Trades I never got around to discussing before the deadline, plus some big signings and a couple of players who were on waivers.
Anaheim Pittsburgh
Brock McGinn Dmitry Kulikov 50%
2024 3RD (PIT)
Analysis: the Penguins wanted to improve their defence before the deadline and were able to do so, by acquiring Kulikov from the Ducks in exchange for Brock McGinn and a 3rd round pick.
Now, Kulikov has been a extremely good 2nd/3rd pair defensemen over his career and has showed over the past couple of years that even though he isn’t as productive as he once was he is still a very good 3rd pair defensemen, and he has bounced around over the past couple seasons, as he is now on his 5th team in the past 3 seasons but is still a good 3rd pair defensemen. Now last year he signed a 2 year $2.25 Million dollar contract with the Wild to play with them after splitting time with Edmonton and Jersey the year before, and did well, as he was a consistent 3rd pair defender for Minnesota and he had 7 goals and 24 points in 80 games with Minnesota last year, hitting the 20 point mark for the first time since the 2014-15 season, and he looked really good, but due to the Wild’s tight cap situation, he was dealt to Anaheim just before the season started for Future Considerations so the Ducks got a good defender for free basically, and with injuries to their D-Corp this season, Kulikov has played up and down the lineup for Anaheim before the trade and did pretty well, putting up 3 goals and 15 points in 61 games and showed he can be a good bottom pair defensemen for the Ducks, and then he was dealt to the Pens. Now since joining Pittsburgh, he has only gotten into 4 games and put up 1 assist before going on LTIR where he is right now, so I think he should definitely be a bottom pair defensemen or 7th defensemen with the Penguins once he is healthy again, and the Ducks retained 50% of his contract so the Penguins got him for only a $1.13 Million dollar cap hit, so a good pickup by Pittsburgh as they got some defensive depth for their run.
As for Anaheim, they were able to get a couple of pieces for a defensemen they acquired for nothing. Now Anaheim had a lot of defensemen on the block leading up to the deadline including Klingberg and Shattenkirk, but Kulikov was a name that seemed to be drawing more interest then the others in Anaheim and although it took them until deadline day to make a deal, they were able to get it done.now they got Brock McGinn from the Penguins who was having a rough season with the Penguins. Now McGinn started out as a pretty good middle six forward with the Canes and played with them for the first 6 years of his career and had his best seasons there, including having a 30 point season in the 17-18 season. Now not this past offseason but the one prior, McGinn signed a 4 year $2.75 Million dollar contract with the Penguins to play with them, and his first year with Pittsburgh was alright, putting up 12 goals and 22 points in 64 games in his first year with Pittsburgh, and did alright this year with Pittsburgh, getting 10 goals and 16 points in 60 games but in the weeks leading up to the deadline, McGinn, on the 3rd line with Carter and Kapanen weren’t playing well and just days after Kapanen was placed on waivers, McGinn cleared just before the deadline and then was shipped to Anaheim in the deal. So for McGinn I think the move should help him, as he should be a good top 9 forward with Anaheim, and with the Ducks he should get more playing time, and he still has 2 years after this year on his contract so he can also be a good top 9 forward for the next few years and I think that is a good deal for Anaheim and they also get a 3rd round pick in next years draft from Pittsburgh, which could be a decent pick but at least gets them some more draft capital as they now have 10 picks in the 2024 draft, and 6 in the first 3 rounds, so in my eyes both team make out pretty good in this trade, as the Pens clear cap space and get some defensive depth with Kulikov, while Anaheim gets a good middle six forward who can help them for the next few seasons and some more draft capital with the 3rd round pick in 2024, but I think Anaheim did great to get that return when they have up nothing to get Kulikov.
Buffalo Minnesota
Jordan Greenway 2023 2RD (VGK)
2024 5RD (BUF)
Analysis: the Sabres didn’t do much before the deadline, but as I was saying for a couple of weeks before the deadline, it does seem as though the Sabres were going to be small buyers, and they were, as they were able to pick up middle six winger Jordan Greenway from the Wild in exchange for a couple of draft selections over the next two seasons. So for the Sabres they were just back of a playoff spot at the deadline and wanted to reward their team for playing well this year, but also didn’t want to give up the farm to get a player, so I think this is why they went after a less expensive player in Greenway.
Now for Greenway, he isn’t a rental so it helps the Sabres not only for this season, but also in future years, as he has two seasons following the current under contract at $3 Million dollars and should be able to fit in well with the Sabres middle six, as he was able to hit at least 24 points in each of his first 4 seasons, including putting up 10 goals and 27 points in 62 games last year, but didn’t do as well as this year with the Wild, only having 2 goals and 7 points in 45 games before the trade, but hopefully in Buffalo he will get a bigger amount of playing time, and I believe he is a 2nd/3rd line winger with the Sabres and I think he could prove a valuable asset as even though he hasn’t been overly productive with Buffalo after the deal to this point (only having a goal in 6 games with Buffalo), I still think he can be a good power forward for the Sabres, and I think getting Greenway was a good move by Buffalo especially given the fact he isn’t in the final year of his contract, and I think he will fit in well with Buffalo.
As for the Wild, there was definitely a lot of speculation leading up to the deadline that Greenway could be a player traded before the deadline, and that indeed happen. So I think there were a few contributing factors to the Wild dealing Greenway, and first was his lack of productivity, because as we highlighted earlier, he has had a very poor offensive season, and after only breaking the 30 point mark once in his 5 year career, I think the Wild felt a fresh start was the best route to go, and on top of that is the cap flexibility they got from it, as they got Klingberg and Sundqvist on deadline day and even though they had a bit of cap space, they did need to move out something and Greenway was that guy, but it also helps there cap situation for the next few years, as the Parise and Suter buyouts are going to become really difficult to work with over the next couple of seasons, and getting $3 Million in cap space to work with over the next two seasons is also a huge win for the Wild as it will give them a tad bit more flexibility to add in the offseason. And so I think the return for Greenway is also quite nice, as while the Golden Knights 2RD pick in this years draft will most likely be a lower end draft selection, it does now give the Wild a couple of 2nd round picks in this years deep draft, and I think getting a 2nd for Greenway was a really great return for Minnesota, and the Sabres 5RD pick next year is just a depth pick, but does help the Wild get back to 7 selections in next year draft, so in my eyes this is a win win trade for the two teams, the Sabres get a decent middle six forward who should help them for the next couple seasons, while the Wild get some much needed cap space for the rest of this year and the next few years as well, and are able to get a couple draft picks over the next two years with the Knights 2nd in 2023 and the Sabres 5th in 2024 and I think both teams are very happy with this deal.
Dallas Chicago
Max Domi Anton Khudobin
Dylan Wells 2025 2RD (DAL)
Analysis: there was a lot of talk before the deadline that the Blackhawks would wind up dealing Domi, and they wound up dealing him to a division rival, as they sent Domi and depth goalie Dylan wells to the Stars in exchange for goalie Anton Khudobin who was a cap dump and a 2nd round pick in a few years time. Now for Chicago they signed Domi to a 1 year deal so that this specific scenario would play out, as Domi signed a 1 year deal with Chicago in the offseason and played a majority of his time with the Hawks in a top six role, playing mostly with Kane and was able to put up a pretty good amount of points and bring Chicago a decent return.
Now for Khudobin he has spent a lot of seasons in the NHL on a variety of different teams, but had spent the past 4 seasons with the Stars, now in the first two seasons with Dallas he did fantastic, putting up a .923 SV% and a 2.57 GAA in 41 games in the 18-19 season, and a 930 SV% and a 2.22 GAA in 30 games in the COVID stopped season, and that year he actually was the Stars starter in the bubble playoffs and helped them get to the cup final, but in the shortened season his numbers started to dip, having a .905 SV% and a 2.54 GAA in 32 games, and then last year he started in the NHL, having a .897 SV% and a 3.63 GAA in 9 games before the emergence of Oettinger put him in the minors and then he had a significant injury that kept him out until the beginning of this year. Now with Oettinger and Wedgewood the Stars tandem this year and the Stars needing every bit of cap space they could get, they placed him on waivers at the start of the year and sent him down, and he has done alright in the AHL, putting up a .899 SV% and a 2.89 GAA in 24 games before the trade, and now with the Hawks, I think he will most likely be in the AHL to finish the season, as they have a good duo with Stalock and Mrazek, but if one were to get injured I think Khudobin will get called up, but I don’t expect him to be with the team beyond this season, as he is in the final year of his deal, and is just a depth addition for the Hawks, but maybe he does get some NHL playing time before the year is over and shows he can still be a good goalie, but the Stars needed cap space to take on Domi’s contract, and the Hawks we’re willing to take Khudobin back. And the Hawks also got the Stars 2nd round pick in the 2025 draft, and that is a good pick as we don’t know how well the Stars will do in 3 years time, but that could be a decent pick for them, so all in all a pretty good trade for the Hawks, getting a veteran 3rd string goalie who could get a couple of games in before the season, and a 2nd round pick a few years down the road for a player, that they knew they were probably trading when they signed him in the offseason.
And on the flip side, the Stars get a great middle six producer in Domi who could help their team with some more depth scoring. Now back in the 2018 offseason, the Coyotes moved Max Domi to the Canadiens to get him a fresh start and cause they couldn’t agree on a contract, so he was shipped there and had a Career year in the 18-19 season, putting up 28 goals and 72 points and looked like he would be a great top 6 forward, but since then he hasn’t been able to replicate that, he had 44 points next year with Montreal, was then dealt to Columbus where he signed a 2 year deal, and put up 18 goals and 56 points in the 106 games he played with Columbus, before he was moved at last years deadline to Carolina, where he had 7 points in 19 games to finish up the season, then signed a 1 year contract with Chicago with the intent to be dealt at the deadline, and after having his best season since that career year, putting up 18 goals and 49 points in 60 games with Chicago he was dealt to Dallas. Now I think he should play well with a guy like Seguin on line 2 or Benn on line 3 and continue to be a very good point producer for Dallas, and raise his price for next contract in the offseason, but in 8 games played already with Dallas, he has 1 goal and 3 points in 8 games, and while he hasn’t put up the points he did in Chicago yet, I still think he has done well in the small time he’s been in Dallas, so in my eyes this was a great pickup by the Stars to help their depth scoring which they really needed
And they also got Dylan Wells from the Hawks in the trade, now Wells was a 5th round pick in 2016 by Edmonton and has basically been a minor goalie for his entire career, but did get into his first NHL game earlier this year with Chicago when they had lots of goalie injuries, and did alright, but with Dallas having a good duo and Murray and Scheel in the minors, I don’t think that Wells would get any NHL playing time, but could be a good depth addition if they run into a slew of injuries in Net, so a good deal for both sides, as Dallas gets a good point producer who can help with their secondary scoring and some more depth in Net to replace Khudobin, while the Hawks take on Khudobin which at this point is mostly a salary dump, but he could play in a couple games, and the Hawks get a 2nd round pick a few years down the road, so in my eyes, a pretty good deal on each side, although I do think the Hawks win the deal.
Chicago Anaheim
Dylan Sikura Maxim Golod
Analysis: just a minor swap between the Ducks and Hawks, as each team gets a fresh start for a couple of minor league forwards.
Now for the Ducks they get the more experienced player in Sikura, now he is still more of a AHL player at this point in his career, but he had played at some points in the NHL during his career, as over the course of the past five seasons prior to this year, Sikura played parts of each season in the NHL, with Chicago, Vegas and Colorado, putting up 3 goals and 17 points in 58 games in those 5 combined seasons, and he also played extremely well in the AHL, putting up at least 22 points in the AHL in each of those 5 years, and even was over a point per game in 2 seasons, so he signed a 1 year league minimum contract with the Hawks in the offseason and was playing quite well in the AHL, putting up 32 points in 52 games, and then was moved to Anaheim where he has been playing in the AHL and got 5 points so far in 7 games, so I think Sikura will most likely finish the year in the AHL, but I do believe he has a shot at possibly getting into a game or two before the end of the year, but definitely a good depth add for Anaheim.
As for the Hawks they get the younger and less experienced of the two players in Max Golod. Now Golod was a undrafted forward who signed a 3 year ELC a couple of years ago with the Ducks, and he had some pretty good seasons over in juniors, especially the year before he signed with Anaheim, when he had 78 points in 63 games in the OHL, but after signing with Anaheim he hasn’t done overly well, as the first year he did alright in the AHL, and last year he also had a decent season in the AHL but played a ton more games over in the ECHL, and this year he has only played in 4 AHL games with the two AHL teams combined, but has done really well in the ECHL, putting up 43 points 44 games there, so in my eyes, he is a decent AHL forward who I think could play in some AHL games down the stretch, and who knows, maybe in a year or two, he can make the NHL and can show he can play really well, but for now he is a good ECHL forward and I would expect him to continue to bounce between the AHL and ECHL for Chicago. So now a big move here as the Ducks get the more experienced depth forward while the Hawks get the younger forward who will be a RFA at the end of the year, and with both players probably remaining in the minors for the rest of the year, I don’t believe there are any winners here and it was just a decent swap of depth forwards to get them fresh starts.
Rich Storry USA Today Sports
Chicago Buffalo
Anders Bjork Future Considerations
Analysis: the Hawks were able to get a good short term player to add to their roster for right now as they were able to get Anders Bjork from Buffalo for practically nothing. Now the only player included in this deal is Anders Bjork, as he will discuss the Sabres side first as it is quite simple, as they get future Considerations which is basically nothing, so the Sabres get rid of Bjork which is quite sad given he was the main piece they acquired in the Taylor Hall trade, but Bjork was in the final year of his deal, had only played one game with the Sabres as he was hurried in the minors for most of the year, and he probably wasn’t going to be back with Buffalo next year and it opened up a contract slot for them, so for Buffalo it was a trade that helped them possibly sign some young players and get rid of a player they didn’t see a future with, but it is a different story on the Hawks side. Now Bjork as we said I’d in the final year of his deal, having a $1.6 Million dollar cap hit and will be a RFA with arbitration rights at the end of the year, and he hasn’t been a extremely productive player at the NHL level, as he has never hit the 20 point mark and only on 3 of his 6 seasons has he had 10 point seasons, but has had a decent season in the AHL this year, having 8 goals and 25 points in 42 games in the AHL for Buffalo
And for the Hawks they just needed a stopgap player who can play with their NHL club until the end of the season and who knows, if he plays well maybe he will resign with the Hawks, and so far he has played well, putting up 3 assists in 4 NHL games with the Hawks and being a good bottom six forward, and I think Bjork is trying to prove he can still be a good NHL forward, so I think both teams like this move, the Hawks get a stopgap player in Bjork who will help fill a roster spot for the rest of the season, and the Sabres move on from a player who wasn’t going to be with them beyond this season.
Arizona Columbus
Jakub Voracek Jon Gillies
2023 6RD (COLU)
Analysis: in this deal between the Jackets and Coyotes, it helped both teams out as the Coyotes were able to get more money before the deadline to make trades and the Jackets got a lot of cap flexibility that they could use in the offseason.
Now for Arizona we know they didn’t want to take on money, but with a lot of players in play like Chychrun, Ritchie and Gostisbehere who were moved by the deadline and even some who weren’t but were drawing interest like Schmaltz and Crouse, the Coyotes were to close to the cap floor and need a contract with a very high cap hit to get farther away from the floor so adding the Voracek contract definitely helped. Now for Voracek he has been a very elite point producer over the past few seasons, and after he started his career in Columbus, he spent 10 seasons with Philly prior to last year and was a really good top six forward, and carried his success into his first year back with Columbus, as he reached 60 points for the first time in 3 seasons, getting only 6 goals but added 56 assists for a 62 point season and looked like he fit in well with the Jackets, and started well this year too, but after having 1 goal and 6 points in 11 games playing in a more middle six role after the Gaudreau addition, he went down with a injury and hasn’t returned since and most likely won’t play this year at all, and there are some concerns about his health long term as well. So for Arizona, it is good for them either way as even if he is still injured next season, they can simply place him on IR and have some dead cap on their books and I don’t think they would be very worried and it would help them get to the cap in the offseason, but if he winds up being healthy next year then he can play a top six role with Arizona and be a pretty good veteran influence to some young players and with his contract being in the final year next season, if he is healthy and plays well they could also trade him for picks and prospects at the deadline, so whether he plays or doesn’t, this is a big win for Arizona to get closer to the cap for the next year, and to take on this contract they also get the Jackets 6th round pick in this years draft, which should be a high 6th round pick but will be just a depth selection, but still getting some more draft capital for this deep draft is a win for Arizona and getting a good veteran forward who will help their cap situation next year and could even be a good veteran presence on their team if healthy next year and they could move him for something at the deadline, so a nice piece of work by Arizona.
As for Columbus, Voracek was losing his spot on the team if he was to come back next year with the Gaudreau addition and emergence of Marchenko, so I don’t think they saw a future with him and with his high cap hit, clearing that off even if he could’ve gone on LTIR next year if he was still not healthy is a huge win for Columbus, especially given they only had to pay a 6th round pick to get it, and what they got is not too significant. Now Jon Gillies had played a few years in the AHL before getting another NHL shot last year, and after playing a few minor games, he played 1 games with St.Louis while the Blues were injured and did all right, and then went to New Jersey where he played in 19 games and put up a 3.76 GAA and a .885 SV% and looked like a good 3rd string goalie, and then signed a 1 year contract with the Coyotes in the offseason to be their backup, but before the season started they got Ingram to be their backup, which bumped Gillies to 3rd string and he played 15 AHL games this year with Arizona, putting up a .878 SV% and a 3.70 GAA before the deal, and hasn’t played any games with Cleveland in the AHL. Now on the depth chart he is behind Merzlikins, Hutchinson and Tarasov in Columbus so I don’t expect him to get any time in the NHL for Columbus and most likely leave in the offseason, but he has at least given Columbus some goalie depth for the rest of the year. So a good move from both sides in my opinion as the Jackets get rid of Voracek while the Yotes get a draft pick to take on his contract and help them get to the cap floor next year, and if healthy, Voracek could be a valuable top six veteran the Coyotes could use next year.
Nashville New York R
Austin Rueschhoff Future Considerations
Analysis: a completely minor deal between these two teams, as the Predators get minor leaguer Rueschhoff from the Rangers for future Considerations. Now for NYR Rueschhoff was just a minor league player for them and they needed the contract slot to help they acquire the other players they acquired prior to the deadline, so for NYR it is not significant at all. As for the Predators Rueschhoff is a minor league player who was a undrafted player and will be a UFA at the end of the year and is signed at league minimum, but he hasn’t even played a NHL game in his career, and has had a decent season in the AHL, having 2 goals and 11 points in 31 games for the Rangers AHL team, and since the trade has 2 goals in 6 games with the Preds AHL team, so basically they just got a bit more depth for this season and I would expect him to probably leave as a UFA after next year, so in my opinion there really isn’t much of a winner in this trade, as the Preds get a little deeper with the addition of Rueschhoff, and the Rangers got a added contract slot that they used to go after the players they got before the deadline.
Anaheim San Jose
2024 3RD (SJ) Henry Thrun
Analysis: in what was a pretty small trade, the Sharks were able to get unsigned defensemen Thrun from Anaheim as he wasn’t going to sign with Anaheim and should get a good chance to play in San Jose, and in exchange the Ducks get the Sharks 3rd round pick in next years draft.
So for San Jose, they are getting a good young prospect. Henry Thrun was a 4RD pick in 2019 who has been playing college the past few seasons, but his signing rights expire on August 15th this year and with Thrun and Anaheim not coming to terms, they wind up moving him. Now Thrun has had some pretty good showing’s in college, as he was putting up 20+ points just after his draft, but then last year with Harvard University in the NCAA, he put up 7 goals and 32 points in 35 games, and has had pretty much the same production this year, putting up 7 goals and 31 points in 32 games. Now first the Sharks will have to sign him which I would expect them to after his college season ends, and with the lack of D prospects in Sam Jose, I think in a year or two, he could be a good 3rd pair defensemen for the Sharks, now he probably will need a year or two in the AHL, but after that I think he should be a full time NHL player on the 3rd pair, and I could even see being a top 4 Defensemen at some point in the future, so a good pickup by the Sharks to get a young player who didn’t want to sign with another team, and then have him on their roster in a year or two.
As for the Ducks I don’t think they really wanted to move Thrun, as he is a good prospect but with young players like Mintyukov, Zellweger and Helleson all most likely making the NHL lineup in the next year or two, they probably weren’t to upset with moving on from Thrun, and I think that deep prospect pool may be why Thrun was unwilling to sign with the Ducks. So in return they don’t go empty handed, as they get a 3RD round pick in next years draft from San Jose. Now Thrun was a top 10 4th round pick back in 2019, and the Sharks 3rd round pick will most likely be a top 10 3rd round pick, so in my eyes it is great that the Ducks were able to get a 3rd round pick for a prospect taken in the 4th round, but still, Thrun was only a year or two away from the NHL while whoever they draft is currently 4-6 years away from playing, so they make the best out of a tough situation and get a good draft selection, but it does come at the cost of a good young prospect. So a pretty nice Deal, as San Jose gets the good prospect and Anaheim gets a good draft pick for next year, and I feel both teams come away winners as they both made the best of their situations.
Nashville Philadelphia
Isaac Ratcliffe Future Considerations
Analysis: in what was a very small trade, the Flyers opened up a contract slot by moving underwhelming young player Isaac Ratcliffe to the Nashville Predators where he might get some more playing time.
So for Nashville they were able to get a underperforming player in Ratcliffe. Now Ratcliffe is on a one year deal and will be a RFA, but I do think it is quite possibly that he doesn’t get qualified and will become a UFA at the end of the year, now Ratcliffe was a 2nd round pick in the 2017 draft by the Flyers and drafted with the potential that he would eventually be a regular NHL player, but so far that has not been the case, as he has played 4 seasons since turning pro, his first two were both in the AHL, and he had a combined 8 goals and 23 points in 75 games in those two years, then last year he played a majority of his season in the AHL, putting up 11 goals and 28 points in 59 games, but also got his first taste of NHL action putting up his first career NHL goal and 4 points in 10 NHL games, but this year reverted back to a AHL player, putting up 2 goals and 4 points in 26 games before the trade, but after arriving in Nashville, he has done amazing, so far having a goal and 9 points in 10 AHL games for Nashville, now he will probably remain in the AHL for the rest of this season, but if Nashville extends him, I could see him have a shot at being a bottom six forward next year or the following season, so in my eyes I still think Ratcliffe could be a good bottom six forward at the NHL level, and if he can show he can still produce well in the AHL, I think he could get a look at the NHL level, but it was a good pickup for Nashville getting a low risk, high reward player from Philly who seems to be thriving in the AHL for them.
As for the Flyers, they needed the contract slot to do other business before the deadline so this was just moving Ratcliffe somewhere else to try and do other business, so they also viewed Ratcliffe as someone who didn’t fit with them and thought that he would be the one they get rid of, so they just needed a contract slot and although it is upsetting that they had to trade away a former 2nd round pick, it seems as though he hasn’t developed like the Flyers wanted him to and they have him a fresh start elsewhere, so a decent move by bothe teams as the Predators get a AHL forward who still has some bottom six potential if he plays well, and Philly got a contract spot because of the deal, and in my eyes given they got a decent player for nothing, at this point in time I would say the Predators wound up winning this deal.
Chicago Colorado
Andreas Englund Jack Johnson
Analysis: in this trade between the division rivals, the Avalanche get back a good 3rd pair defender from the Hawks that helped them win the cup last year, while the Hawks get a good young 3rd pair defensemen who has shown this year he can play a bottom pairing role if called upon.
Now for the Avalanche they get Jack Johnson from the Hawks. Now Johnson played with Colorado last year and helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup, but left as a free agent and he signed a 1 year deal with Chicago just under a Million dollars and had played some good hockey this year and was eating some good minutes, and now he finds himself back on the Avalanche roster as they try to get back to winning the Stanley Cup. Now Johnson is no longer the offensive producer he was with the Kings and Jackets from the start of his career in 2007-08 to 2017-18, and he hasn’t really done overly well the past few seasons putting up points, but he has turned into a extremely good 3rd pair defensemen now in the NHL, as he had a decent season last year, getting into 74 games for Colorado and putting up 1 goal and 9 points in those games and helped the Av’s to the Cup last year, this year with Chicago prior to the trade, he had done alright, putting up 4 points in 58 games and since the deal has 1 assist in 13 games with the Avalanche, so right now he has 5 assists in 71 games with the two teams combined, so not very offensive, but is a very good 3rd pair defensemen and I believe he will go back to that, as Johnson is a good 7th defensemen who can play a 3rd pair role when called upon, and with the Avalanche wanting some more depth on the blueline, Johnson makes a lot of sense and guys like Erik Johnson, Manson and Makar have suffered injuries since Johnson got there so he has been a consistent 3rd pair D-Men for the Avalanche, and I think adding Johnson to bring some depth on defence before the playoffs was a smart move by the Av’s.
As for Chicago, they probably weren’t bringing Johnson back in the offseason so they moved him prior to the deadline to get as much as they could for him and in return the get Andreas Englund. Now Englund was a 2014 2nd round pick of the Ottawa Senators and did play parts of 4 seasons from 2016-17 to 2019-20 with the Sens at the NHL level, and did alright putting up 3 assists in 33 games with Ottawa, but did really well at the AHL level as well, as he got 34 points in 238 AHL games over that time frame, and then went to the Av’s AHL affiliates last year and did quite well, getting 2 goals and 12 points in 57 games and did well enough to get a NHL contract from the Av’s this year, and although he started in the minors, he was called up after the Av’s suffered a few injuries, and was able to get 3 assists in 36 games with the Avalanche at the NHL level, and has gotten into 5 games with the Hawks after the trade before being injured and didn’t have a point, now I would expect him to remain with the Hawks for the rest of the year, and do alright on their 3rd pair, but he is also a Pending UFA and I could see him for free agency in the offseason, so a good stopgap player for Chicago who can fill in a roster spot until the offseason and could get more of a opportunity with the Hawks then he did with Colorado. So good move for both sides as the Hawks get a decent bottom pair defensemen who they can have for the rest of the year, and the Avalanche get a familiar face that helped them win the Cup last year and should continue to be a good 3RD pair defensemen for them.
Here is a list of all the NHL signings that have happened between Feb 28th and Mar 3rd.
Metro
Washington
Right Winger Nicolas Aube Kubel has signed a 1 year contract extension with the Washington Capitals that will have a cap hit of $1.23 Million dollars, and the deal is 1 way and will begin at the start of next season. Now for Aube Kubel, he has had a busy past season, as he started last year in Philly and was claimed by Colorado, and did quite well with the Avalanche, putting up 11 goals and 22 points in 67 games after having a assist in 7 games with Philly, and helped the Avalanche win the Stanley cup last year, then signed a 1 year deal with the Maple Leafs in the offseason, and only played in 6 games with Toronto not putting up a point before being claimed off of waivers by Washington, and he has done well with the Capitals, getting into 39 games and putting up 4 goals and 12 points and earned himself the extension from Washington. Now for Kubel, it is only a one year deal and only a slight pay raise on his current contract, but he has definitely shown over the past few seasons that he is a very good 4th line forward who can play in a variety of different situations, and I think this deal will be good for both the Capitals and Aube Kubel, and it if good to see Aube Kubel find a place to stay past this season.
Right Defender Nick Jensen has signed a 3 year contract extension with the Washington Capitals that will have a cap hit of $4.05 Million dollars, and the deal is 1 way and will begin at the start of next season. Now this is a pretty good signing for Washington, as the Capitals have signed Jensen who has showed this year that he can take on the responsibility of being a top 4 defender. Now Jensen was in the final year of a 4 year deal he signed with the caps after they acquired him from Detroit, now the first two seasons with Washington wasn’t great and he was more of a 3rd pair defensemen, getting 8 assists in 68 games in his first year and 2 goals and 14 points in 53 games in his 2nd season with Washington. But last year he started to move into a top 4 role and became more of a 2nd pair defensemen, and broke 20 points for only the second time in his career, getting 5 goals and 21 points in 76 games last year, and this year has taken steps forward especially with Carlson injured, and has had a career season this year, putting up 4 goals and 26 points in 69 games and could maybe hit 30 points before the end of the year. So in my eyes, this deal may be a tad expensive just given the fact that Jensen is 32 and will be 33 before the next year, so they will be paying him just over $4 Million dollars until he is 36, so I do think that is a little risky, but he is a really good defensive defensemen and having a career season and has done well in Washington, so to keep him for the next few years to play behind Carlson on pair 2 I think is good and I think this is a pretty good deal for the Caps.
Atlantic
Boston
Right Winger David Pastrnak has signed a 8 year contract extension with the Boston Bruins that will have a cap hit of $11.25 Million dollars, and the deal is 1 way and will begin at the start of next season. Now I know this may come as a surprise to some people, but it sounded like early on in contract discussions that the Bruins may have to pay Pastrnak beyond what they had been willing to pay other players in the past, and that the contract would probably have a ASV of the double digit mark, but I am surprised he got over $11. But I will say that Pastrnak has definitely earned this contract from Boston, as he has been with the Bruins for his entire career, and in his last 7 seasons, he has hit at least 70 points in all but one season and hit at least 30 goals in all but one season, (he hit 20 goals and 48 points in the shortened season), and has even broke the 40 goals and 80 point barrer a couple of teams, but is having a career season this year, as he has already gotten 50 goals and is in the verge of his 1st 100 point season, so I think while this contract is def a bit expensive for the Bruins to swallow, Pastrnak is a key top 6 piece of this team, can put up 40-50 goals, and has great chemistry with a lot of the Bruins players and I think it would be extremely hard to replace that, so in my eyes although it may be a bit of a overpayment, it was a deal the Bruins needed to do and to keep Pastrnak is a huge win for them.
Detroit
Right Winger Alex Chiasson has signed a 1 year contract with the Detroit Red Wings that will have a cap hit of $.750 Thousand dollars, and the deal is a 2 way deal and will begin right now before this season finishes. Now unlike some of the other guys who signed extensions over this period of time, Chiasson was actually not on a NHL contract. Now Chiasson has bounced around the NHL over his career, as he started out in Dallas, then went to Ottawa, followed by Calgary and Washington, then spent three seasons prior to last year with the Oilers, and then played last year with Vancouver. Now he has always been a good bottom six player, and has only hit 30 points twice, as he got 35 in his 2nd year in Dallas and 38 in his first season with Edmonton, but has slowed down since then, as he had 30 points in 110 games in his final two seasons with Edmonton, and then had 22 points in 67 games last year with Vancouver, but was only able to get a PTO during training camp and then was released and could only get a AHL only deal with the Red Wings affiliate. But was able to play well enough in the AHL to earn himself a 2 way contract to finish out the year, and has so far had a great showing, as he has 5 goals and 7 points in 11 games since signing the deal. So I don’t know if he will remain with the Wings past this year, as I think Detroit would try to tinker in the offseason with their lineup, but with the way he is playing a wouldn’t be too surprised if he got a deal elsewhere in the offseason, so good for Detroit to find a substitute bottom six forward, and give Chiasson a chance to prove that he is still a good bottom six NHL forward.
Central
Nashville
Right Defender Dante Fabbro has signed a 1 year contract extension with the Nashville Predators that will have a cap hit of $2.5 Million dollars and the deal is 1 way and will begin at the start of next year. Now for Fabbro, he came into the league with some very high upside, as he was a 2016 1RD pick and he was coming off a couple of stellar seasons in the NCAA, but since coming over from college, he hasn’t really lived up to expectations. Now Fabbro had a pretty good start to his NHL career, getting 5 goals and 11 points in 64 games in his rookie season and 2 goals and 12 points in 40 games in the shortened season, but last year he had a breakout season, getting 3 goals and putting up a career high 24 points in 66 games with the Predators last year and although he has been a good defensive defensemen, his offensive side was finally showing, but he took a step back this year, as he only got 1 goal and 9 points in 69 games this year, a far cry from his 24 point season last year and there was a lot of talk about him getting a fresh start and being moved before the deadline, but Nashville went the opposite way, as they got him signed one a one year extension. So Fabbro was going to be a RFA, so the contract basically boots the situation to next year, and in my eyes, I definitely like this deal and I feel it is a win win scenario, as Fabbro gets a big pay raise and will get to show the NHL that last year wasn’t a fluke and he is still a good top 4 defender, while the Preds give Fabbro another chance to be a good player for them, and if it doesn’t work out, they can simply trade him at next years deadline or in the offseason, so in my eyes I like this deal and although Fabbro didn’t get traded, I do think that this situation is even better.
Goaltender Kevin Lankinen has signed a 1 year contract extension with the Nashville Predators that will have a cap hit of $2 Million dollars and the deal is 1 way and will begin at the start of next season. Now for Lankinen, he was a undrafted free agent who started his NHL career a couple of seasons ago, as following a strong AHL campaign, Lankinen would play his first NHL season in the shortened season, and would get into 37 games as a rookie, and put up a 3.01 GAA and a .909 SV% for the Blackhawks, and had high hopes for his second season, but fell flat last year, getting into 32 games and putting up a 3.50 GAA and a .891 SV% and didn’t do well, but he was able to get a contract in the offseason from Nashville for 1 year, as they thought Lankinen could be the teams short term backup, and he has done well this year, as he has played 17 games so far, putting up a 2.72 GAA and a .917 SV% and was able to get another short term contract from the Predators. So I think this is a good move by Nashville, as Lankinen has shown he is still a good NHL backup and it will give Askarov another year to develop to be the Predators goalie of the future, so I think this is a good move for both sides as it gives Lankinen another year to be a quality backup and for Nashville buys more time for Askarov’s development.
St.Louis
Left Winger, Right Winger Sammy Blais has signed 1 a 1 year contract extension with the St.Louis Blues that will have a cap hit of $1 Million dollars and the deal is 1 way and will began at the start of next year. Now Blais always seems to play well with the Blues and I think this signing is a great move by St.Louis. Now Blais started his career out with the Blues and had some pretty decent seasons to start out, as he spent his first 4 seasons with St.Louis, and in his first three he did alright, putting up 9 goals and 20 points in 83 games, and then had his best season putting up 8 goals and 15 points in 36 games in the shortened season, but after that season he was dealt to NYR in the Buchnevich trade, and he got injured earlier last year and didn’t play again for the season, and only finished with 4 assists in 14 games, and then came into this year healthy, but only got 5 assists in 40 games and then started to be a healthy scratch before he was dealt back to the Blues in the Tarasenko deal, and immediately improved as soon as he got back to St.Louis, as since the trade he has 8 goals and 15 points in only 22 games and is killing it as a 3rd line winger in St.Louis, and is a point shy of a new career high, so I think signing him to a extension was a smart move by St.Louis. Now the extension is only a year at a Million dollars, and the way he is playing right now, if he keeps that up next year then this contract is a steal for St.Louis, so I think getting him locked up when they did was smart, and given they traded all there big players away, they needed someone to fill in anyway, so in my eyes this is a win win, as Blais gets to remain with the team he has had the most success with, and the Blues get a cheap middle six forward who is having a career season with them, and I think this is a great fit.
Pacific
San Jose
Left defensemen Derrick Pouliot has signed a 1 year contract with the San Jose Sharks that will have a $.750 thousand dollar cap hit and it is a 2 way deal that begins right now before the season ends. Now Pouliot, sort of like Chiasson wasn’t signed to a extension, but rather a cheap 2 way contract to finish out the season. Now before this season Pouliot had played in 213 NHL games and put up 8 goals and 52 points in those games, but since the 19-20 season had only played in 13 games, 11 last year with Vegas and Seattle, and put up 4 assists in the 11 games last year, but no NHL team would give him a contract, so he signed with the Sharks AHL affiliate, and did quite well getting 22 points in 30 games, and was able to earn that 2 way contract, and has been playing 3rd pair minutes for San Jose, getting 2 assists in 8 games so far. Now I think he is a good stopgap defender for San Jose, but I don’t think they will bring him back, and I could see a team sign him to a 2 way contract to be a depth defender next year, but I think it would be difficult, so it is definitely good to see Pouliot get another NHL chance, but I am not sure Pouliot will remain in San Jose long term.
Here is what has happened with the waiver wire from FEB 22nd to FEB 25th.
Cleared Waivers
Anaheim Ducks
Justin Kirkland LW,RW (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Joey Anderson RW (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars)
Seattle
Chris Driedger G (2 years left $3.5 Million dollars)
Nashville
Kevin Gravel LD (2 years left $.763 Thousand dollars)
Players claimed off of waivers
Chris Tierney C (1 year left $.750 Thousand dollars) was placed on waivers by the Panthers and claimed by the Canadiens.
Kasperi Kapanen RW (2 years left $3.2 Million dollars) was placed on waivers by the Penguins and claimed by the Blues.
Analysis: with this group of players who went on waivers over this period, I thought all would have probably cleared, but I was wrong and a bit surprised that two of these players wound up getting claimed by some other teams. Now first with the players who cleared waivers, I’ll start with Kirkland, as I don’t think it is too much of a surprise that Kirkland cleared waivers for the Ducks. Now Kirkland was drafted in 2014 by the Predators, but up until this year he had only played in the AHL for the Preds and Flames affiliates, and had some good seasons for them, putting up 69 points in 191 games with the Preds AHL affiliates, and then in 135 games with the Flames affiliates, he got 83 points including a stellar year last season putting up 25 goals and 48 points in 66 games and was able to earn himself a 2 way contract in the offseason with Anaheim, and while he has been mostly a AHL player, has 9 goals and 17 points in 24 games, he also got into his first 7 NHL games with Anaheim before the Ducks sent him back to the minors. So given the fact that he is basically a AHL forward at this point in time, I don’t think it was too surprising to see him clear waivers and in my opinion he will most likely remain in the AHL for the rest of the year, but even though he wasn’t claimed, I do think it is a big win for him to at least get a taste of NHL action.
Next with Chris Driedger in Seattle, I wasn’t all to shocked with him being placed on waivers by the Kraken given he hadn’t played all season and given Jones has been a okay backup, but I was also not surprised he wasn’t claimed. Now Driedger was drafted in the 2012 draft by Ottawa, but was mostly a AHL player or ECHL player up until the 19-20 season with Florida, as he had a good enough showing to earn himself some NHL action, and he capitalized on it, getting into 12 games and putting up a 2.04 GAA and a .938 SV%, and would continue to help Florida as their backup in the 20-21 season, as he got into 23 games in the shortened season, and had a 2.06 GAA and a .927 SV% and looked really good, but with Knight coming up to be the backup they exposed him in the expansion draft, and Seattle took him and signed him to a 3 year contract extension, and last year in Seattle’s first year he didn’t do overly well, having a 2.96 GAA and a .899 SV% in 27 games, but suffered a injury in the offseason and hadn’t played at all this year, so they placed him on waivers. Now he still has a pretty high cap hit of $3.5 Million and is signed for next year too, and given those facts plus the fact that he hasn’t played at all this year, I think it isn’t too surprising that he wasn’t claimed off of the waiver wire, so he is now trying to work his way back to the NHL in the minors, and I think he can still be a good backup in the NHL, but for now he has to prove he is healthy in the minors.
As for Joey Anderson, I don’t think it is too surprising he cleared, but now he is now even with the Leafs anymore. Now Anderson was taken in the 2016 draft by New Jersey and played in a couple of seasons there, putting up 8 goals and 13 points in 52 games before he was dealt to Toronto as part of the Andreas Johnsson trade, and he had mostly been a AHL forward with Toronto, as he had 53 points in 76 games in the AHL the two seasons before this one with Toronto, while only getting into 6 NHL games, and this year started in the minors, (he put up 27 points in 30 games), and was then called up to play with Toronto, where he had 2 goals and 3 points in 14 games before being placed on waivers. Now he is more of a AHL forward so I don’t find it too surprising that he cleared waivers, but only a couple of days after he cleared, Chicago acquired him in a trade and he’s done well, putting up 3 goals and 5 points in 16 games with them, so I think he has a future as a bottom six forward in the NHL, and although he was never able to crack the Leafs roster, I think he will do great with the Hawks.
And the last of the players who cleared waivers, is Gravel, who I don’t think was much of a surprise to clear waivers for Nashville. Now Gravel was drafted in 2010 by LA and has played for a few different teams before Nashville, including LA, Edmonton and Toronto where he put up a goal and 13 points in 109 games at the NHL level, but before this year, his last NHL games was back in the 19-20 season with the Leafs, as he went to Edmonton in the shortened season and only played in the minors, and then went to their Alberta rivals in Calgary last year, but once again was only a minor league player, then he signed a 2 way deal with Nashville in the offseason for 2 seasons, and once again started in the AHL, but after having a decent AHL season this year and the team trading Ekholm before the deadline, he was called up and got into some games before being sent down via waivers. Now he has been called up again a couple of times since clearing waivers and has done alright, putting up a assist in 19 games this year, so I think given the fact that Gravel had mostly been a depth defender over the past few seasons with various teams, and the fact that he still has next year on his contract as well, I don’t think it is too surprising that he did in fact clear waivers, and hopefully he can continue to play well in the NHL and show he can still be a good 3rd pair defensemen.
And next with the two guys who were claimed off of waivers, first with Tierney who I wasn’t expecting to be claimed off of waivers, but given the Canadiens bad injury situation, I think it isn’t as surprising as I first thought. Now Tierney played a majority of his career in San Jose and Ottawa, as he was drafted by the Sharks and spent the first 4 seasons of his career with them, then was dealt to the Sens in the Erik Karlsson trade, and played the next 4 years with the Senators which ended last season. So he has mostly been a 3rd line forward in his NHL career, but did have a couple of good seasons, including the final year in San Jose and his first year with the Senators, when he hit 40 points in each of those seasons, but after that first year with Ottawa his production slowly went down and only got 6 goals and 18 points in 70 games last year playing mostly on their 4th line, and he was only able to get a 2 way, league minimum deal in the offseason with the Florida Panthers, and after starting in the minors he was called up to Florida, having 2 goals and 3 points in 13 games before being claimed by Montreal. Now with his sore play over the past couple of seasons, I seriously thought that he would just clear and would be sent to the minors, but the Canadiens have once again dealt with a ton of injuries this year and due to that and the Canadiens wanting to keep some of their younger players in the minors, they wound up claiming Tierney. Now he has done well since going to Montreal putting up 1 goal and 6 points in 17 games with the Canadiens, but he is a pending UFA and is most likely just a stopgap player for the Canadiens, but I still think this was a good pickup by Montreal, as they get a good bottom six forward who can help some of the younger players, and Tierney gets a chance to prove he is still a NHL forward, and work towards his next NHL contract.
And finally with Kapanen, with the way he had been playing this year I don’t think it was too much of a surprise to see him on waivers, but with his contract, I thought for sure that he would clear waivers, but there was a team who wound up claiming him and giving him another shot. Now the Penguins drafted Kapanen, but moved him to Toronto as part of the Kessel trade before he ever played a NHL game for them, but did pretty well with the Maple Leafs to start his career, as he played parts of 5 years in Toronto, putting up 41 goals and 90 points in 202 games and did really well in his final two years with Toronto, having 44 points in 18-19 and 36 points in 19-20, but after some really good play with the Maple Leafs, he was dealt back to Pittsburgh as part of a trade that got Toronto a 1RD pick, but he wasn’t able to find that scoring touch he had in Toronto in Pittsburgh, as he played well in the shortened season, getting 30 points in 40 games, and then last year he got 32 points but that was in 79 games played, and then this year before going on waivers, he put up only 7 goals and 20 points in 43 games, so he hadn’t been doing well in Pittsburgh over the past few seasons. Now Kapanen was extended in the offseason by Pittsburgh on a 2 year contract extension at a $3.2 Million dollar cap hit, so with another year on his contract at a pretty decent size cap hit, I thought he would just cruise right through waivers and be sent to the minors, but it turns out he was surprisingly claimed, as the Blues were able to give him a chance and do the Penguins a huge favour. Now this is a big chance that the Blues are taking, given he still has 1 year left at a $3.2 Million dollar cap hit, but Kapanen has actually done quite well since being claimed by the Blues, as he has 7 goals and 12 points in a mere 16 games since playing with St.Louis, and he looks like the legit top 9 forward the Penguins wanted him to be, so I think this waiver claim worked out for all sides involved, as the Penguins were able to get out of the Kapanen contract, and gave themselves some more money to work with at the deadline, Kapanen goes to a place where he could get more playing time to show he is still a lethal forward, and the Blues get a decent middle six winger who could help the Blues over the next few seasons while they continue to retool there roster, after moving guys like O’Reilly and Tarasenko out, and I think Kapanen will do great playing in St.Louis for the next year and a half.
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