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David Rundblad, Kevin Czuczman Among Those Signing In Finland

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Several players with links to the NHL signed in Finland today, including Stanley Cup champion David Rundblad. The veteran defenseman has signed with Karpat, while Kevin Czuczman, Jyrki Jokipakka, and Eetu Tuulola are among the players joining Ilves.

Rundblad, 31, won the Cup in 2015 with the Chicago Blackhawks, just a year before departing for Europe. A 2009 first-round pick by the St. Louis Blues, his time in North America equated to 121 NHL games, including just eight in the postseason. After winning a Swiss title with the ZSC Lions, he spent several seasons in the KHL, playing for SKA St. Petersburg and HK Sochi. Now his journey will take him to Finland.

The other three, meanwhile, have much more recent ties to North America. Czuczman spent this season with the Iowa Wild of the AHL, and is just over a year removed from suiting up for two NHL games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those were his first NHL games since 2013-14 with the New York Islanders, as he became a full-time minor league player, spending time with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Manitoba Moose, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins over the years.

Jokipakka, a seventh-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2011, has 150 NHL games under his belt, including 41 of them in 2016-17. He’s been in the KHL since but now returns home to play for the club that developed him in the first place.

While Czuczman and Jokipakka may be in the back half of their careers, Tuulola only just turned 24 and was still a depth option for the Calgary Flames. He played with the Stockton Heat this season, scoring 25 points in 61 games. Coming off his entry-level contract, the Flames will be able to retain his exclusive negotiating rights if they extend a qualifying offer. Notably, his contract in Finland is for just one year.

Latest On Pierre-Luc Dubois

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23-year-old centerman Pierre-Luc Dubois has had quite an interesting career after the Columbus Blue Jackets drafted him third overall in 2016. Things looked great for him after the 2018-19 season, where the 20-year-old had 61 points in his second season and played a key role as the team won their first playoff series in franchise history. Dubois faltered the next season, though, and after just one goal in five games the following year, Dubois was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets in a one-for-one swap for second-overall pick Patrik Laine. A tough season continued for him after the trade, raising doubts about his long-term future.

Dubois got his game back under him this season, though, notching a career-high 28 goals as he averaged nearly 19 minutes of ice time per game. A restricted free agent this offseason, however, it doesn’t appear as though Dubois wants a long-term contract. In fact, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that Dubois has informed Winnipeg that he wants to test unrestricted free agency in 2024. The Jets are still hoping to convince him to stay long-term, though, per the report.

It means that Dubois could either take the team to arbitration for a one-year contract or accept his $6MM qualifying offer. It might be a safe bet to just take the qualifying offer, as it’s likely around what the arbitrator would award anyways considering his inconsistent performance over the past few seasons, if not more.

As Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe notes, it puts Winnipeg in a tough situation. Dubois evidently wants to see a long-term improved situation in Winnipeg and a clear path back to Cup contention. Is Winnipeg willing to potentially go more all-in than they should in order to keep Dubois around long-term, or are they better off hitting the reset button? That’s the decision general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will have to grapple with.

Arizona Coyotes Begin Next Round Of Arena Negotiations

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Earlier this month, the Tempe City Council voted to move forward with negotiating plans with the Arizona Coyotes and the NHL for a new arena within the city limits. Today, Sportico’s Barry M. Bloom reports that the Coyotes have now pitched a $1.7 billion plan to the Tempe government for a 46-acre property currently occupied by a landfill. The development would include a new arena and an entertainment district as well.

For the Coyotes, any news is good news. With the amount of new arena talk followed up by no action in the entire league (the Ottawa Senators and LeBreton Flats), any concrete development in the process purely reduces the likelihood of the Coyotes being left without a rink when their deal with Arizona State University expires.

If passed, this would undoubtedly be the longest-serving home of the Coyotes in their history in the desert. The report from the original discussions with the City Council in early June yielded a statement from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that the team would sign a 30-year non-relocation agreement with the city.

News about the plan will undoubtedly continue to trickle in throughout the offseason. An assurance that the Coyotes will have a stable exit plan from playing at the 5,000-seat arena at ASU would be welcomed sooner rather than later.

Ben Bishop Open To Dallas Return In Front Office Role

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After injuries forced him into retirement during the 2021-22 season, it was clear Ben Bishop wouldn’t suit up for the Dallas Stars again. This month, the final year of his $4.9MM average annual value contract was traded to the Buffalo Sabres for salary cap relief entering 2022-23. While not part of the Dallas organization anymore on paper, Bishop has expressed interest in returning to the team in a front-office role, said general manager Jim Nill.

[Bishop] would like to get into some type of management position. His resume, how he conducts himself, he’s a well-spoken man, got a passion for the game. He’d like to continue to be in the game. We’re having some discussions with him about different positions, start to get his feet wet and see what comes of it.

It’s evident that Bishop wants to have a long career within the sport, and he’d apparently like to start it with the team that gave his career a second wind after being shipped out of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization in favor of Andrei Vasilevskiy.

He could learn on the job from another former high-end Dallas netminder — Marty Turco. After a nine-season stretch with the Stars, Turco has joined the team as a senior advisor in the past few seasons.

Florida Panthers Hire Paul Maurice

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5:33 pm: The Panthers have made Maurice’s hiring official. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that it’s a three-year deal for Maurice, coming in at just under $4MM per season. In a release announcing the news, general manager Bill Zito gave the following explanation:

At the completion of our season, we began an in-depth examination of all aspects of our team. After taking the appropriate amount of time for analysis, we determined that we needed the perfect fit to continue with the growth of our players and stay on the path for our franchise goals. Paul’s experience and intellect were just what we were looking for and we are thrilled for him to step into the role of head coach.

9:14 am: The Florida Panthers won’t be keeping Andrew Brunette on as head coach after all. Several reports have surfaced including from Darren Dreger of TSN that the Panthers are in the process of hiring Paul Maurice as their next head coach, and that it will be a three-year deal when completed. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic adds that Brunette could still remain with the organization in some fashion, though Dreger expects him to look for a fresh start.

Maurice, 55, resigned his position as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets in December, noting that the team needed a new voice after nearly a decade there. One of the most experienced coaches in NHL history, Maurice was hired by the Hartford Whalers when he was still just 28 years old and has been behind a bench ever since, racking up 1,685 regular season games in the process.

Despite those decades of coaching though, Maurice doesn’t have a ton of postseason success, having only progressed past the first round on four occasions and missing the playoffs entirely in more than half his seasons behind the bench. His best playoff run came in 2002 when he took the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Final, only to lose in five games to the Detroit Red Wings.

Still, there are few coaches more well-respected around the league than Maurice, and he’ll now be walking into an outstanding opportunity with the Panthers. Florida won the Presidents’ Trophy with a 58-18-6 scoring at a pace rarely seen in the modern game. Four players cracked the 30-goal mark, with captain Aleksander Barkov leading the way with 39 in just 67 games. Jonathan Huberdeau had 115 points to finish second in the Art Ross race, and the Panthers have difference-makers at defense and in net.

That success though is why so many believed Brunette would be given another chance after taking over from Joel Quenneville early in the year. Fifty-one of those 58 wins came under the rookie bench boss, who posted a .720 points percentage in his first go-round.

There were critiques of his ability in the playoffs when going up against Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who swept them out of the second round, but it was still hard to believe Brunette wouldn’t be given at least another crack at it.

By moving on to Maurice, the management group in Florida has made a clear statement that they believe there is no time to waste in their current window. Notably, Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar will be unrestricted free agents after the upcoming season, Sam Reinhart and Anthony Duclair will be the year after that, and Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, and Carter Verhaeghe the year after that.

The 2022-23 season could be the last chance for the entire group to stay intact (or at least reasonably intact), so they’ve taken their shot with an experienced coach to try and take them all the way.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Chicago Blackhawks Announce Front Office Changes

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Almost four months after affirming Kyle Davidson as the team’s permanent general manager, the Chicago Blackhawks have finalized the rest of their main hockey operations staff moving forward. The organization announced today that Meghan Hunter has been promoted to Assistant General Manager, Hockey Operations. They also said that Mark Eaton remains in his role as Assistant General Manager, Development, Brian Campbell has been named Advisor, Hockey Operations, and Karilyn Pilch has been promoted to Director of Player Personnel.

With her promotion, Hunter becomes the fourth woman in NHL history to serve as an assistant GM. She’s been with the Blackhawks organization for the past two seasons, serving as a scout and their director of hockey administration during that time. The 41-year-old had the highest points-per-game in a single season in University of Wisconsin history during her freshman year, tallying 42 goals, 36 assists, and 78 points in just 35 games. Her record stands against legends of the women’s hockey game such as Brianna Decker, Hilary Knight, and Meghan Duggan.

Eaton, a longtime NHL defenseman, will enter his third season as an assistant GM in Chicago. He’s been with the organization in an off-ice capacity since 2014, when he joined them as a development coach. Campbell has been a development coach with the Blackhawks since 2018 and also spent four years with them on the ice. He was an advisor to the team during their general manager search, ultimately opting to retain Davidson.

Pilch has five years of management experience, including three as the director of hockey operations for the Boston University women’s team and two years as general manager of the PHF/NWHL’s Boston Pride.

 

Nazem Kadri Expected To Return For Game 4

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After a disheartening 6-2 loss in Game 3, the Colorado Avalanche could get a huge momentum swing back in their favor tonight in the Stanley Cup Final. The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that, as of practice this morning, the team plans for center Nazem Kadri to return to the lineup for Game 4. Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater adds separately that Kadri is “definitely” playing tonight.

Per Baugh, Kadri skated with the regulars at practice this morning while right wing Nicolas Aube-Kubel skated with the healthy scratches. Barring any setbacks for Kadri during warmups, Aube-Kubel will likely draw out for Kadri to return.

Kadri hasn’t played since suffering a hand injury just 37 seconds into his first shift of Game 3 of the Western Conference Final. The hit by Edmonton Oilers winger Evander Kane, which forced Kadri’s hand awkwardly into the endboards, sidelined the Avalanche forward for two and a half weeks. Kane earned a one-game suspension on the play as the Avalanche completed their four-game sweep of the Oilers without either Kane or Kadri on the ice.

Despite the injury and the time missed, Kadri remains tied for fifth in playoff scoring on the Avalanche with six goals, eight assists, and 14 points in 13 games. It’s a repeat of his previous playoff success in an Avalanche uniform, as he tallied 18 points in 15 games during the team’s time in the 2020 playoff bubble.

Not only does Kadri’s return provide a gigantic boost to the Colorado offense on its own, it also causes a positive cascading effect on the team’s depth. J.T. Compher, who’s been an excellent energy forward for the team in recent games, will likely return to a bottom-six role, bolstering their ability to counterstrike against Tampa’s stellar veteran depth.

Finland Announces Preliminary Rosters For 2022 WJC

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While the focus is on the Stanley Cup Final right now, fans will have some more hockey to watch later this summer, when the rescheduled World Junior Championship takes place in August. The event, which was postponed from its normal late-December timeslot because of a COVID-19 outbreak, will kick off on August 9 in Edmonton, Alberta.

All of the same players are eligible for the event, even if they have since turned 20, meaning there is a much bigger pool of talent to pick from this year. That’s led to Finland naming a preliminary roster and a challenger roster, which will battle at a camp this summer according to Lassi Alanen of Elite Prospects.

The main roster:

G Leevi Merilainen
G Rasmus Korhonen
G Juha Jatkola

D Matias Rajaniemi
D Ruben Rafkin
D Ville Ottavainen
D Joni Jurmo
D Eemil Viro
D Topi Niemela
D Kasper Puutio
D Petteri Nurmi
D Aleksi Heimosalmi
D Rami Maatta

F Samuel Helenius
F Roni Hirvonen
F Oliver Kapanen
F Ville Koivunen
F Juuso Maenpaa
F Aatu Raty
F Joakim Kemell
F Kalle Vaisanen
F Brad Lambert
F Kasper Simontaival
F Joel Maatta
F Roby Jarventie
F Elias Koponen
F Eetu Liukas
F Roni Karvinen

Snapshots: Nill, Kane, Helewka

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The Dallas Stars have a new head coach with a long-term contract, after signing Pete DeBoer to a four-year deal this week. That raised some questions about the contracts of the rest of the leadership group, including general manager Jim Nill who has just one year left on his deal.

Today, at DeBoer’s introductory press conference, the new coach explained to reporters including Saad Yousuf of The Athletic that he was assured Nill would be there throughout his time in Dallas. Nill himself explained that he has worked on a succession plan with owner Tom Gaglardi but that he will be general manager for a few more years.

  • Another coach press conference, this time for Jay Woodcroft and the Edmonton Oilers, led to more answers from a general manager. Ken Holland told reporters including Mark Spector of Sportsnet that he has had multiple chats with Evander Kane’s agent and once again expressed his desire to re-sign the pending free agent winger.
  • Minor league forward Adam Helewka is off to Europe once again, signing with HC Innsbruck in the ICEHL. The 26-year-old was originally selected 106th overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2015 but never did make it to the NHL. After spending some time in the KHL, SHL and Slovakian league, he played the last two seasons with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL.

Offseason Checklist: Toronto Maple Leafs

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With the offseason in full swing aside from the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Another year, another first-round exit for the Maple Leafs, who were kicked out of the postseason by the defending champs. Sure, you could argue that they were closer to defeating the Lightning than either of the other two teams in the east that had the unfortunate task of trying to snap Tampa Bay’s streak but it doesn’t really matter at this point. The simple fact is that Toronto hasn’t won a playoff series in nearly two decades and all efforts this summer will be made to change that.

Figure Out The Goaltending

Right now, the Maple Leafs have three goaltenders under contract for next season. Petr Mrazek, Erik Kallgren, and Joseph Woll. That’s not exactly what someone would call championship depth in net. Mrazek is signed for two more years at $3.8MM and did not impress in his first go-round with the team, leading some to believe they’ll find a way to get rid of his contract this summer.

But the big question mark is Jack Campbell, who did an admirable job during his relatively short time in Toronto but may have priced himself out of their range. If the 30-year-old is looking to cash in on his first real chance at a lucrative multi-year contract, it’s hard to see how it will be with the Maple Leafs, unless they can find a way to clear up some other room. Even if they did move Mrazek’s money out and bring back Campbell, is the Kallgren-Woll duo enough depth behind him?

Add Youth To The Bottom-Six

With Ilya Mikheyev and Colin Blackwell both unrestricted free agents, Pierre Engvall and Ondrej Kase restricted free agents (who are both trade or even potentially non-tender candidates, because of the threat of arbitration), and Jason Spezza now in the front office, it could be a very different look at the bottom of the Maple Leafs’ lineup next season.

Deciding how many spots the team will leave open for competition among the younger players in the organization is a huge decision and one that could drastically backfire if they aren’t able to make the jump to the NHL full-time. Nick Robertson (20), Alex Steeves (22), Curtis Douglas (22), Nick Abruzzese (23), Pontus Holmberg (23), Joey Anderson (24), and others are potential options there, though they each come with very different skillsets.

With the cap squeeze coming in other areas, the team desperately needs some of these entry-level contracts (or minimum deals in Anderson’s case) to start paying off upfront.

Solve The Sandin Problem

When the Maple Leafs re-signed Mark Giordano to a hometown discount quickly after the season ended, the question immediately emerged: where is Rasmus Sandin going to play? The team now has Giordano, Morgan Rielly, and Jake Muzzin all entrenched on the left, while Sandin has struggled in his short time trying to play his off-side.

The 22-year-old is a restricted free agent for the first time and will need a new contract, but also some clarity on where exactly he fits into the picture for next season. Many fans have suggested a Muzzin trade to clear room for the younger Sandin but the veteran holds a full no-trade clause until next summer, so there would be complications even if the team did decide they wanted to move on–which isn’t clear anyway.

Given that they also have question marks on the right side with Justin Holl’s up-and-down season and Timothy Liljegren’s inexperience, how the Maple Leafs’ defense pairings shake out is a complete unknown at this point.

Find A Second-Line Left Winger

It may seem like a non-issue for a team that had no trouble scoring goals this season but the second-line duo of John Tavares and William Nylander often struggled to find chemistry with a rotating cast of left-wingers (and each other at times). With Mikheyev, perhaps the most natural fit there, likely moving on due to his open market price tag–Chris Johnston of TSN noted that the Russian UFA is looking for somewhere between $4-5MM on a per-year basis–it’s hard to see who will step into that void from the internal options.

Alexander Kerfoot has at times found success in the top-six but is really more of a third-line option, while a young skilled player like Robertson may not yet be ready. A free agent signing could be in the cards if the team can find some extra cash.

One thing that may play into the decision, however, is the emergence and development of prospect Matthew Knies. The second-rounder exploded this season with the University of Minnesota and played at the Olympics for Team USA. Knies is headed back to school for 2022-23 but could be an option for the Maple Leafs’ top-six as early as next spring, meaning any multi-year free agent move could create a logjam moving forward.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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