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Mark Giordano Named Captain Of Seattle Kraken

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The Seattle Kraken have made official what many suspected, announcing Mark Giordano as the first captain in franchise history. He’ll be joined by Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Adam Larsson, and Jaden Schwartz, who will all serve as alternates this season.

Giordano, 38, was an obvious selection for the Kraken when the Calgary Flames decided to leave him unprotected in the recent expansion draft. Despite his age and expensive contract, he also represents a true top-pairing defenseman that took home the Norris Trophy as recently as 2019. There was immediate speculation about whether the Kraken would flip him to another team, adding future assets instead of the veteran defenseman, but have embraced him as the leader of their group instead.

The question now becomes how long he will actually serve as captain, given Giordano’s contract expires at the end of this season. He’s still effective and is worthy of an extension, though it’s not even clear if he will want to play past this season, let alone do so in Seattle. Still, the decision to name him captain suggests that there is a good relationship between Giordano and the front office, perhaps pointing to him sticking around for a little while. The Vegas Golden Knights for instance decided not to name a captain right away, waiting for a player like Mark Stone, who was signed to a long-term deal instead.

At the very least, the Kraken start the year with a strong leadership group that can help to market the game in Seattle. Giordano is well-respected around the league, and the quartet of alternates have quite a bit of NHL experience between them. Gourde and Schwartz are both recent Stanley Cup champions and should be huge parts of the team’s offensive unit. Larsson meanwhile signed a four-year deal to be a pillar of the team’s defense for the next several seasons. In fact, it’s in the alternates that there will be some stability. All four are signed for at least the next three seasons, with Eberle expiring first in 2024.

Training Camp Cuts: 10/11/21

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It’s the final day for training camp cuts across the league as teams must be cap compliant by this evening. There will be many teams that orchestrate a delicate cap dance with some cuts today, just to call those players back up almost immediately. But for the time being, many young players will have to wait for their chance at the NHL level.

Arizona Coyotes (via press release)

F Barrett Hayton (to Tucson, AHL)
F Ryan McGregor (to Tucson, AHL)

Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)

F JJ Peterka (to Rochester, AHL)
D Casey Fitzgerald (to Rochester, AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (via press release)

F Josh Leivo (to Chicago, AHL)
F Stefan Noesen (to Chicago, AHL)
F C.J. Smith (to Chicago, AHL)
D Eric Gelinas (to Chicago, AHL)
D Maxime Lajoie (to Chicago, AHL)

Chicago Blackhawks (via press release)

F Philipp Kurashev (to Rockford, AHL)
F Mackenzie Entwistle (to Rockford, AHL)
G Malcolm Subban (to Rockford, AHL)
G Collin Delia (to Rockford, AHL)

Colorado Avalanche (via press release)

F Mikhail Maltsev (to Colorado, AHL)
D Justin Barron (to Colorado, AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets (via press release)

F Kevin Stenlund (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Gabriel Carlsson (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Mikko Lehtonen (to Cleveland, AHL)

Dallas Stars (via press release)

F Joel Kiviranta (to Texas, AHL)
F Jacob Peterson (to Texas, AHL)
D Alexander Petrovic (to Texas, AHL)

Detroit Red Wings (via team Twitter)

F Bobby Ryan (released from PTO)
F Riley Barber (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Joseph Veleno (to Grand Rapids, AHL)

Edmonton Oilers (via press release)

F Kyle Turris (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Los Angeles Kings (via team Twitter)

F Austin Wagner (to Ontario, AHL)
D Austin Strand (to Ontario, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (via Arpon Basu, The Athletic)

D Kaiden Guhle (to Prince Albert, WHL)
G Cayden Primeau (to Laval, AHL)

Nashville Predators (via press release)

F Michael McCarron (to Milwaukee, AHL)
G Connor Ingram (to Milwaukee, AHL)

New Jersey Devils (via team release)

F Alexander Holtz (to Utica, AHL)

New York Islanders (via Arthur Staple, The Athletic)

F Anatolii Golyshev (to Bridgeport, AHL)
F Richard Panik (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Robin Salo (to Bridgeport, AHL)
D Samuel Bolduc (to Bridgeport, AHL)
G Jakub Skarek (to Bridgeport, AHL)

New York Rangers (via team Twitter)

F Greg McKegg (to Hartford, AHL)
F Vitali Kravtsov (to Hartford, AHL)
F Morgan Barron (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (via team Twitter)

F Andrew Agozzino (to Belleville, AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers (via press release)

F Jackson Cates (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
F Garrett Wilson (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Nick Seeler (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
D Cam York (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)

Pittsburgh Penguins (via Rob Rossi, The Athletic)

F Radim Zohorna (to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL)

St. Louis Blues (via press release)

F Klim Kostin (to Springfield, AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs (via team Twitter)

F Kirill Semyonov (to Toronto, AHL)

Washington Capitals (via team Twitter)

F Connor McMichael (to Hershey, AHL)
F Beck Malenstyn (to Hershey, AHL)

Winnipeg Jets (via press release)

F David Gustafsson (to Manitoba, AHL)
F Dominic Toninato (to Manitoba, AHL)
D Nelson Nogier (to Manitoba, AHL)

This page will be updated throughout the day

Tampa Bay Lightning Extend Jon Cooper

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have officially signed head coach Jon Cooper to a three-year extension, keeping him under contract through the 2024-25 season. The deal comes just a few weeks after the team extended GM Julien BriseBois, and secures the foundation of the team’s leadership for several years. BriseBois released a statement explaining just why the Lightning are keeping Cooper around:

Unequivocally, Coop is the best person for the job. He is a great leader, spokesperson and ambassador for our organization. We are lucky to have him as our head coach and I very much look forward to our continued partnership.

A two-time Stanley Cup champion now, Cooper really does win at every level. In 2012 he took home the Calder Cup and won AHL Coach of the Year, in 2010 the Clar Cup and USHL Coach of the Year, in 2008 the Robertson Cup and NAHL Coach of the Year, and in 2002 the Hurster Cup in the CSHL. His next test will be this February when he leads the Canadian Olympic team in their pursuit of another gold medal.

With a 384-197-53 regular season record, there’s not really anything to critique about Cooper’s performance behind the bench in Tampa Bay. When the team was swept out of the first round in 2019, some wondered whether he was the one who would be able to get them over the playoff hump. He responded with consecutive titles, and has the Lightning poised to compete for a third-straight Stanley Cup.

Though the Lightning have not released any financial details on the contract, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that it will likely carry an annual salary close to Joel Quenneville’s $5.5MM.

Erik Gustafsson Signs With Chicago Blackhawks

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Oct 11: The Blackhawks have made it official, signing Gustafsson to a one-year, $800K deal.

Oct 10: Defenseman Erik Gustafsson was released from his professional tryout by the New York Islanders and is expected to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports Gustafsson signed a one-year deal worth $800K.

Chicago brings Gustafsson into the fold after a slew of recent injuries on the blueline, including Wyatt Kalynuk and Caleb Jones. The team was down to just six defensemen with any notable NHL experience on the active roster, having already assigned Nicolas Beaudin to Rockford in the AHL.

Gustafsson is mostly a power-play specialist with weak defensive analytics, but is still valuable in a reduced even-strength context. He has 250 games of NHL experience, 214 of which came previously with the Blackhawks.

He likely starts the season as the team’s seventh defenseman as he works himself back into the fold, but could eventually reacclimate himself in the team’s top-four group where he’s done extremely well in the past. 2018-19 saw Gustafsson have a massive career year, scoring 14 goals and 60 points in just 79 games. He’s seen his ice time dwindle considerably since that point, but he could very well approach 18, 19, possibly even 20 minutes a game again with Chicago this year if he can rediscover his previous production.

Gustafsson is best suited to play with one of Chicago’s more defensively responsible defenders, a list that includes Jake McCabe, Calvin de Haan, and Connor Murphy. Gustafsson has experience playing both the left and right side, making him a versatile asset when creating lineups.

Five Key Stories: 10/4/21 – 10/10/21

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With the regular season fast approaching, there was some significant news around the NHL which are included among the top stories of the past seven days.

Price Enters NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program: While it was unknown if the Canadiens would have Carey Price available to them on opening night as he works his way back from offseason knee surgery, they now know he won’t be available for at least the next 30 days after he voluntarily entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program.  GM Marc Bergevin expressed confidence that Price would return at some point this season although there is obviously no timetable for when that might happen.  Jake Allen and recent waiver claim Sam Montembeault will handle the goaltending duties for Montreal in the meantime.

Eichel Talks Pick Up: With both the Sabres and Jack Eichel’s camp firmly entrenched on their plans for what the preferred neck surgery is, things have largely been at a standstill lately.  However, there could finally be some progress on the trade front with talks picking up following Eichel’s medical information being shared and Buffalo being open to a conditional part of the return.  At the moment, Calgary and Anaheim are among the teams believed to still be in the mix for the 24-year-old who will miss a sizable chunk of this season when he eventually goes under the knife.

Big Money For Barkov: The Panthers didn’t want to let their franchise player get to the open market where he’d have been highly sought after next summer.  Mission accomplished as they agreed to an eight-year, $80MM extension with Aleksander Barkov.  The deal is heavily loaded in signing bonuses as the base salary for each year is only $1MM while the 26-year-old receives significant trade protection as well.  Barkov has been on one of the best bargain deals in the league over the past five seasons, emerging as one of the premier two-way centers in the league while basically being paid second-line money.  Florida will benefit from that bargain for one more year before this deal kicks in for the 2021-22 campaign.

White Out Long-Term: It was supposed to be a bounce-back campaign for Senators center Colin White.  After struggling at times to even get in the lineup last season, 2021-22 was going to be an opportunity for him to try to re-establish himself as part of Ottawa’s young core.  So much for that goal as the 24-year-old suffered a dislocated shoulder that requires surgery which will keep him out for four-to-six months.  While it’s possible that White is able to return late in the year, it will likely be in a limited role with how much time he will have missed.  The good news for him is that he still has three years left on his deal after this season so he’ll have another shot at reclaiming a full-time spot in the lineup in 2022-23.

Zibanejad’s Staying: Rangers center Mika Zibanejad had made it clear that he wanted to stay in New York and he got his wish as the two sides worked out an eight-year, $68MM extension that begins next season.  The 28-year-old has blossomed into a number one center since coming over from Ottawa in 2016 and has seen his production increase significantly over the past three seasons, averaging just over a point per game over that stretch.  The deal ensures that their top center will be sticking around and will likely take them out of any further discussions for Eichel as it’s unlikely they’ll be able to afford both of them on their books with so many youngsters in need of second contracts over the next two years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Alexandar Georgiev Denies That He Requested A Trade

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With Igor Shesterkin quickly establishing himself as the number one goalie for the Rangers, there had been speculation that Alexandar Georgiev had requested a trade.  Speaking with reporters, including Larry Brooks of the New York Post, the netminder put that idea to rest:

The rumors were false, I don’t know where that came from. You can be dealt pretty much as a player without a no-move clause, so I just worked as usual and tried not to think about it.

While he may not have asked for a move, the fact he was in trade speculation was certainly understandable.  The four-year, $22.667MM contract given to Shesterkin this offseason cements him in that starting role moving forward, pushing Georgiev’s future with the team in question.  Georgiev himself indicated that last season was “tough” and “no fun” where he was in the number two role, making just 18 starts while posting a 2.71 GAA along with a .905 SV%.

The 25-year-old is in the final season of his two-year bridge deal, one that carries a cap hit of $2.425MM while he will be owed a qualifying offer of $2.65MM next summer.  Both of those numbers are certainly reasonable for a second-string backup but if Georgiev has eyes on a bigger role, that opportunity will have to come elsewhere barring a long-term injury to Shesterkin.

Young goalies with some upside – Georgiev has a career .912 SV% in 96 games – don’t typically come available too often and there are certainly some rebuilding teams that have openings to give him a bigger role.  As a result, while Georgiev may not have asked out, he’s still quite likely to be in trade speculation for the foreseeable future.

Frans Nielsen Signs In Germany

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After not catching on with an NHL team for training camp, Frans Nielsen has opted to head back overseas as Eisbaren Berlin of the DEL announced that they’ve inked the 37-year-old to a one-year deal.

Nielsen spent the last five seasons with the Red Wings after spending a decade as a member of the Islanders.  When he first joined Detroit, he was a capable two-way center that gave them some extra depth in the top six.  He wasn’t bad in the offensive end in his first two seasons there, notching 17 and 16 goals respectively but his production fell off sharply after that.  Last season, Nielsen suited up in just 29 contests, scoring only once while chipping in with five assists in a little over 12 minutes a game on average.

That type of production is hardly worth the $5.25MM AAV he was carrying which resulted in Detroit buying him out this summer.  The cumulative cap hit ($4.25MM this season, $500K next) is almost the same and the move only saved them $500K in actual money plus a contract slot but it was a move that still made sense for them with how far his stock had fallen.

Considering he didn’t have any takers for a PTO and will turn 38 in April, there’s a very high chance that this is the end of the line for Nielsen in the NHL.  Assuming that is the case, he’ll finish up with 473 points in 925 games between New York and Detroit.  Not a bad career for a late third-round pick (87th overall) back in 2002; Nielsen has the sixth-most points and the eighth-most games played of anyone from that draft class.

Zach Parise Signs With New York Islanders

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October 10: Per CapFriendly, Parise’s deal is indeed for the league-minimum $750,000, receiving $750,000 in potential performance bonuses.

September 13: Though they still haven’t publicly acknowledged the signing, the Islanders introduced Parise at a press conference on Friday and confirmed he had agreed to terms with the team. Arthur Staple of The Athletic believes the deal will “very likely” be for a $750K base salary plus performance bonuses. Those bonuses, should the Islanders remain over the cap in LTIR this season, will be carried over to books for 2022-23.

September 1: As expected, Zach Parise will sign with the New York Islanders this offseason. He has already agreed to terms with the team, Parise confirmed to Michael Russo of The Athletic, but the contract has just not been registered yet with the NHL. No contract details have been revealed.

The Islanders finally announced four multi-year contracts earlier today, but Parise wasn’t among those who were formally introduced. Though those deals pushed the Islanders over the salary cap upper limit for the time being, the team will move Johnny Boychuk to long-term injured reserve as his playing career is over. In order to get the full relief of his $6MM cap hit, the Islanders need to be as close to the cap ceiling as possible when they make the LTIR transaction. A deal for Parise could potentially get them there when it is eventually filed.

The 37-year-old forward has spent the last nine years with the Minnesota Wild, but has a relationship with Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello that goes back to his draft in 2003. That’s when the New Jersey Devils–then led by Lamoriello–picked Parise 17th overall out of the University of North Dakota. He would become a star in New Jersey before inking a massive 13-year free agent contract with close friend Ryan Suter to go to Minnesota in 2012.

Those contracts were bought out earlier this summer, and speculation immediately emerged that had Parise going to Long Island. Suter signed a four-year deal with the Dallas Stars, but that kind of term is likely not available for Parise. While Suter is still a legitimate top-four defenseman, the veteran forward had fallen on hard times recently and was even healthy scratched several times by the Wild.

Parise had just seven goals and 18 points in 2020-21 for Minnesota, averaging fewer than 14 minutes a night. That may seem like a player destined for retirement, but it was just 2019-20 the last time Parise was a 25-goal scorer. Perhaps he can return to that kind of production–or at least something still valuable–in New York, where he’ll once again be able to chase a Stanley Cup that has thus far eluded him over a 1,060-game NHL career.

Zdeno Chara Signs With New York Islanders

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October 10: Per CapFriendly, Chara’s one-year deal carries the league-minimum cap hit of $750,000. The deal contains an additional $750,000 in performance bonuses.

September 18: A future Hall of Famer is heading back to where it all began. As first reported by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes and then confirmed by the team, the New York Islanders have signed veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara to a one-year contract. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

Chara was of course drafted by the Islanders all the way back in 1996. He played his first four pro seasons with the club before being dealt to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 in the infamous Alexei Yashin trade. Since then, Chara has established himself as one of the best defensemen of his generation. A Stanley Cup champion, Norris Trophy winner, seven-time all-league defenseman, the NHL’s active leader in career plus/minus and penalty minutes, and an all-time captain, Chara has accomplished more than anyone could have expected when he last with the Islanders. However, he still wants to add another title to his trophy shelf and feels a return to New York could be the best fit.

The long-time Bruins captain, Chara left Boston after the 2019-20 season as the team was looking to move on with a younger core of defensemen and only offered Chara a depth role. The Washington Capitals took him on as an affordable, one-year rental and he provided solid stay-at-home defense all year. Yes, it was a career-low in ice time and a drop-off in most statistical categories, but at 44 years old that is to be expected. The skating and skill are largely gone from his game, but Chara was still a plus player who contributed physically and was not a liability on the back end. Having see up-close what Chara can do, the Islanders have signed him away from the division rival Capitals and will likely use him in a similar fashion. However, given their far more conservative system than Washington’s and the presence of several other dependable defensive blue liners such as Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, and fellow veteran Andy Greene, Chara will be under less pressure. This could serve to keep him well-rested and even more effective defensively late in the season and into the playoffs of his 24th NHL campaign.

Chara wanted to stay on the east coast near his family in Boston while still landing with a team that could give him one last shot at the Stanley Cup. It is safe to say that the reigning “East Division” champs have as good a shot as anyone who fits that description. Add in a homecoming to the team who started his illustrious career and the pairing of the Chara and the Islanders seems to be an excellent fit.

Austin Watson Out Four Weeks For Ottawa Senators

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Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith confirmed today that forward Austin Watson will be out of the lineup for four weeks. The veteran winger sustained an ankle injury during the preseason.

Things are turning sour quickly for the Senators, who’ll now be without both Watson and Colin White, as well as potentially Brady Tkachuk, for their season opener. They’ll play their first game of the 2021-22 season at home on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Watson, largely brought into Ottawa for his grit and fighting ability, has been a remarkably consistent bottom-six player over the past few seasons. He made his impact felt during his first season in Ottawa last year, tallying three goals and 10 points in 34 games while adding on 40 penalty minutes.

Now 29 years old, the Ann Arbor, Michigan native spent eight years in the Nashville Predators organizations before moving to Ottawa prior to last season. He was a first-round pick of the Predators in 2010, drafted 18th overall. Watson has 39 goals and 87 points in 340 career games.

If Ottawa needs a physical presence while Watson is on the shelf, they could look to Scott Sabourin as an internal replacement. Largely a career AHLer, Sabourin got into 35 games with the Sens back in 2019-20 and could reprise his role as an enforcer again.

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