2020 Vezina Trophy Finalists Announced
The NHL continues to release the finalists for the major regular season awards, this time announcing the nominees for the Vezina Trophy. The award is given to the best goaltender in the NHL and is voted on by the league’s general managers.
The finalists are Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets and Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins.
Vasilevskiy took home the award last season after putting up a .925 save percentage in 53 games, but couldn’t maintain quite the same level this time around. His save percentage dropped to .917, though he led the league in wins for the third consecutive season with 35. The Russian goaltender has had just about as much success as anyone to start his career, recording 159 regular season wins in his first 260 games. Amazingly, that already puts him 118th all-time despite not turning 26 for another week. A three-time Vezina finalist, he’ll likely be in the conversation for a while longer.
Hellebuyck meanwhile is only a little over a year older than Vasilevskiy and has experienced his own prolonged success to start his career. He led the NHL in starts this season with 58, putting the Jets on his back for long stretches when they were trying to patch a defensive corps together with spare parts. His .922 may not lead the league, but his 1,656 saves do as did his six shutouts. Hellebuyck could potentially be a candidate for the Hart Trophy as one of the most valuable players in the league given where the Jets would be without him.
Rask, 33, is an aging veteran compared to the two other finalists, but he is not slowing down in terms of performance. The Bruins netminder has benefited from having a strong backup the last few years and played just 41 games this season, but posted an incredible .929 save percentage in those appearances. After raising his career save percentage to .922, Rask is now third all-time behind only Dominik Hasek and Johnny Bower (among goaltenders with recorded shot totals). He already won the Jennings Trophy as part of the goaltending duo with the lowest goals against average, and took home the Vezina in 2014.
Overseas Notes: Andrighetto, Berglund, Morrow
It was a bit of a surprise when forward Sven Andrighetto bolted for Europe last summer. The 27-year-old had shown flashes of great ability over the years, and while he failed to score consistently, he still had developed into a serviceable depth forward. Andrighetto had recorded 83 points in 216 NHL games with Montreal and Colorado and had played in a career-high 64 games in 2018-19. Yet, when the Avalanche declined to extend him a qualifying offer, Andrighetto left North America entirely, signing a two-year deal with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk. A year later, he clearly has no regrets. Andrighetto has made a major career decision that puts a future NHL career in doubt. The ZSC Lions of the Swiss NLA, the same club who Andrighetto played for during his early developmental years, announced that they have brought their homegrown product back on a stunning five-year deal. The final year of Andrighetto’s deal with Omsk has been terminated and he is now under contract with ZSC through the 2024-25 season. Should he play out that entire contract, Andrighetto would be well into his 30’s by the next time he is a free agent. While he has the potential to put up big numbers with the Lions, filling the shoes of the departed Pius Suter under the tutelage of head coach Rickard Gronberg, it may not be enough to drum up interest in a 32-year-old who is six years removed from NHL action. If Andrighetto is to play in the NHL again, it would likely mean he has to break his contract with his hometown club to return within the next five years. That seems unlikely at this point, which could mean we have seen the last of a talented, capable forward in the NHL ranks.
- The same goes for NHL veteran Patrik Berglund. Hinted at earlier this month with reports that he was negotiating with the SHL’s Brynas IF, Berglund seemingly had no intention of a return to the NHL this off-season after abandoning the Buffalo Sabres midway through the 2018-19 season. That has now been confirmed, as Berglund has signed a two-year deal with Brynas per a team release. Berglund, 32, spent this year with Djurgardens IF and found great success; the long-time St. Louis Blue recorded 31 points in 49 games for one of the best per-game scoring seasons of his pro career. He now moves to Brynas, who did not make the SHL playoffs this year despite the efforts of star forward Anton Rodin. The team could desperately use some veteran leadership and Berglund hopes that he can fill that role and that he and Rodin can turn the team back into a contender. With his efforts clearly focused on making an impact at home in Sweden, Berglund is unlikely to be back in the NHL again.
- A wild ride continues for defenseman Joe Morrow. Morrow, 27, who earned a contract extension and 41 games with the Winnipeg Jets just two years ago, has been in a whirlwind ever since. Morrow was unable to find an NHL contract last off-season and attended training camp with the New York Rangers, only to earn a contract offer from the rival New Jersey Devils. However, after months with the Devils without seeing any NHL action, Morrow’s contract was terminated and he departed for the KHL, signing a two-year deal with Dynamo Minsk. This was amazingly the first multi-year deal of Morrow’s pro career since his entry-level deal had expired and it looked like Minsk might be a good place for the veteran to rebuild his stock as a top player for the club. Instead, Morrow was a bust in Minsk, managing just three assists and a -8 rating in 22 games. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the two sides have now gone their separate ways, with the second year of Morrow’s contract terminated according to the team. What’s next for the veteran defenseman remains a mystery at this point.
Prospect Notes: Cozens, Harvard, Beniers, Kings
The future is bright for the Wild, Flyers, Senators, and Kings, per The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. Each of those four clubs tied for the lead with four prospects making Wheeler’s top-50 list, headlined by Dylan Cozens of the Sabres in the top spot. The same can’t be said for the Lightning, Blue Jackets, Jets, Blackhawks, and Bruins, all of whom failed to register a single prospect on the list. Wheeler qualifies the case for the Jets and Blue Jackets as each had a pair of prospects close to making the list, and the Blackhawks, who have recently graduated players like Adam Boqvist and Kirby Dach, while blueliner Ian Mitchell garnered consideration.
- As if tracking NHL prospects isn’t artful enough, it’s going to get a whole lot more complicated as college athletics tries to find its way amid the coronavirus pandemic. Harvard released a statement today announcing all classes will be offered online and on-campus students will be capped at 40% of the student body. Athletics are going to be impacted, but it’s not yet clear what kind of season, if any, college hockey will have in 2020-2021. As ESPN’s Chris Peters points out, that’s going to affect the next couple of drafts, as Harvard alone had a number of potential draft prospects, including potential first-rounder Matt Beniers.
- The Los Angeles Kings have a big decision looming after winning the number two overall pick in next year’s draft. Of course, they have plenty of time to study their options, writes Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. With an uncertain picture of next season, the draft presents the Kings with their largest dose of certainty. The top pick is going to be Alexis Lafreniere, leaving VP and GM Rob Blake with his pick of the rest. Harris provides a quote from Blake, who said: “You can narrow it down to three or four players where you’re really starting to zero in, instead of a group. But you’re going to review all the prep you did leading up to this one more time to have it fresh on your mind.” In addition, the Kings have three second-round picks and a pair each in the third and fourth round. Of course, though the Kings know when in the draft they’ll pick, they still don’t know when the draft will take place.
Poll: Who Is Most Deserving Of The No. 1 Pick?
We asked and you voted and the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team that readers least want to see win the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by means of a second draft lottery. The Penguins were closely followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers and unsurprisingly these are three teams loaded with star power who finished in the top-five among teams in the qualifying round. Yet, the Carolina Hurricanes, who hold the second best record among qualifying round teams, gained just 1% of the vote, while the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, the worst teams to qualify from each conference, finished fourth and fifth respectively in voting. This begs the question: who do you think is most deserving of the top pick?
Obviously, with the NHL Draft Lottery playing out as it did with each of the league’s bottom seven teams missing out on the top slot, the most deserving teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, or Buffalo Sabres won’t be an option for No. 1 this year. Instead, it will be one of the to-be-determined playoff teams out of the 16 who will play in a “knockout round” to open the expanded 24-team playoff field. All of these teams finished above .500 this season, so a good team will only get better in the form of Alexis Lafreniere, the elite talent at the top of the draft board. All eight losers of the qualifying round will have even odds in a second running of the lottery, but which franchise is most deserving of this boost?
The NHL has no shortage of teams with a history of losing, but the Florida Panthers have a strong argument for the title of unluckiest. Florida, who entered the league in 1993, has just 18 playoff wins in franchise history. A dozen of those wins came in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, in which they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. The remaining six wins have come in just four playoff series over the past 22 season, none of which have been won by the Cats. This series win drought is the longest current streak in the NHL. The team has also struggled with attendance over the years, due both to location and performance. The Panthers finished just 29th in capacity attendance this season and could use a young star player to draw more fans. The current Florida roster is not without talent but is strapped for cap space and set to lose some strong players in free agency. An affordable entry level deal for a top pick would go a long way to keep the Panthers competitive in the Atlantic Division.
The Winnipeg Jets have improved since moving from Atlanta, but the team’s legacy is still one of failure. The Thrashers franchise, which has since become the second iteration of the Jets, entered the league in 1999. In 19 seasons, the club has qualified for the playoffs just four times and has won only 11 games and two series. Like the Panthers, the bulk of those wins came in just one postseason as the Jets won nine games in 2017-18. Unlike Florida, they have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final. The Jets playoff fortunes have increased since leaving Atlanta, where they failed to win a single postseason game in more than a decade. The club may be able to figure out how to get to their first Cup Final without luck, but playing in a remote city with a passionate but small fan base limits the Jets financially and they could definitely use an affordable superstar like Lafreniere, even though the roster already contains a number of strong young players.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have an identical 11-20 playoff record to the Thrashers/Jets and seeing as how they entered the league one year later in 2000, it would seem they have been slightly more successful. Additionally, all of those wins have come within the past six seasons and the team has qualified in each of the past three years. However, the Blue Jackets have the unfortunate distinction of never coming close to a Stanley Cup in a way that no other NHL team can claim. Columbus has won just one playoff series – just last year in fact – in their existence, the fewest in NHL history, and in that season was eliminated ten wins short of a title, the furthest distance that any team can claim is their best. Columbus also lost three of their best players from the team that finally won a series last season. The Blue Jackets may be improving, but their fans have seen less playoff success than any team in the NHL and their roster is not one that seem likely to produce a Stanley Cup any time soon. Lafreniere would be a boost to the franchise the likes of which have never been seen.
The Blue Jackets’ partners in the 2000 Expansion class, the Minnesota Wild presented a return to the State of Hockey for the NHL and have always had the benefit of immense fan support. Yet, the Wild have struggled to give their fans much to truly root for. While their 26 playoff wins since they entered the league is far better than some of their peers, Minnesota has never made it to the Stanley Cup Final and were swept out of their lone Western Conference Final appearance, which came back in 2002-03. Minnesota has largely been a one-and-done team, winning just four playoff series in their existence. Regular season success can only get you so far and it would be good for the team and the league for Minnesota to see some more results in the postseason. The timing could not be better to land Lafreniere either; the Wild snapped a six-season playoff appearance streak last year and their roster is one of the oldest in the league. The team could desperately use a young centerpiece.
The original Winnipeg Jets, who moved to Phoenix and became the Arizona Coyotes in 1996, also deserve inclusion among teams who could use some luck. The Coyotes franchise is the oldest to have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final, dating back to the Jets’ birth in 1979-80. In that time, they have just 41 playoff wins overall have qualified for the postseason just three times in the past 16 years. They have one of the longest active postseason droughts in the NHL, dating back seven years. The team also has the very unfortunate distinction of having the highest cap payroll in the league this season while placing just 28th in capacity percentage attendance. While star players have been a part of the franchise from time to time throughout its history, the current roster is lacking a young superstar, which is exactly what they need to increase fan interest as well as affordably improve their roster. Lafreniere would be the perfect fit.
As for other teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs have the longest active Stanley Cup drought at 51 years and are second only two Florida with a playoff series win drought of 14 years, so while they have a young, loaded roster, they may still deserve some sympathy. Similarly, while the Montreal Canadiens are the winningest team in NHL history and don’t need any more titles just yet, they are technically the worst team in the qualifying round and could desperately use the boost, as maintaining relevancy in the 21st century has proved difficult for the once-great franchise. The Vancouver Canucks are the oldest team never to have won the Stanley Cup and got painfully close with a Game Seven loss in the 2011 Final and have not won a series ever since. The Nashville Predators have also never won the Stanley Cup, but have gotten close. Like several other teams, sustained success in Nashville would have a beneficial affect on grassroots hockey. Finally, the New York Islanders are a strong team this year and have staying power in the Metropolitan Division, but their glory days of the 80’s are long gone and they have not made a Cup Final appearance in 35 seasons. Lafreniere landing in the New York market could also be great exposure for the game.
What do you think? Which team is most deserving of the No. 1 pick?
Juuso Valimaki Unlikely To Re-Join Flames This Year
While there is an ever-growing list of players previously deemed to be out for the season that are now appearing likely to be available to their respective teams at some point in the upcoming expanded postseason, don’t expect young Calgary Flames defenseman Juuso Valimaki to join the trend. Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports that Valimaki, who has missed the whole 2019-20 season, is not likely to re-join the Flames in their qualifying round match-up with the Winnipeg Jets or at any point in the playoffs should they advance. The risk, both to the player and team, outweigh the potential gains in this situation and Francis does not believe that Calgary will take the chance.
Health continues to be the major issue at hand when it comes to Valimaki. The 21-year-old defenseman suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during off-season training last summer. He underwent surgery in late August. By all accounts, including that of Flames GM Brad Treliving, recovery and rehab from ACL reconstruction is ten months to a year. While Valimaki has been participating in voluntary skates with his teammates in Calgary, he has yet to be medically cleared by the team’s medical staff. If he is on pace for the latter end of that expected timeline, Valimaki would not be prepared for game action by the time the knockout round is set to begin and would have to prove he is up to the physical requirements of playoff hockey should the Flames advance.
However, the non-medical reason behind not playing Valimaki may be even more compelling. As Francis details, Calgary has more long-term, team building considerations to take into account in the form of the impending 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Assuming the Flames protect seven forwards and three defensemen in the draft, they would eliminate a very difficult decision if Valimaki does not play a game this season. The young blue liner used up his first season of pro competition as a rookie in 2018-19, but will not be credited with a year of service if he does not play this year. This would make him ineligible for draft exposure, as only those with more than two years of pro service may be selected. However, should Valimaki play even one game this year, he would require protection in next summer’s draft or otherwise would be picked off by Seattle. Francise believes that Flames defenders Noah Hanifin and Rasmus Andersson are locks for protection and that Valimaki would be as well if eligible, leaving veteran captain and top defender Mark Giordano exposed and a very likely candidate to be selected.
Playing Valimaki this season is not worth that risk. The young defenseman is very talented but has not played competitive hockey in over a year and it is hard to imagine that his surgically reconstructed knee or even his conditioning would be ready for an immediate jump into postseason play. On top of that, the Flames have Giordano, Hanifin, Andersson, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Oliver Kylington and Michael Stone to lean on, making Valimaki an expendable piece of this year’s playoff run, especially if it helps to maintain the roster for future title chances.
Poll: Who Do You Least Want To See Win The No. 1 Pick?
If Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly’s face didn’t give it away during Friday night’s NHL Draft Lottery, this result was not what the league was expecting or hoping for. In a season when a decorated Original Six franchise, the Detroit Red Wings, had one of the worst campaigns of all-time and the league’s most downtrodden franchise, the Ottawa Senators, had not one but two high-percentage chances of winning the top pick, the No. 1 overall selection will instead go to a to-be-determined “playoff” team.
With the league expanding the postseason field to 24 teams this season as a result of COVID-19 cutting the regular season short, 16 teams will vie for a chance to move through a “knockout round” onto a more standard version of the NHL playoffs. However, now those same 16 teams, all of whom finished above .500 this season, will also be in the running to win the top overall pick and the right to select a generational talent in forward Alexis Lafreniere. All eight losers of the qualifying round will have even odds in a second running of the lottery and one lucky team will get playoff experience and an elite young player this season. No one is going to be truly happy with the result (apart from the lottery winner and their fans of course) but who would you least like to see win the top overall pick?
The Pittsburgh Penguins might be at the top of many peoples’ lists. The franchise has won three Stanley Cups in the last decade and no one would be surprised to see them win again this year, especially given the fact that they finished the regular season in seventh league-wide in points percentage. The Penguins are the best team slated to play in the knockout round, but if by some chance they lose to the Montreal Canadiens, Lafreniere could potentially join Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and company in a move that could extend the dynasty for years still to come. The thought of the talented young winger playing beside either of those superstars would be daunting to every other team in the league.
Finishing just behind Pittsburgh with the ninth-best points percentage in the league this year were the Carolina Hurricanes. The club has quietly accumulated a deep, talented roster including a number of elite young players. Carolina is set to contend for titles for many years to come, but Lafreniere would make them truly dangerous. Like the Penguins, the Hurricanes simply do not need the best player in the draft. Keep in mind that they were also one of just two teams to vote against the expanded postseason model, making it especially twisted if they were to reap the benefits of this one-off lottery structure. As good as the Hurricanes were at times this season, they are a popular upset pick in the qualifying round against the New York Rangers and could wind up in the lottery.
The New York Islanders finished just outside the top-ten in points percentage this season and have a deep, experienced team. They also play a sound defensive system. While it works to win games, it isn’t the most exciting strategy and could limit the upside of an explosive offensive talent like Lafreniere. On top of that, the Isles don’t even know where they will be playing their home games next season and have suffered from poor attendance in recent years. It doesn’t exactly sound like an ideal landing spot for an exciting top prospect. Fortunately, the Islanders drew a plus matchup against the Florida Panthers and should advance past the knockout round if they can stick to their smothering defensive game.
Given their luck in the draft lottery over the past decade, it’s pretty gross to think about the Edmonton Oilers being in the running for another No. 1 pick. Likely soon to be the home of two MVP’s in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers landing Lafreniere as their fifth first overall pick and ninth top-ten pick since 2010 would really be something. With an improved NHL roster and a strong pipeline of talent, the Oilers are finally starting to be self-sufficient and don’t need Lafreniere like they might have in recent year. However, if the team can’t hold off a poor Chicago Blackhawks club in the knockout round, maybe they do need the pick.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are another team that is chock full of young talent and it would be an embarrassment of riches (and embarrassing for the league) to see them land Lafreniere. While the team would be in prime shape to finally snap their Stanley Cup drought with the addition, the Leafs are already well on their way and will be contenders for years and years to come even without the top pick. Additionally, should Toronto win the lottery, there would certainly be those that would cry foul about the whole situation. The Maple Leafs face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the qualifying round in one of the more evenly matched of the upcoming series. Toronto is likely the slight favorite, but could just as easily wind up in the lottery.
The current iteration of the Chicago Blackhawks is not good. However, they are also the most dominant franchise of this decade with three Stanley Cups. It’s not east to find many outside of Chicago who have pity for the current Blackhawks given their sustained success of late. With some of those core players still in place and some exciting young pieces starting to build up, the Blackhawks may already be back on the rebound without the assistance of Lafreniere. If they make it a series with the star-studded Oilers, it will be even more evident that they don’t need a top pick to stay relevant. Like the Maple Leafs, some will also be outraged if the Blackhawks win the lottery due to the perceived favoritism shown by the league on a number of occasions in recent years.
If you really want to hear conspiracy theories though, look no further than the possibility of the Montreal Canadiens winding up with No. 1 overall. Yes, the Canadiens have no business in a playoff series and would have been in the standard draft lottery anyway, but there will be plenty who think that it is far too convenient if the Habs win the top pick when a Francophone and Quebec native is the best player on the board. It used to be that Montreal – who don’t forget have more Stanley Cups than any NHL franchise – was able to claim the best French Canadian players in the draft regardless of draft order. If that opportunity should inadvertently occur once again, plenty of people might get upset at the league despite the fact that Montreal technically is the most deserving (read: worst) of the qualifying round teams. The NHL does not want that drama right now and its most decorated club frankly does not need special treatment, perceived or otherwise.
As for the remaining teams, the Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers, and Vancouver Canucks were all better than their records implied this season and already have elite young players, the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes may not have the fan bases to support a young star like Lafreniere, and I’m sure there are reasons to root against the Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, and Minnesota Wild as well. If you can think of a valid reason why the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have one playoff series win in franchise history, don’t deserve a stroke of good luck, that’s fine too.
What do you think? Which team do you absolutely not want to see Lafreniere go to, either because of existing talent or complaints of foul play or for any other reason? The reality is that one of these 16 will end up with the best player on the board, which in many ways is already a loss for the league, but it can get much worse from here.
Snapshots: CBA, Little, Fossier
Extended labor peace may be at hand, reports ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. Wyshynski has been told by sources that the NHL and NHLPA are closing in on an agreement to extend the collective bargaining agreement. This new deal would also answer questions as to how the losses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pause will be remedied. The players are expected to vote soon on both the new CBA and the league’s return-to-play proposal, with both requiring a majority vote from all players. Wyshynski writes that some believe that this vote could occur this weekend, but that other believe that is too optimistic. Regardless, the current CBA’s September 2022 expiration date no longer seems to be much of an issue and the new agreement is expected to be six years in length, maintaining labor peace through the 2025-26 season.
- Bryan Little will not be back with the Winnipeg Jets this season, writes Paul Friesen of The Winnipeg Sun. The Jets have stated that Little will not return to action even after the league’s pause comes to an end and the postseason tournament begins. Little has been out since November with a concussion and punctured eardrum suffered from a shot to the head. Concussion symptoms had lingered and Little underwent surgery on his ear in March, so under normal conditions he was unlikely to play again this season. However, any hope that this extended pause in the season would allow him to return for the playoffs has been shot down. The good news is that Little tells Friesen that he is “feeling pretty good” and the veteran Jet should be ready to return for the start of next season.
- The AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs have made a notable splash, signing University of Maine star Mitchell Fossier to a one-year contract. Fossier, 23, was expected to have some NHL interest but apparently will have to do some more work to get to the top level. At Maine this season, Fossier led the team and set a personal best with 42 points in 34 games as the Black Bears pushed for NCAA Tournament inclusion before the season was shut down. Fossier showed ample scoring ability in his four collegiate seasons and should be able to translate that ability to the pros.
Snapshots: Training Camp, Kravtsov, KHL, AHL Signings
The return of hockey will soon seem like much more of a reality. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that NHL playoff teams can anticipate having their full rosters in town possibly by the end of the week. Russo writes that the European players for the Minnesota Wild are all expected to be back by Friday in order to meet the league’s mandated two-week quarantine period before Phase 3 training camps open on July 10. He adds that most European players are expected to do the same. While commercial flights from some European countries continue to be a struggle, players are also going the group charter route in order to get back to North America.
Among those making the trek from Europe is New York Rangers prospect Vitali Kravtsov, the team announced. The 20-year-old Kravtsov, a first-round pick in 2018, made the jump to North America for the first time to begin this season but was limited to the AHL and eventually returned to the KHL mid-season. In the team’s release, President John Davidson discusses Kravtsov’s early struggles and disappointment with not being used by the Rangers at the top level, but also raves about his ability and notes that the team could use talented depth for an uphill playoff run. The big, skilled Kravtsov will be given a chance to crack the postseason roster in training camp and just maybe will get the chance to play in the NHL that he had been seeking earlier this year.
- Over in the KHL, COVID-19 continues to complicate plans for 2020-21. League president Alexei Morozov announced that Admiral Vladivostok will not compete next season due to budget restraints and the possibility of limited income due to restricted attendance. Admiral struggled through a grim 2019-20 campaign that ended when they missed the playoffs for the third straight year. They may find it even harder to put together a winning team if and when they return to action after all of their players depart this off-season. Meanwhile, the other 23 teams have submitted their financial records to the league for approval and plan to play next season. However, Kunlun Red Star, the KHL’s lone Chinese team, may need to look elsewhere to open up the season. The Beijing-based club faces strict travel and public event restrictions as of right now that would prove problematic if still in place when the season begins this fall. One of the proposed locations for the team to host home games early on? None other than Vladivostok.
- There was some rare transaction movement in the AHL today, as the Manitoba Moose extended a pair of players. The Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate has re-signed forwards Brent Pederson and Cole Maier to one-year contracts for next season. Maier recorded 15 points in 59 games with the Moose, while Pederson – a former Carolina Hurricanes prospect – recorded nine points in 36 AHL games and spent some time in the ECHL as well. The San Jose Barracuda also made a move, as Steenn Pasichnuk follows his brother from Arizona State to the organization. The Sharks signed standout defenseman and Sun Devils captain Brinson Pasichnuk earlier this spring and have sweetened the pot by bringing his older brother along, a checking forward who will fight for bottom-six minutes with the Barracuda.
Chris Thorburn Officially Retires From NHL
It’s been more than two years since Chris Thorburn played meaningful minutes in an NHL game, but the veteran forward is officially hanging up his skates, per Sean O’Leary of The Score. The NHLPA sent along their congratulations to Thorburn via Twitter.
Thorburn, 37, got to go out in style, winning the Stanley Cup in his second year with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford chronicled Thorburn’s final season when he spent most of the year mentoring younger players for the Blues’ AHL affiliate. The longtime enforcer appeared in 50 games for the Blues in 2017-2018 for 7:02 ATOI as a 34-year-old, finishing the year with seven points.
The veteran winger was never an All-Star, topping out usage-wise with 13:48 ATOI during the Thrashers final season in Atlanta (2010-2011). He nonetheless carved out a role as a professional skater for 14 seasons. After Buffalo made him the 50th overall selection of the 2001 entry draft, Thorburn suited up for the Sabres, Penguins, Thrashers/Jets, and Blues, totalling 53 goals and 134 points.
Mikhail Berdin's KHL Rights Traded
- A pair of NHL prospect goaltenders have seen their rights traded in the KHL. HK Sochi announced that they’ve acquired the rights to Jets youngster Mikhail Berdin from CSKA Moscow in exchange for Coyotes prospect Ivan Prosvetov. Both netminders are already under contract to their respective NHL teams for next season but with the start of the 2020-21 AHL campaign certainly in question as long as there are restrictions in terms of allowable attendance, it’s a real possibility that players that are a little lower down the depth chart (Berdin and Prosetov played exclusively in the minors this year) are loaned to the KHL to ensure a full season of development.