News and notes from around the NHL:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs extended a training camp invitation to Brandon Prust. Prust played for the Vancouver Canucks last season, amassing only 1G and 6A in 35 games. The gritty forward peaked in 2012, garnering a four-year, $10MM contract from the Montreal Canadiens in free agency. The Habs then traded Prust in his final contract year to the Canucks for Zach Kassian and a fifth rounder—a change of scenery deal for both sides. Prust could not regain what made him popular early on, and faltered in Vancouver. We predicted Prust would get a PTO partly because teams believe he may have something more to offer. The Leafs take no risks with this move, points out GM Lou Lamoriello, and can sign Prust for cheap if he impresses.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs also extended a training camp invite to former New Jersey Devils Raman Hrabarenka (a.k.a. Roman Graborenko). The Belarusian defenseman went undrafted before signing a three-year ELC with the Devils in 2012-2013. Hrabarenka scored 20G and 37A in 142 games for the Albany Devils in the AHL, and was called up for one NHL game last season. The obvious connection here is that the Leafs current GM Lou Lamoriello was previously the GM of the New Jersey Devils. It’s unclear where Hrabarenka fits in as the Leafs have a logjam of average defensemen. This move looks more like an AHL restocking than a move to bolster the big club’s blueline.
- The Los Angeles Kings extended a training camp invite to former Arizona Coyotes Paul Bissonnette. Bissonnette last played in the NHL for the Coyotes, but has since been playing on AHL contracts with the L.A. Kings AHL Affiliates Manchester Monarchs and Ontario Reign. Last year Bissonnette scored 2G and 1A in 35 games for the Reign, and 1G and 1A in 13 playoff games. The Kings are up against the cap with just over $1MM in space, and if Bissonnette can regain his form he’ll be a nice addition for the team.
Keep track of all the NHL training camp invites with ProHockeyRumor’s Training Camp Tracker.