International Rumors: Ouellet, Heatherington, Lethemon
Defenseman Xavier Ouellet has played 178 career NHL games so far along with 441 career appearances in the AHL. However, it appears that he won’t be adding to those totals next season as Belarus Hockey relays that the blueliner is expected to sign with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. The 30-year-old was a full-time NHLer for a couple of years with Detroit but since then, he has primarily played in the minors. Ouellet inked a two-year deal with the Penguins in 2022 and was expected to be a key veteran with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while being a capable recall when injuries arose. However, injuries limited the pending unrestricted free agent considerably in 2022-23 and while he was healthier this season, he didn’t get a recall to Pittsburgh and wound up posting two goals and 23 assists in 63 minor league appearances.
Other international rumblings pertaining to pending free agents:
- The Senators have already lost Lassi Thomson and Jacob Larsson to overseas contracts and a third blueliner might be joining them as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Dillon Heatherington is examining his international options. The 29-year-old played in a dozen games with Ottawa between 2021-22 and 2022-23 but didn’t see any NHL action this season. Instead, Heatherington skated in 60 games with AHL Belleville and was briefly loaned out to play for Canada at the Spengler Cup back in December.
- Red Wings pending UFA John Lethemon is expected to sign with Lukko in Finland, per a report from Satakunnan Kansa’s Kimmo Makelainen. The 27-year-old netminder has spent the last two years on an NHL deal with Detroit but has primarily played at the ECHL level in that span. This season, Lethemon had a 2.90 GAA and a .892 SV% in 37 games with Toledo although he improved those to 2.46 and .899 respectively in nine playoff contests. An NHL two-way deal likely wasn’t going to be on the table for Lethemon this summer so going overseas, assuming the contract gets finalized, makes some sense.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/7/23
While teams have considerably whittled down their rosters compared to where they were just a weekend ago, there are still plenty more cuts to be made in the coming days. Here are today’s roster trimmings excluding earlier waiver placements.
Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)
D Ryan Johnson (to Rochester, AHL)
F Lukas Rousek (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (via team release)
D Nick DeSimone (to Calgary, AHL)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to Calgary, AHL)
F Martin Pospisil (to Calgary, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
G Yaniv Perets (to Norfolk, ECHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
D Marcus Bjork (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Jake Christiansen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Joshua Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Billy Sweezey (to Cleveland, AHL)
Dallas Stars (via team Twitter)
D Alexander Petrovic (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (via team Twitter)
F Austin Czarnik (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Timothy Gettinger (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G John Lethemon (to Toledo, ECHL)
D Jared McIsaac (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Wyatt Newpower (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brogan Rafferty (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Nashville Predators (per ESPN’s John Buccigross)
D Marc Del Gaizo (to Milwaukee, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
D Santeri Hatakka (to Utica, AHL)
G Isaac Poulter (to Utica, AHL)
New York Rangers (per team Twitter)
F Jonny Brodzinski (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ben Harpur (to Hartford, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
F Wade Allison (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (via team Twitter)
F Ryan Carpenter (to San Jose, AHL)
F Oskar Lindblom (to San Jose, AHL)
F Quentin Musty (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Jacob Peterson (to San Jose, AHL)
Seattle Kraken (per team Twitter)
D Ryker Evans (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Shane Wright (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel (to Hershey, AHL)
G Mitchell Gibson (to Hershey, AHL)
F Alex Limoges (to Hershey, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Hershey, AHL)
F Joe Snively (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
G Hunter Shepard (to Hershey, AHL)
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Detroit Red Wings Sign John Lethemon
The Detroit Red Wings announced they have signed goaltender John Lethemon to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay Lethemon $775K at the NHL level, although it is unexpected he will reach this season.
Two years ago, Lethemon spent time with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, and with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL, both affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings. He was never drafted by the Kings, as he was signed out of Michigan State University to a tryout agreement. In March of this year, the Red Wings officially signed Lethemon to his first contract, paying him $750K at the NHL level.
Much like he did in the Kings organization, Lethemon split time between the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL and the Toledo Walleye of the ECHL. Things did not go well for Lethemon in Grand Rapids, as he was only able to produce a 1-6-2 record in nine games, earning a 3.88 GAA and a .878 SV%. Primarily sharing the net with the top goaltending prospect for Detroit, Sebastian Cossa, Lethemon did much better for the Walleye. In 26 starts, Lethemon earned an incredible 18-1-3 record, producing a 1.99 GAA and a .930 SV%.
During the 2023 Kelly Cup playoffs, Lethemon split the net with Cossa, earning a 4-2-0 record, carrying a 2.64 GAA and a .917 SV%. Although his numbers did dip in the postseason, the goaltending tandem led the Walleye to the Western Conference Finals, eventually losing to the Idaho Steelheads.