The NHL offseason exploded into action over the past few days, with a Duncan Keith trade, Pekka Rinne’s retirement and the buyout of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. While those headlines are certainly attention-grabbing, other leagues are also doing their best to fill out rosters and prepare for the upcoming season. As always, we’ll keep track of any notable minor moves right here:
- The Rockford IceHogs and Bakersfield Condors completed a trade yesterday, which very well could be connected to the Keith deal. The move sees minor league forward Liam Folkes head to the IceHogs in exchange for future considerations, giving the team a replacement for the outgoing Tim Soderlund. Because Folkes is signed to an AHL contract, he couldn’t be officially included in the NHL trade.
- The Manitoba Moose have signed forward Todd Burgess to a one-year AHL contract. Now 25, Burgess is actually still on the Ottawa Senators reserve list through August 15, but obviously wasn’t going to sign with the team. A fourth-round selection in 2016, Burgess never could replicate the success he had in the NAHL in college, and scored just 14 points in 25 games this season for Minnesota State.
- Tory Dello has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Laval Rocket after spending last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. The 24-year-old defenseman played four years at Notre Dame before joining the Griffins and was once a Clark Cup champion with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL. Undrafted, Dello recorded two points in 19 games for Grand Rapids in 2020-21.