Logan Cooley To Return To Practice Tuesday
While there was some concern expressed last month about Kirill Kaprizov’s ability to return to North America after being denied entry, the winger has successfully returned to the United States, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link). It’s unknown at this time whether or not the Wild managed to secure a U.S. work visa for the 25-year-old or if he was able to secure another deferment to his mandatory Russian military service. Meanwhile, Russo adds that Kaprizov recently underwent surgery but has been cleared to resume skating and his full workout routine so while it has been an adventurous few weeks, Minnesota should have their star available to them on opening night in October.
More from the Western Conference:
- Anaheim defenseman John Klingberg met the media, including Matt Weller of the Ducks’ team site, for the first time since signing with the team last week. He indicated that he had similar one-year offers from other teams that he was considering while reiterating his desire to secure a long-term agreement next summer. Klingberg had 47 points in 74 games with Dallas last season and will have a chance to play a big role with Anaheim next season. His full trade protection expires in January so if the Ducks are out of the mix near the trade deadline, he could be on the move in late February as well.
- Coyotes prospect Logan Cooley is expected to return to practice tomorrow as he looks to ensure he’ll have a spot on Team USA’s entry for the World Juniors, relays NHL.com’s Mike Morreale (Twitter link). The third-overall pick was listed on their 27-player roster earlier today but there are two cuts that still need to be made. The fact that Cooley will be able to return to practice bodes well for his availability for the tournament which gets underway next week.
- After non-tendering him last month, the Stars have brought back Jordan Kawaguchi on a minor-league deal, their AHL team announced. Dallas signed the 25-year-old winger as an undrafted college free agent in March of 2021 and he had a decent season, collecting 23 points in 49 games. While that wasn’t enough to garner a qualifying offer, Kawaguchi will stick around with Texas for another year.
Looking Back At The First Round Of The 2005 NHL Entry Draft
On this date 17 years ago, the first round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa. It was the league’s first major event since the lockout that cost them the entire 2004-05 season ended just over a week prior, and considering the draft’s top prize, there was added intrigue.
With the lack of regular-season standings to determine the draft order, the league implemented a snake draft system to make things more equitable for teams in later rounds that didn’t fare so well in the draft lottery. One team that did fare well that night, though, was the Pittsburgh Penguins, who cemented a 15-plus year run of success by drafting future captain Sidney Crosby with the first overall pick.
Five players selected that night went on to appear in at least 1,000 NHL games, including Crosby. One was 2022 Stanley Cup Champion Jack Johnson, taken third overall by the Carolina Hurricanes. Johnson never played a single game for Carolina, though, as he was traded the following offseason to the Los Angeles Kings along with defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky in exchange for defenseman Tim Gleason and center Eric Belanger.
Johnson wasn’t the only player from the first round to play meaningful games for the Kings, though. The team selected two-time Stanley Cup champion and future captain Anze Kopitar with the 11th overall selection. Another thousand-gamer was selected directly after him when the New York Rangers picked defenseman Marc Staal 12th overall, while Johnson’s teammate on the 2022 Avalanche, forward Andrew Cogliano, was selected 25th by the Edmonton Oilers.
One name from that night who could still join the 1,000-game club was St. Louis Blues selection and current Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. Taken 24th overall, he only needs 100 more appearances to hit the mark.
Future Stanley Cup-winning skaters weren’t the only future legends drafted that night, though. Two of the greatest goalies in recent memory were drafted that night, with the Montreal Canadiens selecting Carey Price with the fifth overall pick and the Toronto Maple Leafs selecting Tuukka Rask with the 21st overall pick, of course prior to trading him to the Boston Bruins the following season.
Just three players selected that night, all taken within four picks of each other, would never make an NHL appearance. Slovak forward Marek Zagrapan, drafted 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres, played just three years in the organization with two different AHL affiliates, scoring 20 goals there just once. At 35 years old, Zagrapan is still active, playing the 2022-23 season in the French Ligue Magnus.
Directly after him, the Washington Capitals took Canadian defenseman Sasha Pokulok with the 14th overall pick. The first overage player taken in the draft, he’s arguably the biggest bust of the night. He never spent a full season in the AHL, bouncing up and down between there and the ECHL for four seasons after turning pro in 2006. He failed to make a notable impact in Europe, too, only lasting one season in the DEL (2010-11) before floating around various lower-level leagues in Eastern Europe and Quebec.
Lastly, there’s Canadian winger Alex Bourret, taken by the Atlanta Thrashers at 16th overall. A short but strong power winger, Bourret had a very successful junior career in the QMJHL that just didn’t translate. His North American career fizzled out quickly after a strong start in the AHL, but after being traded twice (first to the Rangers, then to the Coyotes), he had just 14 points in 48 AHL games during his final season there in 2008-09.
Arizona Coyotes Hire John Madden
The Arizona Coyotes have added another coach to the mix, hiring John Madden as an assistant for Andre Tourigny’s staff. The team’s general manager Bill Armstrong released a statement on the move:
We are very pleased to add John to André Tourigny’s coaching staff. John is an experienced coach and a three-time Stanley Cup champion. He’s a proven winner who had a very good NHL career as a defensive specialist. I’m confident that he will be able to help our penalty-killing unit and he will be a great addition to our staff.
Madden, 49, has been with the San Jose Sharks the last two seasons but parted ways along with the rest of the staff when the team gave general manager Mike Grier the choice of the next coach. Before that, Madden served as head coach of the Cleveland Monsters for three seasons and as an assistant with the Florida Panthers.
That’s where his playing career ended as well, with Madden hanging up his skates in 2012 after more than 1,000 total games in the NHL. That includes 141 playoff contests, which, as Armstrong notes, resulted in three Stanley Cup championships. He is a Selke Trophy winner, having taken home the trophy in just his second year in the league, after a long grind to get to that level.
Undrafted, Madden played four years at the University of Michigan and two years in the minor leagues (where he was an absolute superstar) before playing his first full NHL season at the age of 26. For a team that is trying to build a program from the ground up, an experience like that can only help the young talent that will need to fight and claw for ice time.
Loui Eriksson Likely Headed Overseas In 2022-23
After an overall solid rebound season in 2021-22 as a member of the Arizona Coyotes, it appears that veteran winger Loui Eriksson is going to be continuing his career as a professional hockey player in Europe next year. According to Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports, the 37-year-old is still interested in playing, likely headed to his native Sweden, but has been looking at opportunities in Switzerland as well (link). Hearing that Eriksson could head overseas isn’t necessarily surprising, given his struggles to produce and diminished roles the past few seasons. However, demonstrating his health and a return to regular minutes this season meant there wasn’t much surprise that Eriksson still has something in the tank to offer.
The Gothenburg-born winger began his career as a second-round draft pick of the Dallas Stars in 2003, debuting for the team during the 2006-07 season. He would spend seven seasons in a Stars uniform before being dealt to the Boston Bruins in the summer of 2013 as the centerpiece of the trade that sent Tyler Seguin to Dallas. Eriksson would spend three seasons in Boston, capping his time off with a career-best 30 goals in 2015-16. That offseason, almost three years to the day that he was traded to Boston, Eriksson signed a six-year, $36MM contract with the Vancouver Canucks.
The Eriksson-in-Vancouver era did not work out at all as either side had intended, the forward immediately regressing to just 24 points in 65 games in the first year of the deal, never returning to the player he was in Boston and Dallas. Last summer, he was dealt in the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade as a sort of cap-dump, with the Coyotes hoping he could serve as a veteran mentor to their younger players. Eriksson was able to provide just what Arizona needed and even had something of a comeback, getting into 73 games, the second-highest total since he left Boston, putting up 19 points in the process.
Showing he could stay healthy and play every night while offering some production has rebuilt Eriksson’s value to an extent. Though it may not be enough to keep in him in the NHL, whether that’s from a lack of offers or lack of an offering worth keeping him in North America, it appears now that a chance closer to home could be a real possibility. Growing up in Sweden, naturally Eriksson has plenty of experience with Swedish hockey, spending much of his development in the Frolunda organization. But, if the veteran chose to head to the Swiss league, it wouldn’t be his first time, as he spent time with Davos during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 NHL season.
If the 2021-22 season was Eriksson’s last in the NHL, he walks away with an all-around solid resume despite his later struggles. Eriksson would finish his career with 253 goals and 360 assists in 1,050 career regular-season games over 16 seasons. Additionally, he added 14 points in 44 career playoff games, spanning four appearances with Dallas, Boston, and Vancouver. Never winning a formal award, Eriksson did finish with votes for the Lady Byng and Selke trophies numerous times and was a three-time All Star.
Conor Geekie Injury "Not Serious"
In what has so far shaped up to be a nightmarish offseason for the Calgary Flames, there could be another high-profile departure yet to come. Matthew Tkachuk, the team’s remaining superstar winger, is headed for an arbitration battle with the Flames, as we found out yesterday. They may not even reach that point, though. Eric Francis of Sportsnet believes that the Flames and Tkachuk are “parting ways,” and that the club elected to pursue arbitration in order to “buy more time” to find an appropriate exit plan. Francis added on that he thinks the situation “will be wrapped up within the week,” and if he’s right the deal would cement this July as one of the most transformative months in Flames history.
The decision to potentially trade Tkachuk comes thanks to the reality of his contract situation. Tkachuk is in a position to hit unrestricted free agency next summer and looks poised to do so. The Flames have had every opportunity to extend Tkachuk on a long-term extension, and yet have failed to secure his signature on a deal to this point, indicating that Tkachuk’s heart may not be in Calgary long-term, just like Gaudreau. As a result, the Flames might be motivated to move Tkachuk now in order to avoid a situation where the team allows 100-point wingers to leave in free agency in two consecutive offseasons. The Flames asking price, should they be open to a Tkachuk trade, is likely to be sky-high, although the lack of cap space league-wide could limit them in their chase to get the largest return package possible.
Now, for some other notes from across the league:
- Conor Geekie scared quite a few Arizona Coyotes fans early in the team’s development camp when he went down with what looked to be a pretty grisly lower-body injury. Thankfully, though, the injury was not serious, and Geekie confirmed as much today to PHNX’s Craig Morgan. Per Morgan, Geekie “did not elaborate” on the nature of his injury or any timeline for a return to the ice, but he did note that he was still doing cardio and working out his upper body. With his entry-level deal already signed, Geekie has the chance to make the Coyotes’ opening-night roster, so he’ll want to ensure that this upper-body injury is fully recovered by this fall so he can hit the ground running at training camp.
- There has been some nervousness from people across the NHL regarding Russian players and whether they’ll be able to easily return to North America from offseasons spent in Russia for training camps this fall. For the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks, they won’t need to worry much longer about two of their players. CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal has learned from agent Dan Milstein that the Canucks’ big offseason signing, Ilya Mikheyev, has arrived in North America in order to begin his preparations for the upcoming season. The New York Post’s Mollie Walker has also learned from Milstein that winger Vitali Kravtsov has arrived in New York City in advance of training camp.
Arizona Coyotes Give Conor Geekie Entry-Level Contract
2022 NHL Draft picks are continuing to fly off the “unsigned” board. Today, the Arizona Coyotes signed 11th overall pick Conor Geekie to his three-year entry-level contract, per general manager Bill Armstrong. Presumably, the contract will carry a max entry-level cap hit of $950K.
Geekie was ranked all over the map in the first round by public scouts, and although he wasn’t a consensus top-ten pick at the end of the season like he was at the beginning, Arizona still snatched him up just outside of that range. Playing second fiddle on the WHL’s Winnipeg ICE to ninth overall pick Matthew Savoie, Geekie notched 70 points in 63 games.
He’s still a few years out from being an NHL impact player, in all likelihood. But Arizona is still getting a high-end prospect that mainly excels as a two-way center that’s tough to play against both at even strength and on the penalty kill. He’s got size teams and scouts dream of at 6′ 4″ and 200+ pounds, and he still boasts decent offensive upside (although maybe not as much as teams hoped pre-season).
Lawson Crouse Files For Salary Arbitration
The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) announced that 24 players have filed for player-elected salary arbitration, the deadline for which came this afternoon. This list is not necessarily the final and complete list of players headed for arbitration, with clubs now eligible to elect salary arbitration until tomorrow, July 18th at 5:00 pm ET.
Mason Appleton (WPG)
Ethan Bear (CAR)
Jesper Bratt (NJD)
Lawson Crouse (ARI)
Morgan Geekie (SEA)
Mathieu Joseph (OTT)
Kaapo Kahkonen (SJS)
Kasperi Kapanen (PIT)
Keegan Kolesar (VGK)
Oliver Kylington (CGY)
Maxime Lajoie (CAR)
Steven Lorentz (SJS)
Isac Lundestrom (ANA)
Zack MacEwen (PHI)
Niko Mikkola (STL)
Andrew Mangiapane (CGY)
Matthew Phillips (CGY)
Jesse Puljujarvi (EDM)
Tyce Thompson (NJD)
Yakov Trenin (NSH)
Vitek Vanecek (NJD)
Jake Walman (DET)
Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)
Pavel Zacha (BOS)
Notably out of this list, Mikkola had previously filed for arbitration, but the two sides were able to settle on a one-year, $1.9MM contract that will leave the defenseman an UFA after next season.
A key distinction to add is that any player who has filed for arbitration is no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet, effectively taking the players on this list off the market. Three notable names that did not file for arbitration are Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. Though contract talks have been quiet on Dubois and Tkachuck, word of amicable discussions between Laine’s camp and Columbus has been made known. Once tomorrow’s club-elected salary arbitration deadline passes, teams and players will have time to prepare their cases before hearings begin, running from July 27th through August 11th.
Andrew Ladd Unsure About Playing Next Season
It has been a tough last few seasons for Coyotes winger Andrew Ladd who has struggled to stay healthy and struggled to produce when he has been in the lineup. While he still has one year left on his contract, Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that the veteran is unsure if he wants to play out that final season; his agent J.P. Barry indicated that a decision will be made later this summer when the time comes to start ramping up training in preparation for the season.
The 36-year-old was moved from the Islanders to the Coyotes last summer as New York was looking to free up some much-needed cap space. From an on-ice perspective, the move worked out reasonably well for Ladd who stayed in the NHL all season and got into 51 games after seeing action in just four the year before. Of course, his production (seven goals and five assists) is hardly worthy of the $6.5MM AAV he carried.
Ladd is owed a $3MM signing bonus this summer (which may have already been paid as a lot of bonuses are due at the start of the league year) plus a $1MM base salary which are the numbers that matter most to Arizona, a team that is looking to limit their spending as they go through an extended rebuild. If that money comes off the books, it’s quite possible that they’d turn around and make another trade to take on another undesirable contract as GM Bill Armstrong has done on several occasions already.
The Islanders will also be keeping tabs on this situation. As part of the trade that sent Ladd and two second-round picks (used on defensemen Janis Moser and Mattias Havelid), New York also put in a conditional third-round selection in 2023. Per CapFriendly, that pick will go to the Coyotes if Ladd does not play in any professional games in 2022-23 while under his current contract, or does not retire prior to the conclusion of the 2022-23 regular season. As a result, this situation will be one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Arizona Coyotes Sign Lukas Klok
You’ve heard of Ronald Knot, get ready for Lukas Klok. The Arizona Coyotes have picked up their second 27-year-old Czech defenseman of the offseason, bringing in Klok from Nizhnekamsk in the KHL on a one-year, two-way entry-level deal, per CapFriendly. It has a cap hit of $845K, which includes an NHL salary of $750K, $105K in performance bonuses, $95K in signing bonuses, and a minors salary of $82.5K.
Klok is actually a solid under-the-radar candidate to make the Coyotes this fall. He had a strong season in the KHL, notching 31 points in 44 games. He also had three points in four games for Czechia at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Both Klok and Knot, a previous Arizona signing this offseason, played for the same team in Russia and were both on the Czech Olympic squad.
Klok was never drafted, but he does have 29 games of experience in North America. He played 29 games with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms back in 2013-14, registering three points.
Arizona Coyotes Sign Jon Gillies
The Arizona Coyotes have added some goaltending depth, signing goaltender Jon Gillies to a one-year, two-way contract, the club announced this evening. The club did not immediately release the financial terms of the deal, however, CapFriendly reports the contract is worth $750K in the NHL and $150K at the minor league level, with $200K guaranteed (link).
Gillies, 28, actually got into 19 games this season for the New Jersey Devils and another one for the St. Louis Blues, easily the most action he’s seen at the NHL level in his career. Originally a third-round pick of the Calgary Flames from 2012, he has just 32 appearances overall at that level and has been mostly limited to AHL action.
That may not necessarily be the plan for 2022-23 though, as Gillies joins a goaltending group that is by no means settled. Karel Vejmelka will be getting the lion’s share of the work in the NHL but beyond that, it is anything but certain. Ivan Prosvetov is the real competition for the backup role, but at 23 without any real success in the minors yet, it’s hard to think the Coyotes would want him sitting for long stretches in the NHL. There’s also David Tendeck, but he barely has any experience above the ECHL.
In reality, Gillies may be the closest thing the team has to a backup goaltender at this point, though that could always change before the season starts.