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Blues Expected To Sign Marcus Sylvegard

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Earlier today, we looked at some of the remaining international free agents that could attract NHL interest in the coming weeks.  One of those is winger Marcus Sylvegard.  It appears he has found his next team as SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson reports that Sylvegard is set to sign a one-year, entry-level contract with St. Louis.

The 24-year-old wasn’t particularly productive during his first few SHL seasons but had a breakout campaign in 2022-23, his second year with Malmo.  That year, Sylvegard picked up 17 goals and 24 assists in 52 games and helped them avoid relegation to the second-tier Allsvenskan.

Sylvegard followed up that performance with another 41-point effort this season, notching 23 goals and 18 helpers in 51 games with Vaxjo.  However, he struggled in the playoffs, collecting just three assists in eight games although Svensson notes that Sylvegard was playing through an injury during the postseason.

Sylvegard also had interest from several other teams over the last couple of months, Florida, Colorado, and Calgary among them.  Having said that, he profiles as more of a bottom-six type of energy player so it wouldn’t be realistic to expect Sylvegard to put up big numbers in the NHL.  But on a Blues roster that should have a couple of openings in their bottom six with Kasperi Kapanen and Sammy Blais sitting as pending unrestricted free agents, there should be a chance for Sylvegard to push for a roster spot in training camp this fall.

Atlantic Notes: Sabres, True, Forbort, Brazeau

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The Sabres dealt from their center depth at the trade deadline, moving Casey Mittelstadt to Colorado for Bowen Byram.  Now it appears that they’ll be on the hunt for more help down the middle as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relays that Buffalo will be looking for a reliable two-way third-line center next season.  Internally, they were hoping that Peyton Krebs would have some success in that role but he struggled this season, notching just 17 points in 80 games.  Zemgus Girgensons has played down the middle regularly in the past but is a pending UFA and better suited for a spot on the fourth line so it makes sense that GM Kevyn Adams will be looking outside the organization to try to fill that spot.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Panthers minor leaguer Alexander True is expected to sign with Modo of the SHL next season, report SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson and Adam Johansson. The 26-year-old was once viewed as a possible part of San Jose’s plans but moved on after four years with the organization and hasn’t seen NHL action since 2021-22.  True, who has five assists in 27 career NHL appearances, has spent the full season with AHL Charlotte, notching 19 points in 55 regular season games.  A pending restricted free agent, it looks like he has decided to try his hand elsewhere instead of sticking around for another year in the minors.
  • Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort and winger Justin Brazeau both skated with the team today as they work their way back from their respective injuries but aren’t expected to play on Saturday, notes Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. Forbort is believed to be a little ahead of Brazeau in terms of their potential game readiness so it’s possible that Boston could have another option available to them on their back end at some point this round.  Forbort was limited to just 35 games this season where he had four assists while Brazeau picked up five goals and two helpers in just 19 appearances after having his contract converted to an NHL deal back in February.

West Notes: Bichsel, Walker, Ducks

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Top Stars defenseman Lian Bichsel won’t be representing his native Switzerland at the international level for the next two seasons. That’s due to an internal suspension from the program’s head coach, Patrick Fischer, assessed because Bichsel declined invitations to the 2023 and 2024 World Juniors (via sport.ch, article in German). The soonest the program will allow him to play is the 2026 World Championship, which Switzerland will host, meaning he won’t be on their roster for the Winter Olympics a few months before.

Selected 18th overall in 2022, the 6’6″ Bichsel is still alive in the Swedish Hockey League playoffs with Rögle BK, who are authoring one of the greatest Cinderella stories in recent memory in professional hockey. They were seeded ninth out of 10 teams to make the SHL postseason but swept their best-of-three play-in against Timrå IK to advance to the quarterfinals. Rögle then swept one-seed Färjestad and two-seed Växjö in back-to-back rounds, becoming the first team in SHL history to advance from the play-ins to the final, let alone doing so undefeated. They suffered their first loss in Game 1 of the final series against Skellefteå over the weekend but have tied the series at one apiece.

Bichsel, 19, has six points in 12 postseason games, more offense than he provided in 29 regular-season games for Rögle after beginning the season with AHL Texas. Bichsel, already signed to his entry-level deal, will return to North America when his SHL season wraps up.

Other tidbits from the Western Conference:

  • Avalanche blue-liner Sean Walker was limited to 16:48 of ice time in yesterday’s Game 2 win, missing most of the third period. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed today that he won’t carry an injury designation moving forward, as his absence was due to being pulled from the game by a concussion spotter (via NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding). He’s cleared protocol and will take his normal spot in the lineup in Friday’s Game 3. Walker is without a point in his two playoff appearances with Colorado thus far after being picked up from the Flyers ahead of the trade deadline.
  • The Ducks will likely fill their captaincy vacancy ahead of next season, GM Pat Verbeek said this week to NHL.com. The club has played its last two seasons without a captain after 12-year “C”-wearer Ryan Getzlaf retired in 2022. 32-year-old defenseman Cam Fowler would be the presumptive choice as the longest-tenured Duck on the roster, and he still logs major minutes as he crosses the peak of his career. Fowler led the club in average ice time (24:25) by a considerable margin this season and still managed 39 points in 81 games, although his -36 rating was the worst on the team. He made his NHL debut back in 2010 and is on track to play his 1,000th NHL game next season, all with Anaheim.

Pacific Notes: Jasek, Fanti, Brzustewicz

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The Canucks still hold the exclusive signing rights of Czech winger Lukas Jasek, but he won’t be returning to the organization next season. He’s signed a two-year contract with Modo Hockey of the Swedish Hockey League (translated team release link).

Jasek, 26, was a sixth-round pick of the Canucks in 2015 and spent the following three seasons in the Czech Extraliga before signing his entry-level contract and joining their AHL affiliate, then the Utica Comets, in 2018. He played in parts of four seasons for the Comets, putting up overall decent numbers with 86 points (30 goals, 56 assists) and a +11 rating in 153 appearances, but didn’t get an NHL call-up during that time.

Vancouver liked what they saw enough to extend him a qualifying offer when his ELC expired in 2021, but Jasek declined to accept and returned to Europe for a bigger role. He spent two seasons in Finland with Liiga’s Pelicans before transferring to Sweden in 2022, signing on with the SHL’s IK Oskarshamn.

Jasek had 28 points in 49 games but couldn’t help them avoid relegation to the HockeyAllsvenskan, but he’ll stay in the top tier of the Swedish system next season with Örnsköldsvik’s MoDo. The Canucks must sign him before July 1, 2025, and buy him out of the second year of his new deal with MoDo, or he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • The Oilers will carry netminder Ryan Fanti as their emergency backup for tonight’s Game 1 of their first-round series against the Kings, the team announced. While not on the game roster, he could enter the game for Edmonton if Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard leave the game with injuries. They’ll allow the more experienced Jack Campbell to continue getting game action at the top minor-league level as AHL Bakersfield begins its playoff run. Fanti, 24, has played sparingly this season with ECHL Fort Wayne and missed the first few months of the season with an injury, going 9-6-1 with a .915 SV% in 17 outings since his return. He has no NHL experience and only nine games of AHL experience.
  • One of the Flames’ top defense prospects, Hunter Brzustewicz, will finish 2023-24 on an ATO with AHL Calgary, the minor-league club announced. Brzustewicz, 19, was a third-round pick of the Canucks last year but had his signing rights dealt to Calgary in the Elias Lindholm trade. He inked his entry-level deal back in March and, given his November birthday, will be eligible to suit up full-time with the Wranglers next season. He finished the year with 92 points in 67 games for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League.

Ducks’ Jakob Silfverberg Announces Plans To Retire

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Anaheim Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg has announced his plans to retire from the NHL at the end of the season (Twitter link). Friday will mark his last time suiting up at the Honda Center, as the Ducks host the Calgary Flames in their last home game of the season.

This news comes as a surprise from the 33-year-old Silfverberg. While injuries limited him as the 2020s rolled around – he’s otherwise had a generally healthy career, playing in 70-or-more games in seven different seasons, including each of the last two. His scoring has taken a major hit, though, with Silfverberg netting just 19 points in 78 games this season – less than half of his totals from just four seasons ago.

Still, Silfverberg has had a fruitful career, totaling 817 games over the last 12 seasons. All but one of those seasons came with Anaheim, who acquired the Swedish winger in the 2013 trade that sent Bobby Ryan to the Ottawa Senators. Silfverberg would go on to play in the fifth-most games in Ducks history – playing 769 with the Ducks – and score the seventh-most points with 354. He also added the fourth-most playoff points, scoring 41 in 57 postseason performances. While he hasn’t dominated the scoresheet like former teammates Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry, Silfverberg provided invaluable consistency for a long time in Anaheim, always carrying a controllable cap hit.

While Silfverberg’s NHL career is coming to a close, there is no indication of whether he’ll return to Sweden’s SHL or not. Silfverberg played in 166 games with Brynäs IF before moving to the NHL, after growing up through the organization’s youth program. He served as team captain in the 2011-12 season – his last year in Sweden – while wearing #100.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Marcus Sylvegard

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With the trade deadline now behind us, the focus will shift in the coming weeks and months to the undrafted free agent market.  We’ve already seen several major junior players sign while college free agency will pick up soon as well.  Meanwhile, there are some international free agents that will also garner interest.

One of those appears to be Swedish winger Marcus Sylvegard.  The 24-year-old is putting the finishing touches on arguably his best SHL season as he has 23 goals and 18 assists in 50 games so far with Vaxjo with one game remaining on the schedule.  It’s his second straight season reaching the 40-point mark after failing to reach 20 in his first five seasons at that level which likely helped get him on the NHL radar.

SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson reports that the Panthers, Avalanche, and Flames are among NHL teams who have shown interest in his services so far with Florida believed to have shown the most interest at this point.  A signing won’t be imminent, however, with Sylvegard indicating that his focus will be on the upcoming league playoffs so it stands to reason that he won’t choose his next team until after his postseason comes to an end.

Regardless of whomever he signs with, Sylvegard will be subject to entry-level restrictions.  He’ll be entering his age-25 year next season so he will be capped at inking a one-year deal; the maximum compensation for an entry-level deal in 2024-25 is $975K plus performance bonuses.

Minor Transactions: 02/09/24

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As the NHL trade deadline approaches, transfer activity continues overseas as many of the major European leagues are approaching the end of their regular seasons. A handful of former NHL-affiliated players have been on the move recently, so it’s a good time to check in on where some familiar faces are suiting up overseas:

  • Former Red Wings netminder Jared Coreau has played for various European teams since departing the North American circuit in 2020. The 32-year-old was one of the best netminders in the Slovak Extraliga last season, but his numbers have cratered this year with a .889 SV% and 7-13-0 record in 20 games for HC Slovan Bratislava. That’s led him to transfer to the Swedish second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan, to join Brynäs IF as they attempt to regain promotion to the SHL. Brynäs holds the top spot in the league after being relegated from the SHL last season – the first time they dropped out of the SHL in 63 years. Coreau will run in tandem with Ducks prospect Damian Clara as they aim to close the deal over the coming weeks.
  • One-time Panthers defense prospect Ben Finkelstein abruptly announced his retirement today, ending his four-year pro career. The 26-year-old was a seventh-round pick in the 2016 draft out of high school, but a four-year collegiate stint split between St. Lawrence University and Boston College didn’t yield him an entry-level contract after graduating in 2020. He played two seasons in the ECHL, leading all blue-liners in points with 62 in just 36 games in the 2021-22 campaign, before heading overseas that summer. He was under contract with the DEL’s Eisbären Berlin, where he had 15 assists and a -6 rating in 37 games before sustaining an injury.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Hurricanes Prospect Noah Gunler Linked To SHL

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The Hurricanes have several prospects playing on loans overseas this season, a by-product of them not having their own AHL affiliate.  One of those is winger Noah Gunler who is currently playing in Finland.  However, it appears he’s close to heading back home as Henrik Sjoberg of HockeyNews SE reports that Gunler is close to signing with SHL Lulea for the remainder of the season.

The 22-year-old was regarded by some as a first-round pick back in 2020 but ultimately slid to the second round, going 41st overall.  Since then, Gunler has bounced around a bit, spending time in Sweden, the AHL, and Finland.

This season, Gunler has posted five goals and three assists with Karpat while averaging 15 minutes a night.  But a move to Lulea would allow him to rejoin his hometown team, one he spent time with as recently as the 2020-21 campaign.

Gunler is signed with Carolina through the 2024-25 season and assuming the Hurricanes are able to find a more stable AHL situation, he should be back in North America to play the final year of his entry-level contract.

Minor Transactions: 12/20/23

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It’s another busy day across the world of professional hockey, even though there are just three total contests on the NHL schedule. In Europe, big games are set to be played in Czechia, Finland, Slovakia, and more while in North America there are some intriguing contests not just on the NHL schedule but in the AHL as well.

Although the NHL’s annual holiday roster freeze will now stop player movement in the NHL, player transactions are still happening across the wider world of pro hockey. As always, we’ll keep track of those moves here.

  • 2018 New York Islanders second-round pick Bode Wilde has transferred from Slovakia’s HC Banska Bystrica to the EIHL’s Cardiff Devils. Wilde has made the decision to leave his Slovak club after just 21 games there, ending a tenure that began when he signed there in the offseason. Signing with Banska Bystrica marked Wilde’s return to European pro hockey (he spent 2020-21 with HockeyAllsvenskan’s Västerviks IK) and he finishes his time there with nine points in 21 games. The six-foot-three former U.S. National Team Development Program defenseman now heads to Cardiff to join one of the EIHL’s top teams this season.
  • Atro Leppänen, one of the fastest-rising players in Finnish pro hockey, has had an option in his contract exercised by his club Vaasan Sport, meaning he will remain with the club for an additional season. The 25-year-old defenseman was playing in Finland’s fourth tier of hockey as recently as 2018-19, before eventually becoming the second-tier Mestis’ top-scoring defenseman last season. That earned him a shot in Liiga with Sport, and he has excelled so far in his rookie year. His eight goals and 15 points rank inside the top-15 in league defensive scoring and his 23:07 average time-on-ice per game is currently tied for the fourth-highest in the entire Liiga. He’s undoubtedly been a revelation for Sport and the decision to retain his services for another season was likely an easy one for the club.
  • Veteran forward Jonas Berglund, a veteran of nearly 400 SHL games, has signed a two-year contract extension with his current club Luleå Hockey. Berglund, 33, is now in his seventh consecutive campaign at Luleå, the club he developed at starting as a youth player. Although he’s never been a major offensive contributor, the defensive forward has been a consistent presence in the team’s lineup through a highly successful period in club history. While championship glory has eluded Berglund and Luleå, in Berglund’s most recent stretch the club has reached both the SHL and Champions Hockey League finals as well as an additional SHL and CHL semifinal. The hope will be that within this season and the additional two covered by this extension Berglund and Luleå will be able to finally take home some hardware after getting so close over the past few years.
  • Veteran forward Jonathan Hazen has signed a two-year contract extension with an option for a third year with Swiss National League side HC Ajoie, a club he has represented since 2015-16. Although the former Val d’Or Foreurs and Cincinnati Cyclones star never quite made it past the ECHL in North America, he has become one of the best and most important players in Ajoie’s club history. A member of the Swiss second division when he joined, Ajoie has now been part of the first-tier National League and is in its third season with that status. Hazen, who ranks fourth in all-time scoring for the club, scored a whopping 81 points in 46 games en route to the club’s promotion, and his 33 points in 38 games helped save the club from relegation last season. With 12 goals and 21 points in 23 games this year, Hazen remains Ajoie’s most important offensive player and a key piece in Ajoie’s efforts to avoid relegation once again this season.
  • The ECHL’s Florida Everblades have acquired former Vegas Golden Knights fourth-round pick Slava Demin from the Allen Americans in exchange for future considerations. Demin, 23, is in his rookie professional campaign, having concluded a five-year NCAA career last spring. He suited up for three college hockey programs in that span: Denver, UMass, and Merrimack College. Although he never quite put together an overwhelming offensive season Demin’s size allowed him to be an imposing physical presence at times. He’s scored five points with a -15 rating for the Americans and will now join the blueline group with the Everblades, a team that has surrendered the second-fewest goals in the ECHL. He replaces forward Jake Bricknell on the Everblades’ roster, who was released after just one game.
  • 2018-19 Hobey Baker Award finalist Patrick Newell appears on his way out from his ECHL club the Orlando Solar Bears, potentially ending his comeback to North American hockey after just 14 games played. The 27-year-old former St. Cloud State University star signed his entry-level contract with the New York Rangers after as stellar 47-point senior season. He only managed 13 points in his rookie AHL campaign, though, and by the end of 2020-21 he had played his way out of the AHL. He left for Norway, where he starred for Stjernen Hockey, and then split last season between the ICEHL’s Fehérvár AV19 in Hungary and HockeyAllsvenskan’s Södertälje SK in Sweden, helping the latter club reach the postseason.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 12/08/23

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It’s a busy day around the world of sports, hockey included. Not only are sports fans everywhere likely captivated by the free agency of baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani, a process that is being diligently covered by our friends at MLB Trade Rumors, but there is also player movement activity across the many leagues of pro hockey to pay attention to. Trade rumors are flying around a few quality NHL defensemen, and the waiver wire is active as well. As always, we’ll keep track of notable player movement from minor and overseas leagues here.

  • Former Philadelphia Flyer Jackson Cates, the brother of Flyers center Noah Cates, has been released from his tryout agreement with the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. The 26-year-old University of Minnesota-Duluth product signed with the Flyers as a college free agent and ended up playing in 20 total games for the club across three seasons. He spent more time in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, including a 65-game slate with the team last year in which he managed 23 points. The Flyers elected not to re-sign Cates for 2023-24, resulting in him latching on with the Islanders on tryout agreements. After 12 games in Bridgeport Cates has only managed one point, though, and that point came all the way back on October 14th. Now he’ll likely have to look for opportunities elsewhere to continue his professional career.
  • Former Moncton Wildcats captain Nicholas Welsh has transferred from Liiga’s JYP Jyväskylä to the Augsburg Panthers of the German DEL. The 26-year-old offensive defenseman is no stranger to the DEL. He played for the Nürnberg Ice Tigers from 2021 to 2023 before electing to sign in Liiga over the summer. His 22-game run with JYP did not go well, as he managed just three points in that span and saw his ice time decline sharply from the start of the year. He’s likely to find more success with Augsburg, who are in need of defensive reinforcements after an injury to veteran David Warsofsky. Welsh last played in North America in 2020-21, when he got into 17 games with the AHL’s Rochester Americans.
  • 28-year-old Adam Brodecki, a veteran of over 300 SHL games, has signed a short-term contract with the SHL’s Frölunda HC. Brodecki spent last season with Rytíři Kladno in the Czech Extraliga, scoring 20 points in 45 games, but lingered on the free agent market before signing a short-term deal with the Växjö Lakers, helping them as injury issues struck their forward corps. Now, Brodecki will get the chance to represent Frölunda as they are set to lose a few players to Sweden’s World Juniors squad.
  • Former WHL star Jaedon Descheneau has signed a one-year deal with the DEL’s Berlin Polar Bears, according to a team announcement. The five-foot-eight former St. Louis Blues prospect heads to Germany for a second tour of duty there, as he also spent 2018-19 as a top offensive player for Düsseldorfer EG. Although began his pro career in North America, Descheneau left the AHL/ECHL circuit after just one season. He bounced from California to Switzerland, then to Germany, then Sweden, then to Finland, and now is headed back to Germany. Along the way Descheneau has generally been a productive offensive player, although he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency over the last two years. With Berlin currently sat at the top of the DEL table, they add a talented scorer in Descheneau.
  • Former WHL champion Reece Harsch, a six-foot-four right-shot defenseman, has elected to leave the EIHL’s Fife Flyers in the midst of a second campaign there. The former Seattle Thunderbirds blueliner began his pro career in 2021-22, skating in five AHL games for the Abbotsford Canucks and seven ECHL games for the Toledo Walleye. The then-23-year-old would that summer depart for Scotland, where he would play in 50 games for the Flyers. Now, after 10 games this year with Fife, Harsch has decided to leave the club and potentially look elsewhere to continue his young professional career.
  • 2022 Seattle Kraken fourth-round pick Tyson Jugnauth has decided to leave the University of Wisconsin Badgers, the number-six team in men’s college hockey, in order to join the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. The Winterhawks acquired Jugnauth’s WHL playing rights via trade earlier this week, trading four draft picks to be able to add the player. Jugnauth had seen his role decline as a sophomore after his 15-point freshman campaign, and for the team’s last game, he was listed as a seventh-defenseman. As an offensive player who prioritizes speed and puck-carrying ability, Jugnauth’s development would be best served by having stability in terms of role and who his defensive partner is. That’s not something he was finding at Wisconsin, so he’s elected to join the Winterhawks rather than remain with the Badgers.

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