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Dominik Simon

Dominik Simon Terminates Czech League Contract

May 20, 2023 at 8:00 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 7 Comments

HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga announced today that forward Dominik Simon and the club have reached a mutual agreement to terminate his contract. The move makes Simon, who split the 2021-22 season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks, an option to return to the NHL in 2023-24.

The Prague-based club had a strong season due in part to the contributions of former NHLers Vladimir Sobotka and Michal Kempny, but injuries made Simon a non-factor this year. Expected to be one of the team’s top forwards, Simon instead posted just two goals and an assist in 22 games, and injuries kept him out of the lineup entirely after the New Year.

With Simon understandably looking for a fresh start after his return to his home country went awry, it’s not surprising the club agreed to release him from his contract, which ran through the next season.

Initially eligible for the 2012 NHL Draft, Simon was passed over three times before Pittsburgh finally took a flier on him with a fifth-round selection in 2015 after he posted 30 points in 52 games with Extraliga club HC Plzen. Simon immediately headed stateside, posting strong totals in the minors with the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and even earning some brief call-ups early on.

Simon would eventually grow into a full-time role with Pittsburgh in the coming seasons, posting a career-high eight goals and 28 points in 71 games in 2018-19. Despite becoming a reliable enough bottom-six piece, the Penguins opted not to qualify him in the 2020 offseason, where Simon then signed a one-year deal with the Calgary Flames in free agency.

Things have consistently gone downhill for Simon after that COVID-laced 2020-21 season, where he appeared in just 12 games combined with Calgary and their AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat, not getting on the scoresheet in any of them. A return to Pittsburgh the following season didn’t do much to revitalize his offense, and he was included as a minor piece in the Rickard Rakell trade with the Anaheim Ducks before heading to Czechia last year.

While it’s obviously been a trying few seasons for Simon, there is likely a place for him in an NHL organization looking to add a veteran presence to their AHL affiliate. He’s an attractive option given his brief playoff experience and teammates in Pittsburgh, and some high-end ice time could help him regain his confidence enough to push for an NHL depth role once again.

Anaheim Ducks| Pittsburgh Penguins Dominik Simon

7 comments

Dominik Simon Signs In Czechia

September 10, 2022 at 10:46 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

After seeing NHL action in each of the last seven seasons, Dominik Simon is heading home to where it all began as Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga announced that they’ve signed the 28-year-old to a two-year contract.

Simon played in a career-high 72 games last season split between the Penguins and Ducks after he was included in the Rickard Rakell swap just before the trade deadline.  He picked up three goals and ten assists in those contests while averaging a little over ten minutes a night, numbers that put him in line with plenty of fourth liners.  For his career, he has 22 goals and 55 assists in 256 games, most of which came during a pair of stints with Pittsburgh.

However, while he had a PTO offer from Pittsburgh this summer to possibly land a third opportunity with the team, he has instead decided to go for a guaranteed role back home.  Simon should have a chance to play a much bigger role than the fourth line spot he has become accustomed to so a good showing overseas could get him back on the NHL radar for 2024.

Pittsburgh Penguins| Transactions Dominik Simon

1 comment

Pittsburgh Penguins Add Six To COVID Protocol

December 27, 2021 at 11:05 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that Teddy Blueger, Tristan Jarry, John Marino, Mike Matheson, Evan Rodrigues, and Dominik Simon have all been added to the COVID protocol and are currently unavailable. Jake Guentzel will also miss practice with a non-COVID illness.

Losing those six is obviously a huge blow, but it wasn’t all doom and gloom at Penguins practice today. Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin both took the ice in regular black sweaters, indicating they’ve been cleared for full contact and are approaching a return to action.

Pittsburgh is on a seven-game win stream and has climbed their way back into the Metropolitan playoff mix, sitting now just four points out of first place. While they will now have to patchwork a lineup together, the rest of the NHL is in a similar boat. Malkin hasn’t played yet this season after undergoing offseason surgery and should offer a significant boost when he does return to the lineup. Rust, meanwhile, missed all of December and has played in just 12 games so far.

Pittsburgh Penguins Bryan Rust| Dominik Simon| Evan Rodrigues| Evgeni Malkin| Jake Guentzel| John Marino| Teddy Blueger| Tristan Jarry

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Pittsburgh Penguins Activate Bryan Rust Off Injured Reserve

November 6, 2021 at 5:29 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 5 Comments

The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to slowly work their way back towards full health, activating right wing Bryan Rust from injured reserve today per a team release.

Rust was placed on injured reserve on October 16 after playing in just two games. He’ll undoubtedly return to the team’s top line, which currently consists of Jake Guentzel and Jeff Carter as captain Sidney Crosby remains in COVID-19 protocol.

It’s been a rocky start to the season for Pittsburgh, who have dealt with injuries to every single one of their core players this season. Evgeni Malkin has yet to play, Crosby’s played in just one game, Carter’s played only six, Kris Letang has played five, and Guentzel has missed one game out of a possible nine.

They’ve been buoyed early by a resurgent start from goaltender Tristan Jarry, who’s managed a .930 save percentage in seven games this season.

Dominik Simon, who’s averaged just 10:40 per game this season despite scoring four points in eight games, is a likely candidate to sit in the press box to make room for Rust in the lineup.

Rust returns to full health aiming to score 20 goals for the third straight season as he enters the final season of a four-year deal paying him $3.5MM per season. He’s set to earn a sharp raise on that deal, regardless of his home next season.

Pittsburgh Penguins| Players Bryan Rust| Dominik Simon| Evgeni Malkin| Jake Guentzel| Jeff Carter| Kris Letang

5 comments

Dominik Simon Returning To Pittsburgh Penguins

July 28, 2021 at 11:25 am CDT | by Josh Erickson 6 Comments

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have brought back former member Dominik Simon on a one-year contract. The team has confirmed that is is a two-way deal for the depth forward worth $750K at the NHL level.

Free agents reuniting with their old teams has been a minor theme of the day and Simon is no different. The 26-year-old forward was a Penguins draft pick in 2015, came up through the system, and had put together back-to-back 20+ point campaigns for the team heading into the last off-season. He then made the unwise decision (in retrospect) to leave Pittsburgh in pursuit of a greater role. He found the exact opposite with the Calgary Flames, playing in just 11 games and recording zero points. Simon was not extended a qualifying offer from Calgary as a result.

This reunion thus makes perfect sense for both sides. Even under a new administration, the cap-strapped Penguins understand that Simon can step back into the lineup and produce with familiar teammates in a familiar system all while playing at the lowest cap number possible. This will be invaluable to a team that was largely inactive today due to their limited cap space and, barring a trade, won’t be able to make a big free agent addition this summer. Meanwhile, Simon sees a Penguins roster that has lost Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev up front and will have top-nine openings all season. Simon could be in for another strong season that could finally result in the pay day that he has been looking for.

Pittsburgh Penguins Dominik Simon

6 comments

Expansion Draft Issues: Several Teams Have Moves To Make Before July 17

April 22, 2021 at 9:33 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 26 Comments

The trade deadline may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any more trades over the courses of the remainder of the league year. The NHL Expansion Draft is right around the corner, with protection lists due on July 17, ahead of the draft on July 21. By that time, all 30 participating teams must be able to submit a protection list that complies with the exposure requirements of the draft. As a reminder, teams may protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie or eight skaters and a goalie. However, they must also expose two forwards and one defenseman signed beyond this season and who have played in 27 NHL games this season or 54 games over the past two seasons, as well as a goaltender under team control beyond this season.

For many teams, this is easier said than done though. Long-term forwards and defensemen with considerable games played who are also deemed expendable are not all that common. With the trade deadline completed, teams are stuck with the group that they have unless they decide to make a trade in the time between their regular season end or postseason elimination and the week of the draft. Some can solve their problems internally, while others may be more hard pressed. Based on their most likely protection scheme, here are the teams with work to do:

Calgary Flames

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: The Flames may be having a difficult season, but they have a talented top-six who are all signed long-term. Except, that’s where the term forwards end. If Calgary cannot convince Milan Lucic to waive his No-Movement Clause, the team will be missing both of their required forwards for exposure by protecting Looch and the top-six. Even if Lucic does waive, the team will need to make another forward available to Seattle. RFA Dillon Dube meets the games played criteria, but the team is likely to protect the young forward or, if not, will not do anything to make him more attractive to the Kraken. That leaves fellow RFA Dominik Simon and impending UFA’s Derek Ryan, Josh Leivo, and Joakim Nordstrom, as well as Brett Ritchie with six more games played, as other names who could earn extensions due to otherwise meeting the exposure criteria.

Likelihood of a Trade: Medium. With so many affordable, bottom-six role players that the team could hand new one-year deals, the Flames have options. However, if Lucic does not waive and the team feels pressured to re-sign two of those players, they may look for outside help rather than bring back too much of a forward corps that has underachieved this year.

Colorado Avalanche

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: As one of the top scoring team’s in the NHL, the Avalanche will want to keep as much of their forward corps as they can and with the likes of Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad heading to free agency and not in need of protection, the team can do just that. However, if Colorado does protect their top nine scoring forwards minus Landeskog and Saad, that leaves them with, at best, one forward to expose and zero if they choose to protect both Valeri Nichushkin and J.T. Compher. If the Avs do choose to protect the duo, that should leave RFA Tyson Jost unprotected, who they could extend in order to meet the exposure requirement. However, Jost has arbitration rights and may not rush into a new deal. Other candidates to re-sign would be UFA’s Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Carl Soderberg, or Matt Calvert. Fortunately, the Avalanche have an even easier internal fix and that is simply playing Logan O’Connor five more times before the end of the season.

Likelihood of a Trade: Low. Between playing O’Connor and exposing one of Nichushkin or Compher, Colorado may not have to make any move at all. If they do, they have options. Who wouldn’t want to re-sign in Colorado right now, even if its only for the purpose of being expansion draft fodder.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: It’s easy to guess six forwards that the Blue Jackets will protect, but the seventh is a bit trickier. Do they expose star Gustav Nyquist, who has missed the whole season due to injury and is on a substantial contract and on the wrong side of 30? Or do they expose Eric Robinson, who has been a hard-working depth presence this season but has limited upside? Well, if they choose to protect either one, it only leave the other as meeting exposure criteria. Only if both are exposed is Columbus good to go and that scenario seems unlikely. However, the only forward currently meeting the requirements other than term is RFA Kevin Stenlund, though UFA Mikhail Grigorenko requires only two more games played (and a new contract).

Likelihood of a Trade: High. The Blue Jackets surely want to bring Stenlund back, but he has arbitration rights and may not be keen to sign quickly just to help with expansion requirements. If a Stenlund deal can’t be reached sooner rather than later, Columbus may not have a choice but to bring someone in from the outside. A Grigorenko extension seems unlikely, as does exposing both Nyquist and Robinson.

Dallas Stars

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: The Stars’ protection scheme at forward is fairly obvious, as they have seven core forwards who stand out above the rest. However, those seven are also the only regular forwards with term on their contracts. Of all other expansion-draft eligible forwards for Dallas, only Joel L’Esperance has additional time on his current deal and he cannot reach the games played requirement. As a result, the Stars must find two forwards to expose, whereas most of these other problematic teams can at least scrounge up one forward. Among the options to re-sign are veteran UFA’s Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano or younger UFA’s Tanner Kero and Justin Dowling. However, it may be easier to re-up an RFA like Jason Dickinson or, with three more games, Nicholas Caamano. 

Likelihood of a Trade: Medium. The Stars have a number of options, many of whom will likely re-sign at some point anyhow or else Dallas will have to rebuild their bottom-six from scratch. However, with two slots to fill there is always a chance that acquiring a player could be easier than negotiating a pair of early extensions.

New Jersey Devils

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Options: A rebuilding Devils team has a number of regular forwards who are ineligible for the draft and many others, protected or not, who are restricted free agents. What they lack is many term forwards, especially of the the expendable variety. While New Jersey could go in a few different direction with their protected list, the reality is simply that they have only five draft-eligible forwards who are signed beyond this season and at least four of those are locks to be protected. The x-factor is Andreas Johnsson. The first-year Devil has fallen well short of expectations and it would not be a surprise to see him exposed, leaving the team with just one spot to fill to meet the quota. However, if they are determined to give Johnsson a second chance and not lose him for nothing, then that becomes two slots that must be filled. The other problem in New Jersey is that the team doesn’t want to give Seattle any added incentive to steal some of their promising young players. Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, Yegor Sharangovich, and Nathan Bastian would all meet the exposure criteria if extended, but it’s safe to assume that the Devils will protect two or three of that group and may not be too excited to lose any of the others. Nick Merkley, who requires seven more games played and a new deal, could be seen as more expendable and may be okay with accepting a quick extension, even if it just for expansion purposes.

Likelihood of a Trade: High. With the possibility that New Jersey could protect Johnsson and, in any scenario, will want to steer the Kraken away from their young forwards if at all possible, the Devils seem like a prime candidate to bring in some outside help with meeting exposure criteria.

San Jose Sharks

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Options: Much like the Stars, the Sharks are not an elite team right now, but possess a solid group of top-six forwards who will all be protected. Also like Dallas though, the team has complete lack of long-term commitment to any forward outside of that group. The only other eligible forward signed beyond this season is Jayden Halbgewachs, who has not played a single NHL game, nevertheless enough to meet the requirement. There is not a great list of internal options to re-sign either. Of the players who would meet exposure criteria with an extension, Patrick Marleau is likely to retire, Marcus Sorensen seems to need a fresh start in free agency, and one of Rudolfs Balcers and Dylan Gambrell is likely to be the seventh forward protected. That really leaves UFA Matt Nieto as the lynchpin. If the Sharks can re-up Nieto and whoever they don’t protect between Balcers and Gambrell, they are good to go. If Nieto isn’t keen to re-sign and if Balcers or Gambrell wish to pursue arbitration, the Sharks will be stuck without any forwards to expose.

Likelihood of a Trade: High. The Sharks are in as tough a position as any team on this list. If left exposed, Washington native Gambrell seems like a very likely pick by Seattle, but San Jose needs to meet the exposure quota all the same. That could involve bringing in one if not two forwards before the draft. There simply aren’t many other options on the roster.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Problem Area: Forward OR Defense (Scheme-Dependent)

Internal Options: It should come as no surprise that a team build entirely on a small, expensive core group and veterans on affordable, one-year deals is not well-prepared for the expansion draft. Of the ten Toronto skaters who currently meet the exposure criteria, four are forwards that will be protected in any scenario and three are defensemen that will be protected in any scenario. This leaves Alex Kerfoot at forward and Justin Holl on defense(with Pierre Engvall as the odd man out will likely be exposed regardless); only one can be protected and the other is the most likely Leaf to be selected. If the Maple Leafs value Holl more than Kerfoot, they will go with eight skaters in their protection list. In this scenario, they will not have any defensemen who meet the exposure criteria. Fortunately, any of RFA Travis Dermott or UFA’s Zach Bogosian or Ben Hutton could re-sign and fill that role. Alternatively, if the team values Kerfoot more than Holl, they will go with the standard 7-3 protection scheme. This would allow them to protect Kerfoot as well as extend and protect others like Zach Hyman, Joe Thornton, or Jason Spezza. Those three would all meet exposure requirements as well with a new deal, but Toronto will not offer them up to Seattle. Wayne Simmonds, Riley Nash, or Alex Galchenyuk could be more likely though. Unfortunately, these are all unrestricted free agents and not as easy to re-sign before the off-season as a restricted free agent. The Leafs could find themselves in a bind as a result.

Likelihood of a Trade: Low. There is still so much to be determined about the Leafs’ approach to the draft and they have options either way and player who would likely be eager to re-sign. It’s not a straightforward situation by any means, but they should be able to figure it out without taking the risk of adding salary that they can’t spare by making a trade.

Winnipeg Jets

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Options: The Jets are known for their depth at forward and eight of their top-nine meet the exposure criteria as a result, with RFA Andrew Copp not fitting the bill but almost certain to be protected anyway. The decision for the seventh and final protection slot is likely between the recently-extended Adam Lowry and upstart Mason Appleton. Whoever isn’t protected fills one of the two exposure roles. However, no one else is currently eligible. Extension candidates include UFA’s Mathieu Perreault, Trevor Lewis, and Nate Thompson, but Winnipeg may not necessarily want to commit further to any of those three. The solution: Jansen Harkins is signed through next season and requires just four more games to meet exposure level.

Likelihood of Trade: Low. Just play Harkins and move on. The list of teams in trouble is already long enough.

 

Arbitration| Calgary Flames| Colorado Avalanche| Columbus Blue Jackets| Dallas Stars| Expansion| Free Agency| Injury| New Jersey Devils| NHL| Players| RFA| San Jose Sharks| Seattle| Toronto Maple Leafs| Winnipeg Jets Adam Lowry| Alex Galchenyuk| Andreas Johnsson| Andrew Cogliano| Andrew Copp| Ben Hutton| Blake Comeau| Brandon Saad| Brett Ritchie| Carl Soderberg| Derek Ryan| Dillon Dube| Dominik Simon| Dylan Gambrell| Eric Robinson| Gabriel Landeskog| Gustav Nyquist| J.T. Compher| Jason Dickinson| Jason Spezza| Joakim Nordstrom| Joe Thornton| Josh Leivo| Justin Holl| Kevin Stenlund| Mason Appleton| Mathieu Perreault| Matt Calvert| Matt Nieto| Michael McLeod| Mikhail Grigorenko| Milan Lucic| Nate Thompson| Nick Merkley| Patrick Marleau| Pierre Engvall

26 comments

Trade Rumors: Pearson, Flames, Capitals, Bruins

March 4, 2021 at 8:01 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 9 Comments

As the Vancouver Canucks’ season descends further and further into an inescapable disappointment, TSN’s Darren Dreger states on “Insider Trading” this evening that no impending free agent in Vancouver is off limits to suitors. However, that doesn’t mean that all current impending free agents will remain as such through the trade deadline in just over five weeks. Dreger notes that the Canucks would prefer to re-sign forward Tanner Pearson, who is coming off a career year in 2019-20. Negotiations on a new contract have not yet begun, but GM Jim Benning would like to start talks as soon as possible in order to have a clear picture ahead of the deadline. If there is no meeting of the minds on a potential extension and seemingly little chance of progress ahead of the deadline, the Canucks will have to trade Pearson. The two-way winger is their most valuable rental trade chip, as depth options Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi, and Jordie Benn have lofty cap hits relative to their value and veteran defensemen Alex Edler and Travis Hamonic have No-Movement Clauses that they may not be eager to waive. If the Canucks can’t re-sign Pearson before the deadline, or at least get a handshake agreement in place, trading him to a contender is their best chance of leaving the deadline with a nice haul of picks or prospects without having to move a term player.

  • The rival Calgary Flames are currently buyers and their biggest need is a winger, but Pearson doesn’t meet their most important criteria. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that Calgary GM Brad Treliving is on the hunt for a right winger and, more specifically, a natural right-handed shooting right winger. The Flames’ best right-shot forward is Elias Lindholm and, while he has played on the wing many times before, the team prefers his fit at center. Unfortunately, that leaves the club with a lack of top-six caliber righties to put on the wing. Josh Leivo, Brett Ritchie, and the recently-waived Dominik Simon (a lefty) have not been the answer. The team also prefers to keep top-nine lefties like Andrew Mangiapane and Dillon Dube on the left side if possible and certainly do not want both on their off side. As a result, Calgary is seeking a trade partner. Seravalli does not address whether the Flames are only seeking rentals or if, seeing as the righty problem isn’t going away, they are looking at all options. The team already faces some difficult Expansion Draft decisions in regards to its deep forward corps, so a term acquisition could prove problematic. Among rentals, New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev or Detroit’s Bobby Ryan stand out as the few top available options at a shallow position on the market.
  • Seravalli notes that another team with a very specific need could be the Washington Capitals. While Washington has received a stellar performance in net from rookie Vitek Vanecek, pressed into the starting role temporarily while Ilya Samsonov was sidelined, both Samsonov and Vanecek lack a crucial component to playoff success: experience. Seravalli wonders if the Capitals trust the young tandem enough to ride them into the playoffs, with veteran Craig Anderson as the third-string, or if the team needs to make a trade. Bob McKenzie echoed this same concern on NBC Sports on Wednesday. Experienced rental options include Devan Dubnyk, Antti Raanta, Jonathan Bernier, and possibly Pekka Rinne. But the question becomes whether or not any of these older goalies are an upgrade to Vanecek based only on experience, as only Rinne has outplayed him this season.
  • While it should come as no surprise to anyone who has reviewed their salary cap status, Bob McKenzie appeared on NBC Sports’ broadcast on Wednesday night and essentially stated that the Boston Bruins have the cap flexibility to do whatever they want at the trade deadline. He added that the team is in this situation “by design” and that GM Don Sweeney is open to any and all possibilities. The Bruins have dealt with injuries on defense and at forward and have experience concerns on the back end and scoring issues up front, so fans were happy to hear McKenzie say they could add a prominent defenseman or forward, “or both”. Currently pressed by injuries, the Bruins have just under $3.5MM in cap space which still prorates to nearly $8.7MM at the deadline, per CapFriendly. However, the Bruins banked cap space earlier this season when they had fewer injuries and could still get healthier before the trade deadline. With no one on the injured reserve eating up cap space at the deadline, CapFriendly estimates that Boston could have upwards of $12.7MM in prorated cap space. For context, that could be enough to add top-priced rental Taylor Hall and a defenseman like Ryan Murray while staying under the cap. The Bruins will be a team to watch over the next five weeks.

Boston Bruins| Brad Treliving| Calgary Flames| Expansion| Jim Benning| Prospects| Vancouver Canucks| Washington Capitals Alex Edler| Alex Goligoski| Andrew Mangiapane| Antti Raanta| Bob McKenzie| Bobby Ryan| Brandon Sutter| Brett Ritchie| Craig Anderson| Devan Dubnyk| Dillon Dube| Dominik Simon| Elias Lindholm| Ilya Samsonov| Jonathan Bernier| Jordie Benn| Josh Leivo| Kyle Palmieri| Nikita Gusev| Pekka Rinne| Ryan Murray| Salary Cap| Sven Baertschi| Tanner Pearson| Taylor Hall| Trade Rumors| Travis Hamonic

9 comments

Three Players Clear Waivers

March 4, 2021 at 11:00 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

March 4: All three players have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

March 3: The waiver wire is busy again today, with three players up for grabs. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Dominik Simon (Calgary Flames), Valtteri Filppula (Detroit Red Wings), and Mason Geertsen (New York Rangers) have all been placed on waivers today.

Geertsen’s presence on the list means that he has signed a new NHL contract with the Rangers, since he had previously been on an AHL deal with the Hartford Wolf Pack. He last had an NHL deal during the 2018-19 season but has never actually made it to the highest level. A fourth-round pick of the Colorado avalanche in 2013, he has spent several years in the minor leagues racking up penalty minutes, never afraid to drop his gloves to defend a teammate. This year he has 11 PIM and one point in four games for Hartford.

Filppula is the latest veteran Detroit has passed through waivers, following Danny DeKeyser and Frans Nielsen earlier in the year. The 36-year-old forward has registered just five points in 20 games and is nearing the end of what has actually been quite a successful career. A third-round pick by Detroit back in 2002, Filpulla has 520 points in 1,038 career games. He took home the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 2008 and has been an excellent playoff performer, racking up 86 points in 166 postseason games.

Waivers then might actually increase Filppula’s trade value, considering he’s on an expiring contract. If a team wanted to add some more experience for a playoff run, but didn’t have an immediate spot in the lineup, the ability to move Filppula to the taxi squad would come in handy.

Simon, 26, hasn’t been a perfect fit in Calgary this season, failing to record a point in his nine appearances. The depth forward was supposed to add a little scoring punch at the bottom of the lineup after recording 50 points over the last two seasons, but that hasn’t happened. Still, for the league minimum of $700K and Simon’s RFA rights, perhaps a team will take a swing and bring him in on waivers. If not, he’ll likely be another candidate to rotate through the taxi squad in Calgary, helping them bank cap space.

Calgary Flames| Detroit Red Wings| New York Rangers| Waivers Dominik Simon

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Calgary Flames Sign Dominik Simon

October 22, 2020 at 1:13 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Calgary Flames have added another option for their forward group, signing Dominik Simon to a one-year, $700K contract. Simon did not receive a qualifying offer from the Pittsburgh Penguins, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Simon, 26, is another example of a mid-round pick turning into a useful piece for the Penguins, even if he never quite did excel offensively. The fifth-round selection from 2015 has played 173 games in his NHL career, scoring 19 goals and 64 points. The usefulness came more from his versatility, as Simon bounced all over the lineup, even spending time next to Sidney Crosby for a period.

Though he isn’t likely to be a difference-maker in the Flames top-six, he is a valuable addition to a team that hasn’t been able to get over the playoff hump. Simon didn’t participate in the Stanley Cup run in 2017 but was part of the Penguins “Black Aces” that saw exactly what was required to win.

For Calgary, this gives them a 12th NHL forward (including Dillon Dube, who is still on his entry-level deal) and only increases the competition for minutes in the bottom-six. The team still has to sign restricted free agent Oliver Kylington but could even make another one of these depth moves with their remaining cap space. With the free agent market standing still, players like Simon will likely be happy just to get a job, even if it does pay the league minimum.

Calgary Flames Dominik Simon

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East Notes: Weegar, Simon, Bonus Overages, Dubinsky

October 9, 2020 at 10:29 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

Panthers pending RFA defenseman MacKenzie Weegar isn’t the most well-known player but he is coming off of a career season and is one year away from UFA eligibility.  As Florida looks to overhaul its back end, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests (Twitter link) that teams are starting to show an interest in trading for the 26-year-old.  Weegar had seven goals and 11 assists in just 45 games last season while seeing his ATOI jump up by more than three minutes per game over his career average as he logged 20:07 per game.  He was tendered a qualifying offer of $1.6MM but stands to make a fair bit more than that on his next contract as he is arbitration-eligible.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • Despite non-tendering him earlier this week, the Penguins have interest in re-signing forward Dominik Simon, report Josh Yohe and Rob Rossi of The Athletic (subscription link). The 26-year-old has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh and put up 22 points in 64 games this season while logging a career-best 14:24 per game.  While his qualifier was for under $800K, Pittsburgh’s concern was a possible arbitration award so while any new deal will almost certainly come in higher than what his tender would have been for, it should come in lower than had it gone to a hearing as well.
  • In a pair of tweets, PuckPedia reports that the Hurricanes and Capitals will both take their full bonus overage penalties this coming season instead of amortizing them over two years which was a one-time option in the new CBA. As a result, Carolina’s cap space for 2020-21 will decrease by just over $1.367MM while Washington’s goes down by just under $420K.
  • After clearing out Alexander Wennberg, Ryan Murray, and Markus Nutivaara yesterday, the Blue Jackets may not be done moving players yet as Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that Columbus is also trying to move Brandon Dubinsky’s contract. The center isn’t expected to play again due to wrist issues but they’re hoping a team that’s set to go into LTIR anyway could be interested in adding the contract to stack their LTIR space, similar to what Toronto did last season by acquiring David Clarkson.  Dubinsky has one year left on his deal with a $5.85MM AAV.

Carolina Hurricanes| Columbus Blue Jackets| Florida Panthers| Pittsburgh Penguins| Washington Capitals Brandon Dubinsky| Dominik Simon| MacKenzie Weegar

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