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Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Pierre-Édouard Bellemare Signs In Switzerland

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Veteran center Pierre-Édouard Bellemare isn’t yet ready to call it quits. After being somewhat surprisingly released from a professional tryout agreement with the Avalanche during training camp, HC Ajoie of the Swiss National League announced they’d signed him for the remainder of the season.

It’s the first trip overseas in over 10 years for the 39-year-old Frenchman. Bellemare spent most of his professional career in France’s Ligue Magnus and Sweden’s HockeyAllsvenskan and Elitserien (now SHL) before landing his first NHL contract with the Flyers at age 29 after a standout showing for France at the 2014 World Championship. He immediately stuck in the NHL full-time, posting 12 points in 81 games for the Flyers in 2014-15 in a fourth-line role.

Since then, Bellemare has been a dependable and versatile fourth-line piece for the Golden Knights, Avalanche, Lightning, and Kraken. He reached the Stanley Cup Final twice – once with Vegas in their inaugural season and again with Tampa Bay in 2022, but was on the losing end both times. A free agent in the summer of 2023, he inked a cheap one-year deal with Seattle that saw him fall out of a regular lineup spot for the first time since arriving in North America. He was limited to seven points in 40 games with the Kraken, averaging a career-low 9:50 per game and failing to replicate the hard-nosed style that helped him succeed in 700 games at the sport’s highest level.

But even still, Bellemare’s possession results were good. The Kraken controlled 54.9% of shot attempts and 57.4% of expected goals, with Bellemare on the ice at even strength despite deploying him mainly in defensive situations. That could have benefitted a team looking to acquire a reliable extra forward, namely Colorado, who was already familiar with his skill set. He recorded 33 points in 122 games in an Avs uniform from 2019 to 2021. But they passed him up, a decision they’re likely regretting after another rash of injuries to their forward core on top of the trio of Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin that they were already missing to start the season.

He’ll now head close to home with an Ajoie team that’s 2-13-1-1 through its first 17 games of the NL regular season with a -36 goal differential. Bellemare is now 700 of the 753 career NHL games on Ajoie’s roster – the other 53 belong to defenseman T.J. Brennan. It’s almost surely the end of the road for him in the NHL, but he’ll still have his chance to make his mark internationally. If Russia is still barred from participating, France will be in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Avalanche Release Pierre-Édouard Bellemare

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The Avalanche have released Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, per a team announcement. Bellemare was attempting to land his second contract in Colorado on a PTO as a fourth-line piece.

While this may mark the end of the road for Bellemare in the NHL, don’t expect him to hang up his skates. The 39-year-old said in August that if an NHL opportunity didn’t materialize, he’d likely head overseas to Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League, where he played from 2009 to 2014.

Bellemare has 64 goals, 74 assists, and 138 points over 700 career appearances, getting a late start to his NHL career with the Flyers at age 29 after spending the early part of his prime playing in Sweden. That includes 122 games over a previous stint with the Avalanche, where he had a career-high 22 points in 69 games during the 2019-20 campaign.

Despite a lengthy track record of being a serviceable fourth-line center over the past decade, it wasn’t surprising to see Bellemare settle for a PTO. The Frenchman looked like he lost a step last season after signing a one-year deal with the Kraken, limited to seven points in 40 games and serving as a routine healthy scratch for the first time since arriving in North America. He averaged a career-low 9:50 per game and had a diminished effect physically, laying 20 hits after a lengthy history of averaging at least one per game.

Still an international team fixture for his native France, Bellemare has reached the Stanley Cup Final twice, with the Golden Knights in 2018 and with the Lightning in 2022, although he was on the losing end both times. He’d likely still be a decent depth piece for Skellefteå if he decides to return to Sweden (and if there’s a spot for him). He’d join a squad headlined by Red Wings first-round picks Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Axel Sandin-Pellikka that’s off to a strong 4-1-0 start in SHL league play.

As for the Avalanche, they’re still looking for a veteran to hold down their fourth-line center spot. Look for them to make a claim off waivers in the coming days to address that vacancy.

Avalanche Sign Pierre-Édouard Bellemare To PTO

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3:51 PM: The Avalanche have confirmed the professional tryout agreement with Bellemare per a team announcement.

10:21 AM: The Avalanche and center Pierre-Édouard Bellemare are in agreement on a professional tryout, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The French veteran will try to land a guaranteed deal during training camp for his second stint in Colorado.

Bellemare told French media last month that he intended to continue his NHL career this season and was training with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League while waiting for an offer to come to fruition. The 39-year-old has served as a capable bottom-six defensive pivot in the NHL for a decade but is coming off a difficult 2023-24 season that saw him fall out of an everyday role.

A UFA last summer after two seasons in Tampa Bay, Bellemare signed a league minimum one-way pact with the Kraken roughly a week into free agency. But a leg injury cost him over a month and a half from late December to mid-February.

Even when healthy, he was a healthy scratch for over a quarter of the season and only got into 40 games on the year. His offense was roughly in line with his limited career averages, posting four goals and seven points, but he averaged a career-low 9:50 of ice time per game.

He won 53.5% of his draws, though, and did have a positive possession impact in his limited role with a 54.9 CF% and 57.4 xGF% while having 60.3% of his even-strength zone starts come in the defensive end.

Bellemare’s defensive impact is more cerebral than physical, especially in recent seasons – he had only 20 hits and 22 blocks for Seattle last year, both career-lows. But he has been extremely solid in the faceoff dot after a rough few years in that regard to begin his NHL career with the Flyers. Even though he’ll be 40 by season’s end, he’s still a perfectly capable fourth-line center, even if his limited offense means he may not be an 82-game option in an increasingly scoring-oriented league.

The Avs will hope he can prove that in camp. They’re familiar with his game – he scored 18 goals, 15 assists and 33 points with a +8 rating in 122 games there across the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons while averaging 12:31 per contest.

If his PTO turns into a contract, he’d be competing for a fourth-line center role in Colorado that’s up for grabs. Chris Wagner is currently projected to fill the role after getting limited reps near the end of last season, playing double-digit games in an NHL campaign for the first time since 2020-21. 22-year-old Jean-Luc Foudy could also make an outside run for the role after playing 13 games for the Avs over the last two seasons, and there could be some other roster shuffling if 2023 first-round pick Calum Ritchie lands a spot on the opening night roster.

But Bellemare has far more experience in that role than any of them, with exactly 700 NHL games under his belt. Even if he ends up splitting time in the role with Foudy, Wagner, or others, he projects as a well-rounded upgrade in limited usage.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Intends To Play In 2024-25

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Last season was a particularly quiet one for UFA center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare with his usage being by far the lowest of his ten-year NHL career.  Despite that, the 39-year-old told Norran’s Mille Dybro that he intends to play in the NHL for at least one more year.

Bellemare took a long time to come to North America, not making his NHL debut until his age-29 season.  Before that, he spent time in both France and Sweden with a strong showing at the 2014 World Championship helping to secure him a contract with Philadelphia.

Since then, Bellemare has played in 700 games at the top level between five organizations, almost exclusively being deployed in a fourth-line checking role.  He has 64 goals and 74 assists to his name while winning 51.5% of his faceoffs over that time.  Just seven of those points came in 2023-24, however, as he was limited to just 40 games, missing time with a leg injury while also being a somewhat frequent healthy scratch.

Accordingly, it’s not a big surprise that Bellemare remains unsigned at this point in free agency.  A player in his situation is likelier to have to go the PTO route in September over landing a guaranteed contract in August.  Fortunately for him, his type of profile is one that quite a few teams will often look at PTOs to potentially fill so he shouldn’t have much difficulty securing one.

Bellemare is expected to play in the upcoming Olympic Qualifying Tournament at the end of the month so it wouldn’t be surprising for any sort of contractual agreement to come until after that point in time; if he signed early, his new team might prefer he not play.

Alternatively, if he isn’t able to get an NHL contract in the fall, Bellemare indicated that he wouldn’t rule out a return to SHL Skelleftea.  He is currently training there and spent his last five international seasons with them before coming to the NHL.  Returning to finish his playing career there would be somewhat of a full-circle moment for Bellemare but for now, landing another deal at the top level is the priority.

Pacific Notes: Bellemare, Danault, Turcotte, Pospisil

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Close to reaching a milestone of playing in 700 regular season games at the NHL level, it appears that Seattle Kraken forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare does not want to stop there. In an article from Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, Bellemare indicated that even if he is unable to reach 700 this season with the Kraken, he would be content with reaching it next year.

In the article, Bellemare was quoted as saying, “So, I feel like it’s more the people that know me and maybe have an idea about my path and the work and everything. But at the end of the day, I’m not planning on retiring, so if it doesn’t happen this year, it will be at another point. And if it takes me 80 more games to pick up whatever’s left it will be what it is“.

Even if Bellemare does not hold the benchmark in high regard, it is quite a testament to his work ethic, as he originally came into the league during the 2014-15 season to the Philadelphia Flyers organization as a free agent. Throughout his 10 years in the league, Bellemare has suited up for the Flyers, Kraken, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Tampa Bay Lightning, earning a total of $10.525MM up to this point in his career.

Other Pacific notes:

  • In an update from Eric Stephens of The Athletic, the Los Angeles Kings will be receiving center Phillip Danault back into the lineup this evening. Usually one of the more consistently healthy players in the league, Danault went down with an upper-body injury on March 28th and has missed the last four games for the Kings. Included in the report was an update on injured Los Angeles forward Alex Turcotte, who was spotted back at practice in a non-contact jersey this morning. Compared to Danault, Turcotte has been out much longer for the Kings, as he has not appeared in a contest since March 19th due to an upper-body injury.
  • In the Calgary Flames most recent matchup against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night, forward Martin Pospisil delivered a check to Jets’ defenseman Josh Morrissey, with Pospisil’s elbow appearing to make contact with Morrissey’s chin. Pospisil was ejected based on the play; however, it does not appear that the league will be giving him supplemental discipline (X Link). Earlier this year, Pospisil hit Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn from behind and was suspended for three games by the Department of Player Safety.

Pacific Notes: Golden Knights, Bellemare, Mintyukov, McTavish

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The Vegas Golden Knights made some roster moves today as they’ve assigned goaltender Jiri Patera and forward Sheldon Rempal to the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL.

Patera dressed last night as starting netminder Adin Hill’s backup as netminder Logan Thompson was out of action due to an illness. The 24-year-old Patera has appeared in five games this season for Vegas, registering a 1-3 record with a 3.75 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage.

Rempal has also appeared in five games at the NHL level this season and has posted the first two goals of his NHL career. The Calgary, Alberta native has appeared sparingly over parts of five NHL seasons and once again finds himself in the AHL where he has posted solid offensive numbers with 21 goals and 12 assists in 43 games.

In other Pacific Division notes:

  • Roots Sports reporter Scott Malone tweeted that the Seattle Kraken have activated forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare off the injured reserve. The 38-year-old has been out of action since suffering a lower-body injury back on December 18th and has appeared in 29 games this season for the Kraken, posting four goals and a single assist while averaging 9:34 of ice time per game. Bellemare is in his tenth NHL season as he was a late arrival to the NHL having spent his first 11 professional seasons playing in his native country of France.
  • Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have welcomed back defenseman Pavel Mintyukov as the rookie 20-year-old was activated off the injured reserve today. According to Lee, Mintyukov skated on the Ducks’ third pairing tonight alongside Ilya Lyubushkin. Mintyukov has had a solid first season in the NHL, posting two goals and 17 assists in 41 games this season while averaging over 18 minutes a night in ice time.
  • The Ducks also welcomed back forward Mason McTavish after a one-game absence. The 21-year-old was dealing with an upper-body injury that kept him sidelined briefly but was healthy enough to be reinserted into the lineup tonight as the Ducks fell to the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. McTavish is mired in a six-game goalless drought but still has 13 goals on the season to go along with 18 assists in 44 games.

Pierre-Édouard Bellemare Out Four-To-Six Weeks

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The Seattle Kraken have announced that forward Pierre-Édouard Bellemare has suffered a lower-body injury and will be out on a four-to-six-week timeline.

Per the Kraken’s announcement, the 38-year-old veteran forward suffered his injury during the team’s Monday loss to the Dallas Stars. Bellemare was knocked out of the game by the injury, and he ended up playing in just over four minutes.

This injury is a setback for both Bellemare and the Kraken. For Bellemare, he loses the ability to contribute during a crucial time in the Kraken’s season as they work to attempt to re-enter the Pacific Division playoff picture. He’ll also miss the Winter Classic in the new year, which is unfortunate as well. For Seattle, they’ll be without a reliable veteran bottom-sixer for that important stretch.

A veteran of nearly 700 NHL games, Bellemare is a widely respected defensive forward who has appeared on both Selke and Lady Byng trophy ballots earlier in his career.

A winner of 51.5% of his career draws, Bellemare is a valuable presence at the faceoff dot as well as in the defensive zone, and although he’s averaging a career-low ice time per game the loss of Bellemare is still a notable one for coach Dave Hakstol’s squad.

Seattle Kraken Sign Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

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The Seattle Kraken have bolstered their lineup with the addition of veteran center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. The team announced via Twitter that they’ve reached an agreement with the 38-year-old French center on a one-year contract worth the league-minimum $775K.

Bellemare brings 10 seasons and 660 games of NHL experience to the Kraken lineup despite not making his NHL debut until 12 seasons into his professional career, which began in France’s top league in the 2002-03 season. An undrafted free agent signing out of the SHL, Bellemare’s played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, and most recently the Tampa Bay Lightning since joining the league in 2014.

He’s reached the Stanley Cup Final twice – once with Vegas in their inaugural season and in in 2022 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Playing a key role as a bottom-of-the-lineup shutdown forward, Bellemare registered two goals and an assist in 23 games en route to Tampa’s 2022 Final loss to Colorado.

He comes to the Kraken as a serviceable fallback option for their fourth-line center spot, especially if 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright fails to secure a spot out of training camp or gets sent back to juniors midway through the season, as he was last year.

After a rocky three seasons in Philadelphia, Bellemare’s become quite strong in the faceoff circle, holding a 53.4% win percentage since leaving the Flyers in 2017. While his defensive game did show recent significant lapses during last season with the Lightning, it’s an extremely low-risk signing and a solid veteran add for an already deep Kraken offense. It also marks a reunion with head coach Dave Hakstol, who Bellemare played under in Philadelphia from 2015 to 2017.

Last season, Bellemare recorded four goals and 13 points in 73 games. In his NHL career to date, he’s managed 60 goals and 131 points.

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