Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

NHL

Free Agent Profile: Caleb Jones

at CDT | by 1 Comment

It’s hard to believe it, but the NHL season starts in just over two months. For some NHLers they will soon be making plans to return to their respective cities to begin the upcoming season, for others like defenseman Caleb Jones, his plan is to try to find an NHL job in the next nine weeks.

It was surprising to see Jones go unqualified, as the Chicago Blackhawks elected to let him become a free agent rather than offer him a qualifying offer. Chicago needed to tender the 26-year-old at $1.35MM, but he was made a free agent when Chicago didn’t make the offer. Now, almost a month into free agency Jones remains unsigned, a somewhat surprising development for a player who has shown promise in his young career.

Jones, the younger brother of Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones, was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round back in 2015 and played 93 games over parts of three seasons with the club before he was traded to Chicago in July 2021 as part of the Duncan Keith trade. Jones then dressed in 124 games over the past two years with the Blackhawks, putting up 9 goals and 22 assists.

Last year was a career year for Jones, as he had four goals and 12 assists in 73 games while playing over 19 minutes a night. Jones was tasked with playing second-pairing minutes on a very bad Chicago team and faired well despite not contributing much offensively. Jones led the defense core in many analytical categories and did a decent job controlling the play when he was on the ice.

Jones has typically demonstrated a good ability to move the puck well, utilizing his skating to push the puck up the ice and can keep himself mobile in the defensive zone to be a disruptive force on both the penalty kill and at even strength. However, he is not his older brother and doesn’t possess nearly the offensive acumen that Seth has displayed throughout his career.

The issue that Jones may face when trying to lock down an NHL job is that there is a bit of a surplus of left-shot depth defensemen in the NHL. Pittsburgh has Ty Smith and Pierre-Olivier Joseph competing for one spot on their third pairing, as do the Calgary Flames, with Oliver Kylington now returning after a one-year absence. The Ottawa Senators have several solid left-shot options throughout their NHL lineup, as do many other teams. For Jones, he could offer a solid third-pairing option, but there are very few teams who need that right now.

Stats

2022-23: 73 GP, 4-14-16, -19 rating, 40 PIMS, 86 shots, 48.9% CF, 19:13 ATOI
Career: 217 GP, 14-36-50, -39 rating, 80 PIMS, 225 shots, 48.1% CF, 16:49 ATOI

Potential Suitors

Jones would have teams lining up for his services if he was a right-shot defenseman, but he shoots left and typically plays the left side. While his market will be small, there are sure to be teams that could find a role for the younger Jones brother.

In the East, the Buffalo Sabres have Ilya Lyubushkin slated to play as a third bottom-pair left-side defenseman, and while he offers a physical element and does a good job suppressing scoring chances, he is not a good puck mover and isn’t particularly adept at much else. Jones could push Lyubushkin and create healthy competition for playing time in the Sabres defense core. The one barrier for Jones to Buffalo could be that the Sabres have already brought in Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton in free agency, and management may feel that they’ve already brought in enough competition on their back end.

In the West, The Anaheim Ducks have brought in a few NHL veterans to try and give guidance to their young stars. While Radko Gudas will bring some leadership and physicality on the back end, the Ducks could use a few more veterans who can teach their young players to become good pros. Jones could be a solid fit for the role as he has already played on a young, bad, rebuilding team and knows the challenges and tribulations that come with the growing pains of a rebuild.

Sticking with the West, another rebuilding club that could use some help on the backend is the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks aren’t pushing to make the playoffs this year, but that doesn’t mean they should stop looking for improvements. At the moment, the Sharks have 30-year-old journeyman Jacob MacDonald penciled in as their third pairing left side defenseman and Marc-Édouard Vlasic on their second pair. Vlasic was a terrific shutdown defender for a long time, but he has seen notable declines in his game for the past five years or so. Jones would likely offer an upgrade on both men while not costing San Jose much in the way of assets.

Projected Contract

Unfortunately for Jones, he is most likely going to be taking a pay cut from the $1.35MM he made last season. There should be a small market for his services as the season nears, but the native of Arlington, Texas, might have to sign a professional try-out to get teams interested in his services. Matt Dumba and Ethan Bear are both still unrestricted and might attract more interest as they are right-shot defensemen and have better track records. Jones should ultimately be able to find an NHL deal, but when he does, it will likely come in around the league minimum or a tick above it. There were many NHL defensemen who found deals late in the summer last year, and it seems that could happen again this summer with Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Philadelphia Flyers Submit Ivan Fedotov’s Contract Should Be Tolled

at CDT | by 2 Comments

TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger is reporting that the Philadelphia Flyers and the NHL have submitted to the International Ice Hockey Federation that goaltender Ivan Fedotov’s contract with the Flyers should be tolled since he missed this past season to complete military service in Russia. The Flyers along with the league are arguing that because he missed the entire season, the original one-year contract he signed in May 2022 should not be considered expired until next July, since he never fulfilled the agreement. The IIHF is presently considering the submission. The word tolled is a legal term written into many sports contracts that allows for the pausing or delaying of the running of the period of time set forth by a contract.

It’s been quite the saga for the 26-year-old netminder that began over a year ago. Fedotov was arrested in Russia two months after signing his contract with the Flyers. He served a year of military service and on June 14th of this year, the Flyers announced that the one-year deal would be applied this upcoming season and they would retain his NHL rights. Shortly after that in early July, the KHL announced a two-year deal for the netminder with CSKA that was recognized by the league because they believed that Fedotov did not have a valid and binding contract with an NHL club for next year.

While Fedotov is stuck between two leagues wondering what his future will be, CAA Sports’ JP Barry issued a statement today saying that he had spoken with Fedotov and that the young netminder would abide by the IIHF’s ruling that will decide which of the two contracts is valid. It’s an unusual and difficult situation for a player that has said that he just wants to get back to playing hockey. Fedotov has stated publicly that he was able to play hockey twice a week during his military service, but that the hockey in the army wasn’t very good. Fedotov has also defended his decision to sign was CSKA saying that they are a top club and would give him an opportunity to return to form before fulfilling his dream of playing in the NHL.

From the Flyers’ perspective, they would obviously welcome the addition of Fedotov to their goaltending depth chart. The club made Fedotov their seventh-round pick back in 2015, and while it has been almost a decade since they drafted him, they’d seen enough from him to warrant an entry-level contract last year. Now, the Flyers and the league are in a battle that could set a precedent going forward since the KHL and NHL don’t currently have any kind of Memorandum of Understanding. The two leagues did have such an agreement up until last year which kept teams from poaching signed players out of the other league, however, the NHL suspended the agreement.

Free Agent Profile: Zach Aston-Reese

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Outside of the Sebastian Aho signing yesterday, there has been a steady decline in hockey signings for the last week or two. Many management groups are getting ready for vacations before they report back for training camps in September.  While most of these people are gearing up for another season, there are still quite a few remaining free agents who don’t know what uniform they will don come October. Today we will look at one of those free agents, Zach Aston-Reese.

Aston-Reese is not unfamiliar with being unsigned through the summer. Last year he was forced to accept a PTO with the Toronto Maple Leafs before he ultimately signed a one-year in October for $840K. The soon-to-be 29-year-old is one of the players that is really feeling the squeeze of a flat cap world. In many previous summers, a player with his defensive capabilities would have easily found work by the midway point of the summer. But with revenues down during the pandemic, Aston-Reese and his fourth-line peers have been the ones who have been damaged the most by a salary cap squeeze.

Aston-Reese is one of the most unique players to dress in the NHL the past few seasons. His defensive metrics are among the best in the NHL, he is elite in the defensive zone. On offense, he possesses precious little in terms of puck-handling ability or offensive output.

Back in 2016-17, Aston-Reese left Northeastern University and was pursued as a free agent by nearly half of the NHL. He eventually landed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and as a rookie in the 2017-18 season, he dressed in 16 games and put up five goals and two assists. This output gave him a long look in the playoffs as he dressed in nine games and put up a single assist before a questionable hit from Tom Wilson ended his playoffs early. The following season, he dressed in 43 games and posted eight goals and nine assists for a career-high 17 points.

Since his career high of 17 points in 2018-19, Aston-Reese has never topped 15 points in any one season and up until this past year with the Maple Leafs, he’d never dressed in more than 69 games (this past year, he played 77). His offensive capabilities were also limited, but with the Penguins, he had a home on their defensive-minded fourth line along with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev. However, during the 2021-22 season, Aston-Reese was a pending free agent and was dealt to the Anaheim Ducks as part of a package to acquire Rickard Rakell. While he was part of the deal, the main purpose of including Aston-Reese was as a salary dump so Pittsburgh could make the money work. Anaheim let the Staten Island, New York native’s contract expire a short time later, and he didn’t sign another deal until his PTO last summer with the Maple Leafs.

Despite the disappointment of possibly going another summer being unsigned, I do think that Aston-Reese will sign an NHL contract for next season. He did score a career-high 10 goals last season, and as mentioned earlier, he is an elite defensive forward. The biggest issue for Aston-Reese outside of his offensive inability is that while his defensive analytics are great, the eye test doesn’t really demonstrate the little things he does in the defensive zone. The old guard of the NHL may not recognize what it is that Aston-Reese can bring to a lineup and may look elsewhere for help on their fourth line.

Stats

2022-23: 77 GP, 10-4-14, -6 rating, 25 PIMS, 89 shots, 50.0% faceoffs, 46.1% CF, 10:56 ATOI
Career: 307 GP, 42-38-80, +33 rating, 124 PIMS, 440 shots, 39.1% faceoffs, 48.3% CF, 13:00 ATOI

Potential Suitors

Aston-Reese doesn’t have many options at this point, so he is unlikely to be picky. He is from the New York area, which means he would likely prefer to play in the East, but his destination will ultimately be decided by whatever team shows interest in him.

In the East, the last general manager to sign Aston-Reese to a contract is now in Pittsburgh. This is the team that originally signed ZAR out of college back in 2017, and a team that has shown they aren’t afraid to acquire quality depth forwards to fill out their bottom six and AHL roster. Historically. Dubas has liked to sign NHL-caliber forwards to one-way contracts and then stash them in the AHL in case of injuries. It could be something he chooses to do with Aston-Reese as there is familiarity with the player and the team. Head coach Mike Sullivan utilized Aston-Reese an awful lot when he coached him a few years ago and may appreciate having an elite defensive forward to rely on. Especially given the Penguins struggles defensively last season.

Sticking with the East, as mentioned before, the Ottawa Senators could really use some good forward depth. Their bottom six isn’t particularly good, and they are going into the upcoming season expecting a lot of growth from some of their younger forwards. At the very least, Aston-Reese could offer Ottawa a decent 13th forward at league minimum who could also help their penalty kill.

Out West, the Seattle Kraken seems like a team that would fit Aston-Reese perfectly. The Kraken are largely made up of players who have been viewed as castoffs at some point in their careers, not unlike Aston-Reese. There is also a familiarity that Aston-Reese could have with current Kraken fourth-liner Brandon Tanev, who played with him in Pittsburgh. The Kraken has also been a team that has relied on accountability and team defense, something that would gel well with what Aston-Reese brings to the table. The one holdup would be that Seattle already has 12 capable forwards, meaning that Aston-Reese would be on the outside looking in should he sign there.

Projected Contract

Unfortunately for Aston-Reese, he is likely going to have to take another PTO if he would like to continue his NHL career. It is still possible that he gets a one-year contract for around the league minimum from a team that is looking for a strong defensive presence on their fourth line, but a PTO is the likelier scenario. ZAR can still provide a lot to a team for very little cost, but he shouldn’t be counted on or expected to offer up much in the way of offense. His best bet is to use a PTO as an opportunity to demonstrate his skill set and fit with a team as he did last fall with the Maple Leafs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Brandon Davidson Signs In Sweden

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League announced today that they have come to terms with former NHL defenseman Brandon Davidson. The 31-year-old spent parts of seven seasons in the NHL totalling 180 games while wearing seven different uniforms.

Generally regarded as a defensive defenseman, Davidson began his career with the Edmonton Oilers in 2014-15 and during his second season in the NHL, he looked as though he could be a big part of the Oilers blueline moving forward. Davidson dressed in 51 games that year posting four goals and seven assists while logging over 19 minutes of ice time a night.

Unfortunately for Davidson, he fell out of favor in the 2016-17 season and was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for David Desharnais in what seemed to be a change of scenery swap for both players. From there, Davidson never regained his footing and bounced around to six other NHL stops before eventually spending the past two seasons in the AHL with the Rochester Americans and Cleveland Monsters. This past spring Davidson signed a deal in the SHL with Färjestad BK where he played seven games and tallied a goal and an assist.

A lot of fringe NHLers have been feeling the squeeze in recent seasons due to the revenue shortages the NHL felt during the pandemic-shortened seasons. However, that is likely not the case with Davidson as he had bounced back and forth between the NHL and AHL prior to 2020.

If this is the end of his NHL career Davidson would finish with nine career goals and 14 assists in 180 NHL games.

Five Key Stories: 7/17/23 – 7/23/23

at CDT | by 3 Comments

While activity across the NHL has certainly slowed down compared to a few weeks ago, there was still some notable news around the league over the past seven days which is recapped in our key stories.

Four For Colton: Avalanche forward Ross Colton currently has just under $3MM in career earnings, per CapFriendly.  That will be going up in a hurry as the two sides agreed to a four-year contract to avoid salary arbitration with the deal carrying a cap hit of $4MM per season.  The 26-year-old was acquired from Tampa Bay before the draft for a second-round pick that was part of the package they picked up when they moved Alex Newhook to Montreal.  Colton saw his numbers dip slightly last season but he still managed 16 goals and 16 assists in 81 games during the regular season despite averaging just over 12 minutes a night while recording 188 hits and winning over 56% of his faceoffs.  Colorado has shaken up their bottom six group with Colton being the centerpiece acquisition on that front and he should get a bigger opportunity to produce than he did with the Lightning.

Hakstol Extended: Last season was a successful one for the Kraken as they locked down their first-ever playoff berth in their sophomore year.  On top of that, they knocked out the defending Cup champs in the first round before falling to Dallas in seven in a hard-fought second round.  That performance certainly reflected well on head coach Dave Hakstol who was rewarded for his efforts with a two-year contract extension that gets him under contract through the 2025-26 campaign; financial terms were not disclosed.  Hakstol will be entering his seventh year as an NHL head coach next season (he also spent four years in Philadelphia) and is now one of ten coaches known to be signed through 2026.

Four For Dunn: The biggest settlement of the arbitration process thus far was done by Seattle and defenseman Vince Dunn.  The two sides worked out a four-year, $29.4MM front-loaded contract, buying out his final year of arbitration eligibility while giving the Kraken three extra years of club control.  The deal, which makes Dunn their highest-paid player, also carries some form of trade protection in the final three seasons.  The 26-year-old had a breakout showing last season, notching 14 goals and 50 assists in 81 games while logging nearly 24 minutes a night.  That performance put him tenth in the NHL in scoring by a blueliner while helping him finish 11th in Norris Trophy voting.

Arbitration Awards: While most players that filed for arbitration so far have settled, two made it to a hearing.  First, Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev was awarded a two-year, $4.5MM contract with Chicago electing for a two-year award instead of the one-year agreement Kurashev requested.  The 23-year-old set new benchmarks last season, notching nine goals along with 16 assists and should have a chance to improve on those numbers in 2023-24.

Meanwhile, Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov received a one-year, $3.55MM award, nearly doubling his salary from 2022-23.  The 26-year-old had by far his best NHL season, posting a 2.33 GAA with a .919 SV% in 42 games but was only eligible for a one-year award since it was his final season of UFA eligibility.  Toronto now has nearly $96MM in commitments on the books per CapFriendly against an $83.5MM salary and will be deep into LTIR with Jake Muzzin for next season while some have suggested that buyout candidate Matt Murray could also land on there.  Even with those two on there, some roster trimming would still need to occur.

More Settlements: There were two other contracts of some note that were done to avoid salary arbitration.  The Golden Knights settled with forward Brett Howden on a two-year, $3.8MM contract after the 25-year-old took a step back offensively last season, recording just six goals and seven assists in 54 regular season games.  Notably, the deal will walk Howden straight to UFA eligibility in 2025.  Winnipeg also got in on the settlement fun, reaching a two-year, $6.875MM agreement with forward Gabriel Vilardi.  Arguably the centerpiece of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, the 23-year-old had his best showing in 2022-23, collecting 23 goals and 18 assists in 63 games with the Kings last season.  Vilardi will still have one more RFA year remaining in 2025.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 7/20/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

We are well into the dog days of summer as many NHL management groups and broadcasters are turning their attention to arbitration cases and summer holidays. While things are typically slow this time of year there have been several signings today from around the hockey world:

  • Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Dmitri Korobov has signed a contract with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL. No terms of the contract have been released. Korobov has spent the last two years with Dinamo and posted three goals and four assists in 49 games this past season. His NHL career was a short one as he dressed in just three games and posted a single assist with the Lightning in a short call-up during the 2013-14 season. The 34-year-old spent two seasons in the AHL with Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate the Syracuse Crunch, dressing in 136 games and scoring six goals and 42 assists.
  • The Utica Comets have announced that they’ve signed defenseman Will MacKinnon to a two-way AHL contract for the 2023-24 season. The 23-year-old Plymouth, Michigan native will be getting his first opportunity in the AHL as he spent the past two seasons playing in the ECHL with the Reading Royals where he posted seven goals and 20 assists in 88 games. MacKinnon has never posted much in the way of offense dating all the way back to his NCAA days but did put up 26 points last season in 71 ECHL games which has earned him a look in the AHL for the upcoming year.
  • Colorado Avalanche AHL affiliate the Colorado Eagles have signed defenseman Michael Underwood to a one-year AHL extension. Underwood signed a PTO with the Eagles back in March of this year and dressed in three AHL games with the franchise where he was held scoreless. The 25-year-old has been a defensive defenseman throughout his professional and college career never topping seven points in any one season. In five NCAA seasons with Clarkson University and Michigan State University, Underwood had a total of six goals and 17 assists in 167 games.
  • Nolan Moyle, the captain of the Michigan Wolverines last season, has found where he’ll be beginning his professional career: China. Moyle has signed with the KHL’s Kunlun Red Star, landing there after playing five seasons at Michigan. A defense-first right winger, Moyle didn’t score much as a Wolverine (just 46 points in 164 career games) but now has a chance to hold down a defensive role in one of the world’s more competitive professional leagues.
  • The ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears have made a significant addition, signing 26-year-old Aaron Luchuk on a one-year contract. Luchuk had been with the Solar Bears for two seasons before this past season trying his luck in Europe. Luchuck played for three teams across two leagues and couldn’t quite find his footing in 2022-23, so now he returns to the league he led in scoring in 2020-21. Luchuk has 187 points in 181 career ECHL games and is likely to be a major help to the franchise as they look to return to the Kelly Cup playoffs.
  •  Another college hockey captain has selected where he’ll be starting his pro career. Notre Dame captain Nick Leivermann has signed a contract with the Hershey Bears, the defending Calder Cup champions. The 24-year-old Minnesota native played five seasons with Notre Dame and has had two consecutive productive campaigns. He scored 20 points in 29 games last season and had 27 points in 32 games this season. While the Bears are likely to have a competitive blueline as they defend their Calder Cup title, Leivermann’s success in his collegiate career suggests he could end up a factor in the AHL sooner rather than later.

This page may be updated throughout the day.

Gemel Smith Signs In KHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Although 29-year-old forward Gemel Smith scored 53 points in 54 AHL games, this past season was Smith’s first campaign in over a half-decade that he did not feature in any NHL games.

Now, the veteran of 356 AHL games and 91 games in the NHL is headed to play for an overseas club for the first time in his pro career. According to a team announcement, Smith has signed with Dynamo Minsk in the KHL.

Smith joins 2015 first-round pick Nick Merkley, Calder Cup Champion Sam Anas, former AHL blueliner Kodie Curran, and former Cornell University star Yanni Kaldis as an overseas professional rostered by Belarus’ KHL club.

Seeing as he has been a prolific AHL scorer in recent seasons and brings genuine NHL experience, Smith is likely to be expected to be among Minsk’s top scorers for next season. While the NHL door is certainly not closed moving forward as Smith isn’t even 30 years old yet, he’ll want to have as productive a season as possible with Minsk if he hopes on returning to the world’s top league in the future.

Considering Smith’s resume, it’s possible he could get a two-way contract as soon as next summer, though he’ll likely need to put up some numbers next to Merkley and Minsk’s other offensive players in order to do so.

Nate Thompson Retires

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Nate Thompson, a longtime bottom-six forward who played 844 games in the NHL, announced his retirement from the game on social media yesterday. Thompson, set to turn 39 in October, last played in the NHL in 2021-22, scoring three points in 33 games for the Philadelphia Flyers.

For much of his career, Thompson gave NHL clubs exactly what they would hope to receive out of a player occupying their fourth-line center role.

He brought leadership: Thompson wore a letter on his jersey with three different teams across his pro career, as early as 2006-07 with the Providence Bruins in the AHL and as late as 2019-20 with the Montreal Canadiens.

He brought defensive ability: Thompson often put his body on the line on the penalty kill and even landed on the Selke Trophy ballot in 2013. And he brought prowess at the faceoff dot, winning nearly 53% of his draws across his career.

Although Thompson’s career-high in points production was just 25, set all the way back in 2010-11, Thompson remained an NHL regular throughout his career. As Sportsnet’s Eric Engels noted, after breaking into the NHL Thompson only played five more games in the AHL before his final professional season, and all of those games were on conditioning stints. Engels wrote: “We’re talking about a guy who never came to training camp with a secure job, a career grinder who always managed to earn his spot for 17 straight seasons!”

That’s an extremely impressive feat, and underscores for just how long Thompson was considered an indispensable fourth-line forward. Thompson’s career highlights also include representing the United States at two IIHF Men’s World Championships, the 2012 and 2013 games played in Finland and Stockholm. Thompson wore a letter both years and led the Americans to a bronze medal in 2013.

All things considered, the Anchorage, Alaska native leaves behind a highly successful playing career and will now transition to the off-ice phase of his life and work.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

Alex Galchenyuk To Enter NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program

at CDT | by 26 Comments

Free agent forward Alex Galchenyuk is entering the NHL and NHLPA’s player assistance program after being arrested on multiple charges earlier this month and having his contract for next season terminated by the Arizona Coyotes, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports today.

Just days after being terminated on July 13, multiple reports had obtained the police report of Galchenyuk’s July 9 arrest in Scottsdale, Arizona, which revealed Galchenyuk allegedly made violent threats and used racial slurs towards officers. He has since reached out to apologize to the Scottsdale Police offers involved in a letter expressing remorse, Kaplan says.

Per Kaplan, Galchenyuk could enter the player assistance program as early as today. He was charged with various misdemeanors stemming from the arrest, including a hit-and-run charge as originally reported by The Athletic’s Katie Strang, and released on his own recognizance after the arrest.

Kaplan says Galchenyuk has also apologized directly to the Coyotes organization. While not signed by an NHL team, Galchenyuk is still eligible to receive assistance as a member of the NHLPA. His entrance to the program will not impact his contract status with Arizona, and he will remain an unrestricted free agent after exiting the program.

Five Key Stories: 7/3/23 – 7/9/23

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In many instances, the week, after free agency opens, can be one of the duller weeks in the NHL, but this one still featured plenty of action. Between coaching movement and player movement, there are five stories that stuck out this week.

Vigneault Calls It Quits: Not coaching for the last couple of seasons since his termination as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2021, Alain Vigneault has officially retired from coaching. After 1363 career games spent as the main bench boss, Vigneault will finish with a record of 722-489-35-117, putting him 10th all-time in the head coaching win record. Vigneault did win the Jack Adams Trophy during the 2006-07 season and got to the Stanley Cup Final twice, once with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, and another time with the New York Rangers in 2014. With such an impressive all-time record, it would not be a shock to hear Vigneault’s name called for the Hall of Fame in the near future.

Minnesota Wild Acquire Maroon: Another consequence of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s cap situation, Pat Maroon was moved, along with forward Max Cajkovic to the Minnesota Wild in return for a seventh-round pick in 2024. Maroon had spent the last four seasons in Tampa Bay, seeing his production slip considerably last year. After seeing his playing time by an average of two minutes, Maroon only mustered five goals and nine points in 80 games. Even so, he still brings considerable experience to Minnesota, and a great locker room presence, evidenced by his back-to-back Stanley Cup championships from 2019-2021.

Toews Likely To Retire: At the beginning of the offseason, there was some speculation that Jonathan Toews would follow in the footsteps of his former teammate, Duncan Keith, and join the Edmonton Oilers, it appears that Toews will likely retire instead. Represented by hockey’s mega agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey, Toews was taken off the agency’s upcoming free agent list that they annually send out to teams. Battling both chronic immune response syndrome and long-term effects of Covid-19, Toews has unfortunately been able to complete a full season since 2018-19. If it is indeed the end of the line for Toews, he will finish his career with 372 goals and 511 assists in 1067 games played, as well as three Stanley Cup rings, one Frank J. Selke trophy, and one Conn Smythe win.

Red Wings Cut Ties With Zadina: Although the Detroit Red Wings were looking to find a trade partner to take on the contract of forward Filip Zadina, they were unable to, and subsequently terminated his contract. Prized as one of the purest goal-scorers in the 2018 NHL Draft, Zadina failed to replicate any of his junior success in Detroit. In 190 games spanning over five seasons donning the ’Winged Wheel, Zadina has 28 goals and 40 assists. With two years, and $3.65MM (including $2.73MM due in salary for the 2024-25 season), no team was interested in trading for Zadina, or even claiming him on waivers. Now an unrestricted free agent, it is reasonable to assume that Zadina will sign a minimum contract for the 2023-24 NHL season.

Toronto Marlies Hire New Head Coach: After cutting ties with their entire AHL coaching staff about a month and a half ago, the Toronto Marlies named their eighth head coach in franchise history, John Gruden. Gruden had spent last season with the Boston Bruins as an assistant coach and held the same position with the New York Islanders from 2018-2022. This will not be Gruden’s first stop in Ontario, as he was previously the head coach of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs from 2016-2018. In his last season coaching the team, Gruden coached the Bulldogs to a 2018 OHL Championship finish, eventually losing to the Regina Pats in the 2018 Memorial Cup semifinals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top