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Snapshots: Edvinsson, Rangers Defense, Staios

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With this year’s unusual August World Juniors, it’s not a surprise to see some of the biggest prospects skip the tournament in order to prepare for upcoming NHL training camps, and potentially NHL seasons. Still, not all have done that and a few players who are likely to play in the league next year, have opted to represent their country in the tournament. Among them are Mason McTavish, Kent Johnson, and Simon Edvinsson. The sixth-overall selection in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft to the Detroit Red Wings, Edvinsson has hopes, and a real chance, to make Detroit’s opening night roster after signing his entry-level contract back in April.

Considering the likelihood that Edvinsson will not only be at Red Wings training camp in a few short weeks but also be expected to play a full season, his first, in Hockey Town, it’s interesting to see him join Sweden at the tournament. However, as Edvinsson told Steven Ellis of The Hockey News, “I talked to Detroit about it, we had a conversation, and everything went good. I’m focused on this tournament now and after that, I’ll go back to Detroit…I’m hungry for (training camp), but right now we need to win this.” It’s not surprising to learn Edvinsson consulted the Red Wings about his decision to play, but the defenseman’s winning attitude, sacrificing himself and elongating a very important season for the sake of winning is surely encouraging to Detroit, who are hoping to develop a top pairing defenseman in Edvinsson alongside Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider.

  • Larry Brooks of the New York Post wonders if the New York Rangers could make one more move by bringing in a low-cost left defenseman for the team’s third pair. Brooks cites Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant’s preference for size, especially among defenseman, and the current projection of Zachary Jones and Libor Hajek splitting time in that spot. Jones, listed at 5’11 and 185 pounds, doesn’t possess much in the way of size, though he is a talented young player who could see more ice time now as part of his development, having averaged just 15:05 of time-on-ice in 22 career regular season games. At 6’2 and 203 pounds, Hajek possesses some of that size, but as a healthy scratch for a whopping 60 games last season, seeing him jump to a full-time or even platoon role next year for a Rangers team looking for a Stanley Cup might be a bit of a question mark. The team has just over $1MM in available cap space with players like Danny DeKeyser, Ryan Murray, and especially the 6’6 Ben Harpur representing players that fit the bill: inexpensive left-defensemen with size.
  • One of the newest members of the Florida Panthers organization, defenseman Nathan Staios told NHL.com’s Alain Poupart that he’s going to do his best to try to make the Panthers out of training camp, but understands the likely trajectory of his development. “Wherever they want me, I’m good,” Staios said. “I’m gonna work my hardest to make the big team, but a couple years of development in the AHL, I’m totally good with that. And I’m really looking forward to that as well,” Staios added. Trusting the process with his development will be necessary for the Ontario native, just as it is any prospect, but after a slow yet steady rise in his value as a prospect, his eagerness to continue this way will be an essential part of the 21-year-old’s success. Having been undrafted by an NHL team, Staios continued to work on his game in the OHL, breaking out after a trade from the Windsor Spitfires to the Hamilton Bulldogs prior to the 2019-20 season. This season, though, vaulted Staios to legitimate prospect status, as he tallied 15 goals and 51 assists in 59 games from the blueline for a talented Hamilton squad.

Snapshots: Miller, Ruff, DeBoer

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All summer there has been chatter about J.T. Miller and the Vancouver Canucks, with reports swinging between extension talks and trade speculation as the star forward approaches unrestricted free agency. Signed for just one more season, the Canucks have been clear that they would love to keep Miller but it has to be at a price they feel comfortable with.

On the latest Dropping the Gloves podcast with former NHL enforcer John Scott, Miller spoke about his situation and admitted that his camp and the Canucks are “not as close” as they would like to be at this point. Miller continued to suggest that he wants to stay in Vancouver if possible but understands that it might not be possible.

  • Lindy Ruff spoke with team reporter Amanda Stein about the New Jersey Devils offseason acquisitions, gushing about the addition of Ondrej Palat. Explaining that Palat will be “big-time” for the team, Ruff was clear with the goal for this year. Development time is over and the veteran coach must now “make sure that this team gets to the playoffs.”
  • In an interview with Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun, former Golden Knights head coach Pete DeBoer admitted that he was surprised to be fired this offseason. While the team missed the playoffs for the first time in their history, they still finished with a 43-31-8 record, despite missing several key players for a huge part of the season. In fact, DeBoer had a 98-50-12 regular season record with Vegas over parts of three seasons and reached the third round in both of the first two years. DeBoer is now with the Dallas Stars, while Bruce Cassidy will takeover the Golden Knights.

Snapshots: Eller, Golden Knights, DeBrincat

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With Washington’s top two centers being Evgeny Kuznetsov and newcomer Dylan Strome (with Nicklas Backstrom injured) and Connor McMichael in the mix as well, some have wondered if the Capitals should look into moving veteran middleman Lars Eller.  However, Sammi Silber of Washington Hockey Now cautions against that approach, noting that having a bit of a logjam down the middle is never a bad thing while Eller can certainly help on the defensive side of things, an area that McMichael isn’t ready to take on just yet.  With one year left at $3.5MM, Washington would have some interest if they were to shop the 33-year-old around but his best value might come later in the season compared to now when the trade market is not yielding top returns for veteran players.

More from around the hockey world:

  • While the season-ending injury to Robin Lehner has many thinking that the Golden Knights need to acquire a goaltender, Vegas’ Ken Boehlke argues that the best move they could make is to make no move at all. That will allow them to evaluate whether the core of this roster is truly good enough to contend and assess the readiness of Logan Thompson to be a full-time NHL goaltender.  If they’re in the playoff picture midseason, that approach would also give them a bit of cap flexibility to try to add thanks to LTIR as they won’t have spent Lehner’s $5MM at that point.  Vegas hasn’t shown much patience in their brief NHL tenure but there’s definitely a case to be made for them to have some now.
  • In his latest mailbag column (subscription link), Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that Alex DeBrincat didn’t show interest in signing a long-term deal with the Blackhawks before his trade to Ottawa last month. The 24-year-old was only eligible to sign an extension at the start of the new league year on July 13th (a few days after the swap) and is owed a qualifying offer of $9MM next summer.  That amount will likely be the starting point for extension negotiations with the Senators as he’s coming off his second 41-goal campaign over the last four years.

Snapshots: Larkin, Kolesar, Luypen

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After changing agents earlier this offseason, it felt like Dylan Larkin and the Red Wings would be able to work out a long-term contract extension to keep the captain with his hometown team.  However, it has yet to happen so far.  In his latest mailbag for The Athletic (subscription link), Max Bultman tried to peg where a new deal should fall for the 26-year-old, suggesting Mika Zibanejad and Evgeny Kuznetsov as viable comparables.  Those players took up a little more than 10% at the time their deals would sign which would peg Larkin’s price tag around the $8.6MM range.  That would certainly represent a sizable increase on his current $6.1MM AAV and it doesn’t hurt that Larkin is coming off a 69-point season, the second-most of his career.  There’s still plenty of time to get a deal done but it’s a bit surprising that an agreement isn’t yet in place.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Although he underwent offseason surgery after missing the final three games of the season due to a lower-body injury, Golden Knights winger Keegan Kolesar told reporters, including Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal (Twitter link) that he will be ready to return by training camp next month. The 25-year-old had 24 points in 77 games last season which helped him to earn a three-year, $4.2MM contract last week to avoid salary arbitration.  With Max Pacioretty and Mattias Janmark moving on this summer, Kolesar could be in line for a bit more playing time next season.
  • After signing his entry-level deal earlier this month, Blackhawks prospect Jalen Luypen is on the move in the WHL. Tri-City announced that they’ve acquired the 20-year-old from Edmonton in a swap that included multiple conditional draft picks that are likely dependent on where the forward plays next season.  Chicago could turn Luypen pro with AHL Rockford or send him back to junior for an overage year where he’d try to improve on the 64 points in the 66 games he played last season.

Snapshots: Samoskevich, Avalanche, Michigan

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Some college prospects have a plan for when they want to turn pro.  First-round picks, in particular, are often staying for just a year or two before making the jump.  That was the case for several of Michigan’s players last season with one of the exceptions being Panthers prospect Mackie Samoskevich.  The 19-year-old told NHL.com’s Alain Poupart that he doesn’t have a set time in mind for turning pro.  He had 29 points in 40 games for the Wolverines in his freshman year and with several prominent players from 2021-22 making the jump to the pros already, Samoskevich will be in line for a bigger role next season.  How he performs with that opportunity will go a long way towards helping Florida determine if they want him turning pro after that.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • While it’s understandable that Colorado wants to remain in the mix for free agent center Nazem Kadri, Paul Kiszla of the Denver Post suggests that the Avalanche should start to look at other options either by trade or by bringing back someone like Paul Stastny. The Avs don’t have enough money to bring back the 32-year-old at his desired asking price while a deal that might fit in better with their financial structure – the scribe suggests a $6.5MM AAV for four years – also would require some subtraction from their current roster.  Colorado can afford some patience with Kadri’s camp while the market has basically come to a complete halt but at some point, they may need to start looking at alternate plans to fill out their roster for next season.
  • After parting ways with Mel Pearson a few days ago, Michigan has decided to promote from within as they named Brandon Naurato as their interim coach for the upcoming season. The 37-year-old joined the Wolverines as an assistant coach last season after spending three years with Detroit as a Player Development consultant.  Michigan has lost Owen Power, Matthew Beniers, Thomas Bordeleau, and several others but they still have seven NHL draft picks on the roster for next season.

Snapshots: Hlinka Gretzky, Kolesar, Kadri

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The Hlinka Gretzky Cup concluded tonight with Team Canada defeating Team Sweden 4-1 to take first place and the gold medal. As impressive as a gold medal is, saying just that wouldn’t begin to tell the entire story for Canada’s 2022 Hlinka Gretzky run. For one, the team was undefeated throughout the tournament, and in the process they outscored opponents by a jaw-dropping 34-3 score. In addition to the dominant performance, the Canadians were able to show their dominance on home ice, as the tournament was hosted in Red Deer, Alberta.

Denver Barkey of the London Knights was named the most outstanding player of the gold medal game, while Oshawa Generals forward Calum Ritchie led the tournament in scoring. In net, Canada’s Scott Ratzlaff had the best performance ever by a Canadian goalie in the tournament with three or more games played, as far as goals-against average and save-percentage are concerned, says Brock Otten of McKeens Hockey (link). Otten adds that while most of the top Canadian prospects in the 2005 class held their standard, Ethan Gauthier, Colby Barlow, and Caden Price were able to elevate their game, and thus their standing as prospects (link).

  • SinBin Vegas’s Ken Boehlke discusses Keegan Kolesar’s new three-year, $1.5MM AAV contract he signed recently to avoid arbitration with the Vegas Golden Knights (link). In sum, Boehlke classifies the contract as a win-win for both sides, Vegas getting a cost-controlled fourth-liner and Kolesar getting $4.5MM guaranteed despite not scoring much at the NHL level. What is notable Boehlke says, is that Kolesar’s lack of scoring (just seven goals in 77 games last season) could correlate to his below-average 7.4% shooting percentage and if he can at the least improve his shooting percentage to league average, he could increase his goal total, making him worth a good bit more than the $1.5MM cap hit he currently holds. Even if not, Kolesar has proven himself to be a reliable grinder for the Golden Knights’ bottom-six and at $1.5MM still represents a good value deal for the normally cap-strapped organization.
  • According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, it appears free agent forward Nazem Kadri’s asking price has not come down and the requested AAV still begins with at least a “9” (link). If that is indeed the case, it may provide a hint as to why Kadri remains unsigned, with many teams having spent up to or relatively close to the salary cap. Several teams have the room to sign Kadri, but if he is also looking to go to a team that has a real chance at a Stanley Cup, his options may be slim. Soon-to-be 32, if Kadri is able to regularly repeat his breakout 87 point performance from this season, a $9MM AAV contract would be worth it for the two-way star, but otherwise it could wind up a salary cap issue, even if he’s still a solid performer.

Snapshots: Free Agents, Oesterle, Bolduc

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Nearly a month into free agency, several notable UFAs remain unsigned.  One agent suggested to Adam Proteau of The Hockey News that it might be a strategy on their part.  At this point, not many teams have cap space to offer contracts that are well above the minimum salary.  However, if they wait until training camp or even early in the season when injuries arise, those teams might be able to use LTIR and potentially offer a higher salary than they’d be able to now.  That approach certainly carries some risk but in an open market that has been tighter than expected for some veterans this summer, it could work out in the end for one or two of them if that is the route they’re taking.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • With Detroit adding Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, Robert Hagg, and the injured Mark Pysyk this offseason, Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News pegs blueliner Jordan Oesterle as someone whose roster spot for next season could be in question. The 30-year-old played a limited role last season as he had eight points in 45 games while averaging a little over 18 minutes a night.  With a $1.35MM AAV, that’s on the more expensive end for depth defenders although if the Red Wings were to waive him and send him down if he cleared, they’d be able to clear all but $225K off their cap for next season.
  • With the Blues having some openings at the bottom of their roster, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that there’s a chance that Zachary Bolduc could break camp with St. Louis to start next season. The 2021 first-round pick is coming off a dominant year with Quebec of the QMJHL where he scored 55 goals and added 44 assists in 65 games.  That could be enough to at least get him a nine-game look like Jake Neighbours received a year ago.

Snapshots: Laxdal, Clune, Klinkhammer

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The OHL’s Oshawa Generals today named Derek Laxdal the 35th head coach in team history via a press release. Laxdal, 56, had spent the last eight seasons in the Dallas Stars organization. Before he was promoted midseason to the Stars’ NHL bench as an assistant coach in 2019-20, Laxdal was the head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars from 2014-15 to 2019.

The news means that Dallas will indeed undergo a complete overhaul of their core coaching staff from last season. The organization replaced a pair of other assistants this offseason, hiring Alain Nasreddine and Steve Spott to replace Todd Nelson and John Stevens. For Laxdal, the news marks a return to the CHL after eight years, last serving there as the head coach of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings from 2010 to 2014. His resume includes an ECHL Kelly Cup win in 2007 and ECHL Coach of the Year award in 2010 as the head coach of the Idaho Steelheads, a pair of WHL championships with the Oil Kings in 2012 and 2014, and a Memorial Cup championship in 2014.

  • The AHL’s Toronto Marlies announced via Twitter today that captain and former NHLer Rich Clune has announced his retirement from professional hockey after 16 seasons, moving to a player development role with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Clune hadn’t played in the NHL since 2015-16 saw him play 19 games with the Maple Leafs, but since then, he’d been an alternate captain or captain for the Marlies, providing an important leadership voice and mentoring the Leafs’ prospects. Clune joins Toronto’s player development department headed by Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser.
  • Former NHLer Rob Klinkhammer is returning to the Chicago Blackhawks organization as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs, per a team release. The news marks Klinkhammer’s retirement after he spent the last six seasons playing in the KHL. Klinkhammer, an undrafted free agent, played for Rockford from 2008-09 through 2011-12 and made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks in the 2010-11 season.

Snapshots: Blackhawks, Barberio, Lappin

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With the Chicago Blackhawks announcing their preseason schedule today, NHL hockey will officially be coming to Milwaukee in a couple of months. The Blackhawks’ third and final preseason “home” game will see them host the Minnesota Wild at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, home of the NBA’s Bucks, on October 2.

Milwaukee has been thrown around in many circles in recent years as a potential destination for an NHL team, usually via relocation. The story was first reported by Milwaukee local news reporter Dario Melendez back in May, where he noted that it will be the first NHL action in Milwaukee since the early 1990s. The timing of the game is beneficial to getting fans in seats and generating interest in the game, as teams tend to dress rosters closer to their opening night lines later in the preseason.

  • Lausanne HC of the Swiss National League has mutually terminated the contract of defenseman Mark Barberio, an NHL veteran of eight seasons and 272 games. Barberio left for the Swiss league after hitting unrestricted free agency in 2020, where he had a successful first season but a tough second year. Serving as Lausanne’s captain for a season and a half, Barberio played just 14 games with them this year before they loaned him to Ak Bars Kazan (KHL) for six games. Barberio then played five games for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Olympics, his last hockey of the season.
  • After signing with Italian club HC Bolzano in the ICEHL, former New Jersey Devils forward Nick Lappin’s career may be in jeopardy. The team posted on Facebook today that Lappin suffered a severe back injury while training this offseason, forcing him out indefinitely. They note that the severity of the injury has Lappin, unfortunately, considering retirement, ending his first season overseas before it began. Lappin, who joined the Devils as an undrafted free agent from Brown University, played 60 NHL games for them between 2016 and 2019, registering eight points.

Snapshots: Boyle, Oettinger, Domi

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Free agent center Brian Boyle had a nice comeback season with Pittsburgh in 2021-22, recording 11 goals and 10 assists in 66 games with Pittsburgh after not playing at all the year before.  Despite that, he wasn’t tendered an offer to remain with the Penguins when free agency opened up.  However, Dave Molinari of Pittsburgh Hockey Now notes that the 37-year-old is hoping to play again next season and is hoping that a return to Pittsburgh isn’t out of the question.  After playing on a deal for the league minimum a year ago, it’s likely that Boyle’s market value would be at that level again so he’s likely to remain on the open market for a little while longer until those types of contracts start to be signed closer to the beginning of training camp.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • With Dallas likely only having enough cap space to commit a long-term deal to just one of winger Jason Robertson and goalie Jake Oettinger, both Mike Heika and Bruce LeVine of the Stars’ team website suggest that Oettinger should be the one to receive a bridge deal. The 23-year-old had a strong year with a .914 SV% and a 2.53 GAA in 48 games but there isn’t much history of young goalies bypassing bridge contracts and going straight to a long-term pact.  With just 77 career NHL appearances under his belt, a bridge deal certainly makes sense.  He has four seasons of RFA eligibility left so there would still be ample time to work out a long-term agreement before Oettinger is eligible to hit the open market.
  • Max Domi wasted little time signing with the Blackhawks in free agency, inking a one-year, $3MM deal. Choosing to go to a team that has entered an extended rebuild may seem surprising but the 27-year-old told reporters, including Charlie Roumeliotis of NBC Sports Chicago, that their decision to hire Luke Richardson prompted Domi to tell his agent that Chicago was where he wanted to go with a deal being agreed to just before free agency opened up.  Richardson was on the coaching staff with Montreal for Domi’s two seasons with the Canadiens and clearly, the new bench boss made a positive impression.

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