Blue Jackets Sign Egor Zamula
It didn’t take long for defenseman Egor Zamula to find a new home after having his contract terminated by the Penguins today. He’ll be sticking in the Metropolitan Division with the Blue Jackets, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. Per PuckPedia, it’s a one-year deal worth a prorated $1MM salary. The team quickly made his deal official.
Zamula, 25, will step back into an NHL role with Columbus, ending a weeks-long saga about his future. After lengthy runs in the press box with the Flyers to begin the season, he landed on waivers in December and cleared. He initially reported to AHL Lehigh Valley, but the Flyers were working to either terminate his contract – something they could only do if he refused to report – or find a trade partner.
On New Year’s Eve, he was shipped to the Penguins for winger Philip Tomasino. With Pittsburgh then opting to keep him in the minors instead of recalling him, he immediately refused to report to their AHL affiliate and was suspended without pay. He became an unrestricted free agent today after clearing unconditional waivers, walking away from the rest of the two-year, $3.4MM deal he signed in 2024.
His agent, Gold Star Hockey’s Dan Milstein, said today that “all parties we spoke to were fully informed of the player’s position, including Pittsburgh.”
After recording one assist and a +4 rating in 13 games for Philadelphia earlier this season, the 6’3″ lefty will immediately get increased opportunity on a Columbus blue line that’s missing depth options Erik Gudbranson and Brendan Smith. Even when those names are back in the mix, with youngster Denton Mateychuk now shifting to his off-side full-time, Zamula is a natural candidate to supplant the struggling Jake Christiansen as the lefty option on the Jackets’ third pairing.
The Russian rearguard will have some support from countrymen Ivan Provorov, Kirill Marchenko, and Dmitri Voronkov in Columbus. He kicks off his Blue Jackets tenure with eight goals and 41 points in 168 career games.
Penguins, Egor Zamula Terminate Contract
Jan. 6, 1:04 p.m.: Zamula has cleared waivers and is now an unrestricted free agent, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’s expected to sign another NHL deal this week with at least six teams expressing interest, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
Jan. 5, 1:10 p.m.: Zamula has officially hit unconditional waivers, per Frank Seravalli of Victory+.
Jan. 5, 11:28 a.m.: The Penguins are set to place defenseman Egor Zamula on unconditional waivers on Monday, PuckPedia reports. He will have his contract terminated if he clears tomorrow, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Zamula was suspended without pay on Saturday for refusing to report to Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Russian rearguard had been acquired just days before from the Flyers in exchange for winger Philip Tomasino.
It’s not surprising to see Zamula opt for a contract termination, although few expected it to happen after a trade. Zamula cleared standard waivers while with Philadelphia and initially reported to their AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, where he remained assigned at the time of the swap. The 25-year-old then quickly changed his agents and was reportedly considering triggering a contract termination by failing to report, with the Flyers being open to taking a forward contract back in a separate trade for future considerations.
That was, of course, assuming Zamula signed with said team after clearing unconditional waivers with the Flyers. Since he was traded before hitting the wire, Pittsburgh will now have parted ways with Tomasino without getting anything out of Zamula in his brief time under contract with the organization.
Zamula will be walking away from about half of the $1.4MM base salary he was owed this season. There is still interest in his services from other NHL teams, and he’s expected to quickly sign a new deal – likely for the prorated league minimum – quickly after becoming a free agent tomorrow, per PuckPedia.
The 6’3″, 200-lb lefty will bring an 8-33–41 career scoring line in 168 NHL games to the open market. That includes one assist and a +4 rating in 13 appearances with the Flyers earlier this year.
Egor Zamula Suspended In AHL
It appears that some controversy has already started with one of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ recent acquisitions. According to the AHL transactions log, the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have suspended defenseman Egor Zamula.
There’s minimal reporting on Zamula’s status, and the AHL Penguins have yet to announce the decision. Still, regardless of the reasoning behind the suspension, it certainly throws a wrench in the Penguins’ plans after trading for Zamula only three days ago.
Zamula may be continuing to posture that he should be on an NHL roster and is refusing to report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Shortly before the trade to Pittsburgh, Zamula changed his representation to Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey and was considering mutually terminating his contract to explore other opportunities.
Still, refusing to report to the AHL doesn’t necessarily mean that Zamula is unhappy about his newfound home with the Penguins. There may be a potential handshake agreement between Zamula and Pittsburgh for a future recall, but the team is currently unable to implement it. If that’s the case, the AHL Penguins would have to suspend him for failing to report, regardless of any potential agreement.
Although that situation is plausible, it’s unclear how Zamula fits into the Penguins’ roster as currently constructed. The team has seven defensemen on the active roster, with Caleb Jones on the injured reserve. Given how they’ve been playing lately, it wouldn’t make much sense for Pittsburgh to make a change to their defensive core unless they trade a defenseman off the team.
For the sake of his continued development, Zamula and his representation will have to find a longer-term solution sooner rather than later. Despite being healthy this season, he’s only appeared in 13 games for the Flyers and three games for the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Fortunately, even if Zamula is unhappy with a continued stay in the AHL, the Penguins don’t stand to lose much even if he ultimately leaves the organization. Initially, they traded Philip Tomasino for Zamula in the deal with Philadelphia. He has primarily been playing for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, with limited chances to return to NHL games with the Penguins.
Penguins, Flyers Swap Egor Zamula, Philip Tomasino
The Penguins announced they’ve acquired defenseman Egor Zamula from the Flyers in exchange for winger Philip Tomasino. Both players had previously cleared waivers and will report to their respective new AHL affiliates.
Zamula’s name first surfaced on the trade market at the beginning of the season, initially linked to the Flames. While that deal never came close to fruition, the 25-year-old became an increasingly frequent healthy scratch as the season progressed. After sitting for six straight games in December and being leapfrogged on the depth chart by AHL call-up Ty Murchison, the Flyers placed him on waivers.
Lehigh Valley hadn’t had a ton of action since Zamula’s demotion due to the holiday break, but the 6’3″ lefty did manage two assists and a -3 rating in three games. Last weekend, it was reported that Zamula had changed his representation and was considering terminating his contract to sign with another team at a lower cap hit to boost his chances of returning to the NHL.
Now, Zamula gets the change of scenery he wanted without having to walk away from the remainder of his $1.4MM base salary he’s owed this season. He’d spent his entire pro career in the Philly organization after signing with the Flyers as an undrafted free agent in 2020. Over the past six seasons, he’s scored eight goals and 41 points with a -12 rating in 168 appearances, averaging 15:53 per game.
He’s always carried some intrigue with him because of his size and offensive ceiling – he had a career-high 22 points in 61 games two seasons ago – but doesn’t play a physical brand. Nonetheless, he’s had some above-average possession impacts during his time in Philadelphia and, although he’d fallen out of favor with new head coach Rick Tocchet, his statistical profile suggests there’s still an opportunity for him to stick around as a third-pairing option with power-play deployability.
While Zamula will start in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he’ll likely be the first name called up if the Pens need a lefty. He should also quickly find his way onto the roster if the Pens ship out Brett Kulak or Ryan Shea, their two pending unrestricted free agents on the left side of their blue line, before the trade deadline.
Pittsburgh has been active in picking up change-of-scenery candidates over the past couple of seasons, including nabbing Yegor Chinakhov from the Blue Jackets just two days ago. Tomasino was a similar acquisition from the Predators last season as well, although that one didn’t end up paying dividends.
The 24th overall pick in 2019, Tomasino arrived in Pittsburgh early last season in exchange for a fourth-round pick. The high-skill winger looked like a natural fit in Pittsburgh’s top nine early on, even getting some reps alongside Evgeni Malkin. After posting just one assist in 11 games with Nashville to begin the year, he logged 11 goals and 23 points in 50 contests to close out the season with the Pens.
However, Pittsburgh’s preference to integrate its own drafted-and-developed talent, plus UFA pickups Justin Brazeau and Anthony Mantha developing some high-end chemistry with Malkin, pushed Tomasino down the depth chart from the drop this season. The 24-year-old only averaged 12:10 per game through nine contests, scoring one assist with a -2 rating, before he ended up on waivers in November. He was eventually reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he’s clicked at over a point per game pace with a 5-10–15 line and +12 rating in 14 games.
For a Flyers team in need of some wing depth in the wake of Tyson Foerster‘s season-ending arm injury, Tomasino is an intriguing pickup who could even slot into top-six minutes if they opt to return Denver Barkey to the minors after giving him his first taste of NHL hockey. If nothing else, he’s an immediate reinforcement to a Lehigh Valley offense that’s only producing 2.77 goals per game this season.
Both pending restricted free agents, Zamula carries a $1.7MM cap hit while Tomasino counts for $1.75MM. For now, Zamula will only cost $550K against the Pens’ books, and Tomasino will cost $600K for the Flyers while each remains in the minors.
Images courtesy of Eric Canha-Imagn Images (Zamula) and Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images (Tomasino).
Flyers’ Egor Zamula Changes Agents, Eyeing Move
The Philadelphia Flyers could soon be pushed to deal a depth defenseman. Egor Zamula has fired his previous agent and signed with Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. This move could prelude Zamula mutually terminating his contract with the Flyers and re-signing, for a cheaper price, with another team, per PuckPedia. If that does transpire, Philadelphia would be hoping to acquire a forward on an expiring contract in return for cutting Zamula.
This move would not be unsimilar to the St. Louis Blues’ recent termination of winger Alexandre Texier, another Milstein client. News of Texier’s availability spread quickly around the NHL and had teams lining up to sign him as a free agent. He ultimately signed with the Montreal Canadiens, who he’s scored six points in 15 games with, though St. Louis did not receive any assets in return for the swap.
If the Flyers could command much for Zamula is yet to be seen. He has served as a routine healthy scratch for much of the season, but Philadelphia long avoided assigning him to the minor-leagues for longer than a day or two. That changed after rookie Ty Murchison made his NHL debut on December 16th. Murchison has stuck with the NHL roster – and appeared in three games – since, while Zamula was sent to the AHL for good three days later.
It appears Zamula has been leapfrogged on the lineup by the younger Murchison. Philadelphia is also carrying longtime depth defender Noah Juulsen, who boasts more veteran experience than Zamula could offer. That leaves the 25-year-old Russian as the odd-man-out on the Flyers’ depth chart. Rather than continue on in the AHL, it seems Zamula will prefer to test his chances in another NHL lineup. He’s a 6-foot-3, 200-pound defender who has only scored 41 points in 168 NHL games. That includes one point in 13 games this season.
Zamula’s best attributes are his long reach and physical upside – two pieces that many teams need more of at the bottom of their defense. If that’s enough to impress a lacking defense like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, or Edmonton Oilers – the Flyers could end up with a nice lineup boost in the middle of the season.
Flyers Recall Denver Barkey For NHL Debut
The Flyers announced they’ve recalled center prospect Denver Barkey from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. To open a roster spot, the team sent down defenseman Egor Zamula to Lehigh Valley after he cleared waivers earlier Friday. Barkey is expected to make his NHL debut Saturday afternoon against the Rangers.
Barkey, 20, is in the early stages of his first professional season after being drafted in the third round (No. 95 overall) by Philadelphia in 2023. He slipped a few spots past where most expected him to go in the draft, but he wasn’t viewed as much more than a potential mid-second round pick at best.
His stock exploded during his post-draft season. In 64 games for the OHL’s London Knights, he rattled off 35 goals and 102 points to lead the team in scoring and be named to the league’s Second All-Star Team. Last season, he captained the Knights to the second of back-to-back titles, took home a Memorial Cup ring for good measure, and averaged two points per game in the OHL playoffs.
At 5’10” and 172 lbs, Barkey plays bigger than his size. He’s one of the more energetic skaters in the Flyers’ system with above-average playmaking. Still, prospect evaluators are split on his ceiling. In preseason rankings, Elite Prospects named him the 13th-ranked prospect in Philly’s pool, projecting him as a third-line checking center or left-winger at best. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman had Barkey outside his top 13 rankings altogether, while Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff put him at No. 6, labeling him as a versatile top-nine piece.
Evidently, the Flyers have liked what they’ve seen from Barkey through his first 26 games with the Phantoms. His seven goals are tied for second on the team, and he’s fourth in points with 16. He’ll now get his first chance to show what he can do in NHL minutes, even if it’s not expected to be a lengthy call-up with 13 healthy names ahead of him on the depth chart.
Flyers To Reassign Egor Zamula
Dec. 19: Zamula cleared waivers and will be reassigned to Lehigh Valley, according to Friedman.
Dec. 18: The Flyers have waived left-shot defenseman Egor Zamula, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports.
Zamula has been a healthy scratch in five straight contests and has only played in 13 out of 32 games on the year. When Philadelphia needed some extra defensive depth earlier this month as Cameron York sustained a minor injury, they opted to make a roster move and recall Ty Murchison from the AHL instead of playing Zamula.
That was a clear indication that the writing was on the wall for his standing on the active roster. Today is the last day for teams to waive a player if they want to send him down to the minors before the holiday roster freeze begins on Dec. 20.
If Zamula clears and reports to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, it will mark his first minor-league action since the 2022-23 season. Now in his sixth NHL campaign, the 25-year-old had played 60-plus games for the Flyers in each of the last two seasons but was only on pace for 33 appearances this year.
The 6’3″ lefty looked like he could make a push for a fringe top-four role long-term after breaking out with 21 points and a +3 rating in 66 games in 2023-24, but his production has declined from that summit. This season, he’s got a +4 rating in 13 outings but has only managed one assist while averaging 14:02 of ice time per game, a decrease of over two minutes from last year.
Zamula is in the back half of the two-year, $3.4MM deal he signed with Philly as a restricted free agent in 2024. The Flyers can remove $1.15MM of his $1.7MM cap hit if they bury him in the minors, leaving them on the hook for a $550K cap charge if he’s in the AHL. If he’s not claimed, it’s clear the Flyers will be walking away from Zamula next offseason instead of extending him the $1.4MM qualifying offer he’s owed.
Evening Notes: Lycksell, Cooley, Zamula
The Ottawa Senators assigned forward Olle Lycksell to the AHL’s Belleville Senators early on Friday. Lycksell appeared in two games with Ottawa this week, but sat out of the team’s most recent game on Thursday. He didn’t manage any scoring in those appearances.
Lycksell is in his first year in the Senators’ organization after signing a one-year, two-way, league-minimum $775K contract with the club on July 1st. He spent the last three seasons bouncing between the Philadelphia Flyers’ major and minor league rosters. He totaled 11 points in 45 NHL games, and 128 points in 134 AHL games with the Flyers. He’ll look to maintain near point-per-game scoring in the minors with Belleville. If he can, he could soon return to a depth role with Ottawa.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Utah Mammoth have a colossal extension looming when top center Logan Cooley hits free agency next summer. But despite minimal talks of an extension, Cooley’s agent, Brian Bartlett, told the Daily Faceoff that he’s not worried about getting a deal done. Bartlett emphasized that Cooley still has plenty of time to work something out. There’s no doubt Mammoth fan will be watching closely for Cooley’s next contract, after he posted 109 points in 157 games with the club over his first two seasons in the NHL. He’s likely to sign a hardy extension that should cement his spot as Utah’s top center.
- The Calgary Flames are interested in acquiring a big-bodied, left-shot defenseman per Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco, who adds that Flyers defender Egor Zamula could be a prime target. Zamula played in 120 games with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen before beginning his pro career. Now, he’s found himself on the outside of Philadelphia’s daily lineup, despite mixed results. Zamula boasts a career stat line of 40 points in 157 games. He posted a career-high 21 points and plus-three in 66 games of the 2023-24 season, but fell to just 15 points and a minus-14 in 63 games last year. That dip in scoring could make him a relatively cheap acquisition, should Calgary swing a trade.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall Aleksei Kolosov, Reassign Adam Ginning
Goaltender Aleksei Kolosov‘s time with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms was short-lived. The Philadelphia Flyers announced they recalled Kolosov from the Phantoms and sent defenseman Adam Ginning the other way. Additionally, the team shared that they placed defenseman Yegor Zamula on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury retroactive to January 23rd.
The recall is head-scratching at face value. After producing a mediocre 4-8-1 record and a .870 save percentage in 15 games with the Flyers, the organization decided to try Kolosov at the AHL level a little over a week ago.
Kolosov’s results in Lehigh Valley weren’t much better. He posted a 2-4-1 record in seven games, with a .874 SV% and a 3.59 goals-against average. Still, while it’s not entirely the fault of the goaltenders, and it is merely wishful thinking that Kolosov would have produced a different outcome, the Flyers are 2-4-0 since sending him down and have given up 20 goals in that stretch.
The Minsk, Belarus native may receive one or two more starting opportunities with Philadelphia in the coming week. However, this is not the most promising route for him to secure more starts. The Flyers have faced significant goaltending issues this season, and Kolosov’s subpar performance has contributed to this problem.
Ginning is heading to a familiar environment fresh off making his season debut in Philadelphia. He skated in 12:48 of last night’s loss to the New York Islanders adding one hit and one blocked shot to the team’s total. He could be back with the Flyers soon given the team only has six healthy defensemen on the roster without him.
Philadelphia had to make a roster move after yesterday’s acquisition of Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier from the Calgary Flames. Moving to the last part of the transaction, Zamula finally lands on the injured reserve after missing the past four games. Once he’s healthy enough to return, Kolosov or forward Rodrigo Abols will likely be reassigned to AHL Lehigh Valley.
Flyers Sign Yegor Zamula To Two-Year Extension
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed restricted-free agent Yegor Zamula to a two-year, $3.4MM contract extension, per NBC Sports’ Jordan Hall (Twitter link). Hall adds that the annual average value will be $1.7MM.It’s the first deal of Zamula’s career north of $1MM.
Zamula played through his first full season in the NHL this year, recording five goals and 21 points across 66 games with the Flyers. It was his first taste of an everyday role at the top level, after spending the last three seasons bouncing between the NHL and AHL lineups. He played through 26 total NHL games prior to this year, recording just four assists – all tallied in the 14 games he played with Philadelphia last season. Zamula has otherwise been stout in the minor leagues, where he’s totaled 54 points across 127 career games.
Having proven his worth at the top level this year, the two-way Zamula now gets a golden chance to carve out a confident spot in the Flyers lineup on this two-year deal. Zamula notably ends the contract with one year of RFA eligibility remaining, giving him a bit more security amid a deep Flyers defense corps. He’ll be competing with players like Erik Johnson, Nick Seeler, and Ronnie Attard for ice time near the bottom of Philadelphia’s lineup.