Minor Transactions: 09/28/20
As the two surviving teams prepare for Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final tonight, the other 29 teams are busy preparing for the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency. Not only that, minor league affiliates, junior teams, college programs, and countless European clubs are getting ready for the 2020-21 season, as are the many players who still don’t know where they are playing next season. As a result, there are a number of minor moves being made every day:
- AHL veteran Ryan Olsen is on his way to Germany. The 26-year-old center has signed with the EC Kassel Huskies of the second-tier DEL2, the club has announced. Although Kassel is not among the elite clubs in Germany, it has attracted a fair amount of North American pros over the years, including James Wisniewski. Olsen, a Winnipeg Jets draft pick, has spent the past two seasons with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. Olsen has been a useful player in the minors over the years, setting a career high with 34 points just two seasons ago, but has not been able to earn an NHL contract since his entry-level deal expired in 2017 and is ready for a fresh start.
- Rod Pelley, a name not heard in NHL circles in quite some time, has decided to call it a career. Ohio State University, where Pelley starred for four years, announced that their alum has officially retired. Pelley is best remembered for being a regular for the New Jersey Devils for six years after college. Even after he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in 2011-12, he returned to the Devils to captain AHL Albany for several more years once his contract expired. Pelley last played in North America for the AHL’s Stockton Heat in 2017-18 and has spent the past two seasons in Denmark and Romania respectively. He retires with over 250 NHL games and over 550 AHL games to his credit.
- Curtis Brown, who retired back in 2011, was back in the headlines recently with the news that his son, Garrett Brown, had committed to the University of Denver. This would be a major accomplishment for any young player, as the Pioneers are an elite NCAA program, but even more so for a California-grown product. In fact, it was the San Jose Jr. Sharks who initially announced the commitment for the standout. Curtis played his final season in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks in 2007-08, but returned to the area after three seasons of playing in Switzerland and Garrett has grown up in the area. Now 16, the younger Brown looks like he is developing the skill to challenge his dad, a long-time Buffalo Sabres star, and should be an interesting prospect to follow once he arrives at Denver in a few years.
Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks
With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. While cap space remains an issue in San Jose, this is not the year that their free agents are likely to break them. The team does have a key restricted free agent to sign, but the team must decide what unrestricted free agents they want to bring back after a disappointing 2019-20.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Kevin Labanc – The only significant restricted free agent the team needs to sign is Labanc, who surprised quite a few people when he signed a one-year, $1MM bargain contract last offseason with many expecting he took a low deal with the assumption he would be rewarded with a long-term deal the following year. We’ll see if that’s the case, but Labanc’s production didn’t jump off the charts like many had hoped. In fact, the 24-year-old finished with a disappointing 2019-20 season, posting just 14 goals and 33 points in 70 games, significantly less than the 56 points he produced the previous year. What type of contract Labanc receives will be interesting to see, but the forward is still considered to be a significant piece to their core and must return to his 2018-19 form if the team hopes to improve on its dismal season last year.
F Antti Suomela – The Sharks are hoping to bring back the 26-year-old back as a potential fourth-line center, but the Finnish center spent most of his season in the press box in San Jose as the team’s extra forward. He managed to appear in 20 games with one goal and seven points, serving mainly as the team’s fourth-line center. With plenty of questions marks down the team’s middle, Suomela has every chance to prove he deserves a more significant role.
Other RFAs: F Jonathan Dahlen, F Jayden Halbgewachs, F Maxim Letunov, D Nicolas Meloche, D Jacob Middleton, D Jeremy Roy, G Andrew Shortridge, D Tony Sund, F Manuel Wiederer.
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Joe Thornton – The Sharks have made it quite clear that if Thornton wants to return next season, he’s welcome to. So, the question isn’t whether the Sharks want him, but whether Thornton wants to return. The 41-year-old made it clear at the end of the season that he would like to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup before his career ends. That seems unlikely to happen, which could suggest that Thornton may be more interested in joining a legitimate cup candidate for 2020-21. He was hoping to be traded to a contender at the trade deadline, but the team wasn’t able to find the right trade partner. Regardless, with the questions up the middle, the Sharks wouldn’t mind bringing back their heart and soul of the team despite his declining production. He did remain healthy all season, but produced one of his lowest totals since his rookie campaign in Boston back in 1997-98 with just 31 points.
F Melker Karlsson – The long-time bottom-six forward could be looking for another team as the Sharks must decided whether Karlsson’s lack of numbers is worth holding onto. Solid on the penalty kill, Karlsson’s three-year $6MM contract is now up and it’s likely the team might be ready to move on from him after scoring just six goals last season, his lowest numbers ever. Even his hits saw a major decline. If they do bring him back, expect it to be at a much lower AAV.
G Aaron Dell – After two impressive years in net in San Jose, the next two seasons have been less impressive. It’s likely that Dell will be asked to move on as the team attempts to find a better tandem fit with Martin Jones now that they announced the will not buy him out. Dell got more appearances this year with a career-high 33, but a 3.01 GAA and a .907 save percentage wasn’t what the team was looking for while Jones’ struggled. Expect Dell to find a backup job elsewhere in the league.
Other UFAs: F Jonny Brodzinski, D Brandon Davidson, F Anthony Greco, F Stefan Noesen, D Dalton Prout.
Projected Cap Space
Unfortunately for the Sharks, the team doesn’t have some of the cap advantages that other lottery teams possess (or the lottery pick, for that matter). The team has about $67.4MM committed to just 16 players, so there isn’t too much money remaining for the team to fill the rest of its roster spots. Regardless, they will likely dip into the free-agency pool a little bit to bolster a depleted roster, but will most likely have to focus on improving their defense and adding a more reliable goaltender who take take some of the pressure off of Jones.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
San Jose Sharks Will Not Buy Out Martin Jones
The San Jose Sharks finished with their worst record since 2002-03 this year and failed to make the playoffs for just the fourth time since the turn of the century. It was a disastrous campaign for one of the most consistent organizations in all of pro sports, especially given the considerable talent that the club has on paper. The Sharks will do anything they can to find their way back to relevance next season – well, almost anything. They are not prepared to go the buyout route to remove their weakest link.
It’s unfair to ever blame on player for the struggles of an entire team. However, in San Jose this season it’s not a stretch to place the lion’s share of the guilt on starting goaltender Martin Jones. Eating up $5.75MM in salary cap space in 2019-20, Jones recorded a career-worst .896 save percentage and 3.00 goals against average. Among goaltenders who played in at least half of their team’s games, Jones ranked 29th out of 30 in both of these categories while recording a 17-21-2 record. What’s worse is that this was the second straight season that the 30-year-old showed significant decline and is signed for four more years with $21MM in salary and bonuses still owed to him.
Yet, the Sharks have made the decision not to buy out Jones’ contract. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes that no buyouts are expected from San Jose, whose only obvious candidate had been Jones. While this is a deep free agent class in goal and San Jose likely could have found replacements for both Jones and impending UFA backup Aaron Dell on the open market, the team will stick with Jones for at least another year. In the current financial climate in the NHL, it is very possible that the team did not feel comfortable playing Jones to not play for them this coming season and beyond. A buyout of Jones’ remaining four seasons would have cost the club $1.625MM in real dollars this year and in each of the following seven years, while the buyout would have counted for $2.875MM against the cap this season.
Jones’ poor play and equally poor contract means that the Sharks will very likely not be able to trade him this off-season. Kurz expects that he will be back in net next season, but assumes that he will have to challenge for the starting job with a free agent or trade acquisition. While San Jose may be wary to commit too much cap space to the goalie position, they do have over $14MM in space and look like one of the few free agent spenders in the impending market. With a number of talented options in goal to consider as a possible new starter, Jones’ performance may not be as much of a factor in San Jose’s attempts to return to the playoffs next year.
San Jose Sharks Name Bob Boughner Head Coach
The San Jose Sharks have removed the interim tag from Bob Boughner, naming him the ninth head coach in franchise history. He’ll be joined behind the bench next season by new assistants Rocky Thompson and John Madden. Sharks GM Doug Wilson released a statement explaining the new staff:
Bob did a tremendous job last season, getting our group back to playing with an identity and structure that we need in order to be successful. We saw a marked improvement in our play in several key areas during the second half of the season, before losing some key players to injury.
We’re also very pleased to add Rocky and John to our staff. Both come with a wealth of experience, both in playing the game and as teachers and leaders. With a healthy and motivated group of players, we are confident that this staff will do a terrific job leading our group in the coming years.
Mike Ricci, who served as an assistant down the stretch with the Sharks, will move to a development coach role. Evgeni Nabokov, Dan Darrow and Charlie Townsend will return in their previous roles. Roy Sommer will return to his role as head coach of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda after helping with the NHL team this season.
Boughner took over midseason from Peter DeBoer and went 14-20-3 with the team, actually a worse winning percentage than his predecessor. Despite that, he’ll be back to try and turn things around in San Jose after a devastating season. The Sharks finished 27th in goals for and 25th in goals against, leading to a lottery position after they’d already sold their ticket. The Ottawa Senators will get to use the Sharks third-overall pick this year, making the season sting just a little bit more.
Sharks’ Joel Kellman Loaned To Kristianstads IK
Joel Kellman finally made the jump to North America this season, but now he’s headed back to Sweden. Well, at least for the time being. The San Jose Sharks’ rookie forward has officially been loaned to Kristianstads IK of the Allsvenskan, the team reports, but he will return to San Jose when NHL training camp opens. Kristianstads is the farm team of the SHL’s Karlskrona HK, Kellman’s hometown team who he played parts of five seasons for earlier in his career.
Kellman, 26, just signed a two-year extension with the Sharks late last month after a promising first season. He played the majority of his games with the Sharks, recording seven points in 31 games, but when he did play for the AHL Barracuda produced 16 points in 25 games. A perennial 30+ point scorer in the SHL, Kellman does have room to improve, and at a $750K AAV the Sharks have every reason to give him the opportunity to do so.
Whether Kellman does in fact play for Kristianstads or instead plays up with Karlskrona, he should be well-prepared to battle for a regular role with San Jose next season. Playing in the Allsvenskan, Kellman would have a major leg up on his teammates and competition. In the SHL, Kellman would have the added advantage of tough competition and would also enjoy playing with top 2020 NHL Draft prospects Ridly Greig and Connor McClennon. Either way, the former Swedish standout will fit in well back home and will be ready to go for the Sharks when the new league year begins.
Snapshots: Palm Springs, Boughner, Engelland
When the Seattle Kraken enter the league for the 2021-22 season, they likely won’t have a primary AHL affiliate yet. That’s because the new Palm Springs franchise announced today that instead of a downtown arena they will now be building a location in the Coachella Valley which is scheduled to be ready for the 2022-23 season. For 2021-22, since the team will not have the full complement of minor leaguers, the most likely scenario will be finding places for them elsewhere.
The unnamed AHL franchise will play in a privately funded building owned by the Oak View Group and The H.N. & Frances C. Berger Foundation. Construction is set to break ground in 2021 and it will be a 10,000-plus seat venue.
- The San Jose Sharks are expected to remove the interim tag from head coach Bob Boughner in the coming days, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Boughner led the Sharks to just a 14-20-3 record after replacing Peter DeBoer this season, but has a strong history with the front office from his multiple stints as an assistant coach. Boughner has plenty of experience behind the bench, having coached the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL for years and spending two seasons as head coach of the Florida Panthers.
- Vegas Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon didn’t have a lot of answers regarding the goaltending situation for his team this summer and whether they would bring back Robin Lehner on a multi-year contract, but did shed some light on a different trade deadline discussion. Deryk Engelland, who has been a leader in Vegas since the franchise first joined the league, was offered a deal at the deadline to go to a team that wanted him. Engelland declined the opportunity, even though his lineup spot had disappeared and he wouldn’t be suiting up in the playoffs. McCrimmon told reporters including Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com that Engelland felt the Golden Knights had a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup and he accepted his role down the stretch. The 38-year-old defenseman played in 49 regular season games and is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
San Jose Sharks Announce Several Loans
The San Jose Sharks have announced several loans for young players that will be headed to Europe for the next few months. Josef Korenar, Fredrik Handemark, Timur Ibragimov, Jonathan Dahlen, Evan Weinger and Krystof Hrabik have all been loaned overseas.
Several of these loans had been reported previously, including Korenar who will join HC Ocelari Trinec of the Czech professional league. The 22-year-old goaltender had an .891 save percentage for the San Jose Barracuda this season, but is an interesting prospect to keep an eye on.
Handemark, 27, only signed with the Sharks in May and is on a one-year deal for the 2020-21 season. The veteran SHL forward had 38 points in 52 games last season for Malmo and will return there until training camp opens in North America.
The 19-year-old Ibragimov was a sixth-round pick of the Sharks in 2019 and is headed to TPS in Finland, possibly for the whole season. The young forward has spent the last few seasons in the MHL but will test his skills in the Liiga instead.
Dahlen perhaps is the most well-known of the bunch, as he’s already been involved in a few trades through his short career. A second-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2016, Dahlen was part of the Alexandre Burrows trade in 2017 and then another deal to send him to San Jose in 2019. The 22-year old is actually scheduled to be a restricted free agent, but he’ll be staying with Timra of the Swedish second league for the time being, where he dominated this year. In 51 games, Dahlen scored 77 points and earned the Allsvenskan MVP.
Weinger and Hrabik are both signed to AHL deals with the Barracuda, but will head to TPS (Finland) and Bili Tygri Liberec (Czech) respectively.
Sharks Re-Sign Joel Kellman To Two-Year Deal
Aug 31: The Sharks have made the deal official, announcing a two-year contract for Kellman. GM Doug Wilson released a short statement:
Joel has proven himself at the NHL level with his intelligence and responsibility on both ends of the ice. He took a big step last year in his development and growth as a player inside our organization and made an immediate impact after his promotion from the San Jose Barracuda.
Aug 28: The Sharks have agreed to terms with center Joel Kellman on a two-year contract, reports Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link). Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports that the deal carries an AAV of $750K and breaks down as follows:
2020-21: $700K NHL salary, $300K AHL salary
2021-22: $800K NHL salary, one-way deal
Those terms means that he’s signing for less than his required qualifying offer which would have checked in at just under $875K. However, he gets some extra security for his trouble with a reasonable guaranteed salary in the first season before converting to the one-way deal. Kellman will be eligible for unrestricted free agency when the contract expires.
The 26-year-old played his first season in North America in 2019-20 after signing with San Jose as an undrafted free agent out of Brynas of the SHL in April of 2019. He spent most of the first half in the minors with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda where he posted decent numbers offensively with 16 points (4-12-16) in 25 games.
Things didn’t go as well with the Sharks, however. While Kellman got into 31 games and logged over 11 minutes per night, he was only able to muster up three goals and four assists along the way and that production helped keep the price tag on this new deal low.
Kellman will be eligible for waivers next season and if they’re worried about trying to send him down, the two-way portion of his salary for 2020-21 may not even come into play. At the very least, it appears that San Jose believes he can be a useful player in their bottom six for the next couple of years. He logged just shy of a minute per game shorthanded with the Sharks this season and if he can show himself to be capable of taking on a bigger role in that area, it would go a long way towards securing a regular spot in their lineup.
Minor Transactions: 08/26/20
Things kick off today with some afternoon hockey between the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers, before a pair of later games this evening. For more than half the league though, plans are being formulated for the 2020-21 season instead (whenever that starts). Minor, junior, and European leagues are also planning their next steps and like always we’ll keep track of those minor moves right here.
- Ryan Jones has signed with the Rochester Americans after failing to reach an agreement with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 24-year old defenseman became a free agent earlier this month after four years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and will instead join the AHL organization to start his professional career.
- The San Jose Sharks have loaned Josef Korenar to HC Ocelari to start the season, letting him get some game action in the Czech Republic while they wait for the AHL. Korenar posted an .891 save percentage in 33 games this season for the San Jose Barracuda, his second season in North American pro hockey.
- The OHL’s Oshawa Generals have landed a future NHL prospect in a trade with the Erie Otters. Forward Hayden Fowler, expected to be a mid-round pick in the upcoming 2020 NHL Draft, was acquired by Oshawa for a trio of high picks, the team announced. Fowler, an OHL first-rounder in 2017, recorded 42 points in 52 games this season.
- Former New York Islanders prospect Kirill Petrov won’t be attempting a North American comeback any time soon. Petrov, now 30, was a 2008 selection of the Isles whose stint with the club lasted just 13 AHL games in 2015-16. Yet, in the four seasons since he returned to the KHL, he has put up strong numbers year after year. However, rather than try his hand at the top level, Petrov has signed a two-year extension with Ak Bars Kazan, the team reports.
Tim Heed Signs With HC Lugano
With the San Jose Sharks not included in the return to play postseason and the start of the 2020-21 campaign still swirling in a tornado of uncertainty, Tim Heed has made a move to secure his immediate future. The pending unrestricted free agent has signed a contract with HC Lugano of the Swiss NLA, but it is not for the entire season. In fact, the deal only covers through November 15, 2020 at which point Heed will have a better idea of the NHL’s plan and can make a decision on where he wants to play the season.
Now 29, Heed has played in 105 games for the Sharks over the last four seasons including 38 in 2019-20. One of those coveted right-handed defensemen, he has provided some steady minutes while not really getting the chance to show what he can do offensively. A draft pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2010, Heed stayed in Sweden until 2016 when he debuted for the San Jose Barracuda, recording 56 points in 55 games. His rocked-fueled slapshot had a lot to do with that offensive production, but in San Jose behind point-producing dynamos like Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns it’s hard to get much of an opportunity to release it.
There will likely be interest in Heed from around the NHL, if only as an inexpensive depth option. He’ll have to decide whether he still wants to compete in North America after a stint back in Europe.