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Martin Kaut Signs Two-Year Deal In Czechia

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San Jose Sharks prospect Martin Kaut has signed a two-year deal with Czech Extraliga club HC Dynamo Pardubice, per a team announcement. The 2018 first-round pick will now head overseas with hopes of revitalizing his pro career.

Kaut’s posted solid offensive totals during his time in the minors, but it’s failed to translate to much of any NHL opportunity over the past five years. Originally a selection of the Colorado Avalanche, he found himself headed to San Jose via trade this season in a prospect-for-prospect swap that included defenseman Ryan Merkley headed the other way.

He’d appeared in regular-season games for Colorado (and later San Jose) in each of the past four seasons, joining their AHL affiliate (the Colorado Eagles) immediately after being drafted in 2018. He’s totaled 50 goals and 113 points across 192 games in five AHL seasons, and he had a strong finish to the season with the San Jose Barracuda with three goals and 14 points in 19 games.

Despite also recording five points in nine NHL games with the Sharks, easily his best NHL showing, Kaut believes extended playing time back overseas is the best option for his continued development. It won’t be his first time playing for Pardubice, though – he was loaned there in 2020 with the NHL season delayed due to the COVID pandemic, and he recorded nine goals and 16 points in 38 games there during his draft year, 2017-18.

A physically inclined passer who’s proficient on the man advantage, Kaut recorded just six points in 47 games with the Avs before they decided to cut ties. He’s surely destined for a top-nine role with his Czech team and has much more upward mobility there than in the NHL, although the merits of European pro hockey versus North American minor hockey remain a contested debate.

San Jose issued Kaut a qualifying offer last month, meaning that if he does wish to return to the NHL in the summer of 2025, it’ll be with the Sharks – unless they trade his rights somewhere else.

St. Louis Blues Re-Sign Hugh McGing

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The St. Louis Blues have announced the re-signing of forward Hugh McGing to a one-year, two-way contract. The restricted free agent will earn an NHL salary of $775K and an AHL salary of $140K in 2023-24 before becoming an RFA again next summer.

McGing, 24, was initially drafted by the Blues in the fifth round, 138th overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft. Last season, McGing played a significant role for the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, suiting up for 71 regular-season games and recording 17 goals and 22 assists, totaling 39 points.

McGing’s strong performance in the AHL earned him a late-season call-up to the Blues’ NHL roster, and he made his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars on April 12, recording zeroes across the board in just 9:37 of ice time.

A rather tenacious and physical presence on the ice with a decent shot, McGing has now played 161 regular-season AHL games across three pro seasons with the Blues, amassing a total of 77 points, consisting of 34 goals and 43 assists. He finished fourth on the Thunderbirds in penalty minutes last season with 66.

Before signing his entry-level contract with the Blues, McGing played collegiate hockey for the Western Michigan Broncos, from where he was drafted after his DY+2 season thanks to solid production. In his 2019-20 senior campaign, he served as the team captain and was recognized as a First Team All-American his senior season, leading the team with 35 points, tallying 13 goals and 22 assists in the COVID-shortened season.

His new contract comes in slightly below the qualifying offer of $787.5K the Blues issued him last month. Next summer, he’ll be due a qualifying offer of $813,750 per CapFriendly.

Forward Alexey Toropchenko, who elected salary arbitration yesterday, is the Blues’ last remaining unsigned RFA.

Calgary Flames Re-Sign Ben Jones, Mathias Emilio Pettersen

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The Calgary Flames have retained the services of a pair of depth forwards, Ben Jones and Mathias Emilio Pettersen, by re-signing them to one-year, two-way contracts. Both contracts come with a cap hit of $775K. Jones and Pettersen were restricted free agents.

PuckPedia later reported Jones’ AHL salary as $120K, while Pettersen will earn $80K in the minors.

Jones, a center hailing from Waterloo, Ontario, wrapped up his first season with the Flames organization as a key contributor for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. In 71 games, Jones tallied 17 goals and 37 assists for a total of 54 points, placing him third in team scoring behind Matthew Phillips and 2020 first-round pick Connor Zary.

The 24-year-old has NHL size at 6 feet and 190 pounds, and he does have some upward mobility in the Flames’ organization as a potential call-up candidate. He was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the seventh round as part of their inaugural 2017 draft class before joining the Flames organization as a free agent in 2022.

Joining Jones in re-signing with Calgary is Pettersen, a center from Manglerud, Norway. Pettersen just completed his third season with the Flames organization, a teammate of Jones with the Wranglers. In 61 games, the 23-year-old also posted nice offensive totals, accumulating 44 points and ranking fifth in team scoring.

Standing at 5-foot-10 and weighing 170 pounds, Pettersen does have somewhat longer odds of cracking the NHL lineup but is one of the speedier and more creative players offensively in the Flames’ farm system. Drafted by the Flames in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, Pettersen has made international appearances for Norway, most recently at the 2021 IIHF World Championship, where he recorded a goal in six games.

Both are likely destined for AHL assignments again out of the gate in 2023-24.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Dylan Samberg

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The Winnipeg Jets have reached an agreement with left-shot RFA defenseman Dylan Samberg on a two-year contract, as announced today. The deal carries an average annual value of $1.4MM, a healthy raise coming off his entry-level contract.

At the age of 24, Samberg earned his first full-time NHL roster spot in 2022-23, skating in 63 contests for the Jets. He contributed two goals and eight points, but his main value came without the puck on his stick – he was one of Winnipeg’s best shutdown defenders at even strength. The team’s 43rd overall pick in 2017, Samberg’s now accumulated 13 points (two goals and 11 assists) and 29 penalty minutes across his 78 career NHL games, all coming within the last two seasons.

Before joining the professional ranks, Samberg played three seasons for the University of Minnesota-Duluth from 2017 to 2020, winning two NCAA championships in the process. This season, he appeared in his first top-level men’s tournament for the United States at the 2023 World Championships, contributing four points (one goal and three assists) in 10 games en route to a fourth-place finish.

Samberg played just 14:55 per game last season, a number that’s sure to increase as he eats into the minutes of veteran Brenden Dillon on the left side. Samberg was also extremely useful on the penalty kill, and his pairings with either Dylan DeMelo and Nate Schmidt were often Winnipeg’s best at limiting chances against on any given night.

He’ll be a restricted free agent again in 2025, although he’ll be just one year out from UFA status at that time.

San Jose Sharks Sign Leon Gawanke

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The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman Leon Gawanke to a one-year, two-way contract, according to a team announcement, bringing him back to North America after an expected European departure. CapFriendly reports he’ll earn $775K in the NHL, $325K in the minors, and a guaranteed salary of $375K. He’ll be due a qualifying offer of $813,750 next summer.

Gawanke had signed a four-year contract in his home country of Germany just a few months ago, but that obviously won’t be honored. The move was made after failing to get much of an opportunity with the Winnipeg Jets, but after the team qualified him and then dealt his rights to the San Jose Sharks for Artemi Kniazev, he ended up in a thinner Sharks defense pipeline with more upward mobility.

A 24-year-old right-shot defender, Gawanke has shone brightly in the minors over the past two seasons. He led all Manitoba Moose defensemen last season in goals and points, recording a career-high 20 goals and 45 points. He also led the entire AHL in power-play goals among defensemen.

He went on a true offensive tear near the end of the season, notching 20 points in an 18-game span over March and April before ending the regular season on a four-game point streak. Throughout his four seasons in the Winnipeg organization with the Manitoba Moose, Gawanke played 207 AHL games, accumulating 114 points, including 35 goals and 79 assists.

While he couldn’t break through a large amount of depth defenders stashed in the Jets organization, he has a real shot at making San Jose out of camp – especially if they clear a spot on defense by trading Erik Karlsson (although they may fill that spot in the trade return). He’ll be battling with players like Matt Benning and Radim Simek for bottom-four pairing roles and could surpass the latter on the depth chart after he’s dealt with injuries and declining offense in the past few seasons – although he remains one of the few adept penalty killers on the Sharks.

Twenty Two Players File For Salary Arbitration

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The NHLPA has announced the full list of players who’ve elected salary arbitration this offseason:

F Morgan Barron (WPG)
D William Borgen (SEA)
F Noah Cates (PHI)
F Ross Colton (COL)
F Brandon Duhaime (MIN)
D Vince Dunn (SEA)
D Cale Fleury (SEA)
F Trent Frederic (BOS)
G Filip Gustavsson (MIN)
F Brett Howden (VGK)
F Tanner Jeannot (TBL)
F Philipp Kurashev (CHI)
F Jack McBain (ARI)
F Ryan McLeod (EDM)
D Ian Mitchell (BOS)
F Drew O’Connor (PIT)
G Ilya Samsonov (TOR)
D Brandon Scanlin (NYR)
G Jeremy Swayman (BOS)
F Troy Terry (ANA)
F Alexey Toropchenko (STL)
F Gabriel Vilardi (WPG)

This is not the full list of players destined for arbitration hearings – NHL teams have another 24 hours to file for team-elected arbitration with certain players not listed above.

As a reminder, just because a player files for arbitration doesn’t mean they can’t sign a new deal with their team prior to the hearing. If they do reach the hearing stage, however, the arbitrator will provide a contract award within 48 hours.

The length of arbitration awards can only be one or two years, and the party that did not elect for arbitration gets to decide on the duration. If a player is in their final year of restricted free agency, they are entitled to only a one-year term.

If a player elects for arbitration and receives a settlement of one year with a salary exceeding $4.54MM, the team has the option to walk away from the awarded salary, which would make the player an unrestricted free agent. Similarly, if the player elects for a two-year arbitration settlement with a salary exceeding $4.54MM, the team can walk away from the second year of the awarded salary, allowing the player to become a free agent at the end of the first year.

Teams cannot walk away from an award reached via club-elected arbitration.

For teams involved in arbitration cases, a second buyout window becomes available. This window opens three days after the final arbitration case is settled, either through a new contract or an arbitration award. However, this opportunity is limited to players who meet two criteria: they must have a salary cap hit of $4MM or more, and they must have been with the team at last year’s trade deadline.

Per the NHLPA, this year’s slate of arbitration hearings will take place between July 20 and August 4.

Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Dylan Coghlan

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The Carolina Hurricanes are retaining restricted free agent defenseman Dylan Coghlan, the team tweeted today. Per the North State Journal’s Cory Lavalette, it’s a one-year deal worth $850K.

Coghlan, 25, contributed three assists in 17 games during 2022-23 with the Hurricanes. It was a trying season for the defender, who spent most of it in the press box after coming over as a sweetener for Carolina to take the final season of Max Pacioretty’s contract off the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights. Still, Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell believes he’s a valuable piece of the team’s defensive depth:

Dylan is an important part of our blue line depth. He comes to the rink with a good attitude every day, and we’re glad to have him back.

In his NHL career, which began with Vegas in 2020-21, Coghlan has accumulated six goals and 16 assists for 22 points in 105 games. An undrafted free agent signing by the Knights out of juniors, the 6-foot-3, 207-pound defender got some extended NHL looks after strong play in the minors, namely in his first pro season.

2018-19 saw Coghlan lead all Chicago Wolves (then the AHL partner of the Knights) defensemen in points, scoring 15 goals and 40 points in 66 games. With Chicago spending the 2022-23 campaign as Carolina’s affiliate, Coghlan returned there on a short conditioning stint in December, where he scored twice and added an assist in five games.

Prior to his professional journey, the defenseman from Duncan, British Columbia, spent four seasons in the WHL, recording 38 goals and 107 assists for 145 points in 265 games with the Tri-City Americans from 2014 to 2018. With Carolina extending a massive short-term deal to Dmitry Orlov in free agency and likely acquiring Tony DeAngelo next weekend, Coghlan appears relegated to a seventh defenseman/press-box role once again, although it’s not for lack of trying. He put up solid two-way metrics during his limited action with Carolina last year, although he did play just under 13 minutes a game and wasn’t tested against any tough competition.

Montreal Canadiens Extend Rafael Harvey-Pinard

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One of the Montreal Canadiens’ more intriguing breakout players last season has gotten a nice payday. Today, they announced a two-year contract extension for winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard, carrying an average annual value of $1.1MM. Per CapFriendly, he’ll earn $1.2MM in 2023-24 and $1.0MM in 2024-25, paid entirely in base salary.

Harvey-Pinard earns his first one-way NHL contract after a very strong late-season performance in Montreal. His 14 goals and 20 points in 34 games were equivalent to a 0.59 points-per-game rate, sixth among all qualified Canadiens.

The 2019 seventh-round pick has posted strong numbers in the minors since turning pro in 2020, putting to rest most concerns about his undersized frame. Standing at 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds, the 24-year-old Quebecer has 107 points in 145 AHL games with the Laval Rocket over the past three seasons.

He’s surely in line to make the team out of camp, but if things do go wrong for the Canadiens and Harvey-Pinard in two years’ time, his $1.1MM salary is fully buriable in the minors.

Harvey-Pinard spent most of his call-up elevated in the Canadiens’ lineup, playing on captain Nick Suzuki’s wing. His NHL stint happened after Cole Caufield was shut down for the season with a shoulder injury, though, so he’ll likely see a slight reduction on the 17:13 he averaged per game last year. Still, he’s part of a group of budding Canadiens forwards under the age of 25 that also includes Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Kirby Dach.

He’ll have arbitration rights as a restricted free agent at the end of his contract, potentially setting himself up for a big short-term payday if things go well. Due to the structure of his contract, he’ll only be due a $1MM qualifying offer in 2025.

His signing does push Montreal over the salary cap’s $83.5MM Upper Limit just slightly, but they’ll have no issue remaining compliant throughout the season with netminder Carey Price’s $10.5MM cap hit stashed on long-term injured reserve.

RFA Notes: Frost, Dellandrea, Newhook

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With fewer and fewer of the top unrestricted free agents still left on the open market, the focus in some markets has shifted from who teams will be bringing in this offseason to what sort of contracts their restricted free agents might receive. The Philadelphia Flyers are one of those teams, and The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported today on Twitter that contract talks with restricted free agent center Morgan Frost “are ’positive’ and progressing.”

Frost, 24, set himself up extremely well for this summer’s negotiations with a breakout 2022-23 campaign. He flew past his career-highs to post 19 goals and 46 points in 81 games, and he could end up a long-term middle-six center for Philadelphia. The Flyers still have more than enough cap space to entertain all possible forms of a Frost extension, whether bridge contract or long-term pact, so the main issue will likely be how the Flyers evaluate Frost’s long-term future and how comfortable they are making a long-term financial commitment to that future.

Some other notes on RFA’s across the NHL:

  • Pagnotta reports that the Dallas Stars have “just started discussions” on a new contract for RFA forward Ty Dellandrea. Just 22 years old, Dellandrea is a valued leader in Dallas who took a major step forward this season. The 2018 13th overall pick followed up his strong 2021-22 AHL campaign by establishing himself as a full-time NHL player and scoring 28 points. The Stars’ cap situation might mean that a short-term deal is necessary here, though the Stars are obviously big believers in Dellandrea so a long-term pact wouldn’t be entirely surprising either.
  • Finally, Pagnotta reports that the Montreal Canadiens and newly-acquired RFA forward Alex Newhook still “haven’t begun” negotiations on a new contract. Seeing as the Newhook trade was widely cited as mirroring last year’s Kirby Dach deal, it would be no surprise to see Newhook’s contract match the deal Dach signed last offseason, a four-year pact with an AAV a little above $3MM. Newhook has been more productive in the NHL than Dach was to that point, so Newhook’s deal could look a little different, but using that contract as a general guide is likely to be wise.

Nashville Predators Re-Sign Alexandre Carrier

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Per PuckPedia, the Nashville Predators have re-signed RFA defenseman Alexandre Carrier to a one-year, $2.5MM contract for 2023-24. The deal walks him directly to unrestricted free agency next offseason.

Carrier has been a solid contributor on Nashville’s blue line, posting solid two-way numbers and succeeding as a puck-moving defender who has decent smarts. The right-shot defender did take a considerable step back on the scoresheet in 2022-23, though, posting just nine points in 43 games after a 30-point campaign the year prior. The upside he flashed, though, warranted a qualifying offer and an extension from Nashville.

The one-year contract provides an intriguing dynamic for both Carrier and the Predators. Nashville is allowing him to set himself up nicely for a payday as the cap skyrockets up next season if he has another strong campaign, although he may not get much upward mobility in the lineup to have point-producing opportunities, especially with Tyson Barrie in the fold as the team’s main secondary offensive defenseman behind Roman Josi.

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