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Oliwer Kaski Signs In SHL

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When Oliwer Kaski left North America in 2020, after just one season in the AHL, the Carolina Hurricanes weren’t going to give up his rights completely. The team issued Kaski a qualifying offer, meaning he stayed on their reserve list and could only sign a contract with them if he wanted to return.

Those rights were only held through his age-27 season, though, which is this year for the undrafted defenseman. If Carolina wanted to bring him back, they would have to sign him by the end of June, or Kaski would become an unrestricted free agent.

It doesn’t appear like that will happen, as the Finnish puck-mover has signed a contract with HV71 in the SHL through 2024. That ends a short run in the Swiss league where he found little success, playing 20 games for Lugano this season.

He scored just four points in those games, but that’s not common for Kaski, who has filled the net wherever he plays. Over the last two seasons in the KHL, he scored 26 goals and 67 points in 105 games. When this contract with HV71 ends, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in North America too, meaning there could potentially be a return.

He’ll also be closing in on 30, though, so he may just continue to be an excellent offensive defenseman overseas, and never realize that dream of playing in the NHL.

Mario Kempe Signs In SHL

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It’s been a few years since Mario Kempe was suiting up in the NHL and it appears as though a return to North America isn’t ever going to come. The veteran forward has signed a new two-year deal with Lulea HF in Sweden.

Kempe, 34, has spent the last three seasons in the KHL, after playing 52 games for the Arizona Coyotes in 2018-19. The older brother of Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe, he was a fifth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007 that only ever played eight games for the organization, all at the minor league level. An elite skater, he had lots of success in North America, including two seasons with the St. John’s Fog Devils of the QMJHL, but never seemed content to spend his years in the AHL.

Throughout his career, Kempe has played all over the world, suiting up last season in Belarus with Dinamo Minsk. His return to the SHL is a long-awaited homecoming, given he hasn’t played in Sweden since 2014.

A two-year deal essentially removes any chance of another AHL stint, though it seemed unlikely already. In 70 career NHL games, Kempe scored 13 points.

Minor Transactions: 11/23/22

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There’s a busy schedule tonight across the NHL, with fifteen contests set to be played. Highlighted by the New Jersey Devils’ chase of a franchise-record fourteenth-straight win, tonight looks set to be a treat for hockey fans. As these games are set to begin, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their roster. We’ll keep track of all those moves here.

  • Theodor Niederbach, one of three Detroit Red Wings 2020 second-round picks, is headed down a division. Per a team announcement, HockeyAllsvenskan’s MoDo Hockey has received Niederbach on a loan from his SHL club, Rogle BK. The hope is that Niederbach can find more offensive success in Ornskoldsvik than he was finding in the SHL, as he has just one goal and zero assists in 17 SHL games so far this year.
  • Pavel Gogolev, an undrafted prospect who was signed into the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, has been assigned to the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers. Gogolev had been with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and he played a single game there. Gogolev should be an elite scorer in Newfoundland, as he scored 20 points in just 14 games there last season to go along with eight points in ten playoff games.
  • Veteran Swiss league forward Julian Schmutz has just seven points in 22 games so far this season playing for HC Davos, but that hasn’t stopped him from securing his playing future. Per a team announcement, rival Swiss club SCL Tigers has signed Schmutz to a three-year contract, set to begin after this season. The Tigers have had a tough season so far in 2022-23, with just nine wins in 23 games, so they’ll hope that Schmutz can improve their overall game next season.

This page will be updated throughout the day. 

Minor Transactions: 11/22/22

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It’s a relatively quiet day on the NHL schedule with just four teams set to go to battle tonight. The Montreal Canadiens will be taking on the division rival Buffalo Sabres as the Sabres look to end their eight-game losing streak. Then, the Los Angeles Kings will host the New York Rangers as each team looks to build momentum and chase the teams above them in the standings. As the NHL readies for these contests, teams across the hockey world are making tweaks to their roster. We’ll keep track of all those moves here.

  • Alex Grant, a former Anaheim Duck and Arizona Coyote, is switching KHL teams. Kazakh club Barys Astana has announced that Grant has been moved to the team from his current KHL club, SKA St. Petersburg. Grant represented Canada at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and has six points in 16 KHL games this season.
  • Veteran minor-league defenseman Robert Hamilton is headed overseas. The 28-year-old blueliner has signed a two-year deal with KHL club Traktor Chelyabinsk and will leave his current team, the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, in order to play there. Hamilton bounced between the AHL and ECHL levels after ending his collegiate career at the University of Vermont, and in recent years had established himself firmly as an AHL-caliber player. Now, he’ll continue his career in Russia.
  • Maxim Chudinov, a veteran KHL defenseman with nearly 600 games of experience, is changing clubs. The 32-year-old has left Ak Bars Kazan to sign a deal for the rest of the season with Spartak Moscow. Chudinov, a 2010 seventh-round pick of the Boston Bruins, has played in seven games for Ak Bars Kazan and has registered one assist.
  • After scoring 18 goals and 38 points last season for IK Oskarshamn, Kim Rosdahl signed with another SHL club, Rogle BK. His time in Rogle hasn’t gone as planned, though, and with just three points in 17 games Rosdahl is headed elsewhere. The Malmo Redhawks have announced his signing to a two-year deal, meaning Rosdahl will head back to Malmo, which is his hometown and where he developed as a junior player.
  • Another winger who has been off to a tough start this season is changing clubs. Per a team announcement, 25-year-old forward Jordan Kaplan is headed from the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals to the Reading Royals. Kaplan has just one assist in 11 ECHL games so far this year but had 11 goals and 32 points in 65 games for the Adirondack Thunder last year.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Emil Heineman Loaned To SHL

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The Montreal Canadiens signed prospect Emil Heineman to a three-year entry-level contract back in April but he hasn’t played a single game yet this season at any level. That’s because of a thumb injury that kept him out six weeks, but as he returns to full health, the team needed to make a decision on where he would play.

Today, they have officially loaned Heineman back to Leksands IF of the SHL, his hometown club team that developed him in Sweden. It’s a nice birthday present for the young forward – who turned 21 on Wednesday – even if it means he won’t be getting an NHL salary. Ready to return to game action, he can try to take the next step in his development at home with a club he is familiar with.

Last season, Heineman had 11 goals and 16 points for Leksands, good numbers for a player so young. Always engaged, no matter where he is on the ice, the 2020 second-round pick has NHL potential, if he can polish off the rough edges of his game. Given that he’s already 21, another year in Sweden should set him up to compete for an NHL role in training camp next year, or play a significant one in Laval.

The first year of his contract will be used in 2022-23, despite him playing overseas.

Loui Eriksson Signs In SHL

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Long-time NHL forward Loui Eriksson will continue his hockey career overseas, returning to the team that he won a championship with in 2005. Frolunda has announced a contract for Eriksson that will last the rest of the season, though even the press release cautions expectations and notes that he hasn’t played in six months.

Eriksson, 37, crossed the 1,000-game threshold last season, suiting up 73 times for the Arizona Coyotes to take his NHL total to 1,050. Because of an ill-advised contract from the Vancouver Canucks in the summer of 2016 that made him the butt of many jokes as his career was winding down, it’s easy to forget how good Eriksson was in his prime. In his third year in the league, he scored 36 goals and 63 points with the Dallas Stars, only to follow it up with three straight 70+ point campaigns.

In fact, for the stretch between 2008-09 and 2011-12, Eriksson was 21st in league scoring while also receiving Selke Trophy votes as one of the best defensive forwards in the league. He was a true star at that point, even if it is kind of difficult to remember now.

Today, he returns to the organization that developed him and the SHL team he played with during the 2004-05 lockout season. As he explained in his introductory presser, he’ll also be reunited with Joel Lundqvist, team captain, and former teammate at several levels, including the Stars.

Niklas Hjalmarsson Returns To SHL

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Nov 10: Hjalmarsson has now officially signed a contract with HV71 for the rest of the season.

Oct 25: One of the most consistent defenders of his generation hung up the skates after the 2020-21 season, as Niklas Hjalmarsson decided that was it for his NHL career. With more than 800 games, 1,600 blocked shots, and three Stanley Cup championships in the books, there wasn’t much more for him to accomplish in professional hockey.

Except, maybe there is.

In a press release over the weekend, SHL club HV71 announced that Hjalmarsson would start training with the team and hopefully play with them for the rest of the season. The 35-year-old defenseman explained that he drives past the rink every day and couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to play for the club again.

After all, this is the organization that developed him as a youngster, and the one he made his professional debut with (back when it was still the Swedish Elite League) in 2004-05. Born less than an hour from the arena, it is something of a homecoming for the Chicago Blackhawks legend. Hjalmarsson left Swedish hockey back in 2007 to join the Blackhawks, and would quickly become one of the most trusted defensive defensemen in the league. By his first full season in 2009-10, he was already logging nearly 20 minutes a night and putting up blocked shot totals near the top of the league.

In those playoffs, when the young upstart Blackhawks were ready to compete for a Stanley Cup, he took on even more responsibility, and played 21 minutes a night en route to the championship – adding nine points and 54 blocks in 22 games. He would do similar things in the other two title runs, including averaging more than 26 minutes in 2015 as the third member of a defensive trio that was nearly impenetrable alongside Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.

For Swedish hockey fans, getting to see Hjalmarsson play back home will be a treat, if it gets that far. If you listen to him, it might not even be a short stint. Hjalmarsson notes that he doesn’t know whether he’ll be with the team for two weeks, a year, or three years at this point – he’s just excited about getting back on the ice and competing.

Kristian Vesalainen Signs In Finland

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After a run of 15 games in the SHL, 2017 first-round pick and former Winnipeg Jets forward Kristian Vesalainen is headed home. Per a team announcement, Vesalainen has signed a contract spanning the rest of this season with Liiga club HIFK.

This signing comes after his contract with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks was terminated, and allows Vesalainen to play in Helsinki, the city where he was born. Vesalainen has actually been a member of HIFK before, as he developed there as a junior player before heading to Frolunda in Sweden to continue his development.

Vesalainen, 23, signed in Malmo this past summer with the goal of playing a major role in the SHL, one that would allow him to flourish offensively in ways his limited role in the Jets organization wouldn’t.

That didn’t happen in Malmo, though, as Vesalainen scored just three points in 15 games and has not been used as the top-six offensive centerpiece he likely signed there to be.

He’ll now head to Liiga and join HIFK with the hope that he can find a better role in Helsinki. HIFK could certainly use the help, as they currently sit near the bottom of the Liiga standings, and their top scorers have just nine points in 20 games.

Vesalainen’s rights are still owned by the Jets until June 30th, 2026, so he’ll have a relatively long runway to build himself a strong scoring resume in Europe before attempting a potential return to the NHL.

Snapshots: Samuelsson, Bear, Wright

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Buffalo Sabres fans held their breath last night when freshly extended defenseman Mattias Samuelsson went down with an injury in their game against Vancouver. Now, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski reports that Samuelsson avoided a long-term injury but is still set to miss at least “a few weeks,” joining Henri Jokiharju on the list of injured Sabres top-four defensemen.

An exact timeline won’t be had on Samuelsson until the team returns to Buffalo, head coach Don Granato said today, and the injury will force some depth defenders to shine in order for Buffalo to keep up its strong start. Lawrence Pilut will make his season debut in the team’s next game after two seasons overseas, and free-agent acquisition Ilya Lyubushkin will be tasked with replacing Samuelsson as the defensive anchor on the top pairing alongside the red-hot Rasmus Dahlin.

  • It’s no secret the Canucks are in trouble, winless so far to start the year. With injuries and general positional depth weakness hampering their defense, the team has been looking to add, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on 32 Thoughts that the team has checked in on defenseman Ethan Bear as a potential trade acquisition. Bear, the 25-year-old right-shot defenseman, has been thrust down the depth chart in Carolina and has yet to appear in a game this season. The Hurricanes were shopping him prior to the season’s start, and the Canucks have more than enough room thanks to LTIR to accommodate his $2.2MM cap hit. He still has some upside and could provide some better matchups once Quinn Hughes returns to the lineup.
  • Sportsnet’s Jason Bukala ponders whether the Seattle Kraken may opt to send Shane Wright back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs after an unimpactful start to the season. Wright hasn’t received many opportunities, he has shown smooth skating and pace, but Bukala points out that Wright’s had some positional issues defensively and may need a bit more development before being able to execute his playstyle properly at the NHL level.

Minor Transactions: 10/14/22

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The NHL season is fully underway, and we have four more games on the docket for tonight. As exciting as the action is around the NHL tonight, there’s still plenty going on around the hockey world and we’ll keep track of all those transactions here.

  • The San Diego Gulls announced the signings of four players to standard player contracts today: forwards Brent Gates and Dmitri Osipov, as well as defensemen Josh Healey and Nikolas Brouillard. Possibly the most accomplished name of this group is Brouillard, who has spent the past two seasons with the Gulls. He had 39 points in 66 games last season (along with a whopping 131 penalty minutes) and should resume playing an important role in San Diego this season.
  • One of the top goalie prospects in hockey, Sebastian Cossa, was reassigned from the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, to their ECHL affiliate, the Toledo Wallleye. While an ECHL demotion might be seen as a definitively negative development for any top prospect, this reassignment shouldn’t be viewed so negatively for Cossa, who turns 20 on November 21st. An ECHL assignment will allow Cossa to operate as a starting netminder in a lower-pressure environment than the AHL. He’ll be able to take his time and work on his game, and the move gives him a longer runway in terms of his development.
  • Former Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms winger Linus Sandin cleared unconditional waivers today, allowing him to sign overseas. He’s done just that, as SHL club Rogle BK has signed Sandin to a contract that runs through the 2024-25 season. Sandin is an SHL veteran who joins Rogle after a decent AHL season that saw him earn his first NHL game, and he should help his new squad improve their current 12th-place standing in Sweden’s top league.
  • The Ottawa Senators’ AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators, announced the signings of two players today. Zachary Massicotte, 21, was signed to a two-way AHL/ECHL deal, while Cedric Pare, 23, was signed to a PTO. Pare signs this PTO looking to earn a full deal after spending all of last season in Belleville, while Massicotte will make his professional debut after winning the QMJHL championship last season with the Shawinigan Cataractes.

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