With free agency right around the corner, minor league and European teams continue to snatch up some of the available talents. Even though most of the attention is on Evgeni Malkin, Johnny Gaudreau, and the rest of the big names, we’ll keep track of the less notable contracts right here.
- The Milwaukee Admirals have signed Xavier Bouchard to an AHL contract, adding the 22-year-old defenseman just weeks after he took home the Kelly Cup with the Florida Everblades. The Vegas Golden Knights sixth-round pick never did sign an NHL contract but will now join the Admirals organization and try to continue his climb up the minor league ladder.
- Dalton Smith is returning to the Colorado Eagles on a new two-year AHL contract, locking in the minor league veteran through 2023-24. Originally a second-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets way back in 2010, the 29-year-old Smith had 11 points in 52 games for the Eagles last season.
- After playing last season on an AHL deal with the Toronto Marlies, Marc Michaelis is off to Switzerland to play for the SCL Tigers of the National League. The German-born forward has played in three World Championships for his country, including the most recent tournament where he added seven points in eight games. Michaelis played 15 games for the Vancouver Canukcs in 2020-21 but failed to register an NHL point.
- Dmitri Yushkevich has signed a new contract with Dynamo St. Petersburg of the VHL. No, not the 50-year-old defenseman who played nearly 800 games in the NHL, but his son, a 25-year-old Toronto-born defenseman who has been in the Russian minor leagues for the last several years.
Have to admit to that half-second of “Well, dang, Dmitri’s no older than Jaromir Jagr, yeah?” before reading the next sentence.
That one got me too. I thought “There’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time”