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John Nyberg Signs In SHL

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The Pittsburgh Penguins organization ended up only getting 16 games out of John Nyberg. The defensive prospect has signed a two-year deal with Brynas, returning to the SHL after his short stint in North America. Nyberg arrived in the Pittsburgh organization in a midseason trade with the Dallas Stars, but his entry-level deal is up and he won’t be signing a new one.

Originally selected in the sixth round by the Stars in 2014, Nyberg didn’t even come over to join their minor league program until 2018. Once there, the 6’3″ defenseman struggled to contribute much offense and even spent some time in the ECHL. He was sent to Pittsburgh in exchange for Oula Palve, who is also headed back to Sweden for the 2020-21 season.

As several reporters including Murat Ates of The Athletic discussed on Twitter yesterday, the lack of a concrete plan for the 2020-21 AHL season could force some players back overseas in order to land job security. Without a clear path to the NHL club a player like Nyberg may have more opportunity playing in his home country, given that the AHL season may be extremely truncated due to a lack of ticket sales.

If the Penguins wish to retain his exclusive rights temporarily, they can issue Nyberg a qualifying offer after the season ends.

Joel Persson Returns To SHL

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After a season in the NHL, defenseman Joel Persson is headed back to his native Sweden. In fact, he will return to the SHL’s Vaxjo Lakers, the same team he played with for the two seasons prior to his jump to North America. The team has announced a new three-year deal with Persson that will keep him in Sweden through the 2022-23 season.

Persson, 26, actually signed his first NHL deal with the Edmonton Oilers in 2018. However, he stayed with Vaxjo on loan through the 2018-19 season before inking a one-year extension with Edmonton. He arrived in the NHL this season and recorded two points in 13 games with the Oilers, adding 16 points in 27 games with AHL Bakersfield. Persson was traded to the Anaheim Ducks at the deadline, but did make an appearance with the team and was held scoreless in the minors as well. So while a recent report noted that the Ducks had communicated with all of their pending free agents, it is no surprise that there was no mutual interest in a continued relationship between Anaheim and Persson.

While Persson’s first season in North America was not a failure, it didn’t live up to the expectations set by his meteoric rise in Sweden. Fortunately, he is still young enough to make the decision to return home without it eliminating the chance of an NHL comeback. Persson will be 29 when his new deal with Vaxjo expires. Based off his performance in his first two years in the SHL – 65 points in 101 games and league championship – his stock will likely be even higher at that time. NHL teams will likely be keeping tabs on the talented puck-moving, right-handed blue liner over the next few years. It’s quite possible that this is not the last of Persson in the league.

Detroit Red Wings Sign Albert Johansson

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The Detroit Red Wings continued their rebuild today, signing prospect Albert Johansson to a three-year entry-level contract. The young defenseman spent the 2019-20 season with Farjestads of the SHL.

Johansson, 19, was the 60th overall pick last year and represents another member of the Red Wings growing defensive prospect pool. The team used three of their top four picks a year ago on European defensemen, with Johansson joining Moritz Seider (6th overall) and Antti Tuomisto (35th).

Though he only scored 13 points in 42 SHL games, just taking a regular shift at such a young age is an impressive feat. Johansson only turned 19 in January, meaning his contract can still slide a year if he fails to make the NHL squad.

That fate is likely given that the 6’0″ 168-lbs defenseman still needs quite a bit of polish and physical maturity, but his raw skills represent a lot to get excited about. Whether he spends next season in the SHL or AHL is unclear, but expect his offensive production to improve in either case as he becomes more accustomed to the opposition.

Johansson is also a contender for the Swedish squad at the next World Juniors, given his gold medal performance at the U18 and silver medal at the Hlinka-Gretzky.

Anaheim Ducks Sign SHL MVP Kodie Curran

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The Anaheim Ducks have made an intriguing free agency splash by signing defenseman Kodie Curran, the reigning MVP of the Swedish Hockey League. Curran has inked a two-year, one-way contract with the Ducks that carries a $1MM AAV, reports numerous sources including the OC Register.

To say that Curran has had an unconventional path to the NHL would be an understatement. The 30-year-old was never drafted after playing his developmental years with AJHL and USports. He played two seasons in the minors in North America before embarking on a career in Europe in 2016. Over the past four years, he has played in Demark, Norway, and Sweden, dominating in all three countries. He won a championship in each of his single seasons in the top Danish and Norse leagues and was an All-Star and top defenseman each year as well. The highlight of his career came this past season in the SHL, when he recorded 49 points in 48 games for Rogle BK to lead all defensemen in assists and points, to lead all imports in points, and to take home the honors of Defenseman of the Year and MVP.

His greatest challenge will now come in the NHL though and he will face an uphill battle to make the Anaheim roster before he even has a chance at regular action at the top level. The Ducks have six defensemen on one-way contracts already signed for next season, including four making $4MM or more against the cap. This does not include RFA defender Jacob Larsson, who will also be back with the team. They also have young blue liners like Brendan Guhle and Josh Mahura who will push for opportunity. Curran will need to be at his best to make the Opening Night roster and to stick in Anaheim. However, he has shown an impeccable ability to rise to the occasion in recent years and it will be exciting to see if he does so again in his newest venture.

Gerry Mayhew Wins AHL MVP

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The Les Cunningham Award has been given to Gerry Mayhew of the Iowa Wild, named the AHL’s most valuable player after a vote from coaches, players, and media around the league. Mayhew follows Daniel Carr who won the award in 2018-19.

In only his third full season in the AHL, the 27-year old Mayhew has proven that hard work and determination can pay off. After going undrafted out of the USHL despite his strong play, the 5’9″ forward dominated at the collegiate level for Ferris State University. When he stepped into the AHL in 2017 his goal-scoring touch came with him.

Mayhew had already experienced success over the last two seasons, but this year he took his game to an entirely new level. With 39 goals he was the league’s scoring champ despite playing in just 49 games. Those 39 tallies were also the most by an AHL skater in nearly a decade, another incredible feat given his shortened season.

Not only was the AHL campaign cut short by the COVID-19 outbreak, but Mayhew also got his first chance in the NHL, playing 13 games for the Minnesota Wild.

Mayhew has one more year on his two-way contract with the Wild, which carries a $700K cap hit at the NHL level.

Pittsburgh Penguins Place Linus Olund On Unconditional Waivers

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Friday: Olund has cleared waivers according to CapFriendly.

Thursday: The Pittsburgh Penguins are clearing a contract slot today, placing Linus Olund on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. Olund’s entry-level contract extended through 2020-21, but he will be allowed to pursue other opportunities should he clear waivers tomorrow.

This move comes without much surprise, given that Olund played this season in Sweden on loan from the Penguins anyway. The 22-year old forward spent the 2018-19 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after signing his deal, but managed just 15 points in 61 games and returned to the SHL this year.

A contract termination would technically make him an unrestricted free agent able to sign with another NHL organization, but it seems more likely that Olund will be spending the foreseeable future in Sweden’s top league.

Jesper Olofsson Signs AHL Contract

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Victor Olofsson scored 20 goals and 42 points in his rookie year with the Buffalo Sabres, so the organization is climbing the family tree. Jesper Olofsson, his older brother, has signed a one-year contract with the Rochester Americans of the AHL for the 2020-21 season. He spent the last five seasons in the SHL, but will try his hand on North American ice next season.

Olofsson, 28, was never a top prospect in Sweden, failing to earn himself a spot in the World Juniors or a draft pick from the NHL. Instead, he slowly made his way through the ranks until finding success as an older rookie in the SHL during the 2015-16 season. Since then he’s been a capable member of whatever SHL he played for, but it’s hard to imagine him becoming an impact NHL talent at this point.

What he can do however is provide some experience to the Rochester squad while giving his younger brother a little comfort in his sophomore season. If his proximity gives Victor any sort of confidence boost, you can bet the Sabres will chalk the signing up as a win regardless of how he performs at the AHL level.

Blackhawks Forward Anton Wedin Signs With HV71

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May 9: HV71 announced that they have indeed signed Wedin.  It’s a three-year deal which means he won’t be trying his hand in North America again anytime soon.

May 3: Last year, Blackhawks winger Anton Wedin decided to try his hand in North America and signed as an undrafted free agent with Chicago.  It appears that his stay will be short-lived, however, as Aftonbladet’s Tomas Ros reports that Wedin will be returning to Sweden and is expected to sign with HV71 of the SHL.  Farjestad was also believed to be interested in his services.

The 27-year-old played in four games with the Blackhawks this season but had a very limited role in those contests, averaging just 9:04 per game while being held off the scoresheet.  However, he was much more productive with AHL Rockford, recording seven goals and ten assists in 31 contests but he also missed time due to a knee injury.

He’s slated to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason but considering his lack of NHL experience, it would be hard to imagine him getting much interest if he stuck around and waited for the market to open up.  Considering the NHL’s intention is to resume play, free agency may not be until September or later and by that time, international leagues may already be up and running.  As a result, reaching a deal back home now is likely a smart decision for Wedin who could always retry the NHL if things go well next season.

San Jose Sharks Sign Fredrik Handemark

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The San Jose Sharks couldn’t stop at just one free agent signing for the day. After it was reported earlier that the team had signed Russian goaltender Alexei Melnichuk to a two-year entry-level contract, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweets that the Sharks have also added Fredrik Handemark on a one-year entry-level deal.

Handemark, 26, has been playing in the SHL for the past seven seasons, captaining Malmo for the last three. He was among the league leaders in scoring this past year, recording 38 points in 52 games. The big-bodied center comes with plenty of polish as a two-way force, even if he hasn’t ever really been one of the most dynamic offensive weapons. Handemark has led the SHL in faceoff percentage in two of the last three seasons.

Adding an established pro like Handemark is another sign that the Sharks aren’t interested in the rebuilding path, despite their struggles this season. The team is reloading for another run at the playoffs, given that their core is still made up of aging veterans on long-term contracts. Introducing some more center depth with a cheap signing can only help those playoff prospects, though it’s still to be determined whether Handemark can contribute enough to help the NHL squad.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Filip Berglund

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The Edmonton Oilers have locked up another one of their draft picks, signing Filip Berglund to a two-year entry-level contract. Berlund recently completed his fourth full season in the SHL, playing for Skelleftea AIK. Just over a month ago, Berglund joined Linkoping HC on a two-year contract. It’s not clear if that’s where he’ll spend next season now that he’s under contract with the Oilers or if he’ll join the organization here in North America. Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reports that he is expected to stay in Sweden until the 2021-22 season.

Berglund, 22, has been a steady two-way presence for years now in Sweden, showing flashes of an offensive ceiling that could help him reach the NHL one day. Though he’s not at all the small, skilled puck-mover that the NHL has been trending towards—Berglund stands 6’3″ and is not an elite skater—there is still enough promise in his game to believe that he could one day be suiting up for the Oilers.

The question now becomes how the Edmonton blueline shakes out over the next several years. Ken Holland has been hoarding defensemen ever since taking over the GM role, but very few of them are signed long-term. It’s obvious that he is trying to build a young core on the back end, but who rises to the top is still to be determined.

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