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Archives for June 2024

Blues Acquire, Extend Alexandre Texier

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The Blues have acquired winger Alexandre Texier from the Blue Jackets and promptly signed him to a two-year deal, his agent Dan Milstein confirmed. It’s a $4.2MM deal broken down evenly into a $2.1MM salary and cap hit each season, PuckPedia reports. The teams later made the trade official, confirming a 2025 fourth-round pick is headed to Columbus in return.

Texier, 24, is coming off a triumphant return to North America after spending the 2022-23 season on personal leave, suiting up on loan to the Swiss National League to be closer to his family in France. The Blue Jackets 2017 second-rounder put up career-highs across the board, notching 12 goals, 18 assists and 30 points in 78 games. The French pivot had always been an intriguing, versatile prospect, but COVID and injuries had limited him to a previous career-high of 46 appearances in his three previous full NHL seasons.

The Blue Jackets had tried working Texier higher up in the lineup, moving him to the wing and getting him a decent chunk of time on their penalty kill. But with a higher-skilled, younger wave of prospects coming through the pipeline, he’d become expendable. They’ll need to replace the 1:46 he averaged shorthanded per game, though.

Meanwhile, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong does solid work here to pick up a solid depth-checking forward for a mid-round pick. The extension is quite reasonable, to boot. It comes in slightly lower than Evolving Hockey’s two-year, $2.33MM AAV projection.

Texier will serve as a younger, more defensively responsible replacement for some of the Blues’ mid-20s depth forwards hitting free agency this summer, namely failed reclamation projects Kasperi Kapanen and Jakub Vrána. He’ll be in contention for a third-line wing role but could also lock down a bottom-six center spot. It’s his natural position, although he didn’t play there a ton in Columbus and was abysmal in the faceoff dot, winning just 35.5% of his draws.

Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic was first on the return.

Panthers Re-Sign Patrick Giles, Matt Kiersted

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The Panthers have re-upped minor-league forward Patrick Giles on a two-year, two-way deal, per a team announcement. It pays him $775K NHL/$100K AHL ($132.5K guaranteed) in 2024-25 with a minor pay bump to $775K NHL/$150K AHL ($180K guaranteed) in 2025-26, PuckPedia reports. He was slated to become an RFA with arbitration rights on July 1. They’ve also extended defenseman Matt Kiersted on a one-year, two-way pact, keeping their lips sealed on cap figures for that one.

Giles, 24, first found his way into the Panthers organization after wrapping up a four-year career at Boston College, inking an amateur tryout with AHL Charlotte to end the 2021-22 campaign. He earned an invite to Panthers training camp the following fall, earning an entry-level contract in the process.

The big-bodied 6’4″ forward can play both center and right-wing and has been a serviceable bottom-six piece in Charlotte the last two years, scoring 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points in 148 showings for the Checkers. The Maryland native may not have much of an NHL future ahead of him, but he’s a good energy presence to help insulate Florida’s more promising up-and-comers. Assuming he plays fewer than 80 NHL games over the life of his extension, he’ll hit UFA status early via a Group VI exception in 2026.

Like Giles, Kiersted was an undrafted free-agent signing out of college, but he didn’t need to wait until the fall to land his first NHL deal. Florida added him to the roster immediately after he wrapped up his senior season with the University of North Dakota in 2021. Now 26, he was expected to challenge for major-league time after being named to the NCHC’s First All-Star Team in his final season with the Fighting Hawks, but he hasn’t managed to stick around.

Kiersted has spent most of the past three seasons in Charlotte, where he has 56 points in 169 career games with a +23 rating. He’s developed into a top-four fixture there, but 2023-24 was his first season without NHL time since turning pro. Kiersted did play in 37 NHL games between the 2020-21 and 2022-23 campaigns, recording two goals, six assists and a -8 rating while averaging a paltry 11:59 per game. His one-year extension walks him to UFA status next summer.

Canucks Won’t Re-Sign Nikita Zadorov, Linked To John Marino

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The Canucks won’t be agreeing to an extension for UFA defenseman Nikita Zadorov, general manager Patrik Allvin confirmed (via Patrick Johnston of The Province and The Vancouver Sun). He’ll be one of the more sought-after defense options available when the free agent market opens Monday.

It may not take them very long to find his replacement, though. The Devils are “actively looking to move” right-shot stalwart John Marino, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. He adds Vancouver has been in the mix for his services, specifically as a fallback option if they couldn’t come to terms on a new deal for Zadorov.

We had our first indication that Zadorov may be heading out the door when Allvin moved to get Tyler Myers locked into a three-year, $3MM AAV extension last night. His re-signing, along with the retention of pending RFA Filip Hronek earlier in the month, meant four of the Canucks’ spots on defense next season were firmly accounted for. Noah Juulsen remains an option after skating in 54 games last year, and depth blue liner Mark Friedman will be back in the rotation after signing a one-way extension over a week ago.

Vancouver parted ways with a third-round and fifth-round pick to get Zadorov from the Flames back in November, marking one of the first truly consequential in-season trades. This generation’s “Big Z” was a natural fit in a bottom-four role, putting up 14 points and 102 PIMs in 54 games as a Canuck while seeing 17:04 of ice time per contest. The playoffs were where Zadorov made his killing this year, though, as the normally stay-at-home defenseman became a factor on the scoresheet with four goals and eight points in 13 games.

Where he’ll land is anyone’s guess at this stage, but he’ll have plenty of suitors and won’t take long to find his next home. He’s expected to seek a six-year, $36MM pact ($6MM AAV), per a report from Seravalli last month, although that’s likely too rich for anyone’s blood, given he doesn’t have a consistent history of top-four minutes. He should still be able to cash in significantly with his value at its peak, though, and could land a longer-term deal closer to $5MM per season.

The Canucks may well have to give up significant assets to acquire Marino as his replacement, but he checks in at a much more attractive $4.4MM cap hit for three more seasons compared to what Zadorov was asking for. Marino is also two years younger and has averaged at least 20 minutes per game since breaking into the league with the Penguins five years ago, consistently seeing tougher usage and heavier penalty-kill responsibilities.

Marino served as the Devils’ de facto top right-shot defender for most of last season, with Dougie Hamilton missing all but 20 games with a pectoral injury. He checked in about expected offensively, recording four goals and 25 points in 81 games but did have a career-worst -6 rating. That was certainly exacerbated by poor play from New Jersey’s rotating cast of goaltenders, though, as he still managed to control 51.1% of shot attempts at even strength, roughly in line with his career average.

It’s worth noting Marino has an eight-team no-trade list that goes into effect on July 1. It would be odd to see the reigning Pacific Division winners hold a spot on his NTC, but in any event, it’s likely a reason why Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is trying so hard to get him moved before free agency opens. They’re looking to upgrade their second-pair right-shot man behind Hamilton, with soon-to-be-former Hurricane Brett Pesce a person of interest.

Steven Stamkos Expected To Reach Open Market

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Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is expected to reach the open market, his agent shared with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (Twitter link). Stamkos has been a pillar of the Tampa lineup since his first-overall selection in the 2008 NHL Draft. He’s since accomplished it all in Tampa Bay – claiming the franchise record for games played, goals, and points; succeeding Vincent Lecavalier as captain in 2013; and leading Tampa to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.

Not to be outdone, Stamkos followed the Cup wins with the first 100-point season of his career in 2022. He since shown zero signs of slowing down, recording 34 goals and 84 points last year and 40 goals and 81 points this year. Through his seasons that weren’t limited by injury, Stamkos has failed to reach 50 points just once – in 2008-09, when he scored 46 points as a rookie. He’s since been as consistent of a scorer as teams could ask for, still offering high-end goal-scoring at the age of 34.

The Lightning are in the rare position to stomach losing a consistent 80-point scorer, thanks to Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point’s continued challenging of the 100-point mark. But Tampa will still need to find a way to replace the reliable upside that Stamkos brought year after year, should he move away from the club. That could be a very tough bill to meet as the Lightning boast just $5.335MM in projected cap space, with seven pending free agents on their NHL roster. That includes winger Anthony Duclair, who scored eight goals and 15 points in 17 regular season games after Tampa Bay acquired him at the Trade Deadline. Duclair had a career year in 2021-22, scoring 31 goals and 58 points, though he’s failed to reignite his scoring since. While he’s bound for a pay raise after a hot second-half to the year, Duclair could be a cheaper option with scoring upside to try and fill Stamkos’ top-six role.

Meanwhile, the question of what Stamkos’ next contract could look like is seemingly impossible to answer. He’s nearing the end of his career but still seems fit for a few more years in the league. And he’ll undeniably be among the year’s highest paid players, after concluding an eight-year contract with an annual cap hit of $8.5MM. There seems to be no price he couldn’t demand after potting 40 goals this season. At the very least, he likely isn’t set for a pay cut. And he’s a future Hall-of-Famer entering the open market, which could quickly inspire a bidding war.

Tampa Bay is at risk of losing the face of their franchise for much of the 2000s. That will be an impossible role to fill, especially with such limited cap space. Meanwhile, Stamkos will plan for a rare career-first in free agency – and surely plenty of interest from around the league.

NHL Announces 2023-24 All-Star Teams

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The NHL announced their annual season-ending All-Star teams as part of last night’s award festivities. The rosters, as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, are as follows.

First All-Star Team

LW: Artemi Panarin (Rangers)
C: Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)
RW: Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)
D: Quinn Hughes (Canucks)
D: Roman Josi (Predators)
G: Connor Hellebuyck (Jets)

Second All-Star Team

LW: Filip Forsberg (Predators)
C: Connor McDavid (Oilers)
RW: David Pastrňák (Bruins)
D: Adam Fox (Rangers)
D: Cale Makar (Avalanche)
G: Thatcher Demko (Canucks)

The First Team nod caps off quite a successful 24 hours for MacKinnon, who also swept both media-voted and player-voted MVP honors with the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award. It’s his third All-Star nod, although his two prior ones were both Second Team honors in 2018 and 2020. The 28-year-old pivot led the Avs in scoring with 51 goals and 140 points this season and recorded a league-high 405 shots on goal.

Notably, the voting ledger (available in the league’s announcement) indicates Kucherov was the unanimous First Team selection at right wing. That’s the first time that’s happened since 2002, when the Flames’ Jarome Iginla was the across-the-board pick after also winning the Richard and Art Ross trophies. Like Iginla, Kucherov was crowned this year’s Art Ross winner after recording 144 points in 81 games. He tied with McDavid for a league-leading 100 assists, becoming the first winger in NHL history to hit the mark.

Absent from either team is Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews, whose 69 goals this season were the most of anyone since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96. He also fell short of being a Hart Trophy finalist behind Kucherov, MacKinnon and McDavid. He was third in All-Star voting among centers, though, and did receive nine First Team and 55 Second Team votes out of 187 ballots. The only other center to receive consideration was the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, who only appeared on four ballots.

Flames Exploring Trade Market For Nazem Kadri

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The Flames are already in seller mode this offseason, dealing winger Andrew Mangiapane for a Capitals for a second-round pick last night. It doesn’t look like they’re done, either. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, they’re exploring the trade market for top-six center Nazem Kadri.

Pagnotta stresses that nothing is imminent regarding a potential deal, and Kadri would have complete control of whether he goes or stays with his no-move clause, which remains in effect for two more seasons. However, it indicates that general manager Craig Conroy is in teardown mode after Calgary missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

Things haven’t worked out for the Flames over the first two years of Kadri’s seven-year, $49MM deal signed in free agency in 2022. He was signed to help replenish Calgary’s top-end forward group after they lost Johnny Gaudreau to the Blue Jackets and dealt Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar.

But unlike Huberdeau, trading Kadri wouldn’t necessarily be admitting failure with his contract. He had a trying season in his first year in Alberta, limited to 56 points in 82 games after posting a career-high 89 in 71 while winning a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche the year before. But he rebounded nicely this season, leading the team in points by a wide margin and averaging 18:26 per game, second-most in his career, only behind his career year in Colorado.

His complete stat line of 29 goals and 46 assists with an even rating is appropriate for his $7MM cap hit, although Conroy may have a tough time convincing the 33-year-old can maintain that value for the five seasons remaining on his contract. He’s also played all 164 games in his Flames tenure, staying out of injury and suspension trouble. The latter has plagued him at inopportune times, including back-to-back playoff series with the Maple Leafs in 2018 and 2019.

As a 6’0″ center with some snarl in his game, he should have some suitors on the trade market, even considering his contract. His deal is similarly palatable to the one Elias Lindholm, the top center option on this year’s UFA market, will likely receive, and he’s coming off a highly superior platform season offensively.

Thanks to his aforementioned no-move clause, he does have complete control over his destiny, but with the Flames trending in the wrong direction, it’s feasible that he’d waive it to join a team closer to playoff contention. Even if he sticks around for now, Calgary can trade him later when his NMC downgrades to a 13-team no-trade list in the summer of 2026.

Utah Re-Signs Michael Kesselring To Two-Year Deal

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The Utah Hockey Club has agreed to terms with defenseman Michael Kesselring on a two-year contract, the team announced today. Per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the contract is worth $2.8MM, which is good for a $1.4MM cap hit.

Kesselring, 24, is coming off a strong rookie season that saw him post five goals, 16 assists, 21 points and a +11 rating with 66 PIMs on the Coyotes blue line. A sixth-round pick of the Oilers in 2018, Edmonton traded Kesselring to Arizona at the 2023 deadline as part of a deal for center Nick Bjugstad.

He was having a strong season with AHL Bakersfield at the time, racking up 13 goals and 22 points in 49 games. After his acquisition, he made his NHL debut with the Yotes. The South Carolina native played in nine games to close out 2022-23, recording his first three major league assists.

Kesselring checks a lot of boxes as a right-shot defender with physicality and size, as well as some offensive upside. He’s one of the bigger bodies on the Utah roster at 6’4″ and 190 lbs and was one of many pending restricted free agents that general manager Bill Armstrong needs to re-up this summer. NHL regulars Sean Durzi, J.J. Moser and Juuso Välimäki all still need new deals.

After producing at a 26-point pace with good possession metrics, $1.4MM seems like a steal for his services, especially on a multi-year deal. Without much NHL experience to his name and virtually no special teams usage last season, though, he likely couldn’t have commanded much more. Evolving Hockey’s contract projection was in line with what Kesselring received in the end (two years, $1.353MM AAV).

With Utah looking to add multiple defensemen on the UFA market this summer, Kesselring will likely slot into a third-pairing role again next season after averaging 15:48 per game in 2023-24. While his effectiveness higher up in the lineup is a question mark, he’s already shown the ability to crush bottom-pairing minutes.

Kesselring’s contract expires in 2026, but he will still have another year of team control and will be an arbitration-eligible RFA.

Stars Buy Out Ryan Suter

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June 28, 12:33 p.m.: The Stars made Suter’s buyout official on Friday. Since his contract carried a no-move clause, he doesn’t need to pass through unconditional waivers before being bought out. He will be eligible to sign anywhere as a UFA starting Monday.

June 27, 2:23 p.m.: Suter’s camp was informed of the buyout by the Stars last night, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports. There are already multiple teams interested in signing him when he becomes a free agent in the coming days, per LeBrun.

June 27, 9:07 a.m.: Jeff Marek of Sportsnet is reporting that the Dallas Stars are buying out the final year of defenseman Ryan Suter’s contract. Suter was owed $4.3MM in actual salary and was set to carry a cap hit of $3.65MM as part of the four-year $14.6MM contract he inked in July 2021. The buyout marks the second time in Suter’s career that his contract has been cut short, as the Minnesota Wild bought out the final four years of his 13-year, $98MM contract back in July 2021.

With the move, Dallas will add a $1.4MM charge to their cap for the 2025-26 season, but they will save $2.866MM this season (as per CapFriendly). Typically, a 35+ contract buyout wouldn’t lead to any savings, however, Suter’s contract was not frontloaded and had no signing bonuses after the first year, meaning the Stars will see some savings.

Suter played in all 82 games last season for Dallas but saw his offensive production drop for a second consecutive season as he tallied just two goals and 15 assists. His average ice time dropped to the lowest it has been since his rookie season with Nashville back in 2005-06.

While Suter isn’t the elite rearguard he once was, he remained an effective player for the Stars as he never missed a game in his three years with the team and was still a decent possession player, posting a CF% of 51% at even-strength. Suter can still skate and block shots and is responsible in his end, he is still an NHL defenseman despite being 39 years old. Suter will likely have interest from other teams in free agency if he elects to continue his career.

For the Stars, the move is surprising, but it makes sense given that they are hoping to retain pending unrestricted free agents Chris Tanev and Matt Duchene. Dallas had just over $16MM in available cap space coming into today and also has to try and re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Thomas Harley. If they do sign those three players, it will eat into most of their remaining cap space and would have left little room to fill out the remainder of their roster.

Canadiens, Kings Swap First Round Picks

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The Montreal Canadiens have traded up to pick 21 in the 2024 NHL Draft, sending the Los Angeles Kings picks 26, 57, and 198 in return, per Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period (Twitter link).

Montreal, who also owns pick five, brings their two day-one selections just hours before they’ll take the podium. And they may not be done, per TSN’s Darren Dreger, who shares that the team is interested in finding another way into the Top 10, even if it means moving down from fifth overall (Twitter link). Dreger also mentions that Montreal is involved in player trade-talks as well, potentially opening the team up to an incredibly eventful day as they’re getting settled in to Vegas.

The 2022 NHL Draft marked the first time that Montreal has had two first-round picks since 2007 when they drafted Ryan McDonagh and Max Pacioretty. The team succeeded those picks with Juraj Slafkovsky and Filip Mesar in 2022 – and is now looking to make the most of the pair of picks in a strong 2024 first round. The class features talents at every spot, with players like Cole Eiserman and Berkly Catton bringing high skill to the wings, Michael Hage and Trevor Connelly standing as high-scoring centers, and Carter Yakemchuk and Anton Silayev potential fallers on defense. Even at five and 21, the Canadiens should have plenty of opportuntiy to bring in impactful lineup pieces.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles builds out their pool of future assets without losing too much stock on day one. It will be L.A.’s first time in the first round since 2021, when they selected Brandt Clarke eighth-overall. The Kings now have six picks in this year’s draft, more than they wielded in either 2021 or 2023, though three of their selections come in the sixth and seventh rounds. The Kings could afford some robust additions to their prospect pool, with little to look at besides Clarke and Jordan Spence. That should set the team up to take the best player available at each of their selections, regardless of positioning, as they look to find players who can quickly support their drive back to the postseason. At 25, they could be within reach of hardy forwards like Emil Hemming, Cole Beaudoin, and Jett Luchanko.

Stars Sign Alexander Petrovic To Two-Year, Two-Way Extension

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The Dallas Stars have signed depth defenseman Alexander Petrovic to a two-year, two-way contract extension. The details of the contract haven’t been released, though Petrovic’s last four contracts have come at a league-minimum price tag.

Petrovic played in his first NHL games since 2019 when he stepped in for one regular season game and seven postseason games this season. He wasn’t able to change his stat line much, recording no scoring, one penalty, and a -1. He’s otherwise spent the rest of his time over the last five seasons in a stout minor league role, capable of playing most of the games in a season and posting modest scoring totals. He lived by that calling card this year, recording 22 points, 40 penalty minutes, and a -6 in 70 games with the AHL’s Texas Stars.

But Petrovic wasn’t always a lock for the minor leagues. He once held a consistent role on the Florida Panthers defense, after being drafted with the team’s fourth selection in the 2010 NHL Draft. Petrovic joined a draft class of Erik Gudbranson, Nick Bjugstad, and Zach Hyman – though none of the quartet ever carved out much of a role with the Panthers. For Petrovic, he muddled around Florida’s bottom pairing, before a 2018 trade to the Edmonton Oilers kicked off his run in the minor leagues. He’s since totaled 283 AHL games in the years since, boasting 101 points and 213 penalty minutes. Petrovic will be set to return to that minor-league role on his new contract, though he could be a popular option for Dallas’ role of seventh-defender, after the team bought out veteran Ryan Suter.

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