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Pacific Notes: McDavid, Hitchcock, Sharks Prospects

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The Edmonton Oilers might be breathing a little easier today after their star, Connor McDavid, took the ice for the first time since tearing his PCL in his left knee on the final game of the season on Apr. 6, though he did not require surgery. There were concerns recently when McDavid didn’t take the ice last week at the annual BioSteel camp in Toronto, but McDavid said he felt good after today’s informal skate, according to Sportsnet’s Marc Spector.

“It feels like nothing’s changed,” said McDavid. “I didn’t want to push it too hard but you have to push it hard enough to ensure that it’s healing. I was lucky to work with some great doctors and the Oilers medical team.”

The 22-year-old took the ice today with a group of Oilers and fared well in informal three-on-three scrimmages. Spector writes that McDavid looked 100 percent, who said that he feels that nothing is restricting him on the ice. The star forward hopes that he will be ready to go on opening night, Oct. 2 against Vancouver.

“We’re working towards that,” he said about opening night. “It’s kinda out of my hands. The doctors, they’ll figure that all out, and I’ll listen to them.”

  • Sticking with the Oilers, former head coach Ken Hitchcock may no longer be behind the bench, but is still quite involved in Edmonton. Now with the job title of advisor, Holland is involved in everything that goes around the team as he helps general manager Ken Holland, according to Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson. He had a hand in the hiring of Dave Tippett as the new head coach and also had a hand in the Milan Lucic – James Neal swap as well. He is expected to be present at both rookie and the main training camp before returning to his home in California, where the veteran coach is expected to keep an eye on Oilers on TV, while watching the Bakersfield AHL team as well. “I’m here to help the Oiler organization, anything to help the American League team … I’m really glad I’m able to sit in with the coaches meetings with the AHL club. Anything that Ken and Tip (new coach Dave Tippett) want,” said Hitchcock. “But it’s really important I give each staff their space, physical and mental space.”
  • The Sharks have high expectations for their prospects at the Anaheim Rookie Faceoff Tournament as the team still has a few holes in their lineup and several of their young prospects have the potential to challenge for spots, according to the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka. A strong showing at this tournament that starts today will be critical for them, including Sasha Chmelevski, Ivan Chekhovich and Joachim Blichfield who are all turning pro this year. While many expect the three to play out their first professional season with the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL, a strong showing at the rookie tournament by one of these players could allow the team to look at them challenging several of the frontrunners jobs’ at the main training camp such as Dylan Gambrell, Antti Suomela and Alexander True.

 

RFA Profile: Anthony DeAngelo

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If asked to rank the remaining unsigned restricted free agent defensemen by offensive efficiency, most would easily be able to tab Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy as the top two. However, few would name Anthony DeAngelo third ahead of the likes of Ivan Provorov and Marcus Pettersson. In fact, last season DeAngelo finished just behind Werenski and McAvoy in points per game, with 0.49 compared to their 0.54 and 0.52 respectively. He also did so with three minutes less of ice time on average. DeAngelo has quietly developed into a potent offensive contributor on the blue line and working out an extension will be no small task for the cap-strapped New York Rangers. Here is a closer look at his situation.

DeAngelo, 23, is already on his third NHL team, a fact that may contribute to his perceived lesser value compared to his RFA peers. The 19th overall pick in 2014 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, he never played a game for the Bolts and was surprisingly dealt to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2016 second-round pick following a productive first pro season in the AHL. The ‘Yotes did not hesitate to bring DeAngelo up, and he recorded a respectable 14 points in 39 NHL games in 2016-17. Yet, he was moved again that off-season in the deal that sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta from New York to Arizona. DeAngelo’s first season with the Rangers was nothing special; he again split the season between the NHL and AHL and failed to scorer a goal in 32 games with New York. Through three pro seasons, DeAngelo was beginning to look like a bust as a first-round pick.

However, the team handed DeAngelo a regular role last season and he ran with it. The talented puck-mover registered 30 points in 61 games to lead all Blueshirt defensemen in scoring despite missing more than 20 games. DeAngelo also led the entire team with a +6 rating and was second in even strength time on ice. There is no hiding the fact that DeAngelo was one of the best players for New York last season. Despite their considerable additions this off-season, especially on the blue line in Jacob Trouba and prospect Adam Fox, the Rangers will still need to sign DeAngelo to a deal that accurately reflects that value, even if they don’t necessarily have the cap flexibility to do so. After that showing last season, DeAngelo is no longer a mystery or an enigma and if the Rangers won’t pay him, another team will.

Statistics

2018-19: 61 GP, 4-26-30, +6 rating, 77 PIMS, 111 shots, 19:20 ATOI
Career: 132 GP, 9-43-52, -25 rating, 125 PIMS, 239 shots, 18:00 ATOI

Comparables

Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets

Platform Year Stats: 73 GP, 6-20-26, -16 rating, 25 PIMS, 132 shots, 21:10 ATOI
Career Stats: 101 GP, 7-33-40, -17, 47 PIMS, 186 shots, 21:30 ATOI

Contract: Two years, $6MM
Year Signed: 2019

There’s isn’t a much better comparable than a player who played on the same team. Last season, Pionk was given more ice time and played in more games than DeAngelo for the Rangers and still was outscored and outplayed. When it came to trading away a young defender in the Trouba deal, it was Pionk that New York was willing to part with and not DeAngelo. With similar platform and career stats, especially on a per-game scoring basis, DeAngelo can point to Pionk as a comparable but also prove his slight edge as well as argue that his younger age and greater experience help his case. Pionk’s deal is the floor for a DeAngelo extension.

Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers

Platform Year Stats: 82 GP, 9-26-35, -4 rating, 22 PIMS, 121 shots, 19:34 ATOI
Career Stats: 131 GP, 11-34-45, -10 rating, 42 PIMS, 193 shots, 18:04 ATOI

Contract: Two years, $6.5MM
Year Signed: 2019

DeAngelo took a big step forward this season, but Sanheim took a leap. A fellow 2014 first-round pick facing criticism, Sanheim finally showed he was a starting-caliber NHL defenseman with a nine-goal, 35-point campaign. However, those numbers did come in a full 82-game season. Sanheim’s career numbers also trail DeAngelo’s in almost the exact same games played and total ice time. Both young defensemen are part of busy blue lines with a fair amount of talent but have carved out a role for themselves. DeAngelo maintains a slight edge based just on per-game production, but these two players are very similar.

Will Butcher, New Jersey Devils

Platform Year Stats: 78 GP, 4-26-30, -17 rating, 18 PIMS, 108 shots, 19:16 ATOI
Career Stats: 159 GP, 9-65-74, -16, 26 PIMS, 196 shots, 17:38 ATOI

Contract: Three years, $11.2MM
Year Signed: 2019

Like Werenski and McAvoy, few would think to associate DeAngelo with Butcher, the prize college free agent of a few years ago. In reality, DeAngelo and Butcher had the same stat line last season, with the Devils standout playing in 17 more games. In his career, Butcher does have the slightly superior per-game scoring numbers, but it is hard to look at their platform seasons and DeAngelo’s more balanced game at a younger age and not feel they are at least close to equal.

Projected Contract

There are several fair comparisons to DeAngelo, all of whom have signed extensions within the last few months. It paints a pretty clear picture of what a defenseman of DeAngelo’s age, experience, and production should be seeking: a short-term deal worth $3-4MM.

The Rangers are tight against the salary cap and have several long-term contracts on the blue line already, as well as a handful of prospect defenders who could push for a role sooner rather than later. For that reason, the team will likely push for a shorter, more affordable bridge deal, taking the risk that DeAngelo could continue to improve and boost his price tag, but landing a contract that they can accommodate more easily in the short term. If DeAngelo is slightly better than Sanheim, who makes $3.25MM on a two-year deal, and slightly worse than Butcher, who makes $3.73MM on a three-year deal, a two-year deal with a $3.5MM AAV is likely just right for the young Rangers defensemen.

Now, even at a very fair two years and $7MM, a DeAngelo resolution is still too much for the Rangers to carry at current time, with RFA forward Brendan Lemieux still to sign as well. The team has a number of young players they can freely demote as well as multiple veterans that are candidates to be buried in the AHL, but nevertheless the team may still need to make a space-saving trade before the season begins.

Kings Sign Jack Campbell To Two-Year Extension

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The Los Angeles Kings will not have to spend any time this season worrying about their future goaltending depth. With starter Jonathan Quick signed through 2022-23 and promising prospect Cal Petersen locked up through 2021-22, the Kings have announced an extension with backup Jack Campbell as well. It is a two-year, $3.3MM deal for Campbell beginning after this coming season, keeping him under contract through 2021-22 as well at a discount cap hit of just $1.65MM.

One has to wonder if this contract came with a handshake agreement that Campbell would take over as the Kings starter during or immediately after the term of the deal. The 27-year-old Campbell was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer and, while $1.65MM is a nice bump up from the $675K that he’ll receive in the final year of his current contract, it doesn’t seem to accurately reflect what his market value could have been. Campbell has been a revelation for L.A. since the team took a flier on him in a minor trade with the Dallas Stars in 2016. In 37 appearances with the club, Campbell has posted a stunning .928 save percentage and 2.30 GAA. 31 of those appearances (25 of which were starts) came last season alone and produced identical numbers, which also landed in the top five among NHL goalies with at least 25 appearances. It’s fair to argue that Campbell was the very best backup goaltender in the NHL in 2018-19. So why did he sign so early and for so little?

The rumors that the Kings are shopping Quick have persisted for several years now. The two-time Stanley Cup-winning keeper is one of the most decorated goalies in the NHL, but missed most of the 2016-17 season due to injury, prompting the initial rumors, and then followed up a Jennings Trophy-winning 2017-18 campaign with a career-worst performance last season, which also included more injury issues. Quick did not look like himself last year and some believe that L.A. will continue to try to move on from the veteran and the remainder of his hefty contract before things get worse. If they succeed, Campbell would take over as starter. It could be that the promise or at least the likelihood of this scenario unfolding may have led to this underwhelming deal for the current backup.

On the other hand, Campbell is obviously a late bloomer and putting up these numbers at age 27 makes him a less exciting name than a much younger backup in the situation. Campbell also lacks the sample size that some might like to see before calling him a starter-caliber goaltender. If he had a repeat performance of last season, he could have demanded much more on the open market. However, if his numbers had dropped off, he would have be overshadowed by a strong goalie market next off-season. Not only could starters like Braden Holtby, Robin Lehner, and Jacob Markstrom be available, but some of the league’s other top backups – Thomas Greiss, Darcy Kuemper, Jaroslav Halak, Anton Khudobin – and several veterans set to transition into backup roles – Jimmy Howard, Corey Crawford, Craig Anderson – could also hit the market. Despite the fact that he outplayed all of these netminders last season in his limited action, it could be that Campbell took the safe route and opted to stay in a situation that he was comfortable with. The worst case scenario for Campbell would be that he continues to play exceedingly well, but Quick also returns to form and he remains stuck as the backup. But even in that scenario, Campbell would still generate quite the trade market, especially at his inexpensive price tag.

PHR Mailbag: Puljujarvi, Rangers, Backes, Bounce-Back Players, Expansion

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Topics in this edition of the mailbag include RFA winger Jesse Puljujarvi, the Rangers’ backup goalie situation, David Backes’ big contract, players that could be on the rebound and decline, and how Seattle’s 2021 debut could affect activity around the league this season.

acarneglia: Are the Rangers a potential match for Puljujarvi?

met man: How do you think the Ranger goalie situation will play out?  Which Russian will be Lundqvist’s’ partner?  What happens to the odd man out?

As far as possible fits for Puljujarvi go, the Rangers would be one of the better ones.  With a pretty young group of forwards, they’re the type of team where he could potentially fit in on a second or third line and have some success.  Unfortunately for New York, they’re not a realistic landing spot.

With minimal cap space to work with and Brendan Lemieux and Anthony DeAngelo needing new contracts, the Rangers simply aren’t in a spot where they can realistically afford to add salary.  It’s not that Puljujarvi would be commanding a pricey deal but he’ll want more than his qualifying offer and that might be too rich for what they can afford on the cap unless they offset some money elsewhere.  Yes, Edmonton wants a top-nine forward for him but the only viable option would be Jesper Fast and that’s probably not going to get it done.

I actually think Puljujarvi’s trade odds have gone down.  Going back to Finland is a good thing for his development.  He’ll be out of the spotlight and can work on some of the elements that are lacking.  A good season there will help his trade value and GM Ken Holland knows it.  They’re not going to get much of a return now if they trade him so they might as well wait it out unless someone gets desperate.  The Rangers won’t be that team.

As for the backup goalie situation, both Alexandar Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin are waiver-exempt which is actually a good thing here.  I see the pair spending some time at both levels as a result.  That way, they get a bit of time in the NHL but also see a fair bit of action in AHL Hartford.  A young NHL backup is rarely an ideal situation from a development perspective so with two youngsters in the discussion, this is the best compromise they can make.

azcm2511: How does Boston get out from under the Backes contract? Taking into account his movement control, do you think it would be possible for Sweeney to find a buyer who will take on the entire contract if he was to package him with Torey Krug? I don’t see how they will manage to fit Krug into the budget if he is projected to be a 7-9 mil a year player after this season. The B’s have McAvoy and potentially Gryz to fill the PP void, do you see any potential matches for this scenario?

While I doubt they’d be willing to part with Krug to get out of Backes’ deal, I applaud you for thinking outside the box.  I know contract talks haven’t really started with the pending UFA defender but there’s still plenty of time.  They’re a team in win-now mode so parting with a top offensive weapon from the back end is counter-productive even if freeing up the money helps them re-sign Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.  I agree that his price tag may very well be too high to be a long-term fit but the internal discussion about trading him for that reason would come at the trade deadline and be based on where they are in the standings.

As for what they’ll do with Backes, he doesn’t have a no-move clause so they’d save a little bit by sending him down.  If they replaced him with a minimum-salaried player, that’d free up an extra $375K in cap room.  That’s not a lot but if that money isn’t spent over the course of the season, that’s worth a small addition at the trade deadline.  I wonder if there’s a move to be made with 50% retention and a sweetener; their system is deep enough that it could part with a prospect or pick to do so without it hurting too badly.  And if all else fails, they can try to find a doctor to certify him as injured and try to go the LTIR route.  His style of play has made him susceptible to being injury-prone at this point of his career.  It probably wouldn’t be a season-ender like some other players but it’d buy them some time and allow them to get into compliance to start the season and re-sign Carlo and McAvoy.

pawtucket: Which teams will surprise everyone and make or contend for a playoff spot and which teams will disappoint and shock us all?

pitmanrich: Which players do you see having a bounce-back season after a poor 18-19 season and which players are just in decline and will continue to get worse?

I made my picks for surprise teams a couple of mailbags ago and not much has changed since then.  I think New Jersey could make some noise with some of their additions, the return to health from Taylor Hall, and a healthy season from Cory Schneider.  On the flip side, Pittsburgh has taken a small step back on paper and they weren’t at their best last season so I could see them slipping out of the playoffs this time around.

In terms of bounce-back candidates, William Nylander in Toronto is a good place to start.  He never looked right after missing the first two months of the year due to a contract holdout.  I suspect this will almost feel like a fresh start for him (even though he didn’t change teams) and get back closer to his 60-point form.  Arizona is clearly banking on a bounce back from Clayton Keller with the extension that he just got and playing alongside Phil Kessel should certainly help in that regard.  Assuming Nikolaj Ehlers stays healthy, he should be in line for a big jump offensively as well.

I’m always hesitant to predict players on the downswing but I’m not sold that a coaching and system change in Anaheim will revive Ryan Getzlaf’s offense.  He has a lot of heavy minutes under his belt and at some point, he’ll have to be scaled back a bit which won’t help his point total.  The speed of the NHL concerns me when it comes to Ilya Kovalchuk and I’m not sure a new coach will vastly turn his game around.  I’m also uncertain that Wayne Simmonds will turn things around considerably.  I don’t mind his addition on a one-year deal but his rugged style of play screams potential decline.  He should outperform his play with Nashville (three points in 19 games between the end of the season and playoffs) but I don’t expect him to get back to the level that he was at a couple of years ago with Philadelphia.

CarmanDyer9: What impact will the upcoming expansion draft have on this season? What potential moves could you see teams making to compensate for the expansion draft?

I feel a little bad for Seattle GM Ron Francis.  Quite a few of the side deals that teams made to protect a certain player worked out quite well for Vegas and not so well for the other team.  That’s going to make teams a little less willing to start moving things around and will just bite the bullet when the time comes and they lose a player.

I think we’re a year away from the 2021 expansion draft really having an impact on movement around the league.  While teams are certainly planning ahead, it’s hard to see some thinking about moving their fourth defenseman now in fear that they’ll lose him to Seattle.  Rosters will change considerably between now and then; who knows what the 2020 UFA market will bring?

Once we get to 2020-21 and things start to look a little clearer on the roster side, then we’ll start to see some effects.  Teams may hesitate on UFA extension talks and a swap or two could be made with that in mind.  A team that’s out of it midseason could try to take advantage of someone’s expansion situation in a rental player trade.  But that’s still a year away.  For 2019-20, don’t expect the expansion draft to really have too much of an impact on player movement around the league.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jets Re-Sign Eric Comrie

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The Jets have re-signed one of their remaining restricted free agents though it’s not one of their big two.  Instead, the team announced that they’ve inked goaltender Eric Comrie to a two-year contract.  The deal will carry a league-minimum $700K AAV in both seasons.  2019-20 is a two-way deal worth a guaranteed $250K per Ken Wiebe of The Athletic (Twitter link) before converting to a one-way pact in 2020-21.

Comrie, a second-round pick (59th overall) of Winnipeg back in 2013, has spent the bulk of his pro career at the minor league level.  He played in 47 games with AHL Manitoba last season, posting a 2.69 GAA with a .917 SV% in 47 games, numbers that were pretty close to his ones from 2017-18 (2.58 GAA,  .916 SV%).  However, despite the strong showing, he has yet to get much of a look in the NHL.  He has just five career NHL games under his belt (one came last season) although he hasn’t fared well in that limited action with a 4.20 GAA and a .821 SV%.

Comrie is waiver-eligible for the upcoming season and the fact that he took less than his qualifying offer will make him appealing to any team that wants to take a flyer on him off the waiver wire; it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to pass Laurent Brossoit for the number two role behind Connor Hellebuyck.  With Mikhail Berdin being the only other goalie under contract in the organization at the moment, the Jets will certainly be hoping that Comrie will be able to make it back to the minors for at least one more year.

With the signing, Winnipeg is now down to just two remaining restricted free agents but both of them are significant in wingers Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine.  Getting them re-signed will certainly be the focus for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff over the coming weeks as they’ll need both under contract before they can assess if they’ll have enough cap room to try to make any other moves before the season gets underway.

Atlantic Notes: Krejci, Chara, Markov

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Although the Bruins are in need of some salary cap space, NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty posits that it’s likely too early for them to consider parting with center David Krejci, who carries a team-high $7.25MM AAV.  While he’s coming off a relatively quiet postseason that saw him score just four goals in 24 games, it’s also worth noting that he matched his career high in points during the regular season with 73.  While the team has some quality prospects down the middle in their system, none of them are ready to step into that role just yet which means that dealing Krejci would likely create a hole that can’t be filled just yet internally.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with the Bruins, defenseman Zdeno Chara acknowledged to Matt Porter of the Boston Globe that he’s unsure as to whether or not he will be available for the first game of the regular season. He underwent surgery on both his jaw and elbow over the summer which delayed his offseason training considerably.  If he isn’t available to play, Boston’s back end to start the season could look a whole lot different than the one that finished the Stanley Cup Final back in June with both Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy unsigned and John Moore and Kevan Miller still recovering from injuries.
  • While veteran defenseman Andrei Markov has made it clear that he would like to sign with Montreal, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin told RDS’ Marc Denis that they will not be bringing back the 40-year-old. Instead, he intends to give their prospect group a chance to make an impact this coming season.  Markov spent the last two seasons in the KHL but wants to return to the NHL for what is believed to be his final season; he recently hired Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey to take care of contract talks over handling them himself as he did two summers ago.

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Fourteenth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)
7th Overall: Ryan McDonagh, Columbus Blue Jackets (12)
8th Overall: James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins (2)
9th Overall: Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks (61)
10th Overall: Kevin Shattenkirk, Florida Panthers (14)
11th Overall: Jake Muzzin, Carolina Hurricanes (141)
12th Overall: Kyle Turris, Montreal Canadiens (3)
13th Overall: David Perron, St. Louis Blues (26)

It always comes back to the Blues for David Perron. Now 12 years removed from being selected with the team’s third pick of the first round, Perron has played for five different NHL organizations. Amazingly, during all that time he has never signed a contract with anyone but St. Louis. Jumping right to the NHL after being drafted, Perron showed exactly why he was ranked as the tenth best among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, despite teams letting him fall almost out of the first round entirely. The young forward put up 27 points in 62 games during that rookie season as a teenager, showing a glimpse of the incredibly consistent offensive player he would become.

In his sophomore season, Perron shot up the scoring list for St. Louis by becoming a catalyst on the powerplay and showing off his playmaking skills at even-strength. His 35 assists put him behind only Brad Boyes for the team lead, and his 50 points trailed only Boyes and David Backes. Not bad for a 20-year old still finding his footing at the professional level. After several injury-riddled seasons with the Blues, he ended up traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a package of picks and prospects (one of which ended up turning into Ivan Barbashev), before being flipped a couple of years later to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a first-round pick (which ended up turning into Mathew Barzal). His journey around the league wouldn’t end there as a year later he would go to the Anaheim Ducks, before signing back with the Blues that summer.

That homecoming was cut short when he was picked in the expansion draft by the Vegas Golden Knights, who promptly went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final on the back of Perron’s best offensive season. It always comes back to the Blues though, and Perron would sign again with St. Louis in the summer of 2018 only to win a Stanley Cup.

It makes sense then that the Blues would move Perron up their board and take him with the 13th overall pick. In fact, he’s probably a steal even there. The 31-year old ranks fifth in points among all players selected in 2007 but seems to have been continually overlooked throughout his career. While most players hit their peak in their mid-twenties, it almost seems as though Perron is getting better with age. He has 112 points in his last 127 regular season games and is an important part of the Blues forward group.

In 2007 it was Colorado that picked 14th after St. Louis, coming off their first season missing the playoffs in more than a decade. The team had still gone 44-31-7 under Joel Quenneville, but finished fourth in the extremely competitive Northwest Division. Joe Sakic had just put up 100 points as a 37-year old, and still looked like he had plenty left in the tank. Unfortunately Sakic wouldn’t play another full season, suiting up just 59 times over his last two seasons in uniform. Perhaps if they knew that they would have gone after a forward in the middle of the first round, but instead the team chose Kevin Shattenkirk.

That definitely worked out for Colorado, as shown by Shattenkirk’s spot in our redraft. He moved up into the top-10 after an excellent career, and will be unavailable this time around. So who could the team choose?

With the fourteenth pick of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Colorado Avalanche select?  Cast your vote below!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL.  He has not been included in this vote.

Minor Transactions: 09/06/19

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It’s now September and teams are still filling out their organization depth charts as they wait on the restricted free agent market to heat up. With moves being made daily in the minor, professional, collegiate and European leagues, we’ll keep track of all the notable ones right here. Check back often for an updated list:

  • The Syracuse Crunch have signed Mikhail Shalagin to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him into the Tampa Bay Lightning organization after they used a seventh-round pick on him in June. Shalagin will turn 20 next week and went undrafted through his first two years of eligibility, but after two outstanding seasons in the MHL and his debut in the KHL, the Lightning thought he was worth a selection. The big winger set the MHL record with 48 goals in 43 games last season.
  • The team also picked up a one-year option on the AHL contract of Nolan Valleau, a 26-year old defenseman who played 68 games for the Crunch last season. Undrafted, Valleau has bounced around the minor leagues the last several years, suiting up for teams in Rockford, Orlando, Chicago, Milwaukee, Utica and Syracuse.
  • The Brampton Beast have signed former QMJHL star T.J. Melancon to a one-year ECHL contract. The 23-year old defenseman has recorded 74 points in 118 games for the Norfolk Admirals over the last two seasons, including 25 goals during that time.
  • 6’6″ forward Jay Dickman will play his first full professional season with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, signing a one-year deal with the team. Dickman has played the last four seasons with Bemidji State University and suited up three times with the Florida Everblades this spring.

East Notes: Jacobs, Flyers, Clutterbuck

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The Boston Bruins have new ownership. Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the team since 1975, has transferred the ownership to his six children according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. The franchise will obviously stay in the family, but will no longer be in the hands of the 80-year old owner who is known as one of the most powerful in the league.

Jacobs, 80, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017 and as of now still serves as chairman of the NHL board of governors. He holds immense power among the other owners around the league, though it is not clear if this transition will affect that at all.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have added more names to their front office as Chuck Fletcher continues to put his stamp on the organization. Martin Gendron has been hired as an amateur scout, coming from the Minnesota Wild where Fletcher had originally hired him. Angelo Ricci has been hired as a skills coach, and Vincent Yula is in as assistant video coach. Yula had already been assisting, though will now be part of the staff in an official capacity.
  • Cal Clutterbuck underwent surgery to fix multiple back injuries earlier this year, but is feeling much better as he prepares for the season. The New York Islanders forward told Andrew Gross of Newsday that he has “no issues” with his back anymore and that he felt better immediately after surgery. Even while battling through injury last season Clutterbuck played in 73 games and recorded 23 points, but if the 31-year old is at all improved the Islanders could have an even more dangerous bottom-six.

Landon Ferraro To Attend Vancouver Canucks Training Camp

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According to Jeff Patterson of TSN, Landon Ferraro will be attending Vancouver Canucks training camp on a professional tryout. Ferraro last played in the NHL during the 2017-18 season and missed much of last year due to injury.

Ferraro, 28, was once a top prospect of the Detroit Red Wings, selected 32nd overall in 2009 thanks to a solid year in junior and a famous last name—he is the son of Ray Ferraro, who scored 408 goals in the NHL. Unfortunately things took a slight downward turn almost immediately, as his goal scoring dried up in junior and he spent several years in the minor leagues trying to find his game.

There is offensive talent there, as proven by his multiple 20-goal seasons in the AHL, but Ferraro has never been able to find much consistency at the NHL level. He’ll try to earn himself another two-way contract at training camp to see if he can resurrect his career. The Trail, British Columbia native should feel right at home with the Canucks, and perhaps he can use that familiarity to finally break through and be a nice depth piece for the team. In 77 NHL games, he has 12 points.

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