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Snapshots: Stingrays, Beaudin, Koivu

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The Washington Capitals and South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL have renewed their affiliation, signing a three-year extension that will keep them together moving forward. The Stingrays were first affiliated with the Capitals between 2004-2012, and were reunited in 2014. The two teams, along with the Hershey Bears of the AHL, have experienced plenty of success as one of the strongest three-tiered development system in professional hockey.

Perhaps the best-known success story is Braden Holtby, who spent time with the Stingrays in 2009-10 before eventually moving up the depth chart. The ECHL is routinely used to give raw goalie prospects a chance to hone their talents in game situations and will continue to be a valuable development path for the Capitals.

  • With the shortened season the league had to institute a pro-rating system for things like the entry-level slide rule in the new CBA. Previously, players had to eclipse ten games for their entry-level contract to kick in. That changed slightly with the new rules, but according to CapFriendly the new formula will only actually affect one player—Nicolas Beaudin. The Chicago Blackhawks prospect could see his first year burned if he is to play in eight more games, even though he only played one in the regular season. There are still many players who could see their first year kick in should they play enough games in the playoffs, but those thresholds remain at 10 games. CapFriendly has the entire list right here.
  • Mikko Koivu is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, but he hasn’t made a decision yet on whether he’ll continue to play. The 37-year old Minnesota Wild captain told Michael Russo of The Athletic that he would make that decision after his season is over. After several major injuries and the slow march of time Koivu isn’t the same two-way monster he was for so many years, but he did still contribute 21 points in 55 games for the Wild this season. He’ll get a chance to strengthen his legacy with a playoff run, but the Wild will have to dispatch the Vancouver Canucks in their qualification round first.

Snapshots: Suter, McLeod, Senators Logo

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Switzerland’s leading scorer is headed to the NHL, but to which team exactly is still a mystery. Pius Suter has opted into his exit clause for the 2020-21 season with the expectation of signing in the NHL, the ZSC Lions of the Swiss NLA have announced. Head coach Rickard Gronberg also thanked and congratulated the young star on his move to North America. A former OHL prospect who has played at home in Switzerland for the past five years, Suter had shown flashes of scoring ability before but truly broke out this season with a league-leading 30 goals and 53 points in 50 games. The NLA has slowly been climbing the ranks of the top leagues in Europe and several players who have graduated from Switzerland in recent years have found instant success in the NHL. Suter, 24, dominated the Swiss ranks this season and has shown an innate ability to create offense. This sounds very similar to Chicago rookie Dominik Kubalik, who had nearly identical stats to Suter in the NLA in 2018-19 and went on to record 30 goals and 46 points in 68 games in an incredible debut season this year. Kubalik’s success continues a trend of Europeans finding a good fit with the Blackhawks, which could be why The Athletic’s Scott Powers reports that the club is considered a front-runner for Suter’s services. With little cap space and a relatively thin forward corps, a productive player on an entry-level deal would be an excellent addition for Chicago and Suter would also like the opportunity that the Blackhawks could offer. Suter is expected to make his decision in the coming days – and other teams are in the mix – but don’t be surprised if it’s Chicago who lands the exciting Swiss scorer.

  • Veteran grinder Cody McLeod is coming back for another year of pro hockey. The fan favorite agitator earned a one-way NHL contract for a decade before this season and instead settled for a one-year deal with the AHL’s Iowa Wild. To no surprise, McLeod was a hit in Iowa and a good leader for the young prospects as well and has earned an extension. The junior Wild announced that that they have signed McLeod to another one-year deal for 2020-21. McLeod only played in 21 games for Iowa, recording seven points (and 41 penalty minutes), but as long as McLeod remains a positive locker room influence and a menacing presence on the ice, he can play as long as he likes.
  • The Ottawa Senators are rewinding back to 2007. The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian reports that the franchise is returning to the two-dimensional logo that they debuted in 1997 – or at least one that looks very similar – next season. The 2D look was retired after a decade and replaced with the three-dimensional logo that the team donned this season. However, Salvian writes that the club has decided that they favor the more retro look. The two-dimensional logo does better represent the Roman style of their centurion logo in a way that the three-dimensional logo never could, and Ottawa fans are already excited about the return of the old logo. Salvian also writes that the new logo will be accompanied by redesigned jerseys, including a brand new third jersey. The Senators hope that these changes will drive merchandise sales and, more importantly, pair with a promising young roster, two top-five draft picks, and a long hiatus from hockey in the city to create an atmosphere of excitement in Ottawa ahead of the 2020-21 season and help to cure the league’s worst attendance numbers.

Kirill Kaprizov Signs With Minnesota Wild

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Tuesday: Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Kaprizov’s deal will include a European Assignment Clause for next season. He explains that if the Wild for whatever reason decide to try and assign the young forward to their AHL team, he can instead go overseas. Russo also writes (subscription required) that the team could loan Kaprizov to an overseas team for some games before the 2020-21 season begins in December.

Monday: The wait is over. Kirill Kaprizov has finally signed his entry-level contract with the Minnesota Wild. The two-year deal will start for the 2019-20 season, meaning Kaprisov will burn the first season without actually playing. He is not eligible to suit up for the playoffs, though he can practice with the team during this short training camp. Wild GM Bill Guerin released a statement on the move:

We are thrilled to officially sign and welcome Kirill to our organization. He has exceeded all expectations in his development since he was drafted in 2015. Kirill is a smart and dynamic forward that has led the KHL in goals each of the past two seasons and we look forward to having him on our roster when next season starts.

It’s hard to overstate just how much hype has been built around Kaprizov’s arrival. The 23-year old forward has been widely regarded as the best player not currently in the NHL, given his dominance of the KHL to this point. While Guerin mentions his goal-scoring ability over the past two seasons, it’s been more than just putting the puck in the net for Kaprizov. Over his last four seasons, the 5’10” winger has 195 points in 209 regular season games, has won a Gagarin Cup, Olympic gold, World Junior bronze, World Championship bronze, and was named to the KHL All-Star game four times.

In Minnesota—where he will wear #97—Kaprizov is expected to step directly into a top-six role and produce high offensive numbers. While that is a big task for anyone changing leagues and continents, scouts everywhere have agreed that the young forward could be a game-changing presence right away.

The question now becomes how long the Wild will be able to keep him. Burning the first season of a two-year entry-level deal means that Kaprisov will be a restricted free agent next summer. Being 23 already means he is also a lot closer to unrestricted free agency than most new players and could force the Wild to make a big long-term extension offer for his second contract. That puts a lot of pressure on him during the 2020-21 season to perform, especially since he’ll have a long wait before playing in any meaningful games. Next season isn’t expected to start until December at the earliest.

Minnesota Wild Name Dean Evason Full-Time Head Coach

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Lose the interim tag, Dean. The Minnesota Wild have announced that Dean Evason will no longer be known as the interim head coach after taking on the full-time role and signing a two-year extension with the club. That contract keeps him in the organization through the 2021-22 season. Wild GM Bill Guerin released the following statement:

I am very excited to announce that Dean Evason is our full-time head coach. Dean has done a fantastic job as our interim head coach and deserves this opportunity. I look forward to watching our team under his leadership going forward.

There were quiet signs that Evason had impressed Guerin recently, including his obvious connection with young star Kevin Fiala from their days in the minor leagues. Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) detailed how that connection has worked out well for the team, as Fiala grew into an all-situations presence and scored a career-high 54 points in just 64 games this season.

Evason, a veteran of over 800 NHL games as a player, was the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals for six seasons before joining the Wild as an assistant in 2018. This will be his first real opportunity leading an NHL bench and he’ll get a chance to make quite an impact when the team takes on the Vancouver Canucks in a qualification round.

Snapshots: Anderson, Kaprizov, Pelech, Cizikas, Petan

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have 33 players on their training camp roster, which will force them to cut two players. However, one roster spot may already be claimed by a player not even on the training camp roster in Josh Anderson. The forward has been out with a left shoulder injury since December and had surgery on March 2. While he was deemed to be out for the season in March, that could change if Columbus can make a playoff run, according to The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline (subscription required).

Anderson was given a four to six-month recovery period after his surgery. It’s already been four months and six months should hit in early September, so there is a chance the 26-year-old could be fully healthy any time before then. The team could use the winger’s grit. He scored 27 goals and recorded 214 hits in 2018-19, but struggled before his injury posting just one goal in 26 games along with 68 hits. Regardless, he could be a valuable addition to a team hoping to pull off more upsets like it did a year ago.

  • The Minnesota Wild are expected to burn the first year of Russian prospect Kirill Kaprizov’s entry-level contract, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. Teams have a 53-hour window, starting tomorrow, to sign their prospects to a 2019-20 deal, which would burn that first year. Russo writes that general manager Bill Guerin indicated the team is willing to agree to that if they can get the 23-year-old to sign on the dotted line. Kaprizov, considered to be one of the top players playing outside the NHL, would not be allowed to play in this year’s playoffs. However, Guerin said that he would want to bring him over and get him acclimated and he would be allowed to practice with the team during Phases 3 & 4.. Kaprizov scored 33 goals in 57 games with CSKA Moscow of the KHL this year. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple followed Russo’s report up with the same sentiments for New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin.
  • The New York Islanders and head coach Barry Trotz are expecting to get back two injured players for the 24-team tournament. NHL.com’s Sasha Kandrach writes that defenseman Adam Pelech and center Casey Cizikas are both expected to be healthy for training camp. “I don’t get to see them a whole lot if at all,” Trotz said. “But I did get a peek or two of them when heading to our meeting site — they seem like they’re in really good shape. With Adam’s injury and the length of time, he might be in the best shape. He’s had to rehab right through the summer and had to be on the ice. Same with Casey in getting back.” Pelech has been recovering from surgery to his Achilles Tendon since Jan. 2, while Cizikas has been out since Feb. 12 after suffering a leg laceration. Pelech averaged heavy minutes on New York’s blueline with 21:01 of ATOI, while Cizikas has been the center for their fourth-line checking line.
  • Not long after the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t include forward Nic Petan on its training camp roster, general manager Kyle Dubas announced that Petan is now fit to play and is expected to be placed on the roster with forward Mac Hollowell being removed, according to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger. Petan was left off the intitial roster that the Maple Leafs released and should be a solid depth option for Toronto after the 25-year-old appeared in 16 games for the Maple Leafs.

Several NHL Teams Release Training Camp Rosters

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With training camps expected to open tomorrow for the upcoming 24-team tournament, teams have been given until Monday at 6 p.m. CT to get their rosters handed into the league. Several teams have released their lists early. The rosters will be updated throughout the day as other teams post their selections. Training camp rosters are limited to 30 players plus an unlimited number of goalies.

Arizona Coyotes (via team tweet):
Forwards: Brayden Burke, Michael Chaput, Lawson Crouse, Christian Dvorak, Hudson Fasching, Christian Fischer, Conor Garland, Michael Grabner, Taylor Hall, Barrett Hayton, Vinnie Hinostroza, Clayton Keller, Phil Kessel, Brad Richardson, Nick Schmaltz, Carl Soderberg, Derek Stepan.
Defensemen: Kyle Capobianco, Jakob Chychrun, Jason Demers, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Jordan Gross, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Ilya Lyubushkin, Aaron Ness, Jordan Oesterle, Victor Soderstrom.
Goalies: Adin Hill, Darcy Kuemper, Ivan Prosvetov, Antti Raanta.

Boston Bruins (via team tweet):
Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Anders Bjork, Anton Blidh, Paul Carey, Charlie Coyle, Jake Debrusk, Trent Frederic, Ondrej Kase, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, Karson Kuhlman, Par Lindholm, Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom, David Pastrnak, Nick Ritchie, Zachary Senyshyn, Jack Studnicka, Chris Wagner.
Defensemen: Brandon Carlo, Zdeno Chara, Connor Clifton, Matt Grzelcyk, Torey Krug, Jeremy Lauzon, Charlie McAvoy, John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril.
Goalies: Jaroslav Halak, Maxime Lagace, Tuukka Rask, Dan Vladar.

Calgary Flames (via team release):
Forwards: Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett, Austin Czarnik, Dillon Dube, Byron Froese, Johnny Gaudreau, Glenn Gawdin, Mark Jankowski, Elias Lindholm, Milan Lucic, Andrew Mangiapane, Sean Monahan, Matthew Phillips, Alan Quine, Tobias Rieder, Zac Rinaldo, Buddy Robinson, Adam Ruzicka, Derek Ryan, Matthew Tkachuk.
Defensemen: Rasmus Andersson, T.J. Brodie, Derek Forbort, Mark Giordano, Erik Gustafsson, Noah Hanifin, Oliver Kylington, Connor Mackey, Michael Stone, Juuso Valimaki, Alexander Yelesin.
Goalies: Jon Gillies, David Rittich, Cam Talbot, Artyom Zagidulin.

Carolina Hurricanes (via team tweet):
Forwards: Sebastian Aho, Ryan Dzingel, Warren Foegele, Morgan Geekie, Steven Lorentz, Jordan Martinook, Max McCormick, Brock McGinn, Martin Necas, Nino Niederreiter, Jordan Staal, Ryan Suzuki, Andrei Svechnikov, Teuvo Teravainen, Vincent Trocheck, Justin Williams.
Defensemen: Jake Bean, Joel Edmundson, Haydn Fleury, Jake Gardiner, Dougie Hamilton, Brady Skjei, Jaccob Slavin, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Sami Vatanen.
Goalies: Anton Forsberg, Petr Mrazek, Alex Nedeljkovic, James Reimer.
Injured: Brett Pesce.

Columbus Blue Jackets (via team release):
Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Emil Bemstrom, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nick Foligno, Liam Foudy, Nathan Gerbe, Boone Jenner, Ryan MacInnis, Stefan Matteau, Riley Nash, Gustav Nyquist, Eric Robinson, Kole Sherwood, Devin Shore, Kevin Stenlund, Alexandre Texier, Alexander Wennberg.
Defensemen: Gabriel Carlsson, Adam Clendening, Vladislav Gavrikov, Scott Harrington, Seth Jones, Dean Kukan, Ryan Murray, Markus Nutivaara, Andrew Peeke, David Savard, Zach Werenski.
Goalies: Matiss Kivlenieks, Joonas Korpisalo, Elvis Merzlikins, Veini Vehvilainen.

Dallas Stars (via team release):
Forwards: Jamie Benn, Nicholas Caamano, Andrew Cogliano, Blake Comeau, Ty Dellandrea, Jason Dickinson, Justin Dowling, Radek Faksa, Rhett Gardner, Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz, Mattias Janmark, Joel Kiviranta, Joel L’Esperance, Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry, Alexander Radulov, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin.
Defensemen: Gavin Bayreuther, Taylor Fedun, Joel Hanley, Thomas Harley, Dillon Heatherington, Miro Heiskanen, Stephen Johns, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell, Jamie Oleksiak, Andrej Sekera.
Goalies: Ben Bishop, Landon Bow, Anton Khudobin, Jake Oettinger, Colton Point.

Edmonton Oilers (via team release):
Forwards: Josh Archibald, Andreas Athanasiou, Tyler Benson, Alex Chiasson, Leon Draisaitl, Gaetan Haas, Tyler Ennis, Zack Kassian, Jujhar Khaira, Cooper Marody, Connor McDavid, Ryan McLeod, James Neal, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Joakim Nygard, Patrick Russell, Riley Sheahan, Kailer Yamamoto.
Defensemen: Ethan Bear, Matt Benning, Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg, Caleb Jones, Oscar Klefbom, William Lagesson, Adam Larsson, Darnell Nurse, Kris Russell.
Goalies: Mikko Koskinen, Olivier Rodrigue, Stuart Skinner, Mike Smith, Dylan Wells.

Minnesota Wild (via team release):
Forwards: Sam Anas, J.T. Brown, Ryan Donato, Joel Eriksson Ek, Kevin Fiala, Marcus Foligno, Alex Galchenyuk, Jordan Greenway, Ryan Hartman, Luke Johnson, Mikko Koivu, Luke Kunin, Gerald Mayhew, Zach Parise, Victor Rask, Kyle Rau, Eric Staal, Nico Sturm, Mats Zuccarello.
Defensemen: Calen Addison, Matt Bartkowski, Louis Belpedio, Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, Brad Hunt, Brennan Menell, Carson Soucy, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter.
Goalies: Devan Dubnyk, Kaapo Kahkonen, Mat Robson, Alex Stalock. Injured: Greg Pateryn.

Pittsburgh Penguins (via team release):
Forwards: Anthony Angello, Zach Aston-Reese, Teddy Blueger, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist, Adam Johnson, Sam Lafferty, Evgeni Malkin, Patrick Marleau, Jared McCann, Sam Miletic, Samuel Poulin, Evan Rodrigues, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary, Brandon Tanev, Phil Varone, Jason Zucker.
Defensemen: Kevin Czuczman, Brian Dumoulin, Jack Johnson, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Kris Letang, John Marino, Marcus Pettersson, Juuso Riikola, Chad Ruhwedel, Justin Schultz.
Goalies: Casey DeSmith, Alex D’Orio, Tristan Jarry, Emil Larmi, Matt Murray.

Tampa Bay Lightning (via team release):
Forwards: Alex Barre-Boulet, Anthony Cirelli, Blake Coleman, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Pat Maroon, Ondrej Palat, Cedric Paquette, Brayden Point, Steven Stamkos, Mitchell Stephens, Carter Verhaeghe, Alexander Volkov, Mathieu Joseph, Gemel Smith, Luke Witkowski.
Defensemen: Zach Bogosian, Erik Cernak, Braydon Coburn, Cal Foote, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Jan Rutta, Luke Schenn, Mikhail Sergachev, Kevin Shattenkirk.
Goalies: Spencer Martin, Curtis McElhinney, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Scott Wedgewood.

Toronto Maple Leafs (via team tweet):
Forwards: Kenny Agostino, Adam Brooks, Kyle Clifford, Pierre Engvall, Tyler Gaudet, Frederik Gauthier, Zach Hyman, Kasperi Kapanen, Alexander Kerfoot, Egor Korshkov, Denis Malgin, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Ilya Mikheyev, William Nylander, Nic Petan, Nicholas Robertson, Jason Spezza, John Tavares.
Defensemen: Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci, Travis Dermott, Justin Holl, Teemu Kivihalme, Timothy Liljegren, Martin Marincin, Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly, Calle Rosen, Rasmus Sandin.
Goalies: Frederik Andersen, Jack Campbell, Kasimir Kaskisuo, Joseph Woll.

Vancouver Canucks (via team release):
Forwards: Justin Bailey, Jay Beagle, Brock Boeser, Loui Eriksson, Micheal Ferland, Adam Gaudette, Tyler Graovac, Bo Horvat, Kole Lind, Zack MacEwen, J.T. Miller, Tyler Motte, Tanner Pearson, Elias Pettersson, Antoine Roussel, Brandon Sutter, Tyler Toffoli, Jake Virtanen.
Defensemen: Jordie Benn, Guillaume Brisebois, Jalen Chatfield, Alexander Edler, Oscar Fantenberg, Quinn Hughes, Olli Juolevi, Tyler Myers, Brogan Rafferty, Ashton Sautner, Troy Stecher, Chris Tanev.
Goalies: Thatcher Demko, Micheal DiPietro; Louis Domingue, Jacob Markstrom.

Vegas Golden Knights (via team release):
Forwards: Patrick Brown, William Carrier, Nick Cousins, Reid Duke, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar, Peyton Krebs, Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Nosek, Gage Quinney, Max Pacioretty, Ryan Reaves, Nicolas Roy, Reilly Smith, Paul Stastny, Chandler Stephenson, Mark Stone, Alex Tuch.
Defensemen: Jake Bischoff, Dylan Coghlan, Deryk Engelland, Nicolas Hague, Nick Holden, Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Jonathon Merrill, Nate Schmidt, Jimmy Schuldt, Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud.
Goalies: Oscar Dansk, Marc-Andre Fleury, Robin Lehner.

 

Greg Pateryn Out Indefinitely With An Upper-Body Injury

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  • Wild defenseman Greg Pateryn will not be at their training camp as the team announced (Twitter link) that he is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. It has been a tough year for the veteran on the injury front as a core muscle injury cost him 43 games earlier in the season.  As a result, he has suited up just 20 times in 2019-20 and barring a quick recovery or a long playoff run, that might be it for him.

Snapshots: Ratification, Murray, Evason

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The NHL’s Board of Governors has a conference call scheduled for this evening to vote on the proposed CBA extension and return to play agreement. That vote is expected to go smoothly according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, who points out that it is “virtually unheard of” for the governors to go against something put forward by commissioner Gary Bettman. The NHLPA however, which also needs to ratify the agreement for it to come into effect, has been voting since Wednesday evening and will complete the process tonight.

Though there is plenty of positivity around the player vote, McKenzie does point out that this is likely an all-or-nothing situation when it comes to the 2019-20 season. The veteran scribe does not see a way the two sides could immediately go back to the negotiating table or find a way to finish the 2019-20 season if the players were to reject this package. A rejected proposal would also have far-reaching effects on the league, with some sources even indicating to him a substantial drop in the salary cap ceiling for next season without the CBA extension. McKenzie also mentions the dreaded “lockout” term in his explanation of the importance of this vote, something no hockey fan wants to hear at this point. News of the ratification could come as early as tonight.

  • Michael Russo of The Athletic has a few notes about the Minnesota Wild’s front office and coaching structure, including a suggestion that Mike Murray could be joining the organization soon. While Murray has only said he left the AHL to “accept a position with an NHL club” in October, Russo tweets that fans shouldn’t be surprised if that’s Minnesota given his familiarity with Wild GM Bill Guerin. Murray served as the AHL’s vice president of hockey operations.
  • While Murray’s connection seems speculative at this point, Russo goes into far more depth on interim head coach Dean Evason and his future with the organization. In his latest piece for The Athletic, Russo lists Gerard Gallant, Peter Laviolette, Tim Army, Scott Sandelin, Mike Hastings, and Tony Granato as other potential candidates, but notes that Evanson has “elevated himself” into consideration. The Wild are scheduled to face the Vancouver Canucks in their qualifying round, giving Evason even more opportunity to show what he can do behind the bench.

Notes On The CBA

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Changes made to the newly-extended CBA are trickling in by the day as we await the results of the player vote. The latest update is a change to the performance overage policy. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, those teams who incur a Performance Bonus overage will be able to distribute the penalty evenly across each of the next two seasons. It’s a small consolation for a frozen salary cap line, but it’s a helpful option nonetheless that will enable teams to make a more cohesive plan to get through the next couple of seasons with a salary cap of $81.5MM. More from the CBA…

  • There were a couple of tweaks to arbitration rules, notes The Athletic’s Craig Custance. For starters, once an arbitration hearing begins, a settlement will no longer be allowed. This might push teams and players even harder to reach accords before settling in arbitration. Once there, the play-in rounds for this year’s 24-team playoff will technically count as playoff stats, not part of the regular season. This makes sense since not all teams are taking part.
  • As things currently stand, those unsigned players looking to make the leap to North America – Alexander Romanov, Ilya Sorokin, Kirill Kaprizov, and others – aren’t eligible to participate in 2019-2020 season. They are able to sign, however, and burn one year of their ELC, something the Wild are willing to consider with Kaprizov just to get him playing with his North American teammates, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The key is this: It’s still possible these players would be allowed to participate in Phase 3 training camp, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The Wild, for instance, would burn a year of Kaprizov’s ELC to get him comfortable with his new teammates, but it’s hard to see the value otherwise.

Minor Transactions: 07/09/20

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The NHL off-season may not be starting until October this year, but AHL free agency is alive and well. While the league has not yet shared their plans for the 2020-21 season, that hasn’t stopped teams from extending players, signing new ones, and even importing players from overseas. Here are some recent notable minor league deals:

  • Defenseman Keaton Middleton has signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Eagles, the team announced, but the Avalanche and GM Joe Sakic definitely had a hand in this signing. A former captain of the Saginaw Spirit and OHL All-Star, Middleton has the makings of a future NHLer. At 6’5” and 234 lbs., Middleton is a true shutdown defenseman who plays a strong defensive game. His size and strength earned him a fourth-round selection by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016, but the club opted not to sign him. However, his past two seasons with the San Jose Barracuda has shown that he has pro chops. Middleton was a +18 and added 26 points in 102 AHL games. The 22-year-old now moves to Colorado where he can continue to refine his two-way game in hopes of landing an NHL contract next summer.
  • Nathanael Halbert is getting another go with the Laval Rocket. The former QMJHL defenseman who spent the past four years at McGill University played in five games at the end of the season with Laval and apparently did enough to impress the club into extending him for one year, according to a team release. The 24-year-old has never been known for his regular season production, but his playoff numbers at the college and junior level show that he has that valuable clutch gene. A native of Nottingham, England, Halbert hopes to be an unlikely hero for Laval this season and possibly beyond.
  • Making his way back to North America is journeyman forward Jesse Mychan. The 28-year-old winger has signed a one-year deal with the Iowa Wild, as reported by his agency. Mychan is no stranger to the AHL, having suited up for ten games over three separate stints and nearly 200 more games in the ECHL. However, he has spent time in Wales, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and most recently Denmark over the past few years. An experienced pro who has found great success in the ECHL in the past and starred for Denmark’s Esbjerg Energy for the past two year, Mychan hopes he is finally ready for an extended AHL stay in 2020-21.

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