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Brady Keeper

East Notes: Keeper, Kowalsky, Terrance

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Despite signing a one-year contract with the Elite Ice Hockey League’s (EIHL) Glasgow Clan in late June, defenseman Brady Keeper won’t be playing out that contract with the team. In an announcement from the team, Keeper has decided to step away from hockey and retire at the age of 29.

A product of the NCAA’s University of Maine, Keeper signed with the Florida Panthers toward the end of the 2018-19 season as a collegiate free agent. He debuted with the Panthers during the 2018-2019 season, skating for 12:40 in a game against the Ottawa Senators on March 28, 2019. He recorded one blocked shot and two hits.

He spent the next few years moving from the Panthers to the Vancouver Canucks, before finally landing in the Montreal Canadiens organization in the 2023-24 season. Outside of an additional game with Florida, he’s only played in the AHL, finishing his career with 10 goals and 31 points in 129 games with a -2 rating and 208 PIMs. Unless he changes his mind on retirement in the next few years, his last professional hockey contest will have come with the AHL’s Laval Rocket in 2024.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Maine Mariners of the ECHL, affiliated with the NHL’s Boston Bruins, have added a lot of experience in their new head coach and General Manager. According to a team announcement, the Mariners have hired Rick Kowalsky as their next bench boss and General Manager, who was recently the head coach of the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals in the 2005-06 season and has won one coach of the year award in the AHL and another in the ECHL.
  • Carey Terrance, the main asset acquired by the New York Rangers from the Anaheim Ducks for Chris Kreider, is already making positive impressions in the organization. In a recent interview with Dan Rosen of NHL.com, the Rangers’ player development coach, Jed Ortmeyer, said of Terrance, “He was like, ’Yes, let me know. I want to be coached. You’re never going to hurt my feelings. I want to know. That was great to hear. He wants to be coached. He wants to get better and he’s hungry. He’s eager to learn and he wants to be great.“

International Notes: Petan, Heatherington, Wilson, Keeper

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Longtime NHL and AHL depth piece Nic Petan is coming off his first season overseas in 2024-25. While the 30-year-old won’t be staying with Russia’s Ak Bars Kazan, with whom he produced 44 points in 47 games, he isn’t making an NHL return, either. He’s staying on the other side of the Atlantic after Swiss club HC Ambrì-Piotta announced Monday they’ve signed him to a two-year contract.

Many would ask how a player with 120 points in 71 WHL games in their draft year wasn’t a first-round pick. It appeared that NHL teams were onto something. While the 2013 second-rounder has gone on to become an elite minor-league scorer, his lack of size (5’9″, 174 lbs) ended up proving prohibitive in making him a full-time NHLer. While Petan has recorded 35 points in 170 NHL games with four clubs in parts of nine seasons, he has only topped 20 games in a season twice and big-league opportunities were becoming increasingly few and far between for him over the past few years.

After appearing in just six games with the Wild in the 2023-24 season and not receiving a call-up after the Rangers acquired him before the trade deadline, Petan opted for more stability overseas following a nine-year pro career that saw him log NHL and AHL time each season. The move to Switzerland is somewhat closer to “home” – while Petan was born in British Columbia, he also holds Italian citizenship and will now play in an Italian-speaking region of the country.

Petan, 30, joins ex-NHLers Christopher DiDomenico, Tim Heed, Gilles Senn, and Chris Tierney on Ambrì-Piotta’s roster for 2025-26. The club finished 10th in the National League this past season, continuing a run of top-league appearances that began with their promotion from the NLB (now called the Swiss League) in 1985.

There’s more international news to pass along:

  • Former NHL defenseman Dillon Heatherington has signed a two-year contract with EHC Munich of Germany’s DEL, the club announced. It marks the 30-year-old lefty’s second time playing overseas after spending the 2020-21 season in Kazakhstan with Barys Nur-Sultan (now Barys Astana) of the Kontinental Hockey League. The former second-round pick of the Blue Jackets played this past season on an AHL contract in San Diego, serving as an alternate captain for the Ducks’ top minor-league affiliate while recording seven points and a minus-three rating in 59 games. He last appeared in the NHL with the Senators, playing three games in the 2022-23 season.
  • Forward Scott Wilson, a member of the Penguins’ 2017 Stanley Cup championship team, has signed a two-year deal with the KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk, the league relayed. The 33-year-old has played exclusively in Russia since his last North American contract, an AHL deal in the Panthers organization, expired in 2022. He’s put up a 53-46–99 scoring line in 164 KHL games with Vityaz Moscow Region, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and Salavat Yulaev Ufa over the past three years.
  • 29-year-old defenseman Brady Keeper has agreed to a one-year deal with the Glasgow Clan of the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League. The 6’2″ righty did not play in 2024-25 after recording four points in 22 games the prior season with AHL Laval while on a two-way deal with the Canadiens. The Manitoba native played two regular-season games and one playoff game for the Panthers between 2019 and 2021.

International Notes: Keeper, Bergman, Asselin

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After spending last season on a two-way deal with the Canadiens, defenseman Brady Keeper is headed to Slovakia on a one-year deal with HK Poprad, the team announced.

Keeper, 28, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Panthers out of Maine in 2019 and stayed mostly in the minors, only suiting up for the big club twice before his entry-level contract expired in 2021. Injuries have limited him to 57 combined regular-season AHL games over the past three years, during which he’s spent time in the Canadiens and Canucks organizations.

He had a goal and three assists with 53 PIMs and a +1 rating in 22 games for Montreal’s affiliate in Laval last season. Poprad, which had the best regular-season record in the Slovak Extraliga last season, will be his first overseas stop.

Some other notable international signings to come across the wire today:

  • Former Sharks prospect Julius Bergman is continuing his tour of his native Sweden, now landing with Nybro Vikings IF on a three-year contract. The 28-year-old Stockholm native had his rights dealt to the Senators and Rangers before opting to return home in 2019 after a four-year professional career spent entirely in the AHL. He’s played mostly for Swedish clubs but finished last season in Slovakia with HC Slovan Bratislava, where he had three points in 10 games. He’ll suit up for Nybro now, which plays in the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. The 2014 second-round pick of San Jose previously had 19 points in 75 Allsvenskan games for Karlskrona HK and Sodertalje SK.
  • Center Samuel Asselin, once an undrafted free agent signing by the Bruins, is heading over to Switzerland’s HC Sierre on a two-year deal. Asselin, 26, spent last season on an AHL contract with the Islanders’ affiliate in Bridgeport after being non-tendered by Boston in 2023. He wasn’t much of a factor, contributing six goals and 16 points in 52 games on one of the AHL’s worst teams. The 5’11”, 183-lb forward will look to play a pivotal role for Sierre, which suits up in the second-tier Sky Swiss League.

Waivers: 9/30/23

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With the start of the NHL season now just ten days away, daily waiver activity will be continuing league-wide.  Here is a listing of the players that are on the wire today per various team announcements and TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

Buffalo Sabres

G Devin Cooley
F Justin Richards
G Dustin Tokarski

Edmonton Oilers

F Drake Caggiula
F Greg McKegg

Montreal Canadiens

D Nicolas Beaudin
F Lucas Condotta
D Brady Keeper
F Mitchell Stephens

Nashville Predators

F Anthony Angello
D Kevin Gravel
G Troy Grosenick
D Jordan Gross

New York Rangers

F Jake Leschyshyn

Ottawa Senators

F Josh Currie
D Dillon Heatherington
F Garrett Pilon
D Lassi Thomson

While Ottawa’s players were announced as being waived on Friday, it was after the 1 PM CT cut-off which means their waiver clock starts today.

Vegas Golden Knights

F Byron Froese
D/F Mason Geertsen
D Dysin Mayo
F Gage Quinney
F Sheldon Rempal
F Jonas Rondbjerg

Most of the forwards on this list have cleared waivers in the past with Condotta being the lone exception as this is his first time eligible for waivers.  He spent most of last season in the minors but scored in his lone NHL appearance.  Quinney and Rempal were productive in the minors last season, averaging just shy of a point per game while Caggiula had over 50 points as well.

Among the defensemen, Thomson could be one to keep an eye on for a potential claim.  The 23-year-old was the 19th overall pick in 2019 and is still on his entry-level contract.  He hasn’t had much success at the NHL level so far but as a young right-shot defender, a rebuilding team or two might be inclined to take a flyer on him.

Mayo logged nearly 21 minutes a night on the back end for Arizona back in 2021-22 but cleared waivers last season and was eventually traded to Vegas in exchange for Shea Weber’s LTIR-eligible contract.  He has two years left on a one-way deal worth $950K per season which could scare teams off.  Beaudin is a former first-rounder himself back in 2018 (27th overall) but has just 22 NHL games under his belt, none of which came last season between Montreal and Chicago.

Grosenick and Tokarski are no strangers to the waiver wire.  Tokarski has cleared all five times while Grosenick has cleared six out of eight times he has been waived over the years.  This will be Cooley’s first time on waivers but while he had a decent season in Nashville’s system last season (posting a .909 SV% with AHL Milwaukee), it would be surprising to see him picked up.

Each player will be available to teams until 1 PM CT on Sunday.

Minor League Signings 07/01/2023

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On day one of the free agent market opening up, the league saw a grand total of 166 signings, with a whopping $646.4MM handed out over the course of 291 total contract years. This class of free agents was expected to be one of the weaker in recent memory, but the excitement still remained as quite a few players switched cities. In all the chaos, there were some minor contracts that were inked yesterday that may have slipped under the radar for most:

  • The Montreal Canadiens signed defenseman Brady Keeper to a one-year, $775K, two-way contract. Keeper spent last season playing for the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. He only managed to play for about half of the Canucks games, scoring one goal and five assists in 35 games. In the playoffs, although eliminated in the first round, Keeper scored one goal in two games for Abbotsford (CapFriendly).
  • Defenseman Ryan Shea has inked a one-year, $775K, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Shea was a former fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2015, but never actually signed with the team, joining the Dallas Stars on an entry-level contract in 2020. The Northeastern University product played a combined 162 games for the Texas Stars of the AHL, scoring 10 goals and 56 assists (CapFriendly).
  • The Washington Capitals signed forward, Pierrick Dube, to a two-year, $1.9MM, entry-level contract yesterday. An undrafted free agent last year, Dube joined the Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Dube played very well for the Rocket, scoring 16 goals and 16 assists in 44 games down the stretch. Still only 22 years old, Dube could factor into one of the top lines on the Hershey Bears next season, potentially even finding minutes with the Capitals in the near future (CapFriendly).
  • Another depth signing for the Penguins, the team has added forward Joona Koppanen to a two-year, $1.55MM, two-way contract. Koppanen was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, playing the majority of his career up to this point with the Providence Bruins. Last season, Koppanen did get his first change in the NHL, playing five games for the Bruins in January, tallying only one assist while averaging just under 11 minutes of ice time a game (CapFriendly).
  • The Florida Panthers re-signed defenseman Lucas Carlsson to a one-year, $775K, two-way contract yesterday. The defenseman was acquired in 2021 from the Blackhawks in an early-April trade. Although playing in 40 games during 2021-22 for Florida, Carlsson spent the majority of last season with their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. In the minor leagues, Carlsson was one of the highest-scoring defensemen in the league, scoring 20 goals and 34 assists in 61 games (CapFriendly).
  • Securing his first contract in professional hockey, the Edmonton Oilers have added defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer to a one-year, $845K, entry-level contract. A former fourth-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes back in 2017, Hoefenmayer never played in the Coyotes system, eventually playing on minor-league contracts with the Toronto Marlies after finishing his junior career with the Ottawa 67’s. Hoefenmayer played quite well for the Marlies, scoring 11 goals and 27 assists in 65 games last season (CapFriendly).
  • Returning back to North American hockey after spending the last two seasons playing for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, the Montreal Canadiens veteran forward Philippe Maillet to a one-year, $775K, two-way contract. Already 30 years old, Maillet has spent parts of his career with the Capitals and Los Angeles Kings organizations before finally making the jump overseas in 2021-22. In 66 games played for Metallurg last season, Maillet scored 22 goals and 31 assists (CapFriendly).
  • The recipient of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy from the 2023 Calder Cup playoffs, Hunter Shepard, has signed a two-year, $1.55MM, two-way contract to remain with the Capitals organization. Shepard was sensational en route to the Hershey Bears winning the 2023 Calder Cup, managing a 14-6-0 record throughout the playoffs, carrying a 2.27 GAA and a .914 SV% (CapFriendly).

 

Waivers: 10/04/22

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After all of the players from yesterday cleared, there is a new batch of talent on waivers today. Placement here is usually indicative of a training camp cut, though not necessarily. It gives teams the option to send a player to the minor leagues, but that doesn’t have to happen right away. Until a player spends 30 days on the active roster or plays in ten regular season games, they won’t have to clear waivers again.

Here are the players on waivers today:

Boston Bruins

Oskar Steen
Nick Wolff
Connor Carrick

Buffalo Sabres

Sean Malone

Chicago Blackhawks

Luke Philp
Nicolas Beaudin
Dylan Sikura
Brett Seney

Columbus Blue Jackets

Brendan Gaunce

Minnesota Wild

Zane McIntyre

Montreal Canadiens

Alex Belzile
Anthony Richard
Mitchell Stephens

New Jersey Devils

Tyler Wotherspoon
Robbie Russo
Joseph Gambardella
Jeremy Groleau

Pittsburgh Penguins

Taylor Fedun

Vancouver Canucks

Collin Delia
John Stevens
Noah Juulsen
Brady Keeper
Guillaume Brisebois

Pacific Notes: Moore, Samorukov, Keeper

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Trevor Moore was one of the bright spots for the Kings last season as he broke out with 48 points in 81 after putting up 41 in his first 123 NHL contests.  He’s under contract for the upcoming season at a below-market $1.875MM and is eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer for the first time.  Eric Stephens of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that if the team feels that this type of production is a sign of things to come, offering the 27-year-old a shorter-term extension in the $3MM range might be enough to get something done.  The UFA market hasn’t been kind to middle-six wingers lately and Moore’s limited track record at this point doesn’t help from a leverage standpoint so that type of offer might be good enough to get him to commit early.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • Dmitri Samorukov’s NHL debut with the Oilers last season was one to forget. He played 2:28 of the first period, was on the ice for two goals allowed, and then was on the bench the rest of the way before being quickly sent down to the minors.  However, Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal points out that despite the fact that his NHL experience is limited to that one appearance, Edmonton might be hesitant to try to sneak the 23-year-old through waivers next month in training camp.  After all, young defensemen with some size at a low price tag ($775K) are often appealing to rebuilding teams which could result in him breaking camp with the team over someone like Philip Broberg who remains waiver-exempt.
  • Canucks defenseman Brady Keeper has fully recovered from the broken leg he sustained back in training camp, notes Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province. The 26-year-old signed with Vancouver as an unrestricted free agent last summer and had a chance to push for a spot on the roster but instead, he wound up missing the entire year.  Depending on Tucker Poolman’s availability, Keeper could have a chance to push for the sixth or seventh spot on the back end in training camp.

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