Max Pacioretty Expected To Sign Soon
One of the better free agent options left on the board should find a new home in the coming days as Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports forward Max Pacioretty has at least three offers from teams and should decide on his new home soon. Seravalli did not indicate whether Pacioretty was deciding between offers for a one-way contract or a professional tryout agreement with any of the speculated teams.
Pacioretty’s days as a lethal goal scorer are in the rearview mirror as a pair of Achilles tears briefly put his career on the brink. The veteran scorer’s last truly effective season came in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season in which he scored 24 goals and 51 points in 48 games for the Vegas Golden Knights. Pacioretty was once again a point-per-game player the following year with 19 goals and 37 points but only managed 39 games due to fractures in his foot and wrist.
That summer, Pacioretty suffered his first Achilles tear which had him poised to start the season on LTIR for the Golden Knights. With a need for salary cap relief during the offseason, Vegas traded Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for future considerations. The Hurricanes were hoping for a quality season from Pacioretty once he recovered from his Achilles tear.
In one of the more heartbreaking events of the 2022-23 NHL season, Pacioretty would only suit up in five games for Carolina before suffering another Achilles tear on January 19th in a game against the Minnesota Wild which ended his season. With the future of his career up in the air, Pacioretty committed to returning to the NHL and landed a bonus-laden contract with the Washington Capitals on the first day of free agency last year.
Pacioretty debuted with the Capitals in early January and managed 47 games for the organization to finish the season. He was relatively productive, scoring four goals and 23 points, as he received limited responsibility in Washington averaging the least amount of ice time over a season since his sophomore year with the Montreal Canadiens in 2009-10.
Depending on where he lands, Pacioretty should be a serviceable offensive option to plug into any team’s middle-six. The 2011-12 Bill Masterton Trophy recipient is still in pursuit of his first Stanley Cup ring over his 16-year career and may be content with a lesser-valued role to achieve that goal.
USA Hockey Adds David Quinn, John Tortorella To 4 Nations Coaching Staff
USA Hockey has added Penguins assistant coach David Quinn and Flyers head coach John Tortorella to its staff for next year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, the governing body announced Wednesday.
Quinn and Tortorella will serve under the former’s new boss, Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan, at the event. They complete the core coaching staff after Wild head coach John Hynes was announced as an assistant earlier this summer.
In recent years, the 58-year-old Quinn has become a fixture behind the U.S. men’s national team bench. The Rhode Island native was the Americans’ head coach at the 2022 Winter Olympics and World Championship and returned in the same role at the Worlds in 2023.
However, Quinn failed to lead the U.S. to a medal at any event. He also served as an assistant at the 2007, 2012 and 2016 Worlds, going medalless in those as well.
Tortorella’s international experience is much more limited. The 66-year-old was last involved with Team USA at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, serving as head coach. He didn’t medal there, nor did he as head coach at the 2008 World Championship and as an assistant at the Worlds in 2005.
Both are experienced winners at the collegiate and professional levels, though. Tortorella guided the Lightning to their first championship in 2004 and won the Jack Adams Award twice, first in the championship year with Tampa Bay and again with the Blue Jackets in 2017. He also won the Calder Cup as head coach of the AHL’s Rochester Americans in 1996.
Quinn, meanwhile, won five Hockey East championships as an associate and head coach at Boston University. He was also the associate coach on the Terriers team that won the national championship in 2009.
Jack Eichel, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes, Auston Matthews, Charlie McAvoy, and Matthew Tkachuk were the first six players named to the U.S. roster for the tournament back in June. The rest of the NHL-only contingent will be announced later this year.
Canucks Testing Goalie Market Amid Thatcher Demko’s Injury
The Canucks are on the hunt for some short-term goalie help on the trade and UFA market, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal said on Sportsnet 650 Tuesday. That’s because star starter Thatcher Demko is healing slower than expected from the knee injury he sustained early in their first-round series against the Predators and still isn’t 100%, per Dhaliwal.
Dhaliwal said it’s unclear if Demko has undergone surgery to address the knee injury, and Vancouver has been concerned about the pace of his rehab as far back as the draft in June.
This storyline comes after information about Demko’s return timeline varied wildly throughout the postseason. Multiple reports stated he’d only be out for one series, while others said he would be shut down for the season. The team never officially ruled him out, instead continuously listing him as week-to-week, but he never did return to the lineup after recording a win in Game 1 against the Predators.
The Canucks were also rumored to be sniffing around for a veteran name to supplement their crease and provide competition for emerging youngster Arturs Silovs around the draft and free agency, but that never came to fruition. Last year’s No. 2 option, Casey DeSmith, wasn’t brought back and signed a three-year deal with the Stars. Vancouver’s only notable offseason addition between the pipes was former Golden Knights prospect Jiri Patera, who’s meant as a No. 3/4 option behind Silovs.
Those rumblings will get louder now with Demko’s status uncertain. The most clear-cut addition for the Canucks would be Kevin Lankinen, the top goalie left on the UFA market. His time as a Predator ended at the hands of Vancouver last season, and he remains unsigned after Nashville opted to sign Scott Wedgewood to replace him as Juuse Saros‘ backup. The 29-year-old Finn was an above-average backup during his two years in Tennessee but was sparsely used, posting a 20-14-1 record and .912 SV% in 35 starts and eight relief appearances. Still, he’d be a cheap pickup, certainly not more than the $2MM he made last year after waiting for this late into August to sign.
Some other notable veteran UFA options include Martin Jones and Antti Raanta, but both are significantly older than Lankinen and have a much higher potential for age-related regression. Jones is coming off a resurgent year as the third-stringer for the Maple Leafs, but Raanta’s typically strong but injury-plagued play collapsed last season with a .872 SV% in 24 games for the Hurricanes.
On the trade market, funnily enough, Nashville might be one of their first calls. Top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov has reportedly submitted a trade request to the club, but it’s a situation that could potentially be resolved if they decided to flip Scott Wedgewood, who signed a two-year, $3MM contract with the club on July 1st. He’s spent the last three seasons in the Dallas Stars organization, though he sat out much of the 2021-22 campaign. Wedgewood has played in 53 games over the two seasons since, posting 15 wins and a collective .907 save percentage behind Jake Oettinger. He’s poised to fill the same role in Nashville – ceding a majority of starts to a proven starter and limiting Askarov’s chance at the NHL ice time he’s searching for. With Nashville facing a formal trade request from one of the league’s top goalie prospects, the Canucks could benefit from timing, and reel in another hardy backup to help fill time before Demko’s return – a situation akin to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s platooning while Andrei Vasilevskiy missed time last season.
The Canucks may be able to offer that upside in the short-term, but it’ll be hard to move too far from Demko, who’s risen to prominency as he’s taken over Vancouver’s top role. That growth peaked this season, with Demko ranking second in Vezina Trophy after posting a .918 through 51 appearances. He’s signed at a $5MM cap hit through the next two seasons and is likely to hang onto Vancouver’s starting crease through any new additions. That strings out a tight-rope the Canucks will need to walk, as they make the decision between a lofty goalie trade, a free agent signing, or leaning on unproven backups.
Panthers Notes: Forsling, Samoskevich, Streaming
Gustav Forsling is 2024’s recipient of the Guldpucken, awarded by the Swedish Ice Hockey Association to the top Swedish player of the year, regardless of whether they’re playing at home or abroad. The 28-year-old Panthers defenseman led the NHL with a +56 rating and finished ninth in Norris Trophy voting last season.
The award was expanded to include Swedish nationals playing in the NHL in 2015. It’s been awarded by the Swedish governing body and voted on by writers for the Swedish newspaper Expressen since 1956 but was previously only handed out to Swedish Hockey League players.
Forsling is the second defenseman in a row to win the honor after former Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson won it for the third time in 2023. The award has been exclusively given to NHL players since they became eligible. Others to win in the past nine years include Victor Hedman (twice), William Karlsson, Gabriel Landeskog and Robin Lehner.
The Linkoping native has emerged as one of the NHL’s premier two-way threats over the last few seasons, leading Panthers defensemen in points last year with 39 (10 G, 29 A) in 79 games. Forsling, Hedman and Erik Karlsson were the first three defensemen named to Sweden’s roster for next year’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
There’s more from the Panthers today:
- Forward prospect Mackie Samoskevich has changed his representation as he enters the final season of his entry-level contract, joining Brian and Scott Bartlett of Barlett Hockey, per the agency (X link). He was previously represented by Pat Brisson of CAA Sports. The 21-year-old was a first-round pick of Florida in 2021 and made his NHL debut last season, going without a point and posting a -3 rating in seven games. 2023-24 was his first full professional campaign after a pair of seasons at the University of Michigan. On the farm with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, he led the team in scoring with 54 points (22 G, 32 A) in 62 games. He’s a strong candidate to open the season with the cap-strapped Panthers, potentially in a top-nine role.
- The Panthers are one of the many teams parting ways with the Bally Sports family of regional sports networks, previously announcing they’ll have their games locally produced and distributed on various local stations by Scripps Sports for 2024-25. But for non-TV watchers, the team announced today a “strategic multi-year alliance” with ViewLift to offer a direct-to-consumer streaming platform. ViewLift also runs similar DTC streaming services for the Capitals and Golden Knights.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
Things have slowed down considerably after a hectic rush to begin free agency. With the dog days of summer in full swing, it’s time to open up the mailbag once again.
Our last one came in the more immediate aftermath to the draft and free agency and was broken into two pieces. The first looked at whether the Golden Knights could deal from their blue line depth to improve their depth scoring, whether Utah could move on from Barrett Hayton, and a few remaining storylines to keep an eye on this offseason, among other things. The second dealt with the best lineup fit for Steven Stamkos in Nashville, how the Flyers may alter their roster ahead of Matvei Michkov‘s arrival, and the Stars’ cup chances.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
NBA Owner Mat Ishbia Expresses Interest In Bringing NHL Back To Phoenix
With former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo out of the picture, most have turned their focus to NBA Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia as the likeliest option to bring an NHL franchise back to the Phoenix area. Speaking with Sportico’s Barry M. Bloom, Ishbia confirmed acquiring an expansion franchise for Phoenix is something he’s “interested in.”
Doing so would require a new home. After all, the Coyotes’ inability to land a suitable permanent arena within the Phoenix metro area was what ultimately led to their hockey operations being sold to Salt Lake City’s Smith Entertainment Group, taking on new life as the Utah Hockey Club.
Ishbia realizes this and is keen on addressing it, even selfishly for his Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, which he also owns. He told Bloom that “a new downtown Phoenix edifice is part of the long-term plan,” regardless of whether NHL expansion to Phoenix occurs or not.
Asked about what transpired with the Coyotes under the Meruelo regime, Ishbia told Bloom that he was “disappointed we don’t have a hockey team here.” “Phoenix is a four-sport town… and I hope that one day we’ll be able to get hockey back,” he added.
But the NHL returning to Phoenix after the disbanding of the Coyotes in short order was already part of the plan. The original deal struck with Meruelo upon the sale of the Yotes’ assets to Utah in April assured him an exclusive five-year window to reactivate the Coyotes and trigger an expansion draft should he get a suitable arena built to replace the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena that hosted them for the last two seasons. But Meruelo’s plan to develop a lot in north Phoenix fell through after a city auction to purchase the land was canceled due to Meruelo’s group failing to obtain the proper zoning permits beforehand.
Ishbia “wouldn’t say if he’s already talking to the NHL, and the league didn’t respond when asked to comment,” Bloom wrote. But if discussions advance in the next few years alongside plans for a new arena, it wouldn’t surprise many to see the Phoenix market re-added to the league within the next ten years. The league retained the branding rights to the Coyotes when Meruelo conceded his rights to the franchise earlier this month, which could be sold to Ishbia as part of an expansion deal.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
As expected, the draft and free agency brought about plenty of activity across the NHL with over 200 prospects being drafted and nearly that many contracts handed out over the past two weeks. With that in mind, it’s a good time to open up the mailbag.
Our last mailbag came before the draft and was broken into three segments. The first looked at the likelihood of a Linus Ullmark trade (which came to fruition soon after), Jacob Trouba’s future with the Rangers, and a look back at the Matthew Tkachuk trade, among other topics. Included in the second were several draft questions along with trying to find a possible landing spot for Trevor Zegras should the Ducks move him. Meanwhile, the third included some discussion about Colorado’s potential offseason, Philadelphia’s prospect pool, and the NHL-CHL player transfer agreement.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter/X or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
Sharks Notes: Celebrini, Chernyshov, Afanasyev, Ulmer
Sharks first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini will decide whether he’s turning pro for 2024-25 shortly after this week’s development camp ends, he told reporters yesterday (via San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng). The high-end two-way center prospect won the Hobey Baker Award for the top player in college hockey last season after recording 64 points in 38 games for Boston University as a freshman and didn’t turn 18 until well after the season had ended.
It’s overwhelmingly likely he’ll be in the San Jose lineup come opening night, as Peng says he’s been led to believe Celebrini is turning pro for months now. Only two first-overall picks out of college in recent memory – Erik Johnson (2006) and Owen Power (2021) – have returned to school after their draft year. In Johnson’s case, it wasn’t a return, either. He’d spent his draft year in the U.S. National Team Development Program before attending the University of Minnesota in 2006-07. Either way, both players were defenders, and neither was viewed as the true franchise talent Celebrini is.
Elsewhere out of the Bay Area:
- San Jose is also facing a similar decision from their third pick of the draft – Russian winger Igor Chernyshov, who they picked up with the first pick of the second round (33rd overall). While he was under contract to continue with Dynamo Moskva in the Kontinental Hockey League, that may no longer be the case. Mikhail Zislis of Sport-Express reports he’s terminating the deal to head to North American juniors. Chernyshov’s agent, Dan Milstein, followed up to Peng that there’s “nothing imminent” about Chernyshov’s decision for next season but did confirm it was up in the air. If he is joining the junior ranks on this side of the Atlantic, it would be with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League. They selected Chernyshov in today’s CHL Import Draft.
- While one Russian is getting closer to San Jose, another appears to be leaving. Peng reported earlier this week that RFA forward Egor Afanasyev is set to sign a two-year deal in the KHL, presumably with CSKA Moskva, who owns his rights. The Sharks acquired Afanasyev’s signing rights in a swap with the Predators last month, sending 2020 first-round pick Ozzy Wiesblatt the other way. He made just two NHL appearances with Nashville last season but had 54 points in 56 games on assignment to AHL Milwaukee.
- On the off-ice side, the Sharks are reportedly adding to their coaching staff in the form of former AHL Abbotsford assistant Jeff Ulmer, The Hockey News’ Max Miller reports. It’s unclear in what capacity, although there is one assistant opening on the Sharks’ bench under first-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky. Ulmer, 47, had spent the last three seasons in the Canucks organization as an assistant in Abbotsford and was also a member of the Coyotes’ player development department from 2019 to 2021.
Golden Knights Sign Victor Olofsson
1:17 p.m.: Vegas has confirmed the Olofsson signing.
12:20 p.m.: The Golden Knights are expected to add some depth scoring in the form of UFA winger Victor Olofsson, PuckPedia reports. It’ll be a one-year deal worth $1.075MM, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.
With the signing, the 28-year-old Olofsson leaves the only NHL home he’s ever known. A seventh-round pick of the Sabres, Olofsson ended up giving Buffalo great value for such a late-round selection. While a well-documented one-dimensional talent, he’s a three-time 20-goal scorer and is two years removed from a career-best 49 points in 72 games with the Sabres.
2023-24 was an extremely trying campaign for Olofsson, though, and it was clear he wouldn’t be brought back. After a difficult start to the season, he requested a trade prior to the deadline, although GM Kevyn Adams couldn’t find a deal. Now, he had a bit more agency in finding his next team on the open market.
Last year was inarguably Olofsson’s worst since breaking into the league in 2019. He was a frequent healthy scratch and was rendered largely ineffective when in the lineup, limited to seven goals and 15 points in 51 games in solely fourth-line minutes (11:34 per game). And without his goal-scoring, there isn’t much to like about his game. Looking at traditional plus-minus ratings to develop an informed opinion about a player’s defensive acumen isn’t always the best idea, but his career -63 rating in 314 games is telling. He’s also never had an xGF% above 50 at even strength in his five full NHL seasons and has struggled to control shot attempts, particularly over the past two seasons.
However, it’s a no-risk signing for Vegas at a one-year term with a cap hit that’s fully buriable in the minors. They’ll need a group effort to shoulder the loss of forwards Michael Amadio, Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson, who all headed elsewhere when the UFA market opened yesterday.
Marchessault’s 40-plus goals last season will be especially difficult to replace, but a full season of deadline add Tomáš Hertl will take a lot of that burden away from Vegas’ young players and depth additions like Olofsson. He joins a group of secondary scorers that includes Golden Knights draft picks Brendan Brisson and Pavel Dorofeyev, as well as Devils 2020 top-10 selection Alexander Holtz, who was acquired via trade over the weekend and will be relied upon to help replace the aforementioned trio’s offense by committee.
Capitals Sign Luke Philp, Spencer Smallman To Two-Way Deals
The Capitals have signed forwards Luke Philp and Spencer Smallman to two-way deals, according to a team release. They both carry $775K cap hits and NHL salaries. Philp will earn $375K while in the minors, and Smallman will earn $350K.
Now entering his sixth professional season, Philp, 28, will look to rebound after an injury-plagued 2023-24 campaign. An Achilles injury sustained in August limited him to 15 games of action last season, all with the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate in Rockford. There, he had two goals and six points in 15 games. He’s one year removed from making his NHL debut with Chicago, recording an assist and an even rating in three games in 2022-23.
Philp is a top-six AHL forward when healthy and can play both center and right wing. After recording 53 points in 60 games with Rockford a season ago, he’ll presumably head to Washington’s affiliate, the Hershey Bears, who have won back-to-back Calder Cup championships.
Smallman will join Philp in Hershey. The 27-year-old has spent the last two seasons on a two-way deal with the Avalanche, which didn’t result in any NHL time. The 6’1″ right-winger is a decent minor-league depth scoring presence and had 12 goals and 21 points in 53 games last season.
Neither are likely candidates to receive NHL call-ups next season and will be far down the list of potential injury replacements in Hershey, although Philp could see some action if Washington needs immediate short-term help down the middle. Both will become UFAs upon expiry next summer.