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Alexei Melnichuk

Minor Transactions: 07/28/23

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Today’s been quite a busy day for player movement around the world of pro hockey, as numerous teams in the many pro leagues are looking to secure quality players for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of the notable moves made in those minor and foreign leagues.

  • Minor-league goalie Dylan Ferguson got his first real shot in the NHL last season, starting two games for the Ottawa Senators in March and posting a .940 save percentage. But despite that significant career achievement, Ferguson only played in a total of 15 games in 2022-23, and now he’s headed overseas likely with the hope of seeing more consistent time in the crease. He’s signed a contract with Dynamo Minsk in the KHL, where he will likely battle Philadelphia Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov for starts next season.
  • Former AHL netminder Jussi Olkinoura has collected quite a few team accomplishments in his playing career such as a Champions Hockey League title, an Olympic gold medal, and two World Championship golds. 2022-23 wasn’t his best year, though, as his club team, Brynäs IF, were relegated from the SHL to Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. Olkinoura, 32, won’t remain with Brynäs as they seek promotion, as he’s signed a contract with the Lahti Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga. Olkinoura has played with the Pelicans before, posting a .910 save percentage in 39 games as their number-one starter in 2018-19. Despite making it all the way to Liiga’s finals the Pelicans were in need of a new starting goalie as their previous one, Patrik Bartošák, signed a two-year deal in Czechia. Now Olkinoura will join 23-year-old Jasper Patrikainen (.905 save percentage in 30 games in 2022-23) to form the Pelicans’ goalie tandem.
  • 2008 second-round pick and former Hobey Baker Award finalist Danny Kristo has signed with the EIHL’s Coventry Blaze. The contract completes a transfer from the Sheffield Steelers, an EIHL rival of the Blaze for whom Kristo played the 2022-23 campaign. Although the 33-year-old Minnesota native translated his scoring as a college hockey star at the University of North Dakota to the AHL level (he hit 20 goals in the AHL in three consecutive seasons from 2013-14 to 2015-16) he couldn’t quite do enough to break into the NHL, and he left to play overseas in late 2017. Kristo has since played in Latvia, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia, and has now settled in as a quality scorer in the United Kingdom’s top pro league. Kristo scored 12 goals and 30 points for the Steelers last season and will now head to Coventry hoping to help them make a more convincing run in the league’s playoffs.
  • Longtime minor league veteran Colton Saucerman’s return to North America proved to be short-lived, as the 31-year-old right-shot defenseman has signed a contract in England with Sheffield. After featuring in the ECHL since late 2016 and earning 41 total AHL games, Saucerman left for Europe in 2020 to sign with Austria’s HC Innsbruck of the ICEHL. He played well in Austria and earned a deal with HC Kosice in Slovakia, where he would also put together a strong campaign. That got him an ECHL contract with the Allen Americans for 2022-23, and he led their blueliners in scoring with 38 points in 63 games. Now, Saucerman is headed to England for the first time in his career to likely play a significant role on the Steelers’ defense.
  • Former San Jose Sharks netminder Alexei Melnichuk has signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, the club he was traded to a little over a week ago. Melnichuk, 25, is an undrafted netminder who signed with the Sharks in 2020 and ended up playing nearly 50 games in the AHL for the San Jose Barracuda. He could only manage a .867 save percentage across that sample size in the AHL, meaning he eventually was sent down to the ECHL before heading back to Russia for 2022-23. Melnichuk played bounced between three KHL clubs last season and with this signing he’ll get the chance to fight for some stability, as he’ll battle with former New York Rangers netminder Adam Huska and incumbent starter Ivan Kulbakov (.926 save percentage in 42 KHL games in 2022-23) for time in the crease for Torpedo.
  • Former Quinnipac University blueliner and Sharks 2015 fifth-round pick Kārlis Čukste has signed a one-year contract to play in HockeyAllsvenskan with Brynäs IF. Čukste is fresh off of representing his home country of Latvia at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, helping them on a historic run that earned the hockey-mad country their best-ever performance. The six-foot-three 26-year-old stay-at-home defenseman is entering the fourth season of his professional career, and spent last year earning regular minutes for HC Oceláři Třinec in the Czech Extraliga. Čukste also brings experience from Liiga, the KHL, AHL, and ECHL to the table and will hope to help Brynäs fend off other top HockeyAllsvenskan clubs such as Djurgårdens IF to earn instant promotion back to the SHL.
  • Danish international Niklas Andersen, who has represented his home country at two IIHF Men’s World Championships, has left the Fischtown Pinguins to sign with a rival DEL club, the Augsburg Panthers. The 25-year-old forward was a high scorer in two consecutive seasons in the Danish league for Esbjerg before earning his first shot in the DEL with Fischtown. Andersen’s debut season in Germany was exceptional, as he scored 14 goals and 27 points in just 34 games. He’s not matched that total in the past two seasons, though, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 52 games in 2021-22 and 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games last season. With this signing, he joins an Augsburg team in need of competent veteran talent, as they only narrowly avoided relegation in 2022-23.
  • Recently-promoted Slovak Extraliga side HC 19 Humenne have signed former Colorado Avalanche prospect and four-time KHL All-Star Denis Parshin to a deal for the 2022-23 season. Parshin, 37, brings 658 games of KHL experience to the table as well as experience representing Russia in international play. He’s played 82 total games in the Slovak league across three different seasons, all for HC Kosice, including 2022-23 when he scored 28 points in 34 games.
  • Physical center James Phelan racked up over 100 penalty minutes in 62 ECHL games for the Trois-Rivières Lions last season, and now he’s headed to Scotland to continue his pro career. He’s signed with the Dundee Stars in the EIHL, bringing nearly 100 games of ECHL experience as well as 47 career AHL games. Phelan hasn’t been much of a scorer at the pro level, but the 26-year-old plays with an edge and has some history of scoring from his days playing major junior hockey in the QMJHL.
  • Liiga’s KalPa Kuopio have re-signed two regulars from 2022-23 to their 2023-24 roster: Matyáš Kantner and Anton Karlsson. Karlsson, 30, is a former AHLer with the Cleveland Monsters who logged 49 games for KalPa last season. He’s a former everyday SHLer who ranked eighth among KalPa blueliners averaging 13:41 TOI per game last season. Kantner, 25, is a big winger who transferred mid-season from the Czech Extraliga and scored nine points in 17 regular-season games and three points in KalPa’s playoff series loss to the Pelicans.
  • A three-player trade was completed in the ECHL today, with the Tulsa Oilers acquiring Max Kaufman and Tristan Thompson from the Savannah Ghost Pirates in exchange for Alex Gilmour. Gilmour, 27, is a six-foot-five power forward who scored 16 goals and 40 points for Tulsa as an ECHL rookie in 2021-22 but struggled as a sophomore and only scored 18 points in 56 games. The hope for Savannah will be that a change of scenery will unlock the potential Gilmour flashed as a rookie, while in exchange for him Tulsa is adding Kaufman, 27, a former Boston University Terrier who scored 20 points in 57 games last season, and Thompson, 26, an undersized offensive defenseman who led Ghost Pirates defensemen in scoring as a sophomore player with 42 points in 72 games.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Alexei Melnichuk Signs In KHL

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After being traded earlier this season and finding himself in the ECHL, it seemed likely that Alexei Melnichuk’s time in North America was coming to an end. That was made official today, as HC Sochi in the KHL announced that the young goaltender has signed a contract with them that runs through April 30, 2024.

Melnichuk, 23, signed with the San Jose Sharks in 2020, just a few months after the COVID-19 shutdown, and looked like he could potentially provide some NHL value in the future. After all, he was coming off a very strong KHL debut, with a .930 save percentage in 16 appearances during the 2019-20 campaign. They did get three NHL appearances out of him, but they certainly weren’t of the valuable variety.

In his 131 minutes of action during the 2020-21 season, Melnichuk allowed 11 goals on 81 shots, good for an .864 save percentage and 5.05 goals-against average. Certainly not the debut he was hoping for, and when two stints in the minor leagues didn’t go much better, it was a trade this year that brought him to the Tampa Bay Lightning organization.

It’s in that trade that there is some intrigue. Because he is a restricted free agent at the end of this season, the Lightning will actually retain his exclusive NHL rights should they at least extend him a qualifying offer. That doesn’t mean much for now, with the contract already signed back home, but those rights will not have expired by the time this new KHL contract is over. At that point, when he is a 25-year-old with more professional experience under his belt, the Lightning would potentially have the chance to bring him back over, should the relationship still be intact.

Given the upside that he’s shown in 32 KHL appearances, that’s at least worth it for the Lightning, who only gave up minor league forward Antoine Morand–a non-tender candidate himself this offseason–in the deal.

Minor Transactions: 05/08/22

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Half of the NHL is in the playoffs and focused on little else. The other half of the league has turned their attention to the offseason, but are limited in what they can actually do before the NHL Draft and free agency. However, for nearly every other league in the world, it is a busy time. The KHL, Liiga, and Swiss National League have all wrapped up their seasons and started offseason activities, and the SHL is at most two games from joining them. Closer to home, as CHL seasons come to an end in the playoffs, AHL rosters are being supplemented by assignments and amateur tryouts. NCAA programs are also finalizing their rosters for next season, some in response to pro signings. So while transactions may seem like a non-issue in the NHL right now, there is plenty going on elsewhere:

  • Cole Spicer, a member of the USNTDP and the silver medal-winning U.S. entry into the U-18 World Juniors, has finally landed on a new destination for his collegiate career. Spicer had recently decommitted from the University of North Dakota and Matt Wellens of the The Rink Live reports that he will instead play for a NCHC rival. Spicer has committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth and will join the Bulldogs next season. Spicer will now play alongside USNTDP teammate and presumptive 2022 first-round pick Isaac Howard at UMD, whereas no one from the program’s graduating class is headed to North Dakota now. Though Spicer is a step behind compared to an extraordinarily talented USNTDTP group this year, expected to go in the fourth round or later rather than the first two rounds, he was still a key contributor to the team and a prospect to watch moving forward.
  • Niko Huuhtanen, a seventh-round selection of the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, is getting his first taste of the pro level to end the year. The Bolts’ AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, have announced that Huuhtanen has signed an ATO with the team for the remainder of the season. The Finnish product is having quite the first season in North America; after recording 37 goals and 77 points in 65 games with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips, Huuhtanen is now getting a shot in the AHL less than a year after he nearly went undrafted, taken with the very last pick of the 2021 Draft. The power forward could be yet another late-round find by Tampa. The Crunch have also added undrafted defenseman Tyson Feist on an ATO. The 21-year-old captain of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets just wrapped up his junior career by scoring more points (39) in 65 games this season than he did in his first four WHL seasons combined. The Lightning want to see if he has what it takes to continue on to the pro level.
  • When Helsinki-based club Jokerit backed out of the KHL playoffs and later announced they would be leaving the league altogether, the expectation was that they would be returning to the Finnish Liiga next season. However, no such official decision has been made and with the Liiga now in offseason mode, a pair of notable Jokerit forwards have decided to move elsewhere. SC Rapperswil-Jona has announced that both Nicklas Jensen and Jordan Schroeder have signed two-year deals with the team. Playing on a Jokerit roster filled with former and future NHLers, Jensen and Schroeder ranked first and third respectively in goals and second and third respectively in points. The former Jokers are expected to fill those same top-line roles with the Lakers for the next two years and should be even more productive in the Liiga. Both first-round picks of yesteryear, Jensen and Schroeder combine for less than 200 NHL games between them, but have found their place as top scorers in Europe.
  • Usually when the KHL rights of active NHL players are traded, there is information informing the value of those rights. With that in mind, pay attention to Russian netminder Alexei Melnichuk this offseason. HC Sochi and SKA St. Petersburg have made a deal in which the rights to forward Ivan Morozov and goaltender Mikhail Berdin were sent to SKA, while Melnichuk’s rights are headed to Sochi, the club announced. Seeing as Morozov just signed with the Vegas Golden Knights two weeks ago and Berdin is signed through next season with the Winnipeg Jets and to a one-way deal no less, the only player whose rights could reasonably have value in 2022-23 is Melnichuk. An impending restricted free agent, the 23-year-old Melnichuk is not having the season he expected after making his NHL debut with the San Jose Sharks last year. Rather than gain more of a role in the Sharks’ organization, Melnichuk played exclusively in the AHL this year before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the deadline, who have kept him in the ECHL ever since. Melnichuk put up stellar numbers in the KHL at a young age before jumping to North America and there could be a strong draw to return given his recent usage and results. On the other side, though Berdin has long been committed to playing in North America and Morozov is an up-and-coming prospect who hopes to have a long NHL career, St. Petersburg certainly added the vastly superior talent in the deal and will be happy to cash in if either player ever return to Russia.

Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire Alexei Melnichuk

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired goalie Alexei Melnichuk from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Antoine Morand, per The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka.

In Melnichuk, Tampa receives a goalie who had strong NHL upside at one point but seems to have bottomed out in North America. The Sharks signed him as an undrafted free agent after a strong 2019-20 season in Russia, where he had a .930 save percentage in 16 KHL games with SKA St. Petersburg. Since coming to the Sharks organization, though, he’s failed to post a save percentage above .900 at any level. He has an .867 in 31 AHL games with the San Jose Barracuda this year.

Morand has now been traded in consecutive seasons. Originally a Ducks prospect, he was dealt to Tampa Bay last season. In 44 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season, though, he had just ten points.

KHL Off-Season Opening Day Round-Up

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The KHL off-season opened today and the league did not waste any time in making moves that have meaning to NHL fans. A number of familiar names have hit free agency today and some are already agreeing to new deals. Meanwhile, others are being traded on the first day to do so, including the rights to some players currently in North America. Keep up with all of today’s action as the KHL’s clubs get their summers started early with significant moves:

  •  One of the first players to sign with a new team early this morning was former NHL forward Teemu Pulkkinen. A Detroit Red Wings draft pick who also spent time with the Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, and most recently the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017-18, Pulkkinen will be entering his fourth season in the KHL and is already on to his fourth different team. After splitting this season between Dynamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, collecting 30 points in 46 games, Pulkkinen has signed a two-year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk. The 29-year-old has scored at a .67 per-game clip in his KHL career and shows no signs of slowing down.
  • SKA St. Petersberg and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod have made an interesting futures swap, trading the rights of two current NHLers. Torpedo received the rights to Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi (as well as minor league forward Danil Voyevodin) while SKA landed the rights to young San Jose Sharks goalie Alexei Melnichuk. The deal is tricky on a number of levels; while Puljujarvi is undoubtedly the biggest name in the trade, it is Melnichuk who commanded the larger side of the return. It was also KHL powerhouse SKA who received the prospect netminder and gave up the established scorer. This could be a simple case of different likelihoods of those player rights having any value. While Puljujarvi previously left the Oilers for Europe, he has finally found his NHL stride in his return this season and is unlikely to leave again. Even if he does, Puljujarvi may just return home to the Finnish Liiga as well. On the other hand, Melnichuk was born and bred in the SKA system and the team may have some insight into his future plans. The 22-year-old keeper is valued by the Sharks and even made his NHL debut this year in his first season in North America, however his AHL play has underwhelmed and he doesn’t look like a realistic full-time NHL option for San Jose next season. If the young goalie grows tired of playing in the minors in North America, he would probably be happy to jump back to his old team and take on a starting role in the KHL.
  • Former Boston Bruins forward Joonas Kemppainen has signed a one-year extension to remain with SKA. The Finnish power forward didn’t work out in his lone NHL season back in 2015-16, recording five points in eleven games with Boston, but has been a productive player in the KHL for five years now. That includes a 15-goal, 29-point campaign with St. Petersberg this year that earned him an extension. The 33-year-old veteran is not a candidate to ever return to North America, but still has plenty to offer in Russia.
  • Vladimir Zharkov feels like ancient New Jersey Devils history at this point, but the former top prospect continues to produce in the KHL. Zharkov, 33, spent four seasons with the Devils early in his career and was a nice fringe piece, but lacked starting upside. In the KHL since 2012-13, Zharkov has become a reliable two-way forward and locker room leader, spending many years with top programs like CSKA Moscow and Salavat Yulaev Ufa. Now he’s off to the top team in the league, signing a two-year deal with recently-crowned Gagarin Cup champions Avangard Omsk, replacing the veteran presence of the departed Ilya Kovalchuk.
  • Torpedo jumped right back into the action, signing an exciting forward to a one-year deal. Marek Hrivik gave his all to a career in North America, developing in the QMJHL and spending six seasons primarily in the AHL for the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames. However, he never could earn a full-time opportunity and returned home to Europe in 2018. Even then, his first go-round in the KHL did not go all that well. However, after back-to-back stellar season in Sweden, he is ready to give it another try with Torpedo. Hrivik totaled 81 points in 90 games with the SHL’s Leksands IF these past two years and if that can translate to the KHL then the 29-year-old could become a star in Russia.
  • Another trade involving NHL property has landed, but this one could have more immediate dividends. Defending champions Omsk have acquired the rights to Boston Bruins prospect forward Peter Cehlarik from Yaroslavl in exchange for the rights to Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kodie Curran. Cehlarik, 25, is already in Europe, having left Boston this past off-season to join Leksands IF in Sweden. Cehlarik always showed great promise in the AHL, but couldn’t translate it to the NHL for the Bruins. After recording 20 goals and 40 points in 45 SHL games this season, Cehlarik may want to return to Boston, who continues to hold his rights, in an attempt to prove himself once more. However, the talented winger could be tempted to join the KHL’s current kings this off-season instead. As for Curran, 31, he already did his stint in Europe and made his return to North America. The Calgary native spent the previous four seasons in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden before earning his first NHL contract with the Ducks this past off-season. While he hasn’t see any action in Anaheim just yet, he has 11 points in 17 AHL games this season and his one-way, $1MM contract still has another year remaining. However, if Curran is still not being utilized by the Ducks after next season and doesn’t draw any other NHL offers as a result, he has a new home to return to in Europe in Yarolslavl.
  • After signing his entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, Pyotr Kochetkov has inked another deal – a one-year extension with Torpedo. The 21-year-old landed in Novgorod late in the season, but excelled down the stretch and in the postseason with save percentages of .931 and .932, respectively. Kochetkov could very well be in line for the starting role for Torpedo next season while playing on loan from Carolina.

San Jose Sharks Sign Zach Sawchenko

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The San Jose Sharks snuck a signing in before the deadline, as AHL goaltender Zach Sawchenko has earned his first NHL deal. The Sharks have announced that Sawchenko has signed a two-year entry-level contract that starts this season. CapFriendly adds that the deal carries the minimum salary for both years, $700K in 2020-21 and $750K in 2021-22, for an AAV of $725K. Sawchenko will have an AHL salary of $80K in both seasons, albeit prorated for the current year.

Sawchenko, 23, was once a highly-regarded young prospect. A two-time WHL First Team All-Star with the Moose Jaw Warriors and a member of Canada’s 2015 U-18 World Juniors team, Sawchenko looked like a budding NHL prospect, but was somehow never drafted. He even attended two years at the University of Alberta, with his stellar numbers again pointing toward pro potential. The Sharks finally gave the netminder a shot last season, signing him to a minor league contract. He found success right away, putting up strong numbers in limited AHL and ECHL action, and this season has been even better. Through two seasons, Sawchenko has a .912 save percentage and 2.76 GAA in 16 AHL games and a .928 save percentage and 2.42 GAA in 20 ECHL games.

Signing Sawchenko now serves a couple different purposes for the Sharks. Firstly, San Jose needed another pro option this season following the trade of Devan Dubnyk. The team plans to use other youngsters Josef Korenar and Alexei Melnichuk as interchangeable backups to Martin Jones for the rest of the year, so Sawchenko is unlikely to see any NHL action too quickly. However, there are no other pro goalies in the system for San Jose and in the event of an injury at the NHL level Sawchenko would become third-string and would likely be on the taxi squad down the stretch or in the postseason should the Sharks qualify. Signing Sawchenko to a two-year deal this season also allows the Sharks to reduce his cap hit for next season below the league minimum without actually having to pay him the full salary for this season. In the event that he is able to crack the NHL roster at any point next season, Sawchenko will be as affordable a player as possible.

Trade Deadline Primer: San Jose Sharks

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We are now less than a week away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the San Jose Sharks.

Earlier this season, it appeared as if the San Jose Sharks were in for another disappointing year. The club wanted to use the shortened 2020-21 campaign to evaluate their core and the early returns were not encouraging. However, the past few weeks have changed everything. The Sharks are 6-3-1 in their past ten games, including four straight wins. In the meantime, the St. Louis Blues have continued to slump while four of the Sharks’ recent wins have come against the Los Angeles Kings. Suddenly, San Jose finds themselves in contention for a playoff spot in the West Division, just three points back with a game in hand on the fourth-place Arizona Coyotes.

With that said, some recent luck is not going to change the Sharks’ plans for the season. The team is not going to give up major assets for short-term help just on the off-chance that they can sneak into the playoffs where the West’s daunting top three teams await. The core is still in the process of proving themselves and San Jose likely wants to see if they have the pieces in place to be a playoff team once again, knowing that rentals will not put themselves over the top this season. This does not mean that the Sharks will sit back at the deadline though; the club has some fringe pieces on expiring contracts that they could look to deal away and there are some needs beyond this season that they may discover a chance to address. In short, San Jose is unlikely to stand pat, but don’t expect them to sell off anything more than rental pieces or to acquire any major rental help of their own.

Record

17-16-4, .514, T-5th in East Division

Deadline Status

Light Seller/Opportunistic Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$2.41MM in full-season space ($10.74MM at the deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: SJS 1st, SJS 3rd, SJS 4th, SJS 5th, SJS 6th, SJS 7th
2022: SJS 1st, SJS 2nd, SJS 3rd, SJS 4th, SJS 6th, MIN 7th

Trade Chips

In terms of rentals, the Sharks do not have much to offer other buyers. However, for that same reason they will probably not hesitate to move any of their expiring contracts if there is interest. None of the Sharks’ impending UFA’s are anything more than depth pieces, in San Jose or elsewhere. The Sharks’ ability to retain salary if need be could result in some better trade returns, but there isn’t much to get excited about.

Among the rental group, veteran goaltender Devan Dubnyk is likely their most valuable trade chip, if only because he is one of a small number of available net minders with postseason experience. The Sharks’ plan to combine Dubnyk and Martin Jones and hope one will rediscover their starter status has not really worked out. Jones has improved marginally this year, but Dubnyk has been a bust. The 34-year-old has an .898 save percentage and 3.18 GAA thus far, resulting in just three wins on the year. Dubnyk will not command much of a return unless the scarcity of goalies creates a bidding war. There are certainly those in San Jose who would like to see Jones traded, but that move won’t happen at the deadline, if it ever happens at all.

Up front, Patrick Marleau is the biggest name, but not likely to be the most valuable. Sure, Marleau brings more experience and leadership than most in the game, but he did not work out as a rental for the Pittsburgh Penguins last year and that was even after finding decent success with the Sharks pre-trade. The 41-year-old has been a non-factor this season with just six points 37 games and may not even have any suitors. Making the playoffs one last time with the Sharks would probably mean more than another go-round as a rental for the respected veteran. The real name to watch among San Jose’s expiring forwards is Marcus Sorensen. Although his production has been poor this season, Sorenson is a good two-way forward and notched 17 goals and 30 points just two years ago. Contenders looking for fourth line options could do worse than Sorenson. Matthew Nieto and Kurtis Gabriel are other bottom-six forwards who could have value, but Nieto is currently injured and Gabriel has become a well-liked locker room presence for the Sharks this year, so neither is a lock to leave.

Others to Watch For: D Fredrik Claesson ($700K, UFA), F Fredrik Handemark ($925K, UFA), F Stefan Noesen ($925K, UFA), F Antti Suomela ($700K, UFA), D Nick DeSimone ($700K, Group 6 UFA)

Team Needs

1) Term Forward – Even if the Sharks don’t venture into true “buyer” territory, they still need to keep their eyes open for possible forward additions for next season – or more accurately, for the Expansion Draft. San Jose is in a tough situation when it comes to meeting the exposure requirements of the impending draft. Currently, they have just five forwards who meet the games played and term criteria and all five will almost certainly be protected: Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Kevin Labanc. They have zero forwards who can meet the exposure requirements simply by playing more games this season. This means that the Sharks must add two forward before the draft, either by re-signing or acquisition. Their extension candidates, who would qualify by only signing on for another year, include Sorenson, Marleau, and Nieto – any of whom could be traded and none of whom appear to be part of the Sharks’ future – and Dylan Gambrell and Rudolfs Balcers, who would seemingly be competing for the seventh and final protection spot. As a result, it seems more likely than not that San Jose will need to make an addition before June and they may as well add some additional help before the deadline, especially if the likes of Sorenson, Marleau, or Nieto head out of town. The Sharks could honestly use another long-term top-six forward, especially with the futures of Kane and Hertl in doubt, if they do decide to take a bigger swing at the deadline.

2) Goaltender – If the Sharks do trade Dubnyk, they won’t have much choice but to add another goaltender. The club likes young keepers Alexei Melnichuk and Josef Korenar, but the duo’s AHL numbers show that they are not ready for NHL backup duty this year and probably not next year either. San Jose could look for a cheaper rental to replace Dubnyk or they could look for a goalie with term or an impending free agent that would warrant an extension. The Sharks have previously been linked to the Florida Panthers’ Chris Driedger.

3) Prospect Defensemen – If the Sharks are not successful in landing valuable draft picks in exchange for their rentals, they should target defensive prospects. While San Jose has some nice young defensemen at the NHL level, the pipeline is all but bare behind polarizing Ryan Merkley. The team desperately needs to add bodies on the blue line, especially with an aging core in the NHL and the potential to lose a roster defenseman in the Expansion Draft.

Sharks Loan Alexei Melnichuk To The KHL

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While Sharks prospect Alexei Melnichuk opted to pursue a career in North America and left the KHL back in May, his playing days at home aren’t quite done yet.  Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL announced (Twitter link) that they’ve added the goaltender on a loan agreement from San Jose.  This comes on the heels of Torpedo acquiring his KHL rights in exchange for the rights to Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi.

Melnichuk had several teams pursuing him back in the spring following a dazzling season with SKA St. Petersburg that saw him post a 1.68 GAA and a .930 SV% in 16 KHL contests.  He was almost as good while playing a level lower in the VHL with a 1.95 GAA and a .925 SV% in eight contests down there.

The move will give him an opportunity to stay in playing shape and should help give him an edge as he tries to make a push to earn a spot with the Sharks for next season.  With Aaron Dell set to become an unrestricted free agent next week, there is a vacancy between the pipes for San Jose and if they don’t fill it with a veteran, Melnichuk could have a strong opportunity to see NHL action next season.

San Jose Sharks Sign Alexei Melnichuk

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The San Jose Sharks have won the race for KHL goaltender Alexei Melnichuk, signing him to an entry-level contract according to his agent Dan Milstein. San Jose had been one of several teams pursuing the young goaltender, who is coming off an excellent debut in the KHL.

In 16 appearances this season, Melnichuk recorded a 1.68 goals-against average and .930 save percentage. Though KHL save numbers are often higher than those in the NHL, the 21-year old still more than held his ground as a rookie for St. Petersburg and obviously has a bright future.

Because Melnichuk turns 22 this summer the deal will be a two-year entry-level contract. The Sharks already do have a few goaltending prospects in their system, but because of his pro experience in Russia Melnichuk may actually jump to the top of the line.

It’s important to remember with this signing that Aaron Dell, who has served as an NHL backup for the last several seasons, is scheduled for unrestricted free agency. There will likely be an opportunity with the team in the short term, perhaps one that the young Russian will get a crack at.

Snapshots: Phase 2, Melnichuk, Franco

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Yesterday, the NHL and NHLPA released a joint statement on the status of the regular season and the encouraging signs that have started to make engaging “Phase 2” look like a realistic possibility. That would mean a return to their team cities for players spread out around the globe and the resuming of team workouts. On the latest Insider Trading for TSN however, Darren Dreger explains that it won’t be mandatory:

The goal is to initiate Phase 2 at some point around the middle of May, perhaps the third week of May. But it is a recommendation, it’s not mandatory. What is mandatory, assuming there is a go-ahead, is that NHL players report to their NHL cities for the start of training camp—potentially that could be around June 1.

But there are others who say that Phase 2 may not be initiated, there is certainly no guarantee of that and that’s all health-related. Important to note though, there will be no agreement on an NHL resumption unless players have an allowance to visit with their families.

The topic of family access has been brought up by several players in recent days, including Phillip Danault of the Montreal Canadiens and John Tavares of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Even with the hopeful nature of some of the recent reports, there is still plenty of work to do in order to make anything possible this summer.

  • The San Jose Sharks may be landing a KHL free agent, as a report out of Russia has Alexei Melnichuk set to sign with the team. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, however, hears that though the Sharks are a finalist for Melnichuk’s services, there is another team “in the mix” and that nothing is final just yet. Melnichuk, 21, is an up-and-coming goaltender in the KHL who posted a .930 save percentage in 16 games this season.
  • The Rochester Americans have signed Dominic Franco to an AHL contract, following his senior season at West Point. The 24-year old winger scored 23 points in 33 games while serving as an alternate captain, leading the team in scoring for the third season.

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