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Minor Transactions: 06/21/21

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With both the Expansion and Entry Drafts quickly approaching, minor transactions are popping up all across the hockey world. As teams rush to meet expansion requirements and gain a more detailed idea of their organizational makeup ahead of the draft, expect this steady flow of minor deals to continue throughout the summer. You can read all about today’s transactions right here:

  • While their big sibling made bigger news today by re-signing Matt Nieto, the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda have announced a slew of moves. Per the team’s site, forwards Joe Garreffa, Krystof Hrabik, and Kyle Topping all signed one-year AHL extensions with the Sharks’ affiliate. Garreffa only got into two games with the Barracuda in 2020-21, but spent 59 games in the ECHL between the Allen Americans and Orlando Solar Bears, tallying 42 points for a decent first professional season. Hrabik played in only one regular-season matchup but had two goals in three games during the AHL’s Pacific Division postseason tournament. Topping got the most AHL action out of the trio, tallying a single goal in four games with the baby Sharks.
  • The Barracuda also dipped into the free-agent market, signing a pair of WHL players. The bigger fish of the two is former Portland Winterhawks captain Nick Cicek. Cicek, a Winnipeg-born, 201-pound defenseman, had by far his best offensive campaign to date in 2020-21, tallying 21 points in just 24 WHL games. It was a career-high for him after tallying 13 and 14 points in his previous two seasons. Their other signing, Montana Onyebuchi from the Kamloops Blazers, carries a somewhat similar development pattern. Similar in size (6′ 3″, 209 pounds) to Cicek, Onyebuchi also had an offensive breakout campaign with 12 points in 20 games. The Barracuda hope that the two overagers can boost their defense in the coming years.

San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Matt Nieto

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The San Jose Sharks are bringing back another one of their free agent forwards, re-signing Matt Nieto to a two-year contract. The deal not only lets the team retain a valuable depth piece but also solves one of their expansion issues. Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports that the contract will carry an average annual value of $850K. Sharks’ GM Doug Wilson released a short statement on the deal:

Matt brings a consistent, veteran presence to our line-up, and his speed and defensive awareness have made him a valuable part of our penalty-killing unit. Additionally, his ability to chip in offensively gives our coaching staff a versatile option in crafting our line-up from night to night.

Nieto, 28, is on his second stint with the Sharks, coming back to the team in 2020 after parts of four seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. He ended up playing just 28 of the team’s 56 games, but did add five goals and seven points in a limited role. Averaging exactly 14 minutes a night, he became a key part of the team’s 14th-ranked penalty kill and chipped in a little offensively.

More importantly, perhaps, is the fact that Nieto also fills an exposure requirement for the upcoming Seattle Kraken draft. Every team must leave at least two forwards exposed that have played a certain number of games and are signed through the 2021-22 season. Up to this point, only Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Kevin Labanc met that threshold, meaning there needed to be a pair of contracts issued by Wilson and his staff. One of them is Nieto, who will certainly be left unprotected next month. Of the other candidates—Dylan Gambrell, Marcus Sorensen, Patrick Marleau and Ryan Donato all meet the criteria—expect at least one more to be signed in the next few weeks.

The two-year term suggests that this wasn’t purely for the expansion draft though, as the Sharks obviously believe that Nieto can be an NHL player. While he did set a career-high of 15 goals just a few seasons ago, it seems more likely that he’ll be battling for a spot at the bottom of the roster in 2021-22.

Minor Transactions: 06/20/21

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While the NHL rumor mill has certainly been heating up of late, it may still be some time before major moves start to drop and calendar draws closer to the Expansion Draft, Entry Draft, and opening of free agency. In the meantime, there has still been a fairly consistent flow of minor moves out of the minor leagues and European ranks as the off-season has started early for some familiar names. Keep up with all of those transactions right here:

  • A 2021 NHL Draft prospect has cemented his development path. Finnish defenseman Jimi Suomi, who many rankings believe could go as early as the third round next month, will likely be considered a project player anyway. That project will be monitored from afar, as Suomi has decided to stay in Finland. Liiga club TPS has announced a three-year contract with the young blue liner, who spent this past season with the U-20 team for Jokerit. The move is significant, as Suomi had been drafted into the USHL and was on NCAA radars. Instead, he will go the pro route and try to crack TPS’ Liiga roster next season.
  • Another name staying in Europe, perhaps also to the surprise of some, is veteran forward Nick Shore. Shore, 28, has signed a one-year deal with the KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk, the team announced. The younger brother of Carolina Hurricanes forward Drew Shore and older brother of Harvard forward Baker Shore, Nick is a veteran of nearly 300 NHL games. However, he played this past season in Europe, starting the year in Slovakia and then jumping to Switzerland when the NLA re-opened. He recorded 37 points in 27 games across the two leagues, one of the better offensive seasons of his pro career. It is unclear if Shore spent the year in Europe due to financial and convenience concerns due to the COVID pandemic or if there was simply no NHL interest. He has played in 63 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets the season prior, so it at least seemed as if he was still valued in North America. However, his early decision to sign in the KHL rather than test the NHL market could be indicative to the contrary.
  • T.J. Brennan is another NHL veteran staying overseas. The journeyman defenseman left for Switzerland this season after four consecutive seasons in the AHL without any NHL action. He found success with HC Thurgau, recording 24 points in 22 games and leading the team to the playoffs. He will try again next season in Austria, signing a one-year contract with EC Salzburg of the IceHL. The team’s release notes his previous scoring success in the AHL and touts him as a major addition to the roster.
  • Texas Stars free agent Derek Barach is leaving the AHL for Europe. The 26-year-old forward has signed with Liiga club Assat on a two-year deal. A productive college player at Mercyhurst, Barach is still trying to find his footing in the pros after stops with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and the Stats this past season.

Canadiens Re-Sign Lukas Vejdemo

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On their off-day between Games 3 and 4 in their Stanley Cup semifinal, the Canadiens have taken care of one of their pending free agents, announcing the re-signing of center Lukas Vejdemo to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal is worth the NHL league minimum salary of $750K with a $175K AHL salary and a total guarantee of $215K.

The 25-year-old was a third-round pick of Montreal back in 2015 (85th overall) and has been a depth option for them in recent years.  While he played in seven NHL games in 2019-20 (scoring once), he didn’t see any action with the Canadiens this season.  He started off the year on loan to Sodertalje in Sweden’s Allsvenskan before returning for training camp.  Vejdemo played in 27 games with AHL Laval this season, notching seven goals and six assists and was among Montreal’s list of Black Ace recalls heading into training camp.

Vejdemo was eligible to test the open market this summer as a Group Six unrestricted free agent but instead will likely play a similar role for the Canadiens next season as a depth option to recall if injuries strike.  He will be eligible for waivers for the first time next season but with his limited NHL experience, it seems likely that he will pass through unclaimed in training camp.

Sharks Forward Fredrik Handemark Signs In The KHL

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It will be a one and done term in North America for Sharks winger Fredrik Handemark.  The pending unrestricted free agent has decided to not try his hand in NHL free agency and will head back overseas.  He won’t be returning to the SHL, however, as SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL announced that they’ve signed Handemark to a two-year deal.

The 27-year-old joined San Jose a little over a year ago, inking a one-year, entry-level contract in May 2020.  It took a while for him to get his first taste of North American hockey though due to the delayed start to the pandemic.  Handemark made the most of that time, returning to Malmo on loan and recorded 15 points in 25 games before being recalled.

Handemark made frequent appearances in our Taxi Squad Shuffle posts this season as he was involved in 25 separate transactions over the span of four months.  Despite that, he still got into 14 AHL games where he had four goals and four assists plus eight NHL contests with the Sharks where he collected a goal while averaging 9:27 per night of ice time.

That’s not the type of production that would allow him to command a one-way deal on the open market so instead of seeking out a two-way pact, Handemark will now join one of the top KHL franchises.  If he plays a big role there, perhaps he will be able to get another NHL opportunity when his deal is up in 2023.

Carl Soderberg Signs In Sweden

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Carl Soderberg’s time in the NHL has come to an end.  Rather than take another run at the free agent market next month, the veteran has decided to head back home as Malmo of the SHL announced that they’ve signed Soderberg to a two-year contract.

Soderberg was one of the top-scoring centers in free agency in the fall after a 35-point campaign with Arizona (and 49 the year before with Colorado).  However, interest was limited and it took until just before training camps began for him to land a one-year, $1MM contract with Chicago.

The 35-year-old managed to put up a respectable seven goals and eight assists in 34 games with the Blackhawks before he was traded to the Avalanche as extra depth for their playoff push.  He wound up having a limited role with them down the stretch, notching just two assists in 11 games and was a frequent healthy scratch in the playoffs although he did manage a goal and two helpers in his four contests.

That type of end to his season wouldn’t have helped his free agent market so rather than sit waiting for an opportunity to come up, Soderberg will instead return to his hometown team, getting himself a two-year guarantee in the process.  His NHL time wraps up with 110 goals and 187 assists in 597 career regular season games.  Not a bad run at all for someone who is legally blind in his left eye.

Minor Transactions: 06/16/21

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The further into the summer it gets, the busier the transaction wire becomes. While the rumor mill has been heating up in recent days, there have been a fair share of confirmed moves as well that include names familiar to NHL fans and impacting NHL fans. Take a look:

  • So much for the Alexander Khokhlachev comeback. The former Boston Bruins prospect whose NHL rights finally expire this off-season had previously hinted at a return to North America following five years in the KHL. When he walked away from the reigning Gagarin Cup champions Avangard Omsk, it only added fuel to the fire. However, it was all for not. Khoklachev has returned to former KHL club Spartak Moscow, the team has announced. It is only a one-year deal, so the speculation of an NHL return for the 27-year-old scoring center return next season. Yet, if Khokhlachev was ever going to make the jump, it seemed that this was his chance given years of sustained success capped off with a title and his newfound free agency. It could be Khokhlachev simply stays in Russia for the rest of his career.
  • Jori Lehtera is also not returning to North America, though it should come as no surprise. Lehtera’s production decreased continually through his NHL career and fell off immensely following a move to the Philadelphia Flyers from the St. Louis Blues in 2017. Between poor play and off-ice issues, he seemingly wore out his welcome in North America. Upon returning to Europe last season, he immediately re-discovered his scoring touch in the KHL and scored at better than a point-per-game pace for Spartak this year, leading the team. Spartak has rewarded him with a one-year extension. The 33-year-old will take that short-term commitment, especially with the likes of Khokhlachev and Vasili Ponomaryov joining him in Moscow next season to potentially make the team could be a surprise contender.
  • Cole Clayton has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and while you might not know his name yet, you could soon. The big, mobile, two-way defenseman from the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers led all league defensemen with nine goals and 30 points this season in just 23 games. At 6’2″, 210 lbs. but able to skate at a high level, Clayton is an impact player all over the ice and surely had some NHL interest before settling for a job with Cleveland. If his play translates to the pros, it is a safe bet that the Columbus Blue Jackets will have him signed to an entry-level deal sooner rather than later. The Monsters also announced the signings of veteran forwards Brett Gallant and Adam Helewka for next season.

Otto Leskinen And Kalle Kossila Sign In KHL

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A pair of pending free agents have decided to not wait to test NHL free agency and have instead opted to sign overseas.  Jokerit of the KHL announced today that they’ve signed defenseman Otto Leskinen and center Kalle Kossila to two-year contracts.

Leskinen signed with Montreal as an undrafted free agent back in 2019 and has spent the majority of his two seasons with them at the AHL level, only getting into six NHL games along the way.  However, the 24-year-old had 17 points in just 33 games with Laval which was enough to earn a recall to their reserve squad for the playoffs.  The Canadiens will be able to retain his NHL rights with a qualifying offer and considering that Leskinen won’t be UFA-eligible until 2024 (a year after this contract expires), they likely will do so.

As for Kossila, he last saw NHL action back in 2018-19 when he was with Anaheim and he has 19 career NHL contests under his belt.  While he hasn’t been able to lock down an NHL job, the 28-year-old has been quite productive in the minors which was enough to earn a two-year deal from Toronto back in 2020 with this season being a one-way deal.  While he led the Marlies in scoring this season, he may not have been able to command another one-way deal so he’ll instead try his hand back home with Finland’s lone KHL squad.  He was set to be an unrestricted free agent late next month.

Canucks Prospect Lukas Jasek Signs In Finland

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Canucks prospect Lukas Jasek isn’t waiting to see if he gets a qualifying offer from Vancouver next month to decide his playing future.  Instead, Pelicans of the SM-liiga announced that they’ve signed the forward to a one-year contract for next season.

The 23-year-old was a sixth-round pick of the Canucks back in 2015 (174th overall) but opted to play at home in the Czech Republic for three more seasons before coming to North America.  While he hasn’t seen any NHL action yet, he very quietly tied for the team lead in scoring with AHL Utica this season with four goals and 19 assists in just 28 games, notching nearly as many points as he had the year before in half the games.

Between that performance and Jasek already signing overseas, it would make sense for Vancouver to tender him his qualifying offer to retain his RFA rights (which last until he reaches UFA eligibility when he turns 27).  In their release, the Finnish team indicated that they intend to play Jasek at center after he has spent a good chunk of his career on the wing so in a year or two from now, he could be worthy of another opportunity in North America.

Oilers Forward Gaetan Haas Signs In Switzerland

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Edmonton center Gaetan Haas has decided to head back home.  After spending the last two years with the Oilers, EHC Biel-Bienne of the Swiss NLA announced that they’ve signed Haas to a five-year contract.

The 29-year-old decided to try his hand in North America in 2019 following a pair of strong offensive seasons with SC Bern in Switzerland.  However, while Haas was a capable checker in Edmonton, he didn’t produce much offensively in his first NHL season, notching just five goals and five assists in 58 games.  Still, he did enough to earn a second chance, inking a one-year, $915K one-way contract back in April.

But things didn’t go any better this past season.  While he got to spend some time in Bern where his offensive production returned, it failed to carry over when he returned to Edmonton.  As a result, he managed only two goals and one assist in 34 games in 2020-21 despite averaging over 11 minutes a game in ice time.

While Haas could have returned to the open market and tried his hand at catching on somewhere else, this seems like the wiser course of action for him as he now returns to his hometown team.  In the meantime, the Oilers will be looking for cheap depth to round out their roster and could look to free agency to find a replacement although Ryan McLeod has certainly made a case for a full-time roster spot next season and could slide into Haas’ role to start with an eye on quickly moving up the depth chart.

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