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Archives for July 2022

Seattle Kraken Sign John Hayden

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Last night, PuckPedia reported that John Hayden had signed a one-year two-way contract with the Seattle Kraken, and today the team confirmed the deal. Hayden will earn $750K at the NHL level and $325K in the AHL.

Now 27, Hayden played this season with the Buffalo Sabres, racking up 84 penalty minutes in 55 games. The 6’3″ forward has morphed into something of an enforcer type, after finding it difficult to contribute much offense in the NHL. A star for Yale University, he has just 15 goals and 35 points in 240 NHL games.

Still, it’s not like he’s been toiling in the minor leagues during that time. Hayden has just 24 games played in the AHL, all of them coming during his 2017-18 rookie season. Since then, he has been bouncing around the league but staying in the NHL, playing for the Chicago Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, Arizona Coyotes, and Sabres over the last four seasons.

In Seattle, it’s hard to see him landing a full-time role but he might be able to stick around as a 13th or 14th forward, moving in and out of the lineup when necessary. No longer waiver-exempt, he would have to clear to be assigned to the minor leagues.

St. Louis Blues Sign Martin Frk

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The hardest shot in the minor leagues is coming to St. Louis. Martin Frk has signed a one-year, two-way contract with the St. Louis Blues.

Frk, 28, is one of the most feared goal-scorers in the AHL, with a shot that once registered at 109.2 mph during an AHL All-Star competition. While he can’t always control it, the Czech forward managed to find the back of the net 40 times in 58 games this season for the Ontario Reign, and even added two goals in six games for the Los Angeles Kings.

His game isn’t well-rounded, which has kept him from making more of an impact at the NHL level over the years but if the goal is to strengthen your minor league club, there aren’t many better options. He will likely get into a handful of games with the Blues but don’t expect a full-time NHL player on this deal.

Unless, of course, the team decided to implement a powerplay specialist, the way teams sometimes use players on the penalty kill. On the fourth line, Frk could play limited minutes until setting up his huge blast with the man-advantage, adding a lethal weapon to any powerplay unit.

New York Rangers Sign Adam Sykora

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The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with second-round pick, Adam Sykora, on a three-year, entry-level contract, getting him into the organization right away.

It’s a bright future for the 63rd overall pick, who is one of the youngest players in the entire draft class. Sykora won’t turn 18 until September 7, just a few days before the cutoff, and yet is already taking part in an NHL development camp–and impressing in the process.

Another member of the historic Slovakian draft class, Sykora had ten goals and 17 points in 46 games with Nitra MHC this season and compared himself to Brad Marchand at the draft, calling the Boston Bruins forward a “rat” and hoping to follow in that playstyle. There is absolutely no half-speed for Sykora, who is extremely hard-working and willing to battle for pucks all over the rink.

Notably, he was the first-overall pick at this year’s CHL Import Draft, suggesting that he’ll be playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers at some point. Whether that is this season or not will be up to the Rangers, as Sykora noted to Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today at the draft. At the very least, Rangers fans will get to see him up close when he undoubtedly makes it into a World Junior tournament–he already suited for Slovakia at this year’s World Championship against NHL players.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Ashton Sautner

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The Winnipeg Jets have added another defenseman, this time signing Manitoba kid Ashton Sautner to a one-year, two-way contract. The Flin Flon native will have an NHL salary of $750K this season.

Sautner, 28,  has been in the Vancouver Canucks system for his entire career, though did play two games for the Manitoba Moose during the 2020-21 season. For the Jets, he’ll now provide some depth at the position but is very likely headed back to the minor leagues, given he hasn’t appeared in the NHL since 2019-20. In fact, Sautner has just 23 appearances at the NHL level overall, most of which came in the 2018-19 season.

Still, every team needs minor league depth and the undrafted defenseman provides solid play at that level. In 41 games for the Abbotsford Canucks this season he recorded 13 points, matching a career-high. Given how many options are already in the Jets system, even the prospect of a handful of games at the NHL level seems like a stretch for Sautner at this point.

Minor Transactions: 07/15/22

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With NHL free agency now underway, dozens of lower-level players are also trying to find work. Many of them will end up overseas or signing minor league deals. This is where we will keep track of notable signing around the world.

  • Ryan Stanton has inked a deal with Kolner Haie of the DEL for the upcoming season, after spending this season with the Rockford IceHogs. The 32-year-old defenseman has been playing professional hockey in North America for more than a decade, including two full seasons with the Vancouver Canucks.
  • John Quenneville, a first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2014, is staying overseas to play for Leksands IF of the SHL after appearing in 46 games for Zurich this year. The 26-year-old forward played just 42 games in the NHL over the years, last appearing with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2019-20.
  • Anthony Louis, who put up 55 points in 64 games for the Texas Stars this season, has signed a deal with Barys Nur-Sultan for the upcoming season. The sixth-round pick has never played in the NHL.
  • Gage Quinney and Jake Bischoff have settled for minor league contracts with the Henderson Silver Knights, returning to the club they most recently played with. Bischoff, 27, actually missed the entire 2021-22 season with a lower-body injury and has played just seven games since the end of the 2019-20 season.
  • Michael Houser is back with the Rochester Americans on an AHL deal but if history is anything to go by, he’ll be signing an NHL contract at some point this season. Houser has signed mid-season contracts with the Buffalo Sabres in each of the last two years, when the team ran into goaltending injuries.
  • Mitch Reinke is heading back to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, signing a one-year AHL contract for the upcoming season. The 2-year-old had 27 points in 63 games for the team last season, his first in the Penguins organization.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Andrew Brunette Joins Devils As Associate Coach

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July 15: The Devils have officially announced Brunette as the team’s new associate coach, mentioning how he was a teammate of general manager Tom Fitzgerald with the Nashville Predators in 1998-99.

July 13: It’s not just players making news today. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports the New Jersey Devils have reached a three-year agreement with Andrew Brunette on an associate coaching role. TSN’s Darren Dreger was first to report that things were tracking toward an agreement between Brunette and the New Jersey Devils, but also listed the Winnipeg Jets, Philadelphia Flyers, and Vancouver Canucks as teams with interest in the 2022 Jack Adams Award finalist.

Not often do you see a coach of the year contender immediately hit the open market, let alone do you see them settle for an associate coaching role. But with just five years of coaching experience in the NHL in total, and the Panthers opting to hire the more experienced Paul Maurice, Brunette hits the open market as a high-end support man for teams’ benches. In New Jersey, he’d serve behind an extremely experienced bench boss in Lindy Ruff, allowing him to gain just a little more time in the league before undoubtedly returning to a head coaching role down the road.

And after those three seasons, that’s undoubtedly what he’ll do. It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see him take over for Ruff in three years’ time, or even sooner if New Jersey decides to part with Ruff before that. It’s a good backup plan in case things go wrong with Ruff at the helm.

Ottawa Senators Sign Tomas Hamara To Entry-Level Contract

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Just the second pick outside of the first round from the 2022 NHL Draft has now signed the entry-level contract. Per CapFriendly, the Ottawa Senators did so today with Czech defenseman Tomas Hamara, who they selected in the third round (87th overall). His entry-level deal carries a cap hit of $852K with the following breakdown:

2022-23: $750K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $15K performance bonus, $80K minors salary
2023-24: $775K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $80K minors salary
2024-25: $775K NHL salary, $85K signing bonus, $80K minors salary

Most public scouts would agree Hamara was a bit of a steal in that range, with most pegging him to go in the mid-to-late second round. Hamara played in a lot of different leagues and tournaments this past year, but he spent most of his time with Tappara in the Finnish Liiga, split between their main team and their junior team. He had a strong performance in juniors with 25 points in 32 games, and played in 24 games in the Liiga as well. He also saw some time in the Champions League tournament with Tappara, playing in four games.

In all likelihood, Ottawa will loan Hamara back to Tappara for the next two seasons, as he’s under contract there until 2024. He’s also a more raw prospect, and he likely needs some more conditioning before he’s even ready for AHL ice. Yet, he projects as a well-rounded two-way defenseman who should add nicely to Ottawa’s defensive depth on the left side with players like Thomas Chabot and Jake Sanderson.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Lukas Klok

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You’ve heard of Ronald Knot, get ready for Lukas Klok. The Arizona Coyotes have picked up their second 27-year-old Czech defenseman of the offseason, bringing in Klok from Nizhnekamsk in the KHL on a one-year, two-way entry-level deal, per CapFriendly. It has a cap hit of $845K, which includes an NHL salary of $750K, $105K in performance bonuses, $95K in signing bonuses, and a minors salary of $82.5K.

Klok is actually a solid under-the-radar candidate to make the Coyotes this fall. He had a strong season in the KHL, notching 31 points in 44 games. He also had three points in four games for Czechia at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Both Klok and Knot, a previous Arizona signing this offseason, played for the same team in Russia and were both on the Czech Olympic squad.

Klok was never drafted, but he does have 29 games of experience in North America. He played 29 games with the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms back in 2013-14, registering three points.

New York Rangers Sign Turner Elson

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The New York Rangers have signed some AHL depth, inking forward Turner Elson to a two-year, two-way deal with a $762.5K cap hit, per CapFriendly. He’ll make $750K NHL salary in 2022-23 and $775K in 2023-24, while earning a minor salary of $225K in both seasons. He’s also guaranteed $250K in both years.

The 29-year-old Elson saw his first NHL action this year since he got his first NHL game all the way back in 2015-16. He’d spent the last five years in the Detroit Red Wings organization, serving as an alternate captain with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. His leadership there has obviously helped the Wings as the prospects they developed begin to hit NHL ice.

He’ll try and keep the same role in the Rangers organization, this time with the Hartford Wolf Pack. A dependable bottom-six AHL option, Elson should only see ice time with the Rangers if an extreme number of injuries occur.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Christian Wolanin

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Per CapFriendly, the Vancouver Canucks have signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Christian Wolanin to a one-year, two-way deal paying him $750K in the NHL and $350K in the AHL.

Wolanin, 27, has 70 games of NHL experience between Ottawa, Buffalo, and Los Angeles. While it looked like Wolanin had legitimate NHL upside a few seasons ago with a 12-point year in 2018-19 in just 30 games at 23 years old, those days are behind him. A good option for a seventh defenseman, Wolanin adds to the pool of defensive depth Vancouver has built.

He’ll be competing with players like Kyle Burroughs, young Jack Rathbone, Noah Juulsen, and Wyatt Kalynuk to make the Canucks come training camp in September. If he doesn’t make the squad, he’s a risk to get claimed on waivers if the injury bug strikes other teams on defense.

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