West Notes: Sharks, Lord, Prosvetov
The Sharks have been busy in recent days, adding Ryan Reaves and Jeff Skinner up front. Those moves came after the back end was shaken up last week with the additions of John Klingberg, Dmitry Orlov, and Nick Leddy while other depth moves were made this summer as well. Speaking to reporters today including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link), GM Mike Grier indicated that San Jose is probably finished with their offseason movement but that they’d definitely look into other trade scenarios that could pop up before the season starts. With all of the moves they’ve made, more than one-third of their roster has been changed up this summer, a percentage that could go higher depending on if other prospects make a push for a roster spot in training camp.
More from out West:
- As expected, the AHL’s Ontario Reign, affiliate of the Kings, announced today that Andrew Lord has been named as the fourth head coach in team history. He takes the place of Marco Sturm who held the post the last three seasons before being named as Boston’s head coach earlier this offseason. Lord was the head coach with QMJHL Halifax last season after spending the previous four years as the coach and GM (for three seasons) of ECHL Greenville.
- Goaltender Ivan Prosvetov signed a one-year, $950K contract with the Flames early in free agency. Speaking with reporters including Championat’s Nastya Vinnik, the 26-year-old acknowledged that he had an offer for more money on the table but picked Calgary instead since there was a pathway to a potential NHL spot. Prosvetov had a 2.32 GAA and a .920 SV% in 38 games last season with CSKA Moscow in the KHL and will battle Devin Cooley to serve as the backup to Dustin Wolf next season.
Snapshots: Sorokin, Blue Jackets, Hunter, Lord
Throughout the past few days, there have been several unconfirmed rumors that New York Islanders’ netminder Ilya Sorokin could be in play, particularly for the Edmonton Oilers. Those rumors were squashed earlier today when Sorokin’s agent, Dan Milstein, bluntly said that Sorokin hasn’t been involved in trade discussions and wouldn’t waive his no-movement clause.
Such is the way for this time of the NHL calendar when ideas for good fits sometimes become unsubstantiated rumors. There’s little argument against Sorokin being an objective improvement in the crease for most teams in the NHL, but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be moved this summer.
Still, he may be a goaltender to keep on the radar. He’s been one of the game’s best goalies over the last four years, managing a 112-83-33 record in 227 starts with a .916 SV% and 2.62 GAA, including 19 shutouts. Sorokin will have a full no-movement clause through the 2027-28 season before transitioning to a 16-team no-trade list ahead of the 2028-29 campaign.
More snapshots:
- An impressive development camp may have led to a pair of entry-level contracts for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Although the team hasn’t confirmed the news, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reported earlier that the Blue Jackets are working on an entry-level contract with defenseman Will Bishop and forward Nicholas Sima. Columbus drafted neither player, as they were invited to the team’s development camp from the OHL.
- Team Canada’s World Junior team is expected to have a new look at the top of their coaching staff. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Hockey Canada will announce Dale Hunter as the head coach of Team Canada’s U20 team. The successful, longtime head coach of the OHL’s London Knights will replace Dave Cameron as the team’s head coach in Canada’s attempt to return to the gold medal game for the first time since 2023.
- After Marco Sturm departed to become the new head coach of the Boston Bruins, the AHL’s Ontario Reign began seeking a new bench boss. According to a new report from Anthony Collazo of The Mayor’s Manor, the Reign are expected to name Andrew Lord as the team’s new head coach. If he’s eventually named Ontario’s new head coach, it would be Lord’s first coaching role in the AHL after serving as the head coach of the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits for four years and the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads’ head coach last season.