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Nikita Gusev

Free Agent Notes: Salary Cap, Marner, Gusev, Duchene, Dillon

June 22, 2019 at 3:07 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 4 Comments

With rumors of the 2019-20 salary cap possibly being lower than the $83MM that teams initially expected, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that an NHLPA spokesperson told him that there should be an announcement on the salary cap this evening.

With talks that the salary cap could be as low as $81.5MM, LeBrun writes that the NHLPA is taking their time to weigh that number. That number is expected to have a significant effect on teams, especially on those that are tight to the cap as that leaves them even less room to work with and could force teams to dump salaries even more than ever.

  • LeBrun also tweets that the agent for Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner, Darren Ferris, is expecting to hear from other teams on Wednesday, the day the RFA speaking period begins. With plenty of talks of high demands and a suggested willingness to sign an offer sheet, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has his hands full. Dubas and Ferris did not meet this week in Vancouver and Ferris is expected to leave the draft for home, although there is plenty of time for both Dubas and Ferris to meet next week.
  • While many fans of the Vegas Golden Knights have been looking forward to seeing KHL star forward Nikita Gusev play this season, TSN’s Darren Dreger suggests that the restricted free-agent may not end up getting the chance. With plenty of cap concerns, Vegas may not have enough money to sign the 26-year-old winger, and the Golden Knights may opt to trade him to relieve some of those cap issues. Dreger adds that multiple teams have inquired about Gusev, who currently would be penciled in on their third line and could be expendable for the right price. Gusev signed a one-year deal, $925K in April of this year, but he didn’t appear in a game for the Golden Knights. He won the KHL MVP award in 2018 and has scored 63 goals in the last three season for SKA St. Petersburg.
  • The Athletic’s Craig Custance reports that he has heard there won’t be any deal between the Columbus Blue Jackets and unrestricted free agent center Matt Duchene before the speaking period opens on Sunday. While that isn’t a major surprise, of all the Blue Jackets’ big-named free agents, Duchene was their best hope to re-signing. However, especially after the recent P.K. Subban deal, it is believed that Nashville has become the front-runner for Duchene’s services.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that the San Jose Sharks would be open to moving defenseman Brendan Dillon for the right price. Dillon, who is currently slated to play on the top defensive pairing next to Brent Burns is making $3.27MM, but with significant cap issues coming this offseason, the team could use the extra cap room to try and make sure it can sign all of its top free agents, including restricted free agent Timo Meier, as well as unrestricted free agents Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Joonas Donskoi and Gustav Nyquist, although the latter two are less likely to return.

Columbus Blue Jackets| KHL| Kyle Dubas| NHL| NHLPA| RFA| San Jose Sharks| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vegas Golden Knights Brent Burns| Gustav Nyquist| Joe Pavelski| Joe Thornton| Joonas Donskoi| Matt Duchene| Mitch Marner| Nikita Gusev| P.K. Subban| Salary Cap| Timo Meier

4 comments

Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Oilers, Canucks

June 8, 2019 at 6:01 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 9 Comments

After two years of heavy turnover and maneuvering to get their franchise off to a hot start, it looks like the Vegas Golden Knights will be taking a back seat when free agency opens on July 1. While most people weren’t expecting Vegas to be active this offseason, with their cap room already used up, Ken Boehlke of SinBin.vegas writes that President of Hockey Operations George McPhee admitted the team will be inactive:

Well we’re in pretty good shape with our core group. We have basically everyone signed up and we are close on some other things. So I don’t imagine we’re going to be out looking at free agents this summer. We like the team the way it is and we like the young guys that we have coming along.

What McPhee meant when he said the team was close on some other things could be very interesting, although it could range anywhere from a potential long-term deal with restricted free agent William Karlsson, to potential deals for fellow RFA’s Nikita Gusev, Tomas Nosek, Jimmy Schuldt or veteran UFA Deryk Engelland, or even a trade to free up cap space to sign any of them.

  • The Athletic’s Jonathan Willis (subscription required) looks at the potential compatibility between the Edmonton Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets, wondering if the two teams might be a perfect match for solving each of their problems. The scribe suggests the Jets could use Edmonton to help unload some of their less-significant contracts, such as Mathieu Perreault or Dmitry Kulikov, or if the Jets are more motivated, they could consider sending winger Nikolaj Ehlers, who is coming off a disappointing season, to Edmonton for a package that could include a defenseman such as Darnell Nurse or Andrej Sekera and some of Edmonton’s youth that could help bolster the team’s depth.
  • Allan Mitchell of the Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Oilers are in need of an inexpensive third-line center option, one that can kill penalties, suggesting the team look via the trade market to find that player. He writes that the Oilers should consider trying to pry Montreal Canadiens’ center Phillip Danault, as well as look at Winnipeg’s Adam Lowry, Ottawa’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Detroit’s Luke Glendening, or Dallas’ Radek Faksa. The scribe adds that the most likely candidate that Edmonton would be able to steal away could be Pageau.
  • The Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnston writes that the Vancouver Canucks should seriously consider trying to convince Toronto Maple Leafs unrestricted free agent Jake Gardiner to sign with them this offseason. While there have been rumors that Toronto wants to unload other contracts in hopes of keeping Gardiner in the fold, Johnston writes that Gardiner would be the perfect puck-carrying defenseman that the team hasn’t had since Alexander Edler was in his prime. However, he wonders whether the U.S.-born blue liner might prefer to avoid playing in Canada after a taking a lot of heat from Toronto fans over the years.

Edmonton Oilers| Free Agency| George McPhee| Montreal Canadiens| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights| Winnipeg Jets Adam Lowry| Andrej Sekera| Darnell Nurse| Deryk Engelland| Dmitry Kulikov| Jake Gardiner| Jean-Gabriel Pageau| Jimmy Schuldt| Luke Glendening| Mathieu Perreault| Nikita Gusev| Nikolaj Ehlers| Phillip Danault| Radek Faksa| Tomas Nosek| William Karlsson

9 comments

Snapshots: Datsyuk, Faulk, Karlsson, Sutter

June 4, 2019 at 6:06 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

Despite some initial speculation early this off-season, it seems an NHL comeback for Pavel Datsyuk is unlikely. Speaking to Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press, agent Dan Milstein stated that Datsyuk’s probable landing spot remains his home town of Yekaterinburg with the KHL’s Avtomobilist. A free agent after wrapping up a very successful three-year stint with SKA St. Petersburg, Datsyuk made it known that he was leaving SKA and was hoping to land somewhere more familiar to he and his family. The 40-year-old center’s NHL rights are currently owned by the Arizona Coyotes, but they expire on July 1st with the start of the new league year. As such, there was some thought that he could return to the Detroit Red Wings, where he spent all 14 years of his NHL career. Datsyuk would be joining a team now run by fellow Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman and even in his advanced age, Datsyuk would have had the chance to return to a key role for Detroit. Although he recently visited the city and reportedly spoke to Yzerman and company, Milstein maintains that Datsyuk is more likely to settle into a cushy role in Yekaterinburg. “We are meeting in the coming days to discuss options and future plans,” Milstein said, but it seems that the decision is already close to being made. “It’s very likely Pavel will live up to his promise of playing for his hometown team in Russia.”

  • In an article offering up some trade suggestions over the waning days of the NHL postseason for those teams no longer in the running, USA Today’s Kevin Allen notes that teams may not want to waste their time trying to pry a defenseman out of Carolina. The Hurricanes succeeded this season largely because of their strength on the back end and GM Don Waddell appears more concerned with maintaining that depth rather than leveraging it. Allen reports that the team is engaged in extension talks with long-time stalwart Justin Faulk, whose current contract expires after next season. Allen adds that the team is not interested in dealing Faulk or any of their top-four defensemen at this time, which certainly includes Dougie Hamilton, Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce, but may also include their big free agent addition from last summer, Calvin de Haan. The one defenseman who might have been dangled as trade bait is Trevor van Riemsdyk who, like Faulk, has only one year remaining on his contract. However, a long-term injury that will see van Riemsdyk on the sidelines to begin the season will probably put a damper on any trade talks. van Riemsdyk’s early-season absence will also allow youngsters Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean to see some NHL ice time, keeping all blue line parties content through another season at least.
  • Offer sheets remain a rare occurrence in the NHL – the last came in 2013 – but that doesn’t stop talk from spreading every off-season that one of the top restricted free agents could finally land such an offer. One prominent RFA whose name has not been associated with an offer sheet thus far, perhaps should be, writes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Schoen believes that center William Karlsson is a prime candidate for an offer sheet this summer. The Vegas Golden Knights are already buried in payroll and the off-season has yet to begin. CapFriendly estimates that they are already over the projected $83MM ceiling for next season, yet still have Karlsson, Nikita Gusev, Malcolm Subban, and others to re-sign. The Knights will be forced to move out salary regardless, but a substantial offer sheet signed by Karlsson may be too much for Vegas to match. Specifically, Schoen names the Carolina Hurricanes, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings as potential suitors, citing cap space and need for all four teams.
  • While it is not a done deal, the Los Angeles Kings don’t appear worried about losing one of their key free agents. Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that the Kings are close to extending Brett Sutter, the captain of the AHL’s Ontario Reign. Sutter, 32, is a respected veteran who Rosen states is a “great conduit between the coaching staff and dressing room.” An experienced and productive minor league forward, Sutter is the type of dedicated player that all organizations like to have around and it seems he will be back with L.A. for at least one more year.

AHL| Carolina Hurricanes| Detroit Red Wings| Injury| KHL| Los Angeles Kings| Minnesota Wild| NHL| Ottawa Senators| RFA| Snapshots| Steve Yzerman| Utah Mammoth| Vegas Golden Knights Brett Pesce| Calvin de Haan| Dougie Hamilton| Haydn Fleury| Jaccob Slavin| Justin Faulk| Las Vegas| Malcolm Subban| Nikita Gusev| Offer sheets| Pavel Datsyuk| Trevor Van Riemsdyk| William Karlsson

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Pacific Notes: Vancouver Defense, Edler, Marleau, Gusev

June 1, 2019 at 4:29 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks saw some improvement with their rebuilding project last season as the team, for a while there, was scratching the possibility of a playoff spot. While that inevitably didn’t happen, the team looks like it’s ready to take that next step and force their way into the postseason picture. To do that, the team will have to add more talent, either in the free agent market or via trade.

Speaking to TSN Radio Vancouver, TSN’s Jeff Patterson said he’s talked recently with Vancouver general manager Jim Benning and believes that Benning is very likely to be active on the trade market as the NHL Draft approaches and the GM is well aware that his job could be on the line if the team can’t take that next step this upcoming season.

My main takeaway is that Benning seems open for business on the trade front. He repeatedly mentioned talking to other managers. He talked about the draft & the week leading up to the draft & how all the managers will be back together again.”

One area the team must focus on this off-season is improving their defense, which lacks significant talent. While the team does expect 2018 first-round pick Quinn Hughes to step right into the lineup, the team will need more ability on the back end and with a minimal amount of talented defenseman available on the free-agent market, the team might be best off making a trade for a defenseman.

Defense is not a position of strength for the Canucks. They can address the defense in free agency, but I got a sense talking to [Benning] and the vibe he was putting out, that he knows that he’s got to make a significant trade. And his trade record hasn’t been very good.

  • Sticking with Vancouver defensemen, Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that with three weeks remaining until the UFA interview window is upon them, the Vancouver Canucks haven’t made much progress with veteran defenseman Alexander Edler, who will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. While there has been quite a bit of talk from both camps about a continued working relationship, the two sides are still far apart, according to Dhaliwal, with rumors that term is the key problem. The 33-year-old has appeared in 814 career games with Vancouver.
  • After rumors that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings were discussing a potential Patrick Marleau trade on Friday, Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliott reported today that Marleau will not be traded to Los Angeles. The scribe wrote that once the teams started discussions, it quickly became obvious that each teams’ needs and salary cap issues wouldn’t make a trade viable. Toronto is looking to unload the final year of Marleau’s deal at $6.25MM, but will have a challenging time as he has a no-movement clause as well.
  • With June 1 hitting the calendars, the Vegas Golden Knights can officially begin negotiations with restricted free agents Nikita Gusev and Jimmy Schuldt after both players signed entry-level deals late in the 2018-19 season, according to Ken Boehlke of SinBin.vegas. Both players are expected to be made qualifying offers, but both are expected to sign longer-term deals instead. Gusev, the 2018 KHL MVP, did not make an appearance in the playoffs when he came over a in April, but is expected to play a role in the team’s top-nine next season. Schuldt, one of the top undrafted college free agents this past year, played one game for Vegas after an impressive four-year career at St. Cloud State University. Schuldt will be given the opportunity to compete for a starting role with the Knights right away.

Free Agency| Jim Benning| KHL| Los Angeles Kings| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights Jimmy Schuldt| Nikita Gusev| Patrick Marleau

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Poll: Who Will Win The IIHF World Championship?

May 23, 2019 at 8:48 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

The IIHF World Championship held their quarter-final games today and they didn’t disappoint for the fans in attendance. Three of the four contests ended up as one-goal games, with fireworks in the last few seconds of the Canada-Switzerland game taking the highlight of the night. New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson scored with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock in regulation to tie the game, before Mark Stone put Canada through to the semi-final in overtime.

Finland shocked the tournament by knocking off the Swedes in a back and forth game, which needed a tying goal from their captain with the goaltender out of the net. Finland would complete the comeback in overtime, sending Sweden—who many considered a favorite given their star-studded lineup—home without a medal of any color.

Team USA will suffer the same fate, as they were knocked out by the powerhouse Russian squad in a matchup they would’ve avoided if possible. The American squad finished in fourth in Group A during the preliminary round thanks to an unfortunate loss to Slovakia in their first game. Potential first-overall pick Jack Hughes ends his tournament with two assists today (three total) and was named the best player of the game for the USA.

Canada will move on to take on a Czech squad who easily dispatched Germany in the fourth quarter-final game, thanks to a three-point effort from Jan Kovar. While Canada is always a dangerous country in international hockey, their team this year didn’t look dominant on paper. That was shown by them barely squeaking through against Switzerland, meaning the Czech should feel just fine about their chances at this point.

There is no shortage of talent on the Russian squad, including Mikhail Sergachev and Nikita Gusev who both had three points in the game today.  That’s not what people were saying about Finland before the tournament started, who have only a handful of players with any NHL experience at all. Still, the Finns are extremely well coached and have a 18-year old star in the making in top draft prospect Kaapo Kakko that can create offense at any moment.

This is the last high level hockey for NHL stars out of the playoffs, meaning they can give their all before having a summer of recovery. Sunday will bring with it the gold and bronze medal games, so get your vote in now for who you think will win!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

IIHF Damon Severson| Jack Hughes| Jan Kovar| Kaapo Kakko| Mark Stone| Mikhail Sergachev| Nikita Gusev

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Golden Knights Notes: Salary Cap, Gusev, Gambling

May 21, 2019 at 6:32 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

Trusted salary cap database CapFriendly has rolled over their site to the 2019-20 season already and one of the most eye-grabbing results is just how much trouble the Vegas Golden Knights are already in. Using a projected salary cap ceiling of $83MM, up $3.5MM from this season, at the top of the projected salary list is Vegas, who are already $125K over the cap with more than $83MM committed to just 19 players. A further inspection reveals that the Knights have just one goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury, and six defensemen signed as of now, with no room to make any further additions. GM Kelly McCrimmon and company will have no choice but to shed salary this summer, at the very least just to re-sign restricted free agents like William Karlsson, Nikita Gusev, Jimmy Schuldt, and Malcolm Subban. Any free agent signings beyond that will require further sacrifice. Despite being just two years into their existence, Vegas has already accumulated an incredible amount of salary, mostly due to major contracts handed out to the likes of Mark Stone, Nate Schmidt, Alex Tuch, Shea Theodore, Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, and Fleury, all signed since this time last year. Golden Knights fans should be prepared for some tough moves, as solving this problem won’t be as easy as simply placing David Clarkson on the injured reserve. Inaugural Knights like Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, Cody Eakin, and Colin Miller are among the most likely casualties.

  • Even in the midst of his new team’s cap crunch, Nikita Gusev is expecting and hoping to re-sign with Vegas. Gusev, whose rights were acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, finally jumped to the NHL late this season after a decorated career in the KHL. The 26-year-old forward burned his one-year entry-level contract, despite not playing, and is now a restricted free agent. He tells Russian hockey source Sport-Express, as translated by The Sin Bin, that he likes Las Vegas and feels he owes it to the team to re-sign with them if made a reasonable offer. Gusev acknowledges that he will likely receive other offers, either from KHL clubs overseas or in the form of an NHL offer sheet, but he will wait for Vegas’ initial offer before making any decisions. What might it cost the Knights to retain their newfound weapon? The interviewer suggested to Gusev that a $4MM AAV could be the ballpark price and he did not disagree. He would only confirm that he expects a one-way deal, but did not talk specific finances. Overall, Gusev sounded very flexible about getting a deal done and even acknowledged that he would be open to playing in the AHL if that is what is asked of him. That seems like an unlikely route for Vegas to take, but Gusev’s attitude at least implies that this negotiation process and first full year in North America should go smoother than it did for Vadim Shipachyov. If (when) the Golden Knights are forced to sell off scoring this off-season, Gusev could be an ideal candidate to take on a major role next season.
  • Speaking at a conference today, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman projected the successful growth of betting on hockey by using the Golden Knights as an example, per TSN’s Rick Westhead. In Nevada, where sports gambling is legalized, hockey bets grew by 60% in Vegas’ inaugural season and again by 40% this season. While Nevada, and Las Vegas in particular, is the unofficial gambling capital of the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. NCAA last summer allows all states to decide for themselves whether or not to allow for legalized gambling. Many states already have sports books up and running and many more will soon follow. If the growth exhibited in Nevada in regards to betting on hockey is replicated by other states, it will be a key growth factor for the game and the NHL and one that Bettman will surely try to take advantage of as best he can.

AHL| Expansion| KHL| Kelly McCrimmon| Legal| NCAA| NHL| Players| Tampa Bay Lightning| Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch| Cody Eakin| Colin Miller| David Clarkson| Gary Bettman| Jimmy Schuldt| Jonathan Marchessault| Las Vegas| Malcolm Subban| Marc-Andre Fleury| Mark Stone| Max Pacioretty| Nate Schmidt| Nikita Gusev| Paul Stastny| Salary Cap

5 comments

Snapshots: Andrighetto, Eriksson, Glass

May 4, 2019 at 8:53 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 4 Comments

A recent report out of Russia claimed that Colorado Avalanche forward Sven Andrighetto was close to signing a contract with Avangard Omsk of the KHL after his contract expires with the Avalanche this season. Andrighetto, who is wrapping up a two-year, $2.8MM contract, has said that he’s heard those reports out of Russia himself. Yet, when TSN’s Pierre LeBrun talked to Andrighetto about the rumors, he revealed they were not true. He admits there has been interest from overseas teams for his services, but he the 26-year-old said he won’t make a decision on his future until after the season ends. Andrighetto played in 64 regular season games, recording  just 17 points, and hasn’t contributed a point yet in four playoff games, but he is expected to play Saturday in Game 5 against the San Jose Sharks.

  • One player unhappy with his role is Vancouver Canucks forward Loui Eriksson, who knows he has struggled and has no intention of retiring, according to Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Sun. Eriksson, who scored 52 goals in the two seasons prior to signing with Vancouver, has scored just 32 goals in three seasons with the Canucks, including 11 last year. The 33-year-old vented some frustration about his “defensive role,” while adding that his relationship with head coach Travis Green has been turbulent. “The coach and I don’t really get on 100 percent,” he acknowledged about his relationship with Travis Green. “It is difficult when I do not get the same trust that I received from all the other coaches I had during my career. Of course it is tough on that front.”
  • The Vegas Golden Knights might have a tough decision to make later this summer. The team’s top draft pick from 2017, Cody Glass, has finally gone pro and has been excelling  to the point that he might seriously force the Golden Knights’ hand in their plans for him, according to the Daily Herald’s John Dietz. Glass, who was the sixth overall pick in 2017, has been lighting it up in juniors, but since arriving with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL, Glass has taken off, scoring three goals and five points in six regular season games and scoring another three goals and five points in seven playoff games. There has been much speculation that Vegas, who are expected to be very deep in their top-nine after acquiring Nikita Gusev and are expecting the healthy return of Erik Haula, would keep Glass in the AHL for a full season next year, but the star prospect may have other plans.

AHL| Colorado Avalanche| KHL| Snapshots| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights Cody Glass| Erik Haula| Loui Eriksson| Nikita Gusev| Sven Andrighetto

4 comments

Pacific Notes: Brodie, Haula, Nyquist

April 27, 2019 at 5:25 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

With an early and somewhat shocking first-round exit in the playoffs, many feel that the Calgary Flames are likely to make some changes this season to continue building their team into a contender. With plenty of salary cap issues already upon the franchise, the Flames will likely have to move on or trade some of their players in order to free up some much-needed cap room.

In a roundtable discussion, Postmedia’s Danny Austin, Wes Gilbertson and Kristin Andersen suggested several of those players, with defenseman T.J. Brodie potentially being the top name on the list. The 28-year-old Brodie has been a solid defenseman in Calgary for years, but with the emergence of rookies Rasmus Anderson, Juuso Valimaki and Oliver Kylington, the team might be better served by trading Brodie for another top-six forward after the disastrous signing of James Neal.  Brodie, who will still has one year remaining on the five-year, $23.2MM contract he signed in 2014 at an AAV of $4.65MM, might garner quite a bit of interest from teams that need to upgrade their defense.

Other suggestions of players who likely won’t be back included 37-year-old UFA goaltender Mike Smith, who might be let go to give David Rittich a chance to become the starting goaltender next season, and forward Michael Frolik, who has had issues with the team due to his lack of playing time this season.

  • The Athletic’s Jesse Granger (subscription required) profiles the injury of Vegas Golden Knights forward Erik Haula, who suffered a gruesome knee injury on Nov. 6 that saw his season come to an end after appearing in just 15 games. Interesting enough, he was close to returning to Vegas’ lineup during the playoffs had the team not been eliminated by San Jose in the first round. “He was probably a week to 10 days away from being able to practice with the team, and maybe three weeks away from playing,” Vegas general manager George McPhee said. However, Haula will scale back his aggressive rehab after the Golden Knights’ exit and now has four months to get close to 100% to begin next season. He is already penciled in to center the team’s third line next to wingers Alex Tuch and KHL star Nikita Gusev next season, which should be one of the strongest third lines in the league.
  • The San Jose Sharks were forced to play without one of their top players in Game 1 in Joe Pavelski. The veteran forward suffered an upper-body injury in Game 7 of their first-round series after he hit his head following being cross-checked by Vegas’ Cody Eakin. However, despite being without Pavelski against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1, head coach Peter DeBoer praised his replacement, Gustav Nyquist, who moved up to the team’s second line and scored a goal in the team’s 5-2 win over Colorado, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. “I thought he was really good,” said DeBoer. “We’ve been waiting for that kind of impact. The effort has been there, but we haven’t had the impact on the game like we got last night, which is something he needs to build on and bring some more of.” Nyquist will continue to play on the second line until Pavelski is ready to return. Pavelski is currently listed as day-to-day.

Calgary Flames| Colorado Avalanche| George McPhee| Injury| Peter DeBoer| RIP| San Jose Sharks| Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch| Cody Eakin| David Rittich| Erik Haula| Gustav Nyquist| James Neal| Joe Pavelski| Michael Frolik| Mike Smith| Nikita Gusev| Oliver Kylington| Salary Cap

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Vegas Golden Knights Sign Nikita Gusev To One-Year Deal

April 14, 2019 at 12:38 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

The Vegas Golden Knights announced they have officially signed KHL star Nikita Gusev to a one-year, entry-level deal. That one year deal will be burned this season, which should allow the team to sign him to a long-term extension next season when he’ll be a restricted free agent. The deal is for $925K, including a $92,500 signing bonus, according to CapFriendly.

Gusev is expected to join the Golden Knights in practice Monday and could possibly join the team for Game 4, although nothing has been decided about if/when he will play, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. Head coach Gerard Gallant said that he’s comfortable with his current lineup and they don’t need Gusev in this series, but he’ll see where things go, according to Schoen.

Because he was on the team’s reserve list, Gusev is eligible to join the team for the playoffs, but whether Gusev will actually play for the team on such an already loaded roster when he lacks much experience playing on North American rinks is another questions. The Golden Knights are expected to have a press conference later today and will discuss their plans for him then.

Gusev, perhaps the best player in the KHL this past season and arguably the best player in the world outside of the NHL, is coming off a big year with SKA St. Petersburg where he scored 17 goals, but had a career-high 82 points in 62 games. He has scored 119 goals in the KHL over the course of his career and 337 points over nine seasons. He was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round back in the 2012 draft, but many felt that Gusev might never come to North America as he seemed content playing in the KHL. That led to Tampa Bay sending the now-26-year-old to the Vegas Golden Knights as part of an expansion draft trade in which the Golden Knights also took on the contract of veteran defenseman Jason Garrison.

Regardless, it’s a huge signing for the Golden Knights, who could conceivably match the highly skilled stickhandler and passer to their third line next to Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch. Even if he doesn’t play, the addition only give the Golden Knights even more depth for the franchise.

Expansion| KHL| NHL| Tampa Bay Lightning| Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch| Cody Eakin| Jason Garrison| Las Vegas| Nikita Gusev

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Pacific Notes: Gusev, McDavid, Utica Comets

April 13, 2019 at 7:29 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

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.

AHL| Edmonton Oilers| Gerard Gallant| Injury| Jim Benning| KHL| Vancouver Canucks| Vegas Golden Knights Alex Tuch| Cody Eakin| Connor McDavid| Elliotte Friedman| Jonathan Dahlen| Las Vegas| Nikita Gusev

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