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East Notes: Islanders, Amerks, Leblanc

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The Islanders were one of the teams interested in winger Alex DeBrincat with Newsday’s Andrew Gross reporting that Jean-Gabriel Pageau and winger Oliver Wahlstrom were part of their pitch to Ottawa to try to get DeBrincat’s services.  Presumably, the offer would have also featured a first-round pick and another younger element.  Pageau is no stranger to Ottawa having spent parts of eight seasons with the team but the 30-year-old has three years left on his contract with a $5MM AAV, a price tag the Sens likely didn’t want to take on.  The total salary in the trade they did make with Detroit was assuming the final year and $2.5MM of Dominik Kubalik’s contract.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • The Sabres announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches for AHL Rochester, naming Nathan Paetsch and Vinny Prospal to the role. Paetsch has worked as a development coach for Buffalo for the last two seasons while Prospal most recently served as the head coach for HC Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Extraliga with that stint ending after the 2020-21 campaign.  The two former NHL veterans will take the place of two other former veterans that have been promoted to jobs at the top level with Paetsch replacing Mike Weber (Blues) and Prospal filling the spot of Mike Peca (Rangers).
  • Anthony Leblanc has stepped down as Ottawa’s President of Business Operations and Alternate Governor, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Leblanc had held that role since 2020 and had previously spent time in the NHL with Arizona from 2013-2017.  Changes shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise with Michael Andlauer set to take over soon as the new owner of the team.  Andlauer was advised in his pursuit of the team by former Senators executive Cyril Leeder; Garrioch suggests that Leeder could return to the club once the purchase is officially finalized.

Maple Leafs Linked To Brian Elliott

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The remaining unrestricted free agent market for goaltenders isn’t exactly the deepest with the options mostly being veteran backups or third-stringers.  But it appears at least one netminder has a potential suitor as Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that Brian Elliott could be on his way to Toronto.

The 38-year-old is a 16-year NHL veteran and has spent time with six different teams.  Tampa Bay was the last of those squads as Elliott suited up for two seasons with them, posting a 2.96 GAA along with a .900 SV% in 41 games.  Notably, Elliott has only surpassed the .900 SV% mark once in the last four seasons.

With that in mind, the connection to the Maple Leafs might seem a bit surprising.  However, projected backup Joseph Woll is still inexperienced with just 11 career NHL regular season appearances under his belt.  Matt Murray remains in the organization for the time being but with Toronto’s salary cap situation, it’s hard to imagine that he’ll be suiting up for them in 2023-24 as things stand.

Meanwhile, among their other four goalies on an NHL contract (Dennis Hildeby, Artur Akhtyamov, Keith Petruzzelli, and Vyacheslav Peksa), none of them have played a single minute at the top level.  Only Petruzzelli (30 games) and Hildeby (two games) have played in the AHL.  Accordingly, counting on any of them to come up and serve as an injury replacement for Ilya Samsonov or Woll would be risky.

Perhaps that’s where Elliott could fit in.  While playing in the AHL seems unlikely at this stage of his career, he could be someone who is waived and officially stashed with the AHL Marlies but doesn’t actually suit up for them, instead simply skating to stay ready.  Basically, something similar to what they did with Wayne Simmonds for long stretches of last season.

A role like that might not be the most endearing but it would give Elliott a chance to sign with his hometown team and – who knows – perhaps get a few more NHL appearances under his belt.  If not Elliott, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Toronto look at another veteran to fill this type of role in 2023-24.

Snapshots: Flames, Canucks, Lake Tahoe

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Missing out on the entirety of the 2022-23 NHL season due to a personal issue, defenseman Oliver Kylington is set to get going for the Calgary Flames this upcoming year. In a report from Ryan Pike of Flames Nation, Kylington is “excited” to return to the Flames this year. With one year, $2.5MM remaining on Kylington’s contract, Pike notes that the team has not yet engaged with him on contract extension conversations.

One player that the team has engaged in contract talks with is forward Dillon Dube (Tweet Link). Dube has been incrementally improving his game for years, capping off the 2022-23 year with his best performance, an 18-goal and 27-assist effort in 82 games played.

Luckily for the Flames, Dube will be a restricted free agent at the end of his three-year, $9.6MM contract signed back before the 2021-22 season, giving them a decent amount of control over the situation. In context, forward Tyler Toffoli is already off to the New Jersey Devils, and Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund are unsure about their future, Dube may have a significant role opening up for himself on Calgary’s roster.

Other snapshots:

  •  Today, the Vancouver Canucks released their ECHL affiliate for the 2023-24 NHL season, and it will be the Kalamazoo Wings. This will not be their first partnership, as Kalamazoo featured as the Canucks’ ECHL affiliate from 1984-1987, 2011-2015, and again from 2017-2021. Throughout their history as a team, the Wings have never won the Kelly Cup in the ECHL, but have employed NHL talent such as Ron Hextall, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Manny Fernandez.
  • Continuing on with news from the ECHL, the league has approved a new team, one that will reside in Lake Tahoe, CA. The team is unnamed up to this point, but it will be the 29th team granted admittance into the NHL’s second-tier minor league system. Interestingly enough, the team will be owned by former professional quarterback, and 2007 Heisman Trophy Winner, Tim Tebow.

Boston Bruins Sign Ian Mitchell

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One of the defensemen acquired by the Boston Bruins in the trade that sent Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks, Ian Mitchell, has reached a contract agreement with the team. Mitchell, who was originally scheduled for a July 26th arbitration hearing has signed a one-year, $775K contract for the 2023-24 season.

Originally drafted 57th overall by the Blackhawks in the 2017 NHL Draft, Mitchell primarily split time over the last three years between Chicago and their AHL affiliate, the Rockford Ice Hogs. In 82 career games with the Blackhawks, Mitchell scored four goals and 12 assists in total, averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per night.

At the AHL, he has expectedly been much better on the point sheet, scoring 13 goals and 29 assists for the Ice Hogs in 67 career games. Logistically, given the current construction of the Bruins roster, it would be reasonable to see Mitchell split time between leagues once again.

This summer, the Bruins did lose a bit of forward depth, but their defensive core still remains strong. Headlined by Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, Jakub Zboril currently projects as the team’s seventh defenseman, with Mitchell just behind him on the depth chart. Not quite a shut-down defenseman, Mitchell has shown strong defensive numbers in the past, evidenced by his 91.2% oiSV% during his time in Chicago.

Philadelphia Flyers Sign Cam York

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The Philadelphia Flyers have a new contract to announce for one of their top young defenders. Cam York has signed a two-year, $3.2MM contract carrying a $1.6MM cap hit. CapFriendly reports the structure of his deal is as follows:

2023-24: $1.3MM salary, $300K signing bonus
2024-25: $1.6MM salary

York, 22, set a career-high in points with the Flyers in 2022-23. His 20 points in 54 games ranked fifth among Flyers defenders in total, but his 0.37 points per game put him second to only Tony DeAngelo.

The team’s 14th overall pick in 2019, York is a shoo-in to take over a full-time top-four role after the team dealt away Ivan Provorov (and, presumably, DeAngelo) this summer. It’s largely assumed the team signed veteran Marc Staal in free agency to serve as a partner/mentor for York, who did average over 19 minutes per game last season and posted rather high-end two-way results.

With Provorov out of the picture, it seems like just a matter of time until York is Philadelphia’s de facto number-one defenseman. If that happens sometime within the next two seasons, this is obviously an incredibly short-term value signing by general manager Daniel Briere.

He’s the second promising young Flyer to sign a two-year deal today, though, joining center Noah Cates. While getting Cates and York locked in until 2025 for a combined $4.225MM is a solid piece of work, they’ll likely both be due gigantic raises two summers from now, something that could be tough to negotiate even with a rising salary cap.

York will be an RFA again in 2025, and he’ll be due a $1.6MM qualifying offer. In the meantime, though, the focus rests on development for the 5-foot-11, 172-pound defenseman.

San Jose Sharks Sign Filip Zadina

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After completing the contract termination process with the Detroit Red Wings last week, 2018 sixth-overall pick Filip Zadina has quickly found his new home. He’s signed a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the San Jose Sharks, as announced by the team today.

The Czech winger registered just seven points in 30 NHL games in 2022-23, the first year of a three-year, $5.475MM extension he’d signed in Detroit late last summer. With a lack of any real offensive development occurring in the Motor City, Zadina requested a trade through his agent around the 2023 NHL Draft – which Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman said he’d pursued to no avail.

Yzerman then made the decision to waive Zadina early last week, exposing him to every team in the league for free. With a two-year commitment and back-loaded contract, however, there were no takers, leading the two parties to cut ties entirely via mutual termination last Friday.

Zadina now lands in San Jose on an affordable, low-risk contract, helping him recoup some of the money he walked away from via his contract termination with Detroit. He was set to earn $1.83MM from Detroit this season, so it’s a pay cut of roughly $700K, but likely more due to taxes.

In the Bay Area, Zadina could garner attention in a top-six role out of training camp, potentially alongside countryman Tomas Hertl. San Jose did some ancillary work to boost their top six by acquiring Anthony Duclair from the Florida Panthers earlier this month, giving the Sharks and head coach David Quinn a lot of combinations for their top two lines. They’ll likely include some mixture of Hertl, Zadina, and Duclair, along with Logan Couture, Alexander Barabanov, and 2021 seventh-overall pick William Eklund.

During his less-than-illustrious NHL stint thus far, Zadina has played 190 games (all in Detroit) and has accumulated 28 goals, 40 assists, and 68 points. His most productive season was in 2021-22, recording 10 goals, 14 assists, and 24 points in 74 games played. Among Red Wings forwards, he ranked sixth in assists that season.

Zadina has also participated in 82 AHL games, scoring 26 goals and 26 assists for the Grand Rapids Griffins. Of note, his $1.1MM cap hit comes in just under this season’s buriable threshold of $1.125MM, so he can be assigned to the AHL without any cap penalty to the Sharks.

He’ll be a restricted free agent again next offseason, and he’ll be due a qualifying offer equal to this year’s $1.1MM salary.

AHL Transaction Ledger: 07/10/23

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With NHL rosters quickly getting filled up after free agency opened at the beginning of the month, we’re entering one of the busiest times of the year for the AHL. Players are now flocking to the minors for playing security next season, allowing AHL teams to snap up promising young talents and veteran players alike as they round out their complementary players to their NHL affiliate’s prospects and farmhands. AHL teams have been busy acquiring talent this morning, so we’re listing all of today’s moves in the league:

  • After getting his NHL contract with the New York Islanders mutually terminated, reigning AHL goal-scoring leader Andy Andreoff has officially left the North American pro circuit for KHL club Sibir Novosibirsk, signing a one-year contract. An alternate captain for the Bridgeport Islanders during his two seasons there, Andreoff’s 37 goals in 69 games were good enough to capture the league’s Willie Marshall Award for the first time in his career. This will be the 32-year-old’s first overseas experience, as the Canadian-born center developed through the OHL before beginning his pro career with the Los Angeles Kings organization in 2012.
  • Czech defenseman Andrej Sustr is joining Andreoff in heading overseas, signing a contract for 2023-24 with DEL side Kolner Haie. The veteran of 362 NHL games spent all of 2022-23 in the minors, posting three goals, 11 assists, 14 points, and a +8 rating in 51 games split between the Iowa Wild and San Diego Gulls. His NHL negotiating rights were temporarily dealt from the Anaheim Ducks to the San Jose Sharks at the end of last month, but the UFA has opted to return to Europe for his first overseas experience since spending two years in China with Kunlun Red Star from 2019 to 2021.
  • KHL club Dinamo Minsk joins Novosibirsk in nabbing some AHL talent today, inking forward Sam Anas and defenseman Yanni Kaldis to one-year deals. The 30-year-old Anas has played the last seven seasons exclusively in the AHL, accumulating 398 games of experience without ever receiving an NHL chance. The 2019-20 league leader in assists is fresh off a Calder Cup victory with the Hershey Bears, where he notched 12 points in 20 games of postseason play. Kaldis, 27, had spent the last three seasons with the Bakersfield Condors, where he registered 13 goals, 51 assists, 64 points, and a -2 rating in 132 games.
  • The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have signed one of their parent club’s unsigned prospects to a one-year deal for 2023-24, getting Austrian defender Thimo Nickl under contract. A 2020 fourth-round selection of the Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh acquired the 21-year-old defender’s signing rights in a minor swap at the end of March 2023. Nickl spent the last two seasons with AIK in the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan, amassing 18 points and a -14 rating in 85 games. He’s a likely candidate for ECHL assignment and could spend a large portion of next season with the Wheeling Nailers.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have signed Canadian free agent forward Sahil Panwar to a one-year contract after he concluded his junior career in 2022-23. The 21-year-old exploded offensively after a mid-season move in the OHL to the Hamilton Bulldogs, where he would finish third on the team in scoring with 21 goals and 52 points despite playing just 34 games. A very late bloomer, Panwar also attended the New York Rangers’ recent development camp on an invitation basis.
  • Canadian defenseman Devante Stephens is returning to the Syracuse Crunch on a one-year contract. The 26-year-old registered 17 points in 64 appearances for the Crunch between 2019 and 2021, but spent the last two seasons with the Abbotsford Canucks and Tucson Roadrunners. A responsible bottom-of-the-lineup defender, he should compete for an everyday role in Syracuse among the Tampa Bay Lightning’s thin organizational defensive depth.
  • Nine players are heading to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, who are filling out their roster completely by themselves as they will not have an NHL affiliate next season. Forwards Peter Abbandonato, Hudson Elynuik, Kyle Marino, Cole Schneider, and Chris Terry, defensemen Tory Dello and Tyson Feist, and goaltender Adam Scheel have all signed one-year deals. The headliners here are Marino, who will rejoin the team in a bottom-six role after appearing in their 2022 Calder Cup championship run, and a pair of forwards with some limited NHL experience in Schneider and Terry. The Wolves now have 12 forwards, four defensemen, and one goalie signed to their roster for next season, so they still have a fair bit of work to do until their full complement of players is set.
  • A former second-round pick, Tyler Benson, has signed a one-year agreement with the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Henderson Silver Knights. The Silver Knights are getting an above-average player in Benson, as he scored 176 points in 217 career games with the Bakersfield Condors. During the 2020-21 season, although there were no Calder Cup playoffs due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the AHL’s Pacific Division did have playoffs, and Benson was on the Condors team that defeated the Silver Knights in the finals.
  • The Utica Comets, an AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, announced a trio of signings today, adding Ryan Fitzgerald, Yushiroh Hirano, and Eric Cooley to AHL contracts today. Fitzgerald is the most recognizable of the group, spending the last three seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 45 games played over the last three years, Fitzgerald has 13 goals and 10 assists. Fitzgerald is the son of the Devils’ General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald.
  • The Manitoba Moose have signed forward C.J. Suess to a two-year contract, giving him playing security through 2025. Once a prospect of Manitoba’s parent club, the Winnipeg Jets, Suess spent last season in the San Jose Sharks organization, where he tallied 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 46 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and made one NHL appearance for the Sharks. The 2014 fifth-round pick previously amassed 166 games with the Moose during his time in the Jets organization, recording 45 goals and 83 points.

Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign Mitchell Stephens

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Center Mitchell Stephens has a new contract for 2023-24, re-signing with the Montreal Canadiens on a one-year, two-way deal. Per CapFriendly, the deal pays him $775K in the NHL and $300K in the minors, carrying a minimum guaranteed salary of $385K.

The 26-year-old Ontario-born forward was a restricted free agent this offseason, although he didn’t file for salary arbitration despite being eligible.

Stephens didn’t see any NHL ice last season, spending the entire campaign in the AHL for the first time since 2018-19. In 68 games with the Laval Rocket, he registered 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points, finishing third on the team in scoring.

He is a reliable NHL call-up option if Montreal wants a more veteran presence. He’s accumulated 72 NHL games over three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring three goals and 13 points while largely playing in a fourth-line role.

Selected 33rd overall in 2015 by Tampa Bay, it doesn’t appear a full-time NHL role is in Stephens’ future. However, he’ll lock down a top-six role again in Laval next season.

Re-signing Stephens leaves Montreal with four RFAs still to sign: center Alex Newhook, left wing Lucas Condotta, right wing Jesse Ylonen, and left defenseman Nicolas Beaudin.

Philadelphia Flyers Re-Sign Noah Cates

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The Philadelphia Flyers have avoided arbitration with up-and-coming center Noah Cates, the team announced Monday morning. The two parties have agreed on a two-year, $5.25MM contract carrying a $2.625MM cap hit.

Cates’ new contract buys two arbitration-eligible years and makes him a restricted free agent again in 2025 when he’ll also be eligible for arbitration.

The 24-year-old burst onto the scene in a big way during his rookie season. He was one of three Flyers to skate in all 82 games last year, and he finished top-15 in both Calder Trophy and Selke Trophy voting – impressive stuff for a fifth-round pick.

Born in Stillwater, Minnesota, Cates struggled heavily in the faceoff circle (39.5 win percentage) but was a defensive dynamo everywhere else, tying for the team lead in plus/minus with a +3 rating. He added 13 goals, 25 assists and 38 points, finishing eighth on the team in total scoring.

He also took on quite heavy minutes, playing nearly 18 minutes per game and facing some tough competition. In fact, he took on much of the defensive burden created by the absence of Sean Couturier, who missed the entire season with a back injury.

After Philadelphia cleared some space on the depth chart by dealing Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues, Cates (along with fellow riser Morgan Frost) is slated for top-nine minutes again in 2023-24, although Couturier’s return should ease his role somewhat.

Cates also flashed solid offensive production during a 16-game stint with the Flyers to end 2021-22 after turning pro, recording nine points in 16 games. With some decreased defensive responsibility, could he build on some already solid production and turn into a bonafide top-six center?

It shouldn’t be the expectation, especially given his draft billing, but Cates has already displayed sustainable tools to become a long-term NHL center. If he can maintain his strong play away from the puck, his sub-$3MM cap hit is a great value signing for Philadelphia and general manager Daniel Briere.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the terms of the deal.

Five Key Stories: 7/3/23 – 7/9/23

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In many instances, the week, after free agency opens, can be one of the duller weeks in the NHL, but this one still featured plenty of action. Between coaching movement and player movement, there are five stories that stuck out this week.

Vigneault Calls It Quits: Not coaching for the last couple of seasons since his termination as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2021, Alain Vigneault has officially retired from coaching. After 1363 career games spent as the main bench boss, Vigneault will finish with a record of 722-489-35-117, putting him 10th all-time in the head coaching win record. Vigneault did win the Jack Adams Trophy during the 2006-07 season and got to the Stanley Cup Final twice, once with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, and another time with the New York Rangers in 2014. With such an impressive all-time record, it would not be a shock to hear Vigneault’s name called for the Hall of Fame in the near future.

Minnesota Wild Acquire Maroon: Another consequence of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s cap situation, Pat Maroon was moved, along with forward Max Cajkovic to the Minnesota Wild in return for a seventh-round pick in 2024. Maroon had spent the last four seasons in Tampa Bay, seeing his production slip considerably last year. After seeing his playing time by an average of two minutes, Maroon only mustered five goals and nine points in 80 games. Even so, he still brings considerable experience to Minnesota, and a great locker room presence, evidenced by his back-to-back Stanley Cup championships from 2019-2021.

Toews Likely To Retire: At the beginning of the offseason, there was some speculation that Jonathan Toews would follow in the footsteps of his former teammate, Duncan Keith, and join the Edmonton Oilers, it appears that Toews will likely retire instead. Represented by hockey’s mega agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey, Toews was taken off the agency’s upcoming free agent list that they annually send out to teams. Battling both chronic immune response syndrome and long-term effects of Covid-19, Toews has unfortunately been able to complete a full season since 2018-19. If it is indeed the end of the line for Toews, he will finish his career with 372 goals and 511 assists in 1067 games played, as well as three Stanley Cup rings, one Frank J. Selke trophy, and one Conn Smythe win.

Red Wings Cut Ties With Zadina: Although the Detroit Red Wings were looking to find a trade partner to take on the contract of forward Filip Zadina, they were unable to, and subsequently terminated his contract. Prized as one of the purest goal-scorers in the 2018 NHL Draft, Zadina failed to replicate any of his junior success in Detroit. In 190 games spanning over five seasons donning the ’Winged Wheel, Zadina has 28 goals and 40 assists. With two years, and $3.65MM (including $2.73MM due in salary for the 2024-25 season), no team was interested in trading for Zadina, or even claiming him on waivers. Now an unrestricted free agent, it is reasonable to assume that Zadina will sign a minimum contract for the 2023-24 NHL season.

Toronto Marlies Hire New Head Coach: After cutting ties with their entire AHL coaching staff about a month and a half ago, the Toronto Marlies named their eighth head coach in franchise history, John Gruden. Gruden had spent last season with the Boston Bruins as an assistant coach and held the same position with the New York Islanders from 2018-2022. This will not be Gruden’s first stop in Ontario, as he was previously the head coach of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs from 2016-2018. In his last season coaching the team, Gruden coached the Bulldogs to a 2018 OHL Championship finish, eventually losing to the Regina Pats in the 2018 Memorial Cup semifinals.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

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