Week In Review

The final week of arbitration led to several signings this past week although there were certainly some headlines made on the injury front as well.  Here’s a rundown of the biggest news from the past seven days.

Pulock Avoids Arbitration: The good news for the Islanders is that they were able to avoid salary arbitration with defenseman Ryan Pulock.  The bad news is that the two-year, $10MM deal they agreed upon only bought out his two remaining RFA years and takes him straight to UFA eligibility in 2022.  The 26-year-old has very quietly become an impact defender and had 35 points in 68 games last season while logging over 22 minutes a night to lead the team in ice time and getting a top-pairing defender at that price tag is a bargain, even if it will just be a short-term one.  The team will now focus on getting top center Mathew Barzal under contract although they will likely need to free up some money to do so first.

Nyquist Surgery: The Blue Jackets will be without one of their top forwards for a good chunk of next season after it was revealed that winger Gustav Nyquist underwent shoulder surgery that will cause him to miss the next five to six months.  GM Jarmo Kekalainen indicated that the 31-year-old has been dealing with nagging shoulder pain for the last several years which led to the decision to go under the knife.  Nyquist finished second on the team in scoring last season with 42 points in 70 games, extending his streak of consecutive seasons with at least 40 points to seven (the only full years of his NHL career).  However, that streak will almost certainly come to an end in 2020-21 as a result of this news.

Mantha Re-Signs: While there were 26 players who originally filed for arbitration last month, one of the notable players that didn’t despite being eligible was Red Wings winger Anthony Mantha.  It turned out to be a wise move as the two sides agreed to a four-year, $22.8MM contract, one that buys out his final two years of RFA eligibility plus two UFA years.  The 26-year-old produced like a top-line player last season with 16 goals and 22 assists in just 43 games but at the same time, it was also the second straight year that he missed considerable time due to injury; he dealt with both knee and lung issues in 2019-20.  If Mantha can stay healthy and play at that level over a full season, this has the potential to be a bit of a bargain for Detroit.

Dallas Injuries: It had been known for a while that Stars center Tyler Seguin would miss some time for his pending hip surgery that wound up taking more than a month to occur but the team revealed that their top pivot will miss five months after undergoing the procedure.  On top of that, they also indicated that goaltender Ben Bishop underwent meniscus surgery last month that also carries a five-month recovery period.  Both are tough blows for the defending Western Conference champions who will now be down two of their top players for a sizable chunk of next season.

Strome Avoids Arbitration: One of the potentially more interesting arbitration cases was Rangers center Ryan Strome.  The team reportedly had some hesitance in tendering him a qualifying offer in fear him of receiving too high of an award from an arbitrator and the possibility of the walkaway provision was there.  Instead, the two sides settled on a two-year, $9MM agreement which buys New York an extra year of team control.  The second line center spot has been a question mark for a while now but he showed good chemistry with newcomer Artemi Panarin next season.  Interestingly enough, both Strome and top center Mika Zibanejad are both set to be UFAs in 2022 which gives them a bit more time to make plans for a long-term solution at that spot.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The month of October has come and gone and while the frenetic pace of player movement has come to an end, there was still some notable news around the league on the player front which are highlighted in the top stories of the week.

Galchenyuk To Ottawa: The Senators have made quite a few moves already to shake up their team and that continued with the signing of forward Alex Galchenyuk to a one-year, $1.05MM deal.  While the 26-year-old has seen his stock drop considerably since leaving Montreal two years ago (when he had a $4.9MM AAV), he still put up 24 points in 59 games last season.  Even if he’s only able to produce at that level in a bigger role with Ottawa, Galchenyuk should still be able to live to provide some value which makes it a no-risk move for the Sens with some upside.

Bertuzzi Receives Award: While many players have avoided salary arbitration, one went through the process in Detroit winger Tyler Bertuzzi.  The Red Wings filed at $3.15MM while Bertuzzi submitted $4.25MM and the result was closer to the first number as he was awarded a one-year, $3.5MM deal.  His numbers last season were nearly identical to his 2018-19 campaign as he posted 21 goals and 27 assists in 71 games before the pandemic hit.  While Bertuzzi’s camp may be disappointed that the arbitrator didn’t come closer to his number, he can still take some solace in more than doubling his salary from the $1.4MM he made in each of the last two years.  He will once again be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next offseason.

Toews Avoids Arbitration: After dealing a pair of second-round picks to acquire him, Colorado was able to lock up defenseman Devon Toews to a four-year, $16.4MM contract, avoiding salary arbitration.  As has often been the case with contracts this offseason, the deal is heavily backloaded with his 2020-21 salary checking in at $2.35MM but jumps to $5.9MM at the end.  The 26-year-old completed his first full NHL season last year but did well with 28 points in 68 games while logging over 20 minutes a night.  The lack of NHL experience (just 116 career regular season games) likely worked in the favor of the Avalanche who now hope they have a top-four blueliner inked at a team-friendly cap hit.

Daley Calls It A Career: After 16 years in the NHL, defenseman Trevor Daley decided to hang up his skates and announced his retirement.  Injuries limited the 37-year-old to just 43 games last season with the Red Wings but while his career ended on somewhat of a quiet note, he certainly had a good run as a productive secondary threat from the back end.  Overall, he had a respectable 309 points in 1,058 games with Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Detroit.  Daley is heading back to the Penguins now in a different capacity as he has joined their front office and will assist with player evaluations as well as serving as an ‘eye in the sky’ whenever next season gets underway.

Olofsson Takes Two: Victor Olofsson’s rookie campaign was one that not many saw coming.  After a strong year in AHL Rochester in 2018-19, he made an immediate impact with the Sabres, picking up 20 goals and 22 assists in just 54 games last season.  He was rewarded for his efforts with a two-year, $6.1MM pact to avoid arbitration.  Expectations will be high for the 25-year-old as he enters his sophomore season with an improved offense following the signing of Taylor Hall and the acquisition of Eric Staal but even if he’s able to simply replicate his 20-goal performance over the next couple of years, he’ll provide Buffalo with a good return on that contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

While the frequency of contracts has dropped as expected, there was still some notable news around the hockey world over the past seven days.  As usual, they’re recapped here in our key stories.

Scheduling Notes: In a move that didn’t come as much surprise, the NHL announced the postponement of the Winter Classic and the 2021 All-Star Game.  The Winter Classic is the most-attended game each season and with significant fan restrictions for the foreseeable future, holding it just wasn’t viable.  Meanwhile, the All-Star festivities are another heavily-attended event between fans and sponsors so not proceeding with that makes sense as well.  Officially, neither event is cancelled but it’s unlikely either will be held.  Meanwhile, one event that will be going ahead as scheduled despite no fans is the World Juniors as their schedule was released.  The event will get underway one day earlier than usual to allow for all of the games to be played at one venue so the tournament will now start December 25th.

Brown Gets Three Years: Senators winger Connor Brown had a career year in terms of points last season and was one off the team lead in scoring.  That certainly gave him a boost heading into his final year of arbitration eligibility.  The two sides were able to avoid a hearing, agreeing to a three-year deal that carries an AAV of $3.6MM.  While it’s likely that he won’t average more than 20 minutes per game again as he did in 2019-20, Brown should continue to be a bridge player to their up-and-coming young forward core and by the time the deal is up, he should be back to being in their middle six which is the optimal role for him in the first place.

Reinhart Avoids Arbitration: One of the more prominent players that filed for salary arbitration was Sabres forward Sam Reinhart.  While he wasn’t able to get back to the 65-point mark last season, he still managed to score more than 20 goals for the fourth time in five years while reaching 50 points for the third straight year.  Reinhart was also in the top ten league-wide in terms of ATOI at 20:38 per night.  That had him in line for a notable raise from the $3.65MM AAV he had on his bridge deal and he received just that, inking a one-year, $5.2MM deal to avoid an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday.  The 24-year-old will be arbitration-eligible for the final time next offseason and will require that $5.2MM as a qualifying offer.

Russell Extension: While Kris Russell hasn’t lived up to the surprising four-year, $16MM deal he signed back in 2017, he has still been a serviceable role player in Edmonton.  With the Oilers needing to have an eligible defenseman to leave unprotected in next year’s expansion draft, the team signed the veteran to a one-year, $1.25MM extension.  It wasn’t that long ago that Russell was among the league leaders in blocked shots and while he is used more in a depth role now, he should still be able to provide some value at that new price tag for 2021-22.

Winger Bridge Deals: The flattening of the salary cap has forced more teams to resort to short-term ‘bridge’ contracts to keep their team intact.  Accordingly, Toronto handed Ilya Mikheyev a two-year, $3.29MM deal, avoiding salary arbitration.  It’s a decent pay day for a player who did well with the Maple Leafs in limited action last year but he has less than 50 games of NHL experience under his belt while he also gets to hit unrestricted free agency after that.  Meanwhile, Jake Virtanen’s career year earned him a nice raise as he signed a two-year, $5.1MM pact that sets up a $3MM qualifying offer in 2022.  Stars winger Denis Gurianov was sent to the minors early last season but when he was recalled, he became one of their top scorers.  As a result, he was rewarded with a two-year, $5.1MM deal of his own which carries a $2.95MM qualifying offer at the end.  That’s a nice increase for a player who was on the fringes of the roster to start the season and didn’t have arbitration eligibility.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The offseason is in full swing and while there weren’t as many big headlines as there were a week ago, there were still some notable signings and trades along the way which are highlighted in the top stories of the week.

Thornton Leaves San Jose: After 15 years in San Jose, Joe Thornton is moving on.  First, he signed in Switzerland with HC Davos to get some game action in with the Sharks being one of the seven teams that didn’t play during the NHL’s return.  Then, he opted to join his hometown team, inking a one-year deal with Toronto worth the league minimum of $700K while also receiving a no-move clause.  The 41-year-old had his quietest offensive year since his rookie season back in 1997-98 but still managed to put up 31 points in 70 games while playing over 15 minutes a night.  It’s unlikely that the Maple Leafs will use Thornton as much but he should give them a bit more offensive pop in the bottom six and some depth down the middle for a cheap price.

Dadonov To Ottawa: The Senators are not a team that’s known for making a splash on the open market but they did so this past week the addition of Evgeni Dadonov on a three-year, $15MM contract.  The 31-year-old made an impressive return to the NHL back in 2017-18 and outperformed the three-year, $12MM deal he had with Florida, picking up 81 goals and 101 assists in 225 games over that span.  Dadonov should have a chance to play on Ottawa’s top line next season and gives them a capable veteran offensive threat to allow some of their upcoming prospects to ease their way into the NHL.

Vegas Defensive Dealings: As soon as Torey Krug signed in St. Louis, it felt like it was only a matter of time before Alex Pietrangelo signed with Vegas.  That eventually did come to fruition as he signed a seven-year, $61.6MM contract to take over as the top defenseman for the Golden Knights.  The 30-year-old is a rare number one blueliner to hit the open market and happened to be coming off one of the best offensive seasons of his career with 16 goals and 36 assists in 70 games.  While many teams are capped out, Pietrangelo was still able to command top dollar and term while picking up a full no-move clause along the way as Vegas landed the biggest fish on the open market.

Of course, that acquisition didn’t come without its cost.  After moving Paul Stastny back to Winnipeg at the beginning of free agency, that still wasn’t enough to bring Pietrangelo in and a high-priced contract had to be cleared out before Vegas could even register the contract with the league.  That meant that Nate Schmidt was on the move to Vancouver with the Canucks only needing to part with a 2022 third-round pick to in return.  Schmidt had become a legitimate top-four blueliner in his three years with the Golden Knights, picking up at least 30 points in each season while averaging nearly 22 minutes a night.  He’ll be a big addition to their back end, especially after they lost Chris Tanev (Calgary) and Troy Stecher (Detroit) in free agency.

Montreal’s Moves: The Canadiens also made a splash in free agency, signing winger Tyler Toffoli to a four-year, $17MM contract.  The 28-year-old had 24 goals last season between Los Angeles and Vancouver but still had to take a small pay cut in this limited free agent market.  That wasn’t the only move the Canadiens made either.  They also put pen to paper on a two-year extension for goaltender Jake Allen before he has even played for the team as they only acquired him from St. Louis last month.  On top of that, shortly after word leaked that there was a breakdown in extension talks with winger Brendan Gallagher, they agreed to a six-year, $39MM deal with the 28-year-old.  Gallagher had at least 30 goals in each of the two seasons before 2019-20 and scored at a similar pace last year but was limited due to injury and the pandemic.

Toews On The Move: With the Islanders needing to free up some cap room to deal with the rest of their restricted free agents, they traded blueliner Devon Toews to Colorado for a pair of second-round picks.  The 26-year-old only played his first full NHL season in 2019-20 but it was a strong one with 28 points in 68 games.  He played even better in the playoffs, picking up 10 points in 22 games while logging more than 20 minutes a night in ice time.  Toews will replace Nikita Zadorov on the roster as the Avalanche have quietly assembled a deep group of quality young defensemen.  The restricted free agent filed for salary arbitration last weekend and has a hearing set for October 31st.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

To say the NHL offseason is in full flight would be an understatement.  With the draft and the beginning of free agency happening in the span of four days, there has been a smorgasbord of headlines across the league, even with a lot of the top names on the UFA market being unsigned yet.  Here is a rundown of some of the frenetic activity over the past seven days.

Goalie Shuffle: With so many goalies set to hit the open market, it looked as if there was going to be a big run of musical chairs, so to speak.  Although a couple re-signed, that’s basically how it played out.  Braden Holtby signed with Vancouver which ended Jacob Markstrom’s tenure with the Canucks and he moved on to Calgary.  Meanwhile, the Blackhawks decided to let their three unproven options battle for their two spots which pushed Corey Crawford out after 13 seasons as he has joined New Jersey.   After Henrik Lundqvist was bought out after 15 years with the Rangers, he will now play in Washington.  This wasn’t all of the movement either but we also need to mention the notable non-UFA move that saw Ottawa acquire Matt Murray from Pittsburgh in exchange for a second-round selection in this week’s draft.  They wasted little time locking him up as he quickly signed a four-year, $25MM deal to solidify himself as the new starter for the Senators moving forward.

Draft Results: Speaking of the draft activity, all seven rounds were completed with Alexis Lafreniere going to the Rangers with the top pick in a selection that came as no surprise to anyone.  The first round featured minimal trade activity with Murray highlighting the players on the move on Wednesday but there were plenty of pick swaps as always as well.  The full results of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft are here.

Krug To The Blues: While several of the top free agents waited a little bit to find a new home (or remain unsigned), Torey Krug wasn’t one of them.  Instead, he landed a seven-year, $45.5MM contract with St. Louis, a deal that has for now pushed the Blues over the salary cap for next season.  The 29-year-old has been one of the more productive defensemen in recent years, tallying at least 39 points in each of his seven full NHL seasons and is coming off a year that saw him pick up 49 points in just 61 games while adding six assists in 13 playoff contests.  The deal also puts an end to Alex Pietrangelo’s time in St. Louis as there is no longer a spot for him on their roster, nor could they afford him on the cap.  Still, with Krug, Colton Parayko, and Justin Faulk, the Blues still have a strong veteran core on their back end.

Domi For Anderson: A pair of oft-speculated trade candidates were traded for each other as Montreal dealt Max Domi and a 2020 third-round pick to Columbus in exchange for winger Josh Anderson.  Domi is coming off of a down year but is only one season removed from a 72-point campaign and gives the Blue Jackets a capable second center.  Meanwhile, Anderson had a disastrous 2019-20 season that saw him deal with lingering shoulder trouble as he managed to score just once in 26 games after potting 27 goals the year before.  Both players wasted little time signing with their new teams.  Domi inked what amounts to a second bridge contract, signing a two-year, $10.6MM pact that takes him to UFA eligibility in 2022.  Anderson and the Canadiens went a different route as the two sides agreed on a seven-year, $38.5MM deal, tying him with Jonathan Drouin as Montreal’s highest-paid forward in terms of AAV.

Hall To Buffalo: A few teams had been speculated as possible landing spots for Taylor Hall, widely perceived as the best forward available on the free agent market but Buffalo wasn’t among them.  However, that’s where he landed as he inked a one-year, $8MM contract with the Sabres.  The move reunites him with head coach Ralph Krueger as the two previously worked together in Edmonton and gives him a top center to play with in Jack Eichel.  If he has a strong season, Hall could put himself in a better position to land a long-term, big-money deal next summer where he’ll once again likely be among the top players available on the open market.

Cap Dumps: Too many things happened this past week to limit it to just five topics so here’s a bonus one.  One of the underlying themes of this offseason is freeing up cap space and there were plenty of those moves.  The Blue Jackets did it twice, moving Markus Nutivaara to Florida and Ryan Murray to New Jersey, freeing up over $7MM in space.  Vegas sent Paul Stastny back to Winnipeg, opening up nearly $6MM in room.  Toronto flipped Andreas Johnsson to New Jersey, taking $3.4MM off their books following several veteran free agent signings.  Even Chicago’s swapping of Brandon Saad for Nikita Zadorov had cap savings as a key factor.  Tampa Bay attempted to trade Tyler Johnson and when that failed, he was waived and made available for free.  However, he cleared which will send them back to the drawing board.  They certainly won’t be the only ones left looking to free up space in the days and weeks to come.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The 2019-20 season has officially come to an end with Tampa Bay being crowned as Stanley Cup champions in a six-game victory over Dallas.  With that in mind, the offseason festivities have begun with news surrounding several goaltenders highlighting the top stories of the week.

End Of An Era: While it had largely been expected following his diminished role and New York’s cap situation, it was still certainly notable that the Rangers bought out the final year of goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s contract.  The 38-year-old had spent the last 15 years with them and is their all-time leader in games played (887), wins (459), and shutouts (64).  The move frees up $3MM on the cap for the Rangers for this offseason while adding $1.5MM onto the books for 2021-22.  New York is now paying five different players not to play for them next year with their combined cap hit of $12.994MM representing nearly 16% of the 2020-21 salary cap.

Gostisbehere Available: A few years ago, Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere looked like a key part in their future plans as an offensive defenseman on the rise with a team-friendly contract.  Things have changed quickly.  After spending most of the stretch run and playoffs as a healthy scratch, Philadelphia has made the blueliner available.  However, with just a dozen points in 42 games this season and a $4.5MM price tag for three more years in a market where a lot of teams are looking to clear salary room, the list of potential suitors will be a lot smaller than it would have been just a couple of years ago.

Lehner Sticks Around: Despite his public comments saying a five-year, $25MM deal wasn’t done during the playoffs, Golden Knights goaltender Robin Lehner wound up signing a new contract for that exact amount and term this weekend.  The deal gives him some stability after he played on three straight one-year deals and gives Vegas some long-term goaltending security.  However, it also further calls into question Marc Andre-Fleury’s future with the team as a $7MM second option on a team that’s currently over the Upper Limit of the cap isn’t ideal.  To that end, they appear to be looking to involve a third team to help facilitate a trade which means there’s still some work to be done to finalize their goaltending for 2020-21.

Maatta On The Move: For the second straight offseason, defenseman Olli Maatta has been dealt as he was moved to Los Angeles from Chicago in exchange for center Brad Morrison.  The Blackhawks also retained 18.4% of his $4.083MM AAV in the move.  Considering that Morrison spent all of this past season in the ECHL, his presence in the deal was simply to match contracts which means that Maatta was effectively a salary dump.  Chicago now has some more cap room to try to re-sign Corey Crawford and deal with their restricted free agents while the Kings add a still-young blueliner (Maatta is only 26 despite having played seven NHL seasons already) for a minimal price tag.

Jarry Contract: A year ago, Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry was available in a trade.  Now, he’s their goalie moving forward as Pittsburgh signed him to a three-year, $10.5MM contract in a deal that buys out one year of UFA eligibility.  The 25-year-old got his first chance at extended NHL action this season and earned himself an All-Star Game appearance along the way while posting a 2.43 GAA and a .921 SV% in 33 games.  That further calls into question Matt Murray’s future with the Penguins.  The pending restricted free agent is just a year away from UFA eligibility and has been in plenty of trade speculation already although nothing has materialized yet in terms of a trade that GM Jim Rutherford is willing to pull the trigger on.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

With free agency and the draft fast approaching, activity around the league is starting to pick up with some notable trades being among the top stories of the past seven days.

Interim Tag Removed: It had been anticipated for a while that Bob Boughner would have the interim tag removed with GM Doug Wilson stating back in early April that Boughner had the upper hand at landing the full-time role after he replaced Peter DeBoer during the season.  However, it took until this week for the removing of the tag to be made official with Rocky Thompson and John Madden being named as Boughner’s assistants.  This is his second tenure as an NHL head coach having also held the role with Florida in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Ryan Bought Out: While he won’t be the only player that gets bought out during the window that just opened up on Friday, Bobby Ryan has hit the free agent market after the Senators bought out the final two years of his deal.  The 33-year-old has seen his production dip considerably in recent years to the point where he wasn’t close to being worth his $7.25MM AAV.  While there will be a lingering salary cap charge for the next four years, that shouldn’t be much of a concern for Ottawa as they’re typically well below the Upper Limit.  Meanwhile, the Masterton Trophy winner should have some interest on the open market in a third line role but it’s safe to say that he’ll be taking a significant pay cut.

Panthers-Penguins Swap: While word leaked a little early, Pittsburgh and Florida were eventually able to get a trade completed as the Panthers acquired winger Patric Hornqvist in exchange for defenseman Mike Matheson and winger Colton Sceviour.  Hornqvist hasn’t reached the 20-goal mark over the last two years but should still give Florida a boost to their secondary scoring, albeit at a pricey $5.3MM price tag.  However, they offloaded that much and then some to Pittsburgh in Matheson (six years remaining at $4.875MM) and Sceviour (one year left at $1.2MM).  It was only a few years ago that Matheson was viewed as a key cog on Florida’s back end but he has struggled considerably the last couple of seasons to the point where he was even used as a winger at times this year.  Sceviour, meanwhile, gives the Penguins a bit of versatility in their bottom six, an area that was of some concern in their Qualifying Round loss to Montreal.

Petry Extension: One of the notable defensemen that was set to hit the open market in 2021 can be scratched off the list as the Canadiens signed Jeff Petry to a four-year, $25MM extension.  The 32-year-old has quietly been one of the more consistent offensive blueliners in recent years and has scored double-digit goals in three straight years while he logged a career best 23:37 in average ice time this season.  While he plays on the second pairing behind Shea Weber, Petry has become a player that is capable of stepping into the top role when needed.  While there is only a minor jump in AAV ($750K), the deal will take Petry into his age-37 season which could carry a bit of risk down the road for Montreal.

Staal To Detroit: Quite a few teams will be looking to clear out some cap room in the coming days and the Rangers were able to accomplish that as they sent a 2021 second-round pick to the Red Wings to get them to take on the final year of defenseman Marc Staal’s deal.  New York received future considerations as the return.  Staal carries a $5.7MM AAV but is owed just $3.2MM in salary.  If he remains with Detroit, he’ll serve as a mentor on their back end while being an in-season trade candidate but it’s also possible that they buy him out to open up the roster spot.  In the meantime, other teams that are looking to free up some cap room now have a better idea of what it’s going to cost to do so.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

While NHL arenas continue to be shuttered and will remain that way for the foreseeable future, a big step was taken towards the resumption of play which is among the top stories of the past seven days.

3ICE Coaches Named: Next summer is pegged to be the launch of a new three-on-three league called 3ICE.  It will be a travelling series with eight teams playing a tournament each Saturday night.  The head coaches for the inaugural season were revealed and it’s a notable list as Guy Carbonneau, Grant Fuhr, Eddie Johnston, John LeClair, Joe Mullen, Larry Murphy, Angela Ruggiero, and Bryan Trottier will run the teams.  Six of those are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  56 players will eventually join the league although we’re a long way from learning who will participate.

Short-Term Extensions Coming: In a normal year, the league season ends on June 30th with unrestricted free agency beginning the next day.  However, with play not set to resume until likely July, that throws a wrinkle into that timetable.  Instead, uniform contract slides are expected for the players which will solve that issue.  However, such an agreement isn’t guaranteed for coaches or front-office staff.  While teams that are returning would want their coaches on expiring deals to be extended, those that aren’t finished may not require that.  Scouts often change teams in the summer and with the draft date being uncertain, extensions may be needed for those as well.  The players will be covered at least but more work here is still required.

Boedker To Switzerland: It has been a tough season for Mikkel Boedker.  After being a regular with Ottawa last season where he had a respectable 35 points in 71 games, his role was reduced considerably this year as he played in just 20 contests, averaging less than ten minutes a night in those.  Instead of trying to find a new NHL home on the open market, he decided to head overseas, inking a two-year deal with HC Lugano of the Swiss NLA.  The 30-year-old has spent a dozen seasons in the NHL, recording 327 points along the way but barring an offensive resurgence in Switzerland, it appears as if his NHL time has come to an end.

AHL Awards: With the AHL season now officially done, the league announced their end-of-season All-Star teams as well as the All-Rookie team.  There were two players who appeared on both squads as Senators center Josh Norris made the First All-Star Team while Canucks defensive prospect Brogan Rafferty was on the Second All-Star squad.  Wild winger Gerald Mayhew led the league in goals scored with 39 in just 49 games but wasn’t able to land on the first team but three other Minnesota representatives were able to in goalie Kaapo Kahkonen, defenseman Brennan Menell, and winger Sam Anas, who led the league in points with 70 in 67 games.

NHLPA Votes For 24-Team Return: While we are still a long way from resuming games, it appears that it will be a 24-team format if and when they do.  The NHLPA voted 29-2 in favor of continuing discussions on that format assuming that other logistical, financial, and player safety issues can also be worked out.  (Tampa Bay and Carolina were the two ‘no’ votes.)  The effective expansion of the playoffs by eight teams (although the play-in round appears to be technically classified as not part of the postseason) certainly carries a wide variety of opinions but it at least provides a roadmap for how games could resume over the next couple of months.

While there is still no set timetable on when (or if) the NHL will resume play this season, there was some news from around the hockey world which is featured in the top stories of the week.

Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Cancelled: There have been many cancellations over the past couple of months pertaining to the current hockey season but until now, there hadn’t been any for the upcoming year.  The first tournament of note to kick off next year’s hockey calendar, the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, has been cancelled.  This event is a popular one for scouts as it represents the first chance to get a look at the upcoming draft class but they won’t get that chance now.  The decision isn’t too surprising for a couple of reasons.  Fans likely won’t be allowed to attend games during the time period it was scheduled for (August 3-8) while the location of the event – Edmonton – is vying to be one of the centralized hub cities if NHL action resumes.

Latest On Return Plans: Speaking of the potential for games getting back underway, the NHL and NHLPA released a joint memo with an update on their current plans.  While there remains no firm timetable for play to resume, there appears to be some that team workouts could resume at some point this month.  Meanwhile, the league sent another memo to teams to discuss their reasoning for wanting to move the NHL draft up and hold it in early June.  There doesn’t seem to be much support from teams for the idea but the league will have the final say, one that should come early in the week ahead.

Extension For Halak: One of the top backup goalies in the upcoming unrestricted free agent class is off the market at the Bruins signed Jaroslav Halak to a one-year contract extension.  The deal will give him the opportunity to earn more than his current $2.75MM AAV although it is structured in a way to give Boston some short-term cap flexibility as it carries a base salary of $2.25MM with a $1.25MM bonus to be paid out if he plays in ten games.  Considering how Halak has been used in his two years as Tuukka Rask’s backup/tandem partner, that’s pretty much a guarantee barring injury.  By putting some of the money as bonuses, it gives the Bruins the ability to defer the cap charge for that by a year by using the bonus cushion.  With the salary cap expected to level out or potentially even decrease, that may prove to be quite important while Halak gets a raise for his efforts.

McDonough Fired: Shortly after the stoppage in the schedule began, Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz gave a vote of confidence to his front office (president/CEO John McDonough, GM Stan Bowman, and head coach Jeremy Colliton).  Evidently, he has changed his mind as the team fired McDonough after thirteen years with the team.  A search has already started for his replacement with Wirtz’s son Daniel taking over on an interim basis.  The move also presents some questions about Bowman and Colliton’s status with the team although it’s possible that Bowman could move up after spending more than a decade in his current role.

New Transfer Agreements: The NHL reached an agreement on one-year extensions on its agreements with a dozen countries (including Sweden, Finland, and the Czech Republic), paving the way for a wave of international signings over the past few days.  They also reached an agreement with Switzerland after not having one for the past several years which means players drafted from there this summer won’t see their NHL rights be held indefinitely by the team that picks them.  On top of that, they also extended their agreement with the Canadian Hockey League, consisting of the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL.  Of note, that means that players from that league under the age of 20 will continue to be ineligible to play in the minors.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

While there aren’t any games going on at the moment, there was still a fair bit of news around the hockey world over the past seven days.

Barabanov To Toronto: Russian winger Alexander Barabanov had been fielding interest from numerous NHL teams in recent weeks and he made his choice on where to sign, inking a one-year deal with Toronto for 2020-21.  The deal is worth the entry-level maximum of $925K and does not contain any performance bonuses.  The 25-year-old had been playing with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL in recent years and had 46 points in 58 games in 2018-19.  Those numbers dipped this season (20 points in 43 contests) but that still didn’t stop the Maple Leafs among others from pursuing him.  It’s the second year in a row that Toronto has turned to this route to fill a roster spot after signing winger Ilya Mikheyev last offseason.

Another Positive Test: The Avalanche announced that another one of their players has tested positive for COVID-19.  They did not identify the player.  This is the third Colorado player to test positive while the Senators have had five players get the virus, all of whom have since recovered.  These are the only known cases among current NHLers.

Cave Passes Away: Tragedy struck this week as Oilers center Colby Cave passed away on Saturday at the age of 25.  He had been hospitalized earlier in the week and placed in a medically-induced coma after suffering a brain bleed.  He then underwent emergency surgery to remove a colloid cyst that was causing pressure on his brain soon after but remained in a coma until his passing.  At the time of his hospitalization, his agent indicated that this was not related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.  Cave played in 67 career NHL games over parts of three seasons with Boston and Edmonton.  We join many in the hockey world in offering our condolences to Cave’s family and friends.

History Made In Switzerland: Florence Schelling had a stellar career in women’s hockey, representing Switzerland in ten World Championships and four Olympics while playing professionally in Canada, Sweden, and of course Switzerland.  Now she’s set to make her mark at the executive level and is making history in the process.  SC Bern of the Swiss NLA has hired the 31-year-old as their new sports director and general manager, making her the first female to be named GM of a top-tier men’s professional team.

Final Draft Rankings: While there is no word yet on when the 2020 NHL Entry Draft will be held after the event that was originally scheduled for late June was recently postponed, that hasn’t stopped NHL Central Scouting from releasing their final rankings.  As usual, players were grouped into four categories – North American Skaters, North American Goalies, International Skaters, and International Goalies.  The top-ranked players in each category are Alexis Lafreniere (Rimouski, QMJHL), Nico Daws (Guelph, OHL), Tim Stuetzle (Mannheim, DEL), and Yaroslav Askarov (St. Petersburg, VHL).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.