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Philadelphia Flyers Sign Oliver Bonk

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The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Oliver Bonk to a three-year, entry-level contract, according to a team release. Philadelphia didn’t disclose the financial terms for the deal, which locks in their latter of two first-round picks from the 2023 NHL Draft.

The son of longtime Ottawa Senators center Radek Bonk is likely destined for a return to the OHL’s London Knights next season, which would slide the beginning of his ELC to 2024-25. Given his age, the Flyers can execute this move twice, keeping him on his ELC all the way through the 2027-28 campaign – something Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic believes is the likeliest scenario.

Bonk had a slow start to his draft year but slowly rose up draft boards as he regained confidence, leading to the point production you’d like to see in juniors for someone who projects as a shutdown defender. The 18-year-old right-shot defender finished the OHL regular season with ten goals, 30 assists, 40 points, and a +17 rating in 67 games while playing a second-pairing role behind Montreal Canadiens prospect Logan Mailloux, who was reinstated by the league in 2021-22 from an indefinite suspension after he was charged with and convicted of taking and distributing an offensive photo without consent while playing in Sweden.

After earning second all-rookie team honors in the OHL and all-rookie team honors in the CHL last season, Bonk projects to take over the number-one defenseman role in London next season. He is ineligible for assignment to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms until the 2025-26 season, per the NHL/CHL transfer agreement. If Bonk doesn’t crack the Flyers roster by then, he must be returned to juniors. He will be a restricted free agent upon the expiration of his contract, which could be anywhere between 2026 and 2028 depending on when the Flyers bring him to the NHL.

Five Key Stories: 8/14/23 – 8/20/23

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With training camps now just a month away, many teams and players are enjoying what’s left of their summers but that didn’t mean that there wasn’t some news of note around the hockey world (though not all of it good).  Here’s a rundown of the top stories from the past week.

IIHF Agrees With Flyers: Both the Flyers and CSKA Moscow feel they have legally registered contracts with goaltender Ivan Fedotov.  Considering one league can’t poach a signed player from the other, both can’t be correct.  The IIHF intervened and ultimately ruled in Philadelphia’s favor, saying that Fedotov’s contract with them is the one he should be playing under this season while imposing penalties on both Fedotov and CSKA.  The 26-year-old didn’t play at all in 2022-23 due to military service but before that, he was one of the top netminders outside North America.  However, the Russian Ice Hockey Federation has filed an appeal so this case certainly isn’t settled just yet.

Toews To Sit: While he stopped shy of calling it a career, veteran center Jonathan Toews revealed that he will not play in the upcoming season.  The 35-year-old has been battling Chronic Immune Response Syndrome since 2020 which has caused him to miss considerable time, including the entire 2020-21 campaign.  Toews played in 53 games last season and was relatively productive with 31 points but the Blackhawks indicated late in the season that they wouldn’t be offering the 15-year veteran a new contract and for now, he will focus on getting back to full health instead of looking for a new place to play.

Krejci Retires: While Toews wouldn’t rule out returning to the NHL, another veteran middleman has done just that as long-time Bruins center David Krejci announced that he has played his last NHL contest.  The 37-year-old returned to Boston last season and was a key secondary scorer, notching 16 goals and 40 assists in 70 games while crossing the 1,000 games played mark, all with the Bruins.  His departure along with the retirement of Patrice Bergeron sees Boston now without their top two centers as they look to stay in the mix in the tight Atlantic Division.  Notably, Krejci hasn’t ruled out playing altogether and with the World Championship in his native Czechia in 2024, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him suit up in that tournament as his final send-off.

Three Pass Away: It was a sad week in the hockey world as three people passed away.  Maple Leafs prospect Rodion Amirov succumbed to the brain tumor that he was diagnosed with two years ago when he was just 19.  He didn’t play last season but was training with the hopes of returning to game action at some point in 2023-24 before this tragic outcome.  Then it was 17-year veteran Bob Baun who passed away at the age of 86.  Baun won four Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs in a six-year span in the 1960s and suited up for over 1,000 appearances (including playoffs) with three different organizations.  Lastly, legendary broadcaster Rick Jeanneret passed away at the age of 81 after a two-year battle with multi-organ failures.  His work for the team spanned parts of five decades and he was the longest-tenured play-by-play announcer in league history.

On The Move Again: For the second time this month, veteran defenseman Jeff Petry found himself traded.  The 35-year-old is now a member of the Red Wings with the Canadiens picking up blueliner Gustav Lindstrom and a 2025 fourth-round pick in return.  Additionally, Montreal held back half of Petry’s remaining cap hit, meaning both teams will be responsible for a $2.34MM cap charge in each of the next two seasons.  Petry should help fill the void created by the trade of Filip Hronek last season as someone that’s capable of logging big minutes (he has averaged at least 22 minutes a night for seven straight years) and chipping in offensively.  Meanwhile, Montreal will get a look at the 24-year-old Lindstrom while clearing out at least some of the money they had to take back as part of their facilitation of the Erik Karlsson trade.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

PHR Mailbag: Value Trades, Surprising Summers, Stars, Salary Cap, Draft, Golden Knights

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Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include a look at some value trades from last season, when the salary cap might start to go up quicker, the 2024 draft class, and more.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in our last two mailbag columns.

DevilShark: Wondering about your perspective on the top few value trades from the past season now with some hindsight. I’m talking about outperforming their cost – irrespective of their teams’ place in the standings (so not the traditional thing where we look at who helped their team win the cup). Which team made out with great value in the margins?

For a full listing of the trades from the 2022-23 league year, click here.  This is the list I’m working off of for this question but I’ll cut it off at any moves made this offseason.

One that came to mind quickly was Montreal acquiring Sean Monahan and the world’s most confusingly-protected first-round pick from Calgary for free.  Monahan showed for a couple of months that he’s still an above-average player and while they weren’t able to flip him as planned at the deadline, things went well enough that he signed for a much more reasonable $2MM.  They should get more value out of him next season and could flip him for another asset or two in-season.  No matter what, they still eventually get the first-round pick as well.  That’s a very good return on a cost of nothing.

Similarly, Carolina using their cap space to pick up Brent Burns with some retention (and Lane Pederson) for Steven Lorentz, Eetu Makiniemi, and a third-round pick is fantastic value.  Burns is still a top-pairing defender and the Hurricanes got him for a depth forward, an okay goalie prospect at a position they had some surplus, and a mid-round pick.  The Hurricanes made out extremely well here.  I’d also like to put Adin Hill for a 2024 fourth-rounder here but by following the rules of your question, I can’t really do that.

In terms of an in-season move, Dallas buying low on Evgenii Dadonov worked out quite well.  They expected he’d bounce back under a familiar head coach in Peter DeBoer and guessed correctly as he became a key secondary contributor both down the stretch and in the playoffs.  The Stars then leveraged his struggles with Montreal into getting Dadonov to take a pretty cheap two-year deal ($2.25MM AAV) that’s $650K lower than what it would have taken to qualify the underperforming forward they traded for him in the first place (Denis Gurianov, who eventually went non-tendered anyway).  They got the short-term upgrade and at least a medium-term one for very little return.

St. Louis getting Jakub Vrana is another under-the-radar one I think warrants a mention.  They picked up him with Detroit retaining 50% of his $5.25MM AAV for last season and next for a seventh-round pick and a minor leaguer.  Vrana scored 10 goals in 20 games down the stretch.  If he even comes close to that type of production next season, the Blues should be able to flip him for much more than that if they find themselves out of the playoff picture.  And if they are in the mix, he should be an important contributor that was acquired for very little.

aka.nda: Which team(s) summer moves have you scratching your head? What do you think those moves suggest about what that team is hoping or expecting to happen? Is there anything they could do on the market that would inspire more confidence?

A couple of Eastern Conference teams come to mind.  Detroit had money to spend and spent it patching a lot of depth holes with the exception of J.T. Compher whose five-year, $25.5MM contract seems overly optimistic that he can produce at the level he did with Colorado last year when injuries pushed him onto the top line.  They went from being a non-playoff team to a better non-playoff team.  To GM Steve Yzerman’s credit, he did well on the Alex DeBrincat and Jeff Petry acquisitions from a value perspective but I still don’t think those move the needle to make them a playoff team.  They’ve spent a lot of money to possibly finish sixth in the division even though their actions think they’re a playoff-caliber squad.  To be fair, I don’t think there’s much they can do either other than bide their time for the top teams to start to lose some of their top talent.

I also wasn’t a big fan of the Islanders’ moves.  Seven years for Pierre Engvall and Scott Mayfield is nothing short of nonsensical, even if it does keep the cap hits at a reasonable amount (and that is an important consideration).  Four years for a 35-year-old backup goalie also falls in that category even if that backup is a pretty good one.  They took a core that squeaked into a playoff spot and didn’t do anything to improve the roster.  They have no cap flexibility to speak of to try to improve.  Sure, they’ll be in the Wild Card mix again but was locking up secondary players to long-term deals really the best course of direction?  Why not concentrate some of Mayfield and Engvall’s money to go after an offensive upgrade that actually addresses a big area of weakness?  GM Lou Lamoriello clearly feels this core is good enough to get in and the team plays a style that can do some damage in the playoffs.  I’m not sure they get there at this point.

jacl: is Benn good for a point per game this year? Ever think we’ll get Seguin back to his old self? it’s been years since he’s been any good and when centering his own line, it never produces.

Generally, players in their 30s don’t have resurgent seasons.  Jamie Benn bucked that trend, going from 46 points in 2021-22 to 78 points last year.  Fewer players in this situation go on to then improve upon those numbers the following year.  I don’t think Benn will be an exception to that idea either.  His 17.2 shooting percentage was among the tops in the league last season and is at a rate that many would qualify as unsustainable.  That means his 33-goal total is probably going down and with Wyatt Johnston set to push for more minutes as well as newcomer Matt Duchene, I expect Benn’s 45 assists to also go down.  I could see him in the 50-point range which would still be an improvement over his post-pandemic numbers.  That wouldn’t be a great return on his contract but he’d still be an important part of their attack.

As for Tyler Seguin, I don’t see him getting back to the days of him hovering around the point-per-game mark.  He was a top-line fixture at that point in his career.  He isn’t now and the Stars are probably hoping they’re not in a situation where he’s pressed into that duty.  Seguin is a secondary part of their attack now and those players typically don’t light up the scoresheet.  If he continues to produce around the 50-point mark in a middle-six role within the framework of a deep attack, they should be fine.

Unclemike1526: I know the Cap only went up about $1 million this year. I also keep hearing the Cap is going to rise quite a bit in the near future according to the owners. About how much are they saying it’s supposed to go up and when? I think it’s time Hockey joined the ranks of other Pro sports. I just want to know what they’re saying, so I’ll know just how much I’ll be disappointed when it doesn’t happen. Thanks!

The drag in the growth of the Upper Limit of the salary cap in recent years is tied to the pandemic.  That shortened season, the players received their full salaries but with games being canceled and restrictions on attendance, revenues plummeted.  In the CBA is a rule that says players and owners have a 50/50 split of Hockey Related Revenue (HRR) and that season, it wasn’t even close.  That created a ‘debt’ to be repaid to the owners, a clawback of sorts to eventually get the split from that season back to 50/50.

In the 2020 CBA extension, it was agreed that the cap would only go up by $1MM until that debt was repaid.  As of today, that debt is not entirely repaid which is why the cap only moved from $82.5MM to $83.5MM for 2023-24.  However, they’re really close to paying that off which should come this coming season.  At that point, there is a minimum increase to the cap defined as follows from the 2020 NHL CBA Memorandum of Understanding:

Except for the 2026-27 League Year, minimum year-over-year increase in the Upper Limit is the lesser of 2.5% and the trailing two-year average HRR growth percentage. (measured using Final HRR from the League Year four years prior, Final HRR from the League Year three years prior, and Preliminary HRR from two years prior and after taking into account any FX impact adjustments).

For simplicity, let’s use the 2.5% number which would take the cap up to a minimum of $85.59MM in 2024-25 and $87.73MM in 2025-26.  Any further jumps would be tied to increases in HRR which is harder to forecast.  I don’t anticipate a massive jump for 2024-25 as with quite a few teams in a tough spot with their regional rights, they’re either losing their deals altogether to move to an in-house production or will be negotiating cheaper contracts.  That won’t spin HRR in a negative direction but I think it will slow the anticipated growth.

The NHL won’t be getting to the cap levels of the NBA or NFL, however.  Those leagues have TV contracts worth more than the NHL’s entire revenue stream combined and I don’t sense a significant growth in TV ratings down the road that could allow the NHL to get that type of lucrative TV money.  The cap will be going up more than $1MM per year moving forward but it’s still going to check in well below those other leagues.

Emoney123: Who are the watch candidates in the 2024 draft for Flyers since it appears likely another rough season with a potential top-5 pick as well the 1st-round pick from Florida and 2nd-round picks from Columbus and LA? Celebrini seems headed towards #1, who could be other options? Hopefully the light at the end of the tunnel is not a train.

Right now, Macklin Celebrini seems to be the early consensus first pick.  He’s going to be challenged by Cole Eiserman, a high-end goal-scoring threat.  Ivan Demidov is an early wild card, a player who set the MHL (Russian junior league) record for most points as a 17-year-old.  But as we all know, Russian-born players have slipped at times in recent years.  On the back end, Artyom Levshunov and Sam Dickenson are the two top early candidates in a class that is expected to feature more blueliners than usual going within the lottery.  While it’s way too early to start ranking players, these five seem to be close to the consensus top five.

Generally speaking, this is not perceived as a particularly strong draft class compared to the 2023 one and some scouts appear to prefer the 2025 class.  Again, though, this can all certainly change.  If Philadelphia winds up with a high selection in June, they’re going to get a quality player, perhaps just not the franchise type of player that Chicago just selected.

Justajaysfan: How do you think Vegas will do this season? Is Adin Hill able to carry his success from last year’s playoffs into this season and be able to perform like a number 1?

I’m going to flip the order of these and talk about Hill first.  I’m not particularly bullish on him being a true number one goaltender but his career-high in regular season games played is 27.  Yes, he carried a starting workload for a good chunk of the playoffs but there’s a difference between that and being a six-month starter.  I don’t think he’ll be able to play at his playoff level (.932 SV%) over a full season, however.  The good news is that he shouldn’t have to.

Lost in the talk about Hill and his eventual re-signing is that the starting goalie from last season (Logan Thompson) is now healthy so they don’t need Hill to play at that level.  If the two play like they did a year ago when they each posted a .915 SV% during the regular season, the Golden Knights should once again be a contender for a top spot in the West.

Vegas is bringing back the majority of its Cup-winning group with Reilly Smith being the notable exception so they should be well-positioned to try to contend.  Edmonton could give them a run for their money (especially if they can find a way to get even a bit better of a performance between the pipes) and if Los Angeles gets better goaltending than I think they have, they could get in the mix as well.  I’m not going to predict a Stanley Cup repeat – it is still the summer with moves left to be made – but they should be in contention once again.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Summer Synopsis: Anaheim Ducks

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Last season was a tough one for Anaheim in the standings.  With the team squarely in a rebuild, they struggled considerably at both ends of the ice, allowing the most goals in the league while scoring the second-fewest.  That resulted in head coach Dallas Eakins being let go with Greg Cronin, a long-time coach at lower levels, getting his first opportunity to run an NHL bench.  However, based on what has been a quiet summer, expectations for 2023-24 should be similar to how last season went as this is a team that remains in transition.

Draft

1-2: F Leo Carlsson, Orebro (SHL)
2-33: F Nico Myatovic, Seattle (WHL)
2-59: F Carey Terrance, Erie (OHL)
2-60: G Damian Clara, Farjestad (Sweden U20)
3-65: F Coulson Pitre, Flint (OHL)
3-85: F Yegor Sidorov, Saskatoon (WHL)
4-97: D Konnor Smith, Peterborough (OHL)
5-129: D Rodwin Dionicio, Windsor (OHL)
6-161: D Vojtech Port, Edmonton (WHL)

While Anaheim finished last in the league, they weren’t able to win the lottery for the top pick, sliding to second.  GM Pat Verbeek then surprised some with the selection of Carlsson over the consensus second choice (Adam Fantilli).  Carlsson gives the Ducks a third center with early first-round pedigree and the hope is that he along with Trevor Zegras and Mason McTavish will allow them to eventually be a dominant team down the middle.  Carlsson has already signed his entry-level deal but could be loaned to the AHL or back to the SHL if he doesn’t crack the roster.

Myatovic was a bit of a surprise selection as the top pick on the second day of the draft but he rose up draft boards all season long and should be in line for a much bigger role with the Thunderbirds this coming season.  Terrance tripled his goal total from his rookie OHL season to become one of the better draft-eligible scorers in that league while finishing strong at the World Under-18s.  Clara also was picked well before his consensus rankings but was one of the tallest goalies in this draft class.  Anaheim hopes the Italian netminder will one day push for NHL playing time but is a longer-term project.

Trade Acquisitions

F Andrew Agozzino (San Jose)
D Ilya Lyubushkin (Buffalo)

Agozzino was acquired the day before the draft in a swap of veterans that spent most of last season in the minors.  The 32-year-old was productive in limited NHL duty last season, recording three points in four games while averaging nearly a point per game in 63 AHL contests.  Agozzino will get a chance to crack Anaheim’s roster in training camp but is likely ticketed for AHL San Diego.

Lyubushkin was recently acquired from Buffalo for a fourth-round pick.  The 29-year-old will bring some physicality to their third pairing and with him being on an expiring contract, he becomes a strong candidate to be flipped at the trade deadline with some salary retention.

UFA Signings

D Trevor Carrick (one year, $775K)*
D Radko Gudas (three years, $12MM)
D Robert Hagg (one year, $775K)
F Alex Killorn (four years, $25MM)
G Alex Stalock (one year, $800K)

*-denotes two-way contract

Killorn’s AAV wound up being the most expensive of any forward in this UFA class, a distinction few would have expected heading into the open market.  He also received a full no-trade clause in the first two seasons of the deal plus a partial no-trade in the final two years.  For a player best utilized as a second-line winger, it’s definitely an overpayment from Anaheim’s perspective but it’s clear that Verbeek is placing a high level of importance on what he also brings off the ice to help what is a very young core.  The 33-year-old is coming off his two best seasons offensively and has hit the 25-goal mark in three of the last four years.  It will be interesting to see how close he can get to that going from one of the strongest offensive teams to one of the weakest.

Gudas certainly bolstered his value with a good playoff showing for Florida in their run to the Stanley Cup Final, providing plenty of snarl and physicality on the third pairing.  He’ll likely be asked a more prominent role with Anaheim with many of their strong blueline prospects still a year or two away from making a serious push for playing time.  Hagg is best known for, you guessed it, his physicality on the back end.  Injuries limited him last season in Detroit and he’ll be trying to lock down a regular spot on the blueline to help rebuild some value.  Carrick is a strong offensive blueliner at the AHL level and should be a key piece for San Diego next season.  The move reunites him with his brother Sam who played in 52 games for the Ducks last season.

Stalock was one of the feel-good stories in the NHL in 2022-23.  Battling through myocarditis the previous two years, the veteran had only made one NHL appearance in those two campaigns combined.  He wound up making 27 appearances in Chicago, posting a .908 SV% that was above the league average despite being on a rebuilding team that had only one more point than the Ducks in the standings.  He’ll battle prospect Lukas Dostal for the second-string position between the pipes.

RFA Re-Signings

G Lukas Dostal (two years, $1.625MM)*
F Benoit-Olivier Groulx (one year, $775K)*
F Troy Terry (seven years, $49MM)

*-denotes two-way contract

Terry is an example of how a bridge contract can work out well for a player in the end.  It took him a while to make an impact in the NHL which led to his second contract being a three-year bridge.  In the second season of that deal, his production took off as he recorded 67 points and then followed it up with a 61-point showing last season despite missing a dozen games.  In doing so, he showed that he is a capable top-line weapon for the Ducks and he should be a focal part of the attack for years to come to work with their young middlemen.  This deal took until just before a scheduled arbitration hearing to get done where the two sides were well apart in their filings but it should work out well for both sides.

Groulx has seen NHL action in each of the last two seasons, totaling 20 appearances.  He will be waiver-eligible for the first time this fall and isn’t a lock to get through unclaimed.  The long-term Achilles injury to Isac Lundestrom could open up a spot for him to break camp with Anaheim if he has a strong training camp.

Dostal held his own in 19 appearances with the Ducks last season but took a bit of a step back with the Gulls in the minors, seeing his GAA go up from 2.60 to 2.97 while losing four points off his save percentage (to .912).  Even so, he’s viewed as a possible goalie of the future for Anaheim and so even with Stalock in the fold, it’s likely that Dostal will see at least some NHL action this season.

Departures

D Nathan Beaulieu (unsigned UFA)
D Simon Benoit (unsigned UFA)
F Max Comtois (unsigned UFA)
F Derek Grant (Zurich, NLA)
D Scott Harrington (unsigned UFA)
F Justin Kirkland (Arizona, one year, $775K)*
F Jayson Megna (Boston, one year, $775K)*
D John Moore (unsigned UFA)
D Chase Priskie (Washington, one year, $775K)*
D Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston, one year, $1.05MM)
F Josiah Slavin (Toronto, AHL)
G Anthony Stolarz (Florida, one year, $1.1MM)
D Andrej Sustr (trade with San Jose)

Up front, Comtois is the most notable loss.  A couple of years ago, he looked like a middle-six fixture of the future but struggled considerably since then resulting in a mutual non-tender.  Grant has had three stints with the Ducks and had a career year in 2021-22 but was limited to just five goals in 48 games last season.  Rather than seek a PTO, he decided to try his hand overseas where he’ll have a more offensive role.  Megna played in 55 NHL games last season between Colorado and Anaheim in a fourth-line role that can be replaced from within while Kirkland and Slavin were regulars with the Gulls.

There has been considerably more turnover on the back end.  Shattenkirk was second on the Ducks in points by a defender last season, a role that isn’t going to be filled from their external acquisitions.  RFA Jamie Drysdale, on the other hand, seems poised to assume that role.  Benoit very quietly logged over 19 minutes a night on the back end and held his own, making him one of the more intriguing options left on a thinned-out UFA market.

Beaulieu was supposed to be a blueliner with some upside when he came into the league but has seen his production crater in recent years; he hasn’t scored a goal in the last three seasons.  He’ll likely need to go the PTO route to have a shot at making a roster in October.  Harrington is in a similar situation.  He has been a seventh defender in recent seasons and is serviceable in that role but it’s not one that will have teams offering up guaranteed money at this point of the summer.  Sustr and Priskie were AHL regulars last season while Moore missed the entire season dealing with lingering concussion symptoms.

Stolarz battled injury trouble last season, costing him 39 games in total and perhaps a shot at landing a likelier backup spot along the way.  He struggled in 2022-23 with a save percentage of just .874 in 19 games but in his first three seasons with Anaheim, he had a .920 mark in 37 contests.  He’ll battle for the number two role in Florida but is likely ticketed to be a high-paid insurance option in the minors.

Salary Cap Outlook

Few teams have as much cap space as the Ducks do as they have roughly $16.6MM in flexibility, per CapFriendly.  That number will certainly go down once Zegras and Drysdale – their two remaining restricted free agents – sign new contracts but Anaheim has ample cap space at their disposal both for the upcoming season and the foreseeable future.

Key Questions

To Bridge Or Not To Bridge: Zegras has been a productive center over the last two seasons, notching 23 goals in both campaigns while improving his point total from 61 to 65 in 2022-23.  The market for these types of players is well-defined; a max-term contract should cost somewhere around the $8MM mark which would move him ahead of Terry.  Is that a price tag Verbeek is willing to pay or would he prefer to see if Zegras has another gear he can get to first?  A bridge contract should be more in the $5MM range but could push his next contract into the $10MM range if he has another level to get to offensively.  Verbeek has suggested that if Carlsson is able to make the team at center, it could be Zegras who is shifted to the wing which could also affect his value moving forward.

Will Gibson Move? There has been no shortage of trade speculation involving veteran goaltender John Gibson this summer.  It got to the point where there were reports of a trade demand although those have been denied.  That said, it wouldn’t be shocking if the 30-year-old would want a change of scenery as he’s under contract for four more years and let’s face it, the Ducks aren’t exactly close to challenging for a playoff spot.  A $6.4MM cap charge will make getting commensurate value very difficult in this marketplace but if a team runs into goalie trouble early in the year, Gibson could be an intriguing target.

Defensive Youth Movement? There are definitely some placeholders on Anaheim’s back end right now as only Cam Fowler and Radko Gudas are signed for more than one year with Drysdale likely to add to that list (even on a bridge contract).  Meanwhile, the Ducks are loaded in defensive prospects with the top rearguards in the WHL (Olen Zellweger), OHL (Pavel Mintyukov), and QMJHL (Tristan Luneau) with Jackson LaCombe and Drew Helleson already having gotten their feet wet at the NHL level.  Zellweger and Mintyukov can start their pro careers this season with the Gulls and if they can push for playing time quickly along with LaCombe and Helleson, the blueline that ends the season could look a whole lot different than the one that starts the year while giving the team (and fans) a glimpse of what’s to come.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Offseason Notes: Canucks, Capitals, Penguins

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With a murky salary cap situation and a glut of forwards ready and able to play in the NHL next season, the Vancouver Canucks should not be considered done with their lineup tweaking leading into training camp this September. Patrick Johnston of The Province agrees with that narrative, indicating that the Cancuks appear forced to move out a winger before the season begins.

Taking into account the probable return of forward Tanner Pearson, Johnston argues that Vancouver has five wingers set to fill three spots in the lineup. With Pearson, the Canucks have Vasily Podkolzin, Conor Garland, Brock Boeser, and Nils Hoglander set to fill three open spots on the wing for Vancouver. The team does have some flexibility with Pearson, however; if he is not ready for NHL minutes after the conclusion of training camp, the team could waive him and assign him to the AHL, as it is unlikely that another team would put in a claim.

It’s never a problem to have too much depth in the NHL, and the Canucks may wait out training camp before making a significant move to thin out their roster, but they have put themselves in a territory to make a move regardless. Boeser has been the one name most oft-mentioned in trade rumors over the last several years, as well as Garland more recently, but the two may provide too much on-ice value to Vancouver to have them seriously consider a trade that far in advance of the trade deadline.

Other notes:

  • This summer, the Washington Capitals and their General Manager, Brian MacLellan, have been adamant about adding some forward depth to the lineup. Having this in mind, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News asserts that the Capitals should entertain the idea of bringing in free agent Jesse Puljujarvi on a professional tryout for training camp. Throughout his time in the NHL, Puljujarvi has not lived up to being the fourth-overall selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. However, as Silber points out in her article, the new Capitals head coach, Spencer Carbery, has excelled throughout his career in getting the most out of up-and-coming players and may be exactly what Puljujarvi needs to turn his career around.
  • Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have hired Cam Charron as a Hockey Research and Development Analyst. Charron had previously held a similar title with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the previous eight seasons and will join the new President of Hockey Operations, Kyle Dubas, in his transition to Pittsburgh.

Robert Mastrosimone Signs AHL Contract With Toronto

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One of the more intriguing names that saw his exclusive rights expire on August 15th, Robert Mastrosimone, has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies, per a team release. It’s a fairly surprising outcome for the young forward, as many theorized that he may be in line for a two-way NHL contract after his impressive season at Arizona State University last year.

In 2019, Mastrosimone capped off a solid 2018-19 season with the USHL’s Chicago Steel by being drafted in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings. Having already committed to Boston University for his collegiate career at the time, the Red Wings initially thought it would be the best step forward for his development.

Unfortunately for Mastrosimone, his situation did not pan out well in Boston. Over the next three seasons, playing in 83 games for the Terriers, Mastrosimone would only score 21 goals and 29 assists overall, with his best season coming during his Junior year in 2021-22. Without much of a path forward in Boston, Detroit seemingly underwhelmed by his development, Mastrosimone would take his talents to Arizona State University to cap off his collegiate career.

In 38 games for the Sun Devils during the 2022-23 NCAA season, Mastrosimone scored 11 goals and 31 assists, showing off his true skill level with new access to more playing time. As the season came to its conclusion, there was no word on Mastrosimone’s future with Detroit until March. Towards the end of the year, in speaking with reporters, head coach of Arizona State, Greg Powers said, “He’s playing the waiting game and seeing what’s going to be available as a free agent. There’s a lot of teams that are interested in him, but it doesn’t look like Detroit is going to happen. It’s just a waiting game, but he has the option to come back. It’s a good option and he’s open to it”.

Now, moving forward for Mastrosimone, he will have the opportunity to prove his worth at the AHL level next season, potentially earning a two-way NHL contract if his development shows promise. Over the past several years, largely due to their cap situation, the Maple Leafs have been one of the better teams in bringing in young, cheap talent to fill out the bottom of their roster.

Snapshots: Toews, Norway, Andrae

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A few days ago, speaking on NHL Tonight, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period spoke in great length about some of the options that the Boston Bruins had been looking at to start their offseason. He mentioned that the Bruins had kicked the tires in July on potentially landing Mark Scheifele from the Winnipeg Jets, and had also mildly looked into the price tag of both Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund from the Calgary Flames.

Pagnotta also noted the potential fit between the Bruins and NHL veteran Jonathan Toews. Even though Toews had primarily been working on getting healthy and recovering from the effects of Long Covid, the Bruins were on Toews’ radar dating back to last year as a potential destination. Only a day later from that interview, we would learn that Toews has decided he will forego the entirety of the 2023-24 NHL season, and look to make a comeback for the 2024-25 campaign.

If Boston starts the season with Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha as their top two centermen heading into the season, being unable to replace the void left by the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, it will not be from lack of trying. Without much in the way of draft capital for the next two seasons, and the lack of cap flexibility, the Bruins will largely have to look to trade from their NHL roster if they have any hope of acquiring a high-end talent to man the middle of the ice.

Other snapshots:

  • In an article from Matthis Karlsson of Sport Bladet, the Norwegian National Team has been shut down for the time being. After losing $9MM in 2022, all but the country’s J20 National Team will cease operations moving forward. Not only will the team be shut down, but Karlsson also mentions that five members of the team’s union have been let go in an effort to cut costs. It is more bad news for the National club, as the team has finished in 13th place in the last three consecutive World Championships, and was unable to qualify for the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
  • Emil Andrae, a second-round pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2020 NHL Draft will reportedly be coming to North America for the 2023-24 season (X Link). Playing for HV71 of the SHL last season, Andrae put up an impressive six goals and 20 assists in 51 games as a 21-year-old. Rising through the ranks of the Flyers’ prospect pool, it is unlikely that Andrae will make the team out of training camp, and will likely spend the majority of next season playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Minor Transactions: 08/19/23

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Even over the weekend, moves from the AHL and other notable leagues are trickling in as teams across the hockey world round out their opening night rosters for 2023-24. Expect continued movement on the minor-league and European league front, especially over the next two weeks, with some seasons kicking off as early as September 1. Here’s a listing of today’s notable minor moves:

  • 2014 Minnesota Wild sixth-round pick Chase Lang is staying with the ECHL’s Indy Fuel for next season, per a release from the club. Lang, now 26, has played in the ECHL since the Wild let him become a UFA after completing his entry-level contract in 2019. The 6-foot-1 forward recorded 20 points and 97 penalty minutes in 45 games for the Fuel last season, finishing second on the team in time spent in the penalty box. Lang hasn’t played an extended AHL role since he skated in 22 games with the Iowa Wild in 2017-18, and he spent the entirety of the final season of his ELC on an ECHL assignment with the Allen Americans. It’ll be a long road back for Lang to earn an AHL contract at this stage, let alone an NHL deal.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Patrick Kane

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While former Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers winger Patrick Kane may be the best UFA left on the market, no one expects him to sign a deal in the coming days. That’s because he’s still recovering from a hip resurfacing procedure he had done in June, which puts him on track to be cleared for game action sometime between October and December.

Speaking on NHL Network earlier this week, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta gave various updates on the 34-year-old, including three teams that had displayed “significant” interest earlier in the summer: the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and New York Islanders. Pagnotta also mentioned the Boston Bruins as a potential suitor but to a lesser degree.

Undoubtedly, teams will want to watch him practice before extending him a contract, even if it’s just a one-year pact, as expected. A significant hip procedure for an athlete as late into their career as Kane is no small factor in what his game may look like after he’s recovered. Pagnotta believes there should be clarity on Kane’s health status and a more specific potential return date in “four to five weeks,” which could also be a target date for Kane signing rumors heating up in earnest.

Out of all the suitors Pagnotta mentioned, Colorado has made sense for Kane since the offseason began and still does today. Colorado projects to have four new faces in their middle six next season (Ross Colton, Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Johansen, and Miles Wood), but their scoring depth remains rather thin. Few would argue Kane is anywhere close to his prime at this stage in his career, especially coming off hip surgery, but he could still allow the team to reliably let Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen drive the top two lines separately. Playing alongside MacKinnon could also very well jumpstart Kane’s production to the point where he’s providing rather immense value on what’s sure to be an already affordable contract.

As things stand, Colorado also has the most favorable salary cap situation out of the three major contenders Pagnotta mentioned. They’re projected to have $2.025MM in cap space with captain Gabriel Landeskog on long-term injured reserve, per CapFriendly. Meanwhile, the Stars and Islanders are both between $300K and $500K over the $83.5MM Upper Limit and will need to run a 22-player roster to be compliant, at least to start the season, assuming no further moves are made.

It’s hard to imagine a fit for Kane in Dallas, too. Their top nine is truly stacked, boasting one of the best lines in hockey followed by a combination of players like Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Wyatt Johnston, and Tyler Seguin occupying lines 2 and 3. While Kane may be a true upgrade on someone like Evgenii Dadonov, Dallas signed Dadonov to a two-year, $2.25MM AAV extension this offseason. That’s not money usually given to a player slated for a fourth-line role, especially for someone who relies on point production to maintain efficacy.

The Islanders would make much more sense from a roster construction standpoint if they can make the money work. Wingers like Pierre Engvall and Kyle Palmieri are fine middle-six wingers, but they’re not ideal second-line flanks for a team still boasting championship aspirations with Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat and Ilya Sorokin locked in for the long haul to rather hefty deals.

Regarding Boston, Kane may not be the top-six center they so desperately need, but he’d be a gigantic boon to a middle-six wing group that now looks awfully thin outside of Jake DeBrusk. Boston signed another veteran, James van Riemsdyk, to hopefully add a solid net-front punch, but after posting just 29 points in 61 games last season, expectations shouldn’t be high for the 34-year-old to be a high-end point-producing factor on the second or third line.

What may complicate fitting a contract for Kane under the cap is his lack of eligibility for performance bonuses. He’s still a year away from being eligible for a 35+ contract containing performance bonuses, and he didn’t miss significant time in-season with the hip injury. It removes the option for a team to give Kane a lower cap hit and compensate him more in performance bonuses, allowing them to deal with the after-effects in 2024-25 if they can’t fit the bonuses under their year-end cap hit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation Appeals Ivan Fedotov Ruling

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Earlier this week, the IIHF issued its ruling on Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov, stating that the tolled contract with Philadelphia is the one that is valid, not the two-year agreement he recently signed with CSKA Moscow of the KHL.  Not surprisingly, Victoria Kravchenko of Sport-Express relays that the Russian Ice Hockey Federation has officially appealed the ruling, submitting it on Friday.

Fedotov originally signed a one-year contract with Philadelphia for the 2022-23 campaign but then was told that he needed to fulfill his one year of mandatory military service which he has now completed.  Philadelphia’s assertion is that since their original deal is still valid since it was tolled, the 26-year-old should be suiting up for them next season.

The IIHF’s ruling clearly saw it that way as they suspended Fedotov from appearing in any “official national and international games during playing periods” from September 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023.  Meanwhile, CSKA also received a significant sanction as they are now prohibited from making any international transfers for one year until August 10, 2024.  CSKA has since stated that they believe the IIHF’s ruling was biased.

The appeal actually goes against what Fedotov’s agent J.P. Barry indicated late last month to TSN’s Darren Dreger (Twitter link) when he issued a statement saying that Fedotov would abide by the ruling whichever way it went.  As it turns out, Fedotov suited up for CSKA today in preseason action which doesn’t qualify as international games under the IIHF’s ruling.  Clearly, even with the IIHF’s ruling in Philadelphia’s favor, this file is far from being settled.

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