Articles in NHL Teams

from David Dwork of The Hockey News,

The 33-year-old defenseman has played 682 games in the NHL and spent the past three seasons with the Florida Panthers.

They were three of his best in the league, and entering free agency, Gudas was one of the more coveted blueliners on the open market.

He ended up signing a 3-year, $12 million deal with the Anaheim Ducks, which was a hefty increase from the 3-year, $7.5 million contract he had signed with the Panthers back in 2020.

The contract brings a well-deserved raise for Gudas, who recently spoke with iSport in Czechia about his new deal.

"I'm not the youngest anymore, I knew that this was one of the last contracts for me," Gudas said, through translation. "We have four children, I also had to look at the financial side. I have considered all the factors. When I talked with my agent and my wife, Anaheim got along the best of all."...

Gudas was a player several teams were targeting and the Panthers were not in situation where they could get into a bidding war, as the team was only looking to add short-term, reasonably priced contracts.

As for the teams who expressed interest in Gudas, he mentioned three Canadian clubs: Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto.

"I was surprised how many teams contacted me," Gudas said. "I was glad they were interested. The season, actually the last two or three, were successful, and I'm glad that they noticed it elsewhere. I could basically choose, and I think I chose as best as I could. When I put everything together, from the contract to housing, the team, and what is wanted of me, Anaheim was the best option for me."

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via the Washington Capitals,

The Washington Capitals have re-signed forward Tom Wilson to a seven-year, $45.5 million contract extension, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today. Wilson's extension will begin with the 2024-25 season and will carry an average annual value of $6.5 million. Wilson is under contract with Washington through the 2030-31 season.

"Tom possesses all the intangibles needed to win in this League and we are extremely pleased to sign him to a long-term contract, giving him the opportunity to finish his career in a Capitals' uniform," said MacLellan. "Throughout his career, Tom has improved every facet of his game through his drive and competitiveness. We feel his work ethic and leadership qualities will be a tremendous asset to our organization for years to come."

from Heather Engel at the NHL website.

The times are changing for the Buffalo Sabres and with them are greater expectations.

After finishing one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, the Sabres appear poised to take the next step and potentially end the longest active NHL playoff drought at 12 seasons.

"Last year, there was no expectations," Buffalo captain Kyle Okposo said May 25. "Everybody's writing rosy articles and this group is a good team, it's becoming a good team. And that's great, but how do you do that with expectations? There's guys that are starting to get bigger contracts, there's guys that are starting to get noticed nationally. There's going to be lofty expectations next year and I think that we can't run from that.

"The time is now. Our window, I think it's opening, and we have to be prepared for that."

General manager Kevyn Adams and the front office has allowed one of the youngest rosters in the NHL to grow together, even with some Atlantic Division rivals opting for more of a splash in the offseason.

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via the YouTube page of the NHL Network,

Elliotte Friedman is back for his first appearance in the month of August. He talks Oilers front office, Penguins front office, the latest on the Erik Karlsson trade front, and more on NHL Tonight.

via the Pittsburgh Penguins,

The Penguins have promoted Andy Saucier, Erik Heasley, Amanda Kessel and Trevor Daley to the following roles, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.

• Andy Saucier as Director of Professional Personnel
• Erik Heasley as Director of Minor League and Amateur Scouting Operations
• Amanda Kessel as Special Assistant to the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager
• Trevor Daley as Special Assistant to the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager

"At this time, I feel it is best for continuity that I formally continue in both roles as President and General Manager in the hockey operations department," said Dubas. "We will continue to reevaluate the GM position alongside all others in future off-seasons, to ensure that we are optimizing all facets of the department. We have a small but extremely dedicated management team here, and I have come to know each of them quite well over the last couple of months. We have also added both Jason Spezza and Vukie Mpofu to provide us with a nice mixture of playing experience, front office acumen, and growth potential."

One player Jackson represents is Connor McDavid.

from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of the NHL's website,

PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Barry Trotz sat in the stands at USA Hockey Arena on Wednesday, watching the World Junior Summer Showcase in his first scouting mission since officially becoming general manager of the Nashville Predators on July 1....

As a GM, he has to be informed about all players at all levels, so he was there to see every team's prospects at the tournament. Maybe he might want to acquire one of them someday.

"A couple of kids have caught my eye," he said. "They're not with us, but I'm going, 'If that name comes up, I would have some interest.'"

He was there to see the prospects who are eligible for the 2024 and 2025 drafts too. The 2024 NHL Draft will be his first as GM.

"I've talked to a lot of general managers, and you've got two trains of thought," he said. "You trust the people that you hire, or you have to do your own work because it falls on you.

"I've worked with all my [staff members], and I trust them and all that. But at the same time, I think there's a part of me that wants to go, 'You know what? I've got to make sure that these are the types of people that I want.'"

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The Maple Leafs have a dilemma on their hands with William Nylander. As the star forward enters the final year of his contract, should the team lock him in long-term or let him play out the year and take their chances? TSN Hockey's Frankie Corrado and Craig Button share their thoughts.

Watch the 5 minute video at TSN.

AAV is $7M.

via the Anaheim Ducks,

The Ducks have agreed to terms with right wing Troy Terry on a seven-year contract extension through the 2029-30 NHL season.

from Sonny Sachdeva of Sportsnet,

In today’s NHL, money wins titles. Not the most money, not money simply splashed haphazardly in all directions, but the best-managed money, the most wisely spent.

Such is the reality of a hard-cap league, where winning requires the ability to navigate that salary cap in such a way as to stockpile as much talent as possible within its limits. Where overextending to land a star player means one fewer valuable contributor elsewhere in your lineup, and where bargain-bin players who outperform the money invested in them can have a season-altering impact.

The 2022-23 season brought a mixed bag of results on this front across the league. Last week, we looked at some of the best bargain point producers from the season, the players who chipped in offensively while costing their clubs next to nothing relative to that offensive contribution.

This week, we look at another aspect of that financial picture — the contributions from the game’s top earners.

While this off-season’s seen clubs around league take a cautious approach to filling their cap space, amid another summer of minimal salary-cap movement, teams are simultaneously working around the hefty deals handed out in years past.

With that in mind, we took a look at how the highest-paid players in the league lived up to their price tags in 2022-23, and how that list overlaps with that of the players who earned MVP votes at year-end.

continue for the players...

from Greg Wyshynski of ESPN,

The Seattle Kraken have removed TikTok videos marketed to the hockey "BookTok" community after forward Alex Wennberg and his wife Felicia published statements that criticized the objectification of NHL players.

"BookTok" is a commonly used TikTok hashtag by content creators who want to discuss, review or promote books. A subset of that community focuses on hockey romance novels, with some users fixating on actual NHL players as proxies for fictional characters. One of those players was Wennberg, 28, a nine-year veteran who just completed his second season with the Kraken.

His wife Felicia Wennberg had joked about that fan fixation in the past. But last week, she published a statement on Instagram that said videos and comments made about her husband had "crossed the line of what it means to fancy someone" to the point where they sounded "predatory and exploiting" to her.

"What doesn't sit with me is when your desires come with sexual harassment, inappropriate comments and the fact that, with the Internet, we can normalize behavior that would never be OK if we flipped the genders around to a guy doing this to a female athlete," she wrote.

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from Salim Valji of TSN,

The star forward says he feels rejuvenated during an off-season where his priority has been to rediscover the confidence that helped him score 115 points during the 2021-22 season.

Huberdeau spoke to TSN about how he’s gone about rediscovering his “swag,” his thoughts on new coach Ryan Huska and new general manager Craig Conroy, and being all in as a Flame and Calgarian.

TSN: It’s been a couple of months since we chatted with you. How are you feeling?

Huberdeau: “I’m feeling pretty good. I think I’ve had a good summer, time to reset and now I’m feeling good. I’m feeling ready to go for a great year.”

TSN: What was the first thing you wanted to do or your first priority after the season when you got back home?

Huberdeau: “Like I said in my end-of-the-year interview, I just wanted to kind of reset, breathe a little bit and kind of take it all in and get my confidence back, and that’s what I did when I came back here. Just have fun again playing my hockey that I used to play. Right now, I feel good about myself and feel way more confident.”

TSN: You said you wanted to “rediscover your swag.” You alluded to it, but how does a guy rediscover that confidence?

Huberdeau: “I think, get back to the basics. That’s what I wanted do. [I] talked to a psychologist and get back to where you’re confident and you have the right mindset. I think I got away [from] that. Just trust yourself and never doubt yourself. That’s what I learned a lot this summer. Obviously, I’d never had [that type of season]. It was going well the past four years before that year that just happened. Just reset everything and come back to the basics. Small victories in your life that are going to give you that confidence back. This summer, that’s what I did.”

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed goalie Filip Gustavsson to a three-year, $11,250,00 contract ($3,750,000 average annual value) that goes through the 2025-26 season.

Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic answers questions on the Bruins,

With the obvious need to replenish draft picks and prospects for at least a minor rebuild, why keep two starting goalies? Even if Linus Ullmark could have only garnered a late first- or second-round pick, wouldn’t that have been worth it? Also, with Brad Marchand having a list of 15 teams he could be traded to this season, does it make sense to explore trading him this year? What would his potential return be? — Brendan N.

The Bruins’ perspective is that having the best goaltending rotation in the league will be their position of strength for 2023-24. That should keep them competitive. Fair point in terms of using Ullmark to accumulate futures. But would a Jeremy Swayman-Brandon Bussi tandem give them a chance to win this season? Their odds would certainly not be as good. The organization still believes the roster, with Ullmark and Swayman, can make the playoffs.

Trading Marchand would bring about a similar scenario. They would not be as good in 2023-24. As for his return, I think it would be a first-round pick and a mid-level prospect.

So the Bruins knew Bergeron was retiring in May and this was still Don Sweeney’s plan for July 1? — Louis S.

He didn’t have many alternatives. Not enough free cash to be a major player in UFA.

more ($) Q & A

from Carol Schram at Forbes,

Barely a month into the NHL’s new calendar year, it’s hard not to cast an eye toward July 1, 2024.

That’s the day when the league’s salary cap ceiling will take its first significant jump since the summer of 2018, when the fiscal impact of the first season of the Vegas Golden Knights fuelled a larger-than-expected leap from $75 million up to $79.5 million.

With the books finally re-balanced after the players received more than their designated 50 percent share of a smaller-than-normal revenue pie when the impacts of COVID-19 were at their most severe, current estimates suggest an increase of $4 million should be expected in the summer of 2024, followed by a $4.5 million increase in 2025, per CapFriendly.

After two years of no increase followed by two years of just $1 million in growth, the boost is already eagerly anticipated by general managers, players and their agents — all of whom have been planning accordingly.

At the beginning of this month, players who are scheduled to become either restricted or unrestricted free agents next summer became eligible to sign contract extensions with their current teams. There’s no rush, but many of the league’s biggest stars typically re-up promptly, wanting remove the distraction of negotiations before the new season gets underway.

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NEW YORK (July 25, 2023) – National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman today released the following statement regarding the passing of Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz:

“The National Hockey League family is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of W. Rockwell ‘Rocky’ Wirtz.

“Devoted to family and the Chicago Blackhawks, Rocky was a native son of Chicago and an accomplished businessman. Rocky took over control of the Blackhawks in 2007 and almost immediately restored the passion and following of this storied, Original Six franchise.

“Rocky’s focus on connecting with the Club’s fans and improving the team’s performance on the ice rekindled Chicago fans’ love affair with their hockey team and built a modern dynasty – the Blackhawks won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015.

“On a personal level, Rocky was a dear friend whose counsel I consistently sought. He was a highly respected member of the Executive Committee of the League’s Board of Governors whose wisdom and camaraderie were valued by his fellow owners.

“The NHL sends its sincere condolences to Rocky’s wife, Marilyn; his children, Danny, Kendall and Hillary; Marilyn’s daughter, Elizabeth; and their six grandchildren. He will be missed terribly.”

from Jacob Stoller of The Hockey News,

While the Vegas Golden Knights are synonymous with grand reveals, the start of their captain's day with the Stanley Cup was anything but theatrical.

It was humble, just like Winnipeg’s middle-class neighborhood of Westwood, where Stone grew up and left a mark on the community throughout his upbringing and NHL career so far.

Before a black limousine bus ushered Stone, his family and the Stanley Cup to his childhood rink, the vibe in the Kirkfield Westwood Community Centre parking lot had a bit more Golden Knights apparel than usual in Manitoba. While Stone’s event was not publicized, word of mouth spread throughout the neighborhood. A crowd of no larger than 30 people gathered outside the community center’s rink, Keith Bodley Arena, to get a glimpse of Lord Stanley and the captain who made this moment happen.

When the limousine pulled up, Stone was the last to step off – and he did so with a beaming smile while holding the Stanley Cup over his head. He carried the Cup into the building – past the canteen in the foyer entryway that he and his teammates took turns running as young kids – and headed right for the rink.

“This is my barn,” Stone told the two keepers of the Cup accompanying him. “It hasn’t changed a lick.”

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota Sports & Entertainment (MSE) and Minnesota Wild Owner and Governor Craig Leipold announced today three executive promotions to strategically position the organization for future evolution and continued growth.

via the Boston Bruins,

When I was around 12 years old a teacher asked everyone in my class to write about our dreams. For me, my dream was already clear: to become a professional hockey player.

I was probably a little naive growing up, because in my mind this dream was never a question of if, but when it would happen. The path to making my dreams come true was not easy. I faced adversity and made so many sacrifices, but throughout it all my love for the game only grew and my determination to achieve my goals always remained strong.

For the last 20 years I have been able to live my dream every day. I have had the honor of playing in front of the best fans in the world wearing the Bruins uniform and representing my country at the highest levels of international play. I have given the game everything that I have physically and emotionally, and the game has given me back more than I could have ever imagined.

It is with a full heart and a lot of gratitude that today I am announcing my retirement as a professional hockey player.

RALEIGH, NC. - Don Waddell, President and General Manager of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has signed defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a one-year, $1.675 million contract.

"Tony is an elite offensive defenseman who had a great season with us in 2021-22," said Waddell. "We wanted to re-sign him last summer, and now we're thrilled to bring him back to Raleigh."

DeAngelo, 27, posted 42 points (11g, 31a) in 70 NHL games with Philadelphia in 2022-23. He recorded 51 points (10g, 41a) in 64 regular season games with Carolina in 2021-22 and added 10 points (1g, 9a) in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games. The Hurricanes traded DeAngelo to the Flyers on July 8, 2022, in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft (Simon Forsmark), a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (traded to San Jose - Brandon Svoboda), and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 5'11", 180-pound blueliner has registered 199 points (45g, 154a) in 340 career NHL regular season games with Arizona, NY Rangers, Carolina and Philadelphia. The Sewell, N.J., native was drafted 19th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft.

from Ryan Dixon of Sportsnet,

Last summer, Nazem Kadri — the top centre on the open market — didn’t ink a new deal until September training camps were basically a month away from opening. The 2023 off-season has an even greater holding-pattern feel to it, as teams are sketching out blueprints while still feeling the pinch of one final flat-cap summer.

We’re now nearly a month removed from the draft and free agency, so you wonder if after a period of re-grouping, general managers might be ready to re-surface and take another look at some bigger plays.

After all, the reigning Norris Trophy winner, a generational offensive talent and a handful of really good players from a couple Canada-based clubs are all floating in the ether, with the potential to land in a stop-what-you’re-doing headline at any moment.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of lingering names to keep an eye on as we rapidly approach the final full month of NHL off-season.

Vladimir Tarasenko

Any time a player fires his representation a few days into free agency, things have not gone as expected. It sure seemed like Tarasenko was about to join the Carolina Hurricanes in early July, but the rubber stamp never got dropped and a little while later, Tarasenko was dropping former agent Paul Theofanous and moving to CAA.

The Russian will be 32 in December and though you would never lump him with the elite snipers in the game anymore, Tarasenko did put up 34 goals in 2021-22, his final full year in St. Louis. He’s still got the shot to score somebody some goals — perhaps even that 'Canes squad we initially thought he was destined for.

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FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Stars Owner and Governor Tom Gaglardi today announced that the club has signed General Manager Jim Nill to a two-year contract extension through the 2025-26 season.

"Jim has proven himself to be one of the best general managers in the NHL," Gaglardi said. "He has meticulously built a team through free agency, trades and the NHL Draft that's among the best in the League, while also ensuring that the Stars are championship contenders for years to come. He'll be able to continue his vision of working toward our goal of bringing another Stanley Cup to the state of Texas."