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Buffalo Sabres Sign Zach Benson To ELC

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The Buffalo Sabres announced today that they’ve signed their 2023 first-round pick Zach Benson to an entry-level three-year contract. Benson was the Sabres’ top selection at 13th overall in last month’s NHL Entry Draft and was seen by some scouts as one of the top playmakers in the entire draft. Benson’s ELC will pay him an NHL salary of $855K to go along with a $95K signing bonus. He will carry an annual cap hit of $950K at the NHL level, and should he play in the minors, he would receive a salary of $82,500.

The 18-year-old forward dressed in 60 games this past season with the Winnipeg ICE of the WHL posting 36 goals and 62 assists while finishing the season +68. The native of Chilliwack, British Columbia, set career highs in every offensive category and finished third in scoring with 98 points. Benson had incredible chemistry with another Sabres prospect, Matt Savoie, who was drafted by Buffalo with the number nine pick just one year ago. Savoie and Benson led the ICE this past season, posting a combined 193 points while leading both the power-play and penalty-kill units.

Benson turned a lot of heads at the Sabres development camp just three weeks ago, and in an article from The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn, he wondered if Benson was already the Sabres’ top prospect. There were some scouts who were surprised to see him slip to the 13th pick, and Fairburn wondered if he is a star in the making for Buffalo.

While scouts were always impressed with Benson’s puck skills, there was always the underlying concern about his size. Benson stands just 5-foot-10 and weighs around 170 pounds, so it is possible that his puck skills might be impeded when he eventually plays against bigger and stronger players. However, Benson has plenty of time to fill out his frame and should be able to develop more strength on the puck over time.

Benson’s entry-level deal was always something that was going to happen, and now his attention will turn to cracking the Sabres NHL lineup. It’s something that could happen sooner than later if he continues to develop the way he has recently.

Minor Transactions: 07/28/23

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Today’s been quite a busy day for player movement around the world of pro hockey, as numerous teams in the many pro leagues are looking to secure quality players for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of the notable moves made in those minor and foreign leagues.

  • Minor-league goalie Dylan Ferguson got his first real shot in the NHL last season, starting two games for the Ottawa Senators in March and posting a .940 save percentage. But despite that significant career achievement, Ferguson only played in a total of 15 games in 2022-23, and now he’s headed overseas likely with the hope of seeing more consistent time in the crease. He’s signed a contract with Dynamo Minsk in the KHL, where he will likely battle Philadelphia Flyers prospect Alexei Kolosov for starts next season.
  • Former AHL netminder Jussi Olkinoura has collected quite a few team accomplishments in his playing career such as a Champions Hockey League title, an Olympic gold medal, and two World Championship golds. 2022-23 wasn’t his best year, though, as his club team, Brynäs IF, were relegated from the SHL to Sweden’s second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan. Olkinoura, 32, won’t remain with Brynäs as they seek promotion, as he’s signed a contract with the Lahti Pelicans of the Finnish Liiga. Olkinoura has played with the Pelicans before, posting a .910 save percentage in 39 games as their number-one starter in 2018-19. Despite making it all the way to Liiga’s finals the Pelicans were in need of a new starting goalie as their previous one, Patrik Bartošák, signed a two-year deal in Czechia. Now Olkinoura will join 23-year-old Jasper Patrikainen (.905 save percentage in 30 games in 2022-23) to form the Pelicans’ goalie tandem.
  • 2008 second-round pick and former Hobey Baker Award finalist Danny Kristo has signed with the EIHL’s Coventry Blaze. The contract completes a transfer from the Sheffield Steelers, an EIHL rival of the Blaze for whom Kristo played the 2022-23 campaign. Although the 33-year-old Minnesota native translated his scoring as a college hockey star at the University of North Dakota to the AHL level (he hit 20 goals in the AHL in three consecutive seasons from 2013-14 to 2015-16) he couldn’t quite do enough to break into the NHL, and he left to play overseas in late 2017. Kristo has since played in Latvia, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia, and has now settled in as a quality scorer in the United Kingdom’s top pro league. Kristo scored 12 goals and 30 points for the Steelers last season and will now head to Coventry hoping to help them make a more convincing run in the league’s playoffs.
  • Longtime minor league veteran Colton Saucerman’s return to North America proved to be short-lived, as the 31-year-old right-shot defenseman has signed a contract in England with Sheffield. After featuring in the ECHL since late 2016 and earning 41 total AHL games, Saucerman left for Europe in 2020 to sign with Austria’s HC Innsbruck of the ICEHL. He played well in Austria and earned a deal with HC Kosice in Slovakia, where he would also put together a strong campaign. That got him an ECHL contract with the Allen Americans for 2022-23, and he led their blueliners in scoring with 38 points in 63 games. Now, Saucerman is headed to England for the first time in his career to likely play a significant role on the Steelers’ defense.
  • Former San Jose Sharks netminder Alexei Melnichuk has signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, the club he was traded to a little over a week ago. Melnichuk, 25, is an undrafted netminder who signed with the Sharks in 2020 and ended up playing nearly 50 games in the AHL for the San Jose Barracuda. He could only manage a .867 save percentage across that sample size in the AHL, meaning he eventually was sent down to the ECHL before heading back to Russia for 2022-23. Melnichuk played bounced between three KHL clubs last season and with this signing he’ll get the chance to fight for some stability, as he’ll battle with former New York Rangers netminder Adam Huska and incumbent starter Ivan Kulbakov (.926 save percentage in 42 KHL games in 2022-23) for time in the crease for Torpedo.
  • Former Quinnipac University blueliner and Sharks 2015 fifth-round pick Kārlis Čukste has signed a one-year contract to play in HockeyAllsvenskan with Brynäs IF. Čukste is fresh off of representing his home country of Latvia at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, helping them on a historic run that earned the hockey-mad country their best-ever performance. The six-foot-three 26-year-old stay-at-home defenseman is entering the fourth season of his professional career, and spent last year earning regular minutes for HC Oceláři Třinec in the Czech Extraliga. Čukste also brings experience from Liiga, the KHL, AHL, and ECHL to the table and will hope to help Brynäs fend off other top HockeyAllsvenskan clubs such as Djurgårdens IF to earn instant promotion back to the SHL.
  • Danish international Niklas Andersen, who has represented his home country at two IIHF Men’s World Championships, has left the Fischtown Pinguins to sign with a rival DEL club, the Augsburg Panthers. The 25-year-old forward was a high scorer in two consecutive seasons in the Danish league for Esbjerg before earning his first shot in the DEL with Fischtown. Andersen’s debut season in Germany was exceptional, as he scored 14 goals and 27 points in just 34 games. He’s not matched that total in the past two seasons, though, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 52 games in 2021-22 and 11 goals and 20 points in 41 games last season. With this signing, he joins an Augsburg team in need of competent veteran talent, as they only narrowly avoided relegation in 2022-23.
  • Recently-promoted Slovak Extraliga side HC 19 Humenne have signed former Colorado Avalanche prospect and four-time KHL All-Star Denis Parshin to a deal for the 2022-23 season. Parshin, 37, brings 658 games of KHL experience to the table as well as experience representing Russia in international play. He’s played 82 total games in the Slovak league across three different seasons, all for HC Kosice, including 2022-23 when he scored 28 points in 34 games.
  • Physical center James Phelan racked up over 100 penalty minutes in 62 ECHL games for the Trois-Rivières Lions last season, and now he’s headed to Scotland to continue his pro career. He’s signed with the Dundee Stars in the EIHL, bringing nearly 100 games of ECHL experience as well as 47 career AHL games. Phelan hasn’t been much of a scorer at the pro level, but the 26-year-old plays with an edge and has some history of scoring from his days playing major junior hockey in the QMJHL.
  • Liiga’s KalPa Kuopio have re-signed two regulars from 2022-23 to their 2023-24 roster: Matyáš Kantner and Anton Karlsson. Karlsson, 30, is a former AHLer with the Cleveland Monsters who logged 49 games for KalPa last season. He’s a former everyday SHLer who ranked eighth among KalPa blueliners averaging 13:41 TOI per game last season. Kantner, 25, is a big winger who transferred mid-season from the Czech Extraliga and scored nine points in 17 regular-season games and three points in KalPa’s playoff series loss to the Pelicans.
  • A three-player trade was completed in the ECHL today, with the Tulsa Oilers acquiring Max Kaufman and Tristan Thompson from the Savannah Ghost Pirates in exchange for Alex Gilmour. Gilmour, 27, is a six-foot-five power forward who scored 16 goals and 40 points for Tulsa as an ECHL rookie in 2021-22 but struggled as a sophomore and only scored 18 points in 56 games. The hope for Savannah will be that a change of scenery will unlock the potential Gilmour flashed as a rookie, while in exchange for him Tulsa is adding Kaufman, 27, a former Boston University Terrier who scored 20 points in 57 games last season, and Thompson, 26, an undersized offensive defenseman who led Ghost Pirates defensemen in scoring as a sophomore player with 42 points in 72 games.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Patrik Nemeth Signs In Switzerland

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After more than a decade playing hockey in North America and over 500 NHL games, veteran defenseman Patrik Nemeth has made the choice to sign in Switzerland and continue his pro career overseas.

According to a team announcement, he’s signed a two-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss National League, joining other former NHLers Julius Honka, Sven Baertschi, Martin Frk, Oscar Lindberg, Colton Sceviour, and Dominik Kahun playing for the 16-time NL champions.

This move concludes a steep decline in NHL value for Nemeth, who only two years ago today signed a three-year, $2.5MM AAV contract with the New York Rangers as an unrestricted free agent.

The hope was that Nemeth could anchor the Rangers’ bottom-pairing and be the sort of stay-at-home left-shot defenseman who could help prized prospect Nils Lundkvist, a young right-shot blueliner and fellow Swede, adjust to the NHL.

Nemeth struggled badly in New York, though, ultimately spending most of the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final as a healthy scratch.

He was subsequently traded to the Arizona Coyotes with the Rangers attaching two second-rounders in order to incentivize Arizona to take on Nemeth’s deal. The fact that the Rangers were willing to sacrifice two genuinely valuable draft picks just to be rid of Nemeth illustrates how far his value had fallen after just one season, and unfortunately, that decline would continue into his Coyotes tenure.

The fact that Arizona spent last season short on established defensive talent meant that Nemeth would play a larger role for the Coyotes than he did in New York. Nemeth averaged nearly 18 minutes of ice time per night, up from 16:38 with the Rangers, and he was head coach André Tourigny’s most frequently-used penalty killer averaging 3:15 per night short-handed.

Despite boasting an above-average goalie in Karel Vejmelka, though, the Coyotes had the sixth-worst penalty kill in the NHL, indicating that Nemeth was likely overmatched as a team’s short-handed minutes-eater.

The Coyotes ultimately opted to buy out Nemeth rather than retain him for the final year of his deal, giving them significant cap savings this upcoming season at a $1.167MM cost for 2024-25.

Seeing as he’s still just 31 years old, played a relatively significant role last season, offers over 500 games of NHL experience, and offers the type of size (six-foot-four, 230 pounds) NHL teams covet, it’s somewhat surprising Nemeth opted to sign in Switzerland rather than hold out for an NHL contract.

But seeing as he might be in two-way deal territory, opting for some more security and stability to play in Switzerland (which is also closer to home for Nemeth, who hails from Stockholm) is a completely understandable choice.

Now Nemeth, who played significant minutes representing Sweden at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships, will likely play a significant role on Bern’s blueline and look to lead the team on a bounce-back season after they finished eighth out of 14 in the regular-season standings in 2022-23.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

West Notes: Pettersson, Nill, Jets

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One player that was likely intrigued by the eight-year, $78MM extension that Sebastian Aho signed yesterday was Canucks center Elias Pettersson.  Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma suggests that Aho’s deal should only bolster Pettersson’s asking price when discussions about a new deal get underway.  Pettersson had a much better platform season, picking up 39 goals and 63 assists while Aho had 36 tallies and 31 helpers.  Pettersson is also averaging just shy of a point per game for his career while Aho checks in at 0.9.  However, Aho has nearly 200 more NHL appearances under his belt and all eight years of his contract are UFA seasons while Pettersson will have one RFA-eligible year on his next deal.  Despite that, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pettersson’s camp aiming higher than Aho’s contract when he and the team sit down to discuss a potential extension.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • In an interview with Sean Shapiro of D Magazine, Stars GM Jim Nill acknowledged that he has had discussions with owner Tom Gaglardi about eventually moving into a new role and allowing someone else to take over as GM. Nill signed a two-year extension earlier this week that keeps him under contract through 2025-26 and has been on the job in Dallas since 2013.  But at 65, there has been a belief for a few years now that he’s in the back half of being in that role but since it appears that he’s open to holding a more senior front office position down the road, he could still have a big impact in Dallas beyond his newly-extended contract.
  • While the Jets are likely facing a logjam on the back end next season, Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun doesn’t expect the team to be moving away one of their veterans to open up a spot for a younger player. As things stand, Winnipeg has their top six intact from last season, leaving youngsters Logan Stanley, Ville Heinola, Kyle Capobianco, and waiver-eligible Declan Chisholm on the outside looking in.  Currently, the more probable scenario is Capobianco being waived and Heinola, who is waiver-exempt, being sent down, leaving Stanley and Chisholm as projected scratches.  That’s not ideal for a team that could benefit from developing some of their younger options but with the Jets looking to stay competitive in the short-term, them moving a veteran would go against that intent.

Atlantic Notes: Matthews, DeBrusk, Montour

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For a while now, there has been plenty of speculation that Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews intends to set a new benchmark for the highest AAV when he signs his next contract.  In a recent appearance on Sportsnet 590 (audio link), Nick Kypreos suggested that the two sides are believed to be in agreement on a cap hit at or around $13.5MM which would come in well above Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM price tag.  At this point, the discussions between the two sides are focused on term.  Matthews took a five-year deal off his entry-level contract instead of a max-term agreement and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him take a shorter-term pact again with an eye on landing one more significant contract down the road.

More from the Atlantic:

  • While the Bruins are right now focusing on the pending arbitration hearings for Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald opines that Boston also needs to get a sense of what Jake DeBrusk’s next contract is going to cost. Now extension-eligible as he’s in the final year of his deal, the winger could theoretically be used in a trade for a center if they decide to try to make a move to replace Patrice Bergeron if they find themselves too far apart in discussions.  The 26-year-old has a $4MM AAV for next season and stands to be in line for a raise on that next summer after recording 27 goals and 23 assists in 64 games in 2022-23.
  • In an appearance on the Cam and Strick podcast (video link), Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour provided an update on his recovery from shoulder surgery. He was recently able to remove the sling but anticipates he’s still at least a month away from being able to lift weights and he doesn’t expect to be able to hit the ice until sometime in September.  Recovery from labrum surgeries typically carry a four-to-six-month recovery time so while it’s possible that Montour could be back early next season, his return could also be pushed back as far as into December.

2023 Salary Arbitration Tracker

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Originally published July 10th

This morning, the NHLPA announced the calendar of dates for this offseason’s slate of salary arbitration hearings. 23 players are slated for hearings, including the 22 players who elected arbitration last week, although some names below have been settled. As contracts are reached before hearing dates arrive, we’ll continuously update this article with the terms of settled contracts.

July 20

F Philipp Kurashev, Chicago (decided, two years, $4.5MM)
F Brandon Duhaime, Minnesota (settled, one year, $1.1MM)
F Alexey Toropchenko, St. Louis (settled, two years, $2.5MM)
F Noah Cates, Philadelphia (settled, two years, $5.25MM)

July 21

G Ilya Samsonov, Toronto (decided, one year, $3.55MM)

July 24

F Brett Howden, Vegas (settled, two years, $3.8MM)
D Vince Dunn, Seattle (settled, four years, $29.4MM)
F Tanner Jeannot, Tampa (settled, two years, $5.33MM)

July 26

D Ian Mitchell, Boston (settled, one year, $775K)
D William Borgen, Seattle (settled, two years, $5.4MM)

July 27

F Ross Colton, Colorado (settled, four years, $16MM)

July 28

F Gabriel Vilardi, Winnipeg (settled, two years, $6.875MM)
D Cale Fleury, Seattle (settled, two years, $1.6MM)

July 30

G Jeremy Swayman, Boston (decided, one year, $3.475MM)
F Jack McBain, Arizona (settled, two years, $3.2MM)

July 31

*F Alex DeBrincat, Detroit (settled, four years, $31.5MM)

*The Ottawa Senators filed for team-elected arbitration with DeBrincat before trading his rights to Detroit

August 1

F Trent Frederic, Boston (settled, two years, $4.6MM)

August 2

F Morgan Barron, Winnipeg (settled, two years, $2.7MM)
F Troy Terry, Anaheim (settled, seven years, $49MM)

August 4

F Ryan McLeod, Edmonton (settled, two years, $4.2MM)
D Brandon Scanlin, NY Rangers (settled, one year, $775K)
G Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota (settled, three years, $11.25MM)
F Drew O’Connor, Pittsburgh (settled, two years, $1.85MM)

A reminder of the rules surrounding salary arbitration, per CapFriendly:

  • A player and team can settle on a deal at any point before the hearing starts
  • Once the hearing has taken place, the arbitration decision must be issued by email within 48 hours of the closing
  • Arbitration awards can only be one or two years in length
    • Players who are in their final year of restricted free agency are only entitled to a one-year term
  • The team decides on the awarded term, save for any team-elected arbitration cases
  • The team can walk away from the arbitration decision if a contract with an average annual value of more than $4.54MM is granted

Senators Sign Vladimir Tarasenko

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The Senators have brought in some help up front, announcing the signing of winger Vladimir Tarasenko.  The veteran receives a one-year, $5MM contract.  Tarasenko also receives a full no-trade clause.  GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement about the signing:

Vladimir’s a natural goal scorer.  He’s a dynamic player who can score from anywhere in the offensive zone, as well as an underrated playmaker who’s made a career out of driving offence for he and his linemates. An established performer in the regular season and in the playoffs, we’re thrilled to add a player of his calibre to our lineup.

The 31-year-old was the top free agent forward left on the open market despite coming off what would be considered a down year by his standards.  Tarasenko started the season with St. Louis, picking up 10 goals and 19 assists in 38 games before the Blues moved him to the Rangers a little before the trade deadline.  He wasn’t able to maintain that level of production, however, notching eight goals with 13 helpers in 31 regular season contests while adding three goals and an assist in their first-round loss to New Jersey.

However, despite the quieter year, Tarasenko is still viewed as a strong scoring threat as Dorion alluded to.  He has surpassed the 30-goal mark six times since 2013-14 while dealing with considerable injury trouble in two of the years that he didn’t get to that level.  That helped slot him in third in our annual Top 50 UFA list.

While Tarasenko might not be a full-time top-liner anymore, the Senators don’t necessarily need him to fill that role as they’ll count on Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, and Josh Norris to carry the bulk of the scoring load.  Instead, they’ll be turning to him to help replace Alex DeBrincat, who was moved to Detroit earlier this month.  Tarasenko and veteran Claude Giroux will likely fill in some of the gaps in the top six, giving the Sens a group that looks relatively deep on paper as they look to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17.

However, it’s also a group that is fairly expensive on paper as this basically puts Ottawa at the $83.5MM Upper Limit of the salary cap based on CapFriendly’s projections.  That’s particularly notable as the team still needs to re-sign center Shane Pinto this summer.  It also seems likely that they’d prefer to carry 13 forwards on the active roster so they’ll need to create some cap room in the coming weeks to do so while their preference now might be to do a one-year deal to help keep his cap hit as low as possible.  While Toronto will be able to get cap relief from placing Matt Murray on LTIR when the season begins, the Senators will not receive any cap relief for the portion of Murray’s contract that they’re carrying on their books from trading him last summer.

Meanwhile, it’s an interesting end to a contract saga that has been a bit odd for Tarasenko.  He had strong interest early in free agency but wasn’t able to come to terms on a new deal and less than a week into the open market, he dismissed Paul Theofanous, hiring Pat Brisson and J.P. Barry instead.  At the time, the speculation was that he had multiple multi-year deals worth a little more than he ultimately wound up signing for.  That’s good news for Ottawa as they’ve now landed a capable scoring threat who will be motivated for a big year with the hopes of cashing in on what’s projected to be a more favorable free agent market next summer, making it a possible win-win contract for both sides.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 07/27/23

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Today has been an active day for player movement across the world of professional hockey, as numerous teams in the many pro leagues of North America and Europe are looking to secure quality players for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of the notable moves made in those minor and foreign leagues.

  • 26-year-old defenseman Gabriel Carlsson won the AHL’s Calder Cup in dramatic fashion last month, helping the Hershey Bears to victory in overtime of Game Seven of the league’s final series. Now, he’s likely headed back to his home country of Sweden to play in the SHL for the first time since 2017. Carlsson, a 2015 first-round pick, has reportedly signed a “long-term” contract with the Växjö Lakers, according to Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Rose of Sportbladet, a Swedish news outlet. If this signing ends up finalized, it will move Carlsson from one defending champion to another. It would also mean that Växjö and the Washington Capitals organization have essentially made a trade, swapping Carlsson for Hardy Häman Aktell, Växjö’s top blueliner from last season who left to sign with the Capitals in April. Carlsson played in six games for the Capitals last season, averaging 13:46 TOI per night, and scored 15 points in 59 games as a top-four regular for the Bears.
  • The AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms have re-signed 22-year-old second-year netminder Nolan Maier to a one-year AHL contract. Maier is an undrafted Canadian goalie who made his professional debut last season, appearing in 24 games for the Philadelphia Flyers’ ECHL affiliate, the Reading Royals, and 10 games in the AHL for Lehigh Valley across the regular season and playoffs. Maier posted a 12-8-3 record, 2.89 goals-against-average, and .892 save percentage for the Royals and a 5-2-2-/.2.85/.885 mark in Lehigh Valley. As Cal Petersen and Felix Sanadstrom are likely to take up the vast majority of available AHL starts Maier, the WHL’s all-time leader in wins, is likely to start the year once again in the ECHL.
  • The AHL’s Ontario Reign re-signed two depth players, Nikita Pavlychev and Tyler Inamoto to one-year AHL contracts. Each player spent most of the season with the ECHL’s Greenville Swamp Rabbits, and Pavlychev was one of the team’s best scorers on a points-per-game basis. He potted 25 goals and 45 points in 36 games, his third season on the AHL/ECHL bubble since leaving Pennsylvania State University. For Inamoto, 2022-23 was his first campaign as a professional and the six-foot-two left-shot blueliner played in 36 ECHL games and earned seven games in the AHL.
  • Former Moncton Wildcats top scorer and ECHL All-Star Jeremy McKenna re-signed with the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds for the 2023-24 season, where he will likely resume his role as a premium ECHL scorer and first-choice AHL call-up option. The 24-year-old Alberta native has been an exceptional ECHL player since turning pro in 2020-21, and he has 100 points in 99 career games there. In the AHL, McKenna has struggled (just 26 points in 71 career AHL games) though he has had some moments of success. His recent run in the playoffs with the Firebirds included the most consistent production he’s ever provided in the AHL, and his 12 points in 18 games there should give the Firebirds confidence that he could even compete for a more permanent AHL role in training camp in a few months.
  • After a year where he posted the third-highest save percentage in the WHL as the number-two goalie for the Lethbridge Hurricanes, Bryan Thomson has earned a contract with an AHL club to begin his pro career. The 21-year-old has signed a two-year AHL contract with the Texas Stars, and will likely end up starting his pro career in the ECHL with the Stars’ affiliate, the Idaho Steelheads. Texas already has Remi Poirier and Matthew Murray set as their tandem for next season, so Thompson will likely factor in at the ECHL level with the hope of sneaking into some AHL starts if he performs well there.
  • ECHL All-Star Collin Adams has left the New York Islanders’ farm system to sign with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. The 25-year-old 2016 Islanders draft pick spent most of his rookie pro season in the AHL with the Bridgeport Islanders, but only managed 11 points in 45 games. This past season, Adams spent more time in the ECHL with the Worcester Railers and his numbers began to look more like they were in his final two seasons playing college hockey at the University of North Dakota. Adams posted 32 points in 30 games for the Railers and could end up a top scorer for the Wings playing on this newly-signed contract.
  • 2018-19 Hobey Baker Award finalist Patrick Newell has returned to North America, signing an ECHL contract with the Orlando Solar Bears. The 27-year-old was a coveted college prospect at the end of his career at St. Cloud State and signed an entry-level deal with the New York Rangers. He failed to make a real dent in the American League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, just 27 points in 87 games. Newell left to play in Norway at the conclusion of his contract with the Rangers organization and scored 51 points in 42 games there. He split last season between clubs in Hungary and Sweden’s second division and has now decided to try his hand in the ECHL for the first time in his career.
  • Avery Winslow, an alternate captain for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion for the last two seasons, is beginning his professional career with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. The soon-to-be 21-year-old left-shot blueliner signed a one-year ECHL contract with the Nailers, heading to West Virginia having concluded his OHL career. He led the Battalion to within one win of the OHL’s championship series earlier this year and scored a combined 19 points in 60 regular season and playoff games in 2022-23 in North Bay.
  • One of the ECHL’s more improved players last season was former Merrimack College captain Tyler Drevitch, who improved his production for the Wheeling Nailers from nine points in 45 games to 18 goals and 33 points in 72 games. That improvement earned him a contract with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates, who are likely interested in his combination of bruising physicality (he totaled 179 penalty minutes in 2022-23) and goal-scoring touch. He joins his little brother Logan Drevitch, 25, his teammate from Merrimack who scored 37 points in 69 games for Savannah as an ECHL rookie last season and signed an extension with the Ghost Pirates on Monday.
  • Victor Hadfield, the 22-year-old grandson of New York Rangers legend Vic Hadfield, re-signed with the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen today. This extension makes 2023-24 Hadfield’s third campaign in Duval County, the place he landed in March 2022 after he was traded from the South Carolina Stingrays. Hadfield is a left winger just like his famous grandfather and scored seven goals and 14 points in 44 games last season.

This page may be updated throughout the day. 

Jeremy Groleau Linked To Sweden

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After going unqualified by the New Jersey Devils last month, young defenseman Jeremy Groleau may have found his new home. The 23-year-old has a one-year agreement in place with SHL club Farjestad BK, per Hans Abrahamsson and Tomas Ros of Sportbladet.

It’s not often we see a North American-born player head to Europe immediately after completing their entry-level contract, but that appears to be Groleau’s choice. He hit the unrestricted free agent market this offseason despite seeing an increased role when in the lineup with the Devils’ AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets, but he played just 43 games and was stuck behind many higher-ceiling defenders ahead of him in the organization.

Groleau went undrafted when first eligible in 2018, but it didn’t take him long to find an NHL home. The Devils signed Groleau to a three-year entry-level contract later that summer as a free agent out of the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Sagueneens, but the deal slid twice as he didn’t get into any NHL action during the first two seasons of the deal.

The Quebec-born defender actually has quite a bit of pro experience for a player his age, appearing in 151 AHL games for the Comets/Binghamton Devils over the past five seasons. This past season was his first real taste of any top-four action in the minors, and he responded with a career-high 10 points and a +14 rating in 43 games.

He could’ve been an intriguing target for some teams to pick up on a minor-league deal, especially given his 6-foot-3 frame and improving defensive play. Instead, he heads to one of Europe’s most successful franchises – Farjestad has won the SHL/Elitserien championship seven times since 1994 and consistently participates in the continental Champions Hockey League.

With seven healthy defenders already signed for next season, though, Groleau will have to slog it out for playing time with his new Swedish teammates. Interestingly, the report from Abrahamsson and Ros suggests Farjestad was interested in retaining NHL veteran defender Brandon Davidson, who instead signed with rival SHL club Rogle BK this morning.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Logan Cooley

at CDT | by 18 Comments

What seemed unlikely until the last 24 hours has officially occurred. The Arizona Coyotes have signed their top prospect, center Logan Cooley, to his three-year, entry-level deal, according to a team announcement. CapFriendly reports the structure of his ELC, which carries a $950K cap hit, is as follows: a $850K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $1MM type ’A’ performance bonus, and $2.5MM type ’B’ performance bonus. This is the maximum financial compensation Cooley is eligible to receive on his ELC.

Reports from PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman yesterday suggested an official announcement on Arizona signing Cooley could come today or Friday. The news comes after Cooley said earlier this summer he’d return to the University of Minnesota for another year of college hockey in 2023-24.

Cooley, 19, is not just Arizona’s best center prospect – he’s their best prospect overall since selecting star winger Clayton Keller at seventh overall in 2016. Putting up the second-most points of anyone in NCAA hockey last season, Cooley could very well slot in between Keller and Nick Schmaltz and take on first-line duties during his first season in the desert. The product of the Pittsburgh Penguins youth program posted a rather raucous 60 points in 39 games, helping guide Minnesota to the national championship game before conceding to Quinnipiac University in overtime.

As mentioned yesterday, the Coyotes must be happy with their choice to select Cooley at third overall last year over projected first-overall pick Shane Wright, who fell all the way to the Seattle Kraken at fourth overall. While Wright still projects as a promising talent, he’s no longer in a head-and-shoulders tier above the rest of the 2022 class – in fact, Cooley might be the only player you could make that argument for.

It’s worth noting that Cooley is far from a one-dimensional talent. While he did have some growing pains defensively early on in the collegiate season, he’s shown that his speed can be a factor on the backcheck. He can be caught out of position at times when in the defensive zone, though, something he’ll need to work on with Arizona at the NHL level. That shouldn’t be too much of an issue with head coach Andre Tourigny at the helm, who’s regarded as one of the better development coaches in the league. Unfortunately, Arizona hasn’t had a competitive enough roster during Tourigny’s tenure to showcase his full coaching abilities.

At his peak, Cooley is an electric offense-generating talent who demands attention on the ice, especially when making breaks up the middle through the neutral zone. His ability to catch passes in stride makes him a more-than-ideal complement for a strong playmaking winger.

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