Week In Review

The 2019-20 season is quickly looking like it will be looked back as the year of the coaching change as yet another head coach was replaced which is among the top stories of the week.

Martinez Available: Last season, the Kings traded Jake Muzzin, one of their key defensemen, to Toronto.  This season, it appears that blueliner Alex Martinez could have the same fate as he has been made available around the league.  He recently returned to the lineup after missing more than a month after his wrist was cut by a skate blade so it’s likely that he’ll need to play for a little while yet to show teams that he has fully recovered.  Similar to Muzzin a year ago, the 32-year-old has another year left on his contract with a $4MM cap hit that should be of interest to several contending teams as it’s a deal that’s a little bit below market value.

Hamilton Out Indefinitely: Hurricanes defenseman Dougie Hamilton appeared to be well on his way towards a career year offensively after picking up 14 goals and 26 assists through the first 47 games of the season.  However, that momentum was quickly derailed after he suffered a fractured fibula that he has already undergone surgery for.  He’s listed as out indefinitely but similar injuries have carried a timeframe for recovery of around three months which would basically put him out for the rest of the regular season.  Carolina had been making some defensemen available but now, they may have to pull back on that with Hamilton out of the lineup.

Backstrom Extension: Going into the season, the Capitals had a pair of prominent veterans that were slated to become unrestricted free agents in July.  They have trimmed that down to one after agreeing to a five-year, $46MM extension with center Nicklas Backstrom.  The deal, which was negotiated with Backstrom directly and not an agent, also contains a full no-move clause in the first three years of the deal plus a 15-team no-trade clause in the final two seasons.  The contract gives the 32-year-old a significant raise on his current $6.7MM AAV.  Backstrom, a first-round pick (fourth overall) back in 2006 has played the entirety of his 13-year NHL career with Washington where he is the all-time franchise leader in assists and sits second in points behind Alex Ovechkin.  He’ll be holding onto those marks for a long time now with this deal.

Another Coaching Change: Some of the coaching changes around the league haven’t come as much of a surprise.  The latest, one that saw Vegas fire Gerard Gallant and hire Peter DeBoer as his replacement, certainly doesn’t qualify as one of those.  While the Golden Knights have struggled in recent weeks, they were still in a playoff spot in the ultra-tight Pacific Division and reports have since surfaced that there were some discussions about a contract extension not that long ago.  Despite that, GM Kelly McCrimmon acted quickly with a capable veteran coach in DeBoer who has some familiarity with Vegas having previously coached one of their bigger rivals in San Jose.  He’ll now be tasked with making some tweaks to help them down the stretch.

Rielly Out For A While: Toronto’s back end isn’t the deepest and was already without Jake Muzzin.  They suffered another significant injury as Morgan Rielly will miss the next two months due to a broken foot.  The injury was sustained last weekend against Florida and they’ve had difficulty keeping the puck out of the net since then; including that game, they’ve allowed 20 goals in their last four contests.  As Rielly is expected to be back before the end of the regular season, the Maple Leafs won’t be able to trade for a replacement using LTIR as they’d need to get back into cap compliance before they could activate Rielly in that circumstance.  Since their coaching change, Toronto has been one of the top-scoring teams and they’ll need to keep that up in Rielly’s absence.

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The first full week of 2020 is in the books and there were several newsworthy events around the NHL which are highlighted in the key stories of the week.

More Changes In New Jersey: While in-season coaching changes happen with some regularity, GM changes usually occur in the offseason.  That wasn’t the case for New Jersey as they fired GM Ray Shero partway through his fifth year with the team.  The timing is particularly surprising as it comes less than a month after trading away Taylor Hall while he also let John Hynes go as head coach (more on him momentarily).   Tom Fitzgerald will take over as interim GM and will likely be tasked with shepherding the team through the upcoming trade deadline where they will have several veterans that will likely garner interest around the league.

Another Coaching Change: With the Predators underachieving considerably in the first half of the season, GM David Poile decided to make a change behind the bench, relieving Peter Laviolette of his duties as head coach, just days after saying that he wasn’t planning on making a coaching change.  Laviolette spent five and a half seasons in Nashville, compiling a 248-143-60 record while helping lead them to the Presidents’ Trophy in 2017-18 as well as their only Stanley Cup Final appearance the year before.  Poile wasted little time finding a replacement as the next day, John Hynes was hired as their new head coach.  The team picked up their first win under Hines on Thursday and it was quite the memorable one with Pekka Rinne becoming the first goalie to score a goal since Mike Smith did so back in 2013.

Big Contract For Andersson: Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson is in his second full NHL season but has emerged as a capable top-four defender on Calgary’s back end.  With fellow blueliners Travis Hamonic and T.J. Brodie both slated to become unrestricted free agents in July, GM Brad Treliving opted to ensure Andersson (who was going to be a restricted free agent) would be sticking around for the long haul, signing him to a six-year, $27.3MM extension.  The deal buys out two years of UFA eligibility and if his offensive game progresses, it could become quite the bargain fairly quickly.  The Flames now have four defensemen under contract for next season (including the injured Juuso Valimaki) so GM Brad Treliving still has some work to do at that position.

Shesterkin Debuts: For years, Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin has been viewed as one of the top goaltenders outside the NHL if not the best.  That is no longer the case as the team brought him up from AHL Hartford and had him make his NHL debut.  There aren’t any injuries between the pipes in New York so for the time being at least the Rangers will be going with three goaltenders as Shesterkin joins Henrik Lundqvist and Alexandar Georgiev.  Carrying three goalies is rarely a tenable situation but Shesterkin is the only waiver-exempt option of the three but his deal contains a European Assignment Clause.  Not surprisingly, the Rangers appear to be open to listening to offers for Georgiev, a pending restricted free agent.

Williams Returns: When Justin Williams announced that he was taking a break from hockey at the beginning of training camp, speculation immediately began that he would eventually find his way back to Carolina.  That is indeed what happened as he signed a one-year deal to rejoin the Hurricanes.  The deal is worth the pro-rated league minimum but contains performance bonuses for games played as well as Carolina’s postseason success.  That allows the team to preserve most of their remaining cap room although if they utilize that, they will run the risk of a bonus overage that would roll over into 2020-21.

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The Winter Classic has come and gone and as usual, the announcement of where next year’s event will be held was made.  There were plenty of other newsworthy events around the league which are highlighted in the key stories of the week.

Rodrigues Wants Out: A year ago, it looked like Evan Rodrigues was settling in as a useful secondary scorer for Buffalo.  He picked up a career-best 29 points and was awarded a $2MM contract in arbitration back in July.  However, things haven’t gone so well this year.  His role has been limited and he has spent considerable time as a healthy scratch and as a result, he has asked for a trade.  The Sabres don’t appear to have any interest in playing him at the time being – they’ve given Dalton Smith a game (and 1:26 of ice time) and dressed seven defensemen over putting Rodrigues back in but at this point, it’s reasonable to assume that his trade value is low.  Either GM Jason Botterill will have to sell low or they’ll have to get Rodrigues back in the lineup but this will be worth monitoring over the coming weeks.

Scandella, Frolik Get Dealt: In what basically amounted to a three-way trade, the Sabres parted with defenseman Marco Scandella while picking up winger Michael Frolik from Calgary.  Scandella was sent to Montreal for San Jose’s 2020 fourth-round pick and then Buffalo flipped that to land Frolik.  The Canadiens have been looking to upgrade the left side of their defense corps and have tried quite a few different players there already but Scandella’s history suggests he could have more of an impact.  Meanwhile, a long list of injuries up front for Buffalo (the latest being Victor Olofsson) necessitated adding some forward help; Frolik gives them some versatility and someone with a previous track record of being a useful secondary piece.  As for the Flames, they now have $4.3MM in full-season cap space to work with when they try to add to their roster between now and the trade deadline.

Another Injury In Pittsburgh: The Penguins have been hit extremely hard by injuries this season and they are now dealing with another one as winger Jake Guentzel is out for the rest of the regular season at least after undergoing successful shoulder surgery.  The 25-year-old was coming off his first 40-goal season and was on pace to surpass his 2018-19 production before the injury as he had 43 points in 39 games while logging over 20 minutes a night in ice time for the first time in his career.  The official timeline for recovery is four-to-six months so if it winds up being towards the shorter end, it’s possible that Guentzel would be available to return at some point in the postseason.

Extension For Holl: After hardly playing at all last season (just 11 games), Justin Holl got an opportunity to play more of a regular role with Toronto this year.  He has made the most of it and has moved up the depth chart in recent weeks and has been rewarded for his efforts with a three-year, $6MM extension.  There is some risk on both sides with the deal; the 27-year-old hadn’t played in 50 NHL games at the time the deal was signed and the contract represents a big commitment to someone with that little experience.  However, if Holl continues to do well in a top-four role, the deal could certainly become a bargain as well.

Kovalchuk To Montreal: It took nearly three weeks for Ilya Kovalchuk to find his next place to play after agreeing to a contract termination with the Kings but he has resurfaced in the NHL, inking a one-year contract with the Canadiens.  The deal will pay him the league minimum $700K in Montreal while also containing a two-way provision that pays $70K in the minors which may very well be in there to encourage a termination should things not pan out.  The Canadiens are missing four regulars up front and they’re hoping that the veteran can give them a short-term boost until some of those players return.

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The first full week of December is in the books and there were a few newsworthy events across the hockey world which are highlighted in the top stories of the week.

New Arena Deal For Calgary: After several years of ups and downs in negotiations, the Flames have a ratified agreement in place for a new arena in Calgary.  The project will cost roughly $565MM to complete with $290MM of that being publicly funded.  Although the financial arrangement is in place, the design still has to be done which has resulted in a rough timeline to begin construction in the fall of 2021 so it will be a while before the team will be finished at the Saddledome.

Stephenson To Vegas: With Carl Hagelin set to return off LTIR, the Capitals were once again about to face a cap crunch.  Rather than shuffle a few pieces on their roster back and forth, they opted instead to trade center Chandler Stephenson to Vegas in exchange for a 2021 fifth-round pick.  While Stephenson’s $1.05MM salary isn’t particularly high, it was a premium that Washington simply couldn’t afford.  The 25-year-old made quite the impression with the Golden Knights as he scored in his first game with his new team.

Coaching Change In New Jersey: The Devils were a popular pick to be a big factor in the Metropolitan Division this season but instead, they’ve underachieved considerably.  As a result, GM Ray Shero decided to make a change behind the bench as he fired head coach John Hynes.  Assistant Alain Nasreddine has taken over on an interim basis.  The team went just 9-13-4 under Hynes this season and they haven’t fared much better with their new bench boss just yet as they’ve yet to win in three games since the change.  Hynes’ tenure wraps up with a 150-159-45 record over parts of five seasons.  Former Florida and Toronto head coach Peter Horachek has moved from a scouting role to serve as an assistant on Nasreddine’s staff.

Another Pittsburgh Injury: To say that the Penguins have been hit hard by the injury bug this season would be quite the understatement.  Their lengthy list of injuries has grown as winger Patric Hornqvist will be out longer-term with a lower-body injury less than two weeks after missing time with a different lower-body issue.  Despite missing several key players, Pittsburgh hasn’t missed a beat as they’re one of the top scoring teams in the league.

Stajan Retires: Veteran center Matt Stajan has decided to call it a career at the age of 35.  The 2002 second-round pick carved out a lengthy career for himself, reaching the 1,000 games played mark in his final NHL season back in 2017-18.  Stajan only played for two NHL organizations throughout his career which spanned parts of 15 seasons.  He was with Toronto from 2003 to 2010 before being sent to Calgary in a midseason deal where he spent parts of nine seasons.  He suited up last season with EHC Munich in the German DEL but wasn’t able to attract any NHL interest last summer.

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With pretty much every team now past the first quarter of their season, activity should start to pick up around the league.  There were a few headlines off the ice over the past seven days which are highlighted in our top stories of the week.

Schneider Clears Waivers: Last year was a tough one for Devils goalie Cory Schneider although he picked up his play down the stretch and had a good showing at the World Championships which led to some renewed optimism heading into this season.  However, things have not gone well as anyone would have hoped as he posted a 4.59 GAA and a .852 SV% in six games this season.  New Jersey (or any team) isn’t going to win games with that type of performance so he was placed on waivers and cleared.  The majority of his $6MM cap hit will remain on their books for this season and if he doesn’t show considerable signs of improvement in the minors, Schneider will be a likely buyout candidate this summer.

Three For Hathaway: Capitals winger Garnet Hathaway received a three-game suspension for a spitting incident against Anaheim defenseman Erik Gudbranson.  The ruling was handed down by the Commissioner instead of the Department of Player Safety and Hathaway opted not to appeal.  The suspension created quite a challenge for Washington when it came to roster construction with injuries to forwards Carl Hagelin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Nic Dowd.  Hagelin, who was originally classified as day-to-day, wound up being transferred to LTIR in order for them to call up enough players to ice a full roster.

Babcock Fired: The start of the season has not gone well for Toronto.  They were believed to be a contender but found themselves on the outside looking in at the postseason at the one-quarter mark of the season.  With their cap situation making it difficult for any trade of note to be made, the team opted to make a change behind the bench as they fired Mike Babcock, replacing him with Sheldon Keefe, the head coach of the AHL Marlies.  Babcock was in his fifth season with the team after setting a new benchmark for coaching contracts when he signed an eight-year, $50MM deal.  He’s set to make $5.875MM each season as part of the contract (it wasn’t as frontloaded as originally believed) so if another team looks to hire him, it’s certainly possible that Toronto will still be on the hook for part of his salary even if he coaches elsewhere.

Brouwer To St. Louis: The Blues have been hit hard by the injury bug up front with three regulars out long-term.  With cap space at a premium, St. Louis turned to the free agent market to try to find some help.  They brought in veteran wingers Troy Brouwer and Jamie McGinn on tryout deals and Brouwer did enough to earn a job as he signed a one-year, $750K (pro-rated) contract while McGinn was released to pursue other opportunities.  This is his second stint with the Blues as he spent the 2015-16 season with them before signing with Calgary in free agency on a contract that was bought out.  He has not yet been able to suit up for the team, however, as he still is in the process of securing a work visa.

Grievance For Byfuglien: The strange Dustin Byfuglien saga took another turn as the NHLPA filed a formal grievance on his suspension from the Jets.  The veteran blueliner didn’t report to training camp and was suspended without pay.  At one point, it was believed that he was considering retirement but as it turns out, he was dealing with an ankle injury, one that he ultimately had surgery on but did not consult with team doctors before undergoing the procedure.  There’s no timetable yet in place for when this will be heard by an independent arbitrator.

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The past seven days featured quite a few newsworthy headlines around the league which are highlighted in the top stories of the week.

Extension For Chayka: Coyotes GM John Chayka has made several big moves since taking over as the youngest GM in NHL history back in 2016 and while some haven’t quite worked out, enough have to the point where there is optimism about the present and future in Arizona.  Team owner Alex Meruelo clearly is pleased with the direction of the franchise as the team signed Chayka to a long-term extension (the term of the deal was not disclosed).  He still had a year and a half left on his original contract.  The Coyotes haven’t made the postseason since the 2011-12 campaign but are in good shape as we approach the quarter-point of the season as they sit second in the Pacific Division.

Crosby Out For A While: The Penguins have been hit hard by injuries in the early going this season and just as they were starting to return to full health, the injury bug struck again.  This time, they’ll be without center Sidney Crosby for a while after he underwent core muscle surgery to help deal with a sports hernia that he was dealing with since training camp.  He will miss a minimum of six weeks.  His absence is a major blow to their attack as one of the top players in the league while logging over 20 minutes a night.  Evgeni Malkin will be counted on to help try to pick up the slack in Crosby’s absence.

Puljujarvi Staying Overseas: The short-term future of Oilers RFA winger Jesse Puljujarvi has been in question for a while now and with the December 1st signing deadline approaching, his name could pop up in more trade speculation before too long.  However, Puljujarvi has indicated that his intent is to stay with Karpat of the SM-liiga for the remainder of the season.  He has fared quite well offensively with them so far, posting 11 goals and 12 assists in 20 games and staying there may be the best option for his long-term development.  However, if he isn’t coming back to the NHL in 2019-20, it’s also difficult to envision a team paying full value for his services.  Unless he has a change of heart, this could drag out into next offseason.

Kovalchuk Benched Indefinitely: Year one of Ilya Kovalchuk’s NHL return didn’t go too well.   Year two isn’t going any better as the Kings have informed the veteran winger that he will be made a healthy scratch for the foreseeable future.  He will be permitted to practice with the team though.  Kovalchuk has nine points in 17 games so far this season but has struggled to keep up with the quicker pace of the NHL.  He’s owed the second half of his 2019-20 signing bonus (a $2.65MM payment) on December 15th which means all he’ll be owed after that is a pro-rated league minimum salary.  But with a $6.25MM cap hit on the books for next season as well, his trade value will be quite limited at best.

Luongo Back To Florida: Roberto Luongo’s time away from the Panthers wasn’t very long.  He has rejoined the franchise but not as a player.  Instead, he has been named as a special advisor to GM Dale Tallon.  While Florida (and Vancouver) are being charged with salary cap recapture penalties that came about when he retired with three seasons left on his front-loaded contract, they will not receive any relief even though he’s being paid by the organization that he retired from.

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The first full week of November was a relatively quiet one around the league but there were still a few stories of notes from the past seven days.

Little Back On IR: It has been a tough year for Jets center Bryan Little.  He had a concussion to start the season which cost him the first nine games.  After returning, he made an immediate impact with five points in seven games.  However, he is back on injured reserve after taking a shot to the side of the head that required a trip to the hospital and 25-30 stitches to close up.  Little is dealing with vertigo as a result as well as a perforated ear drum.  There is no timetable for his return to the lineup.

Global Series Continues: While the NHL continues to be hesitant on shutting their full season down to participate in the Olympics, they aren’t giving up on the Global Series.  In advance of puck drop in this year’s event between Buffalo and Tampa Bay in Sweden, the league announced next year’s slate of games.  The Bruins and Predators will head overseas for the preseason to Germany and Switzerland, respectively, before playing the season-opener in the Czech Republic.  Meanwhile, the Avalanche and Blue Jackets will be playing in Finland with the dates for those games yet to be determined.

Sabres, Hurricanes Shopping Defensemen: There are several teams that will be looking to bolster their back end and it appears as if Buffalo and Carolina are willing to move one.   For the Sabres, Marco Scandella and Zach Bogosian are getting closer to returning from their injuries which will create a logjam so someone will likely need to be moved unless more injuries strike between now and then.  As for Carolina, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Haydn Fleury are on the block with the Hurricanes hoping to land some scoring help in return.  While neither are top-four options, they’d bolster the third pairing of quite a few teams around the league which should help attract some interest.

Red Wings/Blues Trade: Robby Fabbri has had a limited role with St. Louis over the last couple of years due to injuries and a general lack of playing time when he was in the lineup.  They decided to give the winger a change of scenery, sending him to Detroit in exchange for center Jacob de la Rose.  Fabbri made quite the impression with his new team as well as he scored twice in his first game.  As for de la Rose, he’ll be counted on to play a checking role with St. Louis and will play an important role right away with Alex Steen out for at least a month.

Stopped Before Ten: The ten-game mark for junior-aged players is an important one as it determines if the player burns the first year of his entry-level deal.  While some teams have shown no issue with their players passing it, others remain hesitant.  We saw that with a pair of players this past week.  Jets defenseman Ville Heinola was sent back to Finland and while he’s eligible to be recalled, it’s highly unlikely he will be so he’ll come up two games short of starting his deal.  Meanwhile, the Islanders returned Oliver Wahlstrom to the minors after his ninth game.  Unless he lights it up in Bridgeport, it’s likely that he has played his final NHL game of the season and will still have three years left on his deal for next season.

There are some weeks that are relatively quiet on the injury front.  This last one wasn’t one of them as several key players are dealing with long-term injuries and highlight the top stories of the week.

Shoulder Surgery For Tarasenko: Blues winger Vladimir Tarasenko has had shoulder troubles in the past and those have crept up again.  The team announced that that he has undergone successful shoulder surgery but it’s one that will keep him out long-term as he’ll be re-evaluated in five months.  That puts his availability for the remainder of the season in question.  Losing Tarasenko, their top scoring threat, is a huge blow for the defending champions.  They will have the ability to go into LTIR to replace him but if they believe that he’ll return this season, that replacement will likely just be limited to recalled players over a pricier trade acquisition.

Perlini To Detroit: After sitting in all but one game, winger Brendan Perlini had made it known that he had asked for a trade.  The Blackhawks obliged, sending him to the Red Wings in exchange for blueline prospect Alec Regula.  Perlini has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three NHL seasons but consistency had been an issue for him with both Arizona and Chicago.  He’ll look to get back on track with Detroit where he has already played twice.  Meanwhile, Regula is playing with London of the OHL and will need to be signed by June 1st or the Blackhawks will lose his rights.  He’s averaging over a point-per-game through 11 contests with the Knights so far this season.

Nashville Extensions: There was some surprise when a long-term extension for Predators captain Roman Josi wasn’t in place shortly after the beginning of free agency in July when his window for a new deal opened.  However, while it took longer than anticipated, the two sides agreed to an eight-year extension that carries a $9.059MM AAV.  The deal is front-loaded with signing bonuses and also contains a full no-move clause, something that Nashville rarely gives out.  Josi has been one of the biggest bargains in the league on his current seven-year, $28MM pact as he established himself as a legitimate number one defenseman in the league.  He’ll now have the third-highest AAV among all rearguards starting next season.  Meanwhile, the Predators also signed winger Austin Watson to a three-year extension that will carry a $1.5MM cap hit.  The deal represents a small raise on his current $1.1MM price tag and certainly appears to be good value for someone that can hold down a regular spot on the third line.

Byfuglien Surgery: The Dustin Byfuglien saga in Winnipeg has taken another strange turn.  Without consulting the team, the blueliner has undergone ankle surgery and is expected to miss multiple months.  He’s currently under suspension without pay for leaving the team early in training camp but if it’s determined that this was a hockey-related injury sustained while playing last season for them, the Jets may have to add Byfuglien back onto their books (where he’d be transferred to LTIR).  This is something that’s likely heading for an arbitration hearing to determine whether or not he’s entitled to his $8MM salary and further calls into question whether or not he’ll eventually return to Winnipeg when he’s fully healed.

Landeskog Out Indefinitely: Colorado is already without winger Mikko Rantanen and now they are without another member of their top line as well as captain Gabriel Landeskog is out with a lower-body injury.  While the timeframe for his return hasn’t been specified, head coach Jared Bednar indicated that the issue will keep him out “longer than week-to-week”.  Colorado is off to a strong start to their season as they sit in second place in the Central Division but the pressure on Nathan MacKinnon is going to be much higher for the foreseeable future as the last one standing from that trio.

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The final full week of October was a relatively quiet one around the league but there were still a few newsworthy notes that are covered in our top stories of the week.

Perlini Wants Out: It has been a rough start to the season for Blackhawks winger Brendan Perlini as he has played in just a single game so far.  Accordingly, he has asked for a trade and Chicago is working to find a new home for him and are believed to be seeking a draft pick in return.  While his performance has been hot and cold throughout his career, he has scored at least 14 goals in each of his first three seasons.  Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are also looking to move center Zack Smith.  The veteran was acquired over the summer in a move that primarily amounted to freeing up some cap room with Artem Anisimov going the other way.  If they could move him without taking a forward back, that could open a spot for more playing time for Perlini if they need to showcase him to any potential suitors.

Wild Open To Dealing: Minnesota is off to a slow start this season and GM Bill Guerin is believed to be open to many different options to change up his roster.  To potentially get the ball rolling on that, it appears that they have made wingers Ryan Donato and Kevin Fiala plus center Joel Eriksson Ek available in trades.  Considering all three are 23 or younger and the Wild, in general, are an older team, it’s unlikely that they’d be looking for picks and prospects for these players but rather more established pieces or other young NHL forwards that are a better fit for their roster.  It’s still early in the season so it may be a little while yet before we start to see any trade activity of note but this may be a team to watch for on that front.

Gudbranson To Anaheim: The Penguins had a logjam on the back end and with their roster getting healthier, a need to clear out some salary with their players on LTIR getting closer to returning.  They took care of both of those issues with the trade of defenseman Erik Gudbranson to Anaheim in exchange for winger Andreas Martinsen and a 2021 seventh-round pick.  The return is certainly light but it clears $4MM off of Pittsburgh’s books for this season and next which gives them some much-needed flexibility.  Meanwhile, the Ducks add someone that can step into their lineup and play a decent-sized role right away without parting with anyone off of their NHL roster or picks and prospects of impact.

Kravtsov Heading Home: After playing a very limited role with AHL Hartford in the early going this season, Rangers prospect Vitali Kravtsov will trigger the European Assignment Clause in his contract to return to Traktor Chelyabinsk of the KHL.  The move will allow him to return home to a team where he improved considerably in his post-draft season and presumably play a larger role than he did with the Wolf Pack.  This won’t affect his contract in any way and New York has the ability to recall him at any time though presumably, they’d wait until after the KHL season and playoffs end to do so.

Heading Overseas: A pair of NHL veterans have decided to give up their quest to land an NHL deal this season and have headed overseas.  Defenseman Andrew MacDonald was in training camp with Calgary but couldn’t secure a deal so he has signed a one-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA.  Presumably, he’ll try to take another run at an NHL spot next season.   Meanwhile, while winger Magnus Paajarvi posted a career-high 11 goals last season, he didn’t attract any NHL interest and has opted to go to the KHL, inking a two-year pact with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.  He’ll need to show more offensive skill if he wants to get another shot in the NHL when the deal is up.

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