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Jonathan Dahlen

West Notes: Stephenson, Bunting, Dahlen

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There has been very little information regarding the absence of Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson who has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury.  SinBin.Vegas reports (Twitter link) that Stephenson is dealing with concussion-like symptoms from a hit from Ben Chiarot in the first game of the series and that he is not with the team in Montreal.  The 27-year-old had a career year this season with 35 points in 51 games (plus six assists in 14 playoff contests) and while they did get Tomas Nosek back on Friday, Stephenson’s absence will be a tough one to fill.  As is the case with any type of concussion symptoms, it appears as if there’s no timetable for his return.

Elsewhere in the West:

  • While Coyotes winger Michael Bunting will have an opportunity to test the open market as a Group Six unrestricted free agent, he told Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic that his preference is to remain with Arizona. The 25-year-old cleared waivers in January and was in the minors until late March but after being recalled, he potted an impressive 10 goals in 21 games down the stretch, earning a spot on Canada’s entry at the World Championships in the process.  That should give him a decent market if he gets to free agency but while he’s unsure if talks with the Coyotes have started yet, he’s hoping he won’t have to shop around his services.
  • While the Sharks gave Jonathan Dahlen a one-way contract to bring him back, San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng feels that the deal doesn’t pencil him into a lineup spot in San Jose next season. The 23-year-old dominated in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan the last two years but that’s at a level that’s well below the NHL.  Peng cites concerns from several scouts about Dahlen’s ability to adapt to the NHL game.  Nevertheless, they’ll get a much better look at him with the one-way deal than watching him from afar in Sweden.

West Notes: Grubauer, Rossi, Dahlen

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Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer had a dominant 2020-21 season, earning himself a Vezina Trophy nomination along the way as he posted a 1.95 GAA along with a .922 SV% in 40 games.  That has him extremely well-positioned heading into unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer, even in a flat-cap marketplace.  However, talks on his next deal haven’t started yet as his agent Allain Roy told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that those discussions will wait until Colorado’s playoff run comes to an end.  Grubauer is in the final season of a three-year, $10MM contract and could potentially double that on the open market this summer with a couple of recent comparables at $6MM or higher.

More from the West:

  • Wild prospect Marco Rossi has been given the all-clear and will skate for the first time on Saturday as he works his way back from a bout with myocarditis, relays Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Rossi was initially diagnosed with COVID-19 following the World Juniors and was sent home for the season to recover before the heart issue was later revealed.  With this good news, Rossi should be ready for next season and will still have three years left on his entry-level contract as his deal will slide since he didn’t see any NHL action.
  • Jonathan Dahlen could be making his return to North America. Adam Johansson and Johan Svensson of SportExpressen report that the Sharks are expected to sign the winger for next season.  Unhappy with his situation with San Jose, he signed up for a second year with Timra in Sweden’s Allsvenskan after playing there on the final year of his entry-level deal.  He has been quite dominant in that stretch, notching 77 points in 51 games last year and 71 and 45 contests this season.  The 23-year-old restricted free agent was believed to be seeking a one-way deal to return to North America so it will be interesting to see if he gets it, assuming this eventually comes to fruition.

Snapshots: Pearson, Andersen, Dahlen

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To this point, the Vancouver Canucks had approached the future of forward Tanner Pearson with two options. If the two sides could come to terms on an extension, the preference was to retain Pearson beyond this season. If no agreement could be reached before the trade deadline, then the team would instead trade Pearson rather than risk losing him for nothing in free agency. Now, than plan might have been taken away from them. Pearson was injured in the Canucks’ Wednesday night match-up with the Ottawa Senators and was forced to leave the game. The team has since announced that the injury is far worse than merely a one-game absence. Pearson is expected to miss at least four weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury. With the trade deadline just 24 days away, Pearson will not return to action before the Canucks’ last chance to move him. In a normal year, perhaps a team would be willing to buy low on an injured Pearson at the deadline. However, in this cap-strapped climate, teams aren’t messing around with adding salary and with Pearson not only injured through the deadline but with an uncertain timeline to return altogether, there is very little chance that the Canucks will be able to move him. Perhaps GM Jim Benning and company will be able to leverage the injury into a more affordable extension; Vancouver’s lack of cap space is believed to be the reason why a deal hasn’t already been reached and a cheaper deal would help to make the squeeze work for next season and beyond. Otherwise, its seems the Canucks have missed their chance to get any value out of Pearson before he departs this summer. It’s not and ideal outcome for the team or the player, who would prefer to be competing for a playoff spot if and when he returns to action.

  • Another player dealing with injury is Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. Yet, Andersen continues to suit up for the team. After a two-week hiatus with a lower-body injury, Andersen returned to Leafs earlier this month. However, the injury continues to nag him, he tells TSN’s Kristen Shilton, and it has shown on the ice. Andersen brought a 2-4-0 record, .887 save percentage, and 3.30 GAA in March into Toronto’s Friday night contest with the Calgary Flames, only to allow four goals on 18 shots in yet another loss. Andersen has now allowed 19 goals in his last five games. With their starter faltering, the Leafs will turn to backup Jack Campbell to start their next game, but one game off for Andersen is unlikely to provide any long-term relief. The Maple Leafs, who are serious Stanley Cup contenders this year and face an unusually easy path to the Final without having to go through the Tampa Bay Lightning and/or Boston Bruins in the early rounds this year. If Toronto doesn’t give Andersen another extended break to shake his nagging injury and his play does not improve, they may need to start considering a major change in net before the trade deadline. Andersen’s play this season, injury or not, is also certainly impacting his impending free agency as well.
  • San Jose Sharks prospect Jonathan Dahlen has been named the MVP of the Allsvenskan, the team was proud to announce. Although the Allsvenskan is Sweden’s second-tier league, Dahlen’s 25 goals and 71 points in 45 games are still impressive and helped Timra IK to a regular season title (by a wide margin) and a chance at promotion to the SHL. This is Dahlen’s second straight season of 70+ points as the leading scorer for Timra and it seems like he is finally ready to make the transition to the NHL. Dahlen, 23, has played parts of two seasons in the AHL, but always seemed to have one foot out the door given his preference to play in Sweden if he wasn’t in the NHL. Perhaps that has contributed to his NHL rights being traded twice already. However, the Sharks are in no position to turn away affordable forward talent and should be ready to give Dahlen a shot at a roster spot next season, if not sooner once his Allsvenskan season ends.

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While cap space remains an issue in San Jose, this is not the year that their free agents are likely to break them. The team does have a key restricted free agent to sign, but the team must decide what unrestricted free agents they want to bring back after a disappointing 2019-20.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Kevin Labanc – The only significant restricted free agent the team needs to sign is Labanc, who surprised quite a few people when he signed a one-year, $1MM bargain contract last offseason with many expecting he took a low deal with the assumption he would be rewarded with a long-term deal the following year. We’ll see if that’s the case, but Labanc’s production didn’t jump off the charts like many had hoped. In fact, the 24-year-old finished with a disappointing 2019-20 season, posting just 14 goals and 33 points in 70 games, significantly less than the 56 points he produced the previous year. What type of contract Labanc receives will be interesting to see, but the forward is still considered to be a significant piece to their core and must return to his 2018-19 form if the team hopes to improve on its dismal season last year.

F Antti Suomela – The Sharks are hoping to bring back the 26-year-old back as a potential fourth-line center, but the Finnish center spent most of his season in the press box in San Jose as the team’s extra forward. He managed to appear in 20 games with one goal and seven points, serving mainly as the team’s fourth-line center. With plenty of questions marks down the team’s middle, Suomela has every chance to prove he deserves a more significant role.

Other RFAs: F Jonathan Dahlen, F Jayden Halbgewachs, F Maxim Letunov, D Nicolas Meloche, D Jacob Middleton, D Jeremy Roy, G Andrew Shortridge, D Tony Sund, F Manuel Wiederer.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Joe Thornton – The Sharks have made it quite clear that if Thornton wants to return next season, he’s welcome to. So, the question isn’t whether the Sharks want him, but whether Thornton wants to return. The 41-year-old made it clear at the end of the season that he would like to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup before his career ends. That seems unlikely to happen, which could suggest that Thornton may be more interested in joining a legitimate cup candidate for 2020-21. He was hoping to be traded to a contender at the trade deadline, but the team wasn’t able to find the right trade partner. Regardless, with the questions up the middle, the Sharks wouldn’t mind bringing back their heart and soul of the team despite his declining production. He did remain healthy all season, but produced one of his lowest totals since his rookie campaign in Boston back in 1997-98 with just 31 points.

F Melker Karlsson – The long-time bottom-six forward could be looking for another team as the Sharks must decided whether Karlsson’s lack of numbers is worth holding onto. Solid on the penalty kill, Karlsson’s three-year $6MM contract is now up and it’s likely the team might be ready to move on from him after scoring just six goals last season, his lowest numbers ever. Even his hits saw a major decline. If they do bring him back, expect it to be at a much lower AAV.

G Aaron Dell – After two impressive years in net in San Jose, the next two seasons have been less impressive. It’s likely that Dell will be asked to move on as the team attempts to find a better tandem fit with Martin Jones now that they announced the will not buy him out. Dell got more appearances this year with a career-high 33, but a 3.01 GAA and a .907 save percentage wasn’t what the team was looking for while Jones’ struggled. Expect Dell to find a backup job elsewhere in the league.

Other UFAs: F Jonny Brodzinski, D Brandon Davidson, F Anthony Greco, F Stefan Noesen, D Dalton Prout.

Projected Cap Space

Unfortunately for the Sharks, the team doesn’t have some of the cap advantages that other lottery teams possess (or the lottery pick, for that matter). The team has about $67.4MM committed to just 16 players, so there isn’t too much money remaining for the team to fill the rest of its roster spots. Regardless, they will likely dip into the free-agency pool a little bit to bolster a depleted roster, but will most likely have to focus on improving their defense and adding a more reliable goaltender who take take some of the pressure off of Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

San Jose Sharks Announce Several Loans

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The San Jose Sharks have announced several loans for young players that will be headed to Europe for the next few months. Josef Korenar, Fredrik Handemark, Timur Ibragimov, Jonathan Dahlen, Evan Weinger and Krystof Hrabik have all been loaned overseas.

Several of these loans had been reported previously, including Korenar who will join HC Ocelari Trinec of the Czech professional league. The 22-year-old goaltender had an .891 save percentage for the San Jose Barracuda this season, but is an interesting prospect to keep an eye on.

Handemark, 27, only signed with the Sharks in May and is on a one-year deal for the 2020-21 season. The veteran SHL forward had 38 points in 52 games last season for Malmo and will return there until training camp opens in North America.

The 19-year-old Ibragimov was a sixth-round pick of the Sharks in 2019 and is headed to TPS in Finland, possibly for the whole season. The young forward has spent the last few seasons in the MHL but will test his skills in the Liiga instead.

Dahlen perhaps is the most well-known of the bunch, as he’s already been involved in a few trades through his short career. A second-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2016, Dahlen was part of the Alexandre Burrows trade in 2017 and then another deal to send him to San Jose in 2019. The 22-year old is actually scheduled to be a restricted free agent, but he’ll be staying with Timra of the Swedish second league for the time being, where he dominated this year. In 51 games, Dahlen scored 77 points and earned the Allsvenskan MVP.

Weinger and Hrabik are both signed to AHL deals with the Barracuda, but will head to TPS (Finland) and Bili Tygri Liberec (Czech) respectively.

Snapshots: Veleno, Kase, Dahlen, Blues

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Earlier this week, it was reported that Red Wings winger Filip Zadina was in talks to start next season with HC Ocelari Trinec of the Czech Extraliga.  It turns out he might not be the only Detroit youngster doing so as MLive’s Ansar Khan reports that center Joe Veleno is also a part of the discussions with Trinec.  The 20-year-old played his first professional season exclusively in the AHL but it’s worth noting that he was one of the youngest players in the league as he still had junior eligibility.  While Veleno got off to a slow start, he was able to rebound to put up a respectable 23 points (11-12-23) in 54 games before the pandemic hit while collecting six points (1-5-6) in as many games at the World Juniors.  A first-round pick (30th overall) in 2018, loaning Veleno over would allow him to get a couple of extra months of development before returning to North America when the 2020-21 season gets underway.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Bruins winger Ondrej Kase was expected to add some depth to their attack when they acquired him from Anaheim. However, the pandemic limited him to just six games with his new team.  Now, he hasn’t been able to participate in practice due to being ‘unfit to participate’ and head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty, that he’s unsure if Kase will even be able to travel to the East’s hub in Toronto.  A decision on that front is expected on Sunday.  If he can’t participate, one of Anders Bjork or Karson Kuhlman could slot into a regular spot in the lineup.
  • When Jonathan Dahlen decided to stay in Sweden for another year, it wasn’t viewed as a big surprise considering the year he had. However, as Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now notes, the Sharks were planning on bringing the 22-year-old over to contend for a spot with them for 2020-21.  Dahlen had 77 points in 51 games for Timra of the Swedish Allsvenskan, a second-tier league and while he had interest throughout the SHL which may have been better from a development perspective, he opted to re-sign at the lower level to try to help them earn a promotion to the SHL.  Their season ends early enough that it’s possible that Dahlen could wind up joining San Jose as a midseason addition.
  • There were no surprise cuts from the Blues’ roster. Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Tyler Tucker and goalie Joel Hofer are the two that won’t be participating.  Tucker split the season between Barrie and Flint of the OHL but wasn’t eligible since his entry-level deal doesn’t start until 2020-21.  Hofer technically was eligible but he also is coming off a season strictly spent in junior with WHL Portland.  Louis is opting to carry three goalies on their roster which took Hofer out of the mix quickly.

Jonathan Dahlen Staying In Sweden

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Despite dominating the Swedish second league in 2019-20, Jonathan Dahlen still isn’t ready to come to the NHL. The 22-year old San Jose Sharks prospect will be remaining in Sweden for next season, his agent explaining to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that he still does want to play in the NHL someday.

Dahlen, a second-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2016, has already been traded twice in his short professional career. Originally signing his entry-level deal with the Vancouver Canucks in 2017 he has played just 63 AHL games so far, instead spending most of the contract loaned back to his club team in Sweden.

After putting up two point-per-game seasons for Timra in 2016-17 and 2017-18, Dahlen returned this year and took his game to an entirely different level. The skilled forward was named the Allsvenskan MVP after putting up 77 points in 51 games, leading the league in goals with 36.

His entry-level contract will expire this summer, meaning the Sharks will have to extend a qualifying offer in order to retain his exclusive rights. You can bet they’ll do that even if he doesn’t plan on coming over in 2020-21, given the upside he still represents as a future top-six NHL player.

Sharks Loan Jonathan Dahlen To Timra

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There had been speculation dating back to last season that Sharks prospect Jonathan Dahlen was looking to return to Sweden.  That has now come to fruition as Timra of the Swedish Allsvenskan announced that the winger has signed a one-year deal with the team after San Jose officially loaned them his rights.  His entry-level deal contains a European Assignment Clause although teams will often bring a player to training camp first before going that route.

Dahlen’s brief time in North America has been somewhat rocky.  The former Vancouver prospect was touted as one of their better prospects heading into last season but he didn’t make a big impact in the minors (29 points in 50 games with AHL Utica) and he was eventually traded to San Jose for forward Linus Karlsson, a 2018 third-round pick.  While the move is more understandable now knowing that Dahlen didn’t want to stay in the minors for next season, that’s still a notable drop in value in a short period of time.

2019-20 will mark the final year of Dahlen’s NHL contract and it will be interesting to see what happens next with him.  A strong season could have the 21-year-old back on the NHL radar but at the same time, if he does well at home, he could very well simply opt to stay there.  Either way, the Sharks can retain his rights by tendering him a qualifying offer next June.

Snapshots: Dahlen, Teply, Boston University

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Many believe that talented, but under-performing forward Jonathan Dahlen may be primed for a breakout year in 2019-20, beginning his first full season with the San Jose Sharks. Dahlen, 21, was acquired by the Sharks at the trade deadline in a swap with the Vancouver Canucks for fellow Swedish forward prospect Linus Karlsson. Dahlen had failed to do enough in the AHL to earn a call-up to the Canucks in his first season in North America, but after a four-point outburst in the final seven games of the regular season with AHL San Jose, many felt a change of scenery could be all he needed to battle for an NHL spot this upcoming season. However, Dahlen may not break camp with the Sharks this fall because he may not even be in camp. Swedish news source Hockey Sverige reports that Dahlen is expected to return to his former club, Timra IK. Dahlen is in the final year of his entry-level contract, but that deal does include a European Assignment Clause, which allows Dahlen to play in Europe if he does not make the NHL club. The fact that this information has been leaked so early before training camp likely indicates that Dahlen either believes or knows that he won’t be playing for the Sharks in 2019-20 and would prefer to return home to Sweden rather than suit up for the Barracuda. Dahlen exercised his European Assignment Clause in the first year of his ELC, playing for Timra rather than the AHL’s Utica Comets. After a season in Utica last year that left a lot to be desired, Dahlen is likely eager to get back to his roots, especially since Timra has been promoted to the SHL from the minor league Allsvenskan since the last time he played there. If Dahlen does indeed jump overseas next season, it doesn’t mean his career with San Jose is over. The Sharks would merely need to make him a qualifying offer next season to retain his rights moving forward, should he re-discover his game and try again to make it in the NHL.

  • One player making the reverse move, going from Europe to North America, is Chicago Blackhawks prospect Michal Teply. Teply played professionally in his native Czech Republic last season, but is ready to return to the junior ranks. After being selected No. 4 overall in the recent CHL Import Draft, Teply has delivered on the pick used by the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice, as the team announced he has signed. The Ice, who are moving from Kootenay to Winnipeg and looking for a fresh start after a second-to-last league finish, are likely to see immediate results from Teply. A big winger who uses his size well to create space and make plays, many were surprised that Teply fell into the fourth round for the Blackhawks. In fact, there was a consensus among the top scouting services that Teply was a surefire second- or third-round pick. From fourth round to fourth overall, Winnipeg still may have found a steal in Teply, as the skilled forward has already proven he can compete with men at the pro level and could be in for breakout year against junior competition.
  • Boston University has found its new starting goaltender via transfer. The program has announced that a pair of graduate transfers have joined the team in Alex Brink and Sam Tucker. While Brink was a nice piece as a depth forward at Brown University, Tucker is the big news. The 23-year-old keeper split starts in net for Yale University over the past three seasons, including leading the team in appearances in each of the past two years, and his numbers took a sharp upturn in 2018-19. He now joins an elite NCAA program in BU where superior defense and possession ability should allow him to excel even more. After losing Jake Oettinger to the pros, it was looking like the Terriers were going to enter next season with untested Vinnie Purpura in net, but Purpura can take another year to continue developing while Tucker presumably takes over the starter role. Brink and Tucker join a new group of players that is arguably the best recruiting class in the nation, helping to make up for an exodus of nearly a third of last year’s roster to the pros.

Pacific Notes: Gusev, McDavid, Utica Comets

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The Vegas Golden Knights continue to get closer and closer to signing the KHL’s best player, Nikita Gusev. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Gusev is expected to arrive in Las Vegas tonight and could sign his one-year, entry-level deal as soon as tomorrow and should be ready to play not long after that. The Golden Knights are then expected to sign the then-restricted free agent to a long-term deal this summer.

In fact, The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) analyzes what kind of impact the 26-year-old might have on the Vegas lineup, especially considering the star winger has little experience playing on North American hockey rinks and considering Vegas’ depth, there is no guarantee that head coach Gerard Gallant would play him when every game is so critical. Gallant said as much:

“I don’t know much about him. George (McPhee) mentioned it today. There are some reports out there. If he can join us then we’ll see what’s going to happen, but I don’t know the player well enough. Hopefully he does join us and he gets some practice time in with us, but I have no idea if that’s going to happen. It was first mentioned this morning to me.”

Granger suggests that Gusev could find himself eventually on the Golden Knights’ third line alongside Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch, but even as the team knows it will bring the great KHLer aboard, there is still quite a mystery surrounding him.

  • The Edmonton Oilers got some good news on star center Connor McDavid who suffered what looked to be a significant injury in their final regular season game last week. While he did suffer a small PCL tear in his knee, the injury will not require surgery and the superstar is expected to be ready for training camp, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Sportsnet’s John Shannon added that the injury will require three months of rehabilitation. The 22-year-old still had a career-high in points as he finished with 116, second in the league.
  • Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre wonders whether the Vancouver Canucks might make some changes at the AHL level this offseason. The Utica Comets were considered to be a fascinating team to keep an eye on this season as the franchise was loaded in young talent. However, few of those young players actually showed any improvement and two of them found their way out of the organization as prospect Petrus Palmu opted to return home, while Jonathan Dahlen forced a trade to San Jose. Both were unhappy with the playing time under Utica head coach Trent Cull. In fact a number of prospects struggled under Cull, including 2017 second-rounders Kole Lind (three goals) and Jonah Gadjovich (four goals). That could force general manager Jim Benning to look into the situation in Utica a little closer.

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