- KHL forward Andrei Kuzmenko’s decision on where to sign for next season has been a bit of a drawn-out process, with interviews and multiple weeks of engaging NHL suitors in negotiations. With that said, though, Kuzmenko’s decision is one that will have major consequences for his career, so he has every right to take as long as he needs to make the decision that’s best for him. Even so, we could be nearing the end of the process. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that Kuzmenko is interviewing with both the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks this week, along with two “U.S.-based” teams. Dreger adds that Kuzmenko is “hoping” to make his decision in the next ten days. Kuzmenko was brilliant for SKA St. Petersburg this season, scoring 53 points in 45 games. Some believe that Kuzmenko will step into the NHL and become an instant top-six scoring forward, meaning Kuzmenko’s decision process has some real stakes attached.
Oilers Rumors
Edmonton Oilers Extend Brad Malone
Add another signing to the list of moves for today. The Edmonton Oilers have announced that they have re-signed forward Brad Malone to a two-year, two-way contract. Per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the deal carries a $762k cap hit.
Malone, 33, has been in the Oilers’ organization for the past five seasons and has been a reliable depth contributor there. He’s at his best at the AHL level, where he has hovered near the top of the Bakersfield Condors’ scoring leaders. Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft has seen Malone closely from his time coaching in Bakersfield, and Malone has been one of the coach’s most trusted players. When Kailer Yamamoto’s injury opened a hole in the Oilers’ lineup, the pressure of being in the Western Conference Final did not deter Woodcroft from putting Malone in the lineup. Malone played mostly on the penalty kill, and it’s the combination of reliability and leadership that he brings to the Oilers organization that’s earned him this extension.
Malone has served as the captain of the Bakersfield Condors for the past two seasons, helping prized prospects such as Dylan Holloway and Raphael Lavoie make smooth transitions to the professional game. The Oilers want Malone to be among Condors’ most important forwards as well as provide safe, competent bottom-six play as an injury fill-in at the NHL level, and they’re signing this extension with the belief that Malone can continue to be exactly that.
Snapshots: Point, Mock Draft, Kassian
As the Stanley Cup Final is set to commence in two days, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche will retake the ice today to practice ahead of their last four to seven games of the season. Of note from Tampa’s side of things is that injured star center Brayden Point continued to take part in practice today and took line rushes for the first time, centering a line between Nick Paul and Ross Colton, per The Athletic’s Joe Smith. However, assistant coach Jeff Halpern said after practice that “he didn’t know if you could read too much” into Point’s status, noting that it was a light session.
Tampa will be waiting anxiously to get an answer on when Point can return. Given the uncertain health of Nazem Kadri on the other side for Colorado, Tampa Bay having their full center depth available to them would give them a much greater chance at winning their third straight Stanley Cup.
- With the 2022 NHL Draft now within a month, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler, one of the top public prospect evaluators, released his 2022 NHL Mock Draft, taking team needs, consensus, and intel into account aside from just his own rankings. Although more and more doubt remains around the status of Kingston Frontenacs center Shane Wright as the Montreal Canadiens’ no. 1 overall pick, Wheeler still has Wright listed in the first spot. Rounding out the top five is winger Juraj Slafkovsky to the New Jersey Devils, center Logan Cooley to the Arizona Coyotes, defenseman Simon Nemec going first off the board among d-men to the Seattle Kraken, and defenseman David Jiricek headed to the Philadelphia Flyers.
- The first buyout window of the offseason opens July 1, and Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli has Edmonton Oilers winger Zack Kassian at the top of his list of 10 buyout candidates for this summer. Kassian, who carries a cap hit of $3.2MM through 2024, mustered just 19 points in 58 games this season and averaged under nine minutes per game in the playoffs. With the 31-year-old forward only set to continue declining, Edmonton could take the buyout penalty to free up more space to improve their depth scoring. The buyout for Kassian is relatively benign, per CapFriendly, with a cap hit of $666,667 in 2022-23, $1,866,667 in 2023-24, and $966,667 in 2024-25 and 2025-26. It offers $2.5MM in savings upfront in 2022-23, an appealing number for general manager Ken Holland.
Mikko Koskinen Heading Overseas For 2022-23
June 13: With the Edmonton Oilers now out of the playoffs and their season over, it’s now confirmed that Koskinen will be heading to Switzerland next season. HC Lugano has signed the veteran netminder to a two-year contract, keeping him in Switzerland until age 35. Koskinen joins a Lugano team with Carolina reserve list defenseman Oliwer Kaski, former NHLers Mirco Mueller, Mark Arcobello and Daniel Carr, as well as Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Calvin Thurkauf.
May 20: Despite currently serving as the backup for the Edmonton Oilers and even seeing game action in Game 1 of the Second Round, there appears to already be some clarity on goalie Mikko Koskinen’s future for next season. Former NHL head coach Bob Hartley spoke today, saying that Koskinen has already accepted an offer to play for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League next season.
If true, it will likely mark the end of Koskinen’s second and final stint in North America. The Finnish netminder, drafted 31st overall by the New York Islanders in 2009, had one stint in North America from 2009-2012 in the Islanders organization, playing in four NHL games. He returned to the NHL as a free agent with Edmonton in 2018, serving as a solid tandem netminder for them for the past four seasons. As uncertainty mounts in the Oilers crease moving forward, though, it looks like Koskinen has opted to take himself out of the picture for their second goalie next season.
40-year-old Mike Smith is (somehow) still under contract with the team for next season, and they do have a solid internal option in Stuart Skinner as the backup. However, with such a gigantic question mark with Smith as a 41-year-old starter, Edmonton will surely attempt to make a significant acquisition in free agency to shore up the crease.
Oilers Notes: Brassard, Kulak, Samorukov
Oilers center Derick Brassard has bounced around a lot in recent years, suiting up for seven different teams over the last four seasons. There has been a desire to add him but it hasn’t resulted in much stability or in his case with Edmonton, playing time; the 34-year-old was a healthy scratch in 15 of their playoff games this spring. Accordingly, Postmedia’s Jim Matheson reports that Brassard is considering retirement. He has been limited with hip trouble in recent years, missing time with injuries on four separate occasions this season alone although he still managed a respectable 19 points in 46 games. If it is indeed the end of the line for Brassard, he’ll hang up his skates with 522 points in 951 games over a 15-year NHL career, a solid run for the sixth-overall pick in 2006.
Elsewhere in Edmonton:
- GM Ken Holland is expected to meet with Brett Kulak’s agent Gerry Johansson this week to discuss a new contract, notes Postmedia’s Kurt Leavins. The 28-year-old Edmonton native was acquired from Montreal at the trade deadline in exchange for blueliner William Lagesson, the 62nd pick in next month’s draft, and a 2024 seventh-rounder. Kulak did a good job on their back end down the stretch, logging a little over 17 minutes a night down the stretch and in the playoffs and he would give them some extra depth for next season. However, with limited cap space, Edmonton would be hard-pressed to offer the $1.85MM AAV on his set-to-expire deal let alone a raise so it would be surprising to see a new agreement reached quickly.
- With defenseman Dmitri Samorukov being waiver-eligible next season, Allan Mitchell of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that the blueliner could be a trade candidate in the coming weeks. The 22-year-old played just once this season, logging only 2:28 of ice time while being on the ice for two goals allowed. However, he had a solid campaign with AHL Bakersfield, picking up 18 points in 51 games which helped earn him a one-year, one-way extension worth $775K next month. That could make him a seventh defender option for the Oilers next season or on another cap-strapped team around the league.
Latest On Duncan Keith, Mike Smith
We previously covered how Mike Smith told the media that he was undecided on playing next season, and we also don’t have full confirmation on whether defenseman Duncan Keith will return next season. What we do now know, though, is that the Edmonton Oilers front office would prefer to have both players’ decisions on their respective futures confirmed by July 1st. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Oilers “have asked Mike Smith and Duncan Keith to let them know by around July 1st if they do plan on returning next year.”
It’s understandable that the Oilers would want confirmation on the two players’ futures before the offseason market begins in earnest. With Smith, if the team has uncertainty over whether he will be available next season, the Oilers’ entire goaltending situation becomes uncertain, and the team’s ability to pursue other starting goaltenders could be compromised. Additionally, as teams potentially scramble to make trades similar to the recent Ben Bishop deal in order to get out of LTIR, a potential Smith retirement via LTIR could complicate the Oilers’ search for additional cap room. With Keith, the team would prefer certainty about his overall future due to the immense cap implications of whatever decision he chooses to make. Per Puckpedia, if Keith retires this summer, not only is Keith’s full $5.5MM cap hit taken off their books but the Oilers are also actually given a $3.4MM cap recapture credit to facilitate even more moves. That sort of major cap space clearance could be exactly what the Oilers need to re-sign Evander Kane, for example. So the potential ramifications of his choice are huge.
Any way you look at it, without certainty on the futures of those two players, the Oilers would be entering a crucial offseason with one hand tied behind their back. With Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, and other core pieces locked up and in the primes of their careers, using this offseason to build off of the momentum of this year’s playoff run is essential if the Oilers want to go even further next year. So while being pushed for a decision on a particular time frame might not be ideal for Smith and Keith as they weigh important, life-altering decisions, the Oilers will need certainty on those two players’ futures in order to conduct their offseason at maximum efficiency.
Ilya Konovalov Clears Unconditional Waivers
June 9: Konovalov has cleared waivers according to CapFriendly and has had his contract terminated. He is now an unrestricted free agent.
June 8: The Edmonton Oilers still need to figure out their goaltending for next season but you can rule out at least one player. Ilya Konovalov has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. He had one year left on his entry-level contract.
Mark Spector of Sportsnet tweets that Konovalov is headed back to the KHL.
Originally selected 85th overall in 2019, it’s sort of a surprising move for the young netminder after just one season in North America. A contract termination will make him an unrestricted free agent, whereas had the Oilers not signed him, they would have held his draft rights indefinitely.
At just 23 years old, there’s still lots of upside for Konovalov, despite his struggles with the Bakersfield Condors this season. He posted an .893 save percentage in 17 appearances, winning just five times.
Even if he is heading back to Russia, this may not be the end of Konovalov’s story when it comes to North America. He is still young enough to continue his development overseas before attracting some attention down the road.
More On Edmonton Oilers Offseason Plans
After the conclusion of the Edmonton Oilers’ season on Monday at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the organization held the standard media availability and wind down, custom of teams at the conclusion of their season, where new details emerge about the current state of the organization. Today was no different, with news coming out that none of Edmonton’s injured players need surgery, and that Ken Holland will address his goaltending, but didn’t seem too enthusiastic about forward Jesse Puljujarvi’s expiring contract and arbitration eligibility. Intriguing as those storylines are, there is plenty more as it comes to the Oilers’ offseason to-do list, including the head coach position, forward Evander Kane, and free agent forward Andrei Kuzmenko.
Oilers GM Ken Holland said in his availability that he would love to have head coach Jay Woodcroft back for next season, though he still has to talk to the coach and about their respective plans (link). It’s no surprise that Edmonton would want their coach to return after the impressive stretch he lead the team on after replacing former head coach Dave Tippett in mid-February. At the time of the change, Edmonton was five points out of a playoff spot, but with Woodcroft, the team went 26-9-3, finishing second in the Pacific Division, and of course leading them to the Western Conference Finals. With the availability of a myriad of head coach options, including elite names like Barry Trotz and Bruce Cassidy, it could be tempting for Edmonton to try to upgrade at the position, but after Woodcroft’s success with a group that seemed destined to free-fall down the NHL standings, it would be hard not to try to replicate that success over a full season.
Holland also put forth the same sentiment towards Kane as he had for Woodcroft, saying he would love to have him back next season, but of course he would still need to work that out. Interestingly, the GM added that while Kane played for a $2MM cap hit this year, he doesn’t expect Kane to play for that same number again next year. Given Kane’s excellent performance for the Oilers after signing with them in January, his sensational playoff run, and his apparent chemistry with Edmonton’s stars, it’s clear why Holland would want to re-sign him, but also clear why he does not believe it will be for the same $2MM cap hit. In 43 regular season games, Kane had 22 goals and 17 assists, and followed it up with 13 goals and four assists in 15 playoff games.
Moving from one talented winger the Oilers would like to have to another, The Athletic’s Rick Dhaliwal tweets that free agent forward Andrei Kuzmenko arrived in Los Angeles today and will begin meeting with teams on his short list. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector adds that Edmonton is among the teams on Kuzmenko’s shortlist. Recall last week, when Thomas Drance reported on Sportsnet that Kuzmenko was going to begin the process of second interviews with teams. Interestingly, considering the circumstances, Kuzmenko shares an agent with Evander Kane in that of Dan Millstein. The similarity won’t necessarily give Edmonton any edge in signing either player since the decision is the player’s, but should give Holland and Millstein a sense of comfort and familiarity if they work on both. As Spector points out, the pitch to Kuzmenko would also be very similar to the one they gave Kane when he had his pick of teams in January: come play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and build value for the next contract.
Kuzmenko, who has spent his entire professional career in the KHL, doesn’t appear to have the allure that other point-producers on this year’s free agent market seem to have, which could be due in some part to several factors, including but not limited to the political situation in Russia, the fact that the KHL plays at times generally inaccessible to most North American fans, and the up and down results from other KHL free agents who have made the jump to the NHL. These factors aside, the 26-year-old winger is not wanting for production. After a slow start to his career, Kuzmenko has slowly but steadily improved his play year after year, culminating in a dominant 2021-22 for St. Petersburg, where he scored 20 goals to go with 33 assists in 45 games, adding another seven goals and seven assists in 16 playoff games. If Edmonton can secure his services, he should factor as another strong top-six option the organization can give McDavid and Draisaitl to utilize, and should give Kuzmenko an easy opportunity to show off his skillset as well.
Oilers Notes: Nurse, Goaltending, Puljujarvi
The Edmonton Oilers were obviously dealing with several key injuries by the time they were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche, including limiting issues for Darnell Nurse and Leon Draisaitl. When speaking with the media today in his end-of-year press conference, general manager Ken Holland announced that none of the injured players are expected to need surgery at this point.
That’s huge news for a team that obviously has its sights set on contending for the Stanley Cup again next season. As we’ve seen around the league, playoff injuries can cause absences at the beginning of the following season that drastically hurt a team’s chances–or at least their seeding. Draisaitl, who Holland confirmed was dealing with a high ankle sprain, still had 32 points in 16 playoff games. Nurse was dealing with a torn hip flexor for all three rounds.
- Holland also admitted that the Oilers didn’t have a true number one goalie this season but explained just how few of those actually exist. He explained that he still needs to talk to Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen but the team is hoping that Stuart Skinner can take a step into a regular NHL role next season, even if that obviously isn’t going to be at that number one level. Koskinen is an unrestricted free agent and not expected to be back with the Oilers, while Smith still has one year left on his contract at a $2.2MM cap hit.
- One of the more interesting moments in the press conference was when the manager was pressed about Jesse Puljujarvi, who found himself in the bottom six more often than not at the end of the year and is a restricted free agent this summer. When asked if Puljujarvi was part of the solution for the Oilers moving forward, Holland simply said “that’s what I have to sort out.” The 24-year-old forward is due a $1.41MM qualifying offer and is eligible for arbitration.
Smith: "Too Early To Tell" If He'll Play Next Season
- Oilers goaltender Mike Smith met with reporters today (video link) and indicated that it’s “too early to tell” if he’s going to return next season. The 40-year-old had an up-and-down season and acknowledged that he played through injuries for most of the year but still managed to post a .915 SV% in 28 games during the regular season, a number that he came close to maintaining in the playoffs (.913). Smith is signed for next season already with a $2.2MM cap hit but he is not subject to the 35-plus rule that many veterans are. In the last CBA, a provision was put in that says the rule does not apply if the compensation in each year is uniform or if the salary increases each year. The latter applies to Smith so Edmonton wouldn’t face a cap penalty if he opted to retire.