Kraken Re-Assign Ty Nelson To AHL
In recent weeks, Seattle has been busy sending several of their top prospects to the minors to keep them skating while Coachella Valley is in the playoffs. The latest to do so is Ty Nelson as he has been assigned to the Firebirds, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 20-year-old was a third-round pick two years ago, going 68th overall. Since then, he has been one of the top-scoring blueliners in the OHL. In 2022-23, Nelson finished third in points among all OHL rearguards, collecting 24 goals and 52 assists in 67 games with North Bay before adding 25 points in 20 playoff contests.
This season, Nelson’s numbers dipped a bit but he was still close to the point-per-game mark. He notched 16 goals and 36 helpers for the Battalion in 54 regular season games and chipped in 14 points in 16 postseason contests before being eliminated by Oshawa earlier in the week. Nelson also suited up for Canada at the World Juniors, picking up three assists in five games.
Nelson signed his entry-level deal last May and since he didn’t play in ten games with the Kraken, that contract will slide and will still have three years left on it heading into next season.
Capitals Re-Assign Alexander Suzdalev
Capitals prospect Alexander Suzdalev has played in two different leagues already this season and could be suiting up his third one soon enough. The team announced that they have now re-assigned the forward to AHL Hershey.
The 20-year-old played with WHL Regina last season and fared quite well, recording 38 goals and 48 assists in 66 games and was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team. However, he opted for a change of scenery for this season as instead of returning to the Pats, he opted to play in Sweden and was loaned to Mora of the second-tier Allsvenskan level.
Things didn’t go as well at that level as Suzdalev was limited to just two goals and an assist in 13 games with them. When Regina traded his junior rights to Saskatoon in late December, Suzdalev elected to return to junior and played for the Blades down the stretch. He wasn’t as productive as last season but still managed nine goals and 16 assists in 30 regular season games and added four goals and nine helpers in 16 playoff contests before the Blades were eliminated on Tuesday.
Suzdalev will now join the Bears, the top team in the standings during the regular season. Hershey is up two games to one in their best-of-five second-round series against Lehigh Valley so it stands to reason that Suzdalev may need to wait a little while before getting his first taste of AHL action.
Kraken Re-Assign Niklas Kokko To AHL
It was a successful year for Kraken goaltending prospect Niklas Kokko who played in his native Finland. While the season has come to an end over there, it hasn’t ended for him as Seattle has re-assigned him to AHL Coachella Valley, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 20-year-old was a second-round pick back in 2022, going 58th overall, and, after a quiet post-draft year, really took off this season. Kokko started the season with Karpat in Finland’s Liiga but was loaned out to Pelicans midseason. The move worked out quite well as he received more playing time and his new team took off in the standings.
Kokko posted a 1.49 GAA with a .926 SV% and four shutouts in 13 games (while not losing a single one in regulation time) following the loan before authoring a strong postseason run. He helped lead Pelicans to the league finals (beating Karpat along the way), putting up a 1.81 GAA and a .925 SV% in 17 contests before they were eliminated by Tappara.
Kokko is already signed by the Kraken and will now get his first taste of the AHL while the Firebirds are participating in the playoffs. With Coachella Valley’s goalie tandem (anchored by veteran Chris Driedger) both eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer, Kokko could find himself as the new starter as soon as 2024-25.
Penguins Sign Valtteri Puustinen To Two-Year Extension
The Penguins have signed winger Valtteri Puustinen to a two-year contract extension, general manager Kyle Dubas announced Friday. It’s a one-way deal carrying the league minimum base salary of $775K each season, indicating the team intends on him making the opening night roster next season.
Puustinen, 25 next month, encroached on NHL regular territory for the first time this season. The 2019 seventh-round pick of the Pens spent most of the season on the NHL roster, signed to a two-way deal ($775K/$385K) after spending all of 2022-23 with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
He proved himself as one of Pittsburgh’s better depth point producers among a bottom six that otherwise struggled to score. Making 52 of his 53 career NHL appearances, Puustinen notched five goals and 15 assists for 20 points. Despite averaging less than 12 minutes per game, his 0.38 points per game ranked eighth among Penguins forwards, excluding Jake Guentzel, who was dealt to the Hurricanes at the trade deadline.
The 5’9″ Finn was waiver-exempt this season, but that designation will lapse on July 1. In the unlikely event that Puustinen doesn’t crack Pittsburgh’s opening night roster in October, they’ll need to expose him to waivers to assign him to the AHL. Signing him to a one-way contract with a bit of term slightly lowers the probability that he’d be claimed, but a league minimum cap hit still makes him an attractive target for other teams looking for depth scoring.
Despite his age, Puustinen was a pending Group Six unrestricted free agent because he’d logged fewer than 80 NHL games while playing three or more professional seasons. The Penguins would not have controlled his signing rights if they had not agreed on an extension before July 1.
Notably, Puustinen also had above-average possession metrics this season, with a 52.3 CF% and 52.7 xGF% at even strength, per Hockey Reference. If he can again comfortably tackle bottom-six minutes next season, this is a tidy bit of work from Dubas to lock in some extremely cheap depth scoring for the next two years.
Puustinen will be a true unrestricted free agent when his new deal expires in 2026. The Penguins now have 32 of a maximum 50 standard player contracts signed for next season.
Penguins RFA Filip Lindberg Signs With Liiga’s SaiPa
Penguins restricted free agent netminder Filip Lindberg has signed a one-year deal with SaiPa of the Finnish Liiga, per a team release (translated to English).
Lindberg, 25, hasn’t played in North America since his entry-level contract with the Penguins expired after the 2022-23 season. A seventh-round pick of the Wild in 2019, they failed to sign him to an ELC before his exclusive signing rights lapsed, and he ended up with Pittsburgh in free agency after three seasons of excellent hockey at UMass.
The Finnish puck-stopper struggled with injuries in college and never won the starting role outright, platooning with Stars netminder Matt Murray during his time in Amherst. But when Lindberg was in the crease, he was dominant, recording a 1.58 GAA, .937 SV%, 11 shutouts and a 29-10-6 record in 50 appearances.
Unfortunately, injuries followed him to Pennsylvania after he turned pro. After being named the AHL’s goalie of the month in October 2021, he played in just 26 games for AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over two seasons in the Penguins organization. He did have solid numbers (3.03 GAA, .901 SV%) behind a weak team but failed to replicate his collegiate play.
The Penguins retained his NHL rights by extending him a qualifying offer after the 2022-23 campaign ended, but Lindberg opted not to sign it and returned home to suit up for the Liiga’s TPS this season. He managed to stay healthy, but his level of play fell off a cliff, struggling to a 2.54 GAA, .883 SV% and 6-12-11 record in 31 appearances.
Unsurprisingly, the Espoo native decided to try his hand elsewhere and didn’t extend with TPS. He now lands with SaiPa, whose goaltenders posted similarly poor numbers last season, to bolster their crease.
Lindberg carries 10.2(c) status in the eyes of the NHL, meaning he’s ineligible to sign an offer sheet with another team while his signing rights are still the property of the Penguins. Pittsburgh must sign him to a contract before free agency opens in 2026 to avoid letting his signing rights lapse.
Canadiens Prospect Oliver Kapanen Signs With SHL’s Timrå IK
Canadiens fans may have to wait a little longer to see 2021 second-round pick Oliver Kapanen in North America. The Finnish center has signed a two-year contract with Timrå IK of the Swedish Hockey League, the club announced Thursday.
The Habs have yet to come to terms on an entry-level contract with Kapanen, which they must do by June 1, 2025, to avoid losing his signing rights and letting him become an unrestricted free agent. They can still sign him this summer if they wish, but in the likely event he doesn’t make the NHL roster, today’s news means he must be offered back to Timrå on loan before he can be assigned to AHL Laval. However, he could play in Laval in 2025-26 without Timrå’s permission.
Kapanen, 20, is a Finnish national but returns to his birthplace of Timrå for the next step in his professional career. The 6’1″ pivot has developed well over the past two seasons with KalPa in the Finnish Liiga, totaling 27 goals and 65 points in 124 games since making his top-level debut in 2021-22.
He’ll be suiting up for the Finnish men’s national team for the first time starting tomorrow at the 2024 World Championship, although it’s not his first experience on the international stage. He captained Finland’s contingent at the 2023 World Juniors, scoring twice and adding an assist in five games.
Kapanen should be in line for a significant role with Timrå next season. He ended 2023-24 on an electric tear with KalPa in the postseason, tying for the team lead in scoring with seven goals and 14 points in 13 games. He’ll join a Timrå offense featuring former Oilers forwards Anton Lander and Magnus Pääjärvi, as well as Senators prospect Oliver Johansson and Penguins prospect Filip Hallander.
Predators Reassign Spencer Stastney
The Predators have reassigned defenseman Spencer Stastney to AHL Milwaukee, general manager Barry Trotz announced Thursday.
Stastney wasn’t sent down with three other fringe players last weekend, likely because he was still rehabbing the upper-body injury he sustained on a hit from Canucks forward Dakota Joshua in Game 3 of Nashville’s first-round loss. Today’s move indicates he’s been cleared to return.
The 24-year-old graduated from rookie status this season, skating in a career-high 20 regular season games with the Preds. A Nashville fifth-round pick in 2018, Stastney is wrapping up his second full professional season after finishing his collegiate career at Notre Dame in 2022.
It was a solid run for the 6’0″, 183-lb left-shot defender. He was passable at worst in his limited role, compiling two goals and two assists with a +9 rating while averaging 15:59 per game. Advanced metrics painted an optimistic picture of Stastney’s game, logging a 51.9 CF% and 59.3 xGF% at even strength.
Stastney played a handful of games for the Preds early on in the season but remained in Milwaukee for most of the year until a mid-March recall. After a three-month minor-league assignment, he sustained an upper-body injury in his first game back in the NHL but returned to play in Nashville’s final 10 games of the regular season.
That earned him a spot in head coach Andrew Brunette‘s Game 1 lineup against Vancouver ahead of the more experienced Tyson Barrie and Dante Fabbro. Before leaving the series due to the Joshua hit, Stastney had a +1 rating, one shot on goal and one block against the Canucks.
Stastney now returns to Milwaukee for some Calder Cup Playoff action after posting five goals, 20 points and a +27 rating in 44 regular-season games there. The Admirals trail 2-1 in their best-of-five division semifinal series against Texas, with Stastney expected to draw in for a must-win Game 4 on Friday. He’s in need of a new contract this summer, with his two-year entry-level contract set to expire and make him a restricted free agent.
Snapshots: AHL, Bennett, Lekkerimaki
The AHL will remain under stable leadership for next season and beyond. Current league president and CEO Scott Howson was on an expiring contract entering next season, but the AHL’s Board of Governors announced today that he’s agreed to a multi-year extension.
Before assuming his current role in 2020, the 64-year-old Howson was a mainstay in NHL front offices. Nearly a decade after his brief playing career concluded in 1986, Howson was appointed as the general manager of the Oilers’ AHL affiliate, then in Cape Breton, in 1994. He continued in the role when Edmonton reached an affiliation agreement with the Hamilton Bulldogs in 1996, and he was eventually promoted to an AGM role with the Oilers’ NHL staff in 2000.
He got his first shot as an NHL GM after helping construct the Edmonton squad that reached the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, signing on as the Blue Jackets’ GM for 2007-08. He lasted there for more than five seasons until he was fired shortly into the lockout-constricted 2012-13 season. Howson then immediately returned to Edmonton as a pro scout and eventually became their director of player development in 2017 before leaving for his AHL president/CEO role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other news and notes from around hockey:
- Panthers forward Sam Bennett remains out for Game 2 against the Bruins tonight as Florida looks to tie the series. But the top-six center may not miss much more time with his upper-body injury and could return when the series shifts to Boston for Games 3 and 4, per The Hockey News’ David Dwork. Bennett, 27, had a goal and assist against the Lightning in the first round before leaving with injury partway through Game 2. He’s now missed more than two weeks of action but has officially been upgraded to day-to-day.
- Canucks top forward prospect Jonathan Lekkerimäki is back with AHL Abbotsford for their playoff run, the team confirmed today. Lekkerimäki, 19, was assigned to Abbotsford in March to make his North American professional debut but was loaned to the Swedish national team in mid-April in advance of the 2024 World Championship. He didn’t make the cut for the final roster, though, and will suit up in a must-win Game 3 tonight against the Ontario Reign to keep their season alive. The 2022 first-round pick had a goal and an assist for Abbotsford during his earlier brief stint.
Oskar Lindblom Signs With SHL’s Brynäs IF
Sharks pending unrestricted free agent left wing Oskar Lindblom won’t return to the club as expected, instead opting to return to Sweden on a two-year deal with Brynäs IF of the SHL. Lindblom’s new agreement with his hometown team also carries a three-year extension option for a maximum total of five seasons.
Lindblom, 27, spent the last two seasons in San Jose after being bought out by the Flyers in 2022, subsequently signing a two-year, $5MM agreement with the Sharks in free agency. The three-time 10-goal scorer was limited to only six snipes and 15 points in 73 games last year, though, and he failed to crack the Sharks’ opening-night roster last October.
He spent nearly the entire season on assignment to AHL San Jose, where the Ewing’s sarcoma survivor had six goals and 18 points in 41 contests. Lindblom’s lone NHL appearance this season came on November 10 against the Golden Knights, recording a -1 rating and one hit in 11:56 of ice time.
Brynäs, which plays in Lindblom’s hometown of Gävle, receives significant reinforcement after earning promotion back to the SHL from the HockeyAllsvenskan a few weeks ago. Lindblom played all of his youth hockey in the Brynäs organization and was selected from them by Philadelphia in the fifth round of the 2014 draft.
He graduated to a full-time fixture for them in the SHL in 2014-15, spending three seasons there before leaving for the Flyers in 2017. Lindblom totaled 38 goals and 87 points in 141 games in parts of five seasons for Brynäs in SHL competition during his first stint, including a 22-goal, 47-point showing in 52 games in 2016-17 that earned him Swedish Forward of the Year honors.
Lindblom is the third NHL transfer Brynäs has picked up already this offseason, joining former Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg and ex-Maple Leafs and Devils depth netminder Erik Källgren. Their brief stay in the HockeyAllsvenskan last season was their first season outside of the Swedish top division since 1959-60.
If it’s the end of Lindblom’s time in the NHL, he concludes his career with 56 goals and 56 assists for 112 points and a -1 rating across 337 games with the Flyers and Sharks.
Blues Sign Hugh McGing To Two-Year Extension
The Blues have signed forward Hugh McGing to a two-year, two-way contract extension, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday. He’ll earn $775K at the NHL level and $250K at the AHL level each season, per the team.
McGing, 25, spent most of last season on assignment to AHL Springfield. He led the Blues’ primary minor-league affiliate with 31 assists, adding eight goals for 39 points in 51 games with 40 PIMs and a +5 rating. In doing so, he matched his career-high points total set last season despite playing 20 fewer games. His 0.76 points per game were his highest since recording a point per game in his senior season with Western Michigan University in 2019-20.
The undersized forward also earned his second career NHL call-up on Dec. 9, remaining on the St. Louis roster for 11 days before being returned to Springfield. He made five appearances in that time, struggling mightily with no points, a -5 rating, poor possession metrics and going 1 for 7 on faceoffs. McGing averaged only 8:23 per game and was given advantageous offensive zone usage at even strength.
McGing was a fifth-round pick of the Blues back in 2018. While he hasn’t provided anything in his limited NHL time that suggests he can handle a major-league role, the Chicago native has turned into a good role player with Springfield with above-average playmaking skills. He served as an alternate captain for the Thunderbirds this year and is a good fit in their top six, providing the Blues organization with a quality linemate for some of their younger, higher-ceiling prospects.
He was set to be a Group Six unrestricted free agent this summer, as he’d played fewer than 80 NHL games while completing three or more professional seasons. His new deal earns him a $90K raise annually over his previous $140K minors salary, perhaps more if he spends additional time earning the $775K league minimum while on the NHL roster. McGing will be eligible for true unrestricted free agency when his extension ends after the 2025-26 season.
The Blues have one other Group Six UFA to deal with before July 1 – 25-year-old winger William Bitten, who posted 17 goals and 33 points in 68 games for Springfield this year. After McGing’s extension, they’re now at 36 of the maximum 50 standard player contracts signed for next season.