New Jersey Devils Acquire Tyler Toffoli
The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames, with the signing rights to RFA Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-round pick (80th overall) headed to Alberta in return.
This move comes just after Toffoli made it clear to the Flames that he would not be signing a contract extension to remain in Calgary. The 31-year-old two-time Stanley Cup champion is playing out a $4.25MM AAV contract that will expire at the end of next season. By acquiring Toffoli, the Devils add the Flames’ leading scorer and a player who has crossed the 20-goal plateau seven times.
While the Flames as a team had an extremely disappointing season, Toffoli had one of the finest years of his career in 2022-23. Not only did he score 34 goals and 73 points, each career-high marks, he also captained Team Canada to victory at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships.
The acquisition of Toffoli signals a shift in focus for New Jersey that was all but confirmed when the team reached the playoffs and eliminated their arch-rival New York Rangers in the first round.
The long rebuild is over for the Devils, and the focus for GM Tom Fitzgerald is no longer on building for the future, it’s about assembling a Stanley Cup contender ready as soon as next season.
In adding Toffoli, the Devils’ hopes of going on a long playoff run have certainly increased. Toffoli’s been on quite a few of those, and he has triple the career playoff points of Tomas Tatar, the player he’s most directly replacing in New Jersey’s forward lineup. He may not be a long-term acquisition at 31 years old, but he’s an exceptional finisher and is easily improves the team’s group of forwards.
Seeing as Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier are likely at this point in time to occupy the spots on the wing next to New Jersey’s two franchise centers, Toffoli could end up in a third-line role for the Devils. That would give the Devils an embarrassment of riches up front, potentially giving them three forward lines capable of creating offense at an impressive rate. At the very least, Toffoli’s addition gives head coach Lindy Ruff another talented scoring forward to plug into his lineup.
Sharangovich was unlikely to have a long-term future in New Jersey, given the whole host of young players that still need to sign contract extensions. Players such as Meier and in the future, Luke Hughes are likely to eat up quite a bit of the Devils’ future cap space, so with RFA negotiations set to take place this summer, it seems other players supplanted Sharangovich in New Jersey’s long-term plans.
For Calgary, losing Toffoli is undoubtedly disappointing but they do have an interesting player headed their way in Sharangovich. As he turned 25 earlier this month, he fits new GM Craig Conroy’s goal of getting younger and faster this offseason. He got a little lost in a crowded Devils forward group last year and scored a career-low 13 goals and 30 points, but in the prior two years when he had a larger role he scored at a 25-goal, 48-point pace.
If Sharangovich gets a chance to play with forward Jonathan Huberdeau, for example, he could take an even larger step forward offensively. He’s also decently versatile, with experience playing all three forward positions. Seeing as Toffoli is a widely respected player with an affordable cap hit, the Flames likely had no shortage of offers for his services.
Their acquisition of Sharangovich suggests they feel he can become an even greater player under their new head coach Ryan Huska. While it undoubtedly hurts to lose Toffoli, Sharangovich could be a player who lifts Flames fans out of their seats for years to come.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
East Notes: Sharangovich, Red Wings, Brodie
The trade market this season should be unusually hot, with most teams needing to make lateral money-in, money-out moves if they want to improve their teams (as well as a middling free-agent class). One player on the block is New Jersey Devils forward and pending RFA Yegor Sharangovich, somewhat of a cap casualty after a disappointing 2022-23 campaign. Today, New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols named the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, and Washington Capitals as reasonable trade destinations for the Belarusian forward.
The 25-year-old saw his production dip to 13 goals and 30 points this year after scoring 24 goals and 46 points in 2021-22 and is coming off a two-year, $2MM per season deal. He’s still in a position to earn a small raise on that cap hit, and all the above destinations should provide more opportunity (and, therefore, breakout potential) for Sharangovich to provide good value on his next contract. It shouldn’t cost too much to pry his services away from the Garden State, either.
More out of the Eastern Conference today:
- Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman told reporters today he doesn’t envision moving either of Detroit’s first-round picks in this year’s draft (ninth and 17th overall). Yzerman did infer he’d be willing to trade one or more of his three second-round picks, which could easily see themselves on the move with Detroit looking to make a run at the postseason in 2024. This may be some sobering news to Ottawa Senators fans, considering Detroit is gaining steam as a top trade destination for winger Alex DeBrincat. If it does turn out that way, they may have to settle for a 2024 first-round selection or multiple later-round picks.
- There were some spotty rumors popping up over the past few days about a potential buyout for the Toronto Maple Leafs – namely, defenseman T.J. Brodie. The Toronto Sun’s Terry Koshan relayed a report from a source today, though, that said there’s “no truth” Toronto and new general manager Brad Treliving are considering anything of the sort. Brodie, under contract at $5MM through next season, has been the team’s most consistent defensive specialist over the life of his deal but seemed a step out of place at times during the team’s playoff run this season.
Snapshots: Winnipeg, Hayes, Sharangovich
The WHL’s Winnipeg Ice are on the move again after spending just four years in the city, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports Friday. After moving from Cranbrook in the Kootenay region of British Columbia in 2019, a condition of the sale to new owners in Winnipeg was a new facility for the team. The condition was never met, and now the team has been sold to former 2017 BCHL executive of the year David White, who will move them to Wenatchee, Washington, a town with a population of about 35,000 people in the center of the state. For now, it seems the new Wenatchee WHL squad will share the ice with White’s BCHL team, the Wenatchee Wild, at the Town Toyota Center with a capacity of 4,300 people.
Winnipeg lost in this year’s WHL championship series and boasts an eye-popping record of 110-20-6 over the past two seasons combined. The franchise’s debut season in Wenatchee could include Buffalo Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie and Arizona Coyotes prospect Conor Geekie, both first-round picks in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Other notes from around the hockey world today:
- On today’s episode of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman dumped some cold water on the rumors of a Kevin Hayes trade between the Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets. After the two teams were involved in a three-way deal that saw Ivan Provorov head from the Flyers to the Jackets, reports said the move didn’t eliminate the possibility of the long-rumored Hayes deal coming to fruition. However, the Blue Jackets now have under $6MM in projected cap space for 2023-24 (CapFriendly) after getting defender Damon Severson from the New Jersey Devils in a sign-and-trade, which would force the Flyers to retain a high amount of Hayes’ $7.14MM cap hit through 2025-26. While Columbus remains in desperate need of centers, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen now has seven defensemen on the roster that cost more than $2MM against the cap, including a combined $6.75MM wrapped up in Erik Gudbranson and Andrew Peeke, who both had very disappointing campaigns last season.
- Another name mentioned by Friedman was that of New Jersey Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich, who Friedman believes could hit the trade market this offseason. The 25-year-old Belarusian is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights after completing a two-year, $4MM contract signed in August of 2021 and has registered at least 30 points in all three of his NHL campaigns. He is a decent depth scorer, but he’s not of much value defensively and posted the lowest point-per-game output of his NHL career (0.40) last season. He was a healthy scratch for most of New Jersey’s playoff run, appearing in three out of 12 games.
East Notes: Sharangovich, Senators, Dubas
Devils winger Yegor Sharangovich took a step backward offensively this season, notching just 13 goals and 30 points after putting up 24 and 46 respectively in 2021-22. Things weren’t any better for him in the playoffs when he became a frequent healthy scratch. The 24-year-old is a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration eligibility and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed in a recent appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link) that there was some speculation around the trade deadline that New Jersey was considering moving him then over concerns about his arbitration award. While his playoff performance won’t bolster his case, his numbers from 2021-22 will likely push that award well beyond his $2.05MM qualifying offer and with the team needing to re-sign both Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier and deal with several other UFAs, what Sharangovich could get awarded might be more than they can afford.
Elsewhere in the East:
- With final bids being due Monday for the Senators, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the Melnyk family has informed the remaining potential suitors that they would like to retain up to 10% of the franchise in the sale agreement. It’s believed that there are six groups remaining in play although Garrioch notes it’s unlikely that all of them will wind up making a binding offer. At the moment, he suggests three bids are likely and three other groups are more uncertain.
- For anyone expecting immediate front office changes in Toronto following their second-round loss to Florida, that might not be the case. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is scheduled to speak to the media on Monday. Generally, if a team knows that they’re firing an executive, that person wouldn’t be taking questions. It doesn’t mean changes won’t be coming but, for now at least, Dubas remains at the helm.
New Jersey Devils Sign Yegor Sharangovich
The New Jersey Devils have agreed to a new contract with Yegor Sharangovich that will carry a $2MM average annual value. The two-year deal will pay Sharangovich $1.8MM in 2021-22 and $2.2MM in 2022-23.
If you weren’t paying attention to the Devils this season, you might have missed the breakout of the 23-year-old Sharangovich. Selected 141st overall back in 2018, he burst onto the NHL scene this year and scored 16 goals and 30 points in 54 games. That was good for third on the Devils roster and slotted him clearly into the team’s long-term plans.
The Belarusian forward finished tenth in Calder Trophy voting and will now receive a healthy raise on the entry-level salary he earned this year. The deal will also take him to arbitration eligibility after the 2022-23 season and in line for a $2.2MM qualifying offer. That’s some nice financial security for a late-round pick who has played just 54 games at the NHL level to this point.
The Devils of course are swimming in cap space at the moment, only just creeping over the lower limit with Sharangovich’s deal. Even with Dougie Hamilton signed long-term, the team is in good shape–P.K. Subban‘s deal comes off the books next year, and only Hamilton and captain Nico Hischier are signed through 2023-24. The team does have to navigate RFA negotiations with basically the whole roster in the years to come, but will be able to pick and choose who they extend long-term. The biggest thing right now is for the team to start turning the corner towards playoff contention, something that was clearly the target when they signed Hamilton and Jonathan Bernier for more than $13MM per season.
Sharangovich will help them to that goal, though he is still in this group of somewhat interchangeable young forwards on the roster. Andreas Johnsson, 26, is the oldest of the bunch, with several spots left to fill. Even with Sharangovich’s deal, the Devils have just seven forwards signed to one-way contracts, meaning a few more depth additions could be made in the coming months.
Minor Transactions: 12/21/20
The countdown has begun to the start of the NHL season and as expected there is no shortage of moves being made in response. Combine a slew of recalls from loans with the usual moves from the junior, collegiate, and European levels and there was plenty going on across the hockey world on Monday:
- The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Pius Suter from Switzerland’s ZSC Lions, the club announced. Suter was signed as a free agent by the Blackhawks this summer after a career year in the NLA. The Swiss forward stayed home when the NHL season was delayed but is finally ready to make his move to Chicago to show that he has what it takes to play in the NHL. The Blackhawks also recalled Swiss prospect Philipp Kurashev from the NLA’s HC Lugano. Kurashev played well in his first AHL season, but Chicago hopes the dynamic forward can take another step forward this year.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled a recent free agent addition of their own in Radim Zohorna. The big power forward had returned to his Czech club, BK Mlada Boleslav, while awaiting the NHL season but will now report to Penguins camp, the team announced. Zohorna faces an uphill battle to crack the NHL roster but the Penguins are excited to see what he can do in the AHL.
- After returning to his former KHL club Dinamo Minsk on loan, Yegor Sharangovich has been recalled by the New Jersey Devils, the team announced. The young forward has played well in the AHL over the past two seasons, but took his game to a new level during his brief stay in Belarus. The Devils hope that is the game that will show up in training camp and at whichever level Sharangovich ends up this season.
- Goaltender Jacob Ingham‘s stint in the ECHL didn’t last long, as the league’s transactions indicate that he has been recalled by the Los Angeles Kings after two games with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Ingham didn’t exactly impress in the minors either, but he is still a top prospect who will look to impress in training camp and win the top role in the AHL this season.
- Forward Max Veronneau will not be among the second wave of NHL free agent signings. After just one season in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, the Princeton product has signed in Sweden. The SHL’s IK Oskarshamn has announced a one-year deal with the skilled forward, who seemingly feels he has a better chance of impressing future NHL suitors overseas than with a season in the AHL.
- QMJHL standout Nathan Legare, a prospect of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is on the move. On the first day that the QMJHL has re-opened trading, Baie-Comeau Drakkar has traded their captain and last season’s leading scorer to the Val-d’Or Foreurs. It’s a hefty return for the prized prospect: a future first-, third-, and a trio of fourth-round picks, as well as rookie forward Justin Sullivan.
- The fallout of the Ivy League’s cancelled winter season extends beyond just this year. Ivy League schools do not use graduate student-athletes, meaning current seniors missing their seasons cannot use their fifth and final year of NCAA eligibility at their current schools. UMass has reaped the benefits with a pair of additions today, as Cornell’s Cam Donaldson and Dartmouth’s Matthew Baker have committed to transferring to Amherst next year, reports Jeff Cox of the New England Hockey Journal.
Devils Loan Yegor Sharangovich To The KHL
With the pandemic delaying the start of the 2020-21 season, some teams are trying to make arrangements for their prospects to play elsewhere. The Devils are one of those as Dinamo Minsk of the KHL announced that they have reached an agreement with New Jersey that allows prospect Yegor Sharangovich to start next season with them.
The winger is no stranger to the Belarusian program as it is his hometown team and he spent a season with them in 2017-18. He did well enough with them to convince New Jersey to use a fifth-round pick on him (141st overall) to secure his NHL rights in the 2018 draft.
The 22-year-old has spent the last two seasons with their AHL affiliate in Binghamton where his offensive progression has been limited. Sharangovich managed 10 goals and 15 assists in 57 games this season which represented an improvement on his 17 points (9-8-17) in 68 contests in his rookie year. However, he’ll need to take a big step forward on the final year of his entry-level deal to get an NHL opportunity.
Going this route certainly won’t hurt his chances. Sharangovich will get the opportunity to get into playing shape during the KHL season which should give him the chance to hit the ground running when AHL training camp eventually opens as Minsk has already committed to allowing him to return to North America. If the AHL season winds up starting around the same time the NHL is projected to start, he’ll have more than two months worth of games under his belt by then.
Yegor Sharangovich, Eric Tangradi Sign With New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils have convinced Yegor Sharangovich to sign his three-year entry-level contract, and according to team beat reporter Amanda Stein, expect him to come to North America this season. Sharangovich played last season in the KHL with Dinamo Minsk, and suited up for Belarus at the World Juniors this past winter. The team has also announced a one-year, two-way contract for veteran minor league forward Eric Tangradi.
Sharangovich, 20, was a fifth-round selection by the Devils in June in his third year of eligibility. It was a worthwhile gamble by the Devils after watching the young forward participate in the last two World Championships against NHL players, and now play a regular shift in the KHL. Though he recorded just 12 points in 47 games there, it bodes well for his professional future that he wasn’t completely overmatched at such a young age. It’s unlikely that he’ll make an NHL impact right away, but for the small price of a late-round pick, the Devils will try to develop his big talented frame into a legitimate two-way center prospect.
Tangradi on the other hand comes with plenty of NHL and AHL experience. The 29-year old forward has spent the last two seasons exclusively in the minor leagues playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins, where he won a Calder Cup in the spring of 2017. In this most recent season he led the club with 31 goals and finished eighth in the entire league in points with 64. He should give the Binghamton Devils a huge offensive boost and even be depth for the NHL club if injuries arise. Tangradi has played in 144 NHL games, though hasn’t been able to find much success at the higher level.