Snapshots: Koytk, Kansas City, Wolski
Chris Drury has made one of his first signings as GM of the Hartford Wolf Pack, inking college free agent Brenden Kotyk to an AHL contract. The huge defender (6’6″ 240-lbs) spent the past three years with the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he continued to develop as a defender. It’s hard to project much for Kotyk as he is already 25 years old and will turn 26 before the season starts, but perhaps he’s turned a corner and can compete professionally.
At the very least he’ll offer a big body who won’t shy away from physical play and could add a presence to the Wolf Pack penalty kill. He’s obviously already big enough to compete at the next level, but whether his skating and decision making is good enough to keep up is still up for debate. In the National Championship game against Denver this spring, Kotyk was on the ice the second Pioneers goal, in which Troy Terry and Jarid Lukosevicius exposed his ability to defend the front of the net. Though it’s just one example, it points to the part of his game that he’ll need to improve and rely upon at the next level.
- The Calgary Flames have announced a new ECHL affiliation, partnering with the Kansas City Mavericks for the 2017-18 season. Previously known as the Missouri Mavericks, the franchise had been associated with the New York Islanders but will now work with the Flames on a year-to-year agreement. The Flames were affiliated with the Adirondack Thunder last season, who will announce a new affiliation in the coming days.
- Wojtek Wolski is back in hockey, signing a two-year deal with Kunlun of the KHL. The former NHL forward suffered a career-threatening injury last year when playing with Magnitogorsk, sliding head first into the boards with an opposing player on his back. He suffered spinal cord trauma, fractured vertebrae in his neck and a concussion on the play, and was at risk of never playing again. He’ll return less than a year later, and try to reinvigorate a career that had found new life in the KHL. After several unsuccessful stints with teams in the NHL since his departure from the Colorado Avalanche, Wolski went to the KHL in 2013 and has produced quite well ever since. At 31, there is a chance he could try a comeback to the NHL after this contract expires, but we likely have seen the last of the former first-round pick.
Snapshots: Spooner, Islanders, Berube, Russell
Bruins forward Ryan Spooner is coming off a bit of a down season but despite that, “the interest is out there” for his services around the league, reports CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Two years ago, he tallied a career high 49 points but that dipped down to 39 this season while his role diminished a bit as the season went on, a trend that continued in the playoffs where he was a healthy scratch at one point.
The 25 year old is set to become a restricted free agent in July and is due a qualifying offer of $1.1MM, one he will undoubtedly receive whether it’s from Boston or another organization. Haggerty adds that the Bruins gave prospect Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson some indications that he is in their immediate plans for next season and the youngster would likely fit in nicely in Spooner’s spot on the depth chart. There’s no guarantee Spooner will be dealt between now and the expansion draft but it appears that he’s certainly in play as GM Don Sweeney looks to shake up his roster.
Elsewhere around the league:
- The Islanders do not plan to ask either winger Andrew Ladd or defenseman Johnny Boychuk to waive their no-move clauses in advance of the Expansion Draft at this time, GM Garth Snow told Newsday’s Arthur Staple. The challenges that they face are well-documented and if either veteran were to consider waiving it, it would free New York up to protect some other core players from the Golden Knights.
- Although Craig Berube has interviewed for both the head coaching vacancies in Florida and Buffalo, CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio reports (Twitter link) that will not land either job. Berube was the head coach for AHL Chicago this season but with the Golden Knights taking over as primary affiliate for that team next year in place of St. Louis, they have brought in their own head coach with today’s hiring of Rocky Thompson. TSN’s Darren Dreger suggests via Twitter that Berube could wind up as an associate coach with the Blues.
- The Oilers opened up brief contract talks with the agent for defenseman Kris Russell on Tuesday, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports (Twitter link). Both sides have been vocal about their desire for a reunion but Edmonton is expected to deal with a new contract for center Leon Draisaitl and an extension for center Connor McDavid before really getting into more substantive discussions with Russell (or any other free agents). The 30 year old is coming off a one year, $3.1MM pact that he got just before the start of the season and will likely be looking for more on the open market.
Snapshots: Second Overall, Jackman, Rinne
The Philadelphia Flyers will listen to teams calling about the second-overall pick according to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post, but don’t expect them to make any deals. After moving up in the draft lottery, the Flyers have a chance to pick an elite talent at No. 2 in Nico Hischier or Nolan Patrick and continue building towards a contender down the road.
With Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov and others making an impact already, the Flyers look like they’ll have a real chance to surround Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek with enough talent to compete before they start to decline. Both stars are signed long-term for over $8MM, and still have enough good years left to be around when this year’s pick makes a real impact. The top prospects have been doing interviews at the NHL Combine, and will both participate in all the fitness testing this weekend.
- Barret Jackman is back in St. Louis after the team hired him today as their new development coach. Jackman retired from the NHL last fall after 14 years, and will now take on a role coaching the young players coming through the system. The 876-game veteran played all but one NHL season in St. Louis and recorded 186 points over his career. Never much of an offensive guy, he instead offered reliable defensive structure and penalty killing, eating up minutes on the back end against tough competition. Winning the Calder trophy for Rookie of the Year in 2003, he’ll be able to relate to kids coming into the league at a young age and finding success, only to struggle through the next few seasons.
- Pekka Rinne was in the starter’s net today at practice for the Nashville Predators, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. After being pulled in Game 2 and replaced by Juuse Saros, there has been much speculation whether Rinne would be given the net for Game 3 tomorrow night. It looks like for at least another game, Peter Laviolette will go with the guy who got him here and give Rinne another chance.
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Newell Brown is in consideration for an assistant coaching position alongside Travis Green this season. Brown was fired by the Arizona Coyotes earlier this spring after another poor special teams effort last season. He coached with the Canucks for three seasons prior to going to the Coyotes, and was part of the staff that took Vancouver to the finals in 2011.
Snapshots: Kovalchuk, Quenneville, Thornton
Despite rumors out of Russia that Ilya Kovalchuk was now considering staying in the KHL next season, Devils GM Ray Shero told Mike Morreale of NHL.com that the sniper is still pursing NHL opportunities. Shero spoke with Kovalchuk’s agent yesterday, and is waiting on his camp to make a decision.
I can’t go out calling teams because that’s a waste of my time. He’s going to tell [us] where he wants to play and in the end, if that does work out and it’s not the Devils, then I’ve got to see if that makes sense for us to do that.
Kovalchuk would be an interesting addition to many teams around the league, but can’t officially sign a new contract or be traded until July 1st. A sign-and-trade this summer is the most likely scenario, though he could wait another year to become an unrestricted free agent and able to sign with any team in the league. That said, a contract next summer would come at the age of 35, and with it the restrictions 35+ contracts contain.
- The New York Islanders have extended a “bona fide offer” to draft pick David Quenneville, in order to retain his rights for another year. This information almost never comes out officially, but in order to keep his exclusive negotiating rights until next June the offer needed to be submitted today. Quenneville, the brother of New Jersey forward John Quenneville and second cousin to Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, was drafted in the seventh round last summer and enjoyed a successful season for the Medicine Hat Tigers.
- The Florida Panthers have officially welcomed former player Shawn Thornton into their front office as Vice President, Business Operations. It had previously been reported that Thornton was headed for the business side of the game after retirement, and he’ll now work with President Matthew Caldwell. The veteran of 705 NHL games is known for his charitable work in the community with programs like the Shawn Thornton Foundation and the Pucks and Punches for Parkinson’s golf tournament.
- Vegas has a new ECHL affiliate, announcing a partnership with the Quad City Mallards today. The Mallards had previously been affiliated with the Minnesota Wild who, according to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, will have a new ECHL team announced next week. The Golden Knights had previously announced their AHL affiliate as the Chicago Wolves, and now will have two minor league teams to fill as they look to build a pipeline of young talent.
Snapshots: Orlov, Kuznetsov, Schultz, Patrick
While Washington GM Brian MacLellan’s suggestion that he’d consider trading Alex Ovechkin if the right ‘hockey deal’ came up down the road dominated the headlines yesterday, there were several other topics that came up during his session with the media.
Among those was a note regarding pending restricted free agents Dmitry Orlov and Evgeni Kuznetsov. There have already been reports that CSKA Moscow has expressed an interest in Orlov while KHL teams in general are making a concerted effort to bring Russian players back home and are hoping that the non-Olympic participation could work in their favor. Despite that, MacLellan noted to reporters, including Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Mid-Atlantic, that he’s hopeful of getting deals done with both players within the next month and that they’re open to signing both to long-term contracts.
The cap could potentially stand in the way of both getting longer deals though. The Capitals already have $50MM committed in payroll for next season to only 11 players with several prominent unrestricted free agents (including T.J. Oshie and Karl Alzner among others) on top of Orlov and Kuznetsov which means MacLellan will have a lot of tough decisions to make in the weeks ahead.
Other notes from around the league:
- Penguins GM Jim Rutherford told Ken Campbell of The Hockey News that a new contract for Justin Schultz is his “top priority” when the playoffs end. Schultz took a $2.5MM pay cut last summer, banking on himself to have a bigger year with a full season in Pittsburgh. That’s exactly what happened as he had a career high 51 points. Pittsburgh’s cap situation could come into play though as Rutherford acknowledged that an arbitration award for Schultz – who sits one year from unrestricted free agency – could come in higher than they can afford. Accordingly, it’s likely that Pittsburgh will hope that Schultz will forego going after top dollar to stick with a system that seems to fit him perfectly.
- Top draft prospect Nolan Patrick has been medically cleared to participate in the draft combine that is set to occur this Friday and Saturday, notes NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. He was dealing with a lower body injury sustained just before the WHL postseason. Patrick is ranked first overall for the upcoming draft by NHL Central Scouting and has already met with representatives from the Devils who hold the first overall pick.
Snapshots: Miller, Weal, Vegas
According to Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun, the Canucks are expecting to re-sign Ryan Miller at some point before next season. GM Jim Benning hinted at such an extension recently when he explained that having solid goaltending is a big part of developing young players. Allowing them to know that they have a chance each night is beneficial even if the team doesn’t have intentions on competing for the Stanley Cup.
If Vancouver is so certain that they can re-sign Miller, they would likely wait until after the expansion draft and take their chances with any pitch Vegas may have for him. While the Golden Knights will have three days to try and convince any free agents to sign with them, inking Miller to an extension and then leaving him unprotected would be even more risky for the Canucks.
- Pierre LeBrun has been sitting down with GMs all week at the Draft Combine, and the venerable insider has a few more notes to pass along. First, he reports that Jordan Weal‘s agent met with Philadelphia GM Ron Hextall today. Despite being just 25, Weal will hit the open market on July 1st as a Group VI free agent if they don’t find common ground. The third-round pick has a ton of scoring ability and has dominated the AHL level since entering professional hockey. In 23 games with the Flyers this year, he registered 12 points and showed he may be ready for the next level.
- In his chats, LeBrun also has heard that Vegas may be able to get a first-round pick in exchange for taking on a bad contract from a team in the league. Earlier today there was a report that the Golden Knights would be allowed to select Trevor van Riemsdyk from the Blackhawks in return for taking Marcus Kruger off their hands, and this is no different. The Golden Knights will likely have plenty of side deals for some bad contracts as they look to collect as many assets as possible in their first few years.
Snapshots: Bennett, Ryan, Housley
One of the interesting nuggets from Elliotte Friedman’s latest “30 Thoughts” column for Sportsnet was that the Anaheim Ducks may have some interest in Calgary Flames’ underperforming Sam Bennett. While he didn’t go into detail on it in the column, he was asked about it today on Sportsnet 960 in Calgary.
I’ve heard that the Ducks like Sam Bennett. I’ve heard there’s people in that organization who like him. So I could see the possibility of something being there. But if you look at [Ducks GM] Bob Murray’s history, he’s done two deals with Vancouver. [Ryan] Kesler and [Kevin] Bieksa. He did one with Edmonton. Patrick Maroon. The rest of his deals are all East: Bobby Ryan to Ottawa. Frederik Andersen to Toronto. James Wisniewski to Carolina. Kyle Palmieri to New Jersey. He prefers to send guys out East.
Friedman does admit again that the Ducks would be interested in Bennett, but throws cold water on the whole idea saying that Murray wouldn’t want his defenseman “torturing him” for the next few seasons. It is interesting though that the Ducks would have interest in Bennett, who has had trouble at the center ice position and struggled to contribute offensively this year. Perhaps they would convert him to a winger, something that Calgary will need to consider once again going into next season.
- As we wrote about earlier today, Ottawa Senators forward Bobby Ryan may have pushed himself back into the discussion about expansion protection with his standout playoffs. Jared Clinton of The Hockey News doesn’t think so though as he lists Ryan among his players that have built-in protection due to their cap hits. Ryan himself thinks he’s “pretty safe”, telling the media that he doesn’t think Vegas would want his $7.25MM cap-hit. Ryan currently has a no-movement clause of sorts, but it is not the same as say, Dion Phaneuf‘s clause that will force him to be protected should he not waive it. Ryan is not on the list of automatic protection, as his clause only stops movement to the minors. He doesn’t need to waive it to be exposed.
- Harvey Fialkov of the Sun Sentinal reported yesterday that the Florida Panthers are indeed waiting for Phil Housley to finish his current run with the Nashville Predators before interviewing him for the vacant head coaching job. Panthers’ GM Dale Tallon would need to get permission from the Predators to talk to their assistant head coach, but most organizations don’t stand in the way as long as it is a promotion. Housley has been with the Predators for four years, and is considered a lock for a future head coaching job. The Hall of Fame defenseman put up 1232 points in 1495 games and is one of the greatest American-born players of all-time.
Snapshots: Penguins, Dubas, Miller
The Pittsburgh Penguins won in thrilling double-overtime fashion last night to become the first team since 2009 to head to a second straight Stanley Cup Final. That 2009 team was of course another iteration of the Sidney Crosby-led Penguins, a group which would capture the franchise’s first championship since 1992. The team is looking to repeat as champions this year, which would be the first such feat in the salary cap era.
Amazingly, they’ve gone this far without their top defenseman Kris Letang playing a single game. Like last year, when the team brought in Trevor Daley and Carl Hagelin at the deadline, smaller moves have proved invaluable to the Penguins. Ron Hainsey played over 30 minutes for the Penguins last night, and has been a key contributor to a blueline decimated by injuries. The fact it took 907 regular season contests before ever suiting up for a NHL playoff game is a staggering thought, one that Hainsey would love to forget with a victory in the Finals this season.
- Though this week it was reported that the Colorado Avalanche had requested and been given permission to talk to Toronto Maple Leafs Assistant General Manager Kyle Dubas it seems as though a hiring is off the table. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on the Boomer & Warrener radio show this morning, and said that “that window is closed” and that “it’s over”. Friedman specifies that he thinks that it was Toronto who “closed the window” not letting Dubas follow through with the process. Dubas is an up-and-coming GM candidate in Toronto, and is part of a crowded front office with Lou Lamoriello and Mark Hunter. It was surprising in the first place that Toronto would let him interview for what would likely be a lateral move, seeing as Joe Sakic seems safe for now in Colorado.
- Ben Kuzma of The Province spoke with Vancouver GM Jim Benning yesterday, specifically about unrestricted free agent Ryan Miller. The Canucks GM said that he does want to bring Miller back, explaining that even in a rebuild solid goaltending is an important factor in development. “There’s no worse feeling than trying to develop young players and get them up and going when you know you don’t have a chance to win,” said Benning, a similar stance to how John Chayka has referred to Mike Smith in Arizona. Bringing back Miller would be interesting, as it would likely be in a part-time role as Jacob Markstrom‘s new deal kicks in and the team needs to see if he is a real #1 for them. Miller played the lion’s share of the games last season, starting 54 of 82 contests.
Snapshots: Price, Johansen, Cincinnati
Beginning on July 1, several notable players will be eligible to sign contract extensions ahead of the final year of their contracts. Connor McDavid is the biggest name, but Carey Price is in a similar stratosphere.
The superstar goaltender is entering the final year of his six-year, $39MM contract ($6.5MM AAV), signed back in 2012. Price has a no-move clause (NMC) which allows him to submit a list of 15-team trade list.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin and Price’s agent Gerry Johansson will meet next week to begin discussions. The two have had some preliminary discussions at the World Championships earlier this month, but have not had any “real negotiations” yet. The two sides are reportedly aiming to have something ready for Price to sign on July 1.
The Price contract will have a big impact on the Canadiens’ plans going forward. While he could command in the neighborhood of $10MM, that would negatively impact Bergevin’s ability to bring in offensive help, something the Canadiens desperately need.
- Nashville center Ryan Johansen appeared on TSN 1040 in Vancouver, and opened up about his season-ending injury and comments about Ducks shut-down center Ryan Kesler. Johansen took a hit from Josh Manson, and was going to pull himself out of the game when the game ended in overtime. By the time Johansen hit the showers, he was unable to walk and had emergency surgery just hours later. He’s expected to make a full recovery, which is good news considering the serious risks related to acute compartment syndrome. Regarding Kesler, Johansen said his only regret was not being able to shake the Ducks’ hands at the end of the series.
- The Buffalo Sabres have found a new AA affiliate, signing an agreement with the Cincinnati Cyclones. The Sabres’ previous ECHL affiliate, the Elmira Jackals, folded earlier this year. The Cyclones were previously affiliated with the Nashville Predators organization. This isn’t the first time there has been an agreement between Buffalo and Cincinnati; back in the 1970s, the Sabres had the Cincinnati Swords as their AHL affiliate. With the AHL above them, the ECHL is generally low on NHL prospects; just four Sabres prospects played in Elmira last season.
Snapshots: Lee, Updated NHLes, Draft Prospects
Only one member of Canada’s silver medal-winning team at the World Championships was from outside the NHL, and he wants that to change.
Chris Lee has played the last four seasons with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL. He’s also played in the DEL and SHL in the seven years he’s spent overseas. In 2016-17, Lee scored 65 points in 60 games to lead all defensemen in the KHL by 27 points, setting a KHL record. Using Rob Vollman’s NHL equivalencies (more on those later), Lee would have had 66 points in the NHL this season. That would have put him fourth in the NHL behind only Brent Burns, Victor Hedman, and Erik Karlsson. Obviously it’s somewhat unlikely that a 37-year-old rookie would score 66 points, but Lee’s NHLe demonstrates that there is a player there. He drew into the Canadian’s lineup after Tyson Barrie was injured in a hotel room wrestling match with a teammate. Lee had two assists in seven games with Canada.
KHL insider Aivis Kalniņš reported that the 6′, 185 lbs Lee has left Magnitogorsk with hopes of signing in the NHL. One team who could be interested is the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres recently signed Lee’s KHL defensive partner Viktor Antipin and could look to re-unite the pair in North America.
- Back to NHL equivalencies (NHLe), Rob Vollman recently released updated translation factors. The number is essentially an educated estimate of how a player’s stats would translate to the NHL. Here’s a look at the updated numbers. To use Lee as an example, he scored 65 points in 60 games. Sixty-five points in 60 games works out to 88 points in 82 games. But because the KHL is a lesser league than the NHL, you multiply 88 by 0.74.
| KHL | 0.74 |
| SHL | 0.58 |
| AHL | 0.47 |
| Liiga, NLA | 0.43 |
| Hockey East | 0.38 |
| Big 10 | 0.33 |
| CHL | 0.3 to 0.25 |
- Looking back at recent top draft picks since 2010, most are in the 40-point range. There were some notable exceptions in 2015, with Connor McDavid posting a 67-point NHLe. Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Dylan Strome all had 50-point-plus NHLes.
- Speaking of high draft picks, Corey Pronman released an unusual draft ranking over at ESPN (Insider post). Pronman ranked top picks of the last five years based on his views of them on draft day. This leads to some unusual rankings, like Nico Hischier and Nolan Patrick being ranked above Leon Draisaitl. Pronman’s top five featured McDavid, Patrik Laine, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, and Eichel. Other oddities include Jesse Puljujärvi being ranked sixth, above players like Aaron Ekblad (9), Mitch Marner (13), and William Nylander (15).
- This draft class tops out at Hischier at 22, Patrick at 24, Gabriel Vilardi at 25, Cody Glass at 28, and Nick Suzuki at 29. The 2017 draft has the fewest players in Pronman’s top 30, while 2014 leads the way with seven.