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Devils Re-Sign Kurtis MacDermid For Three Years

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The Devils have filled their enforcer role for the foreseeable future, re-signing winger/defenseman Kurtis MacDermid to a three-year, $3.45MM contract on Friday. The deal carries a $1.15MM cap hit and is paid out entirely in base salary, earning him $1.25MM in 2024-25, $1.2MM in 2025-26 and $1MM in 2026-27.  PuckPedia adds that $250K next season and $200K from his 2025-26 salary will come in the form of signing bonuses.

New Jersey acquired MacDermid, 30, via trade from the Avalanche on March 1, sending Colorado the signing rights to center prospect Zakhar Bardakov and the Predators’ seventh-round pick, 215th overall, in this year’s draft. He played in 16 games for the Devils down the stretch, lining up at forward for all of them, contributing an assist while racking up 50 PIMs during his short stint in the Garden State.

He’ll now have the opportunity to add many more over the next three seasons. MacDermid first broke into the league with the Kings in 2017-18, over five years after they initially signed him as an undrafted free agent out of the Ontario Hockey League’s Owen Sound Attack.

He’s remained in the league as a seventh defenseman/13th forward ever since and hasn’t been assigned to the minors since the 2018-19 campaign. In 265 career games, the 6’5″ heavyweight has 11 goals, 31 points, a -24 rating and 368 PIMs with Colorado, Los Angeles and New Jersey.

MacDermid was also briefly a member of the Kraken, who selected him from the Kings in the 2021 expansion draft. He remained a member of the organization for all of six days before they flipped him to the Avs for a 2023 fourth-round pick (later flipped to the Sharks for Jaycob Megna, used to select defenseman Luca Cagnoni). He was on the roster for Colorado’s Stanley Cup win in 2022 but didn’t suit up in any playoff games after making a career-high 58 regular season appearances.

Today’s extension is the richest deal MacDermid has earned in his NHL career, beating out the two-year, $1.975MM extension he signed with the Avalanche in 2022. It’s his first three-year deal since his entry-level contract. He was set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Maple Leafs Among Teams Monitoring Rod Brind’Amour’s Availability

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After blowing a 3-1 third-period lead and being eliminated in Round 2 at the hands of the Rangers last night, there’s now an immediate focus on what the Hurricanes opt to do with pending free-agent coach Rod Brind’Amour. Among other teams, expect the Maple Leafs to delay their head coaching decision until gaining clarity into whether he’ll hit the market, reports Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun.

The Hurricanes had offered Brind’Amour an extension earlier in the season, but a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger before the second round indicated the team rescinded it. His report seemed to spur some momentum between the two sides, as within 24 hours, Dreger issued a follow-up saying talks between Brind’Amour and Carolina ownership had advanced.

However, no deal has been made for either Brind’Amour or his assistants. Losing in such a dramatic fashion could very well influence the Canes to turn elsewhere.

Toronto, meanwhile, is on the hunt for a new head coach on the heels of a similarly familiar playoff disappointment. They fired five-year veteran Sheldon Keefe last week and have already interviewed former Blues coach Craig Berube and ex-Kings bench boss Todd McLellan for the vacancy, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Berube is widely viewed as their preferred candidate, but they’re not the only team heavily considering him – the Jets interviewed him for their vacancy this week. If they wait too long to see if Carolina decides to part ways with Brind’Amour, Berube may not be available as a Plan B.

Outside of Toronto and Winnipeg, the Devils, Kings, Kraken and Sharks still need to fill coaching vacancies. New Jersey (link) and Seattle (link) appear to be in the final stages of their searches, while the Sharks’ cast net is a tad wider. But all three would likely have interest in Brind’Amour if he became available, especially the Devils and Kraken, who have playoff aspirations next season.

Brind’Amour has made the playoffs in all six years behind the Hurricanes bench and won the Jack Adams Award in 2021, overseeing perhaps the best possession team in the NHL over that time. However, the Hurricanes haven’t won a game past the second round in his tenure. They were swept by the Bruins (2019) and Panthers (2023) in their two Eastern Conference Finals appearances under their 2006 Stanley Cup-winning captain to date.

Overall, Brind’Amour has a 278-130-44 (.664) regular season record and a 38-35 (.521) playoff mark as Carolina’s head coach.

Islanders Sign Maxim Tsyplakov To Entry-Level Contract

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May 17, 7:48 a.m.: It’s actually the maximum $950K entry-level cap hit for Tsyplakov, per CapFriendly. He’ll earn a base salary of $885K and a $95K signing bonus, plus up to $1MM in potential performance bonuses. If assigned to the minors, he’ll earn an $82.5K salary.

May 16, 2:07 p.m.: Tsyplakov’s deal will carry a $925K cap hit, Sears reports.

May 16, 1:50 p.m.: This summer’s top international free agent is off the board early. The Islanders will be Maxim Tsyplakov’s NHL home next season, announcing Thursday that they’ve signed him to a one-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Tspylakov, 25, was drawing interest from the majority of the league. However, the Islanders weren’t one of the teams specifically linked to the Russian forward. As recently as this week, it was expected the Canadiens would make a strong pitch for his services. The Maple Leafs were also connected to Tsyplakov during the season.

It doesn’t appear to be a rushed or out-of-left-field signing, though. Islanders European scout Jim Paliafito has been talking to Tsypalakov’s camp as far back as February, reports Ethan Sears of the New York Post. Sears adds the Islanders weren’t the only New York team with interest – the Rangers were also in talks with Tsyplakov as well as Montreal and Toronto.

The 6’3″ winger has spent parts of seven seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League with Spartak Moscow but was an extremely late bloomer. Tsyplakov, a Moscow native, didn’t even lock down a top-six role until this season.

It was a defining campaign for Tsyplakov, though, one that made him the top international UFA on the market with months to go in the season. The gifted sniper served as an alternate captain for Spartak and scored 31 goals in 65 games, ranking fourth in the KHL in goals and second on his team behind former Canucks and Sharks winger Nikolay Goldobin.

As he’s such a late bloomer, though, there will be rightful concerns about how well his offense can translate to North America, especially with no previous experience on this side of the Pacific. His season ended somewhat unceremoniously as well, limited to two goals and two assists in 11 postseason games as Spartak was dispatched by eventual champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the second round of the Gagarin Cup Playoffs.

Tsyplakov had also only recorded double-digit goal totals in a KHL season once before, scoring 10 times in 63 games last season. The Islanders will hope his size helps translate his scoring success last season to the NHL somewhat, although he really shouldn’t be counted upon for more than 20-30 points next year if he makes the team out of camp.

With so much interest elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine Tsyplakov accepting an assignment to AHL Bridgeport if he doesn’t crack the opening night roster. In that event, expect him to end up on the trade block or on waivers for a mutual contract termination to head back to Russia or get a shot from another NHL team.

Tsyplakov’s signing continues an active offseason already for the Isles, who have scoured the international market. They picked up Swedish goalie Marcus Högberg to serve as improved depth behind Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov next season, and they’re also expected to bring over Swiss defenseman Andrea Glauser from the National League.

Evening Notes: Colliton, Henrique, Wheeler

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Donnie & Dhali are reporting that the future of Vancouver Canucks AHL coach Jeremy Colliton is up in the air at the moment as there have been rumblings that the Canucks may go in a different direction with the AHL club. The former Chicago Blackhawks bench boss has guided the Abbotsford Canucks to back-to-back playoff appearances with nearly identical records posting a .604 points percentage in each of his first two seasons at the helm.

Rick Dhaliwal said on the show that he’s heard from sources that the Canucks have fired Colliton, but he reached out to both Colliton and the Canucks to try and get confirmation of this but hasn’t heard any word back.

In other evening notes:

  • Edmonton Oilers reporter Tony Brar tweeted today that forward Adam Henrique is very close to re-joining the Oilers but will not play in Game 5 tonight according to Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650. The 34-year-old remains day-to-day but did skate with the Oilers this morning. The Brantford, Ontario native hasn’t played since Game 1 of the Oilers’ second-round series last Friday and hasn’t offered much offensively in the playoffs with a goal and an assist in six games while struggling to control the play at even strength with a 43.9 CF% according to Hockey Reference.
  • The New York Rangers activated forward Blake Wheeler off of long-term injured reserve today (as per CapFriendly). The 37-year-old has been out of action for the past three months after suffering a scary lower-body injury and practiced in full capacity with the team on Monday morning. Wheeler is a few weeks ahead of schedule in his recovery and could see action in the Eastern Conference Finals although there is no word on an official timetable for his return. Wheeler suffered through the worst offensive season of his career this past year but worked very hard to come back from an injury that most people felt would keep him out for the balance of the season.

Bruins Recall Nine Players From AHL

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The Boston Bruins have added to their black aces as they have recalled nine players from the AHL’s Providence Bruins (as per AHL Transactions). Providence was eliminated by the Hartford Wolf Pack last Friday for the second year in a row allowing the Bruins to recall the nine players today to take part in the remainder of the Bruins playoff run. Boston will face elimination once again tomorrow night in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series against the Florida Panthers.

Joining the Bruins’ black aces will be forwards Joey Abate, Trevor Kuntar, Marc McLaughlin, Georgii Merkulov, Anthony Richard, and Oskar Steen. Defensively, Michael Callahan and Ian Mitchell will join the team, while goaltender Michael DiPietro also received a callup.

Abate just completed his second season in the NHL and has yet to see NHL action in his brief professional career, while Kuntar was a rookie this season in the AHL after being drafted in the third round back in 2020.

McLaughlin has had brief appearances in the NHL in each of the past three seasons posting four goals in 14 games, including a goal in his only NHL appearance this season. The 24-year-old grew up near Boston and was the captain of Boston College in his final two NCAA seasons.

Merkulov led Providence in scoring this season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 67 AHL games. The undrafted free agent signing has been a solid offensive contributor in the AHL since arriving in 2021-22. The 23-year-old saw his first NHL action this season going scoreless in four games.

Richard has been a mainstay in the AHL for eight seasons but has bounced around in recent years. The former fourth-round pick in 2015 has had a few cups of coffee in the NHL throughout his professional career, posting four goals and four assists in 24 NHL games. The 27-year-old had a goal and two assists in nine NHL games this season with Boston.

Steen spent much of the year with Boston dressing in 34 games but tallying just a single goal. He fared much better in the AHL scoring 12 goals and adding four assists in 25 AHL games. The native of Karlstad, Sweden has been in the Bruins organization for five seasons and remains a tweener bouncing back and forth between the AHL and the NHL in each of the last four years.

On the backend 24-year-old Callahan just completed his third professional season, playing in a career-high 70 AHL games. The former fifth-round pick has yet to make his NHL debut and doesn’t offer much offensively, posting just four goals and 13 assists this season.

Mitchell came over to the Bruins from the Chicago Blackhawks last summer in the trade that sent Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall the other way. He looked like he may have found a home on the Bruins blueline early in the season but hasn’t dressed in an NHL game since December 23rd and was demoted to the AHL. With Providence, the 25-year-old posted solid offensive numbers with six goals and 18 assists in 42 games.

DiPietro’s young career feels as though it’s come full circle as the netminder had a few NHL starts early in his career with the Vancouver Canucks after an impressive OHL career, but his play fell off and he was relegated to the ECHL last season. This year, Dipietro bounced back and posted impressive AHL numbers with an 18-9-2 record to go along with a .918 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average.

The nine men will join several of their other Providence teammates along for the ride with Boston as they look to extend their playoff run tomorrow. The black aces are unlikely to see action in the playoffs, but they will have an opportunity to practice with the Bruins and soak in the atmosphere of the NHL playoffs.

Conflicting Reports Regarding Flyers Prospect Alexei Kolosov

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Philadelphia Flyers goaltending prospect Alexei Kolosov reportedly may return to the KHL after a brief appearance in North America last month (per Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now). Bailey cites a report from Belarus Hockey correspondent Stepan Voronkov who writes that Kolosov had problems adapting to North America and wants to return home to Russia.

If the report is accurate, it would effectively take the Flyers’ top goaltending prospect out of their pipeline for the foreseeable future as most of the netminders in their system are a long way from being ready for the NHL. While Kolosov returning to Russia would be damaging to the Flyers farm system, the report from Voronkov hasn’t been confirmed by any of the parties involved.

Further adding to the conflicting reports is Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia who writes that the Flyers haven’t been made aware of any news surrounding Alexei Kolosov going back to KHL and adds that some of the parties involved believe it could be a case of Kolosov being homesick.

The 22-year-old was drafted by the Flyers in the third round of the 2021 NHL entry draft (78th overall), and his arrival in North America created a bit of buzz especially given the messiness of the Flyers’ goaltending situation. However, the ending of the season was underwhelming as Kolosov played just two games with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. His numbers in the small sample size were rather pedestrian as he went 1-1-0, with a 3.03 GAA, and a .885 save percentage.

Rangers Recall Dylan Garand

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The New York Rangers have recalled goaltender Dylan Garand (Twitter link). The move is reportedly precautionary, per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh, who shares that emergency third-string goalie Louis Domingue is “a little banged up” (Twitter link). The Rangers will otherwise stick with their usual tandem of Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick in Game 6.

Garand likely won’t be on the NHL roster for very long, but this move could still have major implications on the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, who kick off the AHL’s Atlantic Division Finals against the Hershey Bears on Thursday. They’ll now have to do it without their starter, Garand, who’s been an important piece of their postseason success. The 21-year-old has posted five wins and a .931 save percentage in seven postseason games – a big step up from his 16 wins and .898 in 39 regular season games.

In Garand’s absence, Hartford will likely turn towards Olof Lindbom. Lindbom spent much of his season in the ECHL, posting 10 wins and an .884 save percentage in 29 games. He was a bit more effective in his six AHL appearances, recording a .916 save percentage, though he only managed one win. Hartford also has Hugo Ollas and Talyn Boyko on their roster – the former playing in his first pro games after starting for Merrimack College this season, and the latter Linbom’s backup in the ECHL.

Kings Mutually Part Ways With Assistant Coach Trent Yawney

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The Los Angeles Kings have announced they’ve mutually parted ways with assistant coach Trent Yawney, adding that a replacement will be sought after the team hires their next head coach (Twitter link). The news brings an end to Yawney’s five-year tenure in Los Angeles.

Yawney has a storied career in the NHL, beginning with his third-round selection in the 1984 NHL Draft. He’d go on to play 12 seasons in the league – spending half with the Chicago Blackhawks – and total 129 points and 783 penalty minutes in 593 career games. He even served as Team Canada’s captain during the 1988 Winter Olympics. Yawney retired during the 1998-99 season, only to return to the Blackhawks as an assistant coach in the 1999-00 season. He’s been closely tied to the NHL ever since, serving as either an AHL head coach or an NHL assistant coach in each of the last 25 seasons. He even earned a brief stint as the Blackhawks head coach in 2005-06, though he was replaced by Denis Savard midway through the following season.

This move is a backward step for the Kings, who face a head coach vacancy after parting ways with Todd McLellan in February. He was replaced by Jim Hiller, who remains a top candidate for the permanent role. Hiller led the Kings to an impressive 21-12-1 record, even earning a playoff appearance. The Edmonton Oilers eliminated the Kings in just five games, though their success showed their playoff potential. And while it’s hard to replace the near-40 years of experience Yawney has in the league, the space for one more hire offers enticing flexibility as the Kings look to maintain a staff capable of a postseason push.

Stars’ Roope Hintz Questionable, Tyler Seguin Cleared For Game 6

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The Dallas Stars are continuing to sort through injuries, with star Tyler Seguin reportedly okay after leaving Game 5 early with a lower-body injury, while fellow top forward Roope Hintz is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, head coach Pete DeBoer shared with Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas News (Twitter link). DeBoer wouldn’t reveal whether Hintz would travel with the team for Game 6 in Colorado, leaving his status up in the air.

Hintz was hurt while blocking a shot in the first period of Game 4, sustaining an injury that ultimately forced him out of the Game 5 lineup. His absence made way for Radek Faksa to step back in, though the Stars felt the weight of missing Hintz, falling 5-3 to Colorado in a game where they lacked their usual top-end cohesiveness. Hintz has continued to perform well this postseason, posting six points through 11 games and ranked fourth among the team’s forwards in xGA/60 (expected goals-against per-60) per Evolving Hockey. His shot suppression ranks only behind Wyatt Johnston, Jason Robertson, and Evgenii Dadonov.

Seguin will be one of the many carrying a bigger load should Hintz continue to miss time. The veteran Stars forward has seven points through 12 playoff games so far, forming an impressive trio with Dadonov and Matt Duchene. Dallas has won every game Seguin has scored in this postseason, with Game 5’s loss also marking an end to Seguin’s three-game scoring streak. He’ll look to return to the scoresheet, and return his team to the win column, as the Stars aim to cap off the series on Friday.

Meanwhile, Faksa should remain in the lineup in Hintz’s absence, after returning from a three-game absence due to an undisclosed injury. He recorded one shot and two hits in Game 6, appearing in 12:24 worth of ice time. Faksa will likely hang onto the role of third-line centerman, with Seguin and Johnston commanding the team’s top-six – though Dallas also has reigning AHL MVP Mavrik Bourque recalled to the NHL lineup. Borque has only played in one career NHL game, failing to score, but he led the minors in scoring this year, with a dazzling 77 points in 71 games. He could be a tantalizing X-factor as Dallas tries to find an edge over a stout Avalanche lineup.

Lightning Sign Mitchell Chaffee To Two-Year Extension

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The Lightning have re-signed winger Mitchell Chaffee to a two-year contract, per a team announcement Thursday. The deal, his first one-way pact, carries a cap hit of $800K and a total value of $1.6MM.

Chaffee, 26, landed with the Lightning last summer on a one-year, two-way contract with a $350K guarantee after reaching Group 6 unrestricted free agency. An undrafted free agent signing by the Wild in 2020, Chaffee made his NHL debut in Minnesota in 2021-22 but played just two games with the club, instead spending most of his time on assignment to AHL Iowa.

The Michigan native had set himself up as a top-six minor-league contributor early on, totaling 23 goals and 39 points in 49 games by his second professional season. But a torn ACL in his right knee ended his 2022-23 campaign after seven points in 10 games, after which the Wild opted not to bring him back and let him walk to free agency.

Healthy once again, Chaffee began the season on assignment to AHL Syracuse after clearing waivers and was solid on a middling offensive club, recording 12 goals and 26 points in 36 contests. He was recalled twice on brief stints in December and January but remained on the NHL roster for the rest of the regular season and playoffs after a Feb. 5 recall. In 30 games with the Bolts, primarily stepping in for the injured Tanner Jeannot, the 6’1″ winger had four goals in seven points while averaging 11:17 per contest. He struggled to get the puck on net, averaging less than one shot on goal per game but was a skilled finisher and shot nearly 15%.

Possession numbers weren’t particularly kind to Chaffee, who posted a below-average 47.4 CF% and 41.1 xGF% at even strength, per Hockey Reference. He did manage to stay out of the box, though, taking just two minor penalties

He’ll be in consideration for an opening-night roster spot next season, but ideally, he serves as their 12th or 13th forward option. He didn’t display enough offensive talent to elevate into a top-nine role long-term, and his poor relative possession numbers, despite seeing even offensive and defensive usage at even strength, don’t paint the best picture of him as a third-line checking threat.

After re-upping Chaffee, the Lightning have $11.79MM in projected cap space next season with a roster size of 17, per CapFriendly. A good chunk of that will go toward attempting to re-sign captain Steven Stamkos and avoiding losing him after 16 years and nearly 1,100 games with the club. Chaffee was set to become a Group 6 UFA yet again this summer if not extended.

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