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Kings, Arthur Kaliyev In Agreement On One-Year Deal

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Sep. 18: It’s a one-way deal worth $825K, John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor reports.

Sep. 17: The Kings and restricted free agent winger Arthur Kaliyev are in agreement “in principle” on a one-year deal close to his $874,125 qualifying offer, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports Tuesday. It has no bearing on Kaliyev’s trade request which has been active since at least May, Pagnotta adds.

The deal puts Kaliyev in a similar situation to Maple Leafs winger Nicholas Robertson. The 23-year-old was also an RFA with an active trade request this summer but opted to sign a one-year, $875K deal last week, giving teams interested in acquiring him some cost certainty.

But unlike Robertson, Kaliyev is coming off a down year, not a breakout one. The American national was limited to seven goals and 15 points in 51 games after hitting double-digit goal totals in each of the previous two seasons.

Kaliyev does still have a bit of room to grow at age 23. The 2019 second-rounder doesn’t use his 6’2″, 209-lb frame to get involved physically and can have some visible defensive lapses, but his possession numbers at even strength haven’t been a cause for concern at any point of his career thus far, even when compared directly to his teammates.

The Uzbekistan native has averaged 15 goals and 31 points per 82 games through his career. That’s impressive production for a player who’s averaged just over 12 minutes per game and doesn’t have a terribly high career shooting percentage (8.4%). He’s a chance-generating machine who averages 2.23 shots per game – sixth-most among Kings forwards with at least 100 games played in an L.A. jersey over the past three years.

There’s legitimate reason to believe a move to a top-nine role elsewhere could generate a 20-goal, 40-point breakout for Kaliyev – or more. It’s been mostly quiet on the trade front up to this point, but with a contract in hand, he could very well find himself on the move during training camp.

Bruins Notes: Swayman, Montgomery, Poitras

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Bruins RFA netminder Jeremy Swayman won’t be around the team to kick off training camp while he’s still waiting for a new contract, general manager Don Sweeney told reporters today (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI).

There’s nothing stopping the Bruins and Swayman from agreeing to a tryout and having him take reps in camp while continuing contract negotiations. That’s the approach the Blues are taking with unsigned RFA forward Nikita Alexandrov, for example. But it isn’t in the cards here.

Sweeney said he’s “disappointed” there’s still no resolution to the contract stalemate, and he wouldn’t go so far as to say an agreement was imminent, either. The GM only said he was “optimistic” a deal would get done by the Dec. 1 RFA signing deadline, per McLaughlin.

Other updates from Sweeney as camp opens Wednesday:

  • The Bruins have begun initial extension talks with head coach Jim Montgomery, Sweeney said (via Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe). He’s entering the final season of his reported three-year, $6MM deal, which he signed to take over as Boston’s bench boss in July 2022. He’s been an impeccable regular-season hire, leading them to a league-best 112-32-20 record (.744%) since landing behind the bench, but he’s 9-11 in 20 playoff games for Boston.
  • Sophomore forward Matthew Poitras is fully cleared after shoulder surgery ended his rookie campaign in February, Sweeney confirmed (via Ryan). They’ll try him at both center and wing during training camp after he played mostly down the middle last season. A shift to wing could open up an opportunity for him to play higher up in the lineup, potentially alongside Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand on the team’s second line. The 2022 second-round pick had 15 points (5 G, 10 A) in 33 games last season with a +4 rating while averaging 13:24 per game, posting good possession metrics but struggling in the dot with a 43.7 FOW%.

Lightning Name Victor Hedman Captain

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The Lightning have wasted no time in naming Steven Stamkos’ successor to the captaincy. Defenseman Victor Hedman will take over as the 11th captain in franchise history, general manager Julien BriseBois announced today.

There was no other logical candidate to assume the role from Stamkos, who left for the Predators in free agency this summer after serving as Tampa Bay’s captain since 2013. Hedman is entering his 16th season with the Bolts and is only 30 games back of Stamkos’ franchise-record 1,082 games played. He’ll assume this record this season, barring a major injury.

“We are thrilled to have Victor leading our team as the 11th captain in franchise history,” BriseBois said. “Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL. Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”

Hedman, of course, has already helped Tampa achieve that goal. The six-time All-Star won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the Lightning’s first of their back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020. The 2018 Norris Trophy winner signed a four-year, $32MM extension this summer to keep him off the open market in 2025.

While no longer a bonafide top-three defenseman in the league, Hedman is still an elite blue liner and did well to prove that his disappointing 2022-23 campaign was a fluke. The 33-year-old rebounded in a big way last season with 63 assists and 76 points in 78 games, the second-best season of his career offensively. He added on a team-high +18 rating and was once again their leader in average ice time at 24:48 per game.

He’s by far the best defenseman in Lightning history, holding franchise records among D-men in goals (156), assists (572), points (728), and rating (+175) – all by a wide margin. The hulking 6’7″, 244-lb Swede was the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, one year after the Lightning selected Stamkos first overall to kickstart their late-2000s rebuild that’s still paying dividends.

Nikita Kucherov will continue serving as an alternate captain as he has since 2022, the team confirmed. Ryan McDonagh will also wear an ’A’ in his return to Tampa after two years with the Predators. He previously served as an alternate captain with the Bolts from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Blues Sign Six Players To Tryouts

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The Blues signed forwards Nikita Alexandrov, Sam Bitten, Matthew Peca, defenseman Scott Harrington, and goaltender David Tendeck to professional tryouts, general manager Doug Armstrong announced Wednesday. Undrafted forward Jake Gudelj will also be in Blues camp on an amateur tryout.

Extending a PTO to Alexandrov allows him to participate in training camp despite still being a restricted free agent. The 24-year-old remains unsigned after appearing in 23 games for St. Louis last season, recording two assists and a -4 rating while averaging 8:32 per game.

A second-round pick of the Blues back in 2019, Alexandrov completed his entry-level contract in 2023-24. He’s grown into an elite offensive presence in the minors, recording 45 points in 48 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds over the past two seasons, but hasn’t climbed past a fourth-line role at the NHL level.

Bitten, Harrington, and Peca already have contracts in hand with the Thunderbirds for this season, so their PTOs simply allow the Blues to give them a look in an NHL environment and further posit whether to extend two-way offers to them as the season progresses. Bitten has no NHL experience, but the latter two vets have combined for 338 appearances at the game’s highest level.

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Tendeck will look to land likely an AHL contract with Springfield or an ECHL contract with the Blues’ second-tier affiliate, the Florida Everblades. The former Coyotes draft pick ended a tumultuous 2023-24 campaign with the Everblades, logging a .972 SV% and 0.99 GAA in three appearances after being a sub-.900 netminder in the ECHL since the beginning of 2022-23.

Gudelj, 18, was draft-eligible for the first time last summer but already has three seasons of junior hockey under his belt. Injuries limited the forward to 16 games last season with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, posting three goals and four assists. He’ll look to capture an entry-level contract with the Blues to turn pro within their system in 2025.

Evander Kane Scheduled For Sports Hernia Surgery

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Sep. 18: Kane will indeed undergo sports hernia surgery, general manager Stan Bowman told reporters today (via the Oilers’ Tony Brar).

Sep. 13: Mark Spector of Sportsnet is reporting that Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane will have sports hernia surgery in the next 10 days or so. Kane has been dealing with the issue since last season and played through the pain as much as he could but eventually missed significant time in the Stanley Cup Final when he dressed in just two of the Oilers’ final seven games.

Kane played reasonably well last season, given that he played through pain for most of it. However, his 24 goals and 20 assists in 77 games represented his lowest point-per-game pace in seven years. The 31-year-old added four goals and four assists in 20 playoff games, which was also a drop from his normal production.

While Kane’s offensive numbers were below his career norms, he did play a career-low 16:47 per game during the regular season which marked his lowest total since he averaged 14:00 per game during his rookie season in 2009-10 while he was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers.

Kane’s prognosis won’t be fully known until surgery has been completed. When his recovery period is clear the Oilers should be able to figure out a plan for their salary cap situation going forward. PuckPedia estimates that Edmonton has $946K in cap space for the 2024-25 season (including Kane’s $5.125MM cap hit), however, if Kane is out longer than 24 days and 10 games then Edmonton can place him on LTIR. If that is the approach they take, the Oilers would need to keep his space available for when he is ready to suit up once again which would presumably be at some point during the regular season.

Maple Leafs Notes: Nylander, Rogers, Tavares, Dewar, Minten, Danford

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The grand William Nylander center experiment has new legs under incoming head coach Craig Berube. He told reporters Wednesday that he’ll open camp with Nylander down the middle with Max Domi on his wing (via David Alter of The Hockey News).

The Maple Leafs have utilized Nylander at center on and off throughout his nine-year career, but never for an extended period. Berube hinted that could change, though, allowing Toronto to potentially have one of the deepest top nines down the middle in the league with Auston Matthews and John Tavares anchoring separate lines.

Nylander has frequently alternated between Matthews’ and Tavares’ right wings since the latter arrived in Toronto in 2018, mostly skating with the latter. He’s coming off a career-best 2023-24 campaign that saw him score 40 goals and 98 points, skating in all 82 games for the second regular season in a row. He’s entering the first year of the eight-year, $92MM extension he signed in January.

More news and notes as Toronto begins its training camp:

  • Rogers Communications is now the majority owner of parent corporation Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment after purchasing a 37.5% stake in the company for nearly $3.5B, Scott Soshnick and Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico report. Rogers already owned 37.5% of the company and purchased this stake from fellow Canadian telecom giant Bell, putting a total valuation of MLSE at $9.3B. The corporation owns the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, MLS’ Toronto FC, and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts in addition to the Maple Leafs. The transaction will close in mid-2025.
  • For the second time in his career, Tavares is beginning a contract year without an extension in hand and risks becoming an unrestricted free agent. “I want to be here. I want to be here long term, hopefully that happens,” he told reporters Wednesday (via Alter). Now in the final year of the seven-year, $77MM mega-deal he signed to come to Toronto as a free agent in 2018, Tavares will be looking at a significant reduction from his $11MM AAV to stay in Toronto. The captain turns 34 on Friday and had 29 goals and 65 points in 80 games last season.
  • General manager Brad Trelivingalso spoke to reporters today, offering injury updates on a variety of Leafs skaters who will be absent from the first day of camp (via Alter). Chief among them is Connor Dewar, who’s still not fully cleared following offseason shoulder surgery. The 25-year-old won’t be ready for the start of camp but should be good to go when the regular season begins next month. Dewar had a goal and four assists in 17 games with Toronto after being acquired from the Wild at last year’s trade deadline. An RFA this summer, he and the Leafs settled on a one-year, $1.18MM deal to avoid arbitration.
  • Roster hopeful Fraser Minten is looking at a weeks-long absence after sustaining a high-ankle sprain during rookie camp, Treliving said. It’s a tough blow for the 20-year-old, who unexpectedly cracked the Leafs’ opening-night roster last year and averaged 11:26 through four appearances before being loaned back to his junior club. Minten, the No. 38 overall pick in 2022, is now old enough for a full-time AHL assignment and will likely be sent to the Toronto Marlies to begin the season after he’s cleared to return.
  • Treliving also confirmed that 2024 first-round pick Ben Danford sustained a concussion during rookie camp but is progressing well. The 18-year-old defender could get a few reps with Toronto in camp later on but will spend 2024-25 on loan to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals after signing his entry-level contract in August.

Oilers Sign Mike Hoffman To PTO

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The Oilers have signed forward Mike Hoffman to a professional tryout, the team said Wednesday.

Hoffman, 34, will look to get his feet back under him in Edmonton after a trying 2023-24 campaign. Entering the final season of a three-year, $13.5MM deal he signed with the Canadiens in 2021, Montreal moved him to the Sharks in August as part of the massive three-team trade that sent Erik Karlsson to the Penguins.

In San Jose, Hoffman had his worst season since establishing himself as a full-time NHLer with the Senators in the 2014-15 campaign. Making 66 appearances, his 10 goals, 13 assists, 23 points, 71 shots on goal, and 13:44 ATOI were all his lowest in a full NHL season.

Hoffman was once a prolific top-six scoring winger, hitting the 20-goal mark in six straight seasons with the Sens and Panthers from 2014-15 to 2019-20. But his production dipped once the pandemic hit, and he hasn’t recorded more than 20 goals or 40 points in a season since.

He does bring 228 goals, 487 points, and 745 games of NHL experience to Oilers camp, though. He may be a higher-upside bottom-six option on the wing than Mattias Janmark or Vasily Podkolzin, but for a team already ripe with veteran scoring wingers, Hoffman will need to prove he’s more than just a redundancy for players like UFA additions Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner in order to earn a contract.

The Oilers have $945K in projected cap space with one open roster spot, per PuckPedia. They also have depth defenseman Travis Dermott in camp on a PTO, so one tryout being successful likely precludes the other one from resulting in a deal.

Cal Foote Signs In Slovakia

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Former NHL defenseman Cal Foote has signed a one-year deal with HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas in Slovakia, the team announced Wednesday on Instagram. Foote is one of five ex-NHLers facing sexual assault charges in London, Ontario, stemming from an alleged 2018 assault perpetrated by members of the Canadian men’s national junior team.

Among the group, Foote is the third player to sign a contract to play professionally overseas for 2024-25, joining Dillon Dubé and Michael McLeod. Former Flyers netminder Carter Hart remains unsigned, while ex-Senators winger Alex Formenton has retired and is now working in construction, a court filing indicated.

The judge overseeing the case, London Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas, recently granted an application from the lawyers for the accused to skip the pretrial legal arguments for “compelling economic reasons” (via Kate Dubinski of CBC News). Foote and Hart weren’t signed at the time, but Thomas said his lawyer indicated “indicated that their training must continue at a high level if they are to have some hope of continuing as professional hockey players.”

Foote, 25, spent part of last season in the Devils organization before being charged in January and taking a leave of absence from the team. He struggled in minor-league action, posting nine points and a -14 rating in 24 contests for the AHL’s Utica Comets. The 2017 first-round pick of the Lightning also had an assist and a +3 rating in four NHL contests with New Jersey.

Blackhawks Name Nick Foligno Captain

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Blackhawks forward Nick Foligno will be the team’s next captain, per a team press release. He’s the 35th in franchise history and the first since Jonathan Toews’ tenure in Chicago ended after the 2022-23 season.

Foligno is entering his second season with the Hawks after inking a two-year, $9MM extension last January to keep him off this summer’s free-agent market. The 36-year-old winger also served as captain of the Blue Jackets for the last six of his nine seasons in Columbus from 2015 to 2021. Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson issued the following statement:

In a very short amount of time, Nick has quickly earned the respect of his teammates and our staff. Nick’s commanding presence in the locker room has been instrumental in helping the team find its identity. He has served as a mentor to many of our young players both on and off the ice while also heading up the leadership group comprised of our veteran players, and we are beyond confident that he will flourish in the role of captain as we usher in a new era of Blackhawks hockey.

The Buffalo native was already part of Chicago’s leadership group, serving as an alternate captain last season. Set to be a UFA last offseason after signing a two-year deal with the Bruins in 2021, Boston traded his signing rights to the Blackhawks in the Taylor Hall deal. Chicago promptly signed Foligno to a one-year, $4MM extension, preventing him from joining the 2023 UFA class.

While his frequent first-line duties on a paper-thin Blackhawks forward group last year punched above his weight as he enters the final few years of his NHL career, Foligno is still an extremely serviceable middle-six forward. He made 74 appearances for Chicago last season, his most since 2018-19, and recorded 37 points (17 G, 20 A) with a -29 rating while averaging 17:46 per game. It was his best showing offensively since his days in Columbus, finishing third on the team in scoring and leading them in hits with 192.

Foligno won’t be relied upon for nearly as many minutes this season with UFA signings Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teräväinen in the mix at wing. Hall playing a full-time role after a knee injury limited him to 10 appearances last year likely bumps the new captain down to comfortable third-line duties.

The move allows presumptive future captain Connor Bedard to take a more leisurely road to the position. The Blackhawks are no stranger to awarding the captaincy to budding stars – Toews wore the ’C’ on his chest from his second NHL season onward – but will take a different approach here. The 2023 first-overall pick will nonetheless remain Chicago’s centerpiece entering his sophomore year after his 22-goal, 61-point rookie season in 68 games, leading the Hawks in scoring and taking home the Calder Trophy.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

West Notes: Perfetti, Tocchet, Weegar, MacDonell

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Several restricted free agents have signed new deals in recent days as they ensured they’d be ready for the start of training camp.  However, that might not be the case for Jets forward Cole Perfetti.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on the latest Insider Trading segment that there is still a significant gap to bridge between the two sides in contract discussions.  Perfetti is coming off a season that saw him score 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 games but also saw him spend time as a healthy scratch, including in the playoffs.  This is a fairly obvious case for a bridge contract but even those can sometimes take a little longer to hammer out and this might be one of those cases.

Elsewhere out West:

  • After a surprise showing last season that saw the Canucks sit atop the Pacific Division, some wondered if they’d look to work out an extension with head coach Rick Tocchet. However, GM Patrik Allvin told Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre that with the team holding a club option on his contract for 2025-26, it’s too early to begin those talks just yet, noting they’ll get into those discussions when the time is right for both sides.  Vancouver has a 70-35-13 record under Tocchet so far, good for a .648 points percentage.
  • With the Flames embarking on a rebuild, some veterans have already been moved out while others might want out at some point. Don’t expect that to be the case for defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, however, as the blueliner told reporters including Josh Clipperton of the Canadian Press that he believes in the city and the team and has no desire to leave Calgary.  Weegar was acquired as part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade and quickly signed an eight-year, $50MM contract extension with a franchise that was trying to contend at the time.  Now, it appears he’ll be a key veteran to lean on during their rebuilding process.
  • Stars prospect Angus MacDonell has been drafted for the second time in as many years. After Dallas selected the 19-year-old in the sixth round last year, the NLL’s Buffalo Bandits announced (Twitter link) that they selected MacDonell in the fourth round of their draft on Sunday.  On top of recording 62 points in 61 games last season with OHL Mississauga, he also put up 29 points in 30 games in the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League, helping to earn this most recent selection.  Dallas has until June 1st to sign MacDonell to an entry-level deal and if one doesn’t materialize, he at least might have a fallback plan.

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