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Kodie Curran

Kodie Curran Signs In KHL

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When the Anaheim Ducks signed Kodie Curran in 2020, he came with a considerable amount of hype. Though the offensive defenseman had never before played in the NHL, he had dominated several European leagues, including winning the SHL Most Valuable Player award after putting up 49 points in 48 games. Because of his age, he wasn’t limited to an entry-level contract, so the Ducks gave him a two-year, one-way deal that paid him $1MM in each season.

Unfortunately, that hype quickly evaporated as his high-risk style limited him to the AHL. Curran played in 24 games for the San Diego Gulls in 2020-21, scoring 13 points, and then was waived at the beginning of the 2021-22 season. He would clear, spend most of the year with the Gulls, and then be included in the Hampus Lindholm deal at the deadline, going to the Providence Bruins in the process.

Now, after making $2MM and never seeing the NHL, Curran is headed back overseas. He has signed a one-year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, where he will once again try to dominate a league outside of North America. Given that he will turn 33 in December, it seems unlikely that he’ll ever get a better chance at the NHL, and with so much success overseas it wouldn’t be surprising to see him finish his career somewhere other than the AHL.

In all, his contract with the Ducks resulted in 29 points in 62 minor league contests.

KHL Off-Season Opening Day Round-Up

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The KHL off-season opened today and the league did not waste any time in making moves that have meaning to NHL fans. A number of familiar names have hit free agency today and some are already agreeing to new deals. Meanwhile, others are being traded on the first day to do so, including the rights to some players currently in North America. Keep up with all of today’s action as the KHL’s clubs get their summers started early with significant moves:

  •  One of the first players to sign with a new team early this morning was former NHL forward Teemu Pulkkinen. A Detroit Red Wings draft pick who also spent time with the Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, and most recently the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017-18, Pulkkinen will be entering his fourth season in the KHL and is already on to his fourth different team. After splitting this season between Dynamo Moscow and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, collecting 30 points in 46 games, Pulkkinen has signed a two-year deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk. The 29-year-old has scored at a .67 per-game clip in his KHL career and shows no signs of slowing down.
  • SKA St. Petersberg and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod have made an interesting futures swap, trading the rights of two current NHLers. Torpedo received the rights to Edmonton Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi (as well as minor league forward Danil Voyevodin) while SKA landed the rights to young San Jose Sharks goalie Alexei Melnichuk. The deal is tricky on a number of levels; while Puljujarvi is undoubtedly the biggest name in the trade, it is Melnichuk who commanded the larger side of the return. It was also KHL powerhouse SKA who received the prospect netminder and gave up the established scorer. This could be a simple case of different likelihoods of those player rights having any value. While Puljujarvi previously left the Oilers for Europe, he has finally found his NHL stride in his return this season and is unlikely to leave again. Even if he does, Puljujarvi may just return home to the Finnish Liiga as well. On the other hand, Melnichuk was born and bred in the SKA system and the team may have some insight into his future plans. The 22-year-old keeper is valued by the Sharks and even made his NHL debut this year in his first season in North America, however his AHL play has underwhelmed and he doesn’t look like a realistic full-time NHL option for San Jose next season. If the young goalie grows tired of playing in the minors in North America, he would probably be happy to jump back to his old team and take on a starting role in the KHL.
  • Former Boston Bruins forward Joonas Kemppainen has signed a one-year extension to remain with SKA. The Finnish power forward didn’t work out in his lone NHL season back in 2015-16, recording five points in eleven games with Boston, but has been a productive player in the KHL for five years now. That includes a 15-goal, 29-point campaign with St. Petersberg this year that earned him an extension. The 33-year-old veteran is not a candidate to ever return to North America, but still has plenty to offer in Russia.
  • Vladimir Zharkov feels like ancient New Jersey Devils history at this point, but the former top prospect continues to produce in the KHL. Zharkov, 33, spent four seasons with the Devils early in his career and was a nice fringe piece, but lacked starting upside. In the KHL since 2012-13, Zharkov has become a reliable two-way forward and locker room leader, spending many years with top programs like CSKA Moscow and Salavat Yulaev Ufa. Now he’s off to the top team in the league, signing a two-year deal with recently-crowned Gagarin Cup champions Avangard Omsk, replacing the veteran presence of the departed Ilya Kovalchuk.
  • Torpedo jumped right back into the action, signing an exciting forward to a one-year deal. Marek Hrivik gave his all to a career in North America, developing in the QMJHL and spending six seasons primarily in the AHL for the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames. However, he never could earn a full-time opportunity and returned home to Europe in 2018. Even then, his first go-round in the KHL did not go all that well. However, after back-to-back stellar season in Sweden, he is ready to give it another try with Torpedo. Hrivik totaled 81 points in 90 games with the SHL’s Leksands IF these past two years and if that can translate to the KHL then the 29-year-old could become a star in Russia.
  • Another trade involving NHL property has landed, but this one could have more immediate dividends. Defending champions Omsk have acquired the rights to Boston Bruins prospect forward Peter Cehlarik from Yaroslavl in exchange for the rights to Anaheim Ducks defenseman Kodie Curran. Cehlarik, 25, is already in Europe, having left Boston this past off-season to join Leksands IF in Sweden. Cehlarik always showed great promise in the AHL, but couldn’t translate it to the NHL for the Bruins. After recording 20 goals and 40 points in 45 SHL games this season, Cehlarik may want to return to Boston, who continues to hold his rights, in an attempt to prove himself once more. However, the talented winger could be tempted to join the KHL’s current kings this off-season instead. As for Curran, 31, he already did his stint in Europe and made his return to North America. The Calgary native spent the previous four seasons in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden before earning his first NHL contract with the Ducks this past off-season. While he hasn’t see any action in Anaheim just yet, he has 11 points in 17 AHL games this season and his one-way, $1MM contract still has another year remaining. However, if Curran is still not being utilized by the Ducks after next season and doesn’t draw any other NHL offers as a result, he has a new home to return to in Europe in Yarolslavl.
  • After signing his entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, Pyotr Kochetkov has inked another deal – a one-year extension with Torpedo. The 21-year-old landed in Novgorod late in the season, but excelled down the stretch and in the postseason with save percentages of .931 and .932, respectively. Kochetkov could very well be in line for the starting role for Torpedo next season while playing on loan from Carolina.

Pacific Notes: Kahun, Canucks, Curran

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Quite a few players set their sights high in free agency and have had to settle for less than they were expected.  Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins reports that Dominik Kahun was one of them as he turned down bigger offers early on than the $975K for one year that he ultimately received from the Oilers.  However, he notes that the short-term arrangement wasn’t the only option Kahun and Edmonton discussed as talks initially were for a multi-year deal.  Clearly, that didn’t come to fruition but Kahun will be eligible to sign an extension in-season if he so desires.  That window typically opens up on January 1st but it seems quite likely that it will be pushed back depending on when the 2020-21 season actually gets underway.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • The Canucks were in the process of trying to make a cap-clearing trade before Tyler Toffoli decided to sign with Montreal, reports Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre. While they were still able to make an addition of note when they brought in Nate Schmidt from Vegas, it’s fair to wonder if GM Jim Benning may be willing to try to free up some cap room again to try to add one of the notable free agents that are still available.  Vancouver could get some in-season relief if winger Micheal Ferland is unable to return and winds up back on LTIR but at the moment, he is hoping to return for next season which would take that option off the table.
  • The Ducks weren’t the only team that showed interest in defenseman Kodie Curran this offseason, notes Scott Cruickshank of The Athletic (subscription link). However, as Anaheim had checked in on his over the previous couple of years, that was enough to sell the 30-year-old on signing his first NHL contract with them.  Curran spent time in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden over the past four years and inked a two-year, one-way deal this offseason with a $1MM AAV, signalling that the Ducks expect him to be a part of their back end next season.

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