Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Nikolay Goldobin

Nikolay Goldobin, Joakim Nordstrom Re-Sign Overseas

at CDT | by 3 Comments

It seems like a long time ago that Nikolay Goldobin was in North America, lighting it up for the Utica Comets. In reality, that was just two years ago and Goldobin isn’t even 27 yet. The former Vancouver Canucks forward won’t be coming back just yet though, as he has signed a new one-year contract extension with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

The same could be said about Joakim Nordstrom, who played in the NHL even more recently, spending 2020-21 with the Calgary Flames. The Swedish forward won’t be staying in the KHL but has signed a new two-year deal with HC Davos in Switzerland.

Goldobin, 26, was a first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2014, and quickly worked his way to the NHL after putting up strong numbers in the OHL, Liiga, and AHL. By 2017 however, he was on his way to Vancouver in a deadline deal for Jannik Hansen, as the Sharks had their eyes on the Stanley Cup. With the Canucks, Goldobin was quickly given a full-time opportunity in the NHL, even reaching 27 points in 63 games during the 2018-19 season.

But after spending another year nearly entirely in the minor leagues, he bolted for the KHL and the team decided not to qualify him. After a so-so 2020-21, Goldobin was back in the driver’s seat this year, and became one of the most reliable players in the entire KHL. With 39 points in 42 regular season games and then another 18 in 23 postseason contests, he would ave likely been on a few radars around the NHL. He still will be next year, especially if he can provide a repeat performance in 2022-23.

While Nordstrom never had the kind of upside that Goldobin represents, he was a more consistent NHL player. His defense and checking were enough to land him a full-time role for many years, racking up nearly 500 games in the league. After appearing at the Olympics and World Championship for Sweden, he’s off to a new challenge in Switzerland, where a two-year deal will likely remove any thoughts of a return to North America.

Nikolay Goldobin Signs In The KHL

at CDT | by 2 Comments

June 18: It took more than two months but the deal is now official, as CSKA Moscow announced that Goldobin has indeed inked a two-year contract with the club.

April 11: After spending the majority of this season in the minors, it appears that Canucks winger Nikolay Goldobin is heading overseas.  Sport-Express’ Igor Eronko reports (Twitter link) that Goldobin is expected to sign a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.  TSN 1040’s Rick Dhaliwal relays (via Twitter) a quick statement from Goldobin who confirmed that he is signing in the KHL (but didn’t specify which team) and that he’s looking forward to trying the NHL again at the expiration of his deal.

The 24-year-old cleared waivers at the beginning of the season and aside from a single NHL game in late November, Goldobin spent the entire year with AHL Utica.  He was quite productive with the Comets, recording 50 points in 51 games.  It was just a year ago that he spent an entire season with Vancouver as the 2014 first-round pick had 27 points in 63 contests back in 2018-19 but that wasn’t enough to generate any interest on the waiver wire or the trade market.

The Canucks can retain Goldobin’s NHL rights by issuing a qualifying offer.   However, it’s at least worth noting that Goldobin told Dhaliwal that Vancouver had no interest in re-signing him for 2020-21, suggesting that a non-tender was probably coming.  However, as he won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the expiration of his KHL contract, they’re now likely to tender him the qualifying offer now in case he breaks out overseas.  He’ll still count against the 90-player reserve list in that instance but every team is well below that particular threshold.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Canucks Notes: Tanev, Eriksson, Goldobin, Podkolzin

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Vancouver Canucks have finally made that long-awaited return to NHL relevance and look like a team that not only could make the playoffs but possibly make a splash as well. With the spotlight on his squad, Rick Dhaliwal of TSN and The Athletic provided an update on a number of major questions facing the team beyond this season, as they look to keep trending upward. The biggest focus will be how the cap-strapped club handles free agency this summer. The Canucks have $63.5MM tied up in just 15 players for the 2020-21 season and face the tall task of trying to fill out the roster with eight players with around $20MM to work with. The team would like to bring back each of their three primary UFA’s – Jacob Markstrom, Tyler Toffoli, and Chris Tanev – but could find it hard to do so. Dhaliwal reports that Markstrom, who has been invaluable to the Canucks again this season, is the most likely name to return. Toffoli, who has excelled since coming over from the Los Angeles Kings, seems like a top priority for the team as well. That could leave Tanev as the odd man out, even though Dhaliwal states that the team would need to immediately find a replacement. Tanev, a career Canuck, has been effective when healthy during his time in Vancouver, but a thin defense market and the team’s own constraints could make it difficult to keep the two sides together. On the other hand, it may make more sense for the team to move other pieces in order to keep Tanev rather than moving on and hoping they can find an adequate replacement. Even if that means trading RFA defenseman Troy Stecher, the overall Vancouver blue line could benefit from retaining Tanev beyond this season.

  • Another potential cost-cutting measure could be the end of veteran Loui Eriksson’s playing days with the team. Although Eriksson still has two years left on his contract at a $6MM, Dhaliwal believes that the Canucks may have reached their limit with Eriksson’s disappointing time with the team. Eriksson has never topped 30 points in three seasons with Vancouver and is on pace for a career-low 16 points after being scratched for many of the Canucks’ early games this season. Eriksson has never found his place with the club and Dhaliwal believes he will be on the move this off-season. He notes that Eriksson will receive a $3MM bonus on July 1st, after which his contract carries only $5MM in actual salary over the final two years. The cap implications are far heavier than the actual dollars and a team with more space than the Canucks could be willing to take Eriksson on, perhaps in exchange for another bad contract or alongside a draft pick. If not, Vancouver could also try to persuade Eriksson to walk away from his contract via mutual termination, which Dhaliwal suggests, or they could simply buy him out. Either way, moving on from Eriksson will open up some more cap space to help the Canucks continue to ice a playoff-caliber roster.
  • Nikolay Goldobin is another player who could be on the move this summer. Dhaliwal reports that Goldobin was nearly moved to the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline and two or three other teams also showed interest. Goldobin has played in the AHL for all but one game this season, but has at least made the most of this relegation with a very productive season. Dhaliwal believes that he will back at the NHL level next season, but will that be in Vancouver? Goldobin is owed a $945K qualifying offer this season for the Canucks to retain his rights, which they are likely to do, but they could still trade his rights away rather than retain him.
  • Don’t expect 2019 first-rounder Vasili Podkolzin to be in the NHL or anywhere in North America next season. Dhaliwal does not believe that there is any chance that Podkolzin can get out of the final year of his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg, meaning the earliest he could be available to the Canucks is in 2021-22. The wait will be worth it though. After a slow start to the season, Podkolzin’s play picked up in the second half and he has been playing a complete game for months now. Dhaliwal says “the sky is the limit” for Podkolzin’s NHL career, regardless of when it begins.

Trade Rumors: Honka, Hickey, Eriksson, Schenn

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Julius Honka is the last remaining unsigned restricted free agent and it doesn’t seem like the Dallas Stars are in any hurry to come to terms on a new deal. However, they may have to wait a while longer to find a trade partner as well. In separate radio appearances today, TSN’s Bob McKenzie and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman both confirmed that the asking price for Honka remains high. Stars GM Jim Nill is seeking a second- or third-round pick or a young player with a similar early-round pedigree. The 23-year-old is himself a first-round pick and was once a highly-regarded prospect, but given his lack of production over the past few years has seen his stock plummet. Honka played in just 29 games with Dallas last season and recorded only four points. Without any guarantee that he can be more than that at the NHL level, teams will likely wait for the price to drop to take a chance on trading for Honka.

  • A surprise placement on the waiver wire today was New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey. Hickey is a career Islander who just signed a four-year, $10MM extension with the team last summer. Yet, just one season into the contract, he’s now a candidate to be buried in the AHL if not claimed. To many, this somewhat of a betrayal came out of the blue. However, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that New York has been trying to trade Hickey since last season. The 30-year-old veteran was relegated to a part-time role last year, playing in just 40 games, and now has seemingly been forced off the roster altogether by the emergence of top prospect Noah Dobson. Should Hickey clear waivers, he still remains a prime candidate to play elsewhere this season via trade. In all likelihood the relationship between player and team has been tarnished beyond repair.
  • Many in Vancouver are commiserating with Hickey’s situation given the equally shocking waiver placement of Sven Baertschi. A fixture in the top-six for the Canucks for several seasons (when healthy), many had Baertschi pegged for the same role this season, now that he has returned from battling concussions. However, Vancouver opted to place Baertschi on waivers due to both a roster and salary cap crunch. Meanwhile, Loui Eriksson remains on the team despite clashes with the coaching staff and poor production on a hefty contract. The Canucks were working to trade Eriksson all summer and it is likely their failure to do so that forced out Baertschi. If Baertschi or Nikolay Goldobin are indeed claimed on waivers, it could also make Eriksson a necessary piece for the team this season, all but ending their attempts to trade him. That’s not to say that GM Jim Benning won’t still listen to offers though.
  • Meanwhile, the Canucks opened up a roster spot by waiving three players today and there is some thought that they could be looking to bring back a familiar face. Responding to colleague Rick Dhaliwal’s pondering, Sportsnet’s Satiar Shah reports that the team is considering a waiver claim for defenseman Luke Schenn. Schenn was acquired in-season last year by the Canucks and played well in a shutdown role for the team down the stretch. Vancouver tried to retain his services, but Schenn opted to chase a title with an affordable deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. However, he failed to make the opening night roster in Tampa and is up for grabs. Vancouver is well-staffed on the blue line and Schenn would seemingly be no better than the No. 7 or 8 defender, but that might not stop them from taking a chance on him yet again.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/30/19

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Teams will be finalizing their opening day rosters today, meaning that plenty of players will be removed from training camp. As always, we’ll keep track of all those cuts right here. Keep checking back as this list will be updated throughout the day.

Arizona Coyotes (per team release)

G Adin Hill (to Tuscon, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Peter Cehlarik (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Anders Bjork (to Providence, AHL)
F Trent Frederic (to Providence, AHL)
F Jack Studnicka (to Providence, AHL)
F Cameron Hughes (to Providence, AHL)
G Maxime Lagace (to Providence, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Remi Elie (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Curtis Lazar (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Scott Wilson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Casey Nelson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Rasmus Asplund (to Rochester, AHL)
F Tage Thompson (to Rochester, AHL)
D Lawrence Pilut (to Rochester, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team release)

F Anton Wedin (to Rockford, AHL)
D Dennis Gilbert (to Rockford, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)

F Marko Dano (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Eric Robinson (to Cleveland, AHL)
G Hayden Stewart (released from PTO)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Sam Gagner (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Brandon Manning (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D William Lagesson (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (per team release)

F Mario Kempe (to Ontario, AHL)
D Paul Ladue (to Ontario, AHL)
D Derek Forbort (designated injured/non-roster)

Minnesota Wild (per team release)

F J.T. Brown (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Louie Belpedio (to Iowa, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Charles Hudon (to Laval, AHL)
G Charlie Lindgren (to Laval, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (per team release)

D Jeremy Groleau (to Binghamton, AHL)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Boo Nieves (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Filip Chytil (to Hartford, AHL)
F Vitali Kravtsov (to Hartford, AHL)
F Vinni Lettieri (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ryan Lindgren (to Hartford, AHL)
G Igor Shesterkin (to Hartford, AHL)
D Tarmo Reunanen (to Lukko, Liiga)
D Joseph Morrow (released from PTO)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)

D Luke Schenn (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Danick Martel (to Syracuse, AHL)
F Alexander Volkov (to Syracuse, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team release)

F Kenny Agostino (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Nic Petan (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Garrett Wilson (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Kevin Gravel (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Kalle Kossila (designated injured, non-roster)
F Mason Marchment (designated injured, non-roster)
F Egor Korshkov (to Toronto, AHL)
F Matt Read (released from PTO, signs AHL contract)

Vancouver Canucks (per team release)

F Sven Baertschi (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Nikolay Goldobin (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Alex Biega (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)

F Keegan Kolesar (to Chicago, AHL)
D Jake Bischoff (to Chicago, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (per team release)

F J.C. Lipon (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Nelson Nogier (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
G Eric Comrie (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Joona Luoto (to Manitoba, AHL)
F C.J. Suess (to Manitoba, AHL)

Washington Capitals (per team release)

F Liam O’Brien (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Michael Sgarbossa (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Christian Djoos (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Shane Gersich (to Hershey, AHL)

Waivers: 09/30/19

at CDT | by 15 Comments

Today is the last day to use waivers in order to get a roster cap compliant for the start of the regular season, so we will see a lot of players available for selection.

Anaheim Ducks

F Daniel Sprong
F Sam Carrick

Boston Bruins

F Peter Cehlarik

Buffalo Sabres

F Remi Elie
F Curtis Lazar
F Scott Wilson
D Casey Nelson

Calgary Flames

F Alan Quine

Carolina Hurricanes

F Clark Bishop
D Gustav Forsling
G Anton Forsberg

Chicago Blackhawks

D Carl Dahlstrom

Colorado Avalanche

F Jayson Megna

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Marko Dano

Edmonton Oilers

F Sam Gagner
D Brandon Manning

Minnesota Wild

F J.T. Brown

Nashville Predators

F Miikka Salomaki
D Steven Santini

New Jersey Devils

D Matt Tennyson

New York Islanders

F Joshua Ho-Sang
F Tanner Fritz
D Thomas Hickey

New York Rangers

F Boo Nieves

Pittsburgh Penguins

G Casey DeSmith

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Luke Schenn

Toronto Maple Leafs

F Kenny Agostino
F Nic Petan
F Garrett Wilson
D Kevin Gravel

Vancouver Canucks

F Sven Baertschi
F Nikolay Goldobin
D Alex Biega

Winnipeg Jets

F J.C. Lipon
D Nelson Nogier
G Eric Comrie

Washington Capitals

F Liam O’Brien
F Michael Sgarbossa
D Christian Djoos

Nikolay Goldobin Signs With Vancouver Canucks

at CDT | by 3 Comments

As expected, the Vancouver Canucks have reached an agreement with restricted free agent Nikolay Goldobin. The young forward has re-signed with the team on a one-year, one-way contract worth $900K. Reports yesterday were that things had moved in a positive direction, and this deal will now leave the Canucks with just Brock Boeser left to get under contract. GM Jim Benning released a short statement on the signing:

Nikolay is a gifted offensive player who has shown good chemistry with some of our other younger players. He has taken steps to round out his game and we’re excited to see continued improvement from him this season.

Goldobin, 23, scored 27 points in 63 games last season for the Canucks but still hasn’t quite figured out his game at the NHL level. Armed with plenty of offensive talent, there are times when Goldobin fades into the background and doesn’t assert himself enough to deserve a bigger role. That said, there have been times that he looks right at home alongside top players like Boeser and the Canucks will hope he can grow on that moving forward.

The young forward will have arbitration rights as a restricted free agent when the deal expires next year. Vancouver will now turn its full attention towards Boeser and the ongoing negotiation which is still expected to take some time. Though Goldobin’s relatively low salary will give them some extra wiggle room, the Canucks don’t have a ton of cap space to fit Boeser in if the reports of demands reaching $7MM per season are to believed. There may be some more work coming for Benning and company to clear a bit of space, or the team may be heading into the year without much flexibility.

Canucks Notes: Boeser, Goldobin, Juolevi

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks are one of the teams looking at the start of training camp in a few days with one of their key players still without a contract as Brock Boeser remains unsigned now into September. Though there is obvious upside for both the player and team to have things resolved before camp, Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet tweeted yesterday that there is still “lots of work to do” before a deal can be made.

Boeser, 22, has already scored 59 goals in his young career but has been limited by injury in each of his two full seasons with the Canucks. While other players like Mitch Marner, Brayden Point and Mikko Rantanen have huge point totals to bring up in negotiations, Boeser has a career-high of just 56 thanks to all the time he’s missed. There’s no question how important he is to the Vancouver attack but there are serious risks on both sides to both a bridge deal and long-term deal, which may have made the negotiations a bit more difficult. Boeser is expected to be looking for a four-year deal with a cap hit around $7MM, but with less than two weeks before training camp opens things may have to change to get it done in time.

  • The Canucks have another restricted free agent that gets much less publicity, but still could be an important piece. Nikolay Goldobin hasn’t been able to find his way in the NHL just yet, but Dhaliwal reports that there has been “positive dialogue” towards a new contract. The 23-year old Goldobin had 27 points in 63 games last season and showed flashes of the offensive ability that made him the 27th overall pick in 2014, but he needs to find more consistency in order to really be an impact player for the Canucks moving forward.
  • Speaking of high draft picks that haven’t quite found their way, the Canucks still have high hopes for defenseman Olli Juolevi as he continues to rehab a knee injury. Juolevi may not participate much in the upcoming prospects camp according to Ben Kuzma of The Province, who spoke with Canucks GM Jim Benning. Benning explained that the team wouldn’t “throw [Juolevi] into the fire” as they try to avoid any setbacks and have him ready for the start of the season. Juolevi underwent knee surgery last December and still has not made his NHL debut despite being the fifth overall pick in 2016.

Morning Notes: Ristolainen, Goldobin, Eller

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While Rasmus Ristolainen has been a productive defenseman at the offensive end over the past four seasons, it doesn’t appear to be enough to move the needle on his trade value.  Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News notes that the market for Ristolainen’s services doesn’t appear to be particularly large.  While his name has been in trade speculation dating back to last season (and the 24-year-old certainly appears to be open to a move), the Sabres indicated at a fan event earlier this summer that they’re not against giving him another opportunity with new head coach Ralph Krueger now running the bench.  Ristolainen has three years left on his deal with a $5.4MM cap hit and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Other early notes from around the league:

  • While it may take a bit of time for the Canucks to get a deal done with winger Brock Boeser, GM Jim Benning told Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma that he’s “hoping to get something figured out in short order” with RFA winger Nikolay Goldobin. The 23-year-old quietly finished seventh on the team in scoring last season despite missing 19 games.  However, a lot of those games missed were as healthy scratches as the team has concerns about his all-around game.  27 points should be enough to get him more than his qualifying offer but given that Vancouver is probably going to be over the Upper Limit when a Boeser deal gets done, it’s likely that they’ll push for a one-year pact with Goldobin to keep the AAV as low as possible.
  • Lars Eller’s lower-body injury that took him out of the World Championships early in the tournament won’t prevent him from being ready for training camp. The Capitals center told NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan that he has now fully recovered following a long rest period.  He also denied a report that was floating around at the time of the Worlds that said he was only going to play three games no matter what; he clarified that the injury (one that he hoped would only take a couple of weeks to rehab so that he could play for Denmark) was what took him out of the tournament prematurely.

Pacific Notes: Eriksson, Ritchie, Smith, Dillon

at CDT | by 5 Comments

With so many forwards now on their roster, the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff should have their hands full when training camp begins. The team now has 14 forwards under contract with two restricted free agents still to sign in Brock Boeser and Nikolay Goldobin. That’s a lot of players for just 12 spots in the lineup.

One player who should find himself highly scrutinized is Loui Eriksson, who has made it clear he wouldn’t mind a change of scenery as he has stated he isn’t a big fan of Travis Green and his coaching staff. Unfortunately, a trade might be challenging as Eriksson still has three years remaining at $6MM AAV. When Vancouver Sun’s Patrick Johnson asked general manager Jim Benning about the possibility of sending Eriksson to the Utica Comets of the AHL, Benning was slow to answer.

“I don’t have a direct answer for that right now,” he admitted.

Eriksson’s agent said he doesn’t expect his client to be waived or re-assigned to Utica. Not sure if Benning feels the same way.

  • With a large number of young wingers and recent two-way acquisitions this summer, the writing could be on the wall for winger Nick Ritchie, who still has two years remaining at a very reasonable $1.49MM. The 23-year-old hasn’t developed into the scoring power forward the team hoped for when they drafted him 10th overall in 2014 and he might be a perfect trade candidate, according to Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription required). Ritchie will have to fight for one of the left wing openings or he could find himself on a new team shortly.
  • Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that while many people are questioning the Oilers decision-making in signing veteran goaltender Mike Smith after a disappointing campaign last year in Calgary, the numbers may tell a different story. While the 37-year-old goaltender finished with less than stellar numbers: 42 games, 2.72 GAA and a .898 save percentage, he did finish strong at the end of the season. In his seven of his last 10 regular-season games, Smith finished with a .923 save percentage or higher. He also did the same in three of the five playoff games he appeared in. He could bounce back in a big way.
  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) looks at the Sharks salary cap situtation in 2020. The team should have $10.3MM in available salary cap space, but that doesn’t include an expected long-term deal for Kevin Labanc. However, the scribe notes that no matter what, the team will probably have to let defenseman Brenden Dillon go despite his value to the team’s blueline. However, if Radim Simek continues to get top-four minutes, Dillon would be only a third-pairing defenseman and wouldn’t be worth the $3.27MM he currently makes anyway, especially if he’s looking for a raise.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top