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David Rundblad

Minor Transactions: 04/18/23

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It’s a busy day across the hockey world, with a group of first-round NHL playoff series set to begin tonight and a few European leagues playing finals games. In the NHL, the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils are beginning what is likely to be a heated series between two rivals, while the Seattle Kraken are making their playoff debut in a game against the Colorado Avalanche — with former Colorado netminder Philipp Grubauer in the crease.

In Europe, Djurgarden defeated MoDo in a significant matchup in their battle for promotion to the top-tier SHL, while in Germany ERC Ingolstadt made a crucial late push to defeat EHC Red Bull Munchen and avoid falling into a 3-0 hole in the DEL finals. In Austria, HC Bolzano managed a 4-3 victory over Red Bull Salzburg to force a deciding seventh game in the ICEHL’s finals. As fans all around the world enjoy the important games on the schedule today, many offseason moves are being made by teams whose seasons have ended. We’ll keep track of those transactions here.

  • 739-game NHL veteran Justin Abdelkader will not return to EV Zug, the team he played 2022-23 for, according to a team social media post. The 36-year-old played 24 games in his second tour with Zug, having skated nine games for them before in 2020-21. Abdelkader scored two goals and five points this season and added three points in five playoff games. Without a team at the moment for next season, it doesn’t seem out of the question that Abdelkader could end up retiring, though it’s also certainly possible that he decides to continue his pro career. In any case,  should Abdelkader choose to keep playing his next season won’t be with EV Zug.
  • Brynas IF has secured a major contract extension for their quest to be promoted back to the SHL. The team announced a three-year contract for former NHLer Johan Larsson, who ranked second among forwards in team scoring with 31 points in 45 games. (Former Toronto Maple Leaf Dmytro Timashov led the team with 33 points) It’s a significant signing for Brynas, who were relegated just recently. It’s also interesting to note that Larsson will be playing second-division hockey in Sweden just a year after he was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a third-round pick. A third-round pick is what the Carolina Hurricanes paid this deadline to acquire Shayne Gostisbehere, a 40-point NHL defenseman, highlighting how recently the 30-year-old Larsson was viewed as a valuable NHL rental. It also illustrates how loyal Larsson seems to be to the club he won the Swedish championship with in 2011-12, as he’s willing to play in his country’s second tier of hockey and likely forgo greater outside offers in order to help the Brynas earn promotion back to the SHL.
  • Former top prospect David Rundblad is among the players who will not be returning to Karpat next season, per an announcement from the Liiga side. The 32-year-old, who is perhaps best known for bringing Vladimir Tarasenko to the St. Louis Blues and Kyle Turris to the Ottawa Senators via trade, had a solid first season in Finland after six seasons in the KHL. Rundblad scored 26 points in 60 games this season and helped Karpat reach the playoff qualifiers.
  • Former New Jersey Devil Janne Kuokkanen is headed to Sweden to continue his pro career. The 24-year-old 2016 second-rounder made a strong impression in his return to European pro hockey, scoring 31 points in 42 games for Switzerland’s HC Fribourg-Gotteron. He’s a major addition for Malmo, who just barely staved off relegation to HockeyAllsvenskan this season by defeating Brynas.
  • The KHL’s Ufa Salavat Yulayev have re-signed 29-year-old Sergei Shmelev to a two-year contract extension. Shmelev ranked 16th in the entire KHL in scoring this season, leading Ufa in points with 51. He showed chemistry with former San Jose Shark Sasha Chmelevski and now is rewarded with a contract extension with the hope of helping lead Ufa back to the KHL’s playoffs next season.
  • Longtime KHL star and former Ottawa Senator Stephane Da Costa signed a two-year contract extension with the KHL’s Automobilist Yekaterinburg. The 33-year-old scored 20 goals and 56 points in 54 games this season, leading the team in scoring and to the playoffs. The three-time KHL All-Star last played in North America in 2013-14, when he scored 58 points in 56 games for the Binghamton Senators in the AHL.
  • Defenseman Eero Teravainen, the brother of Carolina Hurricanes star Teuvo Teravainen, signed a contract extension with Liiga’ KooKoo Kouvola. The 24-year-old spent two seasons playing in North America for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars from 2016 to 2018 before heading back to his native Finland. He’s recently established himself as a regular in Finland’s top league, and helped KooKoo win the Liiga bronze medal last season.
  • Ludvig Larsson, a solid middle-of-the-lineup scorer for Rogle BK, has signed a two-year contract to transfer to SHL rival Orebro. The 27-year-old spent the last two seasons with Rogle, scoring 15 goals this season and helping the team win the Champions Hockey League last year. The 27-year-old last played in North America in 2019-20, when he split time between the AHL’s Binghamton Devils and ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder.
  • A former First-Team All-Star in Finland’s second division (Mestis) will join his fourth Liiga club in two seasons. Samuel Salonen, 23, scored 34 points in 29 games for Jokipojat Joensuu in 2020-21, earning him a chance in Liiga for the following season. The right winger scored seven points in 29 games for Tappara Tampere and played several games on loan for two other Liiga clubs: Lukko and JYP. He spent this season with JYP and scored just nine points in 40 games, paving the way for a transfer to Jukurit that was announced today.
  • The SHL’s HV71 has signed a two-year contract with Olle Strandell, a standout defenseman for Mora IK in HockeyAllsvenskan this year. He scored 28 points in 51 games and helped bring Mora to the brink of the promotion finals before they were eliminated by MoDo. HV71 sign this deal hoping Strandell can help infuse some youthful energy into their blueline and bring them back to the SHL’s playoffs after finishing near the bottom of the standings this season.
  • Daniel Fischbuch, a veteran of over 500 games at the top level of German hockey, is transferring after three seasons with Dusseldorf. The 29-year-old has signed a two-year deal to play for Adler Mannheim, who just recently lost to Ingolstadt in the DEL semifinals. Fischbuch scored 16 goals and 37 points for Dusseldorf this season and will join a strong Manneheim team that boasted several former NHLers this season, including Korbinian Holzer, Nigel Dawes, Joseph Cramarossa, and Jordan Szwarz.
  • Switzerland’s HC Lugano signed point-per-game QMJHL overage Cole Cormier to an entry-level deal. Cormier scored 71 points in 66 games this season but was passed over in each NHL draft he was eligible for. Now, he’ll begin his professional career with Lugano, who ranked 10th in the Swiss National League this season.
  • Former St. Louis Blues prospect Niklas Lundstrom will not return to HockeyAllsvenskan’s AIK for next season. The 30-year-old played in 38 combined regular-season and playoff games for the club, posting an .899 save percentage in the regular season and a grisly .873 mark in the playoffs. Lundstrom has spent the last two seasons with AIK, and before then he had a stop in Austria, struggled in 2020-21 as an SHL starter for Linkopings HC, and saw time in North America in the AHL and ECHL.
  • Former Colorado Avalanche prospect Michael Clarke is transferring from the DEL’s Augsburg Panthers to the Straubing Tigers, per a team announcement. The 28-year-old 2012 fifth-rounder has played the last three season with Ausburg and the last five in the DEL, compiling a total of 71 points in 201 games. With this move, Clarke moves from one of the worst-performing teams in the top division of German hockey to one of the strongest, as Straubing placed fourth in the regular-season standings while Augsburg were on the brink of relegation in 14th.
  • Hungary’s ICEHL team, Fehervar AV19, made two major moves today. First, they locked up starting netminder Olivier Roy (a 2009 Edmonton Oilers draft pick) to a contract extension. Roy posted a strong .918 save percentage and 2.32 goals-against-average in the regular season and a .909 in six playoff games. Before this year, Roy spent five seasons with Augsburg in the DEL. In their second major move, Fehervar brought defenseman Josh Atkinson back to the team after a year spent in Germany with the Bietigheim Steelers, who were the club relegated to the second-division DEL2. Atkinson spent 2021-22 in Hungary and posted 38 points in 44 regular-season games and an impressive 11 points in 13 playoff contests.

David Rundblad, Kevin Czuczman Among Those Signing In Finland

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Several players with links to the NHL signed in Finland today, including Stanley Cup champion David Rundblad. The veteran defenseman has signed with Karpat, while Kevin Czuczman, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Eetu Tuulola are among the players joining Ilves.

Rundblad, 31, won the Cup in 2015 with the Chicago Blackhawks, just a year before departing for Europe. A 2009 first-round pick by the St. Louis Blues, his time in North America equated to 121 NHL games, including just eight in the postseason. After winning a Swiss title with the ZSC Lions, he spent several seasons in the KHL, playing for SKA St. Petersburg and HK Sochi. Now his journey will take him to Finland.

The other three, meanwhile, have much more recent ties to North America. Czuczman spent this season with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, and is just over a year removed from suiting up for two NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those were his first NHL games since 2013-14 with the New York Islanders, as he became a full-time minor league player, spending time with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Manitoba Moose, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins over the years.

Jokipakka, a seventh-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2011, has 150 NHL games under his belt, including 41 of them in 2016-17. He’s been in the KHL since but now returns home to play for the club that developed him in the first place.

While Czuczman and Jokipakka may be in the back half of their careers, Tuulola only just turned 24 and was still a depth option for the Calgary Flames. He played with the Stockton Heat this season, scoring 25 points in 61 games. Coming off his entry-level contract, the Flames will be able to retain his exclusive negotiating rights if they extend a qualifying offer. Notably, his contract in Finland is for just one year.

Mutual Terminations And Their Value To Players

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Over the last three seasons in particular, we’ve seen a number of so-called “mutual terminations”. In fact, we’ve seen more mutual terminations over this period than buyouts. They are just as they sound – when a player and team decide their prior arrangement is no longer agreeable, the teams cut ties entirely. The benefit for the team is that the cap hit of the player is cancelled out entirely. The benefit for the player is that they then have the opportunity to seek employment with a different franchise or a different league. Unfortunately for players, such an agreement may not be totally in their favor.

In the 2016-17 season, there were exactly 10 mutual terminations. Most of them flew under the radar, even for the most avid of hockey fans. The players concerned were David Rundblad (Chicago), Ben Johnson (New Jersey), Mason Raymond (Anaheim), Calle Andersson (New York Rangers), Nicklas Grossmann (Calgary), Axel Blomqvist (Winnipeg), Matt Carle (Nashville), Matia Marcantuoni (Arizona), Gregory Campbell (Columbus), and Jonathan-Ismael Diaby (Nashville). Not a single one of these players competed in another NHL game last season. That’s a success rate of exactly 0% on the player end. Regardless of one’s opinions of these particular players’ hockey abilities, the likelihood of them seeing game action prior to termination was much higher. (It should be noted that Carle announced his retirement, while Johnson was incarcerated, so it’s more like 0-for-8)

Rundblad was forced to return to the Swiss-A League, where he found moderate success with Zurich HC. Andersson also made a return appearance in the Swiss League, playing 26 games as a depth forward. Grossman played 28 games in the Swedish Hockey League with the lowly Orebro, while Blomqvist played only 7 contests for the SHL’s Sodertalje. Campbell, luckily, was employed by the Jackets as a player development coach. Raymond was an interesting case, as he refused to report to the San Diego Gulls due to family issues, which made the arrangement less “mutual” than the others. He signed a contract with SC Bern in June.

Each of these players struggled to find meaningful employment elsewhere while two didn’t find any whatsoever (Marcantuoni & Diaby). It’s understandable as to why a player would want to stay in game action, considering that every player subject to mutual termination is necessarily under the age of 35. Maintaining the physical standards of a pro hockey player is difficult, and being benched for the majority of a season can be crippling to future success. Still, there are solid hockey players on this list who saw marginal benefits from negating the remainder of their contracts. Seven contests for Sodertalje doesn’t really qualify as meaningful. And the story from past seasons is much the same. If you look through the 2015-16 list, most are essentially out of hockey at this point. None have played over 40 contests in a season for a serious foreign league outside of Petr Zamorsky for the SHL. Most terminated players don’t even see over 20 games total after this arrangement.

In the negotiations for a new CBA, this sort of maneuvering might become an issue of contention. Management loves this loophole, as it allows cap and total contract space with no repercussions to the organization. Still, there is an element of strong-arming to this arrangement, one in which the player rarely, if ever, comes out on top. Unless the player has a prior arrangement already in place, it’s a risky proposition. It will be interesting to see how often this strategy will be utilized in 2017-18.

Predators’ Draft Plummet

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If the Nashville Predators are ever to win a Stanley Cup, this seems the most likely year. Their window is far from closing, to be sure. But for a team that doesn’t often spend to the cap, their long-term finances may become complicated. They have a multitude of players performing well above their contract levels, are benefiting from Entry-Level Contracts (Viktor Arvidsson and Kevin Fiala), and the bulk of their team is in their late twenties. Nashville isn’t the most dynamic offensive force, but have gotten enough scoring  this outing to support the absurdly good top-four defense and brilliant goaltending from Pekka Rinne (.951 SV%).

That said, if they fail to win the glorious prize at the end of four series, will their draft plummet be seen as worth the hassle? They finished with the West’s lowest seeding in Wild Card 2, and the worst overall record in the playoffs at 94 points, edging out the Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs. Their draft plummet is quite the precarious one, similar to the 8th seeded 2011-12 Los Angeles Kings in the entry draft. Of course, that team went 16-4 in the postsesason to win the Stanley Cup, and certainly didn’t mind sacrificing a higher first-round pick to win their franchise’s first title.

But what if they hadn’t won? By advancing to the post-season’s final four, Los Angeles automatically shifted from drafting 16th to 30th. If the Predators were to lose in the Conference Finals, it would mean a drop from 17th to 28th. A Finals loss would mean 30th. Obviously, fans aren’t concerned with these sorts of trivialities when rooting on their team to glory, nor necessarily should they be. However, for management, this is quite the potential concern. Finding failure late in the playoffs and then also suffering the sting of a draft position dive is tough to stomach. After all, deals can sometimes hinge on whether a first or second round pick is early, mid, or late round.

For reference, let us look at the last 10 years draft history with regard to the 17th and 28th selections to see the potential disparity:

2016: 17th D Dante Fabbro (NSH), 28th F Lucas Johannson (WSH)

2015: 17th F Kyle Connor (WPG), 28th F Anthony Beauvillier (NYI)

2014: 17th D Travis Sanheim (PHI), 28th Josh Ho-Sang (NYI)

2013: 17th F Curtis Lazar (OTT), 28th F Morgan Klimchuck (CGY)

2012: 17th F Tomas Hertl (SJ), 28th D Brady Skjei (NYR)

2011: 17th F Nathan Beaulieu (MTL), 28th F Zach Phillips (MIN)

2010: 17th F Joey Hison (COL), 28th F Charlie Coyle (MIN)

2009: 17th D David Rundblad (STL), 28th F Dylan Olsen (TBL)

2008: 17th D Jake Gardiner (ANA), 28th F Viktor Tikhonov (PHX)

2007: 17th F Alexei Cherepanov (NYR), 28th Nick Petrecki (SJ)

The jury is still completely out on last year’s draft class, but as you can see, the two prior years have worked out quite well for the New York Islanders at the 28th spot. Beauvillier and Ho-Sang have both developed into studs quite quickly, while Connor and Sanheim still have a lot to prove. As we look at the last decade of entry drafts, there seems to be no real discernible advantage in terms of NHL projection. So although 11 spots seems like an awful long way to drop, Nashville (and any other future conference finalists) can rest easy that their relative success will still hinge upon being able to scout and develop talent properly.

2016-17 Season Preview: Chicago Blackhawks

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As the NHL season is just weeks away, PHR begins to look at each team in-depth. Today, we focus on the Chicago Blackhawks.

Last season: 47-26-9 (103 points), 3rd place in the Central. Lost in the first round to St. Louis, 4-3.

Cap Space Remaining: $2.49MM  via CapFriendly

Key Newcomers: Brian Campbell (D) – free agent signing (Florida), Michal Kempny (D) – free agent signing (KHL);  Jordin Tootoo (F) – free agent signing (New Jersey).

Key Departures: Bryan Bickell (LW) – traded to Carolina; David Rundblad (D) – contract termination; Andrew Shaw (RW) – traded to Montreal; Teuvo Teravainen (LW) – traded to Carolina.

Player to Watch: Nick Schmaltz – Head coach Joel Quenneville has been known to keep his young players on a short leash and it will be interesting to see how much freedom Q will give the dynamic young forward. Schmaltz has been mentioned in the same breath as former Blackhawk Brandon Saad, who was a huge piece of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2013 and 2015. Schmaltz turned heads during the World Juniors and has an opportunity to log significant ice time as the Hawks depth isn’t what it once was.

Key Storyline: After an early exit last Spring, do the Hawks have it in them to make another run at the Cup? They had a couple months of extra rest, but still have some holes up front. Marcus Kruger is already fighting an injury and Marian Hossa has slowed a bit from the form that made him a key part of the Hawks’ three Cups. The real question is can the Hawks find talent from the youngsters they’re now counting on, specifically Schmaltz, Tyler Motte, and Vinnie Hinostroza. Corey Crawford has shown he is the man between the pipes and bringing Campbell back will shore up a defensive corps that suffered with consistency last season. Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin should continue to pace the team offensively while Jonathan Toews will be his usual steady self. For the Blackhawks, health and depth will ultimately determine their season and postseason success. Duncan Keith’s knee should hold up and ease some fan concern that something more serious is afoot following last year’s surgery.

General manager Stan Bowman may need to tinker a bit more at the trade deadline, but the assets to deal are dwindling. Then again, should Chicago’s “kids” step in, they could find themselves adding another Cup to its already impressive haul.

Blackhawks Depth Chart

Blue Jackets Invite Marc-Andre Bergeron To Training Camp

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According to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, the Columbus Blue Jackets have invited former NHLer Marc-Andre Bergeron to training camp on a tryout. The former powerplay specialist has spent the last three seasons in Switzerland after failing to find an NHL job in 2013.

Now 35, Bergeron was once a deadly weapon with the man advantage, scoring double-digit goals four times in his career. While he could never quite establish himself as a two-way defenseman capable of logging 20 minutes a night, used in the right circumstances he could be effective. In Switzerland, he continued his offensive play, scoring 78 points in 135 games over three years and winning the championship in 2013-14 under head coach Marc Crawford.

The Swiss league is quickly becoming a rival to the KHL for the title of second-best hockey league in the world, with Bergeron playing last season for the Zurich Lions alongside many former NHL players like Robert Nilsson, David Rundblad and Ryan Shannon, along with first overall pick Auston Matthews.  Many more NHLers have taken the leap across the ocean to suit up in the NLA as we outlined earlier this summer.

For the Blue Jackets, bringing in Bergeron is probably just to fill space as Ryan Murray, Seth Jones and Jack Johnson are all currently at the World Cup. If somehow he shows enough for the team to keep him around, it’s unlikely he’ll play much of an impact on their team this year.

David Rundblad Close To Signing In Switzerland

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Unrestricted free agent defenseman David Rundblad is reportedly close to signing a one year contract with Zurich of the Swiss NLA, reports NZZ’s Nicola Berger (link in German).  Rundblad is no stranger to the team as he spent time with them last season on loan from the Blackhawks, picking up two goals and 13 assists in 11 regular season games while adding an assist in four postseason contests.

Rundblad also spent a bit of time with Chicago in 2015-16, collecting a pair of assists in nine games during the regular season.  He also got into three playoff games after returning from Switzerland but only saw 9:20 of action per contest.

He originally was supposed to be under contract to the Blackhawks for 2016-17 but the two sides mutually agreed to terminate the final season of his two year, $2.1MM deal.  Had they kept him and waived him off the roster as they did for the majority of last season, the Hawks still would have had a $100K cap hit on their books.

Originally drafted in the first round (17th overall) by St. Louis in 2009, Rundblad has struggled to make it as a regular at the NHL level.  He has played parts of five seasons with Ottawa, Phoenix, and Chicago, suiting up in 113 games while tallying four goals and 21 assists.  Although Rundblad hasn’t panned out relative to his draft status, St. Louis was able to get great value for that selection as just one year after picking him, he was dealt to the Senators in exchange for the first round pick that was used to draft Vladimir Tarasenko.

Blackhawks Cut Ties With Rundblad, Free Up Cap Space

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The Chicago Blackhawks have freed up an additional $100K for next season after agreeing to a mutual termination of defenseman David Rundblad’s contract, according to salary cap tracking website General Fanager. Rundblad cleared waivers on July 1 but was never bought out. A buyout of his contract would have counted against the Blackhawks’ cap to the tune of $133,333K for 2016-17 and $183,333K in 2017-18. At the time Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman told CSN Chicago he wanted to “let him find a spot where he knows he’ll be a regular player every day”.

Rundblad had one season remaining on his contract at $1.05M. Had he decided to go back to play in Europe, the Blackhawks would have been hit with a $100K cap hit. The $100K is the difference between Rundblad’s salary and $950K, the maximum amount of cap relief per buried player.

Rundblad split the 2015-16 campaign between Chicago, their AHL affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs, and Zurich SC in the Swiss-A league. He left for Switzerland shortly after being assigned to the AHL, but returned in time to appear in three playoff games, going pointless as the Blackhawks were eliminated by St. Louis.

Once a highly-touted prospect, Rundblad played a total of 63 games with Chicago over three seasons after being acquired at the 2014 trade deadline from the then-Phoenix Coyotes for a second round pick. Runblad was originally picked 17th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2009, but never played a game for them. At the 2010 draft, the Blues traded him to Ottawa for the 16th overall pick, which was used to select Vladimir Tarasenko. He lasted just 24 games with the Senators before being traded to Phoenix alongside a second round pick for disgruntled center Kyle Turris. Rundblad has scored 4 goals and 25 points in 113 NHL games over five seasons. Because Rundblad is right-handed and has shown offensive ability in the past (he has a 50-point campaign in Sweden and a 39-point one in the AHL), he would likely be a candidate for a training camp tryout this fall if he doesn’t return to Europe.

The Blackhawks now have $2.54MM in cap space for next season.

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