Snapshots: Petersen, Kovalchuk, Neal
The Buffalo Sabres are still patiently waiting on a decision from goaltender Cal Petersen on whether or not he’ll start his professional career with the team, or wait for free agency next month. After Petersen declared he would not be returning to school, the Sabres had a 30-day window in which to sign him. John Vogl of the Buffalo News writes that Petersen’s camp is still quiet on his upcoming decision.
The goaltender will become a free agent on July 1st with everyone else through coincidence, and would be highly sought after as a potential future starting goalie. He would be signing a two-year entry-level contract, but after three outstanding years at Notre Dame is considered more polished than many other goaltending prospects. There is a chance he could be in the NHL before that ELC expires, making him extremely valuable to any team that signs him.
- New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero joined TSN 1050 today and was asked a series of questions about Ilya Kovalchuk‘s potential return. Shero told Pierre LeBrun and the other hosts plainly once again that it’s Jay Grossman (Kovalchuk’s agent) that is guiding the ship right now in terms of which teams are in contact with the Russian sniper. He’ll wait until they have a deal worked out before reaching out and seeing if there is a trade to be made with the interested team. Shero did confirm that Kovalchuk still does intend on returning, despite any rumors out of the KHL that he’s re-considering his position.
- The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers have both given promotions to their player development staff. Florida has upgraded former captain Bryan McCabe from Director of Player Development to Director of Player Personnel, while New York has installed Jed Ortmeyer as Director of Player Development. The Rangers have also hired Steve Eminger as a Pro Scout after last playing in the AHL in 2015-16. Eminger spent three seasons for the Rangers during his playing career.
- James Neal played most of the playoffs with a broken hand, according to Nashville Predators GM David Poile at the final team press conference (via Thomas Willis of the team site). The power forward broke it in game one of the Western Conference final, and came back to score the overtime winner that game. Neal has just one year left on his contract and could potentially be exposed by the Predators in the upcoming expansion draft, something Poile is trying his hardest to avoid.
- Karl Stollery has decided to take his talents to the KHL, as the free agent defender has signed on with Dinamo Riga. Stollery played 11 games with the New Jersey Devils last season, registering just three points. The former Merrimack College standout has just 23 NHL games under his belt but will now try to take the next step in the Russian league.
Cal Petersen To Turn Pro, Forego Senior Season At Notre Dame
Just minutes after the Buffalo Sabres announced the signing of goaltending prospect Jonas Johansson, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish announced that fellow Sabres prospect Cal Petersen will not be returning for his senior season. Instead, Petersen will either sign a professional contract with the Sabres, or wait to become a free agent later this summer. Since four years have passed since Petersen was selected in 2013, the Sabres will have just 30 days to sign him before he becomes a free agent.
Interestingly, the announcement from Notre Dame comes without any inkling that the Sabres are close to a deal with the goaltender. Though Tim Murray was clear before he was fired he had made an offer to Petersen to join the club, it’s not clear where new GM Jason Botterill stands with him. While Petersen was with Team USA at the World Championships earlier this month, he had said the idea of competing in the Olympics would factor into his decision on whether or not to turn pro. Apparently, that didn’t have enough of an effect to keep him in school.
Petersen is a top goaltending prospect after posting three outstanding seasons at Notre Dame and developing into an excellent all-around goaltender. Though he doesn’t have the size of many NHL netminders—Petersen stands just six-foot-one—he has excellent positional play and was even the first goaltender in Notre Dame history to serve as captain. He started 90 consecutive games for the school, and set several school records including his .924 career save percentage.
Botterill won’t be alone in wooing Petersen to Buffalo, as earlier today John Vogl of the Buffalo News reported that Sabres superstar Jack Eichel had given him a pitch before the US World Championship team had split up.
I obviously told him that we’d love to have him. I just kind of gave him a bit of an earful about what Buffalo is like, how passionate the people were here and how great an organization it is.
As he’s done with everything so far, Petersen will likely take his time to weigh all of his options now that he’s made this decision. The longer it stretches into June the more Buffalo fans will cross their fingers, but the Sabres are still clearly the favorite to land him after spending a fifth-round pick on him and being in constant contact.