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Jason Zucker

West Notes: Zucker, Canucks, Karlsson, Jets

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Jason Zucker’s name has been in trade speculation for several months with word leaking out twice about trades falling through.  It may be time to put that to rest for the time being, however.  Wild GM Paul Fenton told Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press that after bringing in wingers Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman in free agency, he’s likely done making moves this summer.  He believes that the additions plus the return to health of blueliner Mathew Dumba should be enough to vault Minnesota back into postseason contention.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Vancouver’s amateur scouting department is undergoing some changes for next season. Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston notes that the Canucks have parted ways with a trio of scouts.  One of those, Chris MacDonald, has left for a post with another team but has yet to officially be announced.  GM Jim Benning indicated that there will be some further restructuring to the scouting staff in the weeks to come as some of their scouts are shifted into different positions.
  • With the Sharks still needing to re-sign restricted free agent winger Kevin Labanc, unrestricted free agent center Joe Thornton, and fill out the rest of their roster, San Jose may still need to trim some payroll. Chelena Goldman of NBC Sports Bay Area suggests that center Melker Karlsson could be a trade candidate as a result.  With one year and $2MM left on his deal, his spot on the fourth line could be filled by someone cheaper (such as RFA Dylan Gambrell) which would free up some much-needed funds to use elsewhere.
  • The Jets offered defensemen Ben Chiarot a four-year contract with an AAV of just under $3MM per season, reports Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe. However, the blueliner declined the offer and inked a three-year, $10.5MM deal with Montreal instead.  The fact that Winnipeg felt that they had the resources to offer Chiarot that type of deal suggests that they could still get involved in the free agent market in the days to come.

Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Phil Kessel To Arizona Coyotes

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have traded forward Phil Kessel to the Arizona Coyotes, finally ending a long saga in which Pittsburgh has been trying to unload the unhappy veteran. The Penguins will send Kessel, prospect Dane Birks and a 2021 fourth-round pick to Arizona for forward Alex Galchenyuk and prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Phil Kessel for his contributions to the Penguins. He was a key component to our success in winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. We couldn’t have done it without him, and for that, we are grateful,” said Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. “With that being said, we are excited to welcome a young, skilled player in Alex, and add depth to our defense with first-round draft pick Pierre-Olivier Joseph.”

Kessel’s name has been in the news all offseason as the team is interested in moving the veteran forward and the three years remaining on his deal at $6.8MM and with some bad blood between Kessel and the Penguins, general manager Jim Rutherford was looking to move him. Rutherford said that Kessel requested to be traded several times during last season and then changed his mind, although Kessel denies that, according to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. The Penguins attempted to trade Kessel to Minnesota in May in a package that included Jason Zucker, but Kessel, who has a modified no-trade clause where he can pick eight teams that he can be traded to, rejected the deal as he had no interest in going to Minnesota. However, Kessel would be interested in going to Arizona as he has a great relationship with their coach, Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach in Pittsburgh before he took the Coyotes’ job. Tocchet was, in fact, known in Pittsburgh as the “Phil Kessel Whisperer,” and is considered the one coach who can get the most out of the veteran.

The 31-year-old Kessel is coming off a solid season in which he scored 27 goals and 82 points, which would have been tops on Arizona’s squad by 35 points as the team’s points leader was Clayton Keller, who put up 14 goals and 47 points. Kessel provides the Coyotes with a proven veteran scorer, something that was desperately needed as no one in Arizona got to 20 goals last season. In fact, Kessel has scored 291 goals in the last 10 seasons, which is only behind a handful of top players in the league, including Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane and Joe Pavelski. Kessel’s contract will be the second-biggest on the team behind defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Kessel also should provide some stability in the lineup as Arizona was ravaged by injuries last year. Kessel has gone nine straight seasons without having missed a regular-season game. While Kessel isn’t known for his defensive play, it evens out as Galchenyuk is considered to be just as weak defensively.

In Galchenyuk, the Penguins would still get a solid top-six forward, but at both a cheaper price tag and with less term. Galchenyuk has just one year remaining on his deal at $4.9MM, which gives the Penguins some much-needed cap room to attempt to add to a team that got swept in the first-round of the playoffs last year and have a limited time to make a Stanley Cup run as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin aren’t getting any younger. The 25-year-old Galchenyuk put up 19 goals and 41 points in 72 games last season, his first in Arizona after being acquired last offseason via trade from Montreal and should become a solid winger on one of Pittsburgh’s top two lines.

The Penguins also added some young defensive depth as Joseph was Arizona’s first-round pick in 2017 and is ready to turn pro, although he will likely need at least one year in the AHL. The 19-year-old posted nine goals and 42 points for two junior squads last year. Birks is likely to even out the trade as the 23-year-old spent all of last season in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers.

TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the trade. 

Latest On Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins

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Saturday: While he can’t get confirmation from either team, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Penguins and the Arizona Coyotes are are currently working on a Kessel deal. No word on what the deal might consist of, but Arizona is one team that Kessel would be interested in playing for as he is close to Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet, who was an assistant coach for the Penguins before taking the Arizona job.

Friday: The Pittsburgh Penguins had a trade worked out earlier this month that would have seen Phil Kessel head to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker. It didn’t happen because of a no-trade clause that Kessel refused to waive, something he had negotiated into his contract years ago when he first signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Exercising his clause to block a trade was well within his right, and it seemed to quiet things down for a while in regards to the Penguins. GM Jim Rutherford admitted that a Kessel trade this offseason was now unlikely, but that hasn’t stopped reports surfacing on consecutive days that the team is still trying to unload their enigmatic star.

Yesterday, Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required) reported that trade talks for the Penguins were “heating up” though it wasn’t clear exactly what Rutherford was trying to accomplish, other than dealing Kessel while making the team younger and faster. Today, another detailed piece was released by Rob Rossi of The Athletic that examines exactly what has gone wrong in Pittsburgh between Kessel and the organization and how the star player is currently holding the rest of their offseason “hostage.” Rossi quotes multiple sources that feel a Kessel trade was priority number one this offseason, in order to accomplish a sort of culture reset in Pittsburgh.

The 31-year old Kessel has three years remaining on his current contract and carries a $6.8MM cap hit thanks to a portion being retained by the Maple Leafs from an earlier trade. The deal owes him even less in actual salary, and Kessel is coming off another outstanding offensive season with 82 points in 82 games. He’s also currently on an iron man streak that hasn’t seen him miss a game since the 2009-10 season. Point-per-game wingers don’t get traded very often, but a deal this summer would be the third time Kessel is traded in his career.

Still, there is the problem of a no-trade clause that lists just eight teams that the Penguins can send Kessel to without his permission. Players in that situation usually list teams that would have little interest or that would hesitate to deal in-division. Teams like Philadelphia, Washington, Toronto and Boston all seem unlikely to get into real discussions for one reason or another, meaning his list could basically be limited to just a handful of potential destinations. With Rutherford after a “hockey trade” that brings back a player (or players) that can help the Penguins immediately, a deal might be extremely hard to find.

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West Notes: Zucker, Boyle, Predators

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Jason Zucker’s two near trades have drawn some attention as it’s not very often that deals that fall through make it out in public.  Nonetheless, that’s the situation that the Wild face which could make for some awkwardness if Zucker is still with the team for training camp.  Despite that, GM Paul Fenton told Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that while he’s disappointed that the talks were made public, he doesn’t think it will be an issue for either side:

I don’t think that it should be out there. As far as my relationship with Jason and his agent, we have no problem with it. They understand that it’s part of the business and that the end of the day, Jason is part of the Minnesota Wild. He’s going to be part of our process going forward. Can things change? Yeah, it can change with everybody. It can change with everyone on our roster.

The 27-year-old is coming off of a quiet season that saw him collect 21 goals and 21 assists in 81 games, well off his numbers from a year before (33-31-64).  It was after that career season that the Wild gave him a five-year, $27.5MM deal, one that could be a little on the high side if his numbers don’t improve.  Zucker is eligible for a ten-team no-trade clause on July 1st so if there is a trade to be made, it’s one that could be sooner than later.

More from the Western Conference:

  • The Predators and Brian Boyle’s agent have had brief discussions regarding the center potentially returning to Nashville next season, reports Adam Vingan of The Athletic (subscription required). The Preds added Boyle in a midseason trade as they looked to load up for the playoffs and he was a fixture on their fourth lone for the stretch run.  He scored five goals in 26 games with the team while splitting time between playing down the middle and on the wing.  Boyle’s agent Rick Curran indicated that there is mutual interest in getting something done but that nothing is imminent at this time.
  • Oilers head coach Dave Tippett is hoping to see his new team prioritize forward depth over blueline depth this offseason, notes Postmedia’s Terry Jones. Production from the wing was a big area of concern in 2018-19 and while recent signing Joakim Nygard has some upside, it will be tough to ask him to step in and play an important role right away.  Edmonton has over $73MM in payroll commitments for next season already so while they need depth, they won’t be able to shop at the top end of the market to get some.

Metropolitan Notes: Faulk, Werenski, Harrington, Devils

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After an impressive playoff run that has Carolina looking like an improved franchise, the Hurricanes don’t want it to be a fluke season. The team, which based much of its success on an impressive blueline, wants to commit to it long term. Therefore despite being mentioned as a trade candidate for more than a full season, it looks like Carolina wants to commit long-term to Justin Faulk. The defenseman has one year remaining on his contract, but The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun (subscription required) reports that the team has reached out to Faulk and his agent in hopes of signing an extension when he’s eligible on July 1.

LeBrun adds that Faulk, who has played his entire eight-year career in Carolina, is amenable to an extension, although it’s likely he would demand a no-trade clause this time around. That would give Carolina three right-handed top-four defensemen in Faulk, Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce, but he says that the Hurricanes are OK with having that right depth on the right side and are comfortable keeping all three.

However, the Fourth Period reports that Carolina is looking to acquire a top-six winger to boost their offense this year and that the team is willing to trade one of their top defenseman to make that happen. The report suggests that Carolina is one of the teams that has inquired on Minnesota’s Jason Zucker and has spoken to Toronto about both William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen and Nazem Kadri in the past.

  • The Athletic’s Allison Lukan (subscription required) reports that while the Columbus Blue Jackets have several options on how they want to sign restricted free agent Zach Werenski, it’s almost a lock that Columbus will attempt to sign him to a long-term deal. The 21-year-old blueliner just finished up his entry-level deal and is in line for a big payday after posting 38 goals and 128 points over three years, but with plenty of cap room and multiple free agents walking away from Columbus, locking him up to a long-term deal, which could exceed $6MM, is likely going to be the team’s goal.
  • Sticking with the Blue Jackets, the team has another restricted free agent who is expected to get a raise this summer. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch writes that defenseman Scott Harrington, who has had trouble catching on to an NHL team early in his career after playing just 79 NHL games over the past four seasons with three different teams, has found a home in Columbus. The 26-year-old played his first full season, playing 73 games, mostly as a bottom-six defenseman, but was instrumental to the Blue Jackets as a character leader in the locker room. After making just $675K last season, Harrington could potentially double his salary for next season.
  • The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) lays out the possibilities on what the New Jersey Devils can do with their second-round pick (No. 34). With three second-round picks, the 34th pick is a valuable asset that could allow the team to trade into the first round or use to trade for a significant impact player to bolster its team. The scribe looks at past teams in similar positions, including a 2013 trade in which the Buffalo Sabres traded several players and the No. 31 pick for Ryan O’Reilly.

Sabres Notes: Skinner, Pominville, Trade Options

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The Buffalo Sabres accomplished their biggest offseason task on Friday evening when it signed winger Jeff Skinner to a eight-year, $72MM extension. Regardless, despite being able to convince a top player to sign a long-term deal in Buffalo, there are a number of significant ramifications that go with the Sabres’ locking up the 27-year-old.

Skinner and Jack Eichel will now combine for 22.5 percent of the team’s salary cap, which is the sixth-highest number for teams’ top two players. While the Sabres have cap room to work with, the team may find themselves in trouble down the road, according to the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski. In fact, Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill may have trouble in a few years when he tries to sign some of the team’s other young pieces, including Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Dahlin, Brandon Montour and Casey Mittelstadt, which could give the team some issues with improving in the near future. All that for a team that didn’t come close to making the playoffs this past season.

  • The Athletic’s Jon Vogl (subscription required) writes that the Sabres had no choice but to sign Skinner to long-term deal. While the scribe admits that the money is significant, the team couldn’t have handled losing their first-line winger, considering the significant amount of cap space the franchise has both this year and next and the near-impossible task of replacing him. Not signing him would have been worse than overpaying him. Regardless, this should give Botterill an extended chance to prove that he is a competent GM as he will have to assemble the rest of the team’s roster for the next few years, even if Skinner doesn’t pan out over the long haul.
  • In a separate note, Lysowski also reports that the team is in discussions with  forward Jason Pominville and are hoping to bring the veteran back on a cheaper deal. While no longer a top-six option, the 36-year-old Pominville has worked effectively as a bottom-six forward who can produce some offense, as he potted 16 goals last season. The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington adds that Buffalo should offer him a one-year deal between $2-2.5MM and have him play a big role on the team’s fourth line as well as the penalty kill unit.
  • Pierre LeBrun, in a notebook piece for The Athletic (subscription required), reports that Buffalo isn’t done making moves to improve its team this season. The Sabres are looking to add a second-line center and/or a top-six winger to its roster to improve its scoring for next season. LeBrun adds that one name that Buffalo has inquired on is Minnesota Wild winger Jason Zucker and he also wonders whether the team would consider taking on the contract of Kyle Turris in Nashville to fill their center void.

Latest On Jason Zucker’s Trade Market

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The Minnesota Wild have tried to trade Jason Zucker multiple times. At the trade deadline this year, the Wild had a deal fall through with the Calgary Flames at the last minute while just last month they tried and failed to get a deal done with the Pittsburgh Penguins for Phil Kessel. It should come as no surprise then that Zucker comes in near the top of The Athletic’s new trade board (subscription required) or that he was the topic of discussion on TSN 1040 radio today. Host Mike Halford —who also works at The Athletic—reported that a source told him the Vancouver Canucks are interested in the Wild forward and that there are several trade proposals already on the table.

Zucker, 27, is one of the last bastions of the Minnesota forward core that former GM Chuck Fletcher built during his time there. Since taking over, new GM Paul Fenton has jettisoned Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle, bringing in some different faces to try and change their playoff outcome. Unfortunately, the Wild didn’t even make the playoffs this season and now face an uphill climb back to contention. If Fenton is trying for a long-term approach to that problem it would make sense to move Zucker’s remaining four years at a $5.5MM cap hit for future assets—though Kessel would have not been that kind of acquisition.

The Canucks however do have plenty of good young players to target, if Minnesota is interested in sending him that direction. The interest from Vancouver is obvious, given how well their young forwards performed this year and the huge amount of cap space they currently enjoy. Even though he didn’t replicate his outstanding 2017-18 season, Zucker still produced 21 goals and 42 points last year for the Wild, and is one of the fastest skaters in the league. His deal only takes him through until he turns 31, and the Canucks have a need on the left side of their top-six beside either Bo Horvat or Elias Pettersson.

Still, because of Zucker’s value the Canucks won’t be the only ones interested. That same Athletic trade board has several quotes from executives around the league wondering why the Wild would even be interested in moving him, meaning Vancouver would likely need to pay a premium to win the bidding.

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Trade Rumors: Trade Bait, Panarin, Condon

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For everyone but the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues, the off-season is already in full swing and with the NHL Draft less than three weeks away, the rumor mill is starting to heat back up. TSN’s Frank Seravalli has updated his Trade Bait list and it features a whopping ten new names out of 25 total players. Leading the way among the newcomers is talented, young Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. Gostisbehere has emerged as a candidate to move if the Flyers can land a top-six forward in exchange, as they look to be aggressive this off-season. Also new to the list are names included in the overturned Phil Kessel-to-Minnesota trade, Jack Johnson and Victor Rask, with Jason Zucker and Kessel now long-time fixtures. Another player tied to recent rumors making his trade bait debut is the Vancouver Canucks’ Loui Eriksson, who has been linked to former teammate Milan Lucic, also on the list, and the Edmonton Oilers, but could move in any number of possible deals. As the Florida Panthers look to shake up their roster in free agency, James Reimer and Mike Hoffman have made the list as possible cap space casualties. So too have Toronto Maple Leafs teammates Nazem Kadri and Mitch Marner, even though Seravalli himself agrees that a Marner trade is a long shot. With plenty of talent filling the early off-season trade bait board, it could be a busy summer for high-profile trades, some of which could begin even before the draft kicks off on June 21st.

  • A seemingly curious continued presence on the trade bait list is that of Artemi Panarin. It was one thing for Panarin to be atop the list as the trade deadline approached and the Columbus Blue Jackets were unsure whether or not they would sell the all-world forward. However, after keeping Panarin, an impending unrestricted free agent, it may seem that his trade value has now disappeared, since he is weeks away from hitting the open market. However, as a 27-year-old premiere free agent, both Panarin and his suitors will be interested in that eighth year of contract term that is only available to the incumbent team. As such, the Blue Jackets could look to squeeze the very last drops of value out of Panarin by trading his rights before the league year ends, allowing a new team to sign him to an eight-year extension rather than a seven-year free agent contract. While possible, and often valuable, acquiring UFA signing rights is not as frequent a move as one might expect. The last team to do so was the Florida Panthers in 2016, adding an expiring Keith Yandle for a a sixth-round pick and conditional fourth-round pick. That same year, the Arizona Coyotes did the same, bringing in Alex Goligoski on the tail end of his contract with the Dallas Stars for a fifth-round pick. Not since Ilya Bryzgalov in 2011 has a player’s UFA rights drawn more than a fourth-round pick at best, but Panarin is a unique player and Columbus could land a third-round pick or more in exchange for the opportunity to sign him to that one extra year – and to keep him from testing the market.
  • Unsurprisingly, the extension of goaltender Anders Nilsson in Ottawa has prompted speculation that the Senators will try to move overpaid third-string option Mike Condon. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch writes that Condon’s “days are numbered” with the team, as there’s no room for him in Ottawa behind Nilsson and Craig Anderson and he’s not wanted in Belleville with Filip Gustavsson, Joey Daccord, and possibly Marcus Hogberg in the mix. Cap space is not a problem for the Senators, but Garrioch still believes they would prefer to trade Condon and all or part of his $2.4MM salary next season rather than buy him out at the cost of $400K next year and $1MM the year after. Garrioch can only make a case that perhaps some team with weak goalie depth would be interested in Condon as a strong AHL option next season, as the 29-year-old is unlikely to be considered a regular NHL option. Perhaps after the free agent goalie market shakes out in early July, the Senators will be able to find a partner who missed out on their targets and could use Condon’s services. Otherwise, a buyout does seem to be the more likely route.

Snapshots: Kessel, Malmquist, Vladar

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It’s been confirmed by many sources now that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Phil Kessel himself nixed the proposed deal that would have sent him to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker, among other pieces. What was unclear is exactly why. Kessel is a native of nearby Wisconsin and played his college hockey for the University of Minnesota. It would seem that the Wild would have been a nice fit for the veteran scorer. However, as noted by the Athletic’s Michael Russo, Kessel’s reasoning for turning down the destination is quite simple: he doesn’t think the team is a contender. In fact, after talking to those close to Kessel, Russo phrases it as Kessel didn’t think the team was even “close to contending”. GM Paul Fenton certainly left a mark in his first season at the helm, trading away established veterans Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, and Nino Niederreiter and on paper the team does look to be in more of a rebuild than a title window. Fenton reportedly called Kessel to try to change his mind, but to no avail. Kessel will be 32 next season and has already showed signs of slowing down, so the star winger apparently has his sights set on competing for more Stanley Cups before his playing days are over. That could make the prospect of dealing him that much harder for Penguins GM Jim Rutherford, further limiting Kessel’s trade options to contenders on his eight-team trade list that have both the means and interest in acquiring him. Meanwhile, Fenton and the Wild have to hope that other prominent players, free agents or trade targets, don’t share in Kessel’s pessimistic outlook on the team’s chances or they may have a hard time improving this off-season.

  • Kessel’s home of Madison, Wisconsin is set to see another promising player make his way into town in a couple of years. Liam Malmquist, a standout high school forward from Edina, Minnesota, has announced his commitment to play his college hockey for the University of Wisconsin. However, Malmquist will not join the Badgers until 2020-21 and will play next season for the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, the team announced today. Malmquist, 18, is an undersized scoring forward, whose lack of stature and relatively weak competition level likely kept him off the radar of NHL team’s in his first time through the draft last year. However, after recording 52 points in 24 games this year, he’s entered the conversation as a possible late-round overage waiver this June. Malmquist’s older brother, Dylan Malmquist, remains unsigned but just wrapped up a strong collegiate career at the University of Notre Dame. Even if Malmquist is not drafted, he can stay in the pro picture if he is able to replicate or top his brother’s numbers while at Wisconsin. He should be surrounded by plenty of talent too, as Malmquist joins a talented Badgers team that will add top 2019 prospects Alex Turcotte, Cole Caufield, Ryder Donovan, and Owen Lindmark, as well as intriguing 2020 name Dylan Holloway next season and another top 2020 prospect in Tanner Latsch the year after.
  • The Boston Bruins have already lost forward Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and defenseman Emil Johansson to Europe this off-season – even though the team’s off-season has yet to begin – and for the good of their minor league depth hope to avoid any other such losses. However, it is worth noting that AHL goaltender Dan Vladar was the subject of a recent trade in the KHL. Vladar’s rights were acquired by contender Lokomotiv Yaroslavl from HK Sochi in exchange for 22-year-old active KHL forward Alexander Polunin, a somewhat hefty price for just a player’s rights. There has been no word as to whether Vladar has talked about jumping overseas, prompting the trade, but it certainly shouldn’t be ruled out. Vladar, a 2015 third-round pick of the Bruins, is still only 21 but has yet to make an NHL appearance in three pro seasons. Vladar played as the Providence Bruins’ backup this season, making 31 appearances to starter Zane McIntyre’s 47. Both goalies put up just pedestrian numbers and McIntyre, a pending unrestricted free agent, is not a lock to return. With NHL backup Jaroslav Halak also signed for just one more season, it could be that Vladar remains on the fast track to start for Providence next season and one day back up Tuukka Rask. One would think that position would keep the young net minder stateside. However, he now faces a challenge from other promising young goalies in the pipeline like Kyle Keyser and Jeremy Swayman and may no longer feel that he is guaranteed to ever see time with the Bruins. Such a mindset could see Vladar off to Russia this summer.

Morning Notes: Zucker, Zaripov, Dunn

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Twice now in the span of a few months the Minnesota Wild have come close to trading away Jason Zucker. Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) examines the recent trade talks between Minnesota and the Pittsburgh Penguins which were focused on a Zucker-Phil Kessel swap, and details the situation that the Wild forward now finds himself in. Zucker is obviously on the block as GM Paul Fenton continues to shake things up in Minnesota, and Russo reports that the Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames have all expressed interest of late, while last year the Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes had discussed him.

The recent trade proposal from Pittsburgh seems to have been shut down by Kessel himself, but that could change at any minute if he decides to waive his no-trade clause. Either way, it seems like Zucker is destined to play for another team in 2019-20. The 27-year old forward has four years remaining on his current deal which carries a $5.5MM cap hit, and is coming off a 21-goal, 42-point season.

  • Danis Zaripov was once on the radar of NHL teams after receiving a two-year doping ban from the KHL in 2017. That ban was eventually reduced to just six months and Zaripov stayed in Russia, something he’ll be doing once again in 2019-20. The 38-year old forward has signed a one-year extension with Ak Bars Kazan, giving him a chance to add to his outstanding history in the KHL. Zaripov is a legend in Russian hockey, with five Gagarin Cup championships, five World Championship medals, and even a league title from before the KHL formed a decade ago.
  • Vince Dunn took part in the morning skate for the St. Louis Blues today, wearing a regular visor instead of the full cage that he has donned the last few days to protect his injured jaw. Still, he won’t play tonight in game one of the Stanley Cup Final according to head coach Craig Berube. Dunn has developed into a key part of the Blues’ defense corps over the last two seasons, and has an impressive seven points in 16 playoff games so far. Robert Thomas, another young player making an impact for the Blues these playoffs will be in the lineup tonight, Berube confirmed.

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