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Snapshots: Okposo, Kuznetsov, Wetsch, Mallory

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Back in May, winger Kyle Okposo indicated that he wasn’t sure if last season would be his final one.  Now three weeks into free agency and his first Stanley Cup title under his belt, the veteran told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen that he still hasn’t decided if he’ll return for an 18th NHL season.  The 36-year-old played in 67 games last season between Buffalo and Florida, collecting 12 goals and 10 assists in 13:21 per night, the second-lowest ATOI of his career.  Playing time was harder to come by in the playoffs as he averaged just 8:33 per contest in 17 appearances.  After playing on a $2.5MM salary last season, Okposo would likely need to take a sizable pay cut if he wants to continue his NHL career in 2024-25.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Unrestricted free agent Evgeny Kuznetsov is expected to meet with SKA St. Petersburg next week to discuss a possible contract, his agent Shumi Babaev told Sport-Express’ Konstantin Belov. The 32-year-old asked for and was granted a contract termination from Carolina earlier this month but soon had some interest from other NHL teams.  However, at the time of his termination, it was widely anticipated that he’d return home; SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg stated earlier this week that Kuznetsov would definitely be returning to the KHL.
  • Sharks prospect Carson Wetsch has been added to Canada’s roster for the upcoming World Junior Summer Showcase, Hockey Canada announced (Twitter link). The winger was a third-round pick last month, going 82nd overall after a quality sophomore year with WHL Calgary, one that saw Wetsch record 25 goals and 25 assists in 67 games before a stint with Canada at the World Under-18s.
  • The Senators announced that they’ve hired Josh Mallory as an assistant video coach. This is the first NHL opportunity for the 27-year-old.  Mallory spent the last three seasons as the video coach and manager of hockey operations with WHL Edmonton.

Prospect Notes: Hemming, Berggren, Willander, Dragicevic

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Dallas Stars 2024 first-round pick Emil Hemming has signed with the OHL’s Barrie Colts for the 2024-25 season. Hemming will forgo the final year of his three-year contract with Liiga’s TPS, where he’s played the past two seasons. Much of his 2022-23 campaign was spent on the TPS U20 roster – with Hemming potting 16 points in 22 games. He returned to the U20 lineup at the start of last season, though quickly earned a promotion to the Liiga after scoring 11 goals and 18 points in the first 13 games of the U20 season.

Hemming took the move to Finland’s top flight in stride, showing off just how physically mature his heavy, shoot-first style was. He only managed 11 points in 40 league games but showed plenty of growth as the year progressed, becoming much more confident in the defensive zone and more aggressive on offense. He curbed a meager two-point performance at the World Juniors with six points in five games at the World U18 Championships, continuing to show his strides as the season went along. All of that was enough to earn Hemming the 29th overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft, coupling him with a Stars team that’s quickly become known for finding draft-day steals. Hemming has shown he’s sturdy enough to play at a pro level and will now join Utah prospect Cole Beaudoin and Edmonton prospect Beau Akey as some of the many heavy and physical options in Barrie.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Jonatan Berggren is a bit buried down the Detroit Red Wings depth charts, but Max Bultman of The Athletic says he isn’t expecting Berggren to be traded. Instead, Bultman posits the benefits of a role reminiscent of Daniel Sprong’s role: operating on the team’s third line but still managing consistent power-play minutes. Berggren led the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins in scoring last season, netting 24 goals and 56 points. He’s also scored a commendable 17 goals and 34 points in 79 NHL games over the last two years. He’ll now have a golden chance to secure a consistent NHL role, with Sprong headed to the Vancouver Canucks on a one-year contract.
  • Vancouver Canucks defense prospect Tom Willander has suffered a minor lower-body injury and won’t play at the World Junior Summer Showcase, shares Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK Sports. Willander was a surprising choice at 11th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft, though he showed top-prospect upside during his freshman year at Boston University. Willander scored 25 points in 38 games, ranking second among Terrier defensemen. With injury now holding him out of Team Sweden’s summer games, Willander will shift his focus towards a breakout sophomore season at BU, where he’ll get a full run towards the top-defender role after Lane Hutson signed his entry-level contract.
  • Seattle Kraken defense prospect Lukas Dragicevic has seen his WHL rights traded from the Tri-City Americans to the Price Albert Raiders as part of a massive, seven-asset trade. Dragicevic signed his entry-level contract with Seattle in March after Tri-City missed out on the WHL playoffs. He finished the year with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, recording one assist through his first three AHL games. Prince Albert paid a hefty price for Dragicevic, suggesting that he could be set for a return to the CHL after getting a quick taste of the pros.  If that is the case, he’ll return looking to rediscover his strong scoring touch after recording 25 fewer points this season (50) than he did in 2022-23 (75).

Snapshots: Blue Jackets Coaching, Laine, Ekman-Larsson

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The Columbus Blue Jackets should be nearing the end of their head coaching search, per Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, who shares that he expects a decision to be made before August 1st (Twitter link). Portzline later added that Dean Evason and Jay Woodcroft seem to be the final sparring pair and that the team is running out of time to handle the logistics of hiring a new leader.

Woodcroft and Evason are both coming off midseason dismissals last year. Woodcroft was replaced in Edmonton by rookie head coach Kris Knoblauch, who proceeded to carry the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals. John Hynes, Evanson’s successor, didn’t have as much success in taking over the Minnesota Wild – though still improving on Evason’s 5-10-4 start to the season. But aside from that similarity, the two candidates couldn’t be more different. Woodcroft, 47, is just three years into his NHL head coaching career, after leading the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors to a championship in 2021. He’s shown off a sharp and strategic eye, while Evason has proven more grizzled and old-school – traits he honed over a 13-year playing career in the NHL. They’ll take Columbus’ young and promising lineup down very different paths, leaving general manager Don Waddell with a tough choice on what he sees working best for his new roster.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Don Waddell will also face the imposing trade of high-scoring winger Patrik Laine before the start of next season. But the process is currently at a standstill, shares Portzline, as interested teams wait for Laine to clear the NHL Player’s Association before they meet with him. The team is still expected to part ways with Laine before the start of next season, but the timeline of a move will remain murky until he’s fully available.
  • Reigning Stanley Cup-winning defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson called his decision to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs a “gut feeling” in an interview with Craig Morgan of GoPHNX.com, adding “I’ve always liked coming in there as an away team, playing in that building. It’s always special,” the blue-liner continued. “Obviously, there’s a lot of history in the organization and I feel like they have a really good team that has a chance to do something special as well.” Ekman-Larsson is coming off a resurgent year with the Panthers, posting 32 points across 80 games and looking much more reliable than in his pair of seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. His best years are certainly behind him, but Ekman-Larsson should offer stout puck-moving ability out of a third-pair role in Toronto – hopefully boosting much-needed consistency out of the team’s depth options.

Snapshots: Sprong, Misiak, Julien

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The Vancouver Canucks are among the teams interested in free agent winger Daniel Sprong, shares Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK News (Twitter link). Sprong is the top remaining free agent from PHR’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents.

Sprong has fought his way into NHL legitimacy over the last two seasons, kicked off with a breakout 2022-23 with the Seattle Kraken. He recorded career-highs across the board – netting 21 goals, 25 assists, and 46 points in 66 games despite a measly role on Seattle’s third line. It was a flash-in-the-pan season for the veteran Sprong, who had only managed 70 points in 202 career games up to that point. And he held onto the scoring through a move to the Detroit Red Wings last summer, netting 18 goals and 43 points despite averaging just 12 minutes of ice time. He’s seemingly proven his ability to produce in a depth role, though it’s hard to ignore the long streak of struggles that started his career. Now 28, Sprong doesn’t seem destine for a long-term deal, though he could prove a valuable late-market add for a Canucks team in need of boost down their wings.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Chicago Blackhawks prospect Martin Misiak is expected to return to the OHL next season shares Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times (Twitter link). Misiak played through his first year in the OHL this season, netting 23 goals and 47 points in 60 games with the Erie Otters. He signed his entry-level contract with the Hawks at the end of Erie’s season, coupling the deal with an amateur try-out in the AHL. But it seems he’s now quite ready to jump to the pros, instead focused on finding another layer of scoring after a meager debut in the OHL.
  • The St. Louis Blues are sitting happy with their addition of long-time NHL head coach Claude Julien, who joined the team as an assistant coach last June. Blues general manager Doug Armstrong compared the hire to when Larry Robinson, an NHL Hall-of-Famer, joined Craig Berube’s coaching staff ahead of the team’s 2019 Stanley Cup win, telling Lou Korac of NHL.com that he hopes this move will have similar long-term ramifications. He said, “The experience Larry Robinson showed a young staff, it was really impressive. I think Claude’s at a portion of his life now where I think accepting this is easier and seeing the joy of working with young coaches and making them better, sharing his experiences, sharing his experiences with players.” Julien, a 19-year veteran of NHL head coaching, seems set on maintaining his mentoring role in St. Louis, as the team promotes up-and-coming coaches in Drew Bannister and Steve Ott.

Snapshots: Henrique, Brandsegg-Nygard, Luoto, Eriksson

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Before he ultimately re-signed with Edmonton, the Jets took a run at signing center Adam Henrique on the opening day of free agency, notes Postmedia’s Scott Billeck.  Winnipeg was eyeing the 34-year-old as a replacement for Sean Monahan, who turned down an offer from them to ink a five-year deal with Columbus.  Henrique had a solid showing last season, notching 51 points in 82 games between Anaheim and Edmonton and could have slotted in behind Mark Scheifele to anchor the second line but opted to return to play a lesser role with the Oilers.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • After inking his entry-level deal on Thursday, Red Wings prospect Michael Brandsegg-Nygard told Nitten’s Wegard Bakkehaug that no decision has been made regarding where he’ll play next season. The 18-year-old acknowledged that breaking camp with Detroit isn’t realistic but he is eligible to play with AHL Grand Rapids or play with SHL Skelleftea.  Brandsegg-Nygard suggested his preference might be to play in Sweden and that Detroit will give him a chance to have a say in where he winds up.
  • Former NHL winger Joona Luoto is expected to sign with HV71 of the SHL, reports Johan Svensson and Jacob Johannesson of Sport Expressen. The 26-year-old has 23 career NHL contests under his belt between Winnipeg and Columbus but became a Group Six free agent in 2023 and elected to sign a contract in Switzerland over another two-way deal in North America.  Luoto had 18 goals and nine assists in 47 games with SC Bern last season.
  • Generally speaking, NHL prospects typically prefer to play at the top level possible overseas. However, that’s not the case for Panthers youngster Linus Eriksson who told Hockey Sverige’s Uffe Bodin that he turned down interest from multiple SHL teams to remain with Djurgarden in the second-tier Allsvenskan.  The 18-year-old was the 58th-overall pick by Florida after he put up 11 points in 29 games at that level last season.  Eriksson was much more productive at the junior level, collecting 21 points in 25 games with them and added seven points in seven games for Sweden at the World Under-18s.

Snapshots: Johnson, Clowe, Jiricek, Karpovich

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Veteran NHL defenseman Erik Johnson is gearing up for his 18th season in the NHL, continuing his streak of playing in every season since his first-overall selection in 2007. And despite a career accoladed by a Stanley Cup win and medals at both the Olympic Games and World Championship, the 36-year-old Johnson told Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now that he hasn’t considered retirement. Johnson emphasized that he’s ready to fill any role that’d benefit the Philadelphia Flyers, even if it means limited appearances in the lineup. He said, “I’m here to help these guys on and off the ice, whether it’s 20, 30, 40, 50 games, or whatever it is. My days of 25, 26 minutes a night are behind me, and I know that, and I’m comfortable with it.”

Johnson will continue on with the Flyers, after joining the team at the 2023 Trade Deadline and re-signing to a one-year, $1MM contract this summer. He managed three points in 16 appearances with Philadelphia after the move, bringing his season totals to six points in 67 games. Those measly totals might have pushed Johnson out of a routine lineup spot, but his veteran leadership is keeping him around the league. He’ll enter next season competing with fellow vets Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen for ice time, and mentoring top young defenders Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York.

Other quick notes from around the hockey world:

  • Former NHL forward Ryane Clowe made a big step in his managerial career this summer, stepping into the San Jose Sharks’ assistant general manager role and moving up from a special advisory role with the New York Rangers. Clowe detailed the move to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, sharing that he wasn’t eager to leave New York but was allured by the daily role San Jose promised. Clowe will now return to the club he spent eight years of his decade-long playing career with – serving as the gritty, high-event punch behind legendary Sharks like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton – who now both support San Jose’s front office as advisors.
  • Top St. Louis Blues prospect Adam Jiricek is expected to move to the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs next season, per Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest. It will be a make-or-break year for Jiricek, who missed the majority of the 2023-24 season with a lower-body injury suffered in December. He was among the most acclaimed defenders in the 2024 class during his age-17 season – a value vindicated by his 17th-overall selection in this year’s draft. His long-term outlook should become clearer as he looks to adjust to both a return from injury and North American hockey next season.
  • New Jersey Devils defense prospect Daniil Karpovich has signed a one-year contract with Avtomobilist of the KHL, shares James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Nichols adds that Karpovich will report to the VHL, Russia’s second-tier league. This news returns Karpovich to Russia, after spending last season in his home country of Belarus. Karpovich spent one year of juniors hockey in Russia, recording 35 points in 47 MHL games with Avto during the 2022-23 season. That scoring dipped to just 11 points in 49 games in Belarus’ top league last season – a trend he’ll look to buck with a return east.

Snapshots: Dillon, Swayman, Yager

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The New Jersey Devils were quick to bring in defenseman Brenden Dillon when free agency opened on July 1st, signing him to a three-year, $12MM contract. But that wasn’t the first time the Devils tried to acquire the physical defender, with Dillon sharing on Sportsnet’s The Hockey PDOcast that the Devils also wanted to acquire him at the Trade Deadline. He added that Winnipeg was hesitant to move any of their pending unrestricted free agents amid a strong season.

Dillon was a focal piece of the Jets’ success, once again returning to his stout role on the team’s second pairing and posting 20 points for the third year in a row. He found ways to make his presence felt every single game, leading Winnipeg with 241 hits in 77 games – 20 hits ahead of anyone else on the team – and ranking third with 111 blocked shots.

It’s clear to see why the Devils of all teams would be interested in Dillon’s services. New Jersey is entering next season with an incredibly skilled, but underdeveloped, blue-line – headlined by Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. Both players are still rounding out their two-way game early in their careers and could stand to benefit from the physical punch that Dillon brings to the lineup. His veteran status is a nice perk as well, with Dillon appearing in 892 games across 13 seasons in the league.

Other notes from around the league:

  • The deadline for clubs to file for salary arbitration with their arbitration-eligible restricted free agents passed on Saturday with no clubs filing additional cases, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Notably, this leaves star goaltender Jeremy Swayman off the list of arbitration cases. Swayman has emerged as one of the league’s strongest goalies over the last four seasons, posting 79 wins and a .919 save percentage across 132 career games. All of those games came in tandem with Vezina Trophy goaltender Linus Ullmark, though, making Swayman’s value as a standalone starter hard to gauge. That led many to anticipating arbitration, though the Bruins will now get to negotiate with Swayman directly. He’ll be set up for the lions share of Bruins’ starts next season, regardless of how these contract talks pan out.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins are leaving the door open for top prospect Brayden Yager to make the 2024-25 roster, shares Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Yager is coming off a championship-winning season in the WHL, scoring 122 points across 77 games while serving as the Moose Jaw Warriors’ top centerman. He also posted five points in five World Juniors games – on the back of very dynamic playmaking in the middle lane. It was a standout year for Yager, capping off what’s been a stellar WHL career, with Yager totaling 250 points in 211 juniors games. Even with the optimism around his chances next season, Yager has not yet signed his entry-level contract and remains eligible for the WHL next season.

Snapshots: Buchnevich, Cajkovic, Leafs, Durandeau

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Just a few months after shopping him around the Trade Deadline, the St. Louis Blues have agreed to terms on a long-term extension with top winger Pavel Buchnevich a year early. But general manager Doug Armstrong acknowledged that the team had to cave to Buchnevich’s term, telling Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post, “We talked [with Buchnevich’s side] again on the first, did the deal on the second. I’ll be honest with you, I budged.” Armstrong added that giving ground on term is the cost of doing business in today’s market.

For their effort in the negotiations, the Blues have now locked up Buchnevich at a manageable $8MM cap hit, set to begin in 2025-26 after his current deal expires. The 29-year-old winger recorded 27 goals and 63 points in 80 games this season, the lowest scoring of his tenure with the Blues. He had a career year in his first year with the club in 2021-22, recording 30 goals and 76 points in just 73 games. Buchnevich scored at a similar pace last year, though an ankle injury would limit him to just 63 games and 67 points.

Buchnevich has emerged as a premier winger in St. Louis, and a great addition to the high-tempo duo of Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. He’ll look to really get comfortable in that role next year, after agreeing to what will be the longest contract of his career.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Maxim Cajkovic has signed with HC Verva Litvinov of Slovakia’s Tipsport Extraliga. The Penguins acquired Cajkovic from the Minnesota Wild in January, sending Will Butcher the other way. The deal proved moot for both teams, as Butcher currently awaits a new deal on the free-agent market. Cajkovic, 23, is returning to Europe after spending all year in the minor leagues, tallying five points in 10 AHL games and four points in 13 ECHL games. He’ll be playing in his third European pro league on this deal, after spending time in Sweden’s SHL and Austria’s ICE Hockey League during his U21 career.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a new ECHL affiliation, signing an agreement with the Cincinnati Cyclones set to begin next season. The duration of the deal hasn’t been revealed. Toronto turns to the Cyclones after their previous affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, ceased operations before the end of the 2023-24 season. The Cyclones are a familiar face in the ECHL, appearing in 23 of the league’s last 30 seasons. They’ve won two Kelly Cup Championships in that span – in 2008 and 2010. Cincinnati will look to return to those heights now in partnership with the Leafs: the fifth NHL club they’ve been affiliated with.
  • Montreal Canadiens winger Arnaud Durandeau has signed with Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Durandeau went on a quick tour around the minor leagues this season, playing for three different AHL clubs this season after a mid-year loan was followed with Montreal acquiring Durandeau from the New York Islanders in exchange for Tyce Thompson. Durandeau scored 24 points across 48 AHL games this season, bringing his career totals to 132 points in 215 games. He also appeared in four NHL games during the 2022-23 season, though he failed to score.

Snapshots: Murray, Canucks, Studenic, Lomberg

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Defenseman Ryan Murray has had a long history when it comes to chronic back injuries.  He played just 13 games in 2022-23 and didn’t play anywhere this past season.  However, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Murray had surgery which he believes has solved his chronic back troubles and he will be looking to land a PTO with an NHL team this summer.  The 29-year-old was the second-overall pick back in 2012 and has played in 445 career contests at the top level so far, recording 15 goals, 116 assists, and 716 blocked shots.  PTO agreements often take longer to materialize so Murray will likely have to wait a while to see what opportunities might become available closer to training camp in September.

More from around the hockey world:

  • Although the expectation was that the Canucks would go with Arturs Silovs as Thatcher Demko’s backup next season, that might no longer be the case.  Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic report (subscription link) that Vancouver will be shopping for a veteran netminder on the open market and it appears that they’re willing to spend around $1.5MM for that player.  Casey DeSmith served as the second-string option this past season but does not appear to be an option at this time.  Silovs still has one year of waiver exemption remaining so there’s a case to be made that he’d be better served playing as the starter in the minors over seeing second-string duty with Vancouver.
  • Kraken free agent winger Marian Studenic has inked a two-year deal with SHL Farjestad, per a team release. The 25-year-old spent most of the year with AHL Coachella Valley, recording 15 goals and 29 assists in 64 games, earning him a two-game recall to Seattle.  Studenic also added 11 points in 18 playoff contests for the Firebirds.  However, rather than stick around in the minors, he’s opting to try his hand overseas.
  • Pending UFA winger Ryan Lomberg appears to have priced himself past what the Panthers can afford, relays David Dwork of The Hockey News (Twitter link). The 29-year-old put up 12 goals and 20 points in 2022-23 but was limited to just five goals and two assists in 75 games this past season although he added a career-high 175 hits.  Lomberg played on an $800K AAV for the last two years and Florida will need to have several players at that price point again next season.  If Lomberg believes he can beat that on the open market – a reasonable assumption – then he’ll have to go elsewhere to get it.

Snapshots: Bobrovsky, Ekblad, Nugent-Hopkins, Smith

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Florida Panthers fans are breathing a big sigh of relief this morning, with both star defender Aaron Ekblad and Vezina-finalist goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky good to go after missing the team’s Sunday morning practice, per Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link). Neither player were limited in the team’s Game 6 loss – with Bobrovsky facing 19 shots and Ekblad playing 21:37 in ice time – suggesting that their absences were merely for maintenance. Still, every update matters as the Panthers look to skid three straight losses in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Edmonton Oilers have outscored Florida 18-t0-5 over that stretch, with Bobrovsky posting a collective 0.793 save percentage. The Panthers will now return home for a winner-takes-all Game 7, seemingly still at full strength.

Other quick notes from around the league:

  • In the name of fairness, the Oilers are facing an injury scare of their own, with former-100 point forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins missing the team’s Sunday practice with illness, per Jim Matheson of NHL.com (Twitter link). Nugent-Hopkins has been one of Edmonton’s top contributors this postseason, recording 22 points in 24 playoff games. That includes two points in Edmonton’s three-game win-streak – so far his only scoring in the Stanley Cup Finals. Nugent-Hopkins would leave a major role vacant should he be unavailable for Game 7, though there’s been no indication that Edmonton is expecting him to sit.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins winger Reilly Smith has changed agencies ahead of the final year of his contract, now represented by CAA Hockey, per PuckPedia (Twitter link). CAA is the choice agency of many NHL stars, including Sidney Crosby, Matthew Beniers, Mathew Barzal, and Cole Caufield. It’s also the agency most akin to changing scenery – representing the recently-traded Pierre-Luc Dubois, rumored trade chip Rutger McGroarty, and hardened trade rumor veteran Jack Eichel. Smith takes on the new representation while looking to vindicate his final year at a $5MM price tag, though his 13 goals and 40 points last season fell short of expecations.

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