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Janne Kuokkanen

Metropolitan Notes: Penguins Coaching, Roest, Kuokkanen

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The Pittsburgh Penguins’ coaching search continues to headline news out of the Metropolitan Division, as the squad seeks out their first change at head coach in the last decade. Their final rounds of interviews have led to two candidates emerging above the rest – Washington Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love, and former Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Love has been behind the Capitals’ bench for the last two seasons, after spending the two years prior serving as the head coach of Calgary’s AHL squad. Love worked in the WHL and Canada’s U17 and U18 squads for the better half of the 2010’s. He supported Team Canada’s Gold Medal wins at the 2016 U17 World Hockey Championship, 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and 2020 World Junior Championship. He also won the AHL’s ’Coach of the Year’ award in both of his two years in the league – 2021-22 and 2022-23. The past two years in Washington have marked Love’s first in the NHL in any capacity, and a move to head coach would mark a quick reward after he supported Pittsburgh’s rival to a second-round exit this season.

Smith sits as an interesting option opposite of Love. He has spent the last season-and-a-half in an assistant or associate coach role with the Los Angeles Kings, who hired him on the same day that he was fired from the Senators’ head coaching role in 2023. Smith posted a combined 131-154-32 record in just over four years with the Senators. He also has six years of experience as an NHL assistant coach, spread between tenures with the Toronto Maple Leafs and L.A. Kings. He’d be a hotly debated addition, though offers a much hardier pro coaching resume than Love.

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have parted ways with assistant general manager and AHL general manager Stacy Roest, per Ashley Wenskoski of CNY Central. Roest was a colleague of freshly-hired New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche during their shared time in Tampa Bay, and could be a candidate to join their front office. Roest has been with the Tampa Bay organization since the 2013-14 season, when he joined on as a Director of Player Development and AHL assistant coach. He was promoted to AHL GM in the 2019-20 season. Roest also played in 244 career games in the NHL, split between tenures with the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild. He ended his career with nine years in Switzerland’s National League, which allowed him to support Team Canada at six separate Spengler Cups.
  • Former Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils centerman Janne Kuokkanen has extended his tenure overseas. He has signed a four-year contract with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks. Kuokkanen played one season with Malmo in 2023-24 – scoring 44 points in 43 games – but opted to move to the National League for this season. He’ll reverse that decision one season later, after netting just 25 points in 35 games with Lausanne HC. Kuokkanen was a second-round selection in the 2016 NHL Draft and played in 119 NHL games split between the Hurricanes and Devils. He scored 14 goals and 42 points in those appearances.

Minor Transactions: 04/18/23

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It’s a busy day across the hockey world, with a group of first-round NHL playoff series set to begin tonight and a few European leagues playing finals games. In the NHL, the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils are beginning what is likely to be a heated series between two rivals, while the Seattle Kraken are making their playoff debut in a game against the Colorado Avalanche — with former Colorado netminder Philipp Grubauer in the crease.

In Europe, Djurgarden defeated MoDo in a significant matchup in their battle for promotion to the top-tier SHL, while in Germany ERC Ingolstadt made a crucial late push to defeat EHC Red Bull Munchen and avoid falling into a 3-0 hole in the DEL finals. In Austria, HC Bolzano managed a 4-3 victory over Red Bull Salzburg to force a deciding seventh game in the ICEHL’s finals. As fans all around the world enjoy the important games on the schedule today, many offseason moves are being made by teams whose seasons have ended. We’ll keep track of those transactions here.

  • 739-game NHL veteran Justin Abdelkader will not return to EV Zug, the team he played 2022-23 for, according to a team social media post. The 36-year-old played 24 games in his second tour with Zug, having skated nine games for them before in 2020-21. Abdelkader scored two goals and five points this season and added three points in five playoff games. Without a team at the moment for next season, it doesn’t seem out of the question that Abdelkader could end up retiring, though it’s also certainly possible that he decides to continue his pro career. In any case,  should Abdelkader choose to keep playing his next season won’t be with EV Zug.
  • Brynas IF has secured a major contract extension for their quest to be promoted back to the SHL. The team announced a three-year contract for former NHLer Johan Larsson, who ranked second among forwards in team scoring with 31 points in 45 games. (Former Toronto Maple Leaf Dmytro Timashov led the team with 33 points) It’s a significant signing for Brynas, who were relegated just recently. It’s also interesting to note that Larsson will be playing second-division hockey in Sweden just a year after he was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a third-round pick. A third-round pick is what the Carolina Hurricanes paid this deadline to acquire Shayne Gostisbehere, a 40-point NHL defenseman, highlighting how recently the 30-year-old Larsson was viewed as a valuable NHL rental. It also illustrates how loyal Larsson seems to be to the club he won the Swedish championship with in 2011-12, as he’s willing to play in his country’s second tier of hockey and likely forgo greater outside offers in order to help the Brynas earn promotion back to the SHL.
  • Former top prospect David Rundblad is among the players who will not be returning to Karpat next season, per an announcement from the Liiga side. The 32-year-old, who is perhaps best known for bringing Vladimir Tarasenko to the St. Louis Blues and Kyle Turris to the Ottawa Senators via trade, had a solid first season in Finland after six seasons in the KHL. Rundblad scored 26 points in 60 games this season and helped Karpat reach the playoff qualifiers.
  • Former New Jersey Devil Janne Kuokkanen is headed to Sweden to continue his pro career. The 24-year-old 2016 second-rounder made a strong impression in his return to European pro hockey, scoring 31 points in 42 games for Switzerland’s HC Fribourg-Gotteron. He’s a major addition for Malmo, who just barely staved off relegation to HockeyAllsvenskan this season by defeating Brynas.
  • The KHL’s Ufa Salavat Yulayev have re-signed 29-year-old Sergei Shmelev to a two-year contract extension. Shmelev ranked 16th in the entire KHL in scoring this season, leading Ufa in points with 51. He showed chemistry with former San Jose Shark Sasha Chmelevski and now is rewarded with a contract extension with the hope of helping lead Ufa back to the KHL’s playoffs next season.
  • Longtime KHL star and former Ottawa Senator Stephane Da Costa signed a two-year contract extension with the KHL’s Automobilist Yekaterinburg. The 33-year-old scored 20 goals and 56 points in 54 games this season, leading the team in scoring and to the playoffs. The three-time KHL All-Star last played in North America in 2013-14, when he scored 58 points in 56 games for the Binghamton Senators in the AHL.
  • Defenseman Eero Teravainen, the brother of Carolina Hurricanes star Teuvo Teravainen, signed a contract extension with Liiga’ KooKoo Kouvola. The 24-year-old spent two seasons playing in North America for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars from 2016 to 2018 before heading back to his native Finland. He’s recently established himself as a regular in Finland’s top league, and helped KooKoo win the Liiga bronze medal last season.
  • Ludvig Larsson, a solid middle-of-the-lineup scorer for Rogle BK, has signed a two-year contract to transfer to SHL rival Orebro. The 27-year-old spent the last two seasons with Rogle, scoring 15 goals this season and helping the team win the Champions Hockey League last year. The 27-year-old last played in North America in 2019-20, when he split time between the AHL’s Binghamton Devils and ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder.
  • A former First-Team All-Star in Finland’s second division (Mestis) will join his fourth Liiga club in two seasons. Samuel Salonen, 23, scored 34 points in 29 games for Jokipojat Joensuu in 2020-21, earning him a chance in Liiga for the following season. The right winger scored seven points in 29 games for Tappara Tampere and played several games on loan for two other Liiga clubs: Lukko and JYP. He spent this season with JYP and scored just nine points in 40 games, paving the way for a transfer to Jukurit that was announced today.
  • The SHL’s HV71 has signed a two-year contract with Olle Strandell, a standout defenseman for Mora IK in HockeyAllsvenskan this year. He scored 28 points in 51 games and helped bring Mora to the brink of the promotion finals before they were eliminated by MoDo. HV71 sign this deal hoping Strandell can help infuse some youthful energy into their blueline and bring them back to the SHL’s playoffs after finishing near the bottom of the standings this season.
  • Daniel Fischbuch, a veteran of over 500 games at the top level of German hockey, is transferring after three seasons with Dusseldorf. The 29-year-old has signed a two-year deal to play for Adler Mannheim, who just recently lost to Ingolstadt in the DEL semifinals. Fischbuch scored 16 goals and 37 points for Dusseldorf this season and will join a strong Manneheim team that boasted several former NHLers this season, including Korbinian Holzer, Nigel Dawes, Joseph Cramarossa, and Jordan Szwarz.
  • Switzerland’s HC Lugano signed point-per-game QMJHL overage Cole Cormier to an entry-level deal. Cormier scored 71 points in 66 games this season but was passed over in each NHL draft he was eligible for. Now, he’ll begin his professional career with Lugano, who ranked 10th in the Swiss National League this season.
  • Former St. Louis Blues prospect Niklas Lundstrom will not return to HockeyAllsvenskan’s AIK for next season. The 30-year-old played in 38 combined regular-season and playoff games for the club, posting an .899 save percentage in the regular season and a grisly .873 mark in the playoffs. Lundstrom has spent the last two seasons with AIK, and before then he had a stop in Austria, struggled in 2020-21 as an SHL starter for Linkopings HC, and saw time in North America in the AHL and ECHL.
  • Former Colorado Avalanche prospect Michael Clarke is transferring from the DEL’s Augsburg Panthers to the Straubing Tigers, per a team announcement. The 28-year-old 2012 fifth-rounder has played the last three season with Ausburg and the last five in the DEL, compiling a total of 71 points in 201 games. With this move, Clarke moves from one of the worst-performing teams in the top division of German hockey to one of the strongest, as Straubing placed fourth in the regular-season standings while Augsburg were on the brink of relegation in 14th.
  • Hungary’s ICEHL team, Fehervar AV19, made two major moves today. First, they locked up starting netminder Olivier Roy (a 2009 Edmonton Oilers draft pick) to a contract extension. Roy posted a strong .918 save percentage and 2.32 goals-against-average in the regular season and a .909 in six playoff games. Before this year, Roy spent five seasons with Augsburg in the DEL. In their second major move, Fehervar brought defenseman Josh Atkinson back to the team after a year spent in Germany with the Bietigheim Steelers, who were the club relegated to the second-division DEL2. Atkinson spent 2021-22 in Hungary and posted 38 points in 44 regular-season games and an impressive 11 points in 13 playoff contests.

Janne Kuokkanen Signs In Switzerland

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After being bought out by the New Jersey Devils this offseason, Janne Kuokkanen is headed overseas. The free agent forward has signed a one-year deal with Fribourg-Gotteron of the Swiss National League.

Kuokkanen, 24, will earn $325K from the Devils in each of the next two seasons thanks to a buyout that gave him an opportunity to go elsewhere. It is somewhat surprising that the elsewhere he chose is overseas, given his regular place in the NHL the last two seasons, but it certainly doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of him.

Selected 43rd overall in 2016, the Finnish forward played in 57 games for the Devils this season, recording six goals and 17 points. While the $1.825MM cap hit that he would have carried this year may seem like a lot, there is likely at least some value to squeeze out of him for a lower cost. We’ll see if that happens next year, when he will still be young enough to qualify for restricted free agency–meaning a team signing him to a one-year deal in the summer of 2023 would actually be buying another year of control past that.

This might be a particularly appealing scenario if he performs well at the Swiss level, a league that is drawing more and more in-their-prime foreigners for its increasing competitiveness.

New Jersey Devils To Buy Out Janne Kuokkanen

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Though the buyout period is listed as ending today, it is a little misleading. Today is the deadline to place players on waivers for the purpose of a buyout, meaning there could be another flood of names hitting the open market in a few hours. One of those is expected to be Janne Kuokkanen, according to PuckPedia, who will be bought out by the New Jersey Devils.

Because he is still just 24, the Devils would be on the hook for just one-third of Kuokkanen’s remaining contract, and would incur the following cap penalties:

  • 2022-23: $200K
  • 2023-24: $325K

Since he is currently carrying a cap hit of $1.825MM and is owed $2.05MM in salary the buyout represents considerable savings in both dollars and salary cap space this season. With the team hoping to contend for the playoffs, that money can be better used after the disappointing 2021-22 campaign that Kuokkanen endured.

With just six goals and 17 points in 57 games, the young forward didn’t take the expected step forward and now finds himself without a home for next season. Originally selected in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes, there is enough talent to play at the NHL level, just not enough (so far) to make much of an impact.

Bottom-of-the-lineup forwards are getting squeezed all over the league this year as the hard cap continues to make it difficult to pay more than the minimum for fringe roster players, and Kuokkanen will join the rest of those unqualified yesterday as late entrants to the free agent market.

Injury Updates: MacKinnon, Sanderson, Devils

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The Colorado Avalanche will have Nathan MacKinnon back in the lineup tomorrow when they take on the Dallas Stars, according to head coach Jared Bednar. The superstar center was back with Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen at practice today after missing the last four with a facial fracture. The team went 3-1 during that stretch but there are few players in the league more valuable than MacKinnon, who is in the midst of another outstanding season.

Through 31 games, the 26-year-old has 43 points despite only scoring nine goals of his own. A 6.6% shooting percentage is the culprit for that low goal total as MacKinnon is still generating huge amounts of offense whenever he’s on the ice. The idea of a Colorado team getting even more dangerous if the puck starts finding the back of the net more often for their top player is a scary thought for the rest of the Central Division. With Nazem Kadri, Rantanen, Landeskog, MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews all scoring at a point-per-game rate (or better), the high-flying Avalanche will play a home-and-home against the Stars over their next two games.

  • Team USA secured an impressive victory over Canada last night at the Beijing Olympics but it came at a cost. Jake Sanderson, who had to deal with several delays before joining his teammates because of COVID restrictions, suffered an injury that puts the rest of his tournament in question, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The medical staff is still evaluating the young Ottawa Senators prospect. Sanderson, 19, is already probably the best defenseman on the U.S. squad despite his young age and lack of pro experience and would be a tough loss for the team if he is ruled out.
  • The New Jersey Devils will be without Jesper Bratt and Janne Kuokkanen when they play tomorrow afternoon, as both are out with injury. Bratt is dealing with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day, while Kuokkanen is still out with the wrist injury that has kept him from playing the last two. Jack Hughes, out of the COVID protocol, will be back in the lineup after his impressive All-Star performance.

Janne Kuokkanen Signs With New Jersey Devils

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The New Jersey Devils have signed Janne Kuokkanen to a two-year deal. The contract will carry an average annual value of $1.825MM, paying the young forward $1.6MM in 2021-22 and $2.05MM in 2022-23.

Kuokkanen, 23, has found a home in New Jersey after beginning his career with the Carolina Hurricanes. The second-round pick became a full-time contributor in the NHL this year, posting 25 points in 50 games while lining up most often next to Jack Hughes and Yegor Sharangovich. The trio of youngsters could very well be a line again next season, though the addition of Tomas Tatar obviously gives the Devils another top-six option to work with.

No matter where he fits into the lineup, the key is that Kuokkanen has made it, finally escaping the rollercoaster between the AHL and NHL. Before arriving in New Jersey through a 2020 deadline trade he had played just 11 games with the Hurricanes and had failed to score a single point. He was a strong contributor at the minor league level, but could never land a spot on the NHL roster.

With his emergence, that deadline deal looks like a masterstroke by GM Tom Fitzgerald. The Devils retained half of Sami Vatanen’s salary, but ended up receiving Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson, and a third-round pick. Vatanen, who was injured at the time, didn’t play a single game in the regular season for the Hurricanes, suiting up for just seven postseason contests in the bubble before re-signing with the Devils in free agency.

A two-year contract for Kuokkanen leaves him as a restricted free agent in 2023, but he will have arbitration rights at that point. He’ll also be in line for a $2.05MM qualifying offer, meaning he’ll have to continue to bring positive value over the next two seasons to be worth retaining at that price point.

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