally in their Stanley Cup clinching victory over San Jose. Dumoulin is entering the final season of a two year deal that carries a cap hit of $800K and should be in line for a sizable raise on his next contract. If GM Jim Rutherford expects him to have a big season offensively, it wouldn’t be surprising if he tries to get an extension done sooner than later.
Minor Transactions: 09/08/16
A number of minor moves were made across the NHL today:
- The San Diego Gulls announced they’ve signed seven players to AHL deals. Stu Bickel, Brian Cooper, Antoine Laganiere, Zac Larraza, Tyler Morley, Scott Sabourin, and Nick Tarnasky will all be suiting up for the Ducks’ affiliate this season.
- Ryan Haggerty has signed an AHL deal with the Wilks-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The 23-year old wasn’t given a qualifying offer by Chicago earlier this summer and became a free agent.
- The Providence Bruins have signed Adam Roach and Matt Ginn to AHL deals. Roach spent last year with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL, while Ginn was with the Atlanta Gladiators for all but one game – which he spent with these Bruins of the AHL.
- Paul Gaustad has announced his retirement after 12 years in the NHL. The veteran of 727 games only played for two teams in his entire career, Nashville and Buffalo. Well respected for his leadership and work ethic, Gaustad was once even traded for a first-round pick despite only scoring 21 points that season. Although he says he’s looking forward to spending more time with his family, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gaustad join a coaching staff in the next few years.