West Notes: Ehlers, Portillo, Lerby
With Olympic Qualifying Tournaments beginning at the end of the month, several teams will have decisions to make about allowing their players to participate in the event just before training camps get underway. Jets head coach Scott Arniel told Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun that Nikolaj Ehlers will indeed suit up for Denmark in their tournament, noting their hope is that this will serve as a jumpstart heading into camp. Ehlers has been frequently speculated as a possible trade candidate in recent months and he’s coming into the final season of his seven-year, $42MM contract signed back in 2017. After putting up the second-highest point total of his career last season with 61, Ehlers will be looking for another big performance to bolster his value ahead of his first crack at unrestricted free agency.
More from the Western Conference:
- The Kings have two remaining restricted free agents in winger Arthur Kaliyev and goaltender Erik Portillo. Kaliyev is believed to be available on the trade market which could affect the timing of his next deal but Portillo is still in Los Angeles’ plans. John Hoven of Mayors Manor recently examined some comparable netminders, suggesting that Portillo will likely ink a two-year deal around a $1MM AAV with the second season of that being a one-way agreement, similar to recent contracts given to Dustin Wolf (Calgary), Nico Daws (New Jersey), and Jet Greaves (Columbus) earlier this summer. David Rittich and Pheonix Copley are on one-year deals so a good showing from Portillo with AHL Ontario in 2024-25 could put him in a good position to be Darcy Kuemper’s backup in 2025-26.
- Flames RFA defenseman Carl-Johan Lerby is on the move in Sweden as Kalmar of the second-tier Allsvenskan announced that they’ve signed him to a one-year contract. The 27-year-old signed with Calgary as an undrafted free agent in 2019 but he spent limited time in North America, suiting up just 22 times with AHL Stockton before heading back overseas in 2021. The Flames retained his rights by tendering a qualifying offer at that time. Lerby split last season between the Finnish Liiga and the Allsvenskan, compiling 15 points in 45 regular season games between the two levels.
Kings Sign Erik Portillo To Entry-Level Deal
After they acquired his rights from Buffalo, it was only a matter of time before the Kings signed prospect Erik Portillo. That move has now come as the team announced that they’ve signed the goaltender to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal, which begins this season, carries an AAV of $875K.
Los Angeles acquired the 22-year-old from the Sabres in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick at the trade deadline after Portillo indicated to Buffalo that he wasn’t planning to sign with them. He had a 25-11-2 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .908 SV% in 38 games with Michigan this season, helping to lead them to a spot in the Frozen Four. Those numbers were actually a step back from his first two college campaigns as his time at that level concluded with a 2.49 GAA and a .918 SV% in 87 appearances over three seasons.
After Michigan was eliminated in the tournament earlier this month, he signed a tryout agreement with AHL Ontario. However, he didn’t see any game action and the Reign were eliminated by Colorado in the first round last night. In order for Portillo to be eligible to play in the playoffs, he needed to have his AHL tryout converted into an NHL deal which has now occurred.
Portillo is likely earmarked for the Reign again next season where it’s possible that he teams up with Cal Petersen if the Kings run him through waivers again. If that happens, Ontario’s goalie tandem will be two players who were originally picked by Buffalo, went to college, and ultimately chose not to sign with the Sabres; Portillo was a 2019 third-rounder while Petersen was a 2013 fifth-round selection.
Minor Goalie Notes: Portillo, Boyko, Chenard
The Los Angeles Kings’ top minor league affiliate, the Ontario Reign, has announced the signing of Erik Portillo to an amateur tryout agreement. Portillo just finished his junior season at the University of Michigan, losing to the eventual champions, Quinnipiac University, in the Frozen Four Tournament.
Portillo was originally a draftee of the Buffalo Sabres, getting selected 67th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft. Once it became clear that Portillo would not be signing a contract in Buffalo, the team traded his rights to the Kings this season for a third-round pick in 2023.
Being the primary starter in his last two seasons at Michigan, Portillo was exceptional between the pipes for the historical Big 10 organization. Last year, Portillo played in 42 contests, posting a record of 31-10-1, carrying a SV% of .926 and a GAA of 2.14. This season, posting slightly worse numbers, he had a record of 25-11-2, securing a SV% of .908 and a GAA of 3.00.
Now joining the Kings organization, Portillo has a legitimate shot at becoming a regular goaltender in Los Angeles. Trading away franchise-legend Jonathan Quick to the Columbus Blue Jackets this year (Quick was subsequently moved to the Vegas Golden Knights), the team is now carrying a tandem of Joonas Korpisalo and Pheonix Copley. The tandem has been good enough since the trade deadline to help the Kings secure a playoff spot, but Korpisalo is headed for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Other goalie notes:
- Finishing off a five-season career in the WHL, goaltender Talyn Boyko has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. Drafted 112th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2021 NHL Draft, Boyko, unfortunately, produced subpar numbers split between the Tri-City Americans and the Kelowna Rockets. Playing in 142 career games in major junior, he carried a record of 56-67-9, and a total SV% of .899. He did get some playoff starts as well, leading the Rockets to the WHL playoffs in 2022, losing 4-1 to the Seattle Thunderbirds in the opening round.
- Fresh off the signing of Jett Alexander to an amateur tryout agreement, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Nick Chenard from the Owen Sound Attack to an amateur tryout agreement, and he will be a backup tonight for the Maple Leafs. This season, Chenard played in 35 games for the Attack, accruing a record of 14-16-2, carrying a GAA of 3.96 and a SV% of .873.
Los Angeles Kings Acquire Erik Portillo
The Buffalo Sabres have traded the rights to University of Michigan netminder Erik Portillo to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick, per a team announcement.
This move comes amid widespread speculation that Portillo would opt to test the college free-agent market rather than sign with the Sabres, who drafted him 67th overall at the 2019 draft. The Sabres have arguably the best goalie prospect in hockey, Northeastern University’s Devon Levi, so it’s possible that the presence of Levi in Buffalo’s pipeline played a role in Portillo looking elsewhere for his NHL future.
Important to note is the fact that this deal does not guarantee that Portillo will end up signing with the Kings. The Buffalo Sabres traded a third-round pick for the rights to Jimmy Vesey in the summer of 2016, only for him to sign with the New York Rangers shortly afterwards.
But while the Sabres already have Levi in their pipeline, The Kings don’t have quite the same big-name goalie prospect already in the mix for Portillo to have to contend with for “goalie of the future” status.
If the Kings do end up signing Portillo, they’ll land a quality prospect who The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler recently ranked as the seventh-best prospect in a talented Sabres system. (subscription link) Portillo is a six-foot-six netminder who has been the starter at Michigan for the past two seasons. Last year, Portillo posted impressive numbers, going 31-10-1 with a .926 save percentage and 2.14 goals-against-average. His numbers have suffered a bit this season, but scouts remain impressed with his imposing size, quality puck-handling ability, and sneaky athleticism.
This is the second trade of the day where the Kings acquired a netminder. While today’s acquisition of Joonas Korpisalo was about helping their organization’s goalie situation in the short-term, today’s deal is designed to give them a potential long-term solution. It’s a worthy investment of a third-round pick assuming they get his signature on an entry-level deal, and a nice refund for the Sabres who likely weren’t signing him anyway and already have Levi, Luukkonen, and others to focus their developmental efforts on.
Sabres Unlikely To Sign Erik Portillo
The future of Sabres goalie prospect Erik Portillo has been in question going back to before the season. He’s in his fourth year since being drafted, allowing him to become eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer if he so desires even though he’ll have another season of eligibility at Michigan. Will he sign with Buffalo or not? Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek suggests in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the latter is the likely answer and that it doesn’t sound like he’ll sign with the Sabres and will instead test the open market.
The 22-year-old was a third-round pick by Buffalo back in 2019 (67th overall) and he has outperformed his draft stock since then with an impressive post-draft season with Dubuque of the USHL and now three years with the Wolverines where he has a 2.26 GAA, a .922 SV%, and three shutouts in 66 games over that stretch. At 6’6, he has the size that many teams covet in their goaltenders as well.
It won’t be a case of Buffalo not wanting to sign Portillo but rather him looking for another situation. The Sabres do have a promising young netminder in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen while Devon Levi is a year younger than Portillo and is having another strong season at Northeastern. With those two youngsters in the mix, Portillo likely feels that he can find a more desirable situation elsewhere that could give him a cleaner path to try to make the NHL.
To that end, Marek speculates that it’s possible that Portillo could become a trade chip for the Sabres leading into the trade deadline. If another team was able to work out an agreement for Portillo to join them, that would allow Buffalo to at least recoup an asset for someone they’re likely going to lose for nothing in the summer. With several teams not exactly having a lot of prospect upside between the pipes in their pipeline, there should be a few suitors if and when the Sabres decide to put Portillo on the block in the coming weeks if they haven’t already done so.
Atlantic Notes: Portillo, Red Wings, Smith
While the Sabres still have another year and a bit to sign goaltending prospect Erik Portillo, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News notes that there are doubts both internally and league-wide that the netminder will actually sign with Buffalo. The 21-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2019 (67th overall) and was quite impressive with Michigan last season, posting a 2.14 GAA along with a .926 SV% in 42 games. While Portillo has two years of college eligibility remaining, he will be eligible to opt for free agency next August since it will be four years since he has been drafted. If Buffalo isn’t able to sign him after the 2022-23 college season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to trade his rights to a team he’d be willing to sign with.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- While the Red Wings had the cap space to get involved in the chase for John Klingberg, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press outlines why they didn’t. Such a move would have forced them to trade Filip Hronek and with the trade market being as weak as it is right now, GM Steve Yzerman would have been hard-pressed to get full value in return, even with Hronek being on a team-friendly deal for two more years. They have over $10MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, and while that amount will go down once Filip Zadina and Jake Walman re-sign, they’re well-positioned financially to try to add someone as the offseason progresses.
- If the Bruins are forced to make a cap-shedding trade to accompany Pavel Zacha’s eventual deal plus the potential returns of UFAs Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe suggests that winger Craig Smith is the likely candidate to be moved. The 32-year-old has one year left on his contract with a $3.1MM cap hit. He has been pretty consistent in recent years, notching at least 13 goals and 31 points in each of the last four seasons and is coming off a 36-point campaign. Unlike some teams that are trying to shed negative-value contracts, Smith’s isn’t in that category but with so few squads looking to take on money, Boston would be hard-pressed to get a quality return for the veteran if they have to go that route.
Atlantic Notes: Sabres, Knies, Pezzetta
After signing Owen Power on Friday, the Sabres were hoping to get two other key college prospects signed soon. GM Kevyn Adams told Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News on Friday that he had reached out to Michigan goalie Erik Portillo and Minnesota defenseman Ryan Johnson to discuss the possibility of both of them turning pro. However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link), Portillo has since decided to return to the Wolverines next season. A 2019 third-round pick by Buffalo, Portillo had a 2.14 GAA along with a .926 SV% in 42 games in his sophomore year.
Meanwhile, Johnson, a first-rounder that same year, had 19 points in 39 games with the Golden Gophers. If the Sabres wanted to do so, they could offer to burn the first year of his entry-level deal as they did with Power to help entice Johnson to sign.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- While Minnesota has been eliminated from the Frozen Four tournament, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that Matthew Knies will take a few days to decide whether or not to turn pro. The Maple Leafs drafted the 19-year-old forward 57th overall last summer and opted to hold a contract slot available for him over converting an AHL player to an NHL deal at the trade deadline. He averaged a point per game in 33 contests with the Golden Gophers this season while also suiting up at the Olympics. If Knies isn’t going to play in the NHL right away, staying in college for his sophomore year would make more sense from a development perspective. It’s believed that Knies is leaning towards staying in school at this time.
- The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that winger Michael Pezzetta will return to the lineup tonight after missing the last couple of weeks with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old has played in 44 games in his rookie season, collecting eight points along with 68 penalty minutes and 132 hits. Jesse Ylonen will be scratched to make room in the lineup for Pezzetta.