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Fredrik Olofsson

NL’s EV Zug Signs Fredrik Olofsson

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July 8: It took a while, but Olofsson is indeed heading to Zug. It’s a two-year deal, the team announced.

March 21: After two seasons in the NHL and AHL, Avalanche forward Fredrik Olofsson’s time stateside may be coming to an end. The pending UFA has been linked to EV Zug of the Swiss National League on the open market this summer, Johan Svensson of the Swedish publication Expressen reports. Notably, it appears the Swedish forward won’t be returning to SHL club IK Oskarshamn, where he spent two seasons prior to signing as a free agent with the Stars in 2022.

Olofsson, 27, was a fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014. However, after a post-draft season in major junior play with the USHL’s Chicago Steel and a four-year career with the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he was not signed to an NHL contract and became a free agent when his exclusive signing rights expired in the summer of 2019. He headed back home to Sweden for the first time in his career, having played all of his youth hockey in the United States, and signed a one-year deal with MODO Hockey, then of the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. After impressing with 34 points and a +15 rating in 52 games, he garnered interest from teams in Sweden’s top division and landed with Oskarshamn in 2020.

The 6-foot-2 forward was a natural fit there, recording 42 points in 49 games during the 2021-22 campaign and generating NHL interest as a result. Dallas landed him after his SHL season ended, inking him to a one-year, one-way contract in May 2022. He didn’t crack the team out of camp but ended up getting significant NHL time nonetheless, recording a goal and three assists in 28 games while playing fourth-line minutes. Injuries and suspensions meant Olofsson had a chance to play in a handful of postseason contests, too, playing twice in the Stars’ Western Conference Final loss to the Golden Knights.

Olofsson was looking for more NHL opportunities than that, however. With Dallas unlikely to re-sign him, they traded his signing rights to the Avalanche last June in exchange for future considerations. He immediately inked a one-year (and, surprisingly, two-way) contract with the Avs, who were facing a heavy amount of turnover among their depth forwards.

As a result, Olofsson cracked the squad out of camp during his second NHL try. He spent most of this season centering Colorado’s fourth line but hasn’t been much of a factor, recording nine points, a -5 rating, an abysmal 39.7 FO%, and subpar possession metrics in heavy defensive usage while averaging only 9:45 per game. He hasn’t avoided minor-league assignments, either, as Colorado placed him on waivers and assigned him to AHL Colorado in late February. The team recalled him under emergency conditions shortly after the trade deadline, with injuries sidelining multiple depth forwards such as Zach Parise and Chris Wagner, but he was returned to the minors after a five-day stint with the Avs.

Now back with the Eagles, where he has six points and a +8 rating in eight games, it seems likely Olofsson will head back to Europe for increased ice time and responsibility, even if a deal with Zug falls through. If the report comes to fruition, though, Olofsson would be joining one of the top teams in Switzerland – Zug won back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022 and has made the NL championship series four times since 2017. The club is currently tied 1-1 in their first-round series against SC Bern as the NL postseason began earlier this week. The team boasts only a handful of players with NHL experience, though – only former Blue Jackets winger Gregory Hofmann, former Devils center Brian O’Neill, and former Canucks winger Marc Michaelis, who all combine to only 61 games.

Central Notes: Tanev, Stastney, Avalanche

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Chris Tanev’s time in Dallas has been limited so far – just five games since being acquired – but GM Jim Nill already knows he’d like to have the veteran in the fold for the long haul.  Speaking with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Nill expressed a desire to re-sign the pending UFA after the season:

Whenever you make a move for somebody you like, and you’ve done your research on, and I’ve seen Chris Tanev play a lot, heard all the stories about him, and now we get to live it and stuff. And he has everything we’ve heard, living up to the billing, so we think he’s a great fit for us. Let’s get the games going, let’s get the playoffs going. And but he’s definitely a guy that if we can make it work, we’d love to bring him back here.

The 34-year-old rarely puts up points but is known as one of the better defensive blueliners in the NHL.  Accordingly, he is well-positioned to earn a raise on his current $4.5MM price tag in the summer, one that will be tricky for the Stars to afford within their salary structure.

More from the Central Division:

  • The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Spencer Stastney is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old was injured on Thursday, his first game with Nashville since mid-December.  Stastney has a goal in ten NHL contests so far this season while he has chipped in with 20 points in 44 appearances with AHL Milwaukee.  With Dante Fabbro also injured, Nashville is down to just six healthy defensemen so they may recall someone before today’s game against Seattle.
  • Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen is expected to return tonight versus Edmonton after missing the last two games due to illness, relays play-by-play voice Conor McGahey (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been limited to just 30 games so far this season but has done well when he has been in the lineup, collecting 11 goals and 11 assists.  Meanwhile, McGahey adds that wingers Zach Parise and Jonathan Drouin are also expected to return tonight.  Parise has missed two straight with a lower-body injury while Drouin missed Wednesday’s contest with a lower-body injury of his own.  Parise has seven points in 15 games in his final NHL season while Drouin has done well, picking up 38 points in 64 appearances so far.
  • With those returns, the Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned forward Fredrik Olofsson to AHL Colorado. The 27-year-old played in two games on this recall to bring his season total to 57.  Olofsson has nine points in those appearances while averaging 9:45 per contest.

Avalanche Reassign Chris Wagner, Recall Fredrik Olofsson

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The Avalanche have assigned forward Chris Wagner to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles after he recovered from an undisclosed injury he sustained last week, per a team announcement. Winger Fredrik Olofsson was recalled to the Avalanche in a corresponding transaction, keeping Colorado’s active roster at 24 and their remaining LTIR salary pool at $2.1MM.

With today’s move, the Avs have used two of their four allotted post-deadline recalls. The first one was used on backup netminder Justus Annunen, who was briefly assigned to the Eagles on deadline day to make him eligible for the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Wagner, 32, has been limited to 20 combined NHL and AHL games this year after sustaining an Achilles injury during training camp. He returned to action with the Eagles in January, where he was solid with seven points in 11 games before earning a recall to the Avs in mid-February. Playing spot duty on the fourth line, the Massachusetts native posted an assist and a +2 rating in nine games while logging just 7:46 per game, a career low. Since he’s been rostered for 30 days and played less than 10 games since clearing waivers in January, he doesn’t need them again for today’s transaction.

The 27-year-old Olofsson gets another shot with the big club after they opted to waive him near the end of February. After acquiring his signing rights in a trade from the Stars last June, the Avs inked Olofsson to a one-year, two-way deal ($775K NHL/$300K AHL/$350K guarantee). He managed to stick on the roster out of camp and spent the first 60% of the season in a fourth-line role, recording career highs with three goals and nine points in 55 games while posting a -3 rating and averaging 9:53 per game. He played six games on his AHL assignment, recording three assists and a +5 rating. The native of Helsingborg, Sweden, will serve as Colorado’s 13th forward while Zach Parise is dealing with a knee injury and Logan O’Connor is done for the year after undergoing hip surgery.

Wagner, signed to a one-year, two-way deal, earns $375K in salary while on assignment to the AHL. He’ll be a UFA this summer, as will Olofsson.

Avalanche Reassign Fredrik Olofsson

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Feb. 26: Colorado waited a day to do it, but they’ve officially assigned Olofsson to the minors, per a team announcement. They’re left with one open spot on the 23-man roster.

Feb. 25: Olofsson cleared waivers Sunday and can be assigned to the AHL, Friedman reports.

Feb. 24: The Avalanche placed left wing Fredrik Olofsson on waivers Saturday for the purposes of assignment to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

With no pending IR activations or corresponding roster moves, this is likely a performance-based demotion for the 27-year-old. He was a healthy scratch in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Red Wings and is mired in a 12-game pointless streak.

If he clears waivers Sunday, assigning Olofsson to the minors will trim the Avalanche roster to 22 and create $775K in cap space. This is the first time he has been sent down in nearly a year; he was last assigned to the AHL on Mar. 5, 2023, when he was a member of the Dallas Stars, and was recalled the next day.

Olofsson has three goals, six assists, nine points, and a -3 rating in 55 games for Colorado after they acquired his signing rights from Dallas in June 2023 and subsequently signed him to a one-year, two-way contract. A fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014, Olofsson never signed with Chicago and only made his NHL debut last season after signing with the Stars in free agency.

While he was valuable in a fourth-line shutdown role for Dallas in 28 games, he hasn’t provided the same value to the Avs. Averaging 9:53 per game, Olofsson has a 39% faceoff win rate, a Corsi-for percentage at even strength of 45.8, and an expected rating of -1.6. He’s been tasked more at center in Colorado than in Dallas, potentially contributing to his significantly reduced possession impacts.

Without Olofsson, 32-year-old Chris Wagner is centering Colorado’s fourth line between enforcer Kurtis MacDermid and former Star Joel Kiviranta. Wagner has no points in three games after missing the first three months of the season while rehabbing an Achilles injury. He spent most of the last two months on assignment with the Eagles, readjusting to game pace, posting three goals and seven points in 11 games.

Olofsson will be paid at a $300K salary rate while in the minors, and his minimum guaranteed salary this season is $350K. He will be a UFA this summer.

Central Notes: Spurgeon, Duchene, Faksa, Olofsson

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Having already satisfied his long-term injured reserve requirements, Minnesota Wild captain, Jared Spurgeon, was eligible to return to the team’s game against the New York Rangers, but was still not fully available. Speaking with head coach Dean Evason today, Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News reports that Spurgeon may return to the lineup on the team’s current road trip.

Because there has been no official word up to this point, it is unlikely that Spurgeon will be back in the lineup tomorrow as the Wild take on the New York Islanders, but with games against the Buffalo Sabres and Rangers at the end of the weeks, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see Spurgeon back at that point.

Minnesota could certainly use the help, as the team has allowed an average amount of high-danger scoring chances for the opposing team, but the conversion rate of 11.2% for the other team is the sixth worst in the NHL up to this point. Playing in 79 games for the team last year, Spurgeon scored 11 goals and 23 assists, keeping pace with his usual production over his career, all while averaging over 21 minutes of ice time per game.

Other notes:

  • In what is expected to be one of the more competitive games of the week, the Dallas Stars will take on the Boston Bruins tonight but will be without two forwards. Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News reports that forwards Matt Duchene (day-to-day) and Radek Faksa (day-to-day) will not be in the lineup tonight. This will likely be the only game Duchene misses due to his injury and will be Faksa’s third straight missed game.
  • Colorado Avalanche depth forward, Fredrik Olofsson is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury according to Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now. In his first season in Colorado, Olofsson has played in 10 games, scoring one goal while averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time per night. It remains to be seen whether or not he will be in the lineup for the team’s game tomorrow night against the New Jersey Devils.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire, Extend Fredrik Olofsson

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The Dallas Stars have dealt the rights to pending unrestricted free agent forward Fredrik Olofsson to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for future considerations, the team announced today. The Avalanche then immediately announced a one-year extension for Olofsson, with CapFriendly reporting a two-way deal worth $775,000 in the NHL and $300,000 in the AHL with $350,000 guaranteed.

Olofsson’s 2022-23 campaign was his first in North America after he signed with Dallas as a free agent. He wasn’t undrafted, though – the Chicago Blackhawks selected him with the 98th overall pick in 2014 but never signed him to an entry-level contract.

He showed flashes of solid fundamentals at points with the Stars but never made much of an impact at the scoresheet, even at the AHL level, where he recorded 14 points in 37 games with the Texas Stars. That low production was likely influenced by an extreme lack of stability, however. Olofsson was one of Dallas’ top call-up options throughout the year and was sent up and down more than 20 times, given he didn’t need to clear waivers to head up and down between leagues. After one season under contract, though, he will now require waivers if Colorado wants to send him to the AHL Eagles.

Olofsson, 27, is a marginal but much-needed depth add for the Avalanche, whose bottom six looks absolutely barren right now with many veterans on expiring deals. Depth scoring was easily the team’s biggest weakness last season, and they’ll likely need a by-committee approach to fix it in 2023-24. Olofsson will likely come in as a cost-effective option with more NHL (and professional experience) than others looking for NHL time in the organization.

AHL Shuffle: 03/06/23

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The following players were either recalled or sent down between their NHL clubs and their respective AHL affiliates.

  • Goalie Matt Murray was an emergency recall by the Dallas Stars from the Texas Stars, according to CapFriendly Murray was signed as an undrafted free agent last summer, and has appeared in one game for Dallas this season, his first NHL action.
  • Forward Fredrik Olofsson was also an emergency recall by the Dallas Stars, according to CapFriendly. Oloffson was a fourth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014, and has recorded one goal and three assists in 20 games this season, his first in the NHL.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid to the Colorado Eagles, according to CapFriendly. Kinkaid, 33, has appeared in two games this season, one each for the Boston Bruins and Avalanche. He has been shuffled between the NHL and AHL since arriving in Colorado.
  • Per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, the Montreal Canadiens have reassigned defenseman Frederic Allard to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Montreal acquired Allard in a minor trade with the Los Angeles Kings on deadline day, and the 25-year-old played in just the second game of his NHL career yesterday against Vegas, as Montreal’s defense is depleted with injuries. Allard heads back to the minors, where he had seven points in 35 games with the Ontario Reign before the trade to the Canadiens organization.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled goalie Arturs Silovs from the Abbotsford Canucks under emergency conditions, per the team. He’ll start tonight’s game instead of Collin Delia, who’s unavailable with a non-COVID illness. Silovs has a .908 save percentage and a 2-2-0 record in four NHL appearances, all coming this season.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Dallas Stars Loan Fredrik Olofsson, Matt Murray To AHL

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The well-worn track between the NHL and AHL for a pair of Dallas Stars players saw more traffic today. As announced by the team Sunday afternoon, forward Fredrik Olofsson and goalie Matt Murray have been loaned to the AHL’s Texas Stars.

Murray heading to the AHL could be a sign that backup Scott Wedgewood is ready to return from an undisclosed injury that’s kept him out for much of the past few weeks. Wedgewood last played just over two weeks ago and was heating up with a .920 save percentage in his last five starts, although a lack of goal support left him with just a 1-4-0 record. An AHL presence for most of his career, the 30-year-old Wedgewood has done well since earning the full-time backup gig in Dallas.

The “other” Matt Murray made his NHL debut three nights ago, stopping 19 of 21 shots in a 5-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. He returns to Texas, now indisputably the team’s third-string goalie after Anton Khudobin was dealt to the Blackhawks in this week’s Max Domi trade.

Olofsson, 26, is still waiver-exempt and will likely continue to return to Texas as breaks in Dallas’ schedule allow. With accruing salary cap space nor roster limits in consideration after the trade deadline, Olofsson’s deployment by Dallas isn’t affected by any financial motivations. The undrafted free agent has played in 20 games with Dallas this season, registering a goal and three assists.

Minor Transactions: 03/01/23

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It’s been quite the day for major NHL transactions, with eight completed trades (at the time of writing) and one maximum-term extension for the captain of an original six franchise. With all the craziness that has transpired today, some minor moves have snuck under the radar. We’ll keep track of all of those moves here.

  • The Arizona Coyotes have recalled defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He fills the vacated spot on their roster left by today’s trade of Shayne Gostisbehere to the Carolina Hurricanes. The 21-year-old native of Belarus has played in 54 games for the Roadrunners this season, often as a top-four defenseman. He’s a 2019 second-round pick who got his first taste of NHL action last year, when he played in 32 games in Arizona, scoring three points. He’s a quick, aggressive defenseman who will get a chance to put some quality games on tape as he looks to establish himself as a full-time NHLer.
  • Forward Ben Meyers and defenseman Brad Hunt have been recalled from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles to their NHL affiliate, the Colorado Avalanche. Hunt will be paired with Jack Johnson on coach Jared Bednar’s bottom-pairing, while Meyers will likely be a healthy scratch, according to a team release relayed by The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Meyers, a top college free agent signing last spring, has scored just one point in 32 NHL games this season (he has nine points in 17 AHL games) while Hunt, 34, has six points in 32 games this season and 21 points in 24 games at the AHL level.
  • In the wake of the team’s stunning acquisition of legendary goaltender Jonathan Quick last night, the Blue Jackets have loaned netminder Jet Greaves to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. The 21-year-old departs Columbus’ roster without having yet played in an NHL game. He’s an undrafted OHL product who split last season between AHL Cleveland and the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings and has started 29 games for the Monsters this year.
  • The Dallas Stars have placed veteran forward Luke Glendening on injured reserve, retroactive to February 17th. In addition, the Stars called up forwards Frederik Olofsson and Fredrik Karlstrom, as well as netminder Matt Murray. Both Olofsson and Karlstrom have been shuffled from the AHL’s Texas Stars to Dallas quite a few times in recent weeks, while the 25-year-old Murray is still seeking his first NHL game.
  • In the shadow of their two parent organizations’ far more major trade, the AHL affiliates of the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks (the Hartford Wolf Pack and Rockford IceHogs, respectively) have made an AHL trade. Hartford has acquired Adam Clendening, who played 31 games for the Rangers in 2016-17, in exchange for Zach Jordan. In 48 games for Rockford this year Clendening has played in a top-four role and scored 24 points. Meanwhile, Jordan, 26, has spent most of the year in the ECHL save for one game spent with the Wolf Pack.
  • The Wolf Pack made another trade, sending forward Alex Whelan to AHL Cleveland. The 25-year-old turned pro in 2020-21 after a solid four-year collegiate career at Quinnipiac. He played full-time last season for Hartford, scoring 16 points in 62 games, but has spent time in the ECHL this season. He’ll get a fresh start in Cleveland and help the Monsters deal with the significant injury disruptions they have faced this season.
  • Point-per-game SHL defenseman Theodor Lennstrom is leaving Sweden for next season. Per a team announcement, Switzerland’s HC Geneve-Servette has signed Lennstrom to a two-year deal, running through the 2024-25 season. Lennstrom has played the last two seasons for Farjestad BK, scoring 14 points in 19 playoff games last season on their run to an SHL Championship victory. Lennstrom also won the Champions Hockey League with Frolunda in 2019-20 and will hope to add to his trophy cabinet in the Swiss league.
  • Ludvig Larsson is set to leave Rogle for Orebro, according to a report from SportExpressen. The former Pennsylvania State Bulldog and Binghamton Devil has scored 15 goals and 26 points this season for Rogle, and has proved himself to be a quality winger in the SHL. Now 27 years old, he’ll head to Orebro, the club of Leo Carlsson, a player projected to go near the top of the 2023 NHL draft.
  • With Anaheim Ducks prospect Calle Clang set to cross the Atlantic for next season, Rogle are finalizing negotiations to find a new goaltender. Per a report from SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson, they are set to bring in 2017 Colorado Avalanche fourth-rounder Petr Kvaca, an accomplished three-year starter in the Czech league. Kvaca was named the Czech Extraliga’s best netminder in 2020-21, when he posted a .924 save percentage in 41 games. He has a .925 in 41 games this season, and is a promising investment for a Rogle team looking to return to the top end of the SHL standings.
  • Philipp Lindner, an everyday defenseman and alternate captain for Austrian club Villacher SV, has tacked on two years to his contract with the ICEHL team, bringing its expiration date to the end of the 2025-26 season. The 27-year-old is a veteran of nearly 350 games in Austria’s top league, a competition that includes clubs from multiple Central European countries, and has scored 24 points in 42 games this season.
  • Now an established regular contributor in the Czech Extraliga, 21-year-old David Vitouch has earned a two-year extension with his club, HC Sparta Praha.  Despite his relatively young age he already has over 150 games of experience in Czechia’s top pro league, and has scored 12 points in 50 games this season.

Snapshots: Dumba, Olofsson, Boqvist

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The Minnesota Wild have acted as a banker the last few weeks, retaining salary in two transactions to grab some extra draft capital. Given their place in the standings, though, many assume they will do something more significant at the deadline. General manager Bill Guerin spoke candidly about his team today, once again answering specific questions on Matt Dumba:

Look. If someone comes through and offers a boatload for him we’ll think about it, but as of right now, Matt’s playing his best hockey of the year. I would bet that he’s here through the end of the year. I can’t make that promise, but he’s playing pretty good hockey right now. 

Dumba, 28, is on an expiring contract, and despite Guerin’s comments that he’ll be in Minnesota through the end of the season, he once again implied that the team wouldn’t be able to (or wouldn’t even try to) re-sign him in the summer. Minnesota is in fourth in the Central but just four points behind the division-leading Dallas Stars.

  • Speaking of Dallas, they have once again loaned Fredrik Olofsson to the minor leagues, as they do on almost every off-day. The Stars have been banking cap space all season, and today’s addition of Evgenii Dadonov opened up even more room, due to the salary retention by the Montreal Canadiens. The team now has plenty of flexibility going into this week’s negotiations and could add another significant player.
  • Adam Boqvist was scratched from today’s Columbus Blue Jackets game due to a lower-body injury but is only out day-to-day, according to the team. The young defenseman was playing arguably his best hockey of the season lately, registering points in five of his last six games. He was replaced in the lineup by Billy Sweezey, who is making his NHL debut while Vladislav Gavrikov continues to sit out.

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