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Edmonton Oilers Officially Ink Iiro Pakarinen To One-Year Extension

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After the news came out this weekend that the Iiro Pakarinen had signed an extension with the Edmonton Oilers, the team officially announced the one-year contract today. Pakarinen was set to become a free agent this summer, but will now earn $725K next season on a one-way deal. Iiro Pakarinen

Pakarinen ended up getting into 14 games with the NHL club this season, scoring four points and generally using his physicality to give his team some energy. Last year, in 63 games the Finnish forward scored 13 points and registered 152 hits. Drafted in the seventh round by the Florida Panthers back in 2011, he’s never shown much of a scoring touch at the NHL level.

The important part of the signing for the Oilers isn’t that they get the 25-year old forward under control on a relatively cheap contract, but that he fills the forward exposure requirement for the expansion draft. Each team has to expose at least two forwards that are signed through 2018 and played in either 40 games this season or 70 the past two. Before signing Pakarinen, the only forwards that met this requirement were Jordan Eberle, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Benoit Pouliot, Mark Letestu and Patrick Maroon. Now, with Pouliot in all likelihood, Pakarinen will be left exposed.

He likely won’t be selected by the Vegas Golden Knights, meaning Pakarinen should be battling for a spot in the Oilers’ bottom-six again next season. With players like David Desharnais, Matt Hendricks and Tyler Pitlick all set to become unrestricted free agents in July, perhaps there will be more room for him this year.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Kevin Stenlund To Three-Year ELC

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed another important prospect, inking Kevin Stenlund to a three-year entry-level contract. No financials were released. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch expects Stenlund to stay in Sweden for at least another year before coming to North America.

Drafted in the second round by the Blue Jackets last in 2015, Stenlund was one of the youngest players on the SHL champion HV71 club this season but still managed to register 13 goals (the club leader had 17). He responded with another 10 points in 16 playoff games, and looks like a steal for Columbus. Like many European prospects, Stenlund struggled to produce offensively for HV71 in his draft year, scoring just two points in 43 games. The Blue Jackets felt as though he deserved the commitment of the 58th-overall pick, and it is already paying off.

A 6’3″ center, Stenlund is just starting to develop into the power two-way player they had hoped for. Ranked #21 among international skaters in his draft year, the biggest knock on him was his skating ability. Given his natural size, strength and playmaking ability, the Blue Jackets could well have another middle-six center on their hands in a few years.

Nick Sorensen Signs Two-Year Deal In Sweden

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After playing one season in North America, Nick Sorensen is headed back to Europe. The 22-year old forward has signed a two-year contract with Linkoping HC of the Swedish Hockey League. No financials on the deal were released. Sorensen was set to become a restricted free agent for the first time in his career this summer, after completing his entry-level contract.

After playing much of his junior hockey in Canada with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, Sorensen was drafted 45th overall by the Anaheim Ducks in 2013. After finishing off his career in the CHL, he was loaned to Sweden to continue his development. After two up-and-down years in the SHL, he came to North America this season and found some success at the AHL level. Sorensen had a five-game stint with the NHL club early in the season, recording his first and only NHL point in his final game on October 20th. In 48 AHL contests, he recorded 22 points and contributed to the San Diego Gulls’ playoff run.

The Ducks will maintain his rights should he come back after the two-year contract is completed, and since he hadn’t made much of an impact at the NHL level perhaps this is actually a good move for his development. In 2015-16, Sorensen scored 23 p0ints in 37 games for Linkoping and was a key player in different situations.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Josh Mahura To Three-Year Contract

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The Anaheim Ducks front office is still working hard while their team fights for the Stanley Cup, today signing third-round pick Josh Mahura to a three-year entry-level deal. No financials have been released. Mahura’s season ended on Sunday, when the Regina Pats lost the WHL Championship series to the Seattle Thunderbirds despite a goal and assist in the deciding game from the 19-year old defenseman.

Mahura registered 53 points this season split between the Pats and Red Deer Rebels, but turned up his game in the playoffs. His 21 points ranked third in playoff scoring from defensemen, behind only Ethan Bear (Edmonton) and teammate Connor Hobbs (Washington). Both of those two are (around) a year older than Mahura, making his performance even more impressive.

The Ducks have developed a number of excellent defenders in recent years, and continue to impress in the draft with players taken outside of the first round. When they selected Mahura, he was coming off an MCL injury that robbed him of his entire draft year, though he returned just in time for the playoffs for Red Deer in 2016. That risk looked to pay off this year, as he put together an excellent season and has a chance to make an impact at the professional level down the line. At just 19, and with the Ducks loaded with defensive talent, he’ll head back to the WHL to try to win a championship next season. Regina also will host the Memorial Cup in 2018, meaning Mahura will get a chance regardless of the Pats’ finish. That tournament will be quite interesting to the Ducks as Sam Steel, their (second) first-round pick from last summer was the leading scorer for the Pats and the whole WHL this season.

Nashville Predators Sign Andrew O’Brien To One-Year Extension

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Andrew O’Brien will be back in the Nashville Predators’ system next season, after signing a one-year two-way deal for 2017-18. The contract will pay him $650K at the NHL level. O’Brien was set to become a restricted free agent this summer.

Acquired from the Anaheim Ducks earlier this season in exchange for Max Gortz, O’Brien played 32 games down the stretch for the Milwaukee Admirals scoring 10 points. The 6’4″ defender was originally drafted in the fourth round, but has still yet to make his NHL debut. At the time of the deal, the Predators were without Roman Josi, P.K. Subban and Petter Granberg due to injury, making their depth chart on defense look quite a bit thinner.

With the two-way deal—and given Nashville’s incredible skill at the NHL level—the 24-year old O’Brien is likely headed for the AHL again next year. The Predators will likely come to several deals of this nature in the coming weeks, as they have several minor-league RFAs that will need new contracts for next season.

Anaheim Ducks Recall Three

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Just prior to puck drop of Game Two of the Western Conference finals tonight between the visiting Nashville Predators and host Anaheim Ducks, the Ducks announced that they have recalled a trio of players from their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. Joining Anaheim presumably for the remainder of their playoff run are goaltender Jhonas Enroth and forwards Nicolas Kerdiles and Sam Carrick. 

The group was no longer of use in the minor leagues, as the Gulls season came to an end last night in a 2-0 loss to the San Jose Barracuda, their rival and the affiliate of Ducks’ rival the San Jose Sharks, in Game Five of the series. Now, they’ll look help out the big squad in any way they can. Enroth is simply an insurance policy should John Gibson or Jonathan Bernier somehow unexpectedly be unable to suit up. The veteran keeper began the year at the NHL level with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but after a disastrous start of 0-3-1 to the tune of an .872 save percentage and 3.94 goals against average, he was traded to the Ducks for this exact purpose of being a fallback option. Enroth has eight years of NHL experience and should be able to step in in the unlikely chance that his services are needed. Kerdiles and Carrick lack the experience, but make up for it in energy and ability. Kerdiles made his NHL debut earlier this season and then added two playoff games to his resume earlier in the postseason. He has yet to record a point in three games, but it’s only a matter of time given that the 23-year-old was a point-per-game player for the Gulls in the AHL playoffs. Carrick has not seen NHL ice for over a year, and never with the Ducks nor in the playoffs. The 25-year-old played in 19 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs between 2014-15 and 2015-16, recording a goal and an assist. Carrick has 39 AHL points this season between San Diego and the Rockford Ice Hogs, following a minor mid-season trade with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Whether the Ducks intend to play Kerdiles and Carrick or not, the pair is not in the lineup tonight for Game Two. Anaheim announced their lineup shortly after making the call-ups official, but still went with Chris Wagner and Jared Boll on the energy line. If the Ducks lose at home again tonight and head to Nashville down 2-0, they may look to change things up and give Kerdiles or Carrick an opportunity to make a difference in their playoff fate.

Ben Bishop Signs Six-Year Contract With Dallas Stars

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Newly acquired goaltender Ben Bishop has signed a deal with the Dallas Stars. The contract will be for six years and come in at a total of $29.5MM ($4.92MM AAV). The Stars received Bishop in exchange for a fourth-round pick on May 9th, and were immediately said to have common ground on a future contract. Bishop would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer should he have made it to July 1st.

Like Carolina, who dealt for Scott Darling before quickly signing him to a long-term deal, the Stars were not willing to wait around to address their goaltending issues this summer. Instead, they were proactive going after one of the top free agents and seem to have gotten their man without having to fight off any other teams. "<strong

While this contract may seem like a bargain at the low cap-hit, six years is a lot to give to a goaltender who will turn 31 in November. While he clearly has the talent to be an elite netminder in the NHL, this is a big gamble by the Stars that could backfire quickly. Any contract guaranteed the Stars will make another move—whether it be a buyout or trade—of one of their other goaltenders. Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi already cost the team over $10MM combined, and a new contract for Bishop would make them both expendable.

Bishop is coming off a two-year deal that paid him $5.95MM per season, and though his first season was well worth it this year saw a downturn in his play. As the Lightning leaned further toward Andrei Vasilevskiy as their starter, Bishop recorded only a .911 save percentage and dealt with injury. After a mid-season deal to the Los Angeles Kings, he performed even worse stopping just 90% of the shots faced.

This deal puts him in line with goaltenders like Jimmy Howard, Jaroslav Halak and amazingly, Niemi in terms of cap-hit. While it also comes close to Frederik Andersen’s deal from last summer with the Maple Leafs, Andersen was much younger when he inked his five-year pact. Bishop will play most of the final season on this contract at 36, an age few goaltenders make it to as starters.

The contract is broken down as follows:

2017-18: $7MM, NMC
2018-19: $6.5MM, NMC
2019-20: $5.5MM, NMC
2020-21: $3.5MM, modified-NTC
2021-22:$3.5MM, modified-NTC
2022-23: $3.5MM, modified-NTC

The front-loaded nature of the deal also poses a problem for the Stars, should they ever need to use a buyout on Bishop as he ages. With a low salary in the final few years, a buyout wouldn’t provide as much cap relief for the team, though the change to a modified no-trade clause (though details have not yet been released) could provide an avenue of escape.

Regardless of the risk involved down the road, Bishop will immediately have a big responsibility on his shoulders, trying to bring the Stars back to the promised land after a disaster season. The team will have two first-round picks to add to the stable, allowing a quick injection of talent to a roster that should already be competing for the playoffs.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN was first to report the deal was close, and also provided the first financial details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New York Islanders Sign Linus Soderstrom To ELC

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The Islanders have locked up one of Sweden’s top goaltenders, inking prospect Linus Soderstrom to a three-year entry-level deal. While Soderstrom isn’t expected to come over to North America right away, getting him signed is an important step for the Islanders as they continue to build their future between the pipes.

Soderstrom, 20, put up an incredible .943 save percentage as a rookie in the Swedish Hockey League this season, going 18-4 for HV71. His playoff numbers while slightly worse, were still a sparkling .922 save percentage and 2.11 GAA. His play—along with that of fellow Islanders’ prospect Ilya Sorokin—should excite Islanders fans as they look to the future.

Drafted in the fourth round, Soderstrom is part of what is turning into an excellent looking crop for the Islanders in 2014. Along with Sorokin (3rd round), the Islanders added Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle in the first round and Devon Toews in the fourth. All five players have a chance to make the NHL at some point, though only Ho-Sang has made it thus far. Soderstrom is big, talented and athletic and will likely continue his development in Sweden next season.

Richard Panik Signs Two-Year Extension With Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Blackhawks have locked up a valuable piece, signing Richard Panik to a two-year contract extension.  The deal is worth $2.8MM per year, and will expire after the 2018-19 season. Panik was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, and had arbitration rights that would have likely awarded a hefty raise. "<strongRichard Panik” width=”216″ height=”300″ />

Formerly a failed prospect that bounced through two organizations, Panik was acquired by the Blackhawks for Jeremy Morin in early 2016 and has found a perfect fit in Chicago. While the Hawks have searched for ages to find wingers for Jonathan Toews, Panik slid in nicely beside the captain and scored 22 goals this season, easily a career high. The former second-round pick is still just 26, and coming off a 44 point season looks like a core piece for the Hawks going forward.

The interesting part of this deal though is how little cap space the Blackhawks had even before factoring in his ~$2MM raise. Including Panik, the Blackhawks now have over $73MM dedicated to contracts for next season already, and while the salary cap is expected to go up to somewhere around $75-76MM, that doesn’t leave them much room to work with. Artemi Panarin’s bonuses from this year are also carrying over, which would actually push them over that threshold. Their remaining restricted free agents include Tomas Jurco, Michal Kempny and Dennis Rasmussen, and while none of those names deserve a huge raise they will nonetheless cost something. It seems Chicago will have to move out an asset once again to maintain their salary cap structure, following the trend that has seen Teuvo Teravainen, Brandon Saad, Nick Leddy and others get shipped out long before their usefulness expired.

While a 20-goal scored for under $3MM is a solid deal for any team—as Pierre Lebrun of TSN points out, saying that Panik left money on the table to stay in Chicago—it will have ramifications elsewhere on the roster as the summer goes on. Getting out from under Brent Seabrook or Marian Hossa’s huge deals would be beneficial for Chicago, but getting them to waive their no-movement clauses and finding a taker for the huge cap hits and term will be difficult.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN provided the financial details on the contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Kings Sign Tanner Pearson To Four-Year Extension

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It has been a busy day for the Los Angeles Kings and new GM Rob Blake. After trading impending free agent goaltender Ben Bishop to the Dallas Stars for a fourth round pick earlier, the Kings have announced another shrewd deal no more than an hour later: young winger Tanner Pearson has agreed to a four-year, $15MM extension to stay in Los Angeles. An impending restricted free agent, Pearson had only limited leverage, but will carry a $3.75MM AAV for the next four seasons which is a number that both sides are likely very happy with.

In a season that was an overall disappointment for the Kings, Pearson was one of the few bright spots of the campaign. The 24-year-old posted a career-high 24 goals and 44 points and took on a much larger role on the team. Pearson led the team in shorthanded scoring and shooting percentage, finished behind only stars Jeff Carter and Anze Kopitar in points and just Carter in goals and his 20 assists, +5 rating, and 124 hits ranked in the top ten as well.

Yet, with just 44 points on the year and only 101 career points through four seasons, the Kings still held a significant degree of control in negotiations and were able to lock up a valuable young asset for a very reasonable rate. Pearson, who still shows signs of growth, will be a King until he is 28 at under $4MM per year. While he will make more than fellow youngster Tyler Toffoli next year, Pearson will likely be the fifth highest-paid forward on the team despite performing like the second or third-best in 2017-18. On the other hand, his contract compares to those of New York Islanders center Anders Lee and Dallas Stars forward Cody Eakin, whose play and skill set compare favorably to Pearson as well. It appears to be a good compromise all around for Pearson and Los Angeles, and the Kings can now turn to helping Pearson and his teammates out more by adding some more speed and skill to the forward corps this off-season.

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