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East Notes: Point, Penguins Front Office, Popugayev

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Jun 15: Point is officially playing in tonight’s Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, per Cooper.

Jun 14: There’s finally confirmation that Brayden Point will be back within the Tampa Bay Lightning lineup this season. Point took practice today with the team, practicing on the first power-play unit. Head coach Jon Cooper said after practice that “there’s a chance” Point will play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final tomorrow night, and that he “really anticipates” Point being available for Game 2.

Point’s return certainly begins to stack the cards more in favor of the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. Historically a point-per-game player in the playoffs, a healthy Point gives Tampa Bay two elite centers to counteract the strong Colorado Avalanche offense. With Nazem Kadri potentially still injured for Colorado, it swings the center matchup massively in Tampa’s favor.

West Notes: Woodcroft, Nill, Preseason

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A few months ago, many would have identified the Edmonton Oilers as a team with coaching uncertainty heading into the offseason after they fired Dave Tippett mid-season. However, after their run to the Western Conference Final this year, Jay Woodcroft would appear to have earned the confidence of the team and fanbase to continue in his role. TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting today that Woodcroft and the Oilers continue to have ongoing discussions about a new contract this week, although there’s still more to be done.

With the Oilers yet to be linked publicly to any other coaching free agents, it’s becoming clear that the team prefers to retain Woodcroft as their head coach. It’s important to note that Woodcroft was fully named the head coach when he took over for Tippett; he was not given the interim title. Woodcroft led the Oilers on a 26-9-3 run to end the regular season in addition to their playoff run.

  • One team that isn’t having such a smooth time with their coaching hiring process is the Dallas Stars. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that potential candidates are hesitant to commit to the Stars given the fact that general manager Jim Nill only has one year left on his deal. It’s understandable that when a coach commits long-term, they’d like to have a solid idea of the team’s vision for the future. With Nill’s future uncertain, Dallas’ new coach won’t have that guarantee.
  • The Stars will be playing in two neutral-site preseason games come September and October. On October 1, they’ll be facing off against the St. Louis Blues at Cable Dahmer Arena in Kansas City, home of the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. Before that, though, they’ll be playing the Arizona Coyotes in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on September 27, as previously announced. It marks a return to normalcy for the NHL’s regular-season preparations.

Ottawa Senators Sign Dylan Gambrell To Extension

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Forward Dylan Gambrell has agreed to a one-year extension with the Ottawa Senators, as announced today by the team. The deal carries a cap hit of $950,000 and will make him a restricted free agent again in 2023.

Ottawa acquired Gambrell from the San Jose Sharks a few weeks into the 2021-22 season in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick for some additional forward depth. San Jose’s second-round selection in 2016 didn’t exactly pan out in Ottawa either, scoring just three goals, four assists, and seven points in 63 games. Aside from the games played, those were all career lows for Gambrell in a full NHL season, of which this was his third.

Gambrell is a decent defensive specialist and could succeed alongside offensively-inclined linemates in a limited role, but he’s struggled considerably in pretty much every other area of the game at the NHL level. It’s certainly not anywhere close to the upside Gambrell had when the Sharks drafted him after his 47-point freshman season at the University of Denver.

The Washington native will stick around in Ottawa for another season, likely in a mirrored role to last season.

Columbus Blue Jackets Extend Daniil Tarasov

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A promising young goalie is under contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the next three years. The team announced a three-year extension for Daniil Tarasov today worth $3.15MM, paying him $1.05MM per season. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that the deal pays Tarasov $750,000 in 2022-23, $1.05MM in 2023-24, and $1.35MM in 2024-25.

Just 23 years old, Tarasov had a .937 save percentage and 2.40 goals-against average in his first four NHL games last season before suffering a season-ending hip injury. In 11 games with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, Tarasov also had a 5-3-4 record, 3.06 goals-against average, and .893 save percentage. The Blue Jackets took Tarasov in the third round, 86th overall, in the 2017 draft.

A multi-year, seven-figure commitment seems like a lot for a netminder who’s played less than five NHL games and is looking for his first NHL win. However, Tarasov’s put together an impressive professional career over the past few seasons despite the lack of NHL experience. He emerged as a full-time starter for Ässät in the Liiga at just 21 years old in 2019-20, playing in 41 games with a .899 save percentage and 11-17-9 record for the Finnish team. Columbus loaned him back to his native Russia in 2020-21, where Tarasov exploded for a .925 save percentage and 11-3-2 record for Salavat Yulaev Ufa in the KHL.

Tarasov is still waivers-exempt, meaning the team can safely send him back to AHL Cleveland if they desire. Yet, the worth of the deal and its one-way nature could indicate that the team views him as an NHL option next season as the backup to Elvis Merzlikins, or at least working as a team of three with Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo only has one season remaining on his deal with a $1.3MM cap hit, so it’s entirely likely the team could opt to trade him this offseason and open the door for Tarasov full-time.

Again, that’s still a risky move considering Tarasov’s inexperience at the NHL level, but he remains one of the better goalie prospects in the league.

Latest on John Tortorella

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After John Tortorella and the Columbus Blue Jackets mutually parted ways after the 2020-21 season, it was unclear whether Tortorella would return to coaching in the NHL. The now 63-year-old coach had been in NHL roles for what seems like forever, getting his start as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres in 1989. When he made the move to broadcasting, joining ESPN’s NHL coverage for the 2021-22 campaign, some had thought that signaled the end of his lengthy coaching career.

It now seems that Tortorella will be back in the fold next season. Tortorella reportedly interviewed with the Philadelphia Flyers for their head coaching vacancy in late May, and the fit between the coach’s infamous personality and the team’s historically aggressive identity seemed just too perfect. After a few weeks, the Flyers have zeroed in on Tortorella as their top finalist, with ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reporting late last night that the team had offered the position to Tortorella. He also noted that there were “more negotiations required for the deal to be completed,” which TSN’s Pierre LeBrun says will take place Thursday.

There’s some fair criticism of the Flyers for choosing an option with such an old-school approach in a league that’s evolving more every season. Tortorella went viral for some of his quips on ESPN this past season, including chastising Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras for his lacrosse pass to Sonny Milano for a goal early in the season and saying that Connor McDavid would have to change his game for the Edmonton Oilers to win in the playoffs, which didn’t age well. It’s fair to wonder if that’s the right voice in the room for the Flyers, who, as their core continues to age past its prime, need to focus on the development of their existing prospects in order to be competitive.

However, Tortorella does have a track record of success that’s impossible to ignore. His time with the Columbus Blue Jackets gives the most accurate picture of the coach the Flyers might get, and there are definitely some good takeaways there. Aside from guiding the team to their first playoff series win in franchise history (against a historically great Tampa Bay Lightning squad), he showed an ability to cool his temper and adapt that he hasn’t shown in past jobs. However, he did have some pretty notable rifts with younger players, especially Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Flyers can ill-afford to botch prospect development at this point.

If Tortorella does complete negotiations with the Flyers and takes the job, he’ll be one of the most interesting stories to watch in the NHL for the 2022-23 season.

Dallas Stars Sign Fredrik Karlstrom To Contract Extension

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An intriguing youngster has re-upped his contract with the Dallas Stars. The team has signed forward Fredrik Karlstrom to a one-year, two-way contract extension for the 2022-23 season. Financial terms are unavailable at this time.

A native of Stockholm, the 24-year-old forward was Dallas’ third-round (90th overall) selection in the 2016 draft. After signing his entry-level contract in 2020, the team loaned him back to the SHL’s Växjö Lakers, where he netted five goals and 10 points in 14 games en route to the league championship. He came over to North America for the first time this season, playing in three games with the Stars and getting his first NHL assist on April 21, 2022, in a game against the Calgary Flames. The two-way center prospect also had 16 goals, 13 assists, and 29 points in 65 games with AHL Texas.

Karlstrom will likely return to Texas again for the most part next season but has shown that he’s an option for an NHL call-up. A stronger AHL season in 2022-23 could force the organization to pencil him in as a candidate for a bottom-six role full-time in the NHL moving forward.

Montreal Canadiens Bring Back Otto Leskinen

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The Montreal Canadiens are bringing a familiar face back to the organization. Montreal announced today they’ve agreed to terms with defenseman Otto Leskinen on a one-year, two-way contract, paying him the league-minimum $750,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 at the minor-league level.

It’s the second time Leskinen has signed with the Canadiens as a free agent. The native of Pieksämäki, Finland, spent the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons in the Canadiens organization before he returned to Finland for 2021-22. He played six games with Montreal at the NHL level over those two years.

He returns to North America after a triumphant return to his native Finland last season. Starting the season with Jokerit Helsinki of the KHL, Leskinen left mid-season and joined Tappara in the Liiga for the stretch run, notching eight points in 10 regular-season games and 10 points in 15 playoff games en route to a league championship.

The 25-year-old will play a prominent role in AHL Laval next season in all likelihood, but he’s also solid injury insurance and a good call-up option if things go awry on the back end for Montreal. Leskinen will again be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Los Angeles Kings Extend T.J. Tynan

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The Los Angeles Kings announced this morning that the team signed forward T.J. Tynan to a two-year contract extension worth $1.575MM ($787,500 per season), expiring in 2023-24. According to PuckPedia, Tynan will make $800,000 in NHL salary in 2022-23, along with a $500,000 minors salary and $525,000 in guaranteed salary. In 2023-24, the contract is a one-way deal earning him $775,000.

Now 30 years old, Tynan is one of the best definitions of a “tweener” — a player who excels at the minor-league level but can’t put sustained success together in the NHL. To say Tynan excels at the AHL level would be an understatement — he’s a one-time Calder Cup champion with the Lake Erie Monsters (2016) and the back-to-back AHL MVP. He was second in the entire league in scoring this season, scoring 14 goals, and leading the league with 84 assists for 98 points in 62 games. With all that success, though, Tynan has just one assist in 21 career NHL games.

He’ll stay around in the Kings organization, though, helping the team develop their prospects through their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. Tynan is a good role model for young players offensively, as he plays a smart, versatile game that allows him to succeed as a playmaker and a penalty killer.

Appearing at the World Championships this year for the United States, Tynan managed a strong five assists in six games.

Carter Hutton Retires From NHL

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A journeyman netminder has hung up his skates today. Veteran Carter Hutton announced his retirement from the NHL today, talking with Tom Annelin of the Chronicle Journal.

Speaking with Annelin today, Hutton had the following to say on his decision:

Honestly, I’ve been preparing myself for hockey to be over in some aspect for a while… The NHL has evolved into a young man’s league. The average age is now in the early 20s, so I know that this job wouldn’t be a lifelong one for me. Ultimately, I suffered an ankle injury in early 2021, which made the decision a lot easier for me. It restricted a lot of the mobility I needed to be as effective as I once was. This, compiled with a few other things helped me decide on retirement.

The news isn’t surprising in any aspect. Hutton appeared in just three games at the beginning of the season with the Arizona Coyotes, earning a 0-2-0 record and .741 save percentage. He spent the majority of the rest of the season injured before he was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline for injury insurance there, but the team loaned him back to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He did spend a few days at Leafs practice, however.

An undrafted free agent, Hutton had a long and arduous path to NHL success. Hutton spent four years developing at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell before signing an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks for 2010-11. Hutton was the backup for the AHL affiliate in Worcester that season, posting a .902 save percentage. A restricted free agent, he was left unqualified and settled for an AHL contract with the Rockford IceHogs in 2011-12.

Strong play there got him an NHL contract later in the season and again with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13, when he made his NHL debut at age 27. As an unrestricted free agent in 2013, the Nashville Predators snapped up Hutton in free agency, where he broke into the NHL and never looked back. After stops with the Predators, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and Coyotes, Hutton retires with a career 94-90-27 record in 235 games played (207 starts), .908 save percentage, and 2.76 goals-against average, and 13 shutouts. For an undrafted free agent who wasn’t a full-time NHLer until 28, it’s an improbable and impressive resumé.

Morning Notes: Nichushkin, Montgomery, Memorial Cup

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One of the most under-the-radar redemption stories over the past few seasons in the NHL has been Valeri Nichushkin. A top-10 choice of the Dallas Stars in 2013, Nichushkin struggled with consistency in his early years in Dallas, leading him to return to his native Russia for two seasons after the expiry of his entry-level contract. The Stars then signed him to a two-year, $5.9MM contract prior to the 2018-19 season to bring him back to the NHL. However, after scoring no goals and just 10 assists in 57 games in 2018-19, the Stars bought out the second year of his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Avalanche took a chance on him in free agency, inking him to a one-year deal worth $850,000. His offensive production rebounded but, perhaps most importantly, he started growing his reputation as one of the best defensive wingers in the NHL among the analytics community. It earned him a contract extension which paid off in a big way for Colorado this year, with Nichushkin providing 25 goals and 52 points in 62 games with just a $2.5MM cap hit.

That type of production along with his defensive reputation is sure to earn Nichushkin a solid chunk of change this summer. However, Bally Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports that Nichushkin and the Avalanche discussed a contract extension earlier in the season, but the two sides weren’t close to an agreement. Now 27 and an unrestricted free agent off a strong contract year, this is the best chance Nichushkin will have to capitalize financially. It would surprise few if the Avalanche can’t afford to retain him, especially as the team needs to prioritize their goaltending uncertainty and a contract extension for Nathan MacKinnon.

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