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Renewed NHL Interest In Mathias Brome

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Around this time last year, there were more than just whispers that Swedish standout Mathias Brome would be making the leap to the NHL. He had just finished up a strong season in the SHL, despite playing for a poor team that ended up relegated, and was a free agent with his sights set on new surroundings. A number of NHL teams were involved, including the Vegas Golden Knights, but there was also an incredibly strong market in Europe. Brome eventually re-signed in the SHL, joining Orebro HK on a one-year deal.

Fast-forward one year and the move looks like the right one for Brome. The 25-year-old winger has had a career year in the SHL, recording 17 goals and 43 points in 52 games to finish among the top ten in the league in both categories. A speedy and skilled forward who is also known for his strong work ethic, Brome again impressed the onlookers and now he has solidified his status as a top free agent option. In fact, the Swedish Hockey News reports that he has already turned down “millions” from offers in the SHL and KHL to pursue a deal in the NHL.

Leading the charge for Brome appear to be the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings, two teams familiar with importing Swedish talent. However, the pair are in very different situations when it comes to recruitment this off-season. Vancouver is contending for a playoff spot this year and look to have a bright future behind a young core. However, the team is strapped for cap space and would target Brome as an affordable depth addition. Detroit is the NHL’s worst team this season (and one of the worst all-time) and needs to make impact addition this summer to turn things around. Last year, Brome would have been limited to a one-year entry-level contract to begin his NHL career but now Brome will be able to negotiate his first deal. He could opt for less money but perhaps a better opportunity to win and gain even more attention with the Canucks or he could try to both make more money and land a greater role by joining the Red Wings. Brome reportedly will not make his decision until after the SHL postseason is completed, by which time other NHL teams may have also entered the chase. However, one way or another, it seems Brome is finally set to make the leap this off-season.

Fredrik Handemark Drawing NHL Interest

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With European leagues finishing up (or being cancelled) over the next few weeks, plenty of interest will be shown in some of the top performers. In his latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman writes that both the Detroit Red Wings and San Jose Sharks have shown interest in Fredrik Handemark out of the SHL.

Handemark has spent the last five seasons with Malmo, breaking out offensively in 2016-17 when he recorded 32 points in 47 games. He has been a consistent scorer for them ever since, and set a career-high in both goals (14) and points (38) this season.

Not only has Handemark produced offensively, but also represents a big body—6’4″ 209-lbs—that can play the center position. That’s the kind of player that always draws NHL attention, though it’s hard to know exactly how his game would translate to North America.

Hearing that the Red Wings and Sharks are “eyeing” Handemark shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given their seasons so far. Both teams are near the bottom of the standings, with the Red Wings orchestrating a perfect tank season. Detroit is already eliminated from the postseason and will be looking forward to the draft lottery next month.

Snapshots: Matheson, Toffoli, Handemark

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The Florida Panthers iced a unique lineup on Tuesday night with not one, but two defensemen skating as forwards. While Mark Pysyk has served in that hybrid role frequently this season, Michael Matheson also tried his hand. The result was a win and goal and two assists for Matheson. While Matheson does not receive a tremendous amount of attention, the Boston College product has been a reliable two-way blue liner for Florida since day one and other teams are beginning to take notice. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Panthers have explored the trade market for Matheson this season. He believes that a number of teams are interested and after Tuesday’s display of versatility and offensive touch, there may now be a few more. The stumbling block to any trade though would be Matheson’s contract. The dependable defender actually has a very fair $4.875MM cap hit, but it is term that could be a problem. Matheson is in just the second year of a maximum eight-year contract that carries through the 2025-26 season. Any team looking to acquire Matheson has to be more than just interested, they have to be dedicated, as Matheson could be around for a long time. The Panthers probably won’t take a discount on a return due to the term of the deal though. Florida was happy to have Matheson in the fold for many years to come just a couple of seasons back and they likely will not move the homegrown defenseman without a strong return.

  • Los Angeles Kings forward Tyler Toffoli continues to be one of the hottest names on the market with a number of potential suitors. However, some think that the Philadelphia Flyers have emerged as the favorite to land the two-way winger. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer added fuel to that fire by reporting that former Flyers GM Ron Hextall, now an employee of the Kings, is in Florida scouting Flyers-Panthers on Thursday night. The Kings have been scouting the Flyers frequently, but Hextall’s presence takes things up a notch. No one in L.A. knows Philadelphia better than Hextall and the team would likely not make a move without his seal of approval. Perhaps they will get that nod from Hextall on a potential return for Toffoli after tonight’s game.
  • The Detroit Red Wings are hardly buyers in the trade market, but they will be looking to add in the off-season. One player that the team has been linked to is Swedish forward Fredrik Handemark. The 26-year-old center is a big, two-way center who has impressed for several years with the Malmo Redhawks of the SHL. In a season in which he has already matched his career high in points with weeks still to play, the consensus is that Handemark has outgrown Sweden and will look to make the jump to the NHL next season. Swedish news source Aftonbladet reports that there is interest from NHL teams, including the Red Wings, who Handemark calls his childhood favorite. Detroit has had great success with Swedes in the past, including a fellow two-way pivot in Henrik Zetterberg, and Handemark could be an affordable, effective addition for GM Steve Yzerman’s rebuilding club. Aftonbladet also mentions Orebro’s Mathias Brome, Farjestad’s Gustaf Rydahl, and HK Sochi’s Malte Strömwall as other Swedish standouts who have been linked to the Red Wings this season.

Edmonton Oilers Extend Joakim Nygard

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If Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland is anything, he’s loyal to his players and a man of his word. The veteran executive has shown that yet again today by extending forward Joakim Nygard. The move comes just weeks after a report emerged that Holland and company were happy with the play of their depth forwards and hoping to sign the impending UFA’s in that group. Zack Kassian was re-signed days after that announcement and now Nygard, one of the other players specifically named, can also be checked off the re-signing list. Nygard’s new deal is for the 2020-21 season and carries an $875K cap hit, per PuckPedia.

Nygard, 27, is in his first NHL season after signing with the Oilers this past spring out of Sweden. The left winger had previously been a standout performer for many years for Farjestad BK of the SHL but decided to make the jump to the top level. So far, he has recorded nine points in 33 games, but has battled injuries along the way and is currently sidelined with a broken hand. At his best, Nygard has shown flashes of offensive pop and has even spent some time on Edmonton’s little-used second power play unit. None of Nygard’s numbers this season really jump off the page, but clearly there was mutual interest in an extended relationship between player and team and at worst he is an affordable depth option, especially after taking a slight salary hit off of his $925K number this year.

With Nygard’s new deal complete, Holland can continue down the list. The other forwards named in the prior report include Josh Archibald and Riley Sheahan, who have both been valuable role players for the Oilers this season. At this rate, don’t be surprised to see both ink extensions by the end of the regular season.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Samuelsson, Kreider

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The NHL has released their Three Stars for last week, and unsurprisingly Leon Draisaitl lands on top. The Edmonton Oilers superstar now leads the entire league in scoring and has actually been on fire since being separated from Connor McDavid. Draisaitl has 22 points in the 11 games away from McDavid, finally finding some wing help in the form of Kailer Yamamoto.

Second star Steven Stamkos won’t turn many heads after appearing in these spots many times before, but the same can’t be said about J.T. Miller who takes home the third star. Miller has found a new level of production with the Vancouver Canucks and is already just a few goals and points short of his career-highs.

  • Ulf Samuelsson had been serving as a pro scout for the Seattle expansion franchise, but will leave the organization to take a job as head coach of Leksands IF in the SHL. That’s the team Samuelsson played for before joining the NHL back in 1984 for a long, productive career.
  • Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) examined several potential trade scenarios for the deadline, giving his take on what it would take to acquire some of the top rentals. Chris Kreider is the first name he writes on, reporting that eight teams have told the New York Rangers that “they’ve got Kreider at the top of their wish list.” LeBrun’s speculative trade will turn a lot of heads, as he suggests a package similar to the one that New York received for Kevin Hayes last year.

New York Rangers Loan Lias Andersson To SHL

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The New York Rangers announced they have loaned suspended forward Lias Andersson to HV71 of the SHL. While the team had been looking for a potential trade partner for their disgruntled forward since he walked out on his AHL team on Dec. 21, the team has decided that allowing him to play overseas for now is the best case for his continued development and could drum up some interest before the trade deadline.

Despite being drafted seventh-overall back in 2017, Andersson hasn’t lived up to his billing, having scored just six points in 42 games with the Rangers in 2018-19 and got even less playing time this year. In 17 games with New York, Andersson played mostly on the fourth line, averaging just 9:33 per night, and tallied just one assist in that time. He was eventually assigned to the Hartford Wolf Pack where he scored four goals and five points in 13 games, but was also seeing a decline in his playing time, which wasn’t going to help him return to the Rangers squad. Unhappy with his playing time and frustrated that he still wasn’t with the Rangers, Andersson choose to walk away from the team and demanded a trade, where the team responded by suspending him. He returned to his home country of Sweden not long after that.

Since then, Andersson has been in direct contact with Rangers team president John Davidson for the past few weeks and was rumored to be working out with a low-level team in Sweden. The 21-year-old should be quite familiar with HV71 as he played with the team for two years before he was drafted, scoring nine goals and 19 points as a 17-year-old in 2016-17.

With little trade value at the moment, the Rangers have to hope that Andersson can continue his development in the SHL and improve that value, although it would seem unlikely that all that can happen before the trade deadline. Being a seventh-overall pick, New York would expect a solid return for a 21-year-old player and aren’t likely to give the youngster away for less than that. If Andersson can become one of the team’s top players and put up some numbers over there, he could improve his stock and either opt to return to the team or give the team a better chance to trade him.

Snapshots: Chara, Caggiula, Gustafsson

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Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara was a surprise absence from the lineup on Thursday night, with the team providing little indication before puck drop that he would not be available. However, the reasoning is tied to the only cause of missed action for Chara dating back to the 2019 postseason. Chara suffered a fractured jaw in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Final and missed the remainder of the game, though he admirably returned for Games Five through Seven. Chara underwent surgery this summer, but was healthy by training camp and the 42-year-old has not dealt with any other injuries so far this year. Chara only missed his first game of the season back in December due to a clean-up procedure on his jaw. Now, it seems the jaw has stuck again, after Chara took a couple of good shots from the Nashville Predators’ Yakov Trenin in a fight on Tuesday night. There has been no time frame provided for Chara’s return to action, as this could simply just be soreness related to the surgically-repaired jaw, which would lend itself to the late announcement that he would not play. The Bruins will be happy to have their veteran leader back whenever he is ready, as the iconic defenseman continues to play big minutes for Boston.

  • Drake Caggiula has returned to the lineup for the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday after having missed nearly two months with a concussion. Caggiula, who was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers last season, is hoping he can return to the same level of production he flashed after initially arriving in Chicago, recording 12 points in 26 games. Caggiula had just four points through 15 games to begin this season, but the opportunity is there for the two-way forward to take on a bigger role for the offense-challenged Blackhawks.
  • Winnipeg Jets rookie David Gustafsson played his first 22 games of the season in the NHL and then played well at the World Junior Championship. His reward? A demotion to the AHL. The Manitoba Moose report that Gustafsson has been reassigned to the team, where he will make his AHL debut after reporting directly to the Jets after coming over from Sweden this year. Gustafsson had just one lone point with the Jets before being loaned to the WJC, but if his production in the SHL and on the international stage are any indication, he could be a scoring force for the Moose and earn his way back to Winnipeg shortly.

Three Players Clear Waivers

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Monday: According to CapFriendly, all three players have cleared waivers. Holm’s contract can now be terminated.

Sunday: There are three defensemen hitting the NHL waiver wire today, though none should come as much of a surprise. New Jersey’s Matt Tennyson, who cleared waivers earlier this season, has again been waived for the purpose of reassignment to the AHL. Meanwhile, Montreal’s Christian Folin is also on waivers after being a healthy scratch for more than two months.  Chicago’s Philip Holm, who has not seen any NHL action this season, has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of contract termination.

Folin, 28, played well down the stretch with the Canadiens last season after a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers and did enough to earn a one-year extension with the team this season. Signing a one-way deal to stay in Montreal, many expected that Folin could be a regular piece of the roster this season. However, he has hardly been utilized instead, playing in five games with the Habs, seven games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket, and watching most games from the press box. After the Canadiens acquired Marco Scandella last week, it was clear that a re-shuffling of the blue line was in order and Folin is now headed back to the minor, pending safe clearance through waivers.

Tennyson, 29, has been a serviceable defender for the Devils this season, playing in 19 games already, which is equal to his past two seasons combined. Tennyson signed a two-year, two-way contract with New Jersey this summer and was expected to play the role of AHL veteran and deep depth option, but has already provided more value than that. However, he landed on the injured reserve back in early December and the Devils have gotten healthy and learned to play without him in the weeks since. Now healthy, Tennyson will return to the minors, unless another team was impressed enough with his early-season play to claim the affordable depth option.

Holm, 28, returned to North America this season after spending last year in the KHL. The former SHL standout took his time coming over initially, waiting until 2017 before signing with the Vancouver Canucks. Potentially as a result of his unfamiliarity with the NHL style, Holm has struggled to translate his ability. He played in one game with the Canucks early in the 2017-18, zero with the Vegas Golden Knights following a mid-season trade, and zero with the Blackhawks this season. His opportunity and thus his production has been better in Europe, making it far from a shock that he is abandoning his one-year, two-way contract with Chicago early to pursue other options. Expect his contract to be terminated tomorrow once he clears waivers.

Mattias Norlinder Signs Extension In Sweden

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The Montreal Canadiens have plenty of questions among their defense corps right now, but it seems as though some answers are coming in the way of top prospects. Alexander Romanov was a second-round pick in 2018 but looks like he’ll be coming over before long, and Mattias Norlinder has already raised his stock considerably since being selected in the third round last June.

Norlinder, 19, has been excellent this season for MODO in the Swedish second league, scoring 14 points in 28 games. He was recently named to the Swedish World Junior team alongside an elite defensive group, and teammates are convinced he’ll make the NHL one day. That won’t be next year though, as Norlinder has signed a one-year extension with MODO to continue his development in Sweden for 2020-21.

To be sure, the Canadiens will be watching his play closely as he takes on more responsibility with his club team. If MODO can win promotion to the SHL all the better, but even without that he has become a prospect to keep your eye on. With Cole Caufield set to star for Team USA at the upcoming World Junior tournament, we may even see some battles between future teammates in the coming weeks.

Adam Boqvist Not Joining Team Sweden

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After already deciding that Kirby Dach wouldn’t be heading to the World Junior Championship later this month, the Chicago Blackhawks have come to the same conclusion regarding Adam Boqvist. The young defenseman will not join Team Sweden for the event and has been replaced by Arizona Coyotes prospect Victor Soderstrom on the roster.

Boqvist, 19, played his ninth game of the season for the Blackhawks last night, getting 15 minutes of ice time in a loss to the St. Louis Blues. The Blackhawks collapsed in the third period to blow a 3-0 lead and now sit at 12-15-6 on the season. Despite their team struggles, management has obviously decided that getting Dach and Boqvist more NHL experience is more important than any success they could have overseas against other junior-aged players.

Interestingly, the next game that Boqvist plays for the Blackhawks is an important one. It would trigger his entry-level contract for this season, making him a restricted free agent in the summer of 2022. That is already the case for Dach, who now has 27 NHL games under his belt since going third overall last June.

Soderstrom meanwhile will get an exciting opportunity in Boqvist’s place. The 11th overall pick from 2019, Soderstrom is already one of the most polished two-way defensive prospects in the game. Already with most of a season under his belt at the SHL level a year ago, he’s back at the highest level in Sweden this season and finding great success. With nine points he leads all defenseman in scoring for Brynas, despite having played just 15 out of their 24 games. He’ll join an elite Swedish defense corps that still may get Rasmus Sandin from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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