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Gustav Olofsson

Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Gustav Olofsson

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The Montreal Canadiens are busy looking ahead to next season, announcing today that they have agreed to terms with defenseman Gustav Olofsson on a one-year two-way contract extension. The deal carries a $750K salary in the NHL, $250K salary in the AHL and a $350K guarantee for the 2020-21 season.

Olofsson, 25, was acquired in 2018 from the Minnesota Wild but missed nearly the entire 2018-19 season after suffering a shoulder injury in the minor leagues. That ended any chance of him helping the Canadiens last year when they could have really used him, and left him in a minor league role again this season. In 57 games for the Laval Rocket he has recorded 16 points, but only received three games in the NHL with Montreal. That takes him to 59 for his career, meaning he would have qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency at the end of the season.

In that sense, Montreal is buying out a UFA year for just over the minimum NHL salary with a player that has shown the ability to contribute at the highest level in the past. Whether or not he will see any time with the Canadiens depends on the other moves they make in the offseason, but he can at least serve as experienced depth and a leader on the Rocket blueline.

The Unleashed 2020: Potential Group VI Unrestricted Free Agents

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Though most players have to wait until after their 27th birthday to become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team in the league without compensation, there are a few other ways to get to the open market. Players that complete seven full seasons in the NHL are eligible for UFA status, as are restricted free agents that do not receive qualifying offers. There is another way however, offered to those players who don’t get a long opportunity in the NHL but have put in several years at the professional level: Group VI unrestricted free agency.

Earlier this month, CapFriendly compiled a complete list of players on track to become free agents early. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:

  1. The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
  2. The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
  3. The player has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.

The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.

*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency

Anaheim Ducks

Andrew Poturalski
Justin Kloos

Arizona Coyotes

(none)

Boston Bruins

Ryan Fitzgerald

Buffalo Sabres

(none)

Calgary Flames

Ryan Lomberg
Rinat Valiev
Jon Gillies

Carolina Hurricanes

(none)

Chicago Blackhawks

(none)

Colorado Avalanche

Antoine Bibeau

Columbus Blue Jackets

Doyle Somerby

Dallas Stars

Gavin Bayreuther
Dillon Heatherington

Detroit Red Wings

(none)

Edmonton Oilers

Colby Cave*
Shane Starrett

Florida Panthers

Danick Martel
Jack Rodewald

Los Angeles Kings

(none)

Minnesota Wild

Carson Soucy

Montreal Canadiens

Laurent Dauphin
Gustav Olofsson

Nashville Predators

Michael McCarron*

New Jersey Devils

Brandon Baddock
Dakota Mermis

New York Islanders

Jordan Schmaltz

New York Rangers

Boo Nieves*
Vinni Lettieri
Danny O’Regan
Nick Ebert

Ottawa Senators

Morgan Klimchuk

Philadelphia Flyers

Reece Wilcox

Pittsburgh Penguins

Riley Barber
Thomas Di Pauli
Adam Johnson

San Jose Sharks

Anthony Greco

St. Louis Blues

Mackenzie MacEachern*
Andreas Borgman

Tampa Bay Lightning

Daniel Walcott
Patrick Sieloff
Spencer Martin

Toronto Maple Leafs

Kasimir Kaskisuo

Vancouver Canucks

Ashton Sautner

Vegas Golden Knights

Valentin Zykov
Oscar Dansk

Washington Capitals

Liam O’Brien
Colby Williams
Tyler Lewington

Winnipeg Jets

J.C. Lipon

Minor Transactions: 12/04/19

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After a busy Tuesday night in the NHL there are just four games on the schedule for this evening. One of those will see the Pittsburgh Penguins try to cobble together a healthy lineup in order to take on the reigning Stanley Cup champions, while another has Nazem Kadri returning to Toronto for the first time since an offseason trade took him to the Colorado Avalanche. As teams prepare, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Dennis Gilbert from the minor leagues, while Duncan Keith continues to deal with injury. Keith has already been ruled out of the Blackhawks two-game road trip, meaning Gilbert gets another chance to be on an NHL roster.
  • Mathieu Olivier has been reassigned to the minor leagues by the Nashville Predators, after playing in his first eight NHL contests. The young forward recorded one point in those games, but will have to wait for his next opportunity.
  • The Montreal Canadiens have sent Gustav Olofsson to the minor leagues, and later recalled Otto Leskinen for the first time in his career. Leskinen was signed just last spring to an entry-level contract after impressing in Finland, and has 12 points in 24 games for the Laval Rocket.
  • Mikhail Vorobyev has been recalled by the Philadelphia Flyers, who moved Michal Raffl to long-term injured reserve today. Raffl will be out up to a month with a broken finger, meaning Vorobyev might get a solid look in the NHL.
  • Jean-Sebastien Dea has been returned to the minor leagues by the Buffalo Sabres, as they prepare for their Western Conference road trip. The Sabres will have Kyle Okposo with the team during that trip, though it is not clear yet if he will play after dealing with another concussion.
  • Brian Gibbons has been recalled by the Carolina Hurricanes, who missed Andrei Svechnikov at practice as he deals with a minor injury. Gibbons, 31, is always one of the team’s first injury call-ups and has been up and down all season.
  • Filip Chlapik has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Ottawa Senators, who are in Edmonton today to play the Oilers. That likely signals that J.C. Beaudin or Mikkel Boedker will be back in the lineup tonight, according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.
  • After moving Antti Suomela to injured reserve, the San Jose Sharks have recalled Lean Bergmann from the AHL. Bergmann, 21, has played in eight games for the Sharks this season but spent most of the year with the San Jose Barracuda where he has 12 points in 15 games.

Gustav Olofsson Placed On Waivers

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Friday: Olofsson has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the AHL.

Thursday: The Montreal Canadiens have placed Gustav Olofsson on waivers, indicating that the defenseman is now healthy enough to return to action. Olofsson was originally placed on season-opening injured reserve, but will likely be sent to the minor leagues if he clears waivers.

Olofsson, 24, was acquired from the Minnesota Wild exactly a year ago, but after playing just two games with the Laval Rocket re-injured his shoulder and needed surgery. That ended his 2018-19 season and after suffering another upper-body prior to training camp this year, the young defenseman hasn’t been able to get into any action.

Originally selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, it’s been tough sledding so far for the 6’2″ Swede. If he can get healthy again and start contributing for the Rocket there’s a good chance he would be one of the first few call-ups for Montreal, but at this point it’s hard to know what kind of an impact he could make. In 56 NHL games for the Wild, he has 11 points.

Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Gustav Olofsson

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The Montreal Canadiens have agreed to terms with pending restricted free agent Gustav Olofsson on a one-year two-way deal. The contract will pay Olofsson $700K in the NHL level, and guarantee him at least $300K. The 24-year old defenseman will be a Group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of the deal if he fails to play in 24 NHL games this season.

Olofsson was acquired by the Canadiens last October, but ended up playing in just two AHL games all season thanks to a shoulder injury. That meant he wasn’t able to help Montreal as they dealt with injuries on the NHL club, and sent him into this offseason in uncertain territory. Apparently he did enough to impress the front office and will try to show he can be an asset to the organization in 2019-20.

Montreal now has just three more defensemen to make a decision on, as Jordie Benn (UFA), Mike Reilly (RFA) and Brett Lernout (RFA) are the only free agents remaining. Even before any big moves this summer the team has a good amount of depth on the blue line, though it could probably use an upgrade at the NHL level if the Canadiens want to return to the playoffs. Olofsson isn’t that just yet, but don’t be surprised if he gets an opportunity to show he belongs at the highest level.

Gustav Olofsson Out Six Months Following Shoulder Surgery

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It has been a rough month for defenseman Gustav Olofsson.  After suffering a shoulder injury in training camp with Minnesota, he eventually was waived and passed through unclaimed.  He then was flipped to Montreal but in just his second game with their AHL affiliate in Laval, he suffered a recurrence of the injury.  Arpon Basu of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that this latest injury will keep him shelved for six months after undergoing successful surgery today.  Barring a faster-than-expected recovery, this will end his season.

Olofsson is no stranger to shoulder issues as he missed almost his entire rookie year with one back in 2014-15 as well as part of the 2015-16 campaign with another one.  Despite that, he still showed some potential with the Wild and got into 41 games with the team last season.  Clearly, Montreal liked his upside as they dealt a decent prospect in winger Will Bitten to acquire him after he cleared waivers to give them some more depth on the back end.  Anticipating a lengthy recovery, the Canadiens signed blueliner Ryan Sproul to a minor league tryout deal to take Olofsson’s place on the roster last week.

The 23-year-old is in the final season of a two-year contract that pays him $775K.  That means he’ll be owed a qualifying offer of just under $814K and given that this will be the second time in five seasons that he effectively is missing an entire year due to injury, it’s not exactly a given that Montreal will be tendering him that offer in June.

Montreal Acquires Gustav Olofsson From Minnesota

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After clearing waivers earlier today, Gustav Olofsson is on his way to the Montreal Canadiens organization. The Minnesota Wild have traded the depth defenseman to the Canadiens in exchange for forward Will Bitten. Olofsson will be able to report directly to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.

Olofsson, 23, is a fairly interesting player for the Canadiens, who seem to be collecting young defensemen that were in tough situations when it comes to playing time. With a defense corps that is expected to struggle without Shea Weber for the first half of the season—and perhaps even after he returns—taking chances with players like Olofsson or Brett Kulak makes a lot of sense. There’s no guarantee that Olofsson will make an impact at the NHL level, but with a solid draft pedigree (46th overall in 2013) and 41 games or reasonably reliable defensive play last season there is at least some hope that he will.

Interestingly though they needed to give up Bitten, despite having a chance to claim Olofsson for free. That would have required them to keep the young defenseman on their NHL team or risk him being reclaimed by the Wild at some point, but giving up on a 2016 third-round pick in Bitten is a bit tough to swallow. There’s not elite offensive potential in the 20-year old forward, but few have ever come away from a Bitten viewing without noticing his incredible work ethic and drive. Scoring 64 points in 62 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs last season, Bitten was also one of the more effective defensive forwards in the OHL. That’s not always an indicator for success at the professional level, but the Canadiens now won’t even get the chance to find out.

Wild Investigating The Trade Market For Gustav Olofsson

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Although he wasn’t among their cuts today, Wild defenseman Gustav Olofsson may not be with the team too much longer.  Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that the team has investigated what they could potentially get for him on the trade market.

The 23-year-old is dealing with a shoulder issue at the moment and it’s not known if he is even healthy enough to be cleared to play just yet.

Last season, the 2013 second round pick (46th overall) split time between the third pairing and the press box.   He suited up in 41 games for Minnesota, collecting eight assists and 14 penalty minutes while averaging just below 13 minutes per night.  He did not play during their first-round exit at the hands of Winnipeg.

When healthy, Olofsson appears to be in a similar fate as last year where he projects to be an extra on the roster.  It’s not ideal for a young player to continue to be in that situation so it’s not surprising to see Minnesota looking to see what type of trade market is out there for him as his value will likely drop the longer he sits while getting something would guarantee at least some sort of return over risking losing him for nothing on the waiver wire.

Olofsson is in the second and final year of a contract he signed in June of 2017 that carries a cap hit of $725K and a $775K salary.  He will be owed a qualifying offer of just under $814K next summer.

Central Notes: Tolvanen, Gunnarsson, Crawford, Wild

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Predators prospect Eeli Tolvanen’s European Assignment Clause allows him to decide to leave AHL Milwaukee after ten games with the team, reports Paul Skrbina of The Tennessean.  The scribe adds that if the winger opted to go back to the KHL (it’s not an automatically-triggered clause), he could not return for the rest of the season.  Given that Tolvanen was projecting to be a depth player as their roster currently stands, they opted to send him down to maximize his playing time but if he wants to force their hand, Nashville will have a decision to make about his playing future within the next few weeks.

Elsewhere in the Central:

  • Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson has still not been cleared for contact as he continues his recovery from offseason hip and knee surgery, notes Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Accordingly, it’s highly unlikely that the veteran will be available to start the season.  Between this and the suspension to Robert Bortuzzo yesterday, St. Louis will be down a couple of regular defenders when their season gets underway on Thursday.
  • Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville told reporters, including Jimmy Greenfield of the Chicago Tribune, that goaltender Corey Crawford is on track to practice with the team next week. While that doesn’t bode well for his odds of being available to start the season, he shouldn’t miss too much time past the opener.  In the meantime, that will allow the team to keep Anton Forsberg up to start the season instead of running him through waivers over the next couple of days.
  • Wild winger Luke Kunin will be evaluated on Tuesday to assess his recovery from offseason ACL surgery, reports Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. The initial timeline for him to be ready was seven months and that mark will be reached next week.  However, even if he gets the green light to resume full practice work, he still won’t be ready for the season opener.  Meanwhile, blueliner Gustav Olofsson has resumed skating on his own as he works his way back from a shoulder injury but there remains no timetable for his return to the lineup.

Snapshots: Stone, Panthers, Olofsson

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As if being an Ottawa Senators fan wasn’t hard enough right now, a report surfaced this morning that suggested Mark Stone wanted out of the city when his contract expired at the end of this season. Stone settled with the Senators this offseason on just a one-year deal that will pay him $7.35MM this season and qualifies for unrestricted free agency on July 1, 2019. The 26-year old forward was asked about the report after practice today, and denied it vehemently.

I love it here. This has been a great month for me, I’ve enjoyed my previous four years here and I want to continue to be here. 

As a player you’re looking to win every time you step on the ice. No matter who you’re playing with, no matter who’s in the lineup you have to look at it the same way. Obviously [the Senators front office] has said they’re rebuilding, but I think for the guys in this locker room we’re looking to win hockey games and looking to win as many as we can.

Stone could potentially be one of the very best forwards available on the open market next summer if he decides not to re-sign with the Senators, and can’t actually put pen to paper on a contract extension until January 1st, 2019. Even if he is enjoying things right now, it’s a dangerous situation for the Senators to be in given their expected struggles this season. Still, Stone has never said anything to make Ottawa believe that he wouldn’t be willing to stay and was even in discussions on a long-term deal this offseason at one point.

  • Not only do the Florida Panthers have a new captain in Aleksander Barkov, but today they announced their entire leadership group. Keith Yandle, Aaron Ekblad, Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau will all wear an “A” as alternate captains at various times this season, solidifying that group of five as the core of the team going forward. Among them, only Yandle is older than 25 while Barkov and Ekblad are still just 22 and 23 respectively, giving the Panthers a chance to keep most of the group together for a long time. In fact, all five are signed through at least the 2021-22 season and should help Florida return to the playoffs at some point in the next few years.
  • Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) is reporting that Gustav Olofsson has suffered another shoulder injury, and there is fear that it is serious. Olofsson underwent an MRI yesterday, but there has been no update from the team as of yet. The 23-year old defenseman played 41 games for the Wild last season and could have perhaps battled for a full-time spot had he not suffered the injury. Selected in the second round five years ago, Olofsson has been limited by injury throughout his professional career and will hope for good news this time around.

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