With training camps on the horizon, players will need to be making decisions in the near future about their plans for the upcoming season. Some of those calls were made today and are noted here.
- Veteran enforcer Tom Sestito has decided to retire, reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 30-year-old played in 154 NHL games over parts of nine seasons with Columbus, Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Pittsburgh, collecting 21 points and 499 penalty minutes. He had spent the last two seasons with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in a depth role.
- The Blue Jackets have invited winger Trent Vogelhuber to training camp, Portzline reports in a separate tweet. He was initially drafted by Columbus back in 2007 as the final selection in that draft class but has yet to make it past the AHL level. The 30-year-old spent last season with Colorado’s affiliate in San Antonio, scoring four times while adding eight assists in 59 games.
- Devils UFA winger Ben Thomson has signed a one-year deal with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego, per a team release. The 25-year-old qualified for Group VI free agency as he has just three NHL games under his belt over four seasons. Last year, Thomson spent the entirety of the season with New Jersey’s affiliate in Binghamton, tallying five goals and eight assists along with 119 penalty minutes.
- After getting Sabres draft pick Matej Pekar to commit to Barrie of the OHL, the Colts also announced the commitment and signing of Golden Knights goalie prospect Maxim Zhukov. This gives Barrie their full complement of import players which further guarantees that Andrei Svechnikov, the second overall pick in June, will be sticking with Carolina this coming season.