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Snapshots: Hronek, Henriksson, Silayev, Klippenstein

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Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek is one of the more prominent pending restricted free agent blueliners this summer.  The 26-year-old had a career year in 2023-24, recording 48 points in 81 games while logging over 23 minutes a night, numbers that would serve him well in an arbitration hearing.  However, Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province reports that there has been little action on contract talks on a new deal for several months.  Vancouver has to issue a $5.28MM qualifying offer later this month, something they should have no concerns about doing.  However, with the arbitration filing deadline coming early in July, it stands to reason that they should start discussions with Hronek’s camp in the near future.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • It looks like pending Rangers RFA Karl Henriksson could be heading back overseas next season. Smalandsposten in Sweden reports that SHL Vaxjo is showing interest in signing the 23-year-old.  Henriksson has spent the last two seasons with AHL Hartford and had 11 goals and 13 assists in 64 games in 2023-24.  He already has a fair bit of experience in Sweden’s top level, playing in 94 games in parts of four seasons with Frolunda before coming to North America.  Even if he signs back home, New York can still retain Henriksson’s NHL rights with a qualifying offer later this month.
  • While some of the expected top picks in the upcoming draft could jump to the NHL right away, that won’t be the case for Anton Silayev. He’s already signed through the 2025-26 season in the KHL and there’s no transfer agreement in place between that league and the NHL that could allow him to come sooner.  However, as Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis relays, NHL teams feel the big blueliner doesn’t intend on signing another deal in Russia after this one and instead intends to come to North America in 2026.  Given some of the uncertainty surrounding Russian prospects, his reported intention to come over two years from now should help his draft stock.
  • The Avalanche will soon be looking for a new Director of Amateur Scouting. Notre Dame College announced (Twitter link) announced that they’ve hired Wade Klippenstein as their new Director of Hockey Development.  Klippenstein has been in Colorado’s scouting department since 2016, serving as their top amateur scout for the past three seasons but Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal reports that Klippenstein was informed that his contract would not be renewed, leading to this move.  He won’t be with them at the draft later this month.

Afternoon Notes: Drouin, Henrique, Bruins, Brandsegg-Nygard

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Colorado Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin has shared that he’s hoping to re-sign with the team this summer, per Meghan Angley of TheDNVR.com (Twitter link). Drouin joined the Avalanche on a one-year, $825K contract last July and looked great in their system, posting a career-high 56 points. He appeared in 79 games – the second-most he’s played in any of his 10 NHL seasons, behind the 2018-19 campaign.

Drouin seemed to find his footing with the Avalanche and will now hope to solidify his future with the club. He ranked fourth on the team in scoring while admirably filling Gabriel Landeskog’s role on the second line. That should be enough to earn him a substantial raise from his sub-$1MM salary this season, though he’ll still have to settle for a cheaper deal, with Colorado boasting just $15MM to re-sign their 11 free agents, including Sean Walker and Alexandar Georgiev.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The Edmonton Oilers are expected to once again be without forward Adam Henrique for Game 6, head coach Kris Knoblauch shared with Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). Knoblauch also shared that the Oilers will have an extra forward in warmups, with one lineup forward questionable with an illness. Henrique has missed five of the six games this series and hasn’t been particularly effective when he is on the ice – with just two points in six postseason games so far. Connor Brown will remain in the lineup in Henrique’s absence, while one of Sam Carrick, Sam Gagner, or Adam Erne will likely skate as the precautionary extra forward.
  • A pair of Boston Bruins could be set to join Team Czechia at the World Championship, with Czechia news outlet iDNES.cz reporting that both David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha could join the team as soon as Monday. That decision will be made by general manager Petr Nedved and assistant general manager Martin Havlat, who shared that Pastrnak and Zacha are set to undergo medical evaluation on Sunday. These would be substantial additions to a Czechia roster that’s already leading Group A, with four wins in six games. They recently added Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas following their elimination and are now set to add two more difference-makers – a substantial boost ahead of their Tuesday matchup with Team Canada, their final of the group stage.
  • Top 2024 NHL Draft prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard has signed a one-year deal with the reigning SHL champions: Skelleftea AIK. Brandsegg-Nygard spent the season in the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier league, where he posted 18 points in 41 games. He’s also managed five points in five World Juniors games and 12 points in nine international friendlies with Norway’s U20 team – and is currently one of just six goal-scorers on Norway’s World Championship roster. It’s been a strong year for Brandsegg-Nygard, the fifth-ranked European by NHL Central Scouting. He should only add to his momentum on a flashy, high-skill Skelleftea team next year.

East Notes: Marchand, Sjalin, Rochester

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As expected, Boston Bruins’ captain Brad Marchand was not an option for the team tonight against the Florida Panthers, as he continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury (X Link). It will be the second straight game that Marchand has not been able to suit up, and he will not be able to help the Bruins stave off elimination this evening.

Although Marchand’s injury has been classified as an upper-body injury, it is more than likely he is dealing with a head injury. In the first period of Game 3, Marchand attempted to deliver a hit to Panthers’ forward Sam Bennett in between the benches and quickly fell to the ice. Slowly getting back to Boston’s bench, alternate footage of the incident showed that during the play in question, Bennett appeared to throw a punch, making contact with Marchand’s head.

Currently battling in an elimination game, the play in question could potentially mark an unceremonious end to Marchand’s season. Throughout the first two rounds of this year’s playoffs, Marchand has led the Bruins in scoring, putting up three goals and 10 points in 10 games played.

Other East notes:

  • As previously rumored, Buffalo Sabres’ prospect, Calle Sjalin, has decided to sign with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (X Link). Despite being a solid contributor during his last season in the SHL, Sjalin never got much of an opportunity throughout his time in North America, appearing in only 70 AHL games over two seasons. Without much productivity throughout his tenure in the Panthers organization, Sjalin was traded to the Sabres organization this past deadline in a deal that sent team captain Kyle Okposo to the Sunshine State.
  • Staying in the Sabres organization, Buffalo beat writer Bill Hoppe reports that Rochester Americans assistant coaches Vinny Prospal and Nathan Paetsch will be staying in the organization, and one may even become the next head coach. The team’s most recent head coach, Seth Appert, has been named an assistant coach for the Sabres for the 2024-25 NHL season, leading to the vacancy behind the bench.

Lassi Thomson Signs Two-Year Deal With SHL’s Malmö Redhawks

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As expected, Senators right-shot defenseman Lassi Thomson is heading overseas next season. He’s signed a two-year deal with the Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish Hockey League, keeping him in Europe through 2025-26.

Still only 23, Thomson spent his fourth straight season primarily suiting up for AHL Belleville in 2023-24. After earning call-ups in the prior two seasons, the 2019 first-round pick failed to do so this year and made all of his 67 appearances in the minors, recording six goals, 21 points and a -14 rating.

Ottawa briefly lost the rights to their pending restricted free agent during training camp when they waived him for assignment to Belleville. The Ducks claimed him off the wire on October 1, but after failing to make their opening night roster, he was waived again a week later and reclaimed by Ottawa, who opted to assign him directly to the B-Sens.

In 18 NHL appearances over the prior two seasons, Thomson didn’t make much of an impression with the Sens. He posted five assists, a -10 rating, and had 19 shots on goal while averaging 16:32 per game. The mobile two-way defender put up decent shot attempt numbers at even strength, posting a 51.3 CF% in advantageous usage, but struggled to control shot quality with a 46.4 xGF%, per Hockey Reference.

After a solid but not particularly impressive campaign with Belleville this season, it’s unlikely Thomson would have been under consideration for an NHL roster spot next season had he re-signed in Ottawa. The Senators, looking to end a seven-year playoff drought, won’t have many places open for unproven talent.

The Sens can retain Thomson’s NHL rights by issuing him a qualifying offer before the June 30 deadline. If he opts to come back to North America before the 2028-29 season, it would need to be with Ottawa unless they trade his signing rights. Since he’d be 27 years old on July 1, 2028, his signing rights would then lapse, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Evening Notes: Chytil, Myers, Ryan, Holm

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New York Rangers centerman Filip Chytil stepped back out of the lineup for Saturday’s Game 4 due to what the team described as an illness, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette previously dubbed Chytil as a “game-time decision”, per Mollie Walker of The New York Post (Twitter link).

Chytil made his long-anticipated return from a concussion during Game 3, marking his first time in the lineup since November. He recorded one shot and one hit and 12 minutes of ice time, looking well-adjusted to the pace of play after such a long absence. Laviolette shared that Chytil wasn’t experiencing any injury-related issues Game 3 and that his absence came after he woke up not feeling well on Saturday morning.

Jonny Brodzinski stepped into the lineup in Chytil’s absence, taking on a role previously occupied by Matt Rempe – though both wingers skated during pre-game warmups.  Brodzinski has just one Stanely Cup Playoff appearance entering Game 3, having appeared in a First Round loss with the Rangers in the 2022 postseason. He scored a career-high 19 points this season, adding 25 points in 16 AHL games, giving him plenty of momentum coming into Saturday’s decisive matchup.  Chytil’s status, and thus the security of Brodzinski’s lineup spot, seems to be up in the air as the Rangers look to break the barrier into the Third Round.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Vancouver Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers is questionable for Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers due to an undisclosed injury, shares TSN’s Farhan Lalji (Twitter link). Myers has held a big role for the Canucks throughout the playoffs, averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time through seven appearances, though he’s still searching for his first point of the Spring. Lalji mentions that Noah Juulsen would likely be the favorite should Vancouver need to fill in for Myers, though the squad also brought up six defenders as part of a large group of black aces recalled on Friday. The Canucks will need to stay stout on defense, currently tied 1-1 with the Oilers after a 4-3 overtime loss on Friday.
  • There will be no Department of Player Safety discipline for Oilers forward Derek Ryan, following a spear to Vancouver’s Nils Hoglander’s nether region, shares Vancouver-based reporter Irfaan Gaffar (Twitter link). Both Ryan and Hoglander were assessed minor penalties on the player – Ryan being booked for slashing and Hoglander for interference. Ryan has appeared in four playoff games this year, recording one assist and averaging 8:26 in tice time as Edmonton’s fourth-line centerman. He should maintain that role headed into Game 3.
  • The Colorado Avalanche’s goaltending room continues to dwindle, with Arvid Holm agreeing to a three-year contract with the SHL’s Rögle BK. Holm spent the year searching for ice time in Colorado’s minor league system – recording six wins and an .887 save percentage in 12 AHL games and two wins and a .907 in four ECHL games. It was his third season in the AHL, with Holm’s .911 save percentage in 35 games last season representing his best year. He’ll now return to the SHL, where he totaled 55 career games prior to his move to North America. Holm will join a Rögle lineup that just went on a fantastic playoff run, largely thanks to strong performances by Christoffer Rifalk. Rifalk has been Rögle’s starter for the last five seasons and should hang onto the role ahead of Holm next season.

Canadiens Prospect Oliver Kapanen Signs With SHL’s Timrå IK

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Canadiens fans may have to wait a little longer to see 2021 second-round pick Oliver Kapanen in North America. The Finnish center has signed a two-year contract with Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced Thursday.

The Habs have yet to come to terms on an entry-level contract with Kapanen, which they must do by June 1, 2025, to avoid losing his signing rights and letting him become an unrestricted free agent. They can still sign him this summer if they wish, but in the likely event he doesn’t make the NHL roster, today’s news means he must be offered back to Timrå on loan before he can be assigned to AHL Laval. However, he could play in Laval in 2025-26 without Timrå’s permission.

Kapanen, 20, is a Finnish national but returns to his birthplace of Timrå for the next step in his professional career. The 6’1″ pivot has developed well over the past two seasons with KalPa in the Finnish Liiga, totaling 27 goals and 65 points in 124 games since making his top-level debut in 2021-22.

He’ll be suiting up for the Finnish men’s national team for the first time starting tomorrow at the 2024 World Championship, although it’s not his first experience on the international stage. He captained Finland’s contingent at the 2023 World Juniors, scoring twice and adding an assist in five games.

Kapanen should be in line for a significant role with Timrå next season. He ended 2023-24 on an electric tear with KalPa in the postseason, tying for the team lead in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 13 games. He’ll join a Timrå offense featuring former Oilers forwards Anton Lander and Magnus Pääjärvi, as well as Senators prospect Oliver Johansson and Penguins prospect Filip Hallander.

Oskar Lindblom Signs With SHL’s Brynäs IF

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Sharks pending unrestricted free agent left wing Oskar Lindblom won’t return to the club as expected, instead opting to return to Sweden on a two-year deal with Brynäs IF of the SHL. Lindblom’s new agreement with his hometown team also carries a three-year extension option for a maximum total of five seasons.

Lindblom, 27, spent the last two seasons in San Jose after being bought out by the Flyers in 2022, subsequently signing a two-year, $5MM agreement with the Sharks in free agency. The three-time 10-goal scorer was limited to only six snipes and 15 points in 73 games last year, though, and he failed to crack the Sharks’ opening-night roster last October.

He spent nearly the entire season on assignment to AHL San Jose, where the Ewing’s sarcoma survivor had six goals and 18 points in 41 contests. Lindblom’s lone NHL appearance this season came on November 10 against the Golden Knights, recording a -1 rating and one hit in 11:56 of ice time.

Brynäs, which plays in Lindblom’s hometown of Gävle, receives significant reinforcement after earning promotion back to the SHL from the HockeyAllsvenskan a few weeks ago. Lindblom played all of his youth hockey in the Brynäs organization and was selected from them by Philadelphia in the fifth round of the 2014 draft.

He graduated to a full-time fixture for them in the SHL in 2014-15, spending three seasons there before leaving for the Flyers in 2017. Lindblom totaled 38 goals and 87 points in 141 games in parts of five seasons for Brynäs in SHL competition during his first stint, including a 22-goal, 47-point showing in 52 games in 2016-17 that earned him Swedish Forward of the Year honors.

Lindblom is the third NHL transfer Brynäs has picked up already this offseason, joining former Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg and ex-Maple Leafs and Devils depth netminder Erik Källgren. Their brief stay in the HockeyAllsvenskan last season was their first season outside of the Swedish top division since 1959-60.

If it’s the end of Lindblom’s time in the NHL, he concludes his career with 56 goals and 56 assists for 112 points and a -1 rating across 337 games with the Flyers and Sharks.

Islanders Sign Marcus Högberg To Two-Year Deal

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May 7: The Islanders confirmed Högberg’s signing today, announcing a two-year deal for the veteran netminder. Per PuckPedia, the contract carries a $775K cap hit and is a two-way agreement in 2024-25 before converting to a one-way deal in 2025-26. Next season, he’ll earn a minor salary of $425K with a $550K guarantee.

April 29: In recent weeks, the Islanders have already been heavily linked to one international free agent, and it appears GM Lou Lamoriello isn’t done bringing in talent from overseas. They’re expected to bring in 29-year-old goalie Marcus Högberg from the Swedish Hockey League’s Linköping HC to bolster their depth at the position, Expressen’s Johan Svensson reports. A statement from Linköping last week confirming that Högberg was leaving for the NHL indicates it’s a two-year deal.

Högberg does have 35 NHL starts and seven relief appearances under his belt, all coming with the Senators between 2018-19 and 2020-21. The 6’5″ Swede was an Ottawa third-round pick in 2013 out of the Linköping organization but remained there for four seasons, finally signing his entry-level deal in March 2017. He spent his first season in North America entirely in the minors, splitting the campaign between AHL Belleville and ECHL Brampton.

The following season saw Högberg emerge as a full-time AHL netminder, holding the starting role with Belleville (.917 SV%, 2.32 GAA, 2 SO in 39 GP). With injuries piling up in the Ottawa crease around New Year’s Day in 2019, Högberg got his first NHL chance. He made four starts around the turn of the calendar, struggling with a .884 SV%, 4.09 GAA and 0-2-1 record.

Nonetheless, his strong showing with the B-Sens left the door open for more starts over the next two seasons, with goalie injuries a common occurrence in the Canadian capital. After inking a two-year, $1.4MM extension in June 2019, Högberg was the primary backup to starter Craig Anderson in the latter half of the 2019-20 campaign while veteran Anders Nilsson was out with a concussion that would ultimately end his career. He made a career-high 21 starts and three relief appearances in Nilsson’s absence, posting a serviceable .904 SV% and 3.12 GAA while compiling a 5-8-8 record.

While still below average, Högberg actually had the best results of any Sens netminder that year, saving 4.8 goals below expected compared to Anderson’s 6.7 and Nilsson’s 7.5, per MoneyPuck. That won him the backup job behind offseason trade acquisition Matt Murray heading into the shortened 2020-21 campaign, but he was unable to replicate the previous season’s performance. He only made 10 starts and four relief appearances, limited in part by a lower-body injury that cost him 15 games, but was one of the worst goalies in the league on a per-game basis. After logging a .876 SV%, 3.74 GAA and a whopping 11.9 goals saved below expected in only 642 minutes of action, the Senators didn’t issue him a qualifying offer when his contract was up and let him walk to unrestricted free agency.

He’d actually left Ottawa before qualifying offers were due, signing a four-year deal to return to Linköping in mid-June 2021. He’s held down the starting role ever since, posting solid but not elite numbers behind a middling team. 2023-24 was his best season since returning to Sweden, posting a .914 SV%, 2.51 GAA, four shutouts and a 21-18-0 record in 40 games as Linköping made the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Högberg leaving for North America comes just a month and a half after he signed a three-year extension that would have kept him in Linköping through 2027-28. The NHL/SHL transfer agreement permits NHL clubs to buy players out of their existing SHL contracts, which the Islanders will need to do in this case.

While the Islanders have one of the better goalie tandems in the NHL in Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, their minor-league depth is some of the worst. AHL Bridgeport was one of the worst clubs in the league this season, and poor play from New York third-stringer Jakub Skarek was a major factor. Skarek, 24, was a third-round pick of the Isles in 2018 but has consistently struggled since turning pro, failing to post an SV% above .900 in any of his five campaigns with Bridgeport. Högberg will provide a much better foundation between the pipes for the Islanders’ prospects in Bridgeport and will be the most reliable call-up option they’ve had behind Sorokin and Varlamov in the last few years.

Minor Transactions: 05/06/24

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Unrestricted free agency is still a handful of weeks away on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, but the offseason transfer period is well underway for teams in European professional leagues. This action often results in former NHLers heading overseas, changing hands, or terminating contracts in hopes of landing another NHL or AHL deal. As those moves come in, we’re keeping track of some notable names. Here are today’s minor moves:

  • Former Blackhawks and Ducks center Dennis Rasmussen has landed some security in the twilight of his career, inking a three-year deal to join Växjö Lakers HC of the Swedish Hockey League. The 33-year-old was a Växjö mainstay from 2011 to 2014 before signing with Chicago as an undrafted free agent, where he went on to score eight goals and 17 points in 112 games across the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Rasmussen signed with the Ducks in the summer of 2017, posting just a goal and four points in 27 games before being demoted to the minors and eventually mutually terminating his contract, paving the way for him to finish 2017-18 back in Växjö. He’s bounced around Europe since, spending three years with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Metallurg Magnitogorsk as well as HC Davos of the Swiss National League, where he spent the last three years. The big-bodied two-way center is still an effective depth scorer, potting seven goals and 28 points in 46 games for Davos last year.
  • A tough stretch continues for veteran winger Richard Pánik, who’s struggled to find stability since falling out of an NHL job with the Islanders two seasons ago. The 33-year-old has played for six clubs over the past three seasons, and it’ll be a seventh in four years if he wants to keep his career alive. HC Dynamo Pardubice of the Czech Extraliga announced Monday that Pánik won’t be returning to the club after posting 14 points in 29 combined regular-season and playoff games to end the season. Pánik began the season in the Extraliga with HC Oceláři Třinec, whom the Lightning drafted him from in the second round in 2009, but was traded to Pardubice in January. The 6’2″ Slovak winger will carry over 500 games and nearly 200 points of NHL experience to wherever he lands next.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Lightning RFA Hugo Alnefelt Expected To Sign In Sweden

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22-year-old netminder Hugo Alnefelt, the Lightning’s best goaltending prospect, may not remain in North America next season. The pending restricted free agent is expected to sign with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League, Expressen’s Jacob Johannesson reports.

Alnefelt, a 2019 third-round pick, has spent the entirety of 2023-24 on assignment to AHL Syracuse. Despite starting 30 games this season, the most on the team, he’s fallen to third on the Crunch’s depth chart behind veteran Matt Tomkins and the minor-league-contracted Brandon Halverson, who’s played all four playoff games for Syracuse thus far. HV71’s signing of Alnefelt will be announced after Syracuse’s time in the Calder Cup Playoffs comes to an end, per Johannesson.

Regardless of Alnefelt’s future, the Lightning were likely going to be looking for a goalie at the 2024 NHL draft. Their depth at the position is paper-thin – only the 22-year-old unsigned Nick Malík can be labeled as a prospect, and below-average veterans Tomkins and Jonas Johansson staffed the third and second-string roles behind undisputed starter Andrei Vasilevskiy this season, respectively. The Lightning don’t have any other goalies on their reserve list.

It was a disappointing season for Alnefelt, his third in Syracuse since signing his entry-level contract in 2021. He was expected to be more of a competitor with Tomkins for the bonafide starting role and was given plenty of opportunity with Tomkins on the NHL roster backing up Johansson at the beginning of the season while Vasilevskiy missed time recovering from back surgery. But his numbers regressed back to below average after a strong sophomore showing in 2022-23, logging a .893 SV%, 2.76 GAA, two shutouts and a 14-8-4 record.

Tomkins was again needed in the NHL down the stretch, this time with Johansson out, and was only reassigned to Syracuse last week. It was a golden opportunity for Alnefelt to seize the crease heading into the postseason, but he instead lost it to the 28-year-old Halverson, who hadn’t played in the AHL since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, Halverson is authoring quite a comeback story – he missed nearly all of 2020-21 with an injury and didn’t play at all in 2021-22. He made his return to pro hockey last season with the Bayreuth Tigers in the second-tier German DEL2 before joining the Tampa Bay organization this year on a contract with ECHL Orlando that was later converted into an AHL agreement with Syracuse. Thus far, Halverson has a .918 SV% in four postseason games as Syracuse is tied 2-2 with Rochester in the best-of-five North Division Semifinals.

Therefore, it’s unsurprising to see Alnefelt return to his native Sweden after slipping down the Tampa Bay depth chart. The Lightning can still retain his signing rights for the time being by issuing him a qualifying offer. He made one NHL appearance during his ELC, allowing three goals on 10 shots in the third period of a 9-3 loss to the Panthers on Dec. 30, 2021, after starter Maxime Lagace was pulled.

With HV71, Alnefelt will split the crease with former Canadiens prospect Fredrik Dichow, a 2019 fifth-round whose exclusive signing rights lapsed last June and is now an unrestricted free agent. Dichow had a .943 SV% in six games in HV71’s relegation series against IK Oskarshamn to keep the club at the top level of Swedish hockey next season.

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