Senators Sign Wyatt Bongiovanni To One-Year Extension
The Ottawa Senators have signed centerman Wyatt Bongiovanni to a one-year, two-way contract extension (Twitter link). The deal will carry a league-minimum NHL salary of $775K and an AHL salary of $92.5K.
Ottawa acquired Bongiovanni ahead of the 2024 Trade Deadline, sending future considerations back to the Winnipeg Jets. He now earns a new deal after playing through a two-year, $1.6MM entry-level contract signed with the Jets in 2022 – a deal Bongiovanni earned after signing an amateur try-out with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose, joining the team as an undrafted free agent.
Bongiovanni got hot after his move to the Senators organization, recording eight goals and 10 points in 14 regular season games with the Belleville Senators, then adding four points in seven postseson appearances. The scoring brought his season totals up to 25 points in 48 games, a new career-high for the 24-year-old forward. With this season, Bongiovanni brought his AHL career totals up to 43 points across 107 games.
This deal likely doesn’t push Bongiovanni up Ottawa’s depth chart, though it will give him a full season to solidify his prominent role in Belleville. After a meager start to his career in Manitoba, the former Quinnipiac standout seems to be in a good position to push into the AHL top-six. Should his strong scoring continues, Bongiovanni’s new contract will make him eligible for an NHL call-up.
Utah Re-Signs Ben McCartney
Over the past few weeks, Utah has been busy re-signing several pending free agents. They continued that on Monday as the team announced that they’ve inked winger Ben McCartney to a one-year, two-way deal. While financial terms were not disclosed, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the contract pays $775K in the NHL and $100K in the minors, meaning he took less than his qualifying offer to secure a higher guaranteed AHL portion.
The 22-year-old finished up his entry-level contract this season, playing exclusively in the minors with Tucson although he did have a brief early-season recall to Arizona. McCartney played in 46 games with the Roadrunners in 2023-24, picking up six goals and a dozen assists.
In his rookie year, McCartney had 35 points in 57 games in the minors, earning him a two-game stint with the Coyotes. However, even if you add in his output from 2022-23, he has just 37 AHL points since then which made him a possible non-tender candidate if GM Bill Armstrong decided he wanted to give someone else a shot. Instead, McCartney will get another chance to prove his worth, assuming he clears waivers in the fall to return to the Roadrunners (who remain Utah’s affiliate for next season).
Kings Sign Samuel Fagemo To One-Year Extension
4:50 p.m.: It’s a two-way deal for Fagemo, per PuckPedia. It carries an AHL salary of $375K with a $425K guarantee.
3:07 p.m.: The Kings have signed winger Samuel Fagemo to a one-year extension worth $775K, per a team release.
Fagemo, 24, was a second-round pick of Los Angeles in 2019 but is already on his second stint with the team. After failing to land a spot on their opening night roster last fall, he was waived and subsequently claimed by the Predators.
His stint in Nashville was nothing to write home about, recording one goal in four games while playing fourth-line minutes. He was waived again by the Preds in November, upon which he was picked up again by the Kings. Since L.A. was the only team to submit a claim, he was assigned directly to the AHL’s Ontario Reign.
Fagemo only saw brief call-up action the rest of the way with the Kings, but he was one of the best players in the AHL this season with the Reign. The Swedish sniper lit the lamp 43 times in just 50 games, finishing with 62 points and a +10 rating. He finished tied for 10th in the league in points outright, and his 1.24 points per game were the most among skaters with at least 20 appearances. However, he didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet in four games with Los Angeles after being re-acquired.
However, after his showing with the Reign, the risk of losing him on waivers again in October is sky-high. With Viktor Arvidsson and Trevor Lewis heading for free agency next month and Pierre-Luc Dubois out of the picture after being traded to the Capitals, there’s more than enough opportunity for Fagemo to snag a spot out of camp, potentially on a scoring-oriented third line.
Fagemo would have had arbitration rights had he reached restricted free agency next week. He’ll have them again upon his extension’s expiry.
Bruins Sign Brandon Bussi To Two-Way Extension
The Bruins announced Monday that they’ve signed depth netminder Brandon Bussi to a one-year, two-way deal covering next season. It carries a cap hit of $775K salary, and he’ll earn $225K in the minors with a $275K guarantee, per PuckPedia.
Bussi, 25, has served as their third-string netminder for the past two seasons. He’s been recalled under emergency conditions a handful of times but has yet to make his NHL debut.
An undrafted free agent signing out of Western Michigan University in 2022, the 6’4″ Bussi has provided good value for the Bruins’ AHL affiliate in Providence. He was electric last season and earned AHL All-Rookie Team honors with a sparkling 22-5-4 record, .924 SV% and 2.40 GAA in 32 games, although he regressed somewhat to a .913 SV% and 2.67 GAA in 41 appearances this year. It was still a solid showing for the New York native, who’s aggressively knocking on the door for NHL time.
For now, though, he’s expected to remain in the starter’s crease for the P-Bruins to open next season. Even if the Bruins move on from Linus Ullmark via trade, they’ll likely replace his spot with a goalie coming back the other way or via a free-agent signing. A two-way extension for Bussi doesn’t exude confidence that they envision him as the backup to Jeremy Swayman entering 2024-25.
One complicating factor is that, for the first time, Bussi will require waivers to head to Providence if he doesn’t crack the NHL roster out of training camp. After a pair of strong seasons with the P-Bruins, there’s a decent chance he’d be claimed.
Devils Re-Sign Nick DeSimone To One-Year Deal
The Devils have re-signed defenseman Nick DeSimone to a one-year, one-way contract, per a team announcement Monday. It’s worth the league minimum salary of $775K.
DeSimone, 29, was headed for the UFA market next week. Instead, he’ll stay in New Jersey, which claimed him off waivers from the Flames in late January. This is the first one-way contract of his career.
Given his small role with the Devils, it was doubtful if general manager Tom Fitzgerald would offer him an extension, especially a one-way commitment. He was scratched more than he played, only skating in 11 of New Jersey’s 37 contests after his acquisition. DeSimone was serviceable when iced, though, posting a goal and an assist while controlling 48.4% of shot attempts when on the ice at even strength. He averaged 16:29 per game in a Devils uniform.
The minor-league veteran has only 38 NHL games to his name, 34 of which came this season. Across his stints with Calgary and New Jersey over the past two years, he’s totaled two goals and five assists without being a defensive liability in bottom-pairing minutes. He’s long been a strong puck-moving option in the AHL, totaling 38 goals and 138 assists for 176 points in 341 games in the Flames, Golden Knights and Sharks organizations.
In fact, most of his time under NHL contract has been spent with San Jose, where he signed as an undrafted free agent out of Union College in 2017. However, he never saw NHL ice during his four years collecting a paycheck from them.
A one-way deal indicates DeSimone has an inside track to start next season as the Devils’ seventh defenseman, although he’ll likely face competition for the role from the younger Santeri Hatakka. Their top six on defense is mostly solidified, with Dougie Hamilton, Luke Hughes, John Marino, Simon Nemec and Jonas Siegenthaler all guaranteed spots, plus a UFA signing to replace Kevin Bahl, who was traded to the Flames in last week’s Jacob Markström deal.
With DeSimone in the NHL, the Devils are down to $15.27MM in projected cap space with a roster size of 16, per CapFriendly. He’ll be a UFA upon expiry.
Stars Re-Sign Matej Blumel, Emilio Pettersen
June 24: The Stars made Blümel’s signing official in an announcement Monday. They also confirmed the re-signing of Norwegian forward Emilio Pettersen, which PuckPedia had reported last week.
June 21: The Stars have been active in recent days with a trade and a re-signing and have now taken care of another of their pending restricted free agents. CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed winger Matej Blumel to a one-year, two-way deal that pays $775K in the NHL and $175K in the minors. In doing so, he took nearly $100K less than his qualifying offer for his NHL salary but received an additional $95K guarantee for his AHL salary.
The 24-year-old was originally drafted by Edmonton back in 2019 but didn’t sign with them by the deadline in 2021. One year later, Dallas inked him to an entry-level contract, one that officially expires next week before this new deal kicks in.
Blumel spent 2023-24 exclusively in the minors, playing with AHL Texas. He was one of their top scorers, tallying 31 goals and 31 assists in 72 regular season games while adding nine points in seven postseason appearances. That helped earn him a recall last month after Texas was eliminated to serve as a Black Ace for Dallas for the rest of their postseason.
Blumel does have six career NHL games under his belt, all coming from his rookie year in 2022-23 where he had a goal while logging a little under ten minutes a night. He is still exempt from waivers for another season and could find himself on the outside looking in once again. That said, if Blumel scores at a similar pace next season, he should be one of their first recalls when injuries strike.
Boston Bruins Sign Ian Mitchell To One-Year Extension
The Boston Bruins will retain some of their defensive depth as the team announced a one-year, two-way contract extension for defenseman Ian Mitchell. The deal will pay Mitchell the league minimum of $775K at the NHL level in a contract that will make Mitchell arbitration-eligible next summer.
Acquired by the Bruins in a cost-cutting move last summer, Mitchell was traded with Alec Regula from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Taylor Hall and the contractual rights to Nick Foligno. Of the two, Mitchell was the only one to suit up for Boston last season as Regula spent the entirety of the 2023-24 season with the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Similarly, Mitchell spent 42 games in Providence scoring six goals and 24 points from the blue line as he finished third on the team in scoring among defensemen.
Regulated to a flexible depth option in a much deeper defensive core, Mitchell played in 13 games for Boston this past season where he tallied two assists in total. Even though he saw his games played total slashed by nearly 20 after moving on from the Blackhawks, Mitchell still maintained an average of more than 15 minutes of ice time per game.
With the emergence of Mason Lohrei last season and in the playoffs, Boston should have much of their defensive core put in place heading into the 2024-25 NHL season. Due to this fact, Mitchell will likely start the season back in Providence in the same depth option role he spent in the Bruins organization last year.
Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub was the first to report the Bruins had extended Mitchell.
Lightning Sign Gage Goncalves To Two-Way Extension
The Lightning have re-upped forward Gage Goncalves on a two-way deal for 2024-25, the team announced. The deal carries a $775K cap hit and pays him a $100K minors salary with $125K guaranteed, per PuckPedia.
Goncalves, 23, is coming off an All-Star campaign in the minors. The 2020 second-round pick now looks like he’s one of the better playmakers in the Tampa Bay system, notching 45 assists and 58 points in 69 games this year to lead the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch in scoring. He added a goal and five assists in seven playoff games to end his season.
He has a pair of NHL games under his belt, both coming during a brief mid-January call-up this season. The 6’0″ center was shifted to the wing and was used sparingly by head coach Jon Cooper, though, averaging 9:58 per contest. He didn’t manage a shot on goal but did have two hits. The Lightning controlled 52.2% of shot attempts in Goncalves’ brief time on ice at even strength.
Goncalves will more likely than not start next season in Syracuse, but he’ll be a name to watch as training camp progresses in the fall. Even if he doesn’t make the team, he’s on an upward trajectory and should be considered for more NHL recalls in 2024-25.
The British Columbia native was slated for restricted free agency this summer. He wasn’t arbitration-eligible this time around, but he will be when his extension expires in 2025.
Senators Sign Jamieson Rees To Two-Way Extension
The Senators announced a one-year, two-way contract extension for center prospect Jamieson Rees today. Per the team, the deal pays him $775K in the NHL and $85K in the AHL.
It’s a good sign for Rees’ future in the Sens organization for him to avoid being non-tendered and reaching unrestricted free agency at the end of the month. The 23-year-old is coming off an incredibly trying season split between three AHL clubs, going without a goal and registering only eight assists in 51 appearances.
A second-round pick of the Hurricanes in 2019, Rees was on an upward trajectory as recently as last season when he recorded a career-high 14 goals and 42 points in 65 games for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. However, his development was derailed by Carolina’s lack of an AHL affiliate this season. He began the campaign on loan to AHL Springfield, the primary affiliate of the Blues, where he received little ice time and was limited to three assists in 30 games with a -3 rating.
The Canes briefly found a new home for him on the Panthers’ farm club in Charlotte, but he played only seven games there before he was traded to Ottawa for a sixth-round pick in March. He finished the season on a slightly higher note, posting four assists in 14 games with AHL Bellville, his best rate of production all season long.
Rees will be back with the B-Sens next season as he looks to rebound to a level of production more representative of a top-six minor league forward. The Ontario native will be a restricted free agent upon expiry.
Blue Jackets Sign Yegor Chinakhov To Two-Year Extension
The Blue Jackets have signed winger Yegor Chinakhov to a two-year, $4.2MM extension, per a team announcement. The deal carries a $2.1MM cap hit through the 2025-26 season.
Chinakhov, 23, was a pending restricted free agent. The Russian winger was not eligible for salary arbitration and wouldn’t have been until the summer of 2025. Notably, this is Don Waddell‘s first signing since taking over as general manager of the Blue Jackets late last month.
A completely off-the-board first-round pick in 2020, Chinakhov solidified himself as a solid depth scoring option this past season with 16 goals and 29 points in 53 games. His shooting percentage was a tad steep at 14.5%, and he may be a regression candidate next year, but he didn’t look out of place as his minutes ramped up. He averaged 15:10 per game, seventh among Blue Jackets forwards who finished the season on the roster. Chinakhov also had some of the best possession metrics of any Columbus player, finishing fifth on the team with a 49.4 CF% at even strength.
There’s been a lot to like around Chinakhov’s all-around offensive game. In hindsight, his 69 points in 56 Russian junior league games during his draft year should have earned him a tad more consideration from the public scouting world at the time. He had solid results in his lone professional season in Russia, posting 10 goals and 17 points in 32 games for Avangard Omsk in 2020-21 before arriving in Columbus the following year. A dual-threat passer and shooter with a good set of wheels, he averaged 2.1 shots on goal per game this season.
His production provided some great financial value for Columbus this year, spending the campaign on a one-year, $800K extension he inked in April 2023 with his entry-level contract set to expire. It’s a considerable but deserved raise for the Omsk native, who will continue to push for consistent top-six minutes next season under a new head coach. The Blue Jackets still have $21.675MM in projected cap space for 2024-25 with a roster size of 16.