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Denis Gurianov

Denis Gurianov Signs Two-Year Deal In Russia

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August 1: The KHL’s rush of transactions today continues. Gurianov’s two-year deal with CSKA was cemented today, per the league.

July 4: Not long ago, it looked as if Denis Gurianov was set to be a key secondary contributor for Dallas.  However, he has struggled considerably for the last couple of years and it appears he’s opting for a change of scenery as Alexander Balabanov of Sport-Express reports that the winger is expected to sign a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.  Back in April, it was reported that this was the likely outcome for the unrestricted free agent.

The 27-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2015 and while he didn’t become a consistent top-six option for the Stars, he put up a 20-goal season and averaged 30 points between 2019-20 and 2021-22, earning himself a couple of $2.9MM paydays in the process.  But he struggled in 2022-23, eventually being moved to Montreal who elected to non-tender him that summer.

Last year, Gurianov didn’t have a great market in free agency, waiting ten days before securing a one-year, $850K deal with Nashville.  Things didn’t go well there either as he cleared waivers at the end of training camp, playing in 27 games with AHL Milwaukee where he had 30 points.  That earned him a promotion in January but he played sparingly with Nashville for two months before being traded to Philadelphia where he played even less down the stretch.  All told, he finished up the campaign with just 18 NHL appearances where he had one goal and one assist.

With a market that doesn’t appear to be materializing for him in North America, it would make sense for him to return to Russia where he’d have a chance to play a prominent role much closer to home.  Assuming a deal is finalized, Gurianov will depart the NHL with 298 career appearances where he put up 52 goals and 61 assists.

Denis Gurianov Linked To KHL’s CSKA Moscow

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2015 first-round pick Denis Gurianov has lacked stability in recent years, suiting up for five NHL and AHL teams over the last two seasons. He headed from Nashville to Philadelphia at this year’s trade deadline in a swap of fringe NHLers, but his stay in the City of Brotherly Love will likely come to an end this summer. Speaking with reporters last week, GM Daniel Brière said he was unlikely to extend the pending UFA (via PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor).

Now, we know where the 26-year-old might end up. According to a report from allhockey.ru (source translated from Russian), he’ll be returning home to Russia and is expected to sign with CSKA Moscow. He’s the second NHL player linked to the military-affiliated club this summer, joining Avalanche netminder Ivan Prosvetov.

It wasn’t all that long ago that Gurianov looked like a budding top-nine sniper with the Stars. At 12th overall, Gurianov was selected over other future stars in the 2015 class, like Islanders forward Mathew Barzal, Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho and Jets sniper Kyle Connor. He came over from Russia and signed his entry-level deal in 2016 but spent three seasons primarily with AHL Texas before breaking into the NHL lineup full-time in 2019-20. Despite averaging just 12:59 per game, he led the offensively challenged club in goals with 20 in 64 contests but ranked eighth in points (29) with only nine assists.

When the NHL reconvened for the bubble playoffs in late summer 2020 after COVID-19 ended the regular season prematurely, Gurianov didn’t miss a beat. He was among the Stars’ best playoff performers, recording nine goals and 17 points in 27 games – including an overtime goal against the Golden Knights that sent the Stars to their first Stanley Cup Final in 20 years.

His limited usage, sky-high 15.2 shooting percentage and middling possession metrics didn’t help his case in contract negotiations the following offseason. Stars GM Jim Nill inked him to a two-year bridge deal worth $5.1MM, which turned out to be a smart decision. Gurianov wasn’t awful over the life of the deal – he had 23 goals and 61 points in 128 games over the life of the deal and was a regular in a top-nine role – but didn’t repeat the goal-scoring value he provided during his rookie season. As expected, his shooting percentage regressed heavily to below 10% each year, and his -10.1 expected rating in 2021-22 was second-worst on the team behind shutdown center Radek Faksa (-12.9).

It was enough to convince the Stars to keep him around as a secondary point-producer, but it was becoming apparent he didn’t have a future as a top-six winger in the NHL. Nill gave him another mid-tier deal, inking him to a one-year, $2.9MM extension a few weeks before he would have reached restricted free agency in 2022. But under new head coach Peter DeBoer, Gurianov flamed out quickly in Dallas, managing only two goals and nine points through 43 games before the team decided to part ways. Nill found a taker on the trade market in the Canadiens, who picked him up in exchange for veteran winger Evgenii Dadonov at 50% salary retention, who had similarly disappointed in Montreal that year.

Nill is widely regarded as one of the best GMs in the league, and that trade is one of many reasons why. Gurianov didn’t turn things around all that much with the Habs, recording five goals and eight points in 23 games down the stretch despite being thrust into top-six minutes to try and reinject confidence into his game. He wasn’t extended a qualifying offer at the end of the season and became a UFA. Dadonov, meanwhile, remains in Dallas and had 10 points in 16 playoff games last season as the Stars advanced to the Western Conference Final.

It didn’t take Gurianov more than a couple of weeks to get another chance in the NHL, though, inking a one-year, one-way deal with the Predators worth $850K in mid-July 2023. A low-risk, low-investment signing for Nashville, it still didn’t pan out. Gurianov played sparingly, managing two points in 14 games, and saw extended time in the minors for the first time in five years. He did quite well with AHL Milwaukee, and his 12 goals and 30 points in 27 games made him one of two point-per-game players on the team alongside veteran Mark Jankowski.

His minor-league showing was strong enough to convince the Flyers to see if he could stick in an NHL role down the stretch, and they picked him up in exchange for depth forward Wade Allison on deadline day. To the masses, it seemed Gurianov’s rather one-dimensional game wouldn’t mesh with head coach John Tortorella’s style. The masses were right. Gurianov spent most of his time in Philly in the press box, only making four appearances for the Flyers and averaging less than 11 minutes per game. He didn’t get on the scoresheet, managed four shots on the goal and registered only one hit.

He’s eligible for unrestricted free agency outright this summer, as his June birthday means he’ll turn 27 before the market opens on July 1. His only previous KHL experience came with Lada Togliatti as a teenager in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, posting four goals and two assists in 55 games in a limited role. With CSKA, however, he’ll likely receive top-six minutes and would likely be one of their leading scorers next year. Gurianov joins a CSKA offense dotted with a few other former NHLers: reserve list players Vitaly Abramov (Senators) and Vladislav Kamenev (Avalanche) are both under contract for 2024-25, as are former Panthers winger Maxim Mamin and ex-Oilers forward Anton Slepyshev.

If this is it for Gurianov in the NHL, he finishes his career with 52 goals, 61 assists, 113 points and a -2 rating in 298 appearances over seven seasons.

Philadelphia Trades Wade Allison To Nashville For Denis Gurianov

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The Philadelphia Flyers have sent depth forward Wade Allison to the Nashville Predators for winger Denis Gurianov, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Allison’s move was first reported by The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco.

Allison has spent the entirety of the season in the AHL, scoring a measly 10 goals and 17 points in 46 games – matching his scoring in 28 AHL games last season. He’s lost his grip on the NHL role he earned last season, when he played in 60 games and scored 15 points while averaging a commendable 13 minutes of ice time. Last year marked Allison’s first full-time NHL role, though he had played 15 games between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons as well. In total, he’s managed 75 career NHL games, with 13 goals, 22 points, and 40 penalty minutes. The 26-year-old winger hasn’t quite found his groove in the pros since making his debut in 2020-21 and was likely due for a change of scenery. He’ll now move to Nashville, who has focused on bringing in depth forwards this Trade Deadline – also acquiring Jason Zucker and Anthony Beauvillier via trade, and Jaret Anderson-Dolan off of waivers.

Gurianov will move to his fourth team in the last three seasons, moving from Dallas to Montreal last season, and signing a one-year, $850K contract with the Predators last summer. He started the season in the minor leagues, scoring 30 points in 27 games with the Milwaukee Admirals, before getting called up in early January. He’s since managed just two points, split evenly, in 14 games with the Predators. The performance has brought his career totals up to 113 points across 294 games, though much of that scoring came during a three-season stretch from 2019 to 2022, when Gurianov scored 29, 30, and 31 points respectively while serving in Dallas’ top-nine. He was traded to Montreal in the subsequent 2022-23 season in a one-for-one swap with Evgenii Dadonov, and has struggled to regain his scoring touch since.

Moving Gurianov not only nets Nashville a depth forward with potential in Allison – it also gives the team much more flexibility to deploy their newest additions, with Allison not likely to rival an immediate NHL role. Gurianov was averaging over 12 minutes of ice time with Nashville, rotating between the team’s second and third lines. His role will now likely move to Zucker, who has a much more commendable nine goals and 25 points this season, and is coming off a 27-goal, 48-point performance last year. Added lineup flexibility could be enough to bring Zucker back to his high-scoring ways, or offer a chance for Beauvillier to once again become comfortable in a contending lineup.

Central Snapshots: Vilardi, Gustafsson, Dermott, Gurianov

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The Winnipeg Jets are expecting the return of forwards Gabriel Vilardi and David Gustafsson soon, per team reporter Mike McIntyre with The Free Press. Both players are out with lower-body injuries, with Vilardi missing the team’s last two games and optimistic he can return soon, while Gustafsson has been on injured reserve since December 30th.

Vilardi missed roughly a month-and-a-half earlier in the season with a sprained MCL. He made his return on November 30th and has since scored 11 goals and 19 points in 23 games, while averaging over 17 minutes of ice time each game. That’s a scoring pace of 67 points across 82 games, which would mark a new career high for Vilardi, topping the 23 goals and 41 points he scored in 63 games last season. Vilardi is in his first season with Winnipeg, with the 24-year-old forward serving as a focal piece of the trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings this summer.

Gustafsson has appeared in 27 games of his own this season, scoring four points while averaging roughly nine minutes of ice time. He appeared in his 100th NHL game on December 20th, recording one assist in the Jets’ 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

  • The Arizona Coyotes have shared that defenseman Travis Dermott will miss the team’s Saturday night game with a lower-body injury. Dermott missed 12 games earlier in the season with a hand injury, making his return on December 7th. He has just two points in the 22 games he’s played since then, adding a -8 and eight penalty minutes.
  • Nashville Predators forward Denis Gurianov has lost his waiver exemption status, with Nashville’s Saturday afternoon game marking his 10th game since being recalled on January 6th. He’s scored two points in his stint with the Predators, who have become the third NHL club that Gurianov has played for across his seven-year NHL career. The 26-year-old has totaled 289 career games and 113 points, spending six years of his career with the Dallas Stars.

Predators Recall Denis Gurianov

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Denis Gurianov has been one of the top scorers in the AHL so far this season and he has been rewarded for his efforts.  The Predators announced that they have recalled the winger from AHL Milwaukee.

It has been quite the fall from grace for the 26-year-old in recent years.  He had a 20-goal campaign with Dallas in 2019-20 and looked like he’d be part of their long-term core.  However, Gurianov’s numbers had steadily dropped since then and near the trade deadline last season, the Stars moved on, sending him to Montreal in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov.

Things didn’t go much better with the Canadiens as Gurianov had just eight points in 23 games, resulting in the team declining to tender him a qualifying offer of $2.9MM, making him an unrestricted free agent last summer.

Gurianov’s market wasn’t particularly robust, resulting in him having to settle for a one-year, $850K one-way agreement.  The expectation was that he’d add a bit of offensive depth to a bottom-six group that didn’t exactly feature much firepower on paper.

However, that plan didn’t exactly pan out either.  After a tough preseason that saw him record just one assist in four games, Gurianov was waived and after clearing, was sent to the Admirals.  To his credit, he has fared quite well down there, leading the team in scoring with 30 points in 27 games, good for a tie for sixth in AHL points.  He’ll now get a chance to try to contribute to a Nashville attack that sits in the middle of the pack for goals, ranking 15th in that department.

Waivers: 10/7/23

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The final day of the preseason is today so pretty soon, teams will be finalizing their season-opening rosters which means there will be plenty of players on waivers this weekend.  Here is today’s group, via TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).

Boston Bruins

F Jesper Boqvist
F Oskar Steen
D Jakub Zboril

Buffalo Sabres

F Brandon Biro
D Kale Clague
D Riley Stillman

Colorado Avalanche

D Jack Ahcan
D Brad Hunt

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Trey Fix-Wolansky

Edmonton Oilers

D Cam Dineen
D Philip Kemp
F Brad Malone
G Calvin Pickard

Los Angeles Kings

F Tyler Madden

Nashville Predators

F Denis Gurianov
F Jachym Kondelik (unconditional for the purposes of release, per CapFriendly)

New Jersey Devils

F Shane Bowers
F Justin Dowling
F Tyce Thompson
F Maxwell Willman

Seattle Kraken

G Chris Driedger
D Cale Fleury
F John Hayden

As expected at this point in training camp, the majority of these players have some form of NHL experience.

Boston’s trio is certainly intriguing.  Boqvist is coming off a 21-point season (10 goals, 11 assists) with the Devils but was non-tendered this summer due to arbitration eligibility, resulting in him signing a one-year deal for the minimum with the Bruins.  Still just 24, a rebuilding team might be inclined to give him a shot.  Steen played in 20 games with Boston back in 2021-22 and looked like a potential fourth-line center of the future at the time.  He cleared waivers last season but teams looking for depth down in the middle could consider him.  As for Zboril, he was limited to just 22 games last season but has 76 appearances at the top level under his belt.  A first-round pick back in 2015 (13th overall), he has a bit of a higher cap hit ($1.1375MM) which could scare teams off but he could be a fit on the third pairing of some rebuilding squads.

Among the other forwards on the wire today, Gurianov stands out.  He put up 20 goals with Dallas back in 2019-20, following that up with 30 points in just 55 games one year later.  However, he has struggled considerably since then and notched just seven goals between Dallas and Montreal last season.  Still, with an $800K price tag, he’s a player who could be claimed.  Madden was viewed as a quality prospect not long ago but has yet to see NHL action.  However, he’s only 23 and is signed for the minimum this season which makes him a possible claim candidate as well.

On the back end, Fleury was up with Seattle all of last season but was limited to just a dozen games.  He impressed in 2021-22 while playing with AHL Charlotte and as a right-shot defender – the side that many teams covet – he could garner some consideration.  Stillman was acquired from Vancouver last season and played in 50 games between the two teams, albeit in a number six role.  While he has a fair bit of experience (158 games in total), his contract could hurt his chances of being claimed as a $1.35MM price is more than a lot of teams can afford.

In goal, Driedger is the headliner here but at $3.5MM, there’s very little chance he’ll be picked up.  He missed most of last season due to an injury sustained at the 2022 Worlds.  Pickard didn’t see any NHL action last season for the first time since 2013-14.  The 31-year-old put up a 2.70 GAA with a .912 SV% in Bakersfield last season and has 116 NHL games under his belt.  Notably, he’s signed for the minimum which gives him a small chance of being picked up at least.

These players will be on waivers until 1 PM CT on Sunday.  Meanwhile, Sunday will be the last day for teams to place players on waivers and have them clear prior to Monday’s season-opening roster submission so expect plenty of waiver activity tomorrow.

More to follow.

Nashville Predators Sign Denis Gurianov

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Already producing one of the most interesting free agency tactics by any team so far this offseason, the Nashville Predators continue to add depth to their lineup. This time, the team has announced a one-year, $850K contract for forward Denis Gurianov.

Nashville should be very familiar with what Gurianov brings to the table, as he previously skated with their division rival, the Dallas Stars, for the last six seasons. Struggling in Dallas last year, the team shipped Gurianov to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Evgenii Dadonov.

It wasn’t that long ago that Gurianov was considered one of the top prospects in the Stars’ organization, as he was drafted 12th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. Taking a couple of seasons to crack the NHL roster, Gurianov strung together three solid seasons in Dallas, scoring 43 goals and 47 assists in 192 games between 2019-2022.

Unfortunately, the production didn’t ramp up at all during the 2022-23 season, and Gurianov saw his ice time slashed by the Stars, losing about two minutes on average with time on ice. After the trade to Montreal, Gurianov had a much larger opportunity on offense, as he was able to get around 15 minutes a night with the Canadiens. In his small sample size in Quebec, Gurianov scored eight points in 23 games.

Now transitioning back to the NHL’s Central Division, Gurianov should once again have plenty of opportunity in Nashville. Given how the team’s roster is currently constructed, Gurianov should have no problem slotting into the team’s middle six.

Looking At Five 2023 Non-Qualified UFA Targets

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The 2023 unrestricted free agent class may be disappointing, especially with some high-profile names like Stanley Cup champions Ivan Barbashev and Adin Hill coming off the board in recent days. However, the market did get a bit of a boost in the last 24 hours thanks to a slew of buyouts and the qualifying offer deadline, which saw over 100 restricted free agents get released by their teams to unrestricted status tomorrow. With that being said, it’s time to take a look at some of the more intriguing targets now available for teams to sign.

Each player’s former team is listed in parentheses. You can find the full list of RFAs that went unqualified here.

D Ethan Bear (VAN)

The summer will likely end with Bear re-signing in Vancouver, but there’s nothing stopping him from heading elsewhere if a team comes calling. He could last a bit into the summer as he recovers from a shoulder injury sustained while playing at the IIHF Men’s World Championship, though.

After not really finding a role in the Carolina Hurricanes lineup, Bear had a very solid season with the Canucks, posting 16 points in 61 games and providing high-end two-way play for a team that desperately needed it. Add in the fact he’s a right shot and still only 26 years old, and he makes for a rather appealing target that would have landed on our top 50 unrestricted free agents list for 2023.

He’s likely to earn a two-to-three-year deal, probably slightly under his $2.2MM qualifying offer. If so, all signs point to it being one of the better value signings of a summer poised to see some overpayments out of need in a weak UFA class.

F Denis Gurianov (MTL)

Things have been downhill for the 2015 12th overall pick since he logged 20 goals in his rookie season, a feat he hasn’t matched since. After sliding back out of a consistent top-nine role with the Dallas Stars, he was dealt to the Montreal Canadiens at the deadline in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov, a move that may have paid dividends for both sides. Gurianov did show a bit of a resurgence with the Habs, scoring five goals and eight points in 23 games, looking more engaged than he did with the Stars. The Habs will likely attempt to get a deal done here, but he wasn’t worth the $2.9MM qualifying offer he was due.

This is not a case of analytics suggesting a breakout, though, in fact, it’s the opposite. There are red flags nearly everywhere in his profile, suggesting he’s a liability in isolation. There is still some obvious raw skill with Gurianov, though, and for a cheap cost, he could put up some higher point totals with picture-perfect chemistry. It remains to be seen whether he’ll ever find that.

D Caleb Jones (CHI)

The counting stats here aren’t the prettiest, but advanced metrics have long tabbed Jones as an effective player for his role. Last season, Jones’ -19 rating may not have been pretty, but he also logged nearly 20 minutes a night on a lottery team. In fact, Jones logged a career-high relative Corsi for percentage at even strength of 4.8%, and his 16 points in 73 games were a career-high.

He’ll never break the bank offensively from the blue line, nor should you expect him to, but he’s got an underrated ability to drive play and proved this season he can take on more serious minutes against tougher competition. Add in the fact he can play both the left and right side, and he should be quite a good value signing for a team looking to bolster their third pair (or potentially second).

At 26, though, Jones was nearing retirement age on a very youthful Chicago blueline, and they decided to cut ties to make room for more of their future talent. He shouldn’t cost much more than $2MM on a one-year offer.

F Daniel Sprong (SEA)

Sprong easily jumps out as the most tantalizing target here. Quickly overtaking Dale Weise for the “Dutch Gretzky” title (sorry, Canadiens fans), Sprong has grown into one of the most efficient per-minute scorers in the league. He’s notched at least 13 goals in four of the last five seasons, never averaging more than 13 minutes per game – in fact, he scored 21 goals (and 46 points) in just 66 games with the Kraken this year despite staying squarely in a fourth-line role, averaging 11:25 per game. He was 17th in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes this season among skaters with at least 25 games.

With that, he’s set himself up for more ice time and more money. He was eligible for arbitration and likely would’ve garnered a rich reward for his production – a number Seattle didn’t want to pay. That doesn’t mean another team won’t, although an underwhelming playoff performance may scare some teams off. For a fringe team looking to add a high-octane option to its top nine, though, look no further than the 26-year-old Sprong.

He could very well command above the $3MM mark on a short-term but multi-year deal, especially from a team slated toward the bottom of the league standings. He jumps out as an attractive option for teams like the Arizona Coyotes, who could bank on Sprong’s production maintaining (or even increasing) with a slight bump in minutes, parlaying it into a valuable trade at next year’s deadline. Signing him to a two- or three-year deal with cost certainty as the salary cap rises would only add to his trade value.

F Sam Steel (MIN)

Steel is the only unqualified RFA who can say they were a number-one center last year. However, it was by necessity – with the Minnesota Wild needing Joel Eriksson Ek to round out their top-six on their second line, it was an in-and-out swap all year between Steel and Ryan Hartman between their pair of star wings in Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Steel did have a career-high 10 goals and 28 points in 65 games, but you’d expect more for someone who spent over 350 minutes with Kaprizov and Zuccarello this season – especially from a former first-round pick.

That being said, you could do worse for a third-line center. Steel isn’t a liability defensively, and while he may not be able to translate his offensive acumen to the scoresheet in the NHL, he won’t take points away from those around him and can survive as a complementary player.

Still, with uninspiring production in Minnesota, he wasn’t a candidate to stick around, as the team needs every dollar available to them to stay in playoff contention. He’s flashed the least upside at the NHL level of any of the five players listed, although he does carry some certainty in terms of his defensive impacts and offensive production that others here don’t offer.

Other targets to watch: F Nathan Bastian (NJD), G Mackenzie Blackwood (SJS), F Max Comtois (ANA), F Morgan Geekie (SEA), F Tyson Jost (BUF), F Klim Kostin (DET), F Denis Malgin (COL), F Michael McLeod (NJD), F Jesse Puljujarvi (CAR)

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Canadiens Notes: Gurianov, Belzile, Draft

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The Canadiens are not expected to tender winger Denis Gurianov a qualifying offer this summer, reports Arpon Basu of The Athletic (subscription link).  The 26-year-old was acquired from Dallas just before the trade deadline with the hopes that a change of scenery could help him rediscover his scoring touch.  While Gurianov did manage five goals in 23 games following the swap (after scoring just twice in 43 games in Dallas), he was held without a point in his final ten games which isn’t the best result when you’re trying to earn a qualifying offer.  That offer is worth $2.9MM and salary arbitration eligibility and it appears that Montreal won’t be giving him that opportunity.  However, Basu adds that they are open to bringing him back at a discounted rate if there isn’t strong interest in him in free agency, similar to what they did with Rem Pitlick last summer, non-tendering him before handing him a two-year contract days later.

More from Montreal:

  • Basu also reports that winger Alex Belzile appears set to test the market next month. The 31-year-old started the year in the minors but was brought up when injuries struck, giving him his first taste of NHL action.  Belzile played in 31 games with Montreal this past season, picking up six goals and eight assists while averaging more than 12 minutes per game.  As a result, Basu notes that he’s hoping to secure a one-way contract this summer which is an offer that the Canadiens are evidently not willing to make at this time.
  • The team is aggressively trying to move up from the fifth selection, per Radio-Canada’s Alexandre Gascon.  There seems to be a growing expectation that the first four selections later this month will all be centers with Russian winger Matvei Michkov sliding past that group.  Accordingly, if Montreal wants to land one of those, they’ll need to get into the top four.  Gascon suggests that San Jose’s selection at number four is the target while Basu adds in his piece that they’ve also reached out to Anaheim to inquire about the price of moving up to pick number two, a cost that would certainly be significant.  The draft gets underway two weeks from today.

Stars, Canadiens Swap Denis Gurianov, Evgenii Dadonov

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The Montreal Canadiens have acquired forward Denis Gurianov from the Dallas Stars in exchange for veteran forward Evgenii Dadonov. Per the team announcement, the Canadiens will retain 50% of Dadonov’s $5MM cap hit.

This move re-unites Dadonov with Stars head coach Peter DeBoer, who was Dadonov’s coach with the Vegas Golden Knights last season. While Dadonov has had his fair share of struggles this season (he has just 18 points in 50 games) DeBoer had a front-row seat last season for some of the best play Dadonov has to offer.

With the Golden Knights ravaged by injuries and Dadonov himself nearly traded away to the Anaheim Ducks, the Russian winger at times played like Vegas’ best player, scoring at a strong rate and keeping the team in the playoff hunt far deeper into the year than many might have expected. He finished last season with 20 goals and 43 points and has a 70-point season on his resume.

While Dadonov’s struggles this season might give some fans pause, it is worth noting that Dadonov’s play has been noticeably better of late.

He remains someone who has scored at least 40 points in three of five seasons since returning from the KHL, including two years where he scored at least 65 points.

The Stars have a far more talented set of offensive weapons than the Canadiens can boast, so it’s easy to see why DeBoer, given his familiarity with Dadonov, would be comfortable acquiring the winger despite Dadonov’s struggles this season.

It’s not immediately clear where Dadonov will slot in on Dallas’ lineup, as he may not be the best fit on the team’s fourth line, where Gurianov was playing.

Perhaps he’ll get a look next to Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn in Ty Dellandrea’s right-wing spot should DeBoer choose to shift Dellandrea down the lineup, or this Dadonov deal could have been made with the intention of him serving as plug-and-play scoring depth should any of their established wingers be unavailable.

CapFriendly notes that this trade leaves the team with just over $2.1MM in deadline cap space, which is enough space for the Stars to be able to add another player should they choose to do so.

While Dadonov is a pending unrestricted free agent, Gurianov is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent. For the Canadiens, this trade lands them a reclamation project, possibly a preferable option to the mid-to-late-round pick Dadonov would likely have net them had they targeted just a pick.

The 25-year-old winger was the 12th overall pick at the 2015 draft, and he has been a maddeningly inconsistent scorer. He has been excellent at times, such as the 2020 playoffs where he scored 17 points in 27 games, helping the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final.

Other times, he has frustrated the Stars with his inconsistent night-to-night effort and inability to land on the scoresheet with any sort of regularity despite his tantalizing offensive tools.

The Canadiens’ 2022-23 season is all about player development, and the team has made significant investments in the area of player development under the leadership of Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes.

Head coach Martin St. Louis’ reputation as a developer of talent is on the rise, with his work on Cole Caufield and Kirby Dach, among others, garnering praise. Accordingly, targeting Gurianov rather than just a draft pick is a show of faith by the team’s front office in their coaching staff’s ability to develop players.

It’s no guarantee that Gurianov will be in Montreal for the long haul. With a $2.9MM qualifying offer required in the summer in order for the Canadiens to retain Gurianov’s rights, it’s possible that he’s not even a Canadien beyond this season. But for a team whose player development goals have been dealt a serious blow due to injuries, adding Gurianov is a worthy gamble.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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