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Familiar Names Fill Calgary Flames Training Camp Roster

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The Calgary Flames announced their training camp roster today, and there are plenty of players on professional tryout agreements that will be familiar to NHL fans. We had already heard reports of Jeff Glass, Viktor Svedberg and Logan Shaw, but they’ll be joined by Philip Samuelsson, Ryan Sproul, Scott Sabourin, Justin Auger, Duncan Siemens and Gilbert Brule. The Flames of course have part of their roster in China to take on the Boston Bruins in two exhibition matches, meaning they needed more bodies than normal

Still, to see the likes of Brule back with an NHL organization is surprising. Originally selected sixth overall in 2005 by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Brule hasn’t played in North America since 2013-14, suiting up in the KHL for the past four seasons. He did however suit up for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics, scoring three points in five games to earn a bronze medal.

Brule isn’t the only high draft pick invited, as Siemens was also selected in the first round. The 11th-overall pick by Colorado back in 2011, Siemens never could really crack the NHL and ended up failing to even receive a qualifying offer at the end of last season. The big physical defenseman has simply never been good enough with the puck on his stick to get to the next level, and would have to really impress in training camp to earn a contract with the Flames.

Free Agent Focus: Carolina Hurricanes

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Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Carolina’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Elias Lindholm – The Hurricanes weren’t able to find much success in terms of wins and losses in 2017-18, and much of that had to do with some inconsistency from nearly every position. One of the only players that has been able to find some of that consistency through his first few years in the league is Lindholm, who went about another 40-point season with solid contributions in the faceoff circle and the penalty kill. If the team were to acquire a real first-line center Lindholm would likely be pushed down in the lineup, but he’s proven that he can be an impact player that doesn’t hurt you at either end of the ice.

He’s coming off a two-year $5.4MM contract that he signed in 2015, and should get a healthy raise after recording 89 points in 153 games. Where that number lands isn’t exactly clear, but one could look at teammate Victor Rask’s six-year $24MM deal as a point of comparison. Rask was also 23 at the time of that contract, though he didn’t have nearly as much NHL experience as Lindholm heads into this summer with.

D Noah Hanifin – The bigger question mark among Carolina restricted free agents is Hanifin, who could either be locked up long-term or shipped out of town. The rumor mill has swirled around the 21-year old defenseman for the past year, mostly because of the Hurricanes’ depth on defense. Hanifin would generate a ton of interest around the league and bring in a big package for the Hurricanes, but could be more useful stepping into a bigger role on the team next year and beyond. While it’s clear that Carolina will move at least one of their defenders, that could Justin Faulk with Hanifin instead being signed to a long-term deal.

No one can really get a read on owner Tom Dundon and GM Don Waddell, but there are clearly changes coming in Carolina. Hanifin will be an interesting measuring stick to see just how far the new executive group wants to go in shaking up the core of the team.

Other RFAs: F Phillip Di Giuseppe, F Joakim Nordstrom, D Trevor van Riemsdyk, F Andrew Poturalski, F Sergey Tolchinsky, F Greg McKegg, D Tyler Ganly, D Keegan Kanzig, F Lucas Wallmark, F Valentin Zykov

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: F Derek Ryan – Though Carolina needs some center help, it looks as though Ryan is destined for free agency as the team prepares to promote Martin Necas to the big club next season. Ryan, 31, has been a sneakily-good player since making his NHL debut at the age of 29 two years ago. With 38 points in 80 games this season and solid faceoff and possession statistics, there will be interest from around the league in the professional journeyman.

Heading to a new team is nothing new for Ryan, but he’ll likely be looking for a multi-year deal that can keep him in one place for a few seasons. After re-signing with the Hurricanes for just under $1.43MM last summer, there could be a hefty raise in order this time around. Ryan heads to free agency in a relatively weak center market, as after John Tavares and perhaps Joe Thornton, options get thin very quickly.

Other UFAs: F Lee Stempniak, G Cam Ward, D Dennis Robertson, D Jake Chelios, G Jeremy Smith, D Philip Samuelsson, D Brenden Kichton

Projected Cap Space: The Hurricanes have never been an upper-limit team, and head into this summer with more than $30MM in cap space depending on where the ceiling lands. While that should afford them the opportunity to be big players in free agency, it really comes down to how much Dundon is willing to spend in his first offseason. The team has previously worked under an internal budget that has limited big free agent splashes, but with a new owner in the mix the Hurricanes are something of a wildcard.

Their restricted free agents should take up a big chunk of that cap room, but there is certainly enough to go around if they decide to wheel and deal. They’d have to pitch any incoming free agents on a new Carolina organization, but with up-and-coming players and a veteran leader in Justin Williams on the roster, perhaps they could draw the attention of some of this summer’s biggest names.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Complete List Of Potential Group VI Unrestricted Free Agents

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Back in November, we took a look at some of the potential Group VI free agents that could hit unrestricted free agency early this offseason. Of that group, Josh Leivo was extended and Stefan Noesen eclipsed the number of games played needed to stay with the New Jersey Devils organization. Now, CapFriendly has compiled a complete list of players still at risk of becoming free agents early, including how many games they need. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:

  1. The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
  2. The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
  3. The player has played less than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.

The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.

*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency

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Training Camp Cuts: 09/24/17

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The more than fifty cuts made from training camps around the league yesterday was only the beginning. Weekend or not, expect the announcements to keep flooding in, and we’ll keep track of it all right here:

Arizona Coyotes
F Michael Bunting – Tucson (AHL)
D Kyle Capobianco – Tucson (AHL)
F Conor Garland – Tucson (AHL)
D Joel Hanley – Tucson (AHL)
D Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Charlottetown (QMJHL)
F Jens Looke – Tucson (AHL)
D Dysin Mayo – Tucson (AHL)
F Lane Pederson – Tucson (AHL)
F Mike Sislo – Tucson (AHL)
D Jalen Smereck – Tucson (AHL)
D Tyson Strachan – released from PTO

Boston Bruins
D Christopher Breen – Providence (AHL)
D Connor Clifton – Providence (AHL)
D Taylor Doherty – Providence (AHL)
F Zachary Senyshyn – Providence (AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes
F Patrick Brown – Charlotte (AHL)
F Julien Gauthier – Charlotte (AHL)
D Brenden Kichton – Charlotte (AHL)
D Roland McKeown – Charlotte (AHL)
F Andrew Miller – Charlotte (AHL)
D Dennis Robertson – Charlotte (AHL)
D Philip Samuelsson – Charlotte (AHL)

Dallas Stars
D Gavin Bayreuther – Texas (AHL)
G Landon Bow – Texas (AHL)
G Philippe Desrosiers – Texas (AHL)
F Sheldon Dries – Released from ATO
F Max French – Released from ATO
F Austin Fyten – Released from PTO
D Shane Hanna – Released from ATO
D Niklas Hansson – Texas (AHL)
D Dillon Heatherington – Texas (AHL)
F Samuel Laberge – Released from ATO
D Matt Mangene – Released from PTO
F Colin Markison – Released from PTO
F Cole Ully – Texas (AHL)

Edmonton Oilers
F Mitch Callahan – Bakerfield (AHL)
F Grayson Downing – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Caleb Jones – Bakersfield (AHL)
F Joey Laleggia – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Keegan Lowe – Bakersfield (AHL)
D Ryan Mantha – Bakersfield (AHL)

Montreal Canadiens
F Daniel Audette – Laval (AHL)
F David Broll – Laval (AHL)
G Zachary Fucale – Laval (AHL)
F Jeremy Gregoire – Laval (AHL)
D Brett Lernout – Laval (AHL)
F Martin Reway – Laval (AHL)
F Nikita Scherbak – Laval (AHL)

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2017 NHL Free Agency Tracker

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Stay with PHR for all of the free agency signings this off-season. As of noon ET on July 1st, unrestricted free agency is open, but not before many extensions earlier in June. This page serves to organize everything in one spot, and are linked to the PHR story that corresponds with the signing. All July signings will be separated by date while June signings are organized alphabetically by team. It will be updated as soon as stories post.

Please note that signings on this list start on June 12.

July 1st:

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Montreal Canadiens Acquire Keegan Lowe From Carolina Hurricanes

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In a much smaller move than the one we saw yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens have acquired defenseman Keegan Lowe from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Philip Samuelsson. Amazingly, both players are sons of former NHL players, Kevin Lowe and Ulf Samuelsson—who is actually the head coach of the Charlotte Checkers where his son will now play.

This isn’t the biggest deal we’ll see this deadline but perhaps it is just another crack in the dam and deals will start to come through. Lowe does still have some upside after being drafted in the third round in 2011. A solid AHL defenseman, if his puck moving ability ever improved he could crack an NHL bottom pairing. It wasn’t going to happen in Carolina though, behind a young mobile defense corps.

Samuelsson was drafted in the second round in 2009 but hasn’t turned into the player Pittsburgh had hoped for. Instead, he’s bounced around a bit and is not expected to make much of an impact in the NHL ever again. He’ll be 26 in July and will now hope to make an impact under his father’s tutelage. Ulf played over 1000 games in the NHL, and was one of the most feared checkers in the league—perhaps he can show his son a thing or two about lining guys up over the middle.

Minor Transactions: 7/2/16

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Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions:

  • St. Louis announced a total of nine signings, mostly players who will play for their AHL affiliate in Chicago.  Most prominently among them is D Chris Butler, who re-signed a one year contract; financial terms were not disclosed.  Butler played in just five games with the Blues last season but has played a total of 387 NHL games in his career.
  • Buffalo has signed C Derek Grant to a two-way contract, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.  Grant played in 15 games with Calgary last season, recording one assist while averaging 10:53 per game.  He also recorded 26 goals in only 37 games with AHL Stockton last year.
  • The Canadiens signed D Philip Samuelsson to a one year, two-way deal, according to a team release.  Samuelsson spent most of last season with Arizona’s AHL affiliate in Springfield but suited up for four games with the Coyotes in 2015-16.  Montreal also announced they have signed winger Chris Terry to a one year, two-way deal.  Terry had eight goals and three assists in 68 games with Carolina last season.
  • Winnipeg announced the re-signing of D Julien Melchiori and G Jamie Phillips to two year, two-way contracts.  Melchiori would earn $625K at the NHL level while Phillips would get $675,000 in the NHL.
  • The Predators announced that they have inked C Trevor Smith to a two year, two-way deal.  The deal carries a cap hit of $612K at the NHL and guarantees him $475K over the two seasons according to General Fanager.  He last played in the NHL with Toronto in 2014-15 and spent last year with Bern of the NLA.
  • In a separate release, the Preds also have signed winger Harry Zolnierczyk to a one year, two-way contract.  He’ll earn $575K in the NHL and $150K in the AHL.  Zolnierczyk played in 24 games with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate last year as well as suiting up for one game with the Ducks.
  • Edmonton’s has signed D Ethan Bear to a three year, entry level deal according to their Twitter account.  Bear was the Oilers’ 5th round pick (124th overall) in 2015 and spent last season with the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL.
  • James Mirtle of TSN tells us that the Maple Leafs have signed D Justin Holl to a three-year entry level deal, following his strong season for their AHL affiliate last season.  Holl put up 21 points in just 60 games on the AHL’s best regular season team.
  • After extending their new number one goaltender, the Lightning have re-signed AHL netminder Kristers Gudlevskis to a two-way deal. The 23-year old made his NHL debut last season, starting one game for Tampa Bay where he allowed one goal on 32 shots.

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