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Canucks Prospect Quinn Hughes Undecided On Turning Pro For 2018-19

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The Canucks are in discussions with the representatives for prospect defenseman Quinn Hughes to determine whether he should turn pro for 2018-19 or return to school for his sophomore year, reports Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.  The matter is expected to be discussed further on Friday.

Hughes was the seventh-overall selection back in last month’s draft following a strong rookie season at the University of Michigan that saw him collect 29 points (5-24-29) in just 37 games.  He also spent time with Team USA at both the World Juniors as well as the World Championships back in May which certainly helped his draft stock.

At just 5’10, the 18-year-old is undersized for his position which could give Vancouver pause as to whether he’s ready to handle the rigors of full-time NHL duty already.  They could certainly benefit from his mobility and offensive prowess on their back end, however, so there’s no obvious right way to go.

One other option in play here is for Hughes to turn pro but play at the minor league level.  He’s eligible to do so since he was drafted out of the NCAA and not the CHL.  While that would still put an early end to his college eligibility, going this route would allow him to ease into the pro game and be available to be recalled at any point by the Canucks should it be deemed necessary.  For his part, Hughes hasn’t stated that he wouldn’t be open to starting with AHL Utica and hasn’t made a guaranteed NHL roster spot part of negotiations to this point.

While technically a decision could be made in training camp, college players rarely attend as their college classes will have already started.  As a result, expect both sides to come to an agreement on which route to take in the near future.

Vancouver Canucks Extend Darren Archibald

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A fan-favorite enforcer is staying in Vancouver. The Canucks announced this evening that they have re-signed forward Darren Archibald to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The Province’s Ben Kuzma reports that the deal is worth the minimum $650K at the NHL level.

Archibald made headlines this past season when the Canucks rewarded his hard work and leadership at the AHL level by giving him an NHL contract and promoting him to Vancouver. Archibald had previously played in the NHL for the Canucks in 2013-14, but was midway through his third season on a minor league deal with the organization when he was called up last year.

The 28-year-old winger is 6’3″ and 209 lbs. and know first and foremost for his physical style and checking game, but he also recorded a career-high 47 points in 76 games with the AHL’s Utica Comets in 2016-17 and managed to post nine points in 27 games down the stretch for Vancouver last season. While the team appreciates his work ethic, experience, and defensive presence on the ice, he is also capable of modest offense as well. Vancouver GM Jim Benning called Archibald “a big, physical forward who has been a good professional throughout his career” with a “terrific work ethic that our younger players can follow” in the team’s press release.

Vancouver continues to focus on adding hard-working, hard-nosed two-way forwards this season, as Archibald’s extension was preceded by a trio of free agency additions on July 1st that play a similar style: Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel, and Tim Schaller. 

Sven Baertschi Signs Three-Year Contract With Vancouver Canucks

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The Vancouver Canucks have signed restricted free agent Sven Baertschi to a three-year contract that carries an average annual value of $3.367MM. Baertschi, 25, will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the deal. GM Jim Benning included a statement regarding his young winger along with the press release:

We’re very pleased to sign Sven to an extension. He’s a talented offensive player. We look forward to seeing Sven further develop his complete game and become a consistent contributor to our success.

Tim Schaller Signs With Vancouver Canucks

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The Vancouver Canucks have added some bottom-six players in Antoine Roussel and Jay Beagle already, and now will continue that trend with a deal for Tim Schaller. The former Boston Bruins forward has inked a two-year, $3.8MM contract with the Canucks. GM Jim Benning released a statement regarding his newest forward:

Tim adds size to our forward group and can play throughout our line-up. He’s responsible defensively and last year showed he can make regular offensive contributions as well. We’re excited to welcome him to the Vancouver Canucks.

Schaller provides the Canucks with both size (he’s 6-foot-2, 210 pounds) and penalty killing skills as he led all Bruins in short-handed time on the ice. While he’s versatile, he primarily played left wing for the Bruins on their fourth line, but has the versatility to move to center if needed. Schaller signed a two-year deal with the Boston Bruins last season and thrived there, most especially this season when he played in all 82 games this season, totaling a career-high 12 goals and 22 points.

Washington Capitals Sign Michael Sgarbossa, Jayson Megna

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The Washington Capitals have added some depth to the Hershey Bears, signing minor league veterans Michael Sgarbossa and Jayson Megna to one-year, two-way contracts.

Sgarbossa gives Washington a center to likely replace Travis Boyd who was one of Hershey’s top centers there a season ago. Sgarbossa spent last year with the Winnipeg’s Jets AHL affiliate and put up solid numbers, including 16 goals and 40 points. The 25-year-old was not promoted. Regardless, however, Sgarbossa has 48 games of NHL experience and also provides the Capitals depth options in case of injuries. Sgarbossa did get 29 NHL games in the 2016-17 season with the Florida Panthers, posting two goals and seven points.

The 28-year-old Megna also provides much needed center depth and has even more experience than Sgarbossa. Megna has played in 113 NHL games, but spent much of the season with the Utica Comets, the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate. In 25 games there, he scored four goals and 13 points and played in one game for Vancouver.

Anaheim Ducks Sign Swedish Forward Anton Rodin

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The Ducks are importing some scoring help for the coming season. Sportsnet reports that Anaheim has signed Anton Rodin, a former Swedish Hockey League MVP and brief member of the Vancouver Canucks. Rodin finished the 2017-18 season with HC Davos of the Swiss NLA, but will now return to North America to join the Ducks. Contract terms are not yet available.

Rodin, a second-round pick back in 2009, has had trouble making his mark in the NHL. He came over to the U.S. for the 2011-12 season, but found himself playing in the AHL for next two seasons without a callup, prompting the Swede to return to the SHL, the next season, which is where he stayed for another three years. He returned to Vancouver and got into three NHL games, but spent most of his time with the Utica Comets before asking for his release in November of this season.

Travis Boyd Re-Signs With Capitals

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The Washington Capitals are holding on to one of their top minor league contributors, announcing a new two-year deal with Travis Boyd. The contract carries an $800K AAV. Boyd is expected to compete for a starting job with the defending champs next season.

Boyd, along with free agent acquisition Nic Dowd, will be expected to compete for the open fourth-line center position, according to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. The fourth-line center position, which used to belong to faceoff specialist Jay Beagle, is open now after he signed a four-year, $12MM contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Boyd will be given every opportunity to compete with the veteran Dowd for that spot.

Boyd has spent the last three seasons with the AHL Hershey Bears tallying up 52 goals while adding 163 points. The 24-year-old was a restricted free agent after signing a one-year deal last offseason for $650K.

Canucks Sign Jay Beagle And Antoine Roussel

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The Vancouver Canucks have decided to add some veteran leadership to the bottom-six, signing  Antoine Roussel and Jay Beagle to matching four-year, $12MM contracts. The pair will carry an average annual value of $3MM each, while both will get some level of trade protection.

Roussel, 28, recorded five goals and twelves assists in 73 games last year for the Dallas Stars, though he totaled 25+ points in each of the four seasons prior. Beagle, 32, if fresh off of a Stanley Cup title with the Washington Capitals and remains one of the top face-off men in the league and set a career-high with 30 points a year ago.

Vancouver GM Jim Benning is clearly investing in bottom-six experience and two-way ability, targeting both players and doing whatever took to bring them in. Both players drew ample attention and the Canucks reportedly had to beat out competitors in a tight bidding war for each contract.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Xavier Ouellet, Kenny Agostino, Michael Chaput

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The Montreal Canadiens have committed to making their AHL team better this season, and have signed three players who could easily contribute to that. Xavier Ouellet, Kenny Agostino and Michael Chaput have all agreed to join the Montreal organization on two-way contracts, with the former two signing for one season and the latter signing for two. All three will carry a $700K cap hit in the NHL. The team also signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi to his three-year entry-level contract.

Ouellet was in the news recently as the 24-year-old was bought out by the Detroit Red Wings earlier this week. The blueliner was on the roster all season long for Detroit, but only saw action in 45 games and averaged just 13:51 of ATOI. With a large group of unmovable contracts on defense and some younger options to choose from, Ouellet became expendable and since he was just 24 years of age, a buyout would only pay him one-third of his salary. With Montreal on a two-way deal, he can provide both depth for the Canadiens, but also have a big role with the AHL Laval Rockets if he can’t make the team.

For the third straight year, Agostino has signed a one-year deal with a new team only to look for a new job the following year. The 26-year-old forward has had trouble breaking into an NHL lineup after failed tenures in Calgary, St. Louis and now Boston. Agostino has only appeared in 22 NHL games since the 2013-14 season. However, he has been a solid AHL player over the past few years, which is likely what Montreal wants from him. He has scored 63 goals in the past three years in the AHL.

Chaput was just recently dealt from the Vancouver Canucks to the Chicago Blackhawks for Tanner Kero, but Chaput who was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, was not given a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. With a two-year deal, the Canadiens plan to use the forward for depth purposes, but also to augment their AHL team as Chaput picked up 17 goals and 25 assists for the Utica Comets last year. However, he managed just nine games for Vancouver, although he did play in 68 game for the Canucks in 2016-17.

As for Kotkaniemi, the third-overall pick in the 2018 draft signed his three-year entry-level deal with the Canadiens. The center will earn $832K with a $92K signing bonus, making his deal worth a total of $925K, according to Dan Braverman of NHL.com. The team selected Kotkaniemi over several other more highly regarded prospects including Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk, but the team was more interested in adding centremen to their franchise. He tallied 10 goals and 29 points in Finland’s top SM-Liiga league.

Nic Dowd Signs With Washington Capitals

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The defending champs add some depth. Versatile bottom-six forward Nic Dowd has signed with the Washington Capitals, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan reports that the deal is a one-year deal for $650K.

The Capitals targeted Dowd as the team must find a replacement for fourth-line center Jay Beagle, who signed a four-year, $12MM contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Ironically, Dowd is coming from Vancouver, suggesting the two players could switch places. However, Dowd is more of a fringe player, who has had trouble breaking into the NHL lineup. The hope is to use Dowd at center and keep Chandler Stephenson at the wing, rather than force him to move down to the fourth line.

The 28-year-old started the season with the Los Angeles Kings, but failed to crack their lineup. After playing in just 16 games, he was traded in December to Vancouver where he had more success. In Vancouver, he managed to appear in 40 games with the Canucks last season, but still just saw 10:32 of ATOI over the remainder of the season. He scored three goals with the Canucks and did not have an assist. His best season came with the Kings in 2016-17 season when he tallied six goals and 22 points.

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