Morning Notes: Carle, Berube, Kuhlman
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had an “initial conversation” with University of Denver head coach David Carle to “gauge his interest” in potentially filling Toronto’s vacant head coaching position, reports Elliotte Friedman in Monday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts podcast. Friedman cautioned that the talks between Carle and the Maple Leafs are purely preliminary, and that neither Carle, nor anyone else, should be considered the favorite in the process at this time.
According to previous reports, the Maple Leafs may be targeting a “fresh face” as their next head coach – a departure from their previous coaching search, which resulted in the hire of a Stanley Cup-winning veteran in Craig Berube. Carle, 36, is widely considered to be among the top coaching candidates who has never held a coaching role in the NHL, or even at the professional level. Carle has been the Denver Pioneers’ head coach since 2018-19, and is a three-time NCAA national champion in that role. He’s also won a gold medal as head coach at two World Junior championships – at both tournaments he got to coach. It’s been widely reported that Carle will be selective about where and when he eventually decides to turn pro (and if he even does) and has already withdrawn himself from consideration from one NHL search in the past.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The Edmonton Oilers have received permission to speak with Berube, the former Maple Leafs coach, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Berube was fired by the Maple Leafs less than a week ago after his second season behind the bench there. The 60-year-old, as previously mentioned, led the St. Louis Blues to their franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship in 2019. Berube’s first season in Toronto was reasonably successful, as the club went 52-26-4, and won a playoff series for just the second time in the Auston Matthews-led “Core Four” era. But Toronto fell in the second round to the eventual champions, the Florida Panthers, and endured a disastrous 32-36-14 campaign in 2025-26. The Oilers are under significant pressure to win a Stanley Cup as soon as next season, and it appears the club may target the most experienced coaches available, and specifically those with a Stanley Cup win on their resume.
- 147-game NHL veteran Karson Kuhlman has signed a one-year contract extension with Rögle BK of the SHL, per a team release. The 30-year-old signed with Rögle last summer and had a solid debut season there, scoring 13 goals and 25 points in 52 games played, and seven points in 17 playoff games. Kuhlman has played in Europe since 2024-25, when he spent the year with Lukko in the Finnish Liiga. From 2018-19 through 2022-23, Kuhlman played in nearly 150 NHL games for the Boston Bruins, Seattle Kraken, and Winnipeg Jets. The NCAA national champion nearly won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2019, and also got the chance to represent the United States at the 2022 IIHF Men’s World Championships.
Karson Kuhlman Signs With Sweden’s Rögle BK
Former NHL winger Karson Kuhlman has signed a one-year contract with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced. There won’t be a return to North America in 2025-26 for the Minnesota native, who spent last year in Finland with Lukko.
Kuhlman, whose season in Finland this year was the first overseas one of his career, did well to rejuvenate his production. His most recent season stateside was an exceptionally difficult one. Kuhlman inked a two-way deal with the Islanders for 2023-24 but was buried in the minors for the entire season after clearing waivers, putting together a lowly 12-10–22 scoring line with a -29 rating in 72 games for AHL Bridgeport. That’s garish production for someone with nearly 150 games of NHL experience, even for a depth piece.
The former NCAA championship tournament MVP found much more offensive success in Finland. He served as an alternate captain for Lukko and led the club in scoring with a 21-25–46 line in 60 games, helping them finish atop the Liiga regular-season standings for the first time in four years. He was Liiga’s player of the month in December while posting the highest points per game rate of his professional career in any league.
Instead of searching for an NHL two-way deal this summer and battling it out for a roster spot in training camp, he’ll opt for more security in what will presumably be a top-six role with Rögle. The team has been a middle-of-the-pack one in the SHL for the past few years, but has been active this offseason, landing ex-NHLers Mark Friedman and Fredrik Olofsson in recent weeks. They’re still rather light on offensive firepower, though, and Kuhlman has a chance to play the same starring role for them as he did for Lukko.
Kuhlman, undrafted, last saw NHL action in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Jets. He has a 12-18–30 career scoring line in 147 games with Boston, Seattle, and Winnipeg.
Karson Kuhlman Signs In Finland
A year ago, unrestricted free agent Karson Kuhlman was coming his second straight campaign where he was a full-timer on an NHL roster. However, his time in North America is now over, at least for the time being as Lukko in Finland announced that they’ve signed the winger to a one-year contract.
The 28-year-old signed with Boston out of college back in 2018, spending parts of five years in their system. In three of those seasons, he split time between them and AHL Providence before becoming a full-time NHL player in 2021-22.
That season, Kuhlman broke camp with the Bruins and got into 19 games with them before being waived in mid-January where he was claimed by Seattle. He remained with the Kraken for the rest of that season and the beginning of 2022-23 before being waived in December, being claimed by Winnipeg.
Despite being a full-timer on the roster for two straight years, Kuhlman didn’t generate strong interest in free agency last summer, instead settling for a two-way deal with the Islanders. While the hope was that he could push for a depth spot or at least position himself as one of the first recall options, that didn’t materialize. Instead, he spent the entire year with AHL Bridgeport, recording 12 goals and 10 assists.
Kuhlman leaves North America with 147 career NHL games under his belt between Boston, Seattle, and Winnipeg, totaling 30 points. He also has played in 146 AHL contests over that stretch, tallying 61 points. Now, he’ll look to establish himself as more of an offensive threat in the Liiga and a good showing there could get him back on the North American radar next summer.
New York Islanders Sign Three Players
The New York Islanders made a trio of depth forward additions today, signing Julien Gauthier, Karson Kuhlman, and Brian Pinho in free agency. Per the team, Gauthier received a two-year deal, while Kuhlman and Pinho received one-year, two-way contracts.
CapFriendly confirms Gauthier’s contract carries an average annual value of $787.5K, paid out as $775K in 2023-24 and $800K in 2024-25. Ethan Sears of the New York Post adds Kuhlman and Pinho’s deals both carry cap hits of $775K, with Kuhlman’s deal earning him $300K in the minors and a $350K guaranteed salary.
Gauthier is an interesting addition, especially on a one-way deal. The former first-round pick hasn’t lived up to expectations and is now on his fourth NHL organization, although he did score a career-high nine goals and 14 points in 57 games last season, split between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators.
The 25-year-old does have good size at 6-foot-4 and 227 pounds, but it’ll be tough to land an everyday spot in the Islanders’ lineup. He’ll most likely compete for a third-line role with Hudson Fasching, a career AHLer who broke out for 10 goals and 19 points in 49 games with the Islanders and earned the trust of the team’s coaching staff. With the team unlikely to break up their longstanding fourth line of Cal Clutterbuck, Casey Cizikas, and Matt Martin until one of them retires, bottom-six roles will be scarce.
Kuhlman joins the Islanders after spending the last two seasons entirely in the NHL and being claimed on waivers twice, once by the Seattle Kraken in 2021-22 and the Winnipeg Jets in 2022-23. In his five-season, 147-game NHL career, the 27-year-old American has 12 goals and 30 points. The two-way deal suggests he could be heading back to the minors for his first extended stint there since 2018-19, where he put up 12 goals and 30 points in 58 games with the Providence Bruins.
Pinho comes over as a veteran AHLer, amassing 225 games in the minors over five seasons spent with the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils organizations. With only two NHL regular-season games to his name, both coming in the 2020-21 season, Pinho is likely destined for a middle-six role with the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport.
Dysin Mayo Clears Waivers
Dec 13: While Kuhlman was claimed by the Winnipeg Jets, Mayo has cleared, according to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports. The defenseman is expected to be assigned to the AHL.
Dec 12: Two more players have hit waivers today, as Dysin Mayo of the Arizona Coyotes and Karson Kuhlman of the Seattle Kraken are available for claim, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets.
Mayo, 26, was one of the best stories from last season. After grinding for five seasons in the minor leagues, the fifth-round pick finally made it to the NHL and played in 67 games for the Coyotes, racking up 12 points and averaging nearly 21 minutes a night. While the results weren’t great, he was given absolutely brutal deployment against the other team’s best nearly every night and managed to put together a respectable rookie season.
This year, with other options in place, Mayo has slipped down the depth chart and out of the lineup entirely. For a five-game stretch in November, he failed to reach even nine minutes of ice time. Now, he is likely headed to the minor leagues given a waiver claim would be surprising. Not necessarily because of his skill, but because of the three-year extension that the Coyotes gave him in February, hoping to lock up a breakout player. Mayo will carry a cap hit of $950K through the 2024-25 season.
Kuhlman, meanwhile, is being pushed off the roster by the incoming Eeli Tolvanen, who the Kraken claimed today. The 27-year-old forward has three points in 14 games so far this season and has played very sparingly of late. In his last appearance, Kuhlman was given just six shifts. On a one-way deal worth $825K, he too seems an unlikely candidate to be claimed off waivers.
Winnipeg Jets Claim Karson Kuhlman
The Winnipeg Jets have claimed Karson Kuhlman off waivers from the Seattle Kraken. Kuhlman ended up on waivers after Seattle claimed Eeli Tolvanen yesterday.
The move to add the depth forward comes after Jets head coach Rick Bowness was very clear about his frustration with the bottom of his lineup. Speaking with Murat Ates of The Athletic, he explained:
I’m not happy with that fourth line at all. Last game they had two goals against and they’re not generating anything. We’re going to give it a different look tonight.
That different look is with the recalled Kevin Stenlund centering but soon could mean Kuhlman’s addition as well. The 27-year-old has played in 114 games at the NHL level – 14 of them with Seattle this season – and has 26 points. A player that brings a lot of energy, he also has connections to some other Jets from his time in college, where he played with Dylan Samberg, Neal Pionk, and Dominic Toninato.
With the claim, the Jets will take on Kuhlman’s $825K salary and fill up their roster to the maximum of 23 players. Seattle would have been able to bury his entire cap hit in the minors, but given the deal is one-way, would have been on the hook to pay him the full salary even if Kuhlman was assigned to the AHL.
Snapshots: Sprong, Dickinson, Mailloux
After converting his PTO into another NHL contract, Seattle Kraken winger Daniel Sprong isn’t able to be a full participant with the team just yet. According to The Seattle Times’ Kate Shefte, Sprong is dealing with work visa complications and is expected to rejoin the team within the next few days.
This does put Sprong’s availability for Seattle’s season opener on Wednesday in Anaheim in doubt. While Sprong was productive in terms of goals after joining the Kraken at the trade deadline last season, their added depth on the wing puts him squarely in a fourth-line role with everyone healthy. In his stead, Karson Kuhlman is expected to dress against Anaheim if Sprong can’t play.
- Similarly, new Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson is also battling visa issues after arriving from Vancouver. The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus reports that Dickinson will miss the team’s first two games of the season at the least, potentially missing three. Dickinson’s absence and his ability to be designated as a non-roster player in the meantime allowed them to claim defenseman Jarred Tinordi off waivers today without making a corresponding roster move.
- While Montreal Canadiens defense prospect Logan Mailloux will start the season on injured reserve, he won’t stay there for long. Sportsnet’s Eric Engels notes to expect Montreal to send him back to the OHL’s London Knights after he returns to practice. Mailloux is expected to play a full season in London after injuries and a lengthy suspension due to his sexual misconduct charge during his draft year in Sweden limited him to 12 games.
Seattle Kraken Expected To Re-Sign Karson Kuhlman
The Seattle Kraken appear to be bringing back a familiar face by signing Karson Kuhlman to a one-year standard contract worth $825K, according to CapFriendly. The deal will carry Kuhlamn through 2022-23 and leave him a UFA after the season. Kuhlman was among the Kraken players who did not come to the team via the expansion draft, and was instead claimed on waivers in January from the Boston Bruins.
After another solid season, Kuhlman, an energy-type player appeared to earn another look from a Kraken team that is still building searching for its identity. The forward put up three goals and seven assists in 44 games between Boston and Seattle in 2021-22, but eight of those 10 points came in just 25 games with the Kraken. Now the forward should have a chance to make an impact in training camp to try and earn regular minutes for Seattle, or if not, as a quality depth piece for 2022-23.
Kuhlman began his amateur career as a member of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL before attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he played much the same role as he does now. After his college career, the undrafted free agent signed with the Bruins, joining the Providence Bruins for two games to round out 2017-18. He would have a solid season for Providence the following year while also making his NHL debut with Boston the same year. The 26-year-old spent the rest of his career with Boston, occasionally making stops in Providence before this season’s waiver claim that sent him out to Seattle.
USA Hockey Announces Roster For 2022 World Championship
The U.S. roster for the upcoming IIHF World Championship has been set, a group that includes both NHL stars and prospects waiting for their first opportunity. The event will be held later this month in Helsinki, Finland, and will see the U.S. squad try to improve from their third-place finish a year ago.
The full roster:
G Jon Gillies
G Strauss Mann
G Alex Nedeljkovic
D Nick Blankenburg
D Jordan Harris
D Luke Hughes
D Caleb Jones
D Seth Jones
D Jaycob Megna
D Andrew Peeke
D Nate Schmidt
F Riley Barber
F Kieffer Bellows
F Thomas Bordeleau
F Sasha Chmelevski
F Sean Farrell
F Alex Galchenyuk
F Adam Gaudette
F John Hayden
F Sam Lafferty
F Vinni Lettieri
F Karson Kuhlman
F Ben Meyers
F Austin Watson
One of the most interesting names to watch will be Mann, who represented his country at the Olympics earlier this year and recently signed an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks. The 23-year-old netminder has had quite an odd path to this point, including going undrafted, playing three years at the University of Michigan, and then going to play in Sweden this season.
It will certainly be some mixed emotions for Canadian fans from the Montreal area, given how this squad includes two of the highly-touted Canadiens prospects in Harris and Farrell. The former signed and made his debut at the end of the year, while the latter just completed an outstanding rookie season at Harvard. Farrell was also a part of the U.S. Olympic squad this year, and scored three goals and six points in four games on the international stage.
The U.S. will kick things off on May 13 against Latvia.
Injury Notes: Drouin, DeAngelo, Kuhlman
Earlier today, it was announced that several key players were activated off of injured-reserve. One of those players is Montreal Canadiens’ forward Jonathan Drouin (link). Drouin last played for the Canadiens on January 20th, against Vegas, before going on injured reserve for nearly two months.
Despite Montreal being well outside of the playoff picture, there is a potentially exciting detail to his return: a chance to play under interim head coach Martin St. Louis. After St. Louis took over coaching duties for the Canadiens, forward Cole Caufield saw a resurgence and a return to form of the player he was in last year’s playoffs. While Drouin had not struggled this year in the ways that Caufield did, perhaps a change of pace in that of St. Louis could offer a boost to Drouin, who currently has six goals and 14 assists in 32 games this season.
- Also activated off of injured reserve was Carolina Hurricanes’ defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. The Hurricanes have been without DeAngelo since February 21st, and while they have not struggled the entire time, going 6-3-2, they have dropped their last three games, and hope that perhaps DeAngelo can provide a spark. That hope is certainly not unfounded, as DeAngelo has enjoyed a tremendous bounce-back season after a difficult 2020-21 with the New York Rangers. DeAngelo currently has nine goals and 31 assists in in 43 games for the Hurricanes this season.
- Karson Kuhlman will also return to the ice, as the Seattle Kraken activated the forward off of IR earlier today. Kuhlman has had a difficult season thus far, recording just two points in 19 games for the Boston Bruins before being placed on waivers. He would be claimed off waivers by the Kraken on January 17 and play in just five games before being placed on IR on February 1st. Being healthy once again, and Seattle expected to move some pieces out before Monday’s trade deadline, Kuhlman can look to return to the lineup and perhaps become a consistent contributor.