Snapshots: Husso, Ducks, Penguins
It’s no secret that St. Louis Blues goaltender Ville Husso had a large breakout season in 2021-22. Written off as a bust as he dealt with injury issues in the minors, the organization’s former goalie of the future finally exploded for a 25-win rookie season, earning a .919 save percentage and two shutouts along the way. It was good enough to win him the starting job for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but he had just a 2-5 record and a sub-.900 save percentage as Jordan Binnington reclaimed control of the crease (before his injury, at least).
Now, the 27-year-old Finn with just 53 NHL starts will be one of the top options for teams perusing the unrestricted free agent market for goalies. On The Jeff Marek Show earlier in the week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned the possibility of the Edmonton Oilers being interested in Husso this offseason. Friedman notes that there were rumors of the Oilers making Husso a mid-season acquisition around the turn of the calendar year, also making note of the fact that the Oilers could be without Mike Smith next season, either due to retirement or long-term injury reserve. With Edmonton already losing Mikko Koskinen this offseason, the organization needs more than just promising youngster Stuart Skinner in the crease. While Smith being unavailable may still force Skinner into an NHL role next season, it prevents him from having to be “the guy” too early in his development.
- The Anaheim Ducks are entering what could be a transformative offseason under new general manager Pat Verbeek after the organization’s young talent took big steps forward in 2021-22. In a piece for The Athletic, Eric Stephens names a list of young players who the Ducks could take a flier on to add to that talent pool, including Carolina’s Martin Necas and Ethan Bear, Edmonton’s Jesse Puljujarvi, Detroit’s Filip Zadina, and Chicago’s Dominik Kubalik. All of them have been mentioned in trade rumors recently after falling down the depth charts of their respective organizations. With a lot of turnover expected in Anaheim this offseason, due in part to the retirement of captain Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim could give a chance to one of these players to excel in more important roles.
- Continuing their run of front office announcements, the Pittsburgh Penguins today named Teena Murray as their senior vice president of integrated performance. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Mike DeFabo notes, Murray will oversee the strength and conditioning staff, rehabilitation, sports science, and medical staff, reporting directly to general manager Ron Hextall. Considering Pittsburgh’s long history of injury-prone seasons, it’s an important role to fill for this team.
Hockey Canada Names Men’s U20, U18 Team Selection Camp Rosters
As the 2022 event cycle begins to come to a close, aside from the postponed 2022 World Juniors set to take place in August, national team organizations begin to look to the 2023 calendar. Today, Hockey Canada named their rosters for the National Men’s Junior Team summer development camp, as well as the National Men’s Summer Under-18 Team selection camp.
The National Men’s Junior Team roster is comprised of talent from the 2021 NHL Draft, as well as the upcoming 2022 and 2023 NHL Drafts. Among the top NHL-affiliated talent attending the camp is Chicago Blackhawks D Nolan Allan, Columbus Blue Jackets D Corson Ceulemans, Dallas Stars F Wyatt Johnston, Los Angeles Kings D Brandt Clarke, Nashville Predators F Zachary L’Heureux, New Jersey Devils F Chase Stillman, New York Rangers F Brennan Othmann, St. Louis Blues F Zachary Bolduc, and Vegas Golden Knights F Zach Dean. Clarke was notably snubbed from the 2022 World Juniors roster.
In terms of 2022 eligibles to watch at selection camp, the list is as follows: F Luca Del Bel Belluz, F Jagger Firkus, F Nathan Gaucher, F Conor Geekie, F Ryan Greene, F Tucker Robertson, F Matthew Savoie, F Reid Schaefer, D Kevin Korchinski, D Christian Kyrou, D Tristan Luneau, D Denton Mateychuk, D Owen Pickering, G Tyler Brennan, G Chase Coward, and G Thomas Milic. Forwards Nate Danielson and Adam Fantilli also made the camp roster as 2023 eligible. Really, the only 2022 top-ten lock from that list is Savoie, but Geekie, Korchinski, and Mateychuk are also names that could work their way into the first selections.
The U18 roster is made up of 2023 and 2024 eligible players, and it’s highlighted by a trio of 2023 forwards: Zachary Benson, Matthew Wood, and Brayden Yager.
Latest On St. Louis Blues Impending UFAs
When it comes to icing a competitive roster each season, it’s hard to count out the St. Louis Blues and General Manager Doug Armstrong, and in theory, the same should hold true for 2022-23. However, Armstrong and the Blues do have a tricky task ahead of them this offseason: try to re-sign, or replace, four key UFAs this offseason, while re-signing two regular RFAs. Earlier today, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, who covers the Blues, provided updates on the status of the four impending UFAs (subscription required).
On veteran forward David Perron, Rutherford writes that the two sides are not close to an agreement, but nothing has changed in the two sides’ desire for a reunion. Rutherford points out an interesting fact, though perhaps an unfortunate one for Perron: he has signed five multi-year deals in his NHL career, and played for five NHL teams, but all five of those contracts were signed with St. Louis. Now 34, with 15 NHL seasons and a Stanley Cup on his resume, Perron will likely be in search of stability and while he has, and ultimately has not, had that in St. Louis, it would be foreseeable that he could ask for some sort of tight no-movement clause, however those have been a key sticking point in Armstrong’s negotiations in the past. When asked, Armstrong did not disclose the status of the negotiations, but Rutherford adds a source close to the negotiations informed him that the offer is likely two-years at an AAV much lower than Perron would like.
Breakout goaltender Ville Husso, after just his second NHL season, is set to hit the UFA market and as Rutherford writes, is probably not returning to St. Louis. Rutherford adds that Husso and the Blues are going to begin some sort of dialogue shortly, however the team may be priced out of re-signing him, with The Athletic forecasting a $4.1MM AAV for the 27-year-old. That figure is technically within the Blues’ range given their cap space, but given Jordan Binnington‘s rebound performance and the emergence of young goaltender Joel Hofer in the AHL, St. Louis may ultimately be better-off focusing their cap space to address needs, rather than perhaps creating a logjam in net.
Nick Leddy‘s value on the open market seems to be a popular debate topic, and rightfully so. A young Leddy compiled several strong seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks before being traded to the New York Islanders, having another excellent season ahead of a seven-year, $38.5MM extension on Long Island. The defenseman had several down years before reviving his career as a steady defenseman who excelled in transition under Barry Trotz, but was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in the summer of 2021 to alleviate cap concerns for the Islanders. Leddy struggled in Detroit, but was again dealt, landing with the Blues where he appeared to return to form.
His struggles in Detroit appear to have taken a toll on his value, with The Athletic projecting just a $1.7MM salary next season, Rutherford chalking that up to Leddy’s time in Detroit, adding that Leddy is seeking a four or five year deal at around $5MM per season. Whether or not he hits his goal, that price-tag may prove too expensive for the Blues, Rutherford adding that a discount, rooted in comfort playing for the Blues, would be what it takes to keep Leddy in the fold most likely, though that is not expected.
Lastly, Rutherford touches on Tyler Bozak, who had signed a one-year, incentive-laden $750K contract for the 2021-22 season. Bozak has seen more limited time and production since coming to St. Louis as compared to his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, however his ability to play a complete 200 foot game combined with his on and off-ice leadership, has made him a much-appreciated asset for St. Louis. Still, Rutherford says that while Bozak may be had on a similar contract for next season, a return is unlikely given the emergence of forward Alexey Toropchenko, re-signing Logan Brown, and a full-time debut of Jake Neighbours.
At $9MM in cap space, St. Louis is going to be forced to make tough decisions, and must also consider two RFAs this summer in defensemen Niko Mikkola and Scott Perunovich. Further, all of this goes without mentioning their 2023 free agent class that they have to be mindful of, which includes the likes of Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas on the RFA side and Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko on the UFA side.
West Notes: Woodcroft, Nill, Preseason
A few months ago, many would have identified the Edmonton Oilers as a team with coaching uncertainty heading into the offseason after they fired Dave Tippett mid-season. However, after their run to the Western Conference Final this year, Jay Woodcroft would appear to have earned the confidence of the team and fanbase to continue in his role. TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting today that Woodcroft and the Oilers continue to have ongoing discussions about a new contract this week, although there’s still more to be done.
With the Oilers yet to be linked publicly to any other coaching free agents, it’s becoming clear that the team prefers to retain Woodcroft as their head coach. It’s important to note that Woodcroft was fully named the head coach when he took over for Tippett; he was not given the interim title. Woodcroft led the Oilers on a 26-9-3 run to end the regular season in addition to their playoff run.
- One team that isn’t having such a smooth time with their coaching hiring process is the Dallas Stars. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that potential candidates are hesitant to commit to the Stars given the fact that general manager Jim Nill only has one year left on his deal. It’s understandable that when a coach commits long-term, they’d like to have a solid idea of the team’s vision for the future. With Nill’s future uncertain, Dallas’ new coach won’t have that guarantee.
- The Stars will be playing in two neutral-site preseason games come September and October. On October 1, they’ll be facing off against the St. Louis Blues at Cable Dahmer Arena in Kansas City, home of the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. Before that, though, they’ll be playing the Arizona Coyotes in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 27, as previously announced. It marks a return to normalcy for the NHL’s regular-season preparations.
Carter Hutton Retires From NHL
A journeyman netminder has hung up his skates today. Veteran Carter Hutton announced his retirement from the NHL today, talking with Tom Annelin of the Chronicle Journal.
Speaking with Annelin today, Hutton had the following to say on his decision:
Honestly, I’ve been preparing myself for hockey to be over in some aspect for a while… The NHL has evolved into a young man’s league. The average age is now in the early 20s, so I know that this job wouldn’t be a lifelong one for me. Ultimately, I suffered an ankle injury in early 2021, which made the decision a lot easier for me. It restricted a lot of the mobility I needed to be as effective as I once was. This, compiled with a few other things helped me decide on retirement.
The news isn’t surprising in any aspect. Hutton appeared in just three games at the beginning of the season with the Arizona Coyotes, earning a 0-2-0 record and .741 save percentage. He spent the majority of the rest of the season injured before he was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline for injury insurance there, but the team loaned him back to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He did spend a few days at Leafs practice, however.
An undrafted free agent, Hutton had a long and arduous path to NHL success. Hutton spent four years developing at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell before signing an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks for 2010-11. Hutton was the backup for the AHL affiliate in Worcester that season, posting a .902 save percentage. A restricted free agent, he was left unqualified and settled for an AHL contract with the Rockford IceHogs in 2011-12.
Strong play there got him an NHL contract later in the season and again with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13, when he made his NHL debut at age 27. As an unrestricted free agent in 2013, the Nashville Predators snapped up Hutton in free agency, where he broke into the NHL and never looked back. After stops with the Predators, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and Coyotes, Hutton retires with a career 94-90-27 record in 235 games played (207 starts), .908 save percentage, and 2.76 goals-against average, and 13 shutouts. For an undrafted free agent who wasn’t a full-time NHLer until 28, it’s an improbable and impressive resumé.
Free Agent Focus: St. Louis Blues
Free agency is now less than six weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Next up is a look at the Blues.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Niko Mikkola – It has taken a while but Mikkola has worked his way into being a full-fledged member of the back end for the Blues, albeit in still a limited capacity. The 26-year-old played in a career-high 54 games this season but was also scratched rather frequently. When he has played, he has shown some promise as a stay-at-home, physical defender that can do well on the third pairing. But at Mikkola’s age, that’s not a particularly high bar to try to meet. He’s owed a qualifying offer of just over $826K but the most notable element here is that he’s a year away from UFA eligibility. Between that and arbitration rights, Mikkola will be able to beat that qualifier but are the Blues in a spot where they would be willing to pay closer to $1.5MM and get a couple of extra years of team control? Will they be able to afford to do so?
D Scott Perunovich – Perunovich’s time in the pros has been mired with ups and downs. After missing all of last season due to injury, he was limited to just 36 regular season games this season thanks to injuries. When he did play, however, he showed the offensive skill that he had in college that has made him one of their top prospects. But with missing so much time, the 23-year-old certainly isn’t in a spot to command much more than his $874K qualifying offer which is a two-way tender. It’s entirely possible St. Louis opts to try to get Perunovich to take less than that in exchange for a one-year, one-way deal, giving them a tiny bit of extra cap flexibility and the blueliner a guaranteed payday.
F Klim Kostin – The 2017 first-rounder had an opportunity to spend the bulk of the season with St. Louis and held his own on the fourth line, collecting nine points in 40 games while averaging just over nine minutes a night. Those numbers certainly don’t stand out but he should be a strong candidate for a spot at the end of the roster in St. Louis next season. His contractual situation is the same as Perunovich’s – he’s owed the $874K qualifier but it’s possible the Blues try to get him to take less in exchange for a one-way salary.
Other RFAs: F Will Bitten, F Tanner Kaspick, F Hugh McGing, F Nathan Todd
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
G Ville Husso – For years, Husso was viewed as the goalie of the future for the Blues and while it took him a while to get to the NHL, he showed this season that he can be a strong goalie at the top level, posting a 2.56 GAA along with a .919 SV% (good for a tie for sixth-best in the league). However, he didn’t fare as well in the playoffs, ending his season on a lower note. With just 64 career NHL appearances under his belt (including the playoffs), the 27-year-old doesn’t have enough of a track record to command a long-term, high-dollar contract like the six-year, $36MM deal Jacob Markstrom got in free agency two years ago. But a shorter-term deal in the $4MM range should be achievable as there will be teams out there that will view Husso as a low-end starter or a high-end backup. Either way, he’s heading for a significant raise after making the league minimum the last two years.
F David Perron – Since returning to the Blues in 2018, Perron has averaged a higher point per game rate than his career average which is notable since he turned 34 last month. At a time when many players start slowing down offensively, he’s improving his output. In terms of points among pending UFAs, Perron sits eighth and if he was to get to the open market, he’d likely receive a nice raise from the $4MM AAV he had on his most recent deal. And yet, few expect him to actually get to free agency. While he has played on five different teams in his NHL career, Perron has only signed contracts with St. Louis, opting to come back each time he reached the open market with another organization and there is certainly an expectation that he will do so again. If that’s the case, he might leave some money on the table to do so.
D Nick Leddy – The Blues were able to add Leddy at the trade deadline to shore up their back end and Leddy didn’t disappoint, averaging over 21 minutes a night down the stretch and in the postseason (where he was one of several St. Louis rearguards to miss time due to injury). At this stage of his career, the 31-year-old is not the top defender that he was at times with the Islanders but he could still be a solid second-pairing player or a high-end third-pairing option on a deeper squad. With a UFA crop that isn’t particularly deep, Leddy should generate considerable interest although it would be very surprising to see him beat the $5.5MM he made on his soon-to-expire contract.
Other UFAs: F Sam Anas, F Tyler Bozak, D Dakota Joshua, G Charlie Lindgren, F Mackenzie MacEachern, F James Neal
Projected Cap Space
The Blues have just over $9MM in space below the $82.5MM Upper Limit and while they don’t have many roster spots to fill (likely a couple of forwards, two defensemen, and a goalie), they don’t have enough money to keep all of their pending UFAs around. They also have to be mindful of big contracts on the horizon for Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas (both 2023 RFAs) while Ryan O’Reilly will need an extension as well at that time. There’s enough room for GM Doug Armstrong to keep at least one of their UFAs in the fold but if he wants to keep more than one, he’ll need to find a way to free up some cap flexibility first.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Zachary Bolduc Assigned To AHL
With the Quebec Remparts eliminated a few days ago, Zachary Bolduc is now free to get a taste of the professional ranks. The St. Louis Blues prospect has been assigned to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL, who are in the midst of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Laval Rocket.
Bolduc, 19, was the 17th overall pick in last year’s draft and emerged as one of the most dynamic offensive players in the QMJHL this season. He finished tied for second in league scoring with 55 goals, 22 ahead of his nearest teammate. His 99 points also put him near the very top of the list, and he continued it into the playoffs with strong performances through three rounds.
Given he only turned 19 in February, Bolduc is another one of those top prospects that will face a difficult challenge next fall. It’s either the NHL or junior for him as he will not be eligible to play full-time in the AHL, meaning this action with Springfield will be his only taste of the minor leagues for quite a while.
The Thunderbirds will play game three of their series tomorrow night, and it remains to be seen whether Bolduc will actually get into any game action at this most important juncture.
St. Louis Blues Extend Calle Rosen
The St. Louis Blues have decided to bring back one of their depth defensemen, signing Calle Rosen to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The team did not immediately release financial details, but Lou Korac of NHL.com reports that it will carry an average annual value of $762.5K at the NHL level and includes strong AHL salaries of $400K in 2022-23 and $450K in 2023-24. Rosen was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Relative to some other players in the minor leagues, those are huge numbers for Rosen and are obviously a nice reward after playing on a one-year, two-way deal worth considerably less this season. The 28-year-old defenseman ended up playing 40 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds during the regular season, suiting up just 18 times for St. Louis.
Things changed in the playoffs as the team desperately needed healthy options, forcing Rosen into the lineup on nine occasions. One of those games, of course, included the collision with Nazem Kadri and Jordan Binnington, one that knocked the netminder out of the series and created an ongoing controversy.
Rosen is an interesting player, as there is very obvious offensive upside that he has shown throughout his time in North America. The undrafted defenseman joined the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in 2017-18 after a successful career in Sweden and posted outstanding numbers in the minor leagues. In 2018-19 he had 46 points in 54 games for the Toronto Marlies, numbers that obviously interested other teams. Coincidentally enough, Rosen was eventually included in the Kadri trade to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019, which saw Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot go the other way.
After another trade took him back to Toronto less than a year later, he ended up a free agent without a ton of NHL experience. The Blues snatched him up, and those 18 regular season appearances nearly matched his previous total.
Now, with a two-year deal in hand, he’ll likely see more time in St. Louis, mostly as an injury replacement or seventh defenseman. The team still has five veteran options signed to one-way contracts for each of the next two seasons, with younger players like Niko Mikkola and Scott Perunovich in need of new deals as restricted free agents this summer.
Armstrong "Not Concerned" About Tarasenko's Future With St. Louis
- It seems so long ago now that Vladimir Tarasenko requested a trade away from the St. Louis Blues. The veteran winger made a triumphant return to the ice this season, scoring 34 goals and setting a new career-high with 82 points in just 75 games. With six more tallies in the postseason, there’s little doubt that the 30-year-old can still contribute at a high level. With one year left on his contract, the question was posed to Blues general manager Doug Armstrong today about whether Tarasenko would still be on the team next season. His answer: “I’m not concerned about Vladi for next year at all.” Armstrong suggested that he won’t worry about the 2023 offseason–when Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly are both scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency–just yet, as he’s focused on next season’s roster.
Latest On David Perron
May 31: There is certainly mutual interest, as Armstrong came right out and told reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that he wants to bring Perron back. In what can often be a difficult period for pending free agents, this appears to be a relatively easy situation for both sides.
May 30: With the St. Louis Blues’ season now over, the focus of the team can now shift more fully towards their offseason. This summer looks like it will be a reasonably busy one for GM Doug Armstrong. He has several notable players hitting either restricted or unrestricted free agency and potential extensions to ponder for players approaching their own free agencies a year from now. One of the most important players now out of a contract is winger David Perron.
Perron, 34, has spent the past four seasons in St. Louis and that stretch represents his third separate tenure as a Blue. These past four years have been the most productive of his career, and this has led people to wonder if he would depart St. Louis once again to cash in on what could be his last guaranteed chance at a long, lucrative contract. While that speculation is reasonable, it appears that Perron has different priorities. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Perron “wants to go back” to St. Louis. He states that he expects Perron to sign an extension to remain a Blue “unless [Friedman] is told otherwise.”
As has been previously mentioned, Perron has enjoyed some of the best seasons of his career in these past four years, and he plays a major role on a team intent on winning another Stanley Cup. Perron had 70 points in 79 games this season (including the playoffs) and is part of the core group of players that led the team to its first championship. While the allure of a bigger contract or new opportunities attracts many players towards departing their teams as free agents, it seems from this report that Perron values continuity and familiarity over the unknown of the open market. It’s an entirely reasonable preference that should, in theory, help the Blues as they negotiate his extension.
From the perspective of rival clubs, the free agent market this summer may have lost one of its most talented scorers. So for other teams in need of offensive talent, the market for those players may have just gotten a little bit thinner.