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Maple Leafs Hire Mark Leach As Director Of Amateur Scouting

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired Mark Leach as their Director of Amateur Scouting. Leach fills the role left vacant by Wes Clark, who has moved to a Vice President and Director of Player Personnel role with the Pittsburgh Penguins, reuniting with general manager Kyle Dubas.

This will mark the first director position of Leach’s storied career, which kicked off with an amateur scouting role with the Detroit Red Wings in 1996. He quickly settled into a Red Wings scouting room soon to become legendary, supporting the selections of all-time draft steals Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk alongside Håkan Andersson. Late steals quickly became a calling card of Leach’s career, as he pushed the Wings to pursue Jimmy Howard, Johan Franzen, and Justin Abdelkader. The quintet would step up as cornerstones of Detroit’s lineup across the early 2010s, though Leach would move on to an amateur scouting role with the Dallas Stars in 2013.

The legend followed Leach south, quickly pushing him into a prominent role with the Stars. He recalled the franchise-defining 2017 Draft class to Saad Yousuf of The Athletic, sharing the hands-on role he played in the team’s selection of Miro Heiskanen, Jason Robertson, and Jake Oettinger. Like his successes in Detroit, that trio now defines the Stars lineup – though they’ve received plenty of help from other draft steals, like Wyatt Johnston, Logan Stankoven, and Mavrik Bourque.

No scout will ever take too much credit for what’s ultimately a team decision, but Leach’s draft reputation far and away proceeds him. He’ll step into the most influential role of his career with a Maple Leafs team in need of some draft support after the departures of top prospect minds Dubas and Clark. The Leafs have earned praise for the selection of Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, and Dennis Hildeby in recent years, though only two of their 38 selections since 2019 – Matthew Knies and Nicholas Robertson – have played in 15 or more NHL games. Amid a year of changes across the organization, redefining their draft approach to match Leach’s keen eye will be among Toronto’s top priorities.

Rourke Chartier Signs With KHL’s Kunlun Red Star

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Kunlun Red Star of the Kontinental Hockey League announced the signing of center Rourke Chartier to a one-year deal today. He’ll be the 10th player with NHL experience to suit up for the China-based club next season.

Remarkably, Chartier was one of the better UFA center options left on the market, at least in terms of those with recent NHL action. The 2014 Sharks fifth-round pick had found his way into the Senators system over the past three seasons, where he worked his way up from minor-league fixture to frequent fourth-line option.

At the beginning of his professional career, Chartier had strong numbers with San Jose’s AHL affiliate and looked like he may be a strong value pickup for his draft billing. However, significant concussion symptoms beset him early on, limiting him to 28 AHL appearances in 2017-18 and 39 total AHL and NHL appearances in 2018-19 before costing him the 2019-20 campaign entirely.

After being non-tendered by the Sharks at the end of his entry-level contract, Chartier got back on track on minor league deals with AHL Toronto and Belleville before landing a two-way deal with Ottawa ahead of 2022-23. The 5’11” pivot made six showings for the Sens in spot call-up duty to mark his first NHL appearance in four years but was held without a point. It didn’t stop him from having a solid season in the minors, scoring 20 goals in 40 games with the B-Sens.

Chartier was again non-tendered by the Senators last summer but returned on a slightly richer two-way deal for 2023-24 regardless. It proved beneficial for the 28-year-old, who routinely subbed in as Ottawa’s fourth-line center with injuries affecting their forward corps en route to playing a career-high 37 games. Unfortunately, he was a non-factor offensively, limited to two goals and an assist while averaging 10:46 per game. He still managed strong production in brief action with Belleville, recording seven goals and 13 points in 19 games.

Ottawa didn’t bring Chartier back this time around, though, as he reached UFA status on his own this summer. They instead opted to replace his role by bringing in the younger, speedier Noah Gregor on a one-year deal, and prospects such as Angus Crookshank and Zack Ostapchuk were going to challenge Chartier for NHL minutes anyway. That paved the way for Chartier’s move to Kunlun, which has played in Mytishchi, Russia, since the COVID-19 pandemic but is still technically based in Beijing.

NL’s ZSC Lions Sign Santtu Kinnunen

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After making a brief go of it in North America, defenseman Santtu Kinnunen is heading back overseas. The right-shot Finn has inked a one-year deal with the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League, per a team announcement. The former Panthers prospect was a UFA after being non-tendered last month.

Kinnunen, 25, was the Panthers’ seventh-round pick in 2018. He played four seasons in the Liiga with Pelicans and Tappara before eventually signing his entry-level contract with Florida in May 2022. Kinnunen seemed to fit in well upon arriving in the Panthers’ system and didn’t have many adjustment pains while on assignment to AHL Charlotte. The smooth-skating defender finished second among Charlotte blue-liners in scoring in 2022-23, posting 35 points (nine goals, 26 assists) with a -7 rating in 69 games.

But it wasn’t enough to earn him any in-season call-ups amid competition from a deep Florida defense at both the major and minor-league levels, nor was it enough to give him any serious chance at a roster spot last fall. Thus, entering the second and final year of his ELC, he was returned to Charlotte, where his offensive production dipped last season to four goals and 21 points in 68 games, along with a -15 rating. After spending two seasons without a call-up, it wasn’t surprising to see Kinnunen’s name on the list of RFAs who didn’t receive qualifying offers by June 30.

He returns to Europe, although not his native Finland. He signs on with a Zurich-based Lions club whose roster for next season includes former NHLers Sven Andrighetto, Rudolfs Balcers, Derek Grant, Dean Kukan, Denis Malgin, and Yannick Weber, as well as head coach Marc Crawford. Prior to heading to the Cats’ system, Kinnunen was one of the better two-way defenders in Finland, posting 23 points and a +18 rating in 54 games with Tappara in 2021-22 while helping them to the league title.

Evgeny Kuznetsov Clears Unconditional Waivers, Contract Terminated

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July 18: Kuznetsov has cleared unconditional waivers and has had his contract terminated, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. He’s now a UFA.

July 17: After multiple conflicting reports over the last several days, it appears Evgeny Kuznetsov’s time in the NHL is coming to an end for the foreseeable future. According to a team announcement, the Carolina Hurricanes have placed Kuznetsov on unconditional waivers for contract termination. Assuming that Kuznetsov clears waivers, it is expected he will return to Russia to play in the Kontinental Hockey League.

Although his landing spot in the KHL has not been announced, it is more than likely that Kuznetsov will end up with SKA St. Petersburg on a multi-year agreement according to prior reporting yesterday. SKA St. Petersburg is the current home of former NHL players Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Leipsic, and Valentin Zykov while also being the home of the recent fifth overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Ivan Demidov.

According to PuckPedia, Kuznetsov will walk away from $6MM by mutually terminating his contract while his separate $3.9MM cap hits with the Hurricanes and Washington Capitals will be lifted from both team’s salary cap structures. Kuznetsov was due a $2MM signing bonus on July 1st as part of his contract which has already been paid out.

Kuznetsov was the 26th overall selection of the Capitals in the 2010 NHL Draft and he made his debut a few years later in the 2013-14 NHL season. He got off to a relatively slow start during his freshman and sophomore campaigns in the NHL but became one of the game’s top centers only a year later. Kuznetsov scored 20 goals and 77 points in 82 games for Washington in the 2013-14 regular season while finishing 19th in Hart Trophy voting.

He became a steady playmaker for the Capitals during the organization’s most successful run in their history. The Russian forward scored 119 goals and 373 points over 420 games in Washington from 2016-2022 while leading the playoffs in assists (20) and points (32) during the team’s run to a Stanley Cup championship in 2018. Unfortunately, due to numerous off-ice issues and a stint in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, it became apparent that Kuznetsov had a lack of desire to continue playing in Washington as his on-ice production suffered.

The Capitals moved on from Kuznetsov this past trade deadline by dealing him to the Hurricanes for a draft pick and retaining 50% of his salary. Kuznetsov notched two goals and seven points in 20 regular season games for Carolina while collecting another four goals and six points in 10 postseason contests.

At 32 years old, Kuznetsov theoretically could return to the NHL in the future but that does not appear as the route he will take. He will more than likely finish his NHL career with 173 goals and 575 points in 743 games with another 33 goals and 73 points in 97 postseason contests, including a Stanley Cup ring.

Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff was the first to report the Hurricanes would place Kuznetsov on unconditional waivers. 

Snapshots: Norris, Contracts, Maple Leafs

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Pat MaGuire of The Hockey News writes that Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris appears to be healthy and set for NHL training camp in September. The 25-year-old wasn’t in the same position a year ago and spent much of the season chasing things before his season ended this past February. Norris underwent his third shoulder surgery, leaving plenty of question marks about whether or not he will be available for the entirety of this season.

Norris was initially acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade and blossomed into a 35-goal scorer in 2021-22, he then signed an eight-year $63.6MM contract extension and has only played in 58 games since then over the past two seasons. The Senators will be counting on a healthy Norris this season as his absence has negatively impacted their forward depth the last two years. A healthy Norris allows for Ottawa to deploy Shane Pinto on the third line which creates a better balance throughout their top nine forward group.

In other notes from around the league.

  • Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic released a list of the ten worst contracts in the NHL. Unsurprisingly, Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau and his seven years at $10.5MM annually topped the list. Luszczyszyn’s modelling showed that Huberdeau’s projected value was just $4.9MM annually making his contract the worst value in the league. Chandler Stephenson and Tom Wilson rounded out the top three worst contracts. Stephenson’s deal with the Seattle Kraken is just two weeks old and could turn out to be a disaster if the modelling is correct. Wilson on the other hand has seven years left on his deal that will carry him from age 30-37 and the modelling predicts he will be a third-line player by the third year of the deal.
  • Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour spoke with TSN OverDrive to discuss his recent run through free agency. Montour told Mark Roe and Frank Corrado that he talked with the Toronto Maple Leafs about signing in Toronto. Montour added that he was excited by the possibility and considered signing with the team, but added that he had a ton of options in free agency and was grateful to ultimately sign a seven-year, $49.98MM deal with the Kraken. The Maple Leafs interest in Montour isn’t all that surprising given the focus they put on improving their defense, which they did by signing Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Morning Notes: O’Brien, Kambeitz, Blues

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The Charlotte Checkers have signed former first-round pick Jay O’Brien to an AHL contract (as per NHL.com’s Mark Divver). O’Brien was selected 19th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2018 NHL entry draft and turned pro last season after three years in the NCAA with Boston University. O’Brien signed last August with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies but didn’t dress in any games due to injury and has yet to play a professional hockey game.

O’Brien has dealt with injuries throughout his career and was let go last summer by the Philadelphia Flyers before eventually catching on with the Marlies. The 24-year-old had a solid NCAA career posting 26 goals and 44 assists in 79 games during his final three seasons but hasn’t been able to translate that success to his professional career.

In other morning notes:

  • The Abbotsford Canucks have signed forward Dino Kambeitz to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season. The American Hockey League contract will take Kambeitz into his fourth season of professional hockey after he set a career-high last year with nine goals and six assists in 56 games for the Bakersfield Condors. The 24-year-old spent three seasons with the Condors after going undrafted to the NHL and dressed in 172 career AHL regular season games, tallying 22 goals and 22 assists.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic is reporting that the St. Louis Blues have made a change to their ownership group as David Steward has transferred his stake in the team to local businessman Michael Riney who has spent his entire life in St. Louis. Steward had been with the group since 2012 and his stake in the team was less than five percent. The ownership group remains entirely made up of local owners and will continue to be run by Blues Chairman Tom Stillman.

Max Comtois Signs With KHL’s Dynamo Moscow

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Former Anaheim Ducks forward Max Comtois has reportedly signed with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL (as per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet). The 2017 second-round pick looked at one point like he could be a valuable depth scorer, posting 16 goals and 17 assists in the abbreviated 2020-21 season with Anaheim, However, the next two seasons saw him struggle offensively.

The 25-year-old went unsigned last summer and had to settle for an AHL contract with the Chicago Wolves in the fall before he eventually caught on with the Carolina Hurricanes signing a one-year, two-way deal this past March that was prorated for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. Comtois appeared in one regular season game for Carolina, posting an assist in 13:04 of ice time. He also appeared in the playoffs but played just 6:19 of one game and was a -1.

Comtois never got his feet under him after that successful 2020-21 season and struggled with puck possession and giveaways in the following seasons. His inconstancy became an issue that was hard for teams to ignore as it became evident when he would take bad penalties or turn the puck over. The Longueuil, Quebec native is still relatively young and could return to the NHL if he can find his game overseas. He has always been a talented shooter and has no issues going to the net, both traits that NHL teams covet.

Comtois is one of many unrestricted free agents that have yet to sign in the NHL this offseason and it will be interesting to see who follows him across the globe in the next few months.

Evening Notes: DeBrusk, Gordon, Penguins

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Vancouver Canucks forward Jake DeBrusk joined the Cam and Strick Podcast and spoke about his midseason trade request from the Boston Bruins, saying that he’d actually asked for a trade as far back as the summer of 2021 after he’d been a healthy scratch in the playoffs. DeBrusk said that he felt a fresh start would have been good last year but is happy to have one in Vancouver this summer after he signed a seven-year $38.5MM contract with the Canucks on July 1.

DeBrusk added that he had quite a few suitors when the market opened but ultimately signed with Vancouver for a number of reasons, highlighting Vancouver’s recent playoff run as a big influence on his decision. The Edmonton, Alberta native will have a chance to play closer to home with some very talented players and will be looking to bounce back from a down year last season in which he tallied just 19 goals and 21 assists in 80 games with the Bruins.

In other evening notes:

  • The Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL announced that they’ve added former NHL head coach Scott Gordon to their coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Gordon has served as an NHL head coach for both the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders and was an assistant coach the last two seasons for the San Jose Sharks. The 61-year-old Gordon has been coaching for nearly 30 years and has held several AHL head coaching gigs and was an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2011 to 2014. The Brockton, Massachusetts native won a silver medal at the 2010 Olympics as an assistant coach for the United States serving under Ron Wilson in Vancouver.
  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic believes that the Pittsburgh Penguins will add one or two more players before the start of the regular season and says that they are unlikely to be impact players. The Penguins were busy on the first few days of free agency adding a pile of players onto their depth chart on short-term deals and any other addition figures to be on a one- or two-year deal. The Penguins have a glaring hole in their top six at left wing but will likely use Drew O’Connor in the top spot to see if he can build off his solid finish last season. The Penguins unsuccessfully took a run at Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency which signals they aren’t satisfied with their top-line options at the moment.

Flames To Begin Building New Arena

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The Calgary Flames are expected to reveal plans for, and finally break ground on, a new arena this coming Monday, shares Sportsnet’s Eric Francis (Twitter link). Francis adds that the Flames’ new stomping grounds will include 18,000 seats, a community rink, indoor and outdoor event plazas, and a parking deck. The new arena will cost $926MM and be built two blocks north of the current Saddledome, with the hope of being operational for the 2027-28 season.

Sportsnet adds that $330MM of the funds for this arena will come from the Alberta government, who also plan to demolish the existing Saddledome as a part of their plans.

This news finally puts into motion the Flames’ move out of the Scotiabank Saddledome, where they’ve played since 1983. It stands alongside Madison Square Garden as the two oldest arenas in the league – with the Saddledome not receiving major renovations since 1995.

That’s beginning to change, with the team set to receive a new scoreboard this summer, though the Saddledome is still missing many of the amenities that had the Flames pushing for a new arena in 2017. The team could not reach an agreement with the city at the time, sparking strong comments from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who said in an interview with TSN, “This building was built in the 1980s, they don’t build buildings like this any more… it’s historic in many ways. But these aren’t the facilities that our hockey teams typically have.” Bettman’s comments came amid Detroit’s move to Little Caesars Arena and Seattle’s bid for the top-of-the-line Climate Pledge Arena.

Calgary will now join the list of top-end facilities, though they’ll be leaving a truly incredible arena behind. The Saddledome’s sloped roof and expansive, high-ceiling interior made it quickly iconic. It would enter hockey legend within a decade of being built, after hosting parts of the 1988 Winter Olympics and the 1989 Stanley Cup-winning Calgary Flames. The arena, which also hosts the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers and WHL’s Calgary Hitmen, has stood as a testament to hockey’s history in Calgary – giving any new build a hefty past to live up to.

Rockford IceHogs Sign Austin Strand To AHL Contract

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The Chicago Blackhawks AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, will have another familiar face on the roster next season as the team announced they have signed defenseman Austin Strand to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 AHL season. Strand is projected to spend the entire season with the IceHogs after the team acquired him via trade from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last season.

Strand turned professional in 2018 after signing his entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings after an impressive season with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He spent his first full season with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, scoring seven goals and 18 points in 43 games. Strand spent the next three years with the Kings organization and collected three assists in 21 games at the NHL level with 12 goals and 27 points in 92 AHL contests.

Moving further south in California, Strand signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Ducks heading into the 2022-23 season. He participated in five games with the Ducks that season collecting two goals and eight points in 46 games for the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Anaheim traded Strand to the Buffalo Sabres organization in exchange for Chase Priskie at that year’s deadline, suiting up in nine games for the Rochester Americans down the stretch.

Outside of his offensive production — Strand carries plenty of value to the IceHogs as a veteran presence and stabilizing defenseman. The team’s president of hockey operations, Mark Bernard, said as much, “He brings experience and energy to the rink each day and is someone that can help carry the coaching staff’s message into the locker room. He will be a great asset this year as we will have a lot of young prospects that he can be a mentor to“.

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