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Archives for September 2023

Prospect Notes: Voronkov, Boucher, Bichsel

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Blue Jackets prospect Dmitri Voronkov’s European Assignment Clause is a little different than most.  While for most players who have one, it means that get sent back if they’re assigned to the minors, that’s not exactly the case for Voronkov.  As Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (subscription link), Voronkov’s clause is for him to return to Russia if he’s not with Columbus by the end of December.  This gives the Blue Jackets a chance to stash the 23-year-old in the minors to start the season if they so desire to get him better acclimated to playing on the smaller North American rinks while also allowing him to play down the middle, an option he might not have if he breaks camp with the big club.  Voronkov had 18 goals and 13 assists in 54 games with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL last season.

Other prospect news from around the NHL:

  • Senators prospect Tyler Boucher was notably left off their prospect tournament roster. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch relays that the winger tweaked his groin during fitness testing on Wednesday so they’re opting to be cautious and give him a few days to rest.  He is expected to be ready for the start of main camp.  The tenth pick in 2021, Boucher will be turning pro this season and should play a prominent role with AHL Belleville where he’ll be looking to make up for lost time after injuries limited him to just 21 games with OHL Ottawa last season.
  • Stars blueliner Lian Bichsel tweaked his knee on Thursday against Toronto and is being shut down for their rookie tournament, notes team reporter Mike Heika. The 2022 first-rounder (18th overall) dealt with an ankle injury late last season but this knee issue isn’t related to the ankle one which he has since fully recovered from.  Bichsel was a regular in the SHL last season, getting into 42 games with Leksands while logging a little under 12 minutes a night.

Hurricanes Notes: Pesce, Teravainen, DeAngelo

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Hurricanes blueliner Brett Pesce has switched agents, reports Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer.  After working with Edge Sports Management, the defenseman is now represented by Wasserman’s Judd Moldaver.  The timing of the change is notable since the 28-year-old is entering the final year of his contract.  Pesce has emerged as a quality top-three defender over the past few years and set a new career-high in points last season with 30.  He’s undoubtedly in line to land a sizable raise on his current $4.025MM AAV but with Brady Skjei also in need of a new deal, Carolina probably won’t be able to afford to keep both.  Pesce made it clear that his preference is to remain with the Hurricanes but earlier this summer, GM Don Waddell noted that the team wasn’t close to re-signing any of their pending UFAs.

Elsewhere in Carolina:

  • Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer wonders if Carolina would be better off just letting winger Teuvo Teravainen play out the final year of his deal and then move on next summer. The 29-year-old is coming off a down year that saw him score just 12 goals in 68 games but has a good enough track record that it would still cost more than his current $5.4MM AAV to extend him.  With Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis both restricted free agents next summer, they may need Teravainen’s money to get those two locked up to long-term agreements.
  • In his latest piece for The Athletic (subscription link), Cory Lavalette sat down with blueliner Anthony DeAngelo, a mid-summer signing after his contract was bought out by Philadelphia. Despite their strong defensive depth, he opted to go back to an organization that he was comfortable with over one where he would have had a better shot at a bigger role and more playing time.  After what he called a season full of inconsistent play with the Flyers, he’ll be looking to stabilize things somewhat before testing the market again next summer.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2023-24 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Winnipeg Jets

Current Cap Hit: $81,720,357 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Ville Heinola (one year, $863K)
F Cole Perfetti (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses
Heinola: $425K
Perfetti: $850K
Total: $1.275MM

Last season was Perfetti’s first full year at the NHL level and it was going along well in the first half of the season, spending a fair bit of time in the top six while collecting 30 points in 51 games.  However, an upper-body injury ended his season early.  After only playing 18 games in his first year, there probably isn’t enough of a track record for a long-term agreement.  But if he returns and stays in that role, a short-term bridge deal in the $2MM range should be doable.  Perfetti’s bonuses are of the Class A variety (tied to specific thresholds).  Had he stayed healthy, he probably would have reached one of those last season and if he takes a step forward, two or three could be legitimate possibilities which will be notable for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff to keep in mind.

Heinola is a victim of Winnipeg’s depth chart as his performance with AHL Manitoba has demonstrated that he’s worthy of a longer-term look with the Jets.  That chance doesn’t appear to be coming at the moment although a trade or two can certainly change things.  Having said that, unless he’s on the roster and in the lineup regularly, he’s unlikely to reach his two ‘A’ bonuses and will almost certainly be heading for a short-term second contract.

Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level

G Laurent Brossoit ($1.75MM, UFA)
D Kyle Capobianco ($762.5K, RFA)
D Declan Chisholm ($775K, RFA)
D Dylan DeMelo ($3MM, UFA)
D Brenden Dillon ($3.9MM, UFA)
F David Gustafsson ($775K, RFA)
G Connor Hellebuyck ($6.167MM, UFA)
F Nino Niederreiter ($4MM, UFA)
F Mark Scheifele ($6.125MM, UFA)
D Logan Stanley ($1MM, RFA)

Scheifele’s future with the Jets has been in question for a while now and wasn’t resolved over the summer either by trade or extension.  While he doesn’t produce a point per game most seasons, he’s still a number one option for Winnipeg and would be for several other teams.  Accordingly, he’s well-positioned to earn an extra couple million per season at a minimum.  Whether that’s from Winnipeg or another team remains to be seen.

Niederreiter was a victim of the down market in 2022 when he signed this deal with Nashville (who flipped him to Winnipeg near the trade deadline).  He has reached the 20-goal mark in the last three seasons and if he can make it four, he might have a shot at doing a little better than this next summer.  But as a winger best suited for the middle six, his earnings upside is going to be limited.  Gustavsson had a very limited role last season and while he played in a career-best 46 games, he didn’t do much to push for a spot higher in the lineup.  Unless that changes, his next contract should be below the $1MM mark even with arbitration rights.

Dillon has been a capable piece on the second pairing for the past two seasons after being acquired from San Jose.  Offense is hard to come by but as a defender who can kill penalties, block shots, and play physical, there should still be a market for him next summer.  It’d be surprising to see him command a big raise at 33 but a multi-year deal in this price range should be doable.  DeMelo has shown that he can be more than a full-time third-pairing option but beyond last season, points have been hard to come by.  Being a right-shot option helps but again, a big pay jump doesn’t seem likely; instead, another multi-year deal close to this point makes more sense.

Stanley had a hard time locking down a regular spot in the lineup last season, leading to a trade request that appears to have since been rescinded.  But with their depth chart, playing time is still going to be hard to come by.  He’ll basically need to keep going year-to-year until that changes for him either with the Jets or another organization.  Capobianco and Chisholm will be battling for one spot on the roster.  Capobianco held it last year but didn’t play much while Chisholm is waiver-eligible for the first time.  Capobianco is likely to stay close to the minimum salary being a bit older while Chisholm will need to carve out a spot in the lineup to be able to get any sort of significant raise next summer.

Hellebuyck’s situation is well-known by now.  After the season, it didn’t appear as if he was interested in signing a long-term extension to stay in Winnipeg, fueling trade speculation.  However, a reported asking price of $9.5MM on a new contract cooled that speculation pretty quickly.  Even though he’s among the higher-paid starters already, he’s still underpaid relative to the value he brings to the Jets.  A true starter capable of carrying one of the heaviest workloads in the NHL, Hellebuyck has done a lot to keep Winnipeg in the playoff picture over the years.  But he’ll be 31 when his next contract begins, making a max-term agreement a bit less palatable, particularly at his desired price point.

Signed Through 2024-25

F Mason Appleton ($2.167MM, UFA)
F Morgan Barron ($1.35MM, RFA)
F Nikolaj Ehlers ($6MM, UFA)
F Axel Jonsson-Fjallby ($775K, UFA)
F Rasmus Kupari ($1MM, RFA)
F Alex Iafallo ($4MM, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($2MM, UFA)
D Neal Pionk ($5.875MM, UFA)
D Dylan Samberg ($1.4MM, RFA)
D Nate Schmidt ($5.95MM, UFA)
F Gabriel Vilardi ($3.438MM, RFA)

Ehlers, when healthy, has been a top-line producer in recent years.  However, staying healthy has been a challenge for him over the past three seasons.  If he can stay healthy over the next couple of years, he’ll still be well-positioned for a decent-sized raise but if the injury issues continue, it will certainly hurt his market.  Iafallo comes over from Los Angeles in the Pierre-Luc Dubois swap and is in a similar situation as Niederreiter – a middle-six winger who can be moved around the lineup.  However, Iafallo’s scoring touch is a bit more limited which, if not bolstered by the change of scenery, might limit him to a contract similar to this one in 2025, not a more lucrative pact.

Let’s stick with pieces acquired in the Dubois swap.  Vilardi was the headliner of that trade, a 24-year-old who has played center in the past and is coming off a 23-goal campaign despite missing 19 games.  This contract basically amounts to a second bridge deal to see if there’s another gear to get to or if he’ll settle in closer to the offensive range of Iafallo and Niederreiter.  Obviously, whichever outcome he winds up at will go a long way toward determining his next deal but it’s worth noting he’ll have a $3.6MM qualifier.  Kupari was the other player involved in the swap, another former first-round pick but he has been limited in the NHL so far.  He’ll need to at least grab a hold of a third-line spot over the next two seasons to position himself considerably more than his $1.1MM qualifier.

Appleton hasn’t been able to match his output in 2020-21 although he had a chance to do so last year had he stayed healthy.  His production is at the level of a third-liner which is in line with his salary although he plays a bit more than a typical bottom-six forward.  He’ll need to improve his output to have a shot at cracking the $3MM mark on his next deal.  Namestnikov has bounced around lately (eight teams over the last six seasons) and his market value has hovered in this range for the last few years.  Barring any big improvements or injuries, his next one should be in this area as well.  Barron’s first full NHL campaign was a decent one and this is a traditional bridge contract to better assess his future.  Jonsson-Fjallby, meanwhile, was on waivers twice last season and will simply be looking to lock down a full-time roster spot.

On the back end, Schmidt was acquired for relatively cheap at the time with Vancouver looking to clear some cap space.  His first season with them was good but he took a step back last year.  If he’s going to be more of a fourth option moving forward, this will be a negative-value deal for them.  Pionk has also had some ups and downs in his three seasons in Winnipeg.  He hasn’t matched his per-game output from his first year with them but has settled in nicely as a second or third option most nights.  If his ten-goal total from last season is repeatable, he’ll be in good shape for another jump in 2025.  Samberg was a regular most nights in 2022-23, albeit in a limited role.  Like Barron and Kupari, this is a true bridge agreement; he’ll be looking to get into a top-four spot where he’ll be better-positioned for a significant raise.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Kyle Connor ($7.143MM, UFA)
F Adam Lowry ($3.25MM, UFA)

Connor has somewhat quietly averaged more than a point per game over the last four seasons combined with the last two being particularly impressive, including a 47-goal showing in 2021-22.  He’ll be 29 when he signs his next contract and even if his output remains at the 80-point mark it was a year ago, Connor should be in a good spot to get a max-term agreement and another couple million on that pact.  Lowry, the newly-named captain, is on a contract that’s a bit high for a third-liner but he was a bit more productive last season, notching 36 points.  If he can stay around that mark, they’ll do fine with this contract.

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Flames Notes: Zadorov, Wolf, Captaincy

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There have yet to be any extension talks between the Flames and Nikita Zadorov, according to the blueliner in an appearance on Sportsnet 960 (audio link).  He indicated that he was waiting for an offer over the summer but one hasn’t come just yet.  The 28-year-old is in the final season of a two-year deal that carries a $3.75MM AAV and is coming off a breakout year offensively, recording 14 goals.  His previous career best in that department was seven in a single season and he had just nine tallies over the prior three years combined.  With that in mind, it isn’t surprising to see Calgary take a wait-and-see approach with Zadorov to see if his offensive prowess last year was a one-off or a sign of things to come.

More from Calgary:

  • In an interview with Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, GM Craig Conroy stated that he wants to get goaltender Dustin Wolf into some NHL games this season but also doesn’t want him to be in a backup role where he’s playing just once a week. Accordingly, it seems likely that their plan for him this season will be to keep him with the AHL’s Wranglers where he was nothing short of dominant in 2022-23 with a 2.09 GAA and a .932 SV% in 55 games and then bring him up for spot starts with the Flames here and there.  With Calgary being quite tight to the salary cap, that plan may require some creative roster movement to accomplish.
  • Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson examines the captain conundrum that the Flames are facing.  The team has been without one since losing Mark Giordano to Seattle two years ago and their most logical candidate – Mikael Backlund – is on an expiring contract and is taking a wait-and-see approach to how the season starts before deciding on potentially starting extension talks.  Elias Lindholm is another logical choice but he’s also on an expiring deal.  In Conroy’s interview with Francis, he confirmed that a captain will be named for this season.

Latest On Shane Pinto

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The NHL continues to crawl closer to the start of training camp, and as usual, most teams have done much of their heavy lifting already, eager to see how new acquisitions mesh with their new teams. Unfortunately for the Ottawa Senators, they are still left without a contract for their sixth-highest goal-scorer during the 2021-22 season, Shane Pinto.

Only last week, the Boston Bruins, who much like the Senators have little salary cap flexibility to work with, had a reported interest in acquiring Pinto to fill their newfound void at the center position. Nevertheless, only a day later, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spoke candidly about Pinto’s situation, describing that Ottawa would need to make a trade to fit him under the salary cap for the upcoming season.

It’s no surprise as to why the Senators would want to extend Pinto, as well as the reported outside interest from other teams around the league. At 22 years old, Pinto is coming off a 20-goal season and should come at a fairly cheap price as he is coming off of his entry-level contract.

Speaking in place for new owner Michael Andlauer during Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe’s monthly breakfast at City Hall, General Manager of the Senators, Pierre Dorion spoke to the situation surrounding the contract of Pinto.

Dorion noted that both sides are hoping to have a deal done by next Tuesday, which could provide a resolution by the end of the upcoming weekend. However, Dorion did acknowledge there still is a gap between the two parties, and that the team does need to move a contract of magnitude in order to keep Pinto in the fold for the 2023-24 season. Dorion said, “We’re working on that one (Pinto), hard. We’d like to see him next week when we open camp“.

Whatever the outcome is for this ordeal, it’s important to point out that the Ottawa organization should be uniquely busy this weekend, unlike most teams during this time of the year. As things currently stand, the Senators have approximately $895K in cap space, and will likely need to free up around $900K-$1MM to sign Pinto comfortably. Whether it comes through a small deal, or even some roster manipulation by Dorion, a solution should be arranged by early next week.

Summer Synopsis: Philadelphia Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers promoted Daniel Briere to the general manager chair on March 10, finally finding who they wanted commanding their rebuild. The 2023 summer marked Briere’s first chance to take strides toward improving the Flyers’ long-term outlook and he seized the opportunity, reeling in a tremendous draft class and using calm free-agent signings to shore up the NHL roster. There’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Flyers but Briere’s busy summer opened the door to opportunities for a lot of the organization’s younger players, which should result in an interesting 2023-24 campaign, if nothing else.

Draft

1-7: F Matvei Michkov, Sochi (KHL)
1-22: D Oliver Bonk, London (OHL)
2-51: G Carson Bjarnason, Brandon (WHL)
3-87: G Yegor Zavragin, Mamonty (MHL)
3-95: F Denver Barkey, London (OHL)
4-103: F Cole Knuble, Fargo (USHL)
4-120: F Alex Ciernik, Västerviks (Swedish Div. 2)
5-135: D Carter Sotheran, Portland (WHL)
6-172: F Ryan MacPherson, Leamington (GOJHL)
7-199: D Matteo Mann, Chicoutimi (QMJHL)

Daniel Briere wasted no time before making a splash in the new GM role, getting seemingly everything he wanted out of the 2023 NHL Draft. This includes reeling in the polarizing Matvei Michkov, who many argued has a ceiling that might not be far behind Connor Bedard. Questions about how easily he’ll translate to NHL play and off-ice controversy make Michkov hard to project. But they also show how much of a swing for the fences this is from Briere. There’s undoubtedly risk involved with Michkov, who is on contract with the KHL until 2026, but there’s also no doubt that he could be the face of the next generation’s Philadelphia Flyers. The upside is tremendous and Briere is clearly not scared of taking on some risk. It’s a confident move that could pay incredible dividends for the Flyers.

Philadelphia was much calmer with their remaining draft class, maybe in an effort to hedge their bets after swinging for the downs. Teammates Bonk and Barkey bring the same high-offense potential, underlaid by reliable fundamentals. Cole Knuble and Alex Ciernik are both small-frame forwards whose games are defined by gritty forechecking and explosive plays with the puck. And the team get a duo of strong goaltending prospects in Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin. Both goalies had claims for “best in the draft class” at some point during last season, so it’s exciting to see Philly land both options.

Briere did well at funneling interesting talent into every position with his first NHL Draft.

Trade Acquisitions

G Calvin Petersen (Los Angeles)
D Sean Walker (Los Angeles)
D Helge Grans (Los Angeles)
F Massimo Rizzo (Carolina)

The Flyers only made one trade involving bringing in players this summer, as a part of a three-team trade involving the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. When all was said and done, the Flyers had relinquished Ivan Provorov, Kevin Connauton, and Hayden Hodgson and received Sean Walker, Helge Grans, Cal Petersen, the 2023 First Round pick used to select Oliver Bonk, and two 2024 Second Round picks, one carrying a condition.

That’s quite some movement for a rookie general manager and emphasizes the rebuild mindset. Grans is a former high-second round pick, going 35-overall in 2021. He’s spent the last two seasons with the AHL’s Ontario Reign, recording 33 points in 115 career games. While his draft day value has dissipated a little, he’s still an exciting shot at more upside. Grans could be apart of the battle to make the NHL roster our of training camp, although his lack of top-tier experience will likely keep any NHL stint short.

Walker and Petersen likely represent cap dumps from the Kings, who were in a bind for money before moving the duo’s combined $7.65MM. Most of that money is held up in Petersen’s $5MM cap hit, on a contract set to expire in the 2025 summer. He’ll compete for the team’s backup role with Felix Sandstrom, who played 20 NHL games last year. Walker, on the other hand, should have a much clearer path to an everyday role. The 28 year old can play both sides on defense and Provorov’s departure opens space in the team’s top four. With little competition elsewhere, that role will almost certainly become Walker’s.

Philadelphia also acquired prospect Massimo Rizzo in a player swap with Carolina. Rizzo is entering his junior year with the University of Denver, where he’s scored 82 points in 77 career games.

UFA Signings

D Marc Staal (one year, $1.1MM)
F Ryan Poehling (one year, $1.4MM)
F Garnet Hathaway (two years, $4.8MM)
D Victor Mete (one year, $775K)*
F Rhett Gardner (two years, $1.6MM)*

Continuing with the rebuilding theme, Philadelphia used their UFA signings to add aging veterans and any available players that may still have untapped potential. Staal, now 36, helps fill out the Flyers shallow defense depth chart and Hathaway provides assurance to the bottom-six, getting signed through his age-33 season.

Poehling and Mete will be the additions to watch closely. Both players have shown flashes of solid play throughout their NHL career but haven’t been able to string things together enough to stick on a roster. They each get cheap deals in Philadelphia, where roster vacancies should open the door to opportunity.

None of the UFA signings scream out high-impact but they help round out a Flyers roster that’s already looking towards the 2024 NHL Draft.

RFA Re-Signings

D Ronald Attard (two years, $1.7MM)*
D Cameron York (two years, $3.2MM)
F Noah Cates (two years, $5.2MM)
F Olle Lycksell (two years, $1.6MM)*
G Samuel Ersson (two years, $2.9MM)
F Morgan Frost (two years, $4.2MM)

The Flyers locked in three important roster players in York, Cates, and Frost. York started the season in the AHL but earned his way to the NHL roster in December. He scored 20 points in the 54 games he appeared in, doubling his point total from his rookie season. York was drafted 14-overall in 2019, one pick ahead of then-teammate Cole Caufield.

But despite the high selection, York has struggled to find his NHL footing. He gets a cheap, two-year contract that should give him a chance to build on the momentum he gathered in the second-half of last season. The Flyers blue-line will certainly give York every opportunity to thrive, with Travis Sanheim likely the only player ahead of him on the LD depth charts.

Cates and Frost, on the other hand, spent the entire year with the NHL club. Frost netted a career-high 46 points in 81 games while averaging over-16 minutes of ice time per-game. It was an incredibly strong showing from the young prospect, who played all over the lineup.  Fellow 24-year-old Noah Cates also had a strong year, scoring 38 points in 82 games while looking phenomenal defensively. His strong rookie season earned him the ninth-overall spot in Calder Trophy and 15th in Selke Trophy voting. Locking up this duo was arguably the most important part of Philadelphia’s off-season, as they represent a strong backbone from which Briere can add onto.

But most eye-raising of the RFA signings has to be Samuel Ersson’s one-way contract. Ersson played in 12 NHL games last season – the first of his career – and otherwise operated as the AHL Leigh Valley Phantoms’ starting goalie. A one-way contract could simply be a curtesy but with the 23-year-old Ersson’s lack of North American playing experience, it’s more likely evidence that he’ll have a shot at competing for an NHL role. This creates a really interesting situation in the Flyers goalie room, which is now comprised of Carter Hart, Cal Petersen, Ersson, and Sandstrom. Which pair will emerge as the NHL duo is, seemingly, entirely up in the air.

Departures

F Kieffer Bellows (one year, $775K)*
F Evan Barratt (Nurnberg, DEL)
D Wyatte Wylie (Ottawa Reign, minor league deal)
F Kevin Hayes (trade with St. Louis)
F Brendan Lemieux (Carolina, one year, $800K)
F Jackson Cates (unsigned UFA)
F James van Riemsdyk (Boston, one year, $1MM)
D Justin Braun (unsigned UFA)
F Max Willman (unsigned UFA)
G Troy Grosenick (Nashville, one year, $775K)*

The Flyers spent the offseason departing primarily with an array of older veterans that held minimal roles. Kevin Hayes is perhaps the most significant subtraction after recording 54 points in 81 games last season. The season marked Hayes’ highest point-totals  since 2018-19 and a career-high in games played. But with the emergence of Cates and Frost as genuine options down the middle and the Flyers’ rebuilding status, Hayes’ role presents as more of a barrier to opportunity than anything else. He leaves the club alongside James van Riemsdyk and Justin Braun, two long-term Flyers that operated in limited roles last season.

Brendan Lemieux also marks an interesting departure. The Flyers acquired Lemieux and a fifth round pick at the trade deadline, in exchange for Zack MacEwen. He’d go on to score six points in 18 games with Philadelphia but will fight for a roster spot for 2023-24 somewhere else. Like many of the team’s departures, Lemieux doesn’t leave a big hole to fill.

Salary Cap Outlook

After re-signing Morgan Frost, Philadelphia is left with a projected $867K in cap space; just enough of a buffer to comfortably enter the season. The team will also likely be placing Ryan Ellis on long-term injured reserve when the season opens up, bringing their projected cap hit up to $7.12MM. That figure assumes that both Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson will return to the team, something that certainly seems possible, but neither player’s reunion can be guaranteed yet. Regardless, Philadelphia will be entering the 2023-24 with plenty of money to go around.

Key Questions

What Will Noah Cates Look Like? Noah Cates placed top-15 in Selke voting as a rookie. That’s an incredibly impressive feat, especially for a player exposed to the high-danger chances let up by Philadelphia last year. Recording a full season and 38 points on top of that warrants a lot of excitement. If either his defensive impact or his scoring can continue to climb as Cates becomes more adjusted to the NHL will be one of the most important questions to monitor throughout the 2023-24 season. If all goes well, he could become a vital piece of Philadelphia’s lineup for years to come, operating as the glue holding the bottom-six together. But the Flyers didn’t get better this off-season and the increased challenge could be a lot for the young Cates to take on.

Can Cam York Find His Way? Cam York was once Philadelphia’s prized prospect. And he hasn’t looked particularly bad throughout his early professional career. But he hasn’t looked particularly great either, struggling to earn an NHL role until the second-half of the 2022-23 season. Still, it looked like York was finally feeling comfortable. Travis Sanheim will still operate in the top LD role but York should have plenty of opportunity operating behind Sanheim. The two are the unrivaled bright spots on Philadelphia’s back-end. With the spotlight finally back on him, and little competition for minutes from his peers, a good season from York could revitalize the excitement that once surrounded him.

Who Will the Goalies Be? On the surface, it’s hard to argue that Carter Hart and Cal Petersen won’t be the team’s NHL duo. But if Philadelphia will actually role out the nearly-$9MM cap hit of the two goalies is yet to be seen. Philadelphia has used six different goalies over the last three seasons and awarded Sam Ersson with a one-way contract this summer. Does this mean fans are in store for an exciting training camp or does Philadelphia plan on carrying three netminders this season? they plan on carrying three netminders for the entire season? If that is the case, Ersson, who has only played one full season of North American hockey, could carry interesting potential throughout the season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Prospect Injury Notes: Dyck, Mazur, Lombardi

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NHL.com’s Mark Divver shared that Boston Bruins goaltending prospect Reid Dyck has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for at least four weeks. As a result, Dyck’s participation at the Bruins development camp will be limited to off-ice. The same is true for fellow goalie invite Derek Mullahy. This leaves Philip Svedeback and Hlib Artsatbanov as the on-ice duo for camp.

The Bruins drafted Dyck as an overage prospect in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. Boston has only taken three other goalies in the draft since 2013: Daniel Vladar, Jeremy Swayman, and Svedback. Dyck has spent the last three seasons with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, where he’s posted a career .884 save percentage through 71 games. The 19-year-old goaltender will return for a final year of WHL service in the upcoming season, before fighting for a spot in the Bruins organization next summer.

Other injury updates:

  • The Detroit Red Wings announced a pair of updates, sharing first that Carter Mazur isn’t currently healthy. The 21-year-old was injured in the team’s first game in the rookie tournament and was attended to by the team’s medical staff. The injury has been acknowledged as a lower-body injury but there are no further updates as to what the injury is or a timetable for Mazur’s return. Detroit also shared that prospect Amadeus Lombardi’s absence was due to personal reasons and the player has returned to rookie camp.  The Wings took Mazur in the third round of the 2021 Draft and Lombardi in the fourth round of 2022.

Minor Transactions: 09/15/23

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Hockey season is underway across the world, with numerous NHL teams competing in prospect tournaments and the various top European leagues beginning their regular season games. Today has already featured quite a bit of action, highlighted by a late comeback win in the Finnish Liiga by Tappara Tampere against HIFK Helsinki, led by former Buffalo Sabre Nick Baptiste.

We’re still a ways away from the start of full regular-season hockey in North America, and as a result teams in this continent’s minor leagues are still adding players in preparation for this upcoming campaign. We’ll keep track of those moves here:

  • Big six-foot-six netminder Déreck Baribeau has made it back to the ECHL. The 24-year-old has signed with the Norfolk Admirals, securing himself a chance to return to North America’s third-tier professional hockey league after a year spent in Quebec playing LNAH hockey. Baribeau is the former starting goalie for the Quebec Ramparts of the QMJHL who began his pro career in 2019-20. He’s actually played in more AHL games than ECHL contests, and he has a career .903 save percentage in 29 career AHL games. Now, he’ll get the chance to compete for a role in the crease in Norfolk.
  • Physical defenseman Jake Schultz has signed in the ECHL for next season, joining the Worcester Railers. The six-foot-three blueliner played in five games for Worcester last season, scoring two goals. He spent most of the year with the Binghamton Black Bears in the fourth-tier FPHL, scoring 12 goals and 33 points alongside 136 penalty minutes. Schultz was named the FPHL’s defenseman of the year last season and led the FPHL in scoring by a defenseman in 2020-21. If he can translate some of that FPHL success to the ECHL level, he could greatly expand on the 48 ECHL games already on his resume. He’ll get a chance to do so at the start of the season with Worcester.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Snapshots: Clarke, Brown, Blues

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With some major departures this offseason of key veteran players, the New Jersey Devils should have some openings in their forward corps for emerging young players to grab in preseason and training camp. According to New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols, one of those young players looking to grab an NHL job is Graeme Clarke, who “expects himself” to make the NHL roster this fall. Although Clarke hasn’t made his NHL debut just yet, it’s easy to see why the 22-year-old forward believes he’ll be on the Devils’ roster by opening night.

Clarke led the Utica Comets in scoring last season in the AHL, potting 25 goals and 58 points in 68 games. It was a legitimate breakout year for a player who registered just 24 points the year before, and cemented his status as a talented prospect who profiles as a potential middle-six scorer in the NHL. It’s highly likely that Clarke would have gotten an NHL call-up last season were he playing for a less talent-rich franchise, but with training camp and the preseason coming it’s likely that Clarke won’t have to wait much longer to get his chance.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • PHLY Sports’ Charlie O’Connor reports that the Philadelphia Flyers are giving prospect Matt Brown, an invite player to their rookie tournament that begins tonight, a look on the team’s powerplay and a heightened role. O’Connor notes that the Flyers may be “considering offering him an ELC and want a closer look at his offensive ability.” Brown led Boston University in scoring last season with 16 goals and 47 points, and the 24-year-old could end up joining a Flyers prospect pool that already ranks among the league’s best.
  • The St. Louis Blues are without a captain thanks to their trade of Ryan O’Reilly to the Toronto Maple Leafs at last year’s deadline, and even though the club hopes to rebound and return to the playoffs they may not do so with a player wearing the “C.” The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford reports in his recent mailbag that the Blues don’t have “imminent plans” to name a captain. (subscription link) Brayden Schenn is a player generally considered a candidate to be the team’s next captain, although Rutherford does note that the organization could opt to give the important leadership role to a younger core player, such as team number-one center Robert Thomas.

PHR Chatter: Expanding On Expansion

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As we near the beginning of the 2023-24 season, PHR is excited to announce the return of a feature to encourage discourse between reader and writer. On Friday mornings, we’ll post a topic of discussion that we think will draw out varied and interesting perspectives from both our commenters and the other staff writers.

For too long, there have only been a couple of outlets for our readers to interact with the PHR staff. Live chats and mailbags offer a chance at some discussion but also run the risk of being too crowded or even outdated by the time the answer arrives. With PHR Chatter, we’re hoping to get weekly talks going on a topic that normally would have to be brought into the spotlight by a reader before even being discussed.

To kick this series off for the first time in almost a year and a half, let’s focus on one of the most engaging topics we had on the site this week: the possibility of Atlanta as an NHL market for a third time. The pros and cons of such a move could be a post in and of itself, but let’s open up the topic of discussion to adding a 33rd (or even 34th team) in general. Is the talent pool too diluted as it stands? Would a rumored $2B price tag from TSN’s Darren Dreger help kickstart the league into a new era and mean good things for players and teams alike? Would adding further teams necessitate another divisional realignment and potentially reopen the conversation around modifying the playoff format? What markets would you like to see get a team? Feel free to chime in about anything expansion-related in the comment section below and check in regularly, as we aim to keep this a rather open-ended platform.

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