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Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Mike Vellucci

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Via a team release this morning, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall announced that the team has re-signed assistant coach Mike Vellucci to a two-year contract extension.

Vellucci, 56, is an extremely experienced and decorated coach and manager across the AHL and OHL. He served as the GM and head coach of the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers from 2001 to 2014, where he took home an OHL championship in 2007 and Coach of the Year honors in 2007 and 2013.

He then moved on to the Carolina Hurricanes organization, where he served as an assistant general manager and the director of hockey operations from 2014-2019, including spending the last two years as the head coach of their AHL affiliate in Charlotte. With the Checkers in 2019, Vellucci coached at the AHL All-Star Game, won the Calder Cup, and was named the AHL Coach of the Year. He then spent one year as the GM and head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before joining Pittsburgh’s NHL staff.

Since joining the Penguins as an assistant coach in 2020-21, Vellucci has primarily been responsible for managing the team’s forwards and penalty-killing units. The team has a record of 83-41-14 since Vellucci joined their NHL staff, but he’s yet to experience a playoff series win with the Penguins at this level.

Speaking on the deal today, Hextall gave the following statement:

Mike is a dedicated coach who has proven to be a valuable addition since joining Pittsburgh. We’re excited to have him back behind the bench for two more seasons.

Pittsburgh’s penalty kill is ninth overall in the NHL (81.5%) since Vellucci joined the bench in 2020. This season, he’ll be tasked with working newcomers like Jan Rutta into the penalty-killing fold while still working closely with the team’s offense.

Five Key Stories: 8/15/22 – 8/21/22

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It took longer than many expected but the last big domino of the UFA market fell this past week, immediately resulting in a notable trade as well.  Those are among the top stories from the past seven days.

Veteran Signings: Jack Johnson will soon be participating in his 17th NHL season as the veteran signed a one-year, $950K contract with Chicago.  The 35-year-old had nine points in 74 games with Colorado in 2021-22 on their third pairing and should play a similar role with the Blackhawks, allowing them to keep a prospect in the minors for further development to start next season.  Meanwhile, a pair of NHL veterans opted to head overseas.  Winger Colton Sceviour opted to take a one-year deal with Bern in Switzerland after splitting last season between Edmonton and their AHL affiliate while Cedric Paquette is on his way to the KHL on a one-year pact with Dinamo Minsk.

Turris Retires: While those veterans found new homes on the ice, long-time NHL center Kyle Turris found a new home off the ice as he retired and was named a special advisor to the general manager and player development coach with Coquitlam of the BCHL.  He hangs up his skates at the age of 33 after a 14-year NHL career that saw him put up 425 points in 776 games with four different teams.  While he won’t be playing, Turris will still be collecting NHL money for a while yet as he will receive $2MM per season from Nashville through the 2027-28 season.

Kadri To Calgary: While there had been plenty of speculation (and seemingly even expectation) that Nazem Kadri would wind up with the Islanders, that wasn’t the case.  Instead, the 31-year-old center inked a seven-year, $49MM contract with the Flames, one that contains a no-move clause in the first four years and a 13-team no-trade clause in the final three seasons.  Kadri is coming off a career year with the Avalanche where he posted 87 points in 71 games while averaging over 19 minutes per game for the first time.  He also played a big role in Colorado’s run to the Stanley Cup as he collected 15 points in 16 games in the playoffs.  While it took a while for his deal to come around, Kadri has the long-term security he was seeking, and interestingly enough, it comes with the team that he actually invoked his no-trade clause to avoid joining just a few years ago.

Monahan To Montreal: For the Flames to be able to afford Kadri’s $7MM AAV, they needed to create some salary cap space.  They did just that, sending center Sean Monahan along with a first-round pick to Montreal for future considerations.  The 27-year-old has one year left on his deal with a $6.375MM AAV and is coming off hip surgery for the second straight season while he had just 23 points in 65 games.  The draft pick features plenty of various conditions that could make the pick convey anywhere between 2024 and 2026 and is certainly one of the more complex arrangements ever seen on a future draft choice.  Meanwhile, the news isn’t good for Canadiens goaltender Carey Price as he won’t be ready to start the season with GM Kent Hughes suggesting it’s unlikely he’ll be able to play in 2022-23 if he is ever able to return.  Montreal will place him on LTIR which creates the cap room for them to take on Monahan’s deal.

Talks Going Nowhere: At this point, most remaining restricted free agents are ones coming off their entry-level contracts that didn’t have any negotiation rights.  One of those is Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin and his agent, Lewis Gross, voiced his frustration with the lack of progress made in negotiations, stating that “negotiations are going nowhere”.  The 22-year-old has long been viewed as a future long-term piece of Toronto’s back end and he had 16 points in 51 games last season but was scratched in the playoffs.  With the depth that the Maple Leafs have on the left side of their defense corps, playing time will be difficult to come by which could also be playing a role.  Toronto is in a spot where they’ll be hard-pressed to re-sign Sandin and stay cap-compliant so a resolution that comes sooner than later would be ideal to give them more time to make the money work.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2008 NHL Draft Take Two: First Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

The summer doldrums often provide opportunities to look back at the past – moves that have worked out and others that didn’t go exactly as planned.  The same can be said for draft picks – some early selections have panned out and become franchise players while others came up well short of expectations.  In the past, we’ve looked back at the drafts in 2005, 2006, and 2007 and now, it’s time to do the same for 2008.

This draft class was a pretty strong one with 33 players (and counting) playing in at least 500 NHL games while it also has some All-Stars and future Hall of Famers.  On the flip side, there were four players who never saw a taste of NHL action and certainly won’t be slotted as high in our redraft.

Over the coming weeks as we wait for training camp to begin, we’ll be going through the 2008 NHL Entry Draft to have the PHR community select who they would have picked knowing the result of the player’s career. We’ll include a list of players to vote for, and update the first round as it progresses.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had the first pick in 2008 after winning the lottery to hold onto the top selection.  They were faced with the choice of picking a franchise center or a franchise defenseman with Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty being the consensus top two selections in Brian Lawton’s first draft at the helm.  Obviously, they opted for the former and Stamkos has been as advertised as the leading scorer from this draft class although Doughty has played the most games and has been nominated for end-of-season awards more frequently.  With the benefit of hindsight, did Tampa Bay make the right choice or would they have been better off with the franchise defender instead?  Or someone else entirely?

With the first pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Tampa Bay Lightning select?  Cast your vote below.

App users, click here to vote.

Snapshots: Backstrom, Miller, Connolly

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Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom has put together an incredible career, especially considering that he has been dealing with chronic hip pain for parts of at least half of it. Up until this season, Backstrom has missed very little time due to injury throughout his career despite the nagging injury, however as the injury became more and more unbearable, the veteran knew he needed to address it for real, not simply ride it out. That ultimately lead to hip resurfacing surgery back in June, a procedure that should alleviate much of Backstrom’s day-to-day pain, but could affect his long-term career plans, much as the procedure did to Ryan Kesler and Ed Jovanovski.

Recently, Backstrom sat down for an interview with Swedish website expressen.se to discuss life before and after the surgery (link to original Swedish article). Washington Hockey Now’s Sammi Silber broke down Backstrom’s interview, originally in Swedish, profiling the Capitals star’s road to recovery (link to Silber’s article in English). Of note, Backstrom said prior to the surgery he had trouble doing things as simple as tying his shoes or putting on his socks. He added that skating had become easier than walking at times with the injury. On the brightside, however, Backstrom says that since the surgery, his quality of life has improved greatly and he’s been able to enjoy the offseason. Though the injury can end the careers of professional athletes, and there’s no timetable on when or if Backstrom can return, the All Star says that he’s not ready to think about hanging up his skates and for the first time in a long time, feels optimistic about where things are. Despite the injury and his age (34), Backstrom remains an incredibly important part of the Capitals’ build and has three more seasons at a $9.2MM AAV left on his contract.

  • CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal appeared on the Sekeres and Price podcast to discuss the impact that Nazem Kadri’s free agent deal will have on 2023 UFA and current Vancouver Canucks forward J.T. Miller. In sum, Dhaliwal told the pair, “Kadri’s agent did J.T. Miller’s agent a favor,” referencing the seven year, $49MM contract Kadri signed with the Calgary Flames. Looking a little deeper at what Dhaliwal means, Kadri is about to turn 32 years of age, coming off a career-best 87 points in 71 games, crushing his previous career-best of 61 points in 82 games back in 2016-17. If Kadri, who is a year-and-a-half older than Miller will be next summer, can secure a seven-year deal after one 87-point season, “there is no way Miller will accept anything under seven or eight years.” While there’s never been anything stopping Miller from setting that as his asking price, Kadri’s contract simply helps Miller make his own case for at least the same, if not a better contract. Miller is coming off his own career-best of 99 points in 80 games, but also boasts an impressive 46 points in 53 games and 72 points in 69 games the two seasons prior. Still, it will be up to Miller to have another stellar performance like he did this year if he wants to easily secure a contract greater than Kadri’s.
  • An interesting bit of news, if it can be called that, was free agent forward and former Capital Brett Connolly joined several members of the Capitals at an informal skate at the team’s facility in Arlington, Virginia on Friday. Connolly skated alongside  John Carlson, Lars Eller, Carl Hagelin, Garnet Hathaway, Hendrix Lapierre, Joe Snively, Sam Anas and Alexander Alexeyev, and though he was a teammate of a few of them from 2016-19, he wasn’t skating with them as a teammate Friday. The veteran forward instead told El-Bashir he was in town for personal reasons and simply needed a place to skate. An NHLer, and one who helped bring a Stanley Cup to D.C., Connolly was simply able to skate in a familiar place with some familiar faces. The veteran is currently a UFA awaiting his next deal, which could likely be on a PTO and invite to training camp with an NHL team looking for a proven offensive weapon.

Free Agent Profile: Cody Eakin

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In order for the inaugural Vegas Golden Knights team to have the historic season that they did, they required a full team effort with contributions up and down their lineup. Offensive performances from William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, David Perron, and Reilly Smith, backed by future Hall-of-Famer Marc-Andre Fleury in net, highlighted the team’s success, but secondary performances were able to vault a solid team into one that came just a few wins shy of a Stanley Cup title in just it’s first try. One of those performances was from veteran forward Cody Eakin, who Vegas selected from the Dallas Stars in the 2017 Expansion Draft.

Originally a third-round pick of the Washington Capitals in 2009, Eakin established himself as a complete player and dangerous scorer, breaking out the year after he was drafted with a 47-goal campaign for the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL in 2009-10. After another strong WHL season in 2010-11, Eakin made his NHL debut in his first full professional campaign in 2011-12, putting up 27 points in 43 games for the Hershey Bears of the AHL and another eight points in 30 NHL games for the Capitals. Following that season, he was dealt to the Dallas Stars, where he spent the majority of his career to-date. Eakin would play parts of four seasons in Dallas, having one of the best seasons of his career when he recorded 40 points in 78 games in 2014-15. Ahead of the 2016-17 season, he signed a four-year, $15.4MM deal to stay with the Stars, but wound up with Vegas for most of the final three years.

With Vegas, Eakin became a crucial depth piece for the organization as it chased an ultimately elusive Stanley Cup. Perhaps the best season of his career thus far came in 2018-19, setting career-highs in goals, with 22, and points, with 41, in 78 games. In the final year of his deal, Vegas dealt Eakin to his hometown Winnipeg Jets before he hit free agency in the 2020 offseason. The veteran would sign a two-year, $4.5MM contract with the Buffalo Sabres, but his production dropped off sharply, recording a mere 19 points in 115 games over the two seasons, a far cry from the 22 goals and 41 points he was just two seasons removed from when he signed in Buffalo.

Now a free agent more than a month after the market opened, the versatile forward appears to be paying for his struggles in upstate New York. As effective as Eakin is in his own end, on the penalty kill, and in the faceoff circle, it’s hard for almost any team to justify giving Eakin the roster spot and time-on-ice necessary to be effective with such little offensive production. The ability to score is there for Eakin, however he hasn’t produced 30 points since that career-best 2018-19 and that regression came with him still in his prime.

Stats:

2021-22: 69 GP, 4-8-12, -15 rating, 22 PIMs, 74 shots, 56,0 FO%, 13:35 ATOI

Career:  701 GP, 110-146-256, -25 rating, 278 PIMs, 1,016 shots, 50.7 FO%, 15:16 ATOI

Potential Suitors:

As discussed, given the complete lack of offensive production the past couple of seasons, it would be tough to find a team that could justify giving regular minutes to Eakin. His game is primarily focused on defense and playing in his own zone, so not having a stellar track record on the other side of the puck is understandable, but there is a clear difference between the 0.41 points-per-game Eakin averaged from 2013-14 through 2018-19, and the 0.21 points-per-game he’s averaged since.

All of that said, there are still several extremely valuable things Eakin brings to the table. For one, his ability to play in his own zone and kill penalties, something he’s been doing his entire career. Experience doing this and the ability to work with a team’s younger players on this can be extremely valuable. Speaking of experience, Eakin has been to a Stanley Cup Final and has 50 playoff games of experience under his belt. Not only that, given his play style, he’s been trusted in some of the most crucial moments of those playoff games before. Having been there, and done it, a team bringing in Eakin as a situational player can expect him not to be phased when the time comes.

The usual suspects for forwards in these Free Agent Profile articles tends to be the Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders, who could both use some help up front. However, Eakin doesn’t seem to make sense for either, who have a few options already that play a similar role. An option that could make sense is a reunion in Vegas. With Robin Lehner headed to LTIR, Vegas will have a little more space with which to work, and though it won’t allow for any groundbreaking moves, bringing in a familiar face to do the little things might be preferable to a veteran-heavy team like Vegas as opposed to a younger player with little NHL experience or some sort of a shuffle of taxi-squad players.

Projected Contract:

This late in free agency with many organizations set on their rosters, and especially now with his regression, it’s hard to imagine Eakin will see the sort of money he earned when he signed with Dallas in 2016 or Buffalo in 2020. Still, at 31 years of age, Eakin’s career is far from over, even if he’s approaching the tail-end of his prime years. Instead of hoping to extend his career just a bit longer, he is more likely still in a position to try to rebound and get back to the player he was in Dallas and Vegas not too long ago.

This might require him to take a league-minimum $750K contract, or even a two-way deal. It could also come on the heels of a successful PTO stint, which may be the most likely scenario at this point in the offseason. A PTO might actually be a favorable opportunity, with the signing team wanting to evaluate Eakin, they would put him in positions to succeed and show he’s capable of the rebound, which could ultimately lead to be more consistent opportunities out of the gate.

Mason McTavish Named 2022 World Juniors MVP

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After his Team Canada won gold last night at the much-delayed 2022 World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish was named the tournament’s MVP by the IIHF. He also took home the IIHF Directorate Award for Best Forward, while Florida Panthers prospect Kasper Puutio won Best Defender and Minnesota Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt won Best Goalkeeper.

This World Juniors team was the seventh different team McTavish played on in the 2021-22 season if you count the canceled WJC in January as a separate team. He saved his best performance of the year for last, leading the tournament with an astounding 17 points in just seven games. As captain of the squad, McTavish led the team in goals with eight and tied his future Ducks teammate, Olen Zellweger, for the team lead in assists with nine.

McTavish’s next stop will be Ducks training camp next month. While not a guarantee, it would be a shocking development at this point if McTavish was not a full-time member of the Ducks next season.

In the WJC playoffs, McTavish played at least 20 minutes of every game Canada played, including a whopping 26:50 in their gold medal game overtime win — not to mention his game-saving save just seconds before the eventual winner.

Free Agent Profile: Evgeny Svechnikov

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Once one of the more exciting prospects in hockey, Evgeny Svechnikov hasn’t fully developed into the talent the Detroit Red Wings were hoping for when they selected him 19th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.  Taken just after Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor and Thomas Chabot, Svechnikov was expected to be a dynamic threat just like those three, using his size and natural offensive talent to create, and capitalize on, offensive chances. Unfortunately, the enticing skillset he brought didn’t translate to the NHL and now, at age 25, the winger finds himself, for the second time in as many years, a UFA after failing to secure a qualifying offer.

Growing up in Russia, Svechnikov made his way through the Russian youth hockey scene, eventually securing a spot in the AK Bars organization. He would play parts of two seasons with their MHL team and even made his KHL debut during his age-17 season. The following year, 2014-15, Svechnikov made the jump to North America, joining the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the QMJHL, where he immediately impressed, scoring 32 goals along with 46 assists in 55 games. After the Red Wings selected him that June, Svechnikov returned to Cape Breton, dominating again with almost identical numbers: 32 goals and 47 assists in 50 games. The forward made his professional debut that season, skating in two playoff contests for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Svechnikov didn’t look back, playing a full season for the Griffins in 2016-17, tallying 20 goals with 31 assists in 74 games, showing he was ready for pro hockey in North America. Frustratingly for both player and organization, that would be Svechnikov’s last true step as a prospect. The next season, he would record just 23 points in 57 AHL games along with four points in 14 NHL games, following that up with 25 points in 51 AHL games and zero points in four NHL games. The 2020-21 season wasn’t much better and that summer, the Red Wings would fail to qualify him, making Svechnikov a free agent for the first time in his career.

Now 24, Svechnikov received strong interest from the Winnipeg Jets organization, signing an AHL contract and a PTO that eventually became an NHL contract. The Jets gave Svechnikov his first taste of full-time NHL action in 2021-22, but the winger still couldn’t put together a season that reflected the promise he once had. Over 72 games in Winnipeg, Svechnikov had just seven goals and 12 assists. That campaign did show he could play a full-time role for an NHL team, but perhaps also served to prove he was not set to become the player he was projected to be.

Stats:

2021-22: 72 GP, 7-12-19, -4 rating, 38 PIMs, 78 shots, 48.8 CF%, 10:45 ATOI

Career: 113 GP, 12-19-31, -10 rating, 58 PIMs, 125 shots, 49.3 CF%, 10:40 ATOI

Potential Suitors:

Finding a good fit for Svechnikov seems tricky. One aspect to consider is what does he bring to the table, and what is its value? At 25, he’s still relatively young and fresher than some of the veteran options that remain. Despite being fairly young relative to the other options, he still comes with experience, skating in 113 NHL games, as well as 186 in the AHL. Unlike many other players with his age and experience, Svechnikov brings his former prospect status. In other words, not too long ago, he had a ceiling higher than this. Almost 26, it’s rather unlikely he manages to hit or approach that ceiling, but he could still have a chance to bounce back to some extent and produce more than he has. Still, after his 51 points in 74 AHL games in 2016-17, he hasn’t been able to come close to replicating the production in the NHL or AHL.

Something worth considering is how little opportunity it seems Svehnikov has had when he does get on the ice in the NHL. Looking more closely at his career, Svechnikov has just 125 shots on goal. Granted, he’s only skated in 113 games, but it would be difficult to score at a high-rate when not shooting at a high-rate. It would also be difficult to shoot at such a rate, when averaging just 10:40 of time-on-ice, like Svechnikov has in his career. His 10:45 of time-on-ice and 78 shots in 2021-22, his only full season in the league, are fairly consistent with that of the rest of his career. Difficult, but fair: if Svechnikov can’t prove he can produce, he also won’t see those opportunities either.

Returning to the issue of where Svechnikov fits best, the answer might be a team looking for a diamond-in-the-rough talent, but also willing to give him the time and opportunity to succeed. Most teams won’t be able to justify giving a player with 31 points in 113 games those sorts of minutes, and those that may have them available could choose to give them to younger players who still hold their prospect status, leaving Svechnikov in a difficult state of limbo. One fit could be the Chicago Blackhawks, who appear committed to let their young players to develop in other leagues and have veterans hold the line for now. With the organization committed to the rebuild, they could be in a place to give Svechnikov some extra opportunities to prove his value.

Projected Contract:

Last offseason, Svechnikov signed a PTO with the Winnipeg Jets, earning a league minimum contract that he signed just prior to the start of the regular season. Over a month into free agency, it would appear Svechnikov is headed down that road once again. If he is offered a contract, whether that be in lieu of a PTO or afterwards, chance are it will not only be at the league minimum of $750K, but will be a two-way deal, much the same as it was this season.

Latest On The IIHF

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Earlier today, IIHF executives, President Luc Tardif, and Regional Vice President and Chairman of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship Directorate Henrik Bach Nielsen, had the chance to sit down with the media prior to the World Junior medal games in Edmonton, discussing the status of the organization and it’s plans going forward. Topics varied from the status of tournaments cancelled due to COVID-19, the current status of Hockey Canada, their financial position, and the future outlook of the organization and future tournaments. As mentioned in an earlier piece, Tardif also discussed the suspension of the Russian Belarusian teams for the 2022-23 season, adding that future suspensions would be determined on a year-by-year basis going forward.

Firstly, the pair discussed the choice to schedule the makeup men’s World Juniors to August, acknowledging that the timing might have been less than ideal, but that it was the only time it would have made sense to hold it. Bach Nielsen added that where it mattered most, it was a success, considering the tournament happened in full without any COVID cases. They also discussed looking forward to the upcoming 2023 men’s World Juniors in Halifax and Moncton, confident the tournament should return to what it has been, evidenced by the nearly 50,000 fans who entered the priority draw to purchase tickets for the games. In regards to other cancelled events, only three tournaments from the previous year’s IIHF calendar remain, including next week’s Women’s World Championships, with all expected to be completed by the end of September.

When asked about the financial burden the IIHF is experiencing in light of COVID-19 and all pof the changes that were made, Bach Nielsen stated that the organization is in good financial shape, citing their ability to spend less during these times as a reason for their healthy financial status. Bach Nielsen did add that the more concerning loss from the COVID years is a lack of development on the ice. When asked about the allegations against Hockey Canada, the pair indicated the IIHF had submitted an inquiry to Hockey Canada and was hopeful the investigation would continue, but made clear the IIHF has not yet initiated its own investigation.

Lastly, Tardif touched on the number of teams in different tournaments, including the men’s World Juniors. Tardif didn’t explicitly say whether or not an increase from the current ten-team slate is or isn’t in the plans, but attributed the tournament’s recent success to having only ten teams. On the other hand, he expressed interest in another increase to the number of teams in the Women’s World Championships, which had increased already from eight teams to ten back in 2019.

Today’s meeting with the media was far from ground breaking, however that may be the best thing possible for the organization. Given the financial hardship that the pandemic has put on just about every industry, and the forced cancellations the IIHF has endured, to see that the organization is doing well financially, understands just why the summer World Juniors weren’t perfect, but has a confident outlook on the future is perhaps the best news that could have come from today’s availability.

Snapshots: Colton, IIHF, 2026 WJC, Rutherford

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The Tampa Bay Lightning’s incredible 2021 Stanley Cup run gave Ross Colton his first Stanley Cup in just his first try, however it wasn’t the rookie’s first time at a Stanley Cup Final. The New Jersey native grew up a huge fan of the New Jersey Devils, and in speaking with NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky, discussed his fandom, which included attending every home game of the Devils’ 2012 run to the Stanley Cup Finals. When approached with the idea of playing for his hometown team one day, Colton said “[t]hat would obviously be so cool.”

As much as the prospect of a New Jersey native and Devils fan playing for the team would be, Colton did pump the brakes on the narrative a bit when speaking to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman, saying he would like to spend his entire career with Tampa Bay, but acknowledged the business-end of the sport, with players needing to be paid and teams having to conform to the salary cap. Colton is entering the second year of a two-year, $1.125MM AAV contract that will leave him a RFA for one more year ahead of his 2024 UFA status. Considering Tampa’s cap issues over the past few seasons, the gritty Colton could be a luxury they can’t afford, however the organization has shown a willingness to get creative in order to keep as much of their core as they are financially able to.

  • Speaking on TSN, and relayed by The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, IIHF President Luc Tardif said Belarus and Russia will be suspended for the next year, and that decisions on whether to permit the countries to participate in IIHF events will be made year-by-year going forward. Pronman adds that this “next year” would likely refer more specifically to the 2022-23 hockey season. Being suspended for at least that length will cost the countries the ability to participate in IIHF-sanctioned events, including most notably the World Junior Championships and the World Championships. The two countries were suspended by the IIHF in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
  • Sticking with the topic of IIHF tournaments, TSN’s Gord Miller reports that the 2026 World Juniors will be held in the United States. Miller adds that a likely destination would be Las Vegas, Nevada, a location he notes was a dream of the late Director of USA Hockey, Jim Johansson. Putting the tournament in Las Vegas would be a feat not only for USA Hockey, but the NHL, whose expansion into the area, as well as other warm climates, was met with skepticism. A successful 2026 tournament in Las Vegas, should it happen, would no doubt be a testament to the growth and success of ice hockey throughout North America and could lead to continued growth and exploration in other non-traditional markets.
  • Since abruptly stepping away from his duties as General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins just a few games into the 2020-21 season, fans and media alike have been trying to figure out what exactly made Jim Rutherford leave the organization so suddenly. Many speculated that his departure had to do with disagreements over the direction of the team, but as the now-Canucks executive told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that was not the case. Carefully wording his response, Rutherford explained that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, being largely confined to his home took a toll on him, which left him without the necessary mental toughness to handle his duties. He added that he didn’t believe he necessarily had any mental health issues, but that things he could generally shake off as typical of the job, began to stick with him. It’s an interesting response, and not as dramatic as a feud with upper management like many had thought, but is surely relatable to the experience of many during the height of the pandemic. As much as owners, executives, coaches, and players may feel super-human or not-so-tangible to fans, Rutherford’s experience shows their experiences are just as human as that of their fans.

PHR Mailbag: Bruins, Kings, Center Market, Wild, Red Wings, Islanders Transactions

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Topics in this edition of the mailbag include fixing Boston’s cap situation, the future center market, when the Islanders might announce a move this summer, and more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in next weekend’s mailbag.

case7187: What do you think the Bruins will do to get cap space?

Right now, probably nothing of consequence.  They have time to work with as they can get through the first two months of the season simply using LTIR.  A lot can change from a roster perspective in that time; does someone else get injured that could extend that LTIR safety net?

The reality is that moving out a contract is quite difficult right now and while it wouldn’t cost a first-round pick to offload the final year of Craig Smith’s deal or Nick Foligno’s, parting with future assets at a time when they might not be far from a rebuild of some degree is going to sting.  They might be able to take a smaller contract back and save a bit of money that way but there’s a better approach than that and it’s the one that I think Boston (and a whole lot of teams) are going to use.

Rather than part with an asset to move Smith and take a smaller contract back, why not just waive Smith?  Or Foligno?  Or, when healthy, Mike Reilly, who’s another potential casualty?  If you lose one of them for nothing, it’s still a better outcome than trading a future asset away to accomplish the same thing.  If they clear, they’d free up $1.125MM in cap space each time.  Do that two or three times and voila, problem solved.  If they get to the playoffs, those players return to the roster when there’s no salary cap so there’s no need to go for a rental depth piece or two at the deadline.

To be clear, I’m not singling those players out as not being worthy of being claimed.  Instead, I think there are going to be plenty of players in that price range ($3MM or so) that are dumped on waivers because teams know there’s little chance they’ll be claimed.  Think back to a couple of years ago when we saw some veterans waived to bounce back and forth from the taxi squads in an effort to bank any sort of cap room.  I expect that will be much more prevalent this coming season.

If there’s a reasonable opportunity to move a player out that doesn’t cost an asset of some significance, that’s obviously Plan A.  But if it doesn’t happen, I think they play things out, see how far they can get with LTIR, and then waive their way into cap compliance with two or three players being waived, clearing, and getting sent down to Providence.

rpoabr: Do the Kings get both Anderson and Durzi signed or do they make a trade to alleviate the logjam?

I think there’s enough money for both to sign without a trade needing to be made.  Let’s break down the current projection from CapFriendly that has the Kings only have around $1.5MM to spend on both players.

There are 15 forwards on that roster.  At most, they’re carrying 14 and in all likelihood, probably 13.  At a minimum, that frees up $750K with the likelier outcome being closer to $1.6MM in extra space.  Now they’re at $3MM or so to spend which is a lot better.

Defensively, there are seven signed players on there once you factor in the ones showing as injured.  Again, at least one has to go and the easiest solution is probably Jordan Spence even though it’s not the fairest solution.  It could be Jacob Moverare but Spence is waiver-exempt and Moverare isn’t.  Those things matter at the beginning of the season.  At a minimum, that’s another $762.5K off the roster, bringing the actual cap space closer to $3.8MM.

That should be more than enough to get both players signed on short-term bridge deals.  It’s doubtful either one gets more than two years so it’s not a long-term fix but it’s enough to get contracts done without compromising any of their depth.  Players in these situations don’t have any leverage outside of holding out and hoping for a better offer so even with that cap space in mind, it might take a few more weeks at least for one or both of them to sign.

baji kimran: Do you seen any real good (maybe even elite) centers coming available in the next year or two?

On the trade front, the first one that comes to mind is Winnipeg’s Pierre-Luc Dubois.  It sure seems like he has no intention of signing with the Jets on a long-term basis which will either have him traded in the next year or so to a team where he will sign or take another one-year deal next summer to hit the open market in 2024.  He’s not elite but as a fairly young player that can play on the second line, I’d say that would qualify.

Looking ahead to next summer’s free agent class, it’s actually pretty good as things stand.  Nathan MacKinnon would command a king’s ransom if he was to somehow make it there and definitely is in the elite category.  Dylan Larkin and Bo Horvat are also up at that time and are very good fits for plenty of teams.  Ryan O’Reilly is a capable veteran and Jonathan Toews will be up as well.  In 2024, the list currently consists of Auston Matthews, Sam Reinhart, Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm, Mark Scheifele, and Anze Kopitar, among others.  That’s a pretty good group as well.

Obviously, not all of those players are going to actually become available.  Most probably won’t.  But with a flat salary cap, some of them are probably going to make it there or at least become available in a sign-and-trade proposition.  For teams hoping to add an impact middleman over the next couple of years, there’s a bit of cause for optimism as a result.

Zakis: What free agent forward will the Wild sign? Or will they try and trade from the D depth to acquire a more impactful F?

I’m going to tackle these out of order.  I don’t see Minnesota moving their defensive depth to acquire a more impactful forward simply because there isn’t one that they’d be willing to move that would bring in a forward of significance.  I think they’d move Dmitry Kulikov but there aren’t teams lining up to trade a good forward for him.  Jon Merrill’s value has been limited in the past as well so he wouldn’t bring back a big return either.

When I first saw this question, Phil Kessel was the player that came to mind in free agency.  He’s someone that would probably play on the third line at five-on-five but he’d help the power play and in a more offensive environment, he’d probably give them a good return on a $2MM or so investment, which would ensure that they have ample cap space for midseason activity as well.  I think Paul Stastny would be a good fit as well with their center depth not being the strongest and Sonny Milano in that system would be intriguing from an upside standpoint.  If they sign a free agent, I could see it being one of those three.

There’s another option in between these and that’s taking on a contract with another asset for future considerations.  There are several teams that need to make a cost-cutting move and several more that might not have to but want to.  That might be a more desirable approach for them to take to add a middle-six forward plus a draft pick or prospect.  GM Bill Guerin would have plenty of options to ponder if he was open to going that route and it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the path he ultimately takes.

Johnny Z: When does Stevie pull the trigger on that blockbuster trade? He has two big guns in Larkin and Bert that have not been extended as of yet, an under-performing Zadina, and some depth D to bargain with.

I’ve had similar questions in recent mailbags so I won’t go through the whole answer again but I keep coming back to the fact that teams rarely go from also-rans to contenders right away.  How will their core perform under the pressure of important games night after night in the playoff hunt and the playoffs themselves?  The problem with answering that is another question in itself; when was the last time Detroit’s core played in a bunch of meaningful games?  It has been so long that GM Steve Yzerman simply doesn’t know how that’s going to go.

When you bring up that blockbuster trade, I think of that move being the one that will vault them into contention.  They know what that missing piece is and they go and get it.  But I’d argue that they don’t know what that missing piece is yet.  They can hope that everyone will perform to expectations but that’s all it is, hope.  They need to see this group go through some legitimate pressure points which will tell them when the time is right to make that move.  It’s not this coming season and I’m not convinced it’s the year after either as what happens with Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi (both 2023 UFAs) could impact their contention timeline.

Teams should be making that blockbuster move to bring in that missing piece of the puzzle.  Detroit isn’t particularly close to that point and making it too early could present more problems down the road.

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