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Jan Rutta

Lightning, Blackhawks Swap Slater Koekkoek And Jan Rutta

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Young defenseman Slater Koekkoek had one game remaining in his conditioning reassignment and the Tampa Bay Lightning had been searching for a trade partner before its expiration. They have found one, as TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report that Koekkoek is headed to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for veteran defenseman Jan Rutta. Also being exchanged are two late draft picks, as Chicago acquires a 2019 fifth-round pick and Tampa acquires a 2019 seventh-round pick, per the Blackhawks’ announcement.

This is the fourth trade made today alone, as the NHL trade market appears to be heating up. While Koekkoek had long been expected to be moved, Rutta comes as slightly more of a surprise. The 28-year-old cleared waivers and was sent to the AHL last month after recording just six points through 28 games. Rutta came over from his native Czech Republic last season as one of the best defenseman in the top Czech league. He carved out a role for himself with Chicago, registering 20 points in 57 games and showing flashes of brilliance at times. The Blackhawks resigned Rutta to a one-year,  $2.25MM contract that immediately turned on them as he struggled right off the bat this season. Given that he cleared waivers not long ago in the midst of a down season and the Blackhawks have since traded Brandon Manning and released Jason Garrison, Ruuta’s name had not been heard much on the rumor mill.

Yet, despite his struggles and impending free agency, not to mention being both older and having less NHL experience, the details of the trade imply Rutta is considered the better of the two players. Chicago acquired both Koekkoek, who the team may control as an impending restricted free agent, and the better of the two picks in the deal. Rutta is nice depth piece for Tampa Bay in their pursuit of a Stanley Cup, but Koekkoek has the higher ceiling and longevity. The No. 10 pick overall in 2012, the 24-year-old Koekkoek is a hard-working defenseman who possesses the puck well. However, he simply never played consistently well enough to earn a regular role for the Lightning and the risk of losing him for nothing on waivers had begun to hamstring their roster decisions. There is some question as to whether Koekkoek has the high-end skill of a true NHL defenseman, but he will get the opportunity to prove it one way or another for the struggling Blackhawks, who made a completely risk-free trade.

Chicago Blackhawks Place Jan Rutta On Waivers

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Friday: Rutta has cleared waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The defenseman has been assigned to the Rockford IceHogs, meaning $1.025MM of his cap hit will be buried. The remaining $1.225MM will continue to be applied to Chicago’s salary cap.

Thursday: The Chicago Blackhawks were apparently unable to find a trade partner that wanted to take one of their depth defensemen, and have now risked one to waivers. The team has placed Jan Rutta on waivers today, exposing the 28-year old to the entire league.

Rutta was originally signed out of the Czech Republic in 2017, and did well enough in a part-time role for the Blackhawks that they decided to offer him an extension this past March. He was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, and it took a one-year $2.25MM contract to convince him otherwise. That deal also includes a European Assignment Clause, which is a very important part of today’s transactions. If Rutta clears waivers and the Blackhawks attempt to assign him to the minor leagues, there’s a chance he could force them to send him to Europe instead.

The idea of him getting claimed might also be unlikely at this point. Though the right-handed defenseman has shown he’s capable of playing at an NHL level, his attributed cap hit may end up scaring off any team that shows interest. It’s likely what kept the Blackhawks from trading Rutta or Brandon Manning in the first place, given the uncertainty around whether they can actually help a team on a full-time basis. Contenders like Toronto, Boston and Edmonton could have use for this type of player, but might not want to commit all $2.25MM to what is essentially a lottery ticket at this point.

Chicago meanwhile finally ended an eight-game losing streak with a win over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night, and had Carl Dahlstrom make an immediate impact in his first game this season. The 23-year old played 22:34 in the game, only trailing Duncan Keith and the recently returned Connor Murphy in minutes from the blue line. The emergence of Dahlstrom and fellow youngster Henri Jokiharju have made Manning and Rutta expendable, at least as the team looks to try and rebuild their back end on the fly.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Trade Rumors: Senators, Blackhawks, Avalanche

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With leading scorer Matt Duchene on injured reserve and expected out for “weeks”, what little chances the Ottawa Senators had of making the playoffs this season are likely to slip away. This was always the expected result of the 2018-19 season for Ottawa, but their efforts thus far to stay out of the basement of the NHL have surprised many and inspired some. However, as reality now begins to finally set in, the team must decide what they want to do with Duchene and fellow impending free agents Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel. As Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun writes, Duchene – currently tied for ninth in the league in scoring – will likely ask for an eight-year deal in the ballpark of $60-70MM to remain in Ottawa, reflective of the salary he will likely command on the open market. Stone will be in the same neighborhood, with Dzingel significantly lower albeit not cheap by any means, but the Senators cannot even begin negotiations with the pair until the new year, per the rules pertaining to their recent salary arbitration decisions. As such, the team is dealing with three high-quality expiring assets without any guarantee that they will be re-sign or if the team will be willing to meet their salary demands. In a season in which Ottawa could finish with one of the worst records in the league but lacks their first-round pick – given to the Colorado  Avalanche in the deal that landed Duchene – it stands to reason that GM Pierre Dorion will strongly consider recouping as much trade capital as possible if extensions are not in place by the trade deadline. Given the uncertainly surrounding the ownership status of Eugene Melnyk, whose tactics thus far leave much to be desired anyway, Warren believes that Duchene, Stone, and Dzingel, as well as any other free agent in the coming off-season, will think twice about a future in Ottawa. All things considered, it’s beginning to look like the trio stand a better chance to all be traded away in the coming months than any of them do of signing a long-term extension.

  • The Athletic’s Graeme Nichols wonders if yet another Senator is prime trade bait right now as well. With veteran goaltender Craig Anderson playing his best hockey of the season so far, Nichols opines that Ottawa would be best-served to try moving their starter while his stock is high. While the recent home-and-home series with the Montreal Canadiens did not go so well, Anderson did look very good in wins over the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks prior, recording 63 saves on 65 shots over the two contests. Anderson also made 48 saves against the Dallas Stars last month and notched wins over the Tampa Bay Lighting and Pittsburgh Penguins. Admittedly, even as this best, Anderson is still a 37-year-old replacement-level goaltender at this point in his career and won’t command much of a return. However, the Senators’ season is sinking and they should get what they can while his value is potentially at its peak. The knock on moving Anderson this season has been that Ottawa has no suitable replacement – backups Mike Condon and Mike McKenna have performed very poorly in limited appearances – and thus trading Anderson means giving up on the season. Yet, with Duchene out long-term, any postseason hopes will fade and moving Anderson will begin to make more sense. As Nichols recalls, Anderson himself also alluded to a desire to move on from Ottawa this summer, so making a deal seems to be in the best interest of all parties. There are plenty of teams out there who would be intrigued by adding an established veteran in net this year and Anderson could soon fill that role.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks made it known yesterday that they are looking to move out some of their defensive depth, but NBC Sports’ James O’Brien asks if they are focused on the wrong players. Rather than try to flip the likes of Brandon Manning or Jan Rutta, for which they would receive relatively little, O’Brien believes that the team’s long-term needs would be better served by trading away a mainstay like Duncan Keith or Brent Seabrook. This is not so cut-and-dry, as O’Brien admits, but would be worth looking into. Both players carry no-trade clauses that Chicago GM Stan Bowman would first need to ask them to waive. Even if Seabrook was to agree, it seems very unlikely that Bowman would find a taker for the depreciating defenseman and his albatross of a contract. If by some chance he does, it would be a small return similar to Manning or Rutta, but with a far greater salary cap relief. Keith is another matter; while not what he once was, the 35-year-old is still a very capable defenseman who would play in the top four for nearly every team in the NHL, at least for now. The worry is that Keith will continue to age and his ability will fall off, while the Blackhawks continue to pay him more than $5.5MM per year and rely on him for top minutes. Removing that crutch (and cap hit) now, in what appears to be another lost season for the team, would give Chicago a strong return that they could use to begin rebuilding the team. The alternative, which also appears to be the current plan, of waiting for the current roster to turn things around, will only increase the risk of injury or drop-off from Keith while damaging his market value as he ages. A move now would be painful to the fan base in the short term, but the right move looking toward the future.
  • One team who could be a dangerous player at the trade deadline this season are the Colorado Avalanche. Per CapFriendly, the Avs are currently projected to have more than $56MM in cap space available at the deadline, or in other words have no limit to the amount of talent they can bring in if they so choose. Colorado is currently tied for the lead in the Central Division with the Nashville Predators and could even emerge as President’s Trophy threats this season. Armed with the best line in the NHL, including the top two scorers in the league, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon, and the best power play as well, the Avalanche are second in goals for per game among all teams. They also play well in their own end, seventh in goals against per game behind the efforts of Semyon Varlamov. Yet, the Avalanche are not without fault and could stand to add a contributor or two both on defense and up front. The team was expected to add top prospect Cale Makar to their blue line by the end of the regular season, but with his college squad, the UMass Minutemen, ranked No. 1 in the nation, Makar could be occupied through the Frozen Four tournament in mid-April. A capable puck-moving defenseman should thus be at the top of the list for Colorado, followed by an injection of offensive ability and two-way accountability among the forward corps, where their secondary scoring and penalty kill could both use work. While the matter of cost in trade capital is another question entirely, the Avalanche will have the cap space to hypothetically address their needs by adding the likes of Jordan Eberle, Kevin Hayes, and Jay Bouwmeester for example. That’s a dangerous premise for other contenders to consider as Colorado continues to excel this season.

Chicago Blackhawks Trying To Move Depth Defensemen

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In an all too predictable turn of events, the Chicago Blackhawks find themselves with too many depth defensemen. Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription required) is reporting that the team is now shopping Brandon Manning and Jan Rutta, while colleague Mark Lazerus notes that Chicago sent out a league-wide email trying to “undo a couple mistakes.”

Given Connor Murphy’s imminent return, the team is set to have eight healthy defensemen on the roster while only Henri Jokiharju and Gustav Forsling are waiver exempt. Neither of those two young players have done anything to justify sending them back down, but the Blackhawks might be forced to if they can’t find a taker for Manning or Rutta. Unfortunately, both of those 28-year old defensemen come with a $2.25MM cap hit this season—and in Manning’s case for 2019-20 as well—meaning they might not be too appealing for teams to take on at the moment.

There was plenty of speculation in the offseason that the Blackhawks would go after a bigger name to help their defense corps, but after signing Manning on July 1st and Brandon Davidson after a professional tryout, the group looked far from dominant. Behind Murphy, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, who are both now in their mid-thirties and beginning (or continuing perhaps) their decline, the team had a patchwork of short-term deals meant to hold the line until their prospects were ready. Forsling’s emergence this season isn’t entirely surprising, but few suspected Jokiharju to demand so much ice time so quickly. The 19-year old has arguably been the team’s best defenseman this season, though his minutes have been cut recently.

By keeping Jokiharju past the 10-game mark, the Blackhawks have already burned a year of his entry-level contract. Interestingly though the team could still potentially send him back to the junior ranks prior to his 40th game of the season, which would stop him from getting a year closer to unrestricted free agency. In recent years managers have become even more cognizant of that threshold, and given the team’s six-game losing streak and position near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, perhaps it is time to start looking towards the future. NHL seasoning is important, but Jokiharju looks like a player that will be a building block going forward and his contract status has to be a consideration.

Still, the most likely outcome here seems as though one of Manning or Rutta will be moved soon. GM Stan Bowman has already made a huge coaching change to try and fix his squad, and doesn’t seem in the mood to give up on a season just 30 games in.

The Anaheim Ducks were recently mentioned as looking for some defensive help on the left side, and Manning’s physical style and willingness to drop the gloves would likely be welcomed under head coach Randy Carlyle. There’s no evidence to suggest the two teams have been in touch, but shows that there are always teams looking to add some help on the blue line.

Jan Rutta Signs Contract Extension With Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Blackhawks are busy locking up some pending free agents, and have moved on to Jan Rutta. Today the team announced that Rutta has signed a one-year contract extension that will take him through the 2018-19 season. Rutta was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in July, but will be around for at least one more season. The deal carries a cap hit of $2.25MM, though the breakdown of salary to signing bonus has not yet been reported.

Rutta, 27, was signed out of the Czech professional league last summer after an impressive performance at the World Championships. Though the Czechs wouldn’t win a medal, Rutta and several teammates were the talk of the tournament and drew a ton of NHL interest. It’s paid off this season, as the defenseman has 19 points in 43 games with the Blackhawks and has taken on more responsibility as the season has progressed. Though he doesn’t engage physically as often as one might expect for a 6’3″ player, he still can hold his own in the defensive zone and get pucks up quickly to the Chicago forward group. He’s been one of the team’s key penalty killers when in the lineup, trailing only Gustav Forsling in average short-handed ice time.

The Blackhawks recently re-signed Erik Gustafsson for two years at a $1.2MM AAV, meaning that they have basically all of their defensemen from this season under contract going forward. Though Cody Franson will expire at year’s end, everyone from Brent Seabrook to Forsling are now signed for at least one more season. While that may be disappointing to many Blackhawks fans, there is still lots of time left to shake things up to try and get a different result in 2018-19.

Like every offseason, the Blackhawks will have some interesting decisions to make regarding cap space. After signing Rutta, the team has somewhere around $10MM to spend depending on where the cap ceiling lands for 2018-19. That’s not taking into account new contracts for Anthony Duclair, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tomas Jurco and John Hayden, which could eat away even further. That doesn’t leave a ton of room for improvement, meaning a player like Artem Anisimov could be on the block once his no-movement clause turns into a partial no-trade clause this summer.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported the financial details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 02/09/18

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As always, we’ll keep track of all the league’s minor transactions right here. Check back often throughout the day for updates.

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Carl Dahlstrom from the minor leagues, moving Jan Rutta to injured reserve retroactive to February 6th. Should Dahlstrom get into a game, it would be his NHL debut after spending the last few seasons in Rockford. This year, the 23-year old defenseman has 23 points in 47 AHL games.
  • Ryan White has been signed to a professional tryout by the Iowa Wild, after being released by the San Diego Gulls a few days ago. White finished last season with the Minnesota Wild after a trade from Arizona, and had nine points in 21 games with the Gulls this season. The 29-year old forward is fighting for another chance at an NHL contract, after playing 313 games in the league since being drafted in 2006.
  • Minnesota has also officially recalled Viktor Loov after acquiring him yesterday. Loov can serve as sort of insurance as the team deals with an injury to Jonas Brodin, though doesn’t offer a ton of upside. The 25-year old defenseman has just four NHL contests under his belt, all coming in 2015-16 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  • The Ottawa Senators have assigned Mike Blunden and Max McCormick to the minor leagues, as both Mark Stone and Derick Brassard are expected to play tomorrow night against the Maple Leafs. The Senators are on a two-game winning streak, and will look to keep it going if only to build some momentum towards next season.
  • Jason Garrison is heading back to the AHL, where he’s spent most of the season. The 33-year old veteran defenseman has suited up 35 times for the Chicago Wolves, compared to just eight matches for the Vegas Golden Knights. As he heads towards free agency this summer, it seems like he’ll be fighting just for a spot on an NHL roster in 2018-19.
  • The Anaheim Ducks have returned goaltender Reto Berra to San Diego of the AHL, freeing up the roster spot for John Gibson to be activated off injured reserve.  Anaheim also sent winger Nicolas Kerdiles back to San Diego, just a day after they originally recalled him.

Injury Notes: Blues, Coburn, Spurgeon, Carrier, Franson, Rutta, Jagr

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Injury news seems to be a daily affair in St. Louis as the St. Louis Blues are dealing multiple injuries at once, especially after the team learned that defenseman Jay Bouwmeester is expected to miss the weekend after he was put on injured reserve Friday with an unspecified injury, according to Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Now, Chris Pinkert of NHL.com writes that the team has a new injury to worry about as the team’s fourth-line center, Kyle Brodziak, is likely to miss Saturday’s game and is day-to-day with an unknown injury.

“He’s a little dinged up, that’s why he didn’t practice yesterday. We were hoping he could come in and feel better today, but that wasn’t the case,” Blues head coach Mike Yeo said. “Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”

Timmerman adds in a tweet that defenseman Alex Pietrangelo is making progress, but his status for Sunday’s game (the first game he is eligible for against the Winnipeg Jets is unknown. The scribe points out, however, that since it’s the second game of a home-and-home against the Jets, it’s unlikely the team would carry just six defensemen for two straight games, which suggests the team is confident that Pietrangelo will likely play on Sunday. Another factor on defense was the status of veteran defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, whose status was questionable Friday after taking a shot off his right leg, which forced him to leave practice yesterday. Pinkert adds that he’s OK and is expected to play Saturday.

Other injury notes in the NHL:

  • Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith tweets that defenseman Braydon Coburn is likely to return tonight against the Avalanche. Coburn has missed seven games and hasn’t played since Nov. 29 with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old veteran has seven assists in 25 games this season.
  • With Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon not playing in today’s matchup against the Oilers, The Athletic’s Michael Russo tweets that it’s likely that Spurgeon will return to the Wild for tomorrow’s matchup with the Blackhawks. He has missed nine games for Minnesota with a groin injury. The 28-year-old has three goals and 12 assists in 23 games this season.
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp tweets that winger William Carrier, who has missed nine straight games with an upper-body injury, continues to practice in a non-contact jersey, but a return could be coming soon. Carrier’s presence and toughness has been missed. He has one goal and one assist in 20 games.
  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Hine tweets that Cody Franson and Jan Rutta could be back on the ice soon, possibly even tomorrow, according to coach Joel Quenneville. Franson has missed three games with an upper-body injury, while Rutta missed Thursday’s game against Winnipeg with an apparent head injury.
  • Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets that Jaromir Jagr is expected back into the lineup today after missing the past six games with a lower-body injury. He is expected to play on the team’s fourth line tonight.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Czech Defenseman Jan Rutta

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The Chicago Blackhawks have won the recruiting war over Jan Rutta, signing him to an entry-level contract. The 26-year old was only eligible to sign a one-year contract and will be an unrestricted free agent at its conclusion. Rutta had been pursued by several NHL teams after a solid performance at the World Championships and a big season in the Czech Republic. Last month his agent Allen Walsh of Octagon Hockey said that he would sign with an NHL club this year, and both Edmonton and Calgary had been reported to have interest.

Chicago had already signed teammate and fellow Czech free agent David Kampf this spring, as the Blackhawks attempt to fill their fringe roster spots with cheap contracts. The team looks like it will lose another impressive young player because of cap troubles, making European and college free agents the best choice to back-fill their roster with cheap but experienced talent. Though Kampf is only 22 and will likely spend some time in the AHL, Rutta is already 26 and has years of professional experience under his belt. He’ll be in competition for an NHL roster spot right away.

When you watch the 6’3″ right-handed shot, Rutta makes you wonder how he hasn’t already been given a chance in the NHL as he has both the skill and size to make it there. While he won’t wow you with any one tool, he controls his gaps and recovers pucks well enough in his own end and features solid skating ability to get it out of traffic. He does have some flair on the powerplay, where he was used as a quarterback in the Czech Republic. It’s not clear if that would be part of his role in Chicago, but he does have the ability to find open lanes with his shot and get penalty killers moving back and forth.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN was first to break the deal. 

Snapshots: Ryan, Ottawa Injuries, Rutta, Coreau

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Partway through the season, it seemed like a given that Senators GM Pierre Dorion would approach Bobby Ryan about waiving his no-move clause for the upcoming expansion draft.  However, after a postseason where he was dominant, Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun believes that he is now a must-protect player.

Ryan led all Ottawa forwards in scoring in the playoffs with 15 points (6-9-15) in 19 games and Brennan suggests that the 30 year old is now starting to better grasp head coach Guy Boucher’s system, something he said he was having some difficulty with earlier in the season.  However, it’s also hard to overlook the fact he has five years left on a deal that carries a cap hit of $7.25MM.  The Sens are a lower budget team and Ryan has yet to surpass 56 points in any of his four seasons with the team; freeing up that money would give them some flexibility heading into the rest of the offseason.

At the end of the day, despite his postseason success, the contract may be enough of a deterrent for Vegas anyway and if that’s the case, Dorion would be wise to see if Ryan would be willing to waive his no-move, allowing the team to protect an additional forward.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Still with the Sens, blueliner Mark Borowiecki has a torn labrum in his shoulder but will not require surgery this summer, reports Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun (Twitter links). Fellow defender Cody Ceci had also been dealing with injury issues; he mentioned to reports (including Garrioch) that he played with a broken finger more than once during the course of the year.
  • Czech defenseman Jan Rutta is leaning towards signing with the Blackhawks, Fox Sports Midwest Andy Strickland reports via Twitter. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that a final decision could come this weekend and that six teams are in the mix.  The 26 year old had a breakout season with Piráti Chomutov of the Czech Extraliga in 2016-17, recording a career high 32 points in 46 regular season games while tacking on another 13 points in 17 postseason contests.  He recently suited up for the Czechs at the World Championships, taking part in eight games while logging 15:22 of ice time per game.  Edmonton and Calgary are among the other teams who have shown interest in Rutta’s services.
  • With Detroit goalie Jared Coreau becoming waiver eligible next season and Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek on the roster, MLive’s Ansar Khan suggests that the Wings could carry three goalies to start next season if no one is moved over the summer. Coreau had a good start to his NHL stint last season but struggled in his final few outings which, coupled with his waiver situation, wouldn’t give him a lot of trade value at this time.  Khan notes that the team has gone this way in the past when they were worried about losing Joey MacDonald at the start of the year back in 2006-07 and already had Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood in the fold.  (They wound up waiving MacDonald later in the season, losing him to Boston.)

Chicago Blackhawks Still In Contention For Jan Rutta

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After his agent revealed that he was close to a decision last week, Jan Rutta is in the news again today. The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that the Chicago Blackhawks are still in contention for the Czech defender following his excellent performance at the World Championships. Darren Dreger of TSN had previously reported that both Edmonton and Calgary were also in the mix for the 26-year old.

It’s worthwhile to note that Rutta’s Czech teammate David Kampf has already signed with the Blackhawks, likely giving them a good understanding of what he can bring to the table after scouting him thoroughly this season. Where Rutta would fit into the Hawks’ defensive scheme going forward is unclear, though they will certainly need players on entry-level contracts to contribute this season as they are up against the cap again.

With the team seemingly about to lose Trevor van Riemsdyk in the expansion draft, many have called to try and get Brent Seabrook to waive his no-movement clause and accept a trade somewhere. The team desperately needs the cap room, and could use players like Rutta or Ville Pokka—who needs a new deal himself—to fill the minutes on the blueline.

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