PHR’s Josh Erickson hosted his weekly live chat today at 2 p.m. Central. Use this link to view the transcript.
Archives for August 2024
International Notes: Beaudin, Schmiemann, Zahejsky
Some notable minor transactions from around the hockey world today as August moves along:
- Former Senators center J.C. Beaudin will remain overseas this season after signing a one-year deal with Finland’s TPS, per a team announcement. Beaudin, 27, was a third-round pick of the Avalanche back in 2015 but didn’t make his NHL debut until 2019-20 with Ottawa, posting an assist and a -4 rating in 22 games. He spent the following two seasons in the AHL with Belleville and Laval before heading overseas in 2022. He signed with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the German DEL, where he racked up 22 goals and 48 points in 90 games over the last two seasons.
- Defenseman Quinn Schmiemann is making his first jump across the pond, as Slovakia’s HC Dukla Trencin announced on Facebook that they’ve signed the 23-year-old to a one-year contract. Schmiemann was a sixth-round pick of the Lightning in 2019 out of WHL Kamloops but never signed, instead beginning his professional career in the Canucks organization on an AHL deal with Abbotsford in 2022. Schmiemann rarely got into the lineup in Abbotsford and was sent back to the Lightning organization at last season’s AHL trade deadline, finishing the season with the Syracuse Crunch. The 6’2″, 201-lb left-shot defender had four goals and 10 assists for 14 points and a +10 rating in 67 AHL games the last two years and will now head to Europe after failing to land an NHL contract.
- A potential first-round pick in next year’s draft is coming to North America. Czech forward Vit Zahejsky has signed a scholarship and development agreement with WHL Kamloops after they selected him second overall in last month’s CHL Import Draft, the team announced today. Zahejsky is one of the younger players in the 2025 class and doesn’t turn 17 until this weekend. The 5’10”, 170-lb forward spent last season in his native Czechia with HC Karlovy Vary’s U20 club, managing 19 goals and 39 points in 42 games against much older competition. He’s currently representing Czechia at this year’s Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he has a goal and an assist in two games.
Snapshots: Cotter, World Juniors, Murashov
The Devils were looking for some more size and speed in their bottom six when they gave up former top-10 pick Alexander Holtz in a trade with the Golden Knights to acquire Paul Cotter, general manager Tom Fitzgerald told James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now.
“For us today and what we wanted to accomplish, adding a guy like Paul Cotter, who we believe has upside and has a little bit of Miles Wood in him. He can skate and is physical,” Fitzgerald said. It’s easy to see the comparable drawn between the current and former Devil – both have 6’2″ frames and above-average straight-line speed. Cotter checks in nearly 20 lbs heavier than Wood, who left New Jersey in free agency in 2023 to sign a long-term contract with the Avalanche.
The 24-year-old played 138 NHL games over the last three seasons with Vegas before the trade, scoring 22 goals and 23 assists for 45 points while averaging 12:44 per game. He finished second on the Knights with 233 hits last year, which would have led the Devils by a long shot – Curtis Lazar was their leader with 179.
More from around the hockey world today:
- Before NHLers return to the international stage at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February, the world’s top U-20 talents will convene again for the World Juniors in December and January. This season’s edition is in Ottawa, and well in advance of the event, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, Corey Pronman and Max Bultman took a crack at projecting what rosters may look like for the four traditional powerhouses.
- After signing his entry-level contract last week, Penguins goalie prospect Sergei Murashov is ready for the jump to North America, he tells Daria Tuboltseva of Responsible Gambling. The 20-year-old is hoping for a chance at NHL action this season, but he’s “ready to spend an entire season in the AHL.” “We’ll see how it goes,” Murashov continued. “It’s a new challenge for me. The Penguins’ coaches have told me about the specific aspects of playing in the AHL.” A 2022 fourth-round pick, Murashov has been one of the best goalies in the Russian junior circuit the past three seasons and had a .930 SV% and 24-4-2 record in 30 appearances with Loko Yaroslavl last season. In a six-game Kontinental Hockey League call-up to Lokomotiv, he continued his strong play with a .925 SV%, 1.84 GAA and his first professional shutout.
William Bitten Signs With Spartak Moscow
Free agent forward William Bitten has signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moscow of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League, the team announced in a press release. He played last season with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds in the back half of a two-year, two-way deal with the Blues before becoming a Group VI UFA in July.
The 26-year-old only got one NHL opportunity before heading overseas – a four-game call-up with St. Louis in 2022-23. The Ottawa native logged one assist and 10 hits with a +1 rating, but failed to record a shot attempt while averaging 6:39 per game.
A third-round pick of the Canadiens in 2016, Bitten never suited up for Montreal or their AHL affiliate in Laval. He did sign his entry-level contract with them shortly before his draft rights were set to expire in 2018 after completing a four-year stint in the Ontario Hockey League, but he was traded to the Wild for Gustav Olofsson before the 2018-19 campaign began. In the Minnesota system, Bitten struggled to build on his strong offensive production in juniors, limited to 77 points in 168 games with AHL Iowa before he was traded again to the Blues in 2021.
His offensive acumen seemed to improve somewhat after the move to the Blues’ affiliate in Springfield, posting 103 points in 178 games over the past three seasons. But the speedy 5’11” forward was still never able to put himself in consideration for full-time NHL duties and has already passed through waivers unclaimed multiple times. The 2018 OHL champion now heads to Moscow, where he joins a Spartak offense headlined by former Canucks and Sharks winger Nikolay Goldobin, 2012 Stanley Cup champion Andrei Loktionov and Golden Knights prospect Ivan Morozov.
Latest On Sidney Crosby Contract Negotiations
Most teams don’t have franchise-defining moments in the first week of August, but as Jason Mackey of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, that could happen to the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow. August 7th is Sidney Crosby’s 37th birthday and Mackey wonders if it might be the day that Crosby signs his long-awaited contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has been notoriously superstitious throughout his career when it comes to the number 87, carrying an $8.7MM cap hit since the 2008-09 season and wearing number 87 for his entire career. Many in Pittsburgh believe he will sign a new deal tomorrow on 8/7, but it’s fair to wonder what will happen to the team if he doesn’t.
Rob Rossi of The Athletic wrote last week that both sides left negotiations in July feeling comfortable enough that a deal was close and cited sources on both sides of the talks. By all accounts, a deal seems to be close, but as the summer drags on, Penguins fans are becoming more uncomfortable with the extended timeline, and as Mackey points out, tomorrow passing without a contract announcement will surely put fans into panic mode.
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now writes that there are no updates from his sources on negotiations, but also takes a balanced approach to breaking down the situation. Noting Crosby’s desire to wear one jersey for his entire career as his mentor Mario Lemieux once did for these very same Penguins. Crosby’s childhood hero Steve Yzerman also only wore one NHL jersey, and Crosby has always stated publicly that it means a lot to him to do the same.
Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive believes Crosby will sign, but he asked the question this week that many Penguins fans are scared to answer. What if Crosby doesn’t sign an extension tomorrow? It would be a scary reality for Penguins fans to face, the Penguins have pivoted to a retool and don’t have much in the pipeline to look forward to. If Crosby was to leave Pittsburgh, it would mean they are locked into many overpriced long-term deals, with a poor farm system and not much hope at the NHL level.
However, that moment isn’t yet a reality, and given Crosby’s superstitious nature and desire to remain in Pittsburgh, it is a reality they may not have to face until he retires.
Evening Notes: Swayman, Kuznetsov, Penguins
Former Boston Bruins goaltender and current NESN analyst Andrew Raycroft joined The Skate Pod to discuss the contract situation of Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman. Raycroft told the panel that Bruins fans shouldn’t be concerned at this juncture, and he wouldn’t be concerned about the contract negotiations until September.
Boston has been busy this summer dealing goaltender Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators and signing unrestricted free agents Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm to long-term deals. Despite the lucrative deals they’ve dished out, the Bruins remain in a good position to re-sign Swayman as they sit $8.6MM under the salary cap limit (as per PuckPedia) and could easily fit an $8MM cap hit in for their newly appointed starting goaltender.
In other evening notes:
- Former Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes center Evgeny Kuznetsov told MatchTV that he struggled so badly during this past season that he didn’t want his family to watch him play. The 32-year-old was once a perennial point-per-game player but fell to just eight goals and 16 assists in 63 games this past season and wasn’t nearly as effective as he once was. Kuznetsov and the Hurricanes terminated the final year of his NHL contract in mid-July so that he could return to Russia where he signed a four-year deal with SKA of the KHL.
- Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff covered the Pittsburgh Penguins in his NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown and believes that Brayden Yager is far and away the Penguins’ best prospect and likely the only prospect they have who could play in their top six eventually. The Penguins have had a difficult time developing scoring forwards over the past decade and it has been a drain on the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin who have had to carry the offensive load for much of the past ten years. Ellis notes that Yager is still a few years away from developing into a top-six forward which makes it entirely possible that the 19-year-old center will never play with the veteran stars.
Blue Jackets Coaching Notes: Dorsett, Recchi, McCarthy, Boll
The rippling effects of the regime change in Columbus are beginning to be felt by multiple members of the organization’s coaching staff. Although no positions have been filled up to this point, we know of a few coaches who will not be on the bench with Dean Evason and the Columbus Blue Jackets next season.
Covering all of the departures, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic begins with Derek Dorsett who had been serving as the team’s development coach for the last few years. As his only professional coaching role to date, Dorsett became a development coach with the Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters for the 2021-22 season. Portzline outlines that Dorsett’s departure may not have as much to do with the head coaching change as it has to do with not having the necessary time to commit to the coaching role as a new father.
Dorsett may eventually return to the Blue Jackets organization as he lives in the Columbus area with his family. He made his professional debut with the Blue Jackets in the 2008-09 season and scored 27 goals and 65 points in 280 regular season games as a tough-nosed winger.
Other coaching notes:
- The only assistant coach officially terminated by Columbus’ brass according to Portzline was Hall of Fame forward Mark Recchi. The long-time NHL forward began his coaching career relatively soon after his lengthy playing career ended after the 2010-11 season. Recchi began work as a development coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014-15 before transitioning to the team’s assistant coach in 2017-18. After a brief two-year stint as an assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils, Recchi’s only year as an assistant coach with the Blue Jackets will be last season.
- As reported a few days ago, Portzline confirms that assistant coach Jared Boll will be back with the organization next year. Additionally, Portzline notes that assistant coach Steve McCarthy will be back on the bench next season leaving Columbus with only one assistant coach vacancy heading into the 2024-25 campaign. The vacancies must get filled relatively quickly though as the league is quickly approaching the start of training camp in late September.
Poll: Which Team Will Acquire Patrik Laine?
It’s been nearly two weeks since Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine exited the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Laine and the Blue Jackets had previously agreed to look for a trade this offseason once he was released from the program, but Laine’s trade market appears to be stagnant. With an $8.7MM salary for the next two years, and with general manager Don Waddell not looking to retain 50% of his salary, only a handful of teams would be able to acquire him this summer.
It was only yesterday that Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic broached the possibility of the Minnesota Wild acquiring Laine before the start of next season. The Finnish sniper fills a serious need on the wing for Minnesota but their current salary cap table may put too many problems in their way. The Wild organization has approximately $750K in salary according to PuckPedia and may have to part with too much to put Laine into the mix.
One team that has both financial space and a need for Laine is the Montreal Canadiens. The team’s first line should be set in stone after a strong 2023-24 season but Laine could give the team a serious offensive boost on the second line. The Canadiens finished 26th in the league in goals per game with 2.83 during the 2023-24 season and Laine’s 0.425 GF/G average throughout his career would certainly be enticing. However, with Kirby Dach expected to fully bounce back from a lost season after tearing his ACL and MCL last year, Montreal may be content with plugging him back into the team’s second line.
The Anaheim Ducks have already acknowledged they will lean more heavily on their youngsters for offensive production next season. The organization can count Cutter Gauthier, Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, and Trevor Zegras in their top six but could still use a consistent goal-scoring threat. After failing to capitalize on Frank Vatrano’s 37-goal season via the trade market last year, the Ducks could move him to the Blue Jackets in a one-for-one swap. There’s plenty of indication that Vatrano will regress to the mean this year and Laine would give them one more year of control.
Other organizations could use Laine and theoretically fit him into the lineup (especially if Columbus retains his salary) but the clock is beginning to run out on a possible deal. The Blue Jackets have about a month and a half before training camp starts to move Laine to an interested party. Do you think it will be one of these teams or another one entirely?
Carter Yakemchuk Signs Entry-Level Deal With Senators
The Senators have signed top 2024 draft choice Carter Yakemchuk to his three-year entry-level contract, the team announced today. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Yakemchuk, 18, was the second defenseman taken in the class, going to Ottawa at No. 7 after the Blackhawks selected Artyom Levshunov second overall. Given his early birthday (Sep. 29), Yakemchuk has already accumulated three seasons of junior hockey with the Western Hockey League’s Calgary Hitmen. Last season, he was named to the WHL’s Central Division First All-Star Team and led all defensemen in goals with 30. He added 41 assists for 71 points in 66 games, adding a whopping 120 PIMs and a -6 rating.
Seventh overall was a tad earlier than most expected the 6’3″, 203-lb right-shot defender to go. He checked in at No. 13 in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s season-end polling of NHL scouts and was the sixth defenseman in his composite rankings. He went ahead of Zeev Buium (Wild, No. 12), Sam Dickinson (Sharks, No. 11), Zayne Parekh (Flames, No. 9), and Anton Silayev (Devils, No. 10), all of whom were consensus top-10 picks heading into draft day.
Yakemchuk will be a name to watch in training camp, but it’s likely that the Sens return him to the Hitmen for his final season of junior hockey. Doing so would slide the beginning of his ELC to 2025-26. Since he’s a 2005-born player, Yakemchuk will be eligible for a full-time AHL assignment the season after, whereas most Canadian Hockey League players have to return to their junior team for two seasons following their draft-eligible campaign. Regardless, he’ll be an RFA upon expiry.
West Notes: Desharnais, Rossi, Rehkopf
The Canucks may slot in UFA signing Vincent Desharnais on their top defense pairing alongside Quinn Hughes in spot duty next season, opines Thomas Drance of The Athletic.
Doing so would allow Filip Hronek, who spent all of last season stapled to Hughes and is fresh off signing an eight-year, $58MM deal, to drive his own pairing against easier competition. That’s something head coach Rick Tocchet said he’d consider doing, telling Drance that Hronek can “tend to defer too much” at times when playing with Hughes and that he’d “like to see him be more forceful with his decisions.”
It would be a big jump for Desharnais, though. The 28-year-old only established himself as a full-time NHLer last year with the Oilers. He was a bottom-pairing presence for Edmonton, averaging 15:44 per game through 78 contests. He did post 11 points and a +3 rating with average possession metrics, but playing alongside Hughes with any consistency would be a tough task for a player who’s seen most of his professional career unfold in the AHL to date. Desharnais inked a two-year, $4MM contract with Vancouver when free agency opened on July 1.
There’s more out of the Western Conference:
- Austria will be without perhaps its best player in this summer’s qualifying tournament for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Wild forward Marco Rossi is skipping the event to begin training in Minnesota later this month, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic. Rossi, 22, is coming off a career-high 21 goals and 40 points last season while playing in all 82 games and could open the season as the Wild’s first-line center alongside Kirill Kaprizov. The 2020 ninth-overall pick had one assist in three games during the 2022 qualifiers with Austria failing to earn one of the three available spots. This year, they’ll be competing for one of the open spots in a round-robin tournament with Hungary, Kazakhstan and Slovakia.
- Kraken prospect Carson Rehkopf has been traded in the Ontario Hockey League, heading from the Kitchener Rangers to the Brampton Steelheads, sources tell Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News. Rehkopf, 19, has spent the last three seasons in Kitchener, where the 6’2″ forward led the team in scoring last season with 95 points (52 goals, 43 assists) in 60 games. The 2023 second-round pick will be returned to Brampton out of training camp this fall, but a strong post-draft season puts him in line to compete for a roster spot in Seattle in next year’s training camp.