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Offseason Notes: Chychrun, White, Dallas

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It’s been a while since we’ve heard Jakob Chychrun’s name atop trade rumors, especially when considering how he was viewed as one of the hottest commodities ahead of the Trade Deadline. It’s not often an under-25 defenseman with top-pairing pedigree becomes available, but the Arizona Coyotes decided not to move him just yet. That could change, however, as the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that the Blue Jackets and Coyotes are talking about a deal. While he couldn’t offer Chychrun’s name specifically, he also reminds that Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has said that the team could move their 12th overall pick at the 2022 draft in exchange for a young NHL player with term.

Chychrun certainly fits that bill, signed at just $4.6MM through 2025. It also matches up with the rumblings that Columbus is looking to add aggressively on defense, as multiple reports suggested they were in discussions with the Tampa Bay Lightning about landing Ryan McDonagh. If Arizona acquired the 12th overall selection, it would give them a jaw-dropping four first-round picks in addition to their five second-round picks.

  • There’s significant interest in soon-to-be free agent Colin White after he was placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout today by the Ottawa Senators. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that up to 14 NHL teams have shown interest in White over the past few months, which could lead to a significant bidding war for his services once free agency opens. TSN’s Darren Dreger specifically names the Montreal Canadiens as a team that could be a fit, as general manager Kent Hughes was his agent prior to getting hired in Montreal.
  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta says the Dallas Stars are looking to add a significant punch at forward this offseason, specifically to add a jump to a line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Dallas will reportedly be active on both the trade and free-agent markets, looking to be aggressive and squeeze out whatever this core has left in them to try and win a championship. Neither Benn nor Seguin, who are making above $9MM per season each, cracked the 50-point mark last year.

Matt Tennyson Clears Unconditional Waivers

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July 3: Per TSN’s Chris Johnston, Tennyson has cleared unconditional waivers and will have his contract terminated.

July 2: The Predators will be parting ways with one of their defensive depth pieces as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed defenseman Matt Tennyson on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract.

The 32-year-old was set to enter the second and final season of a two-year, two-way contract that pays the NHL minimum of $750K in the NHL and $325K in the minors.  Tennyson got into eight games with the Predators this past season, recording three assists while averaging nearly 13 minutes a night.  He spent most of the year with AHL Milwaukee, recording 14 points in 53 games along with 44 penalty minutes.

PuckPedia clarifies (Twitter link) that Tennyson’s placement is for termination purposes, not a buyout.  That certainly makes sense as going that route won’t result in any salary cap charges for next season whereas a buyout would have put $250K on Nashville’s salary cap for each of the next two seasons and cost more in salary dollars than the $325K he’d be owed in the minors.  In the meantime, with Tennyson requesting a contract termination, it will be interesting to see what opportunity he has lined up elsewhere assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed on Sunday.

Amir Miftakhov Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Sunday: Miftakhov has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.

Saturday: Today is the first day that players can be placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of buying out a contract.  There is a player on unconditional waivers today, albeit for another reason, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Lightning have placed goaltender Amir Miftakhov on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.

The 22-year-old was a sixth-round pick of Tampa Bay back in 2020 (186th overall) after some promising performances in the VHL, a second-tier league in Russia.  After spending 2020-21 between the KHL and VHL, the Lightning had seen enough to give Miftakhov a three-year, entry-level deal with an eye on trying to develop him as a goalie of the future.

However, things didn’t go well in Miftakhov’s first season in North America.  He split his time between AHL Syracuse and ECHL Orlando and while he had a decent showing in five games with the Solar Bears, the same couldn’t be said for how he performed with the Crunch.  He posted a save percentage of just .891 along with a GAA of 3.03 in 22 games and was relegated to third-string status in the playoffs behind veteran Maxime Lagace and prospect Hugo Alnefelt.  That appears to be enough for the two sides to agree that parting ways is the best approach.

Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Saturday if they want to place a claim on Miftakhov if they believe he’s worthy of some development in the minors.  Assuming the goalie clears, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and at this point, returning to play back home in Russia is a likely scenario.  If his deal is terminated, Alnefelt will be the only Tampa Bay goalie signed for next season beyond their NHL tandem of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott.

Ilya Konovalov Clears Unconditional Waivers

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June 9: Konovalov has cleared waivers according to CapFriendly and has had his contract terminated. He is now an unrestricted free agent.

June 8: The Edmonton Oilers still need to figure out their goaltending for next season but you can rule out at least one player. Ilya Konovalov has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination. He had one year left on his entry-level contract.

Mark Spector of Sportsnet tweets that Konovalov is headed back to the KHL.

Originally selected 85th overall in 2019, it’s sort of a surprising move for the young netminder after just one season in North America. A contract termination will make him an unrestricted free agent, whereas had the Oilers not signed him, they would have held his draft rights indefinitely.

At just 23 years old, there’s still lots of upside for Konovalov, despite his struggles with the Bakersfield Condors this season. He posted an .893 save percentage in 17 appearances, winning just five times.

Even if he is heading back to Russia, this may not be the end of Konovalov’s story when it comes to North America. He is still young enough to continue his development overseas before attracting some attention down the road.

Christian Jaros Signs In KHL

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June 9: Jaros has now officially signed a one-year contract with the KHL club.

May 30: A few months ago, Christian Jaros cleared unconditional waivers and saw his NHL contract with the New Jersey Devils terminated. That made him an unrestricted free agent, but one that had limited options as the trade deadline had already passed. The 26-year-old didn’t join another league but now may be on his way overseas.

Reporting out of Russia has Jaros linked to Avangard Omsk of the KHL for next season, which would be a notable foreign addition to the league. Many players from other countries have signed contracts elsewhere, not wanting to be involved with Russia while the invasion of Ukraine was ongoing. If Jaros does sign, it would be his first experience in the KHL, having previously played in the SHL, AHL, and NHL as a professional.

For years, Jaros has been a key part of the Slovakian national team, participating in three World Championships and helping the country qualify for this year’s Olympic Games. That’s where they won their first ever hockey medal, finishing third and taking home the bronze. Notably, Jaros wasn’t included in the World Championship roster this year.

If he does end up in the KHL, it could very well be the end of Jaros’ time in the NHL. The young defenseman has 94 games under his belt including 11 this season with the Devils but hasn’t been a regular season the 2018-19 season.

Calle Rosen Sent To AHL

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Monday: After clearing waivers yesterday, Rosen has now officially been sent back to the Thunderbirds. Springfield will start the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday against the Laval Rocket.

Saturday: It’s rare at this time of year to see someone on regular waivers but that is indeed the case today as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the Blues have placed defenseman Calle Rosen on the wire.  The move is being made with the intention of sending him back to Springfield of the AHL to assist in the playoff run for the Thunderbirds.

The 28-year-old spent most of the season in the minors but he was recalled due to injuries in late March and stayed up the rest of the play and was in the lineup for St. Louis more often than not.  Rosen wound up playing in a career-best 18 regular season games for the Blues this season, collecting seven points while averaging a little over 14 minutes a night.  In the playoffs, he played in all but three of their twelve games, once again logging over 14 minutes per contest.  He was productive in his stints with Springfield as well with 28 points in 40 AHL contests.

If someone was to claim Rosen, he’d be ineligible to play the rest of the season, even if he was picked up by a team that’s still playing.  As he’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, the likely only rationale for a team to claim him would be one of the other teams still participating in the AHL playoffs wanting to prevent Springfield from getting a key player back.  That seldom happens so there’s a good chance Rosen will clear on Sunday and will join Charlie Lindgren (who returned to the minors earlier today) as those going back to help the Blues’ affiliate make a push for the Calder Cup.

Dmitri Zavgorodniy Clears Unconditional Waivers

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May 27: Zavgorodniy has cleared waivers and will have his contract terminated.

May 26: The Calgary Flames have placed Dmitri Zavgorodniy on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The young forward had one year left on his entry-level contract.

Zavgorodniy, 21, was a seventh-round pick of the Flames in 2018 after coming over to play in the QMJHL and was something of a surprise signing when he inked his entry-level deal in 2019. The undersized forward ended up playing in just 41 games for the Stockton Heat, scoring one goal and five points. He also played in a handful of KHL games in each of the last two seasons, suggesting that a termination like this might be on the horizon at some point.

Now, he’ll be able to go to the KHL full-time, though the Flames will no longer hold his exclusive rights. Should he clear waivers, he will be an unrestricted free agent, meaning if his development overseas improves at all, he’d be able to find a new opportunity somewhere else down the line.

Still, an NHL career seems extremely unlikely at this point, given how poorly his time in the AHL has gone. For Calgary, clearing the contract off the books is likely worth more than any chance he turns things around.

St. Louis Blues Place Mackenzie MacEachern On Waivers

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Per CapFriendly, the St. Louis Blues have placed forward Mackenzie MacEachern on waivers.

MacEachern, 28, has been on long-term injured reserve for the past month after sustaining an upper-body injury on April 8 in a regular-season game against the Minnesota Wild. He was assigned to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds on a conditioning loan a few days ago, where he’s tallied two points in two playoff games for them. Luckily for the Thunderbirds, the Blues have opted to waive MacEachern to allow him to stay there with the team.

This season saw the first minor-league action for MacEachern since 2018-19 with the San Antonio Rampage. St. Louis’ 67th overall selection in 2012, MacEachern had carved out a role as the team’s 13th forward over the past few seasons. He played in just 14 games with the Blues this season, though, amassing two assists.

If Springfield does get eliminated from the Calder Cup Playoffs before the Blues do, expect MacEachern to be one of the first Black Aces called up to the Blues due to his NHL experience.

MacEachern is a pending unrestricted free agent.

Del Zotto, Dries, Petan All Clear Waivers

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All three players placed on waivers yesterday, Michael Del Zotto (OTT), Sheldon Dries (VAN), and Nic Petan (VAN), cleared waivers today and can be assigned to their respective AHL clubs (link). Though these three do not belong to playoff teams in the NHL, their being sent to the AHL is not necessarily insignificant, as both the Belleville Senators and the Abbotsford Canucks, the AHL affiliates of the Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks, respectively, have made the AHL’s Calder Cup playoffs.

On Del Zotto, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia says that even though Del Zotto cleared and could join Belleville, it’s not entirely clear if he will actually join the team (link). A veteran of 736 NHL games, the 31-year-old Del Zotto has been an NHL regular since his rookie season in 2009-10 with the New York Rangers, last seeing AHL time in 2010-11. This season, however, has been a different story. Del Zotto managed only 26 games with the struggling Ottawa Senators, though when he was in the lineup, he impressed, posting 13 points in those 26 games. The defenseman did see his first AHL action in over a decade as well, dressing in as many games (26), but had an impeccable 27 points for Belleville. Having Del Zotto suit up for Belleville to help their run would not only benefit Belleville of course, but would help Ottawa as well, with Del Zotto providing a major boost to a team full of young, future Ottawa Senators getting experience with meaningful professional playoff games.

Much of the same sentiment can be placed on Petan and Dries, who also made contributions to the NHL team this season, but could provide a major impact in the Calder Cup playoffs. Petan played in 18 games this season for Vancouver, recording just two assists, but was a star in the AHL, where he had 12 goals and 32 assists in just 37 games. Dries, like Petan, suited up in a few games with Vancouver (11), recording two goals and an assist, but was a critical piece in Abbotsford’s playoff berth, scoring an impressive 35 goals and 27 assists in only 54 games.

Notably, because these three players were in the AHL in some capacity, even if just on paper as in Petan’s case, on March 21st, the NHL’s trade deadline, they are all eligible to participate in the AHL playoffs.

Taro Hirose Clears Waivers

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According to CapFriendly, Detroit Red Wings forward Taro Hirose has cleared waivers after being placed on them yesterday (link). Hirose will now report to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, who play their final game of the season tonight on the road against the Cleveland Monsters. The Griffins however, are not headed to the AHL playoffs, so if Hirose plays tonight, it would be his last game action of the NHL and AHL seasons.

The 25-year-old Hirose has bounced between the NHL and AHL the past four seasons, spending all of them in the Detroit organization. A standout at Michigan State for three seasons, Hirose turned pro in 2019, joining the Red Wings for 10 games down the stretch, putting up an impressive seven points. In the three seasons since, Hirose has played in 47 NHL games, tallying just 13 points in the process.

The forward has found success though in the AHL, where he has been one of the Griffins key players. This season, Hirose has 15 goals and 38 assists in 59 games for Grand Rapids, his highest points and games played totals in his AHL career. What’s next in his career remains to be seen, as Hirose is projected to be a Group 6 UFA this summer, during which he will turn 26. A good skater with playmaking ability, he could be valuable to a number of teams as a low-cost depth option with NHL experience.

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