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Dmitri Ovchinnikov Heading To KHL

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The Toronto Maple Leafs won’t have Dmitri Ovchinnikov in North America this season. After the young forward signed his entry-level contract in February and made his AHL debut with the Toronto Marlies at the end of the year, he has now signed a new one-year deal with Sibir Novosibirsk and will transfer to the club for the upcoming season.

This loan does not cancel Ovchinnikov’s contract with the Maple Leafs, only delays his debut as a full-time member of the AHL club. The talented 20-year-old forward scored twice in his seven games with the team this spring, after rarely seeing the ice in his 17 KHL appearances.

Hopefully, he’ll be able to claw out a bigger role for his Russian club and start contributing as he has at the MHL level, where Ovchinnikov has been better than a point-per-game player the last three seasons. The fifth-round pick is under contract with the Maple Leafs for two more seasons.

Negotiations “Going Nowhere” Between Rasmus Sandin, Maple Leafs

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One of the interesting restricted free agents that remains unsigned is Rasmus Sandin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 2018 first-round pick does not have arbitration rights yet and reports have emerged over the last few months about him wondering where he stands on the team’s depth chart, after they brought back Mark Giordano on a two-year deal.

Now, new comments from Sandin’s camp have emerged, explaining how little movement there has been in contract talks To Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, agent Lewis Gross said “negotiations are going nowhere.” Maple Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas responded with some firm thoughts on negotiating through the media, including the fact that it “traditionally [does] not create resolutions to private matters.”

A player that is often linked to Sandin, Timothy Liljegren, signed a two-year, $2.8MM contract with the Maple Leafs in June, avoiding restricted free agency entirely. That contract is likely being used by Toronto as a direct comparable, given the similarity in production between the two young defensemen.

But even that $1.4MM average annual value might be an issue for the Maple Leafs right now, who are pushed right up against the cap once again. While their situation right now could be resolved by carrying a 20-man roster, it seems more likely that a trade is coming at some point – especially if they want to fit Sandin in.

The fact that no contract movement is happening will raise some eyebrows in that trade speculation, given the fact that Giordano, Morgan Rielly, and Jake Muzzin are locked in on the left side of Toronto’s blueline already. If Sandin was signed, then there would be no real reason to move him, as depth at defense is extremely important. But if contract talks have still not progressed, perhaps the team will have to move on at some point.

Like any of the other RFAs, Sandin will need a contract by December 1 if he wants to play in the NHL this season.

Rodion Amirov Hopes To Return To Hockey By November

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In a lengthy interview with Russian newspaper Sports Express, translated by Sports Illustrated and discussed by David Alter, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Rodion Amirov spoke about his brain tumor diagnosis and treatment, as well as his planned return to hockey. Amirov explained that he received a hit to the head while playing for Ufa Salavat Yulaev of the KHL early last season and began to experience symptoms typical of a head injury. With the issue persistent, Amirov sought the help of specialists in Germany back in October who, after several months, confirmed the worst to him in January: a brain tumor.

The forward added that after the diagnosis, he and those close to him, chose to keep the diagnosis private, not wanting anyone to feel sorry for the 20-year-old. Ultimately, they chose to disclose the diagnosis publicly, and the Maple Leafs issued a statement on February 23rd, confirming. Since then, Amirov has received an outpouring of support on his road to recovery. Now it appears he has his sights set on hockey once again, already skating with a trainer and eyeing a November return to the sport.

The return to hockey is surely a positive sign, not only that Amirov can play and continue to develop, but being able to do so and focus on it a positive sign for his health. It’s unclear if any of this will pose any long-term effects on the young winger, though the time off at least will serve to set his development back to some extent. That setback is one Toronto would be more than happy to deal with if it means Amirov’s health and well-being are being served. As much support as Amirov has off the ice, and as uplifting as his story seems to be becoming, it’s worth keeping in mind how strong of a prospect he still is. In three seasons in the KHL, Russia’s top league, Amirov has held his own at his young age, putting up 18 points in 70 games, most of which came as a teenager.

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.

Free Agent Profile: Phil Kessel

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In his peak throughout the 2010s, Phil Kessel was a consistent 30-goal threat, displaying his electric shooting talent en route to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins (and with the Toronto Maple Leafs before that). While Kessel’s move to Arizona for the last three seasons may have left him forgotten in some circles, he’s coming off his best season in three years.

Despite a career-low 4.6 shooting percentage, Kessel will pitch his relatively high point total, especially given the poor state of affairs in Arizona, to convince teams he’s still a credible threat. And, looking at his strong play-driving numbers from last season, he may have a point. Despite seeing his ice time dip to its lowest point during his three years in Arizona, Kessel still managed to finish within 11 points of the team lead at age 34.

It’s not often that a 34-year-old is on the open market with a strong reason to invest in a rebound season, but that’s the case with Kessel. Even if his defense hasn’t been pretty lately, it was never a selling point to his game. Considering his career average shooting percentage sits over 10 percent, expecting Kessel to have a stronger offensive season in 2022-23, at least in terms of putting pucks in the net, is a safe bet.

His Stanley Cup pedigree should also make him an attractive option for teams looking for affordable depth to help push them over the hump to a Stanley Cup.

Stats

2021-22: 82 GP, 8-44-52, -24 rating, 40 PIMs, 175 shots, 45.3 CF%, 16:41 ATOI
Career: 1204 GP, 399-557-956, -148 rating, 372 PIMs, 3700 shots, 49.3 CF%, 18:02 ATOI

Potential Suitors

Kessel should find a home before a lot of other veterans are forced to settle for PTOs as training camps begin. While he’s not what he used to be, he still had more than 50 points last season. With his low price tag, he should be an attractive option as teams continue to tinker with their rosters during the month of August.

There could be a spot for him in the bottom six of a retooled Calgary Flames forward group. While Jakob Pelletier is a strong candidate to make a jump to the NHL next season after a strong season in Stockton, Kessel could challenge other veterans such as Milan Lucic or Sean Monahan for playing time at a cheaper price and more goal-scoring upside. He could go Cup-chasing with the Colorado Avalanche as well, as they’ve lost some depth forwards such as Andre Burakovsky and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. He could also stand to be a solid secondary scoring option for the Minnesota Wild after they lost Kevin Fiala.

If he wants to head back East, the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, and Florida Panthers are a trio of teams that could use him in their bottom six.

Projected Contract

Kessel came in 23rd on our Top 50 UFAs list in early July. While he likely won’t command the $2MM AAV we predicted at this point, there’s still a solid chance he could earn seven figures and not have to settle for a league minimum deal. It all likely depends on the cap situation of the team Kessel opts to sign with, as after over $90MM in career earnings, per CapFriendly, money likely won’t be a huge factor in his decision.

Looking Back At The First Round Of The 2005 NHL Entry Draft

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On this date 17 years ago, the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa. It was the league’s first major event since the lockout that cost them the entire 2004-05 season ended just over a week prior, and considering the draft’s top prize, there was added intrigue.

With the lack of regular-season standings to determine the draft order, the league implemented a snake draft system to make things more equitable for teams in later rounds that didn’t fare so well in the draft lottery. One team that did fare well that night, though, was the Pittsburgh Penguins, who cemented a 15-plus year run of success by drafting future captain Sidney Crosby with the first overall pick.

Five players selected that night went on to appear in at least 1,000 NHL games, including Crosby. One was 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Jack Johnson, taken third overall by the Carolina Hurricanes. Johnson never played a single game for Carolina, though, as he was traded the following offseason to the Los Angeles Kings along with defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky in exchange for defenseman Tim Gleason and center Eric Belanger.

Johnson wasn’t the only player from the first round to play meaningful games for the Kings, though. The team selected two-time Stanley Cup champion and future captain Anze Kopitar with the 11th overall selection. Another thousand-gamer was selected directly after him when the New York Rangers picked defenseman Marc Staal 12th overall, while Johnson’s teammate on the 2022 Avalanche, forward Andrew Cogliano, was selected 25th by the Edmonton Oilers.

One name from that night who could still join the 1,000-game club was St. Louis Blues selection and current Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. Taken 24th overall, he only needs 100 more appearances to hit the mark.

Future Stanley Cup-winning skaters weren’t the only future legends drafted that night, though. Two of the greatest goalies in recent memory were drafted that night, with the Montreal Canadiens selecting Carey Price with the fifth overall pick and the Toronto Maple Leafs selecting Tuukka Rask with the 21st overall pick, of course prior to trading him to the Boston Bruins the following season.

Just three players selected that night, all taken within four picks of each other, would never make an NHL appearance. Slovak forward Marek Zagrapan, drafted 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres, played just three years in the organization with two different AHL affiliates, scoring 20 goals there just once. At 35 years old, Zagrapan is still active, playing the 2022-23 season in the French Ligue Magnus.

Directly after him, the Washington Capitals took Canadian defenseman Sasha Pokulok with the 14th overall pick. The first overage player taken in the draft, he’s arguably the biggest bust of the night. He never spent a full season in the AHL, bouncing up and down between there and the ECHL for four seasons after turning pro in 2006. He failed to make a notable impact in Europe, too, only lasting one season in the DEL (2010-11) before floating around various lower-level leagues in Eastern Europe and Quebec.

Lastly, there’s Canadian winger Alex Bourret, taken by the Atlanta Thrashers at 16th overall. A short but strong power winger, Bourret had a very successful junior career in the QMJHL that just didn’t translate. His North American career fizzled out quickly after a strong start in the AHL, but after being traded twice (first to the Rangers, then to the Coyotes), he had just 14 points in 48 AHL games during his final season there in 2008-09.

Cap-Shedding Move Not Needed Right Away

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With the Maple Leafs showing as being over the cap by nearly $1.5MM per CapFriendly, many expect them to be among the teams looking to make a cap-shedding trade over the coming weeks.  However, Sports Illustrated’s David Alter suggests that such a move isn’t necessarily needed right away, even when RFA defenseman Rasmus Sandin re-signs.  With the offseason cushion in place for another couple of months, there’s still some time to work with and by the end of training camp, things could change from an injury standpoint.  Alternatively, Toronto could opt to carry a 20-player roster which, depending on which players are waived and potentially sent down, could narrowly get them compliant to start the season, especially if Sandin settles for a low-cost one-year deal.  At this point, it’d be a little surprising if Toronto didn’t find a way to create a little cap flexibility but they still have some time to work things out.

Montreal Canadiens Hire Stephane Robidas

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The Montreal Canadiens have added another coach without much experience, hiring Stephane Robidas as an assistant for Martin St. Louis’ staff. General manager Kent Hughes explained the move:

We are very lucky to have someone of Stephane’s caliber join our coaching staff. His recent experience as an NHL player, and his outstanding hockey background, will be excellent assets for the development of our players. Stephane perfectly matches the profile we were looking for in a candidate. In addition to being an exceptional individual, he is a very good communicator, and I believe that players will relate to him because of that.

Notably, though he has no experience as an NHL coach, he did serve as director of player development for several years with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That experience with young players is going to come in handy with the rebuilding Canadiens, along with his familiarity with the organization. Robidas was a seventh-round pick of Montreal back in 1995 and made his NHL debut with the club before moving on to several other teams.

It’s something of a trend now for the Canadiens to hire a coach out of minor hockey, as Robidas spent last season behind the bench of the Magog Cantonniers, the same QMAAA team that he and his son Justin Robidas played for. Justin was a 2021 draft pick of the Carolina Hurricanes and spent last season captaining the Val-d’Or Foreurs.

While his son is just trying to start on his hockey journey, Stephane can look back at an NHL career that lasted more than 900 games. The right-shot defenseman was even invited to an All-Star Game and participated in the World Championship for Canada on three different occasions.

John Tavares Focusing On Skating During Offseason Training

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  • Working with very limited cap space, the Toronto Maple Leafs have done their best to improve this offseason, changing out their entire goaltending duo for a new one and adding a few pieces, most notably headlined by winger Calle Jarnkrok, who signed a four-year deal with Toronto in free agency. To improve further, Toronto will have to look in-house for certain players to step up and one of those is captain John Tavares. In a recent interview, the veteran center told Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star that he has spent this summer training with Maple Leafs development staff, working to be a quicker skater. As Tavares said, “For me, obviously just trying to be a little quicker, a little lighter on my feet. I think that’s really important.” Tavares’ skating has certainly never been revered as his best asset, however the soon-to-be 32-year-old will need to at the least maintain his skating ability to continue to produce at the elite level that is expected of him and his $11MM cap hit that he carries for three more seasons.

San Jose Sharks Linked To Spencer Carbery

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The San Jose Sharks are late to the head coaching search party. After firing Bob Boughner and his staff later into the offseason, most marquee coaching options are off the market, leaving the Sharks to get creative with their search. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, multiple sources confirmed to him that the team has interviewed Spencer Carbery for the open position.

Carbery spent 2021-22 as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was responsible for the team’s power play, which finished first in the league during the regular season. 40 years old, Carbery was named the AHL’s Coach of the Year in 2021, his last of three seasons as the head coach of the Hershey Bears. He also won the same award in the ECHL in 2014 during a five-year run as head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays. You might recognize them for being the team where Stanley Cup Champion coach Jared Bednar got his head coaching start.

Carbery would certainly help San Jose’s goal output if his time in Toronto is any indication. San Jose’s power play clocked in at 19% last season, 22nd in the NHL, while they scored just 211 goals in total, which was third-last. He could be the key to an offensive resurgence from players like Erik Karlsson and help get the most out of youngsters like William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau if they make the team.

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