Montreal Canadiens‘ 12th year right wing Dale Weise(21) was reassigned to start the final season of his 4-year extension on reassignment to affiliate Laval Rocket to help out with the prospects in the system.
He returned to the team after almost three complete campaigns with Philadelphia Flyers.
The sizable forward has skated 490 NHL games for 5 different clubs with his best time coming with his now current club in 2014/2015, when he grabbed career highs 19 assists and 29 points and in the next frame, where he put up a new best 14 goals.
There’s little doubt the 31-year old would like to get back up in the show to complete the cycle for 500 games and it would be little surprise to see that happen despite wearing an “A” on his uniform in the AHL.
15th year retired defenseman J.P. Cote(24) was a scout for San Jose Sharks in his first year away from pro hockey and has picked up a nice new role with former club Tampa Bay Lightning as their Director Of Player Development.
He left the game at the end of 2017/2018 after appearing in 19 games with Grenoble, his 2nd season playing in Ligue Magnus.
The rugged forward has 60 AHL fighting majors to his credit, 623 games played in the league, a 2007 and 2012 Calder Cup Championship and left with a monster +148 rating.
At 37-years old, this is the perfect fit for the former pugilist.
6th year center Felix Girard(16) leaves Adirondack Thunder after skating 3 ECHL games scoring 3 goals and 1 assist to sign with Fehervar AV19 of Erstebank Eishockey Liga for the remainder of 2019/2020.
The 5’11” 194 lbs. forward was under contract to Manitoba Moose last season playing 70 AHL games and managed his close to average 18 points.
Originally a Nashville Predators‘ 4th round pick in the 2013 draft (#95 overall), he spent two and a half years with affiliate Milwaukee Admirals before being traded before his first restricted free agency to Colorado Avalanche, where he was reassigned to San Antonio Rampage increasing his totals to a career high 18 assists and 28 points.
He’s amassed 356 games in the minor league (36-58-94).
The 25-year old, former two-time captain, feisty forward of Baie-Comeau Drakker, is doing very well in Austria’s top league to elevate his game to a next level overseas scoring 4 goals and 5 assists in 9 games with a +4 rating.
6th year defenseman Mat Bodie(2) switches it up for his 2nd season overseas signing with Vaxjo Lakers of the SHL after spending his first campaign skating for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod scoring 3 goals and 13 assists in 39 KHL games.
He initially left as an unrestricted free agent after a year under contract to Tampa Bay Lightning but was reassigned for the duration to affiliate Syracuse Crunch, where he posted a career high 31 assists and 37 points.
The 29-year old was named assistant captain of his new club and had a goal and 2 assists in 17 games, but recently split from the team to agree to terms with rivals IK Oskarshamn.
Chicago Blackhawks‘ 4th round pick in the 2016 draft (#113 overall) center Nathan Noel(10) finds himself double reassigned down to affiliate Indy Fuel to start his restricted contract season.
He’s off to a decent quick start with a pair of goals and 7 assists in 19 ECHL games, which should see him easily eclipse numbers he put up as a rookie (4-7-11) in the league.
The 5’11” 174 lbs. forward plays a much bigger game than his size might indicate and he seems to see the ice well when handling the puck.
He put up pretty impressive stats through 4 years in the juniors but always came up just short of being a point-per-game player in his last three but did win the 2017 QMJHL Championship before leaving.
It seems the 22-year old should be able to play himself back up to Rockford Icehogs, where he skated 46 AHL games last season.
If he doesn’t ascend, then he’ll no doubt be left unqualified and have to search for a new home.
Philadelphia Flyers‘ 4th year defenseman Andy Welinski(3) signed his first one-year one-way deal on the opening day of unrestricted free agency for a modest $750,000 AAV after reaching group 6 status.
The 6’1″ 201 lbs. blue liner agreed to terms after 3 seasons with draft club (3rd round, 2011, #83 overall) Anaheim Ducks, where he played 33 NHL games over two campaigns, 26 of them in 2018/2019.
He’s been reassigned to affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms and must be invaluable to the youngsters in the AHL, but he’s also putting up points at 4 goals and 8 assists in 14 games with a +6 rating.
His 10 goals and 24 assists for 34 points in 2017/2018 for San Diego Gulls are high marks but they could definitely fall if he spends significant time in the minors during the current session.
At only 26-years old, the former four-time 10+ assist guy in NCAA hockey should be able to continue to find big league deals but may opt for something else if the right opportunity pops up.
New York Islanders‘ 11th year defenseman Thomas Hickey(3) was reassigned to affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers to start 2019/2020 after struggling with an upper body injury late last season.
He was sent down in 2018/2019 for conditioning but was returned after a pair of AHL games scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.
The 6′ 190 lbs. blue liner has played 469 NHL games and would probably like to reach the 500 mark but may need a trade to achieve it.
He is signed for the next two seasons for $2.5M AAV a pop, which sort of at least points towards a possible buyout and then a possible new address for the now 30-year old, one-time Los Angeles Kings‘ 1st round pick.
New York Rangers‘ 4th round pick in the 2014 draft (#118 overall) 5th year Russian-born goaltender Igor Shesterkin(31) is earning his keep guarding the cage for affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack going 7-2-3-1 with a tied for third best in the league 2.06 GAA and .927 SV% in 12 AHL games.
The 6’2″ 182 lbs. backstop has played KHL games going back as far as the 2013/2014 season with Spartak Moskva.
He would play a few games in both leagues in the next session but officially turned pro a couple seasons later with 25 games for SKA-Neva St. Petersburg posting a VHL best 1.19 GAA and .954 SV%.
Parent club SKA St. Petersburg also recalled him for 7 games and he was even given Goaltender Of The Week honors.
In his next season, it’s hard to believe his 1.64 GAA and .934 SV% weren’t tops but he did win the 2017 Gagarin Cup with his club.
He next put up another solid outing while also winning Olympic gold with Team Russia and then in 2018/2019 before coming over had a 2nd time league leading 1.11 GAA and .953 SV%.
The already 23-year old looks to be the future of the net for the Blueshirts.
Boston Bruins‘ 6th year net minder Max Lagace(33) signed a 1-year 2-way deal on the opening day of unrestricted free agency to become a third spoke in the Black n’ Gold crease.
He has been putting up career numbers for affiliate Providence Bruins.
The 6’2″ 190 lbs. back stop has an 8-2-2 record in 13 AHL games with already 4 shutouts and a 2.17 GAA and .930 SV%.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the backstop as he started his pro career through 28 ECHL games on reassignment to Bakersfield Condors and Kansas City Mavericks.
Undrafted he signed a three year entry level deal with Dallas Stars after less than spectacular QMJHL seasons with 4 different clubs but mostly with Prince Edward Island Rocket.
He somehow managed though and found himself as the number 1 for main affiliate Texas Stars by the start of his sophomore campaign, would sign a one-year extension as a first restricted free agency approached and play a full AHL season.
His status entering the next contract was that of an unrestricted group 6 free agent and it was decided to leave him unqualified, which was good news to Vegas Golden Knights, who signed him on the opening day of free agency.
Very likely he was getting comfortable tending the cage for affiliate Chicago Wolves but less than a month in the parent club found themselves with two injured goalies and needed help.
He would be recalled and ended up appearing in 16 NHL games throughout the season posting a 6-7-1 record with a 3.91 GAA and .867 SV% but it wouldn’t end there as he was re-signed a played one more game in the big league and posted career best stats in the minors.
The still young 26-year old could get the nod in net for another shot, especially if one of the top two go down long term.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ 1st round pick in the 2018 draft (#29 overall), Swedish-born sophomore defenseman Rasmus Sandin(8) started the new season on the big club’s roster playing his first 6 NHL games grabbing a pair of assists skating decent time before being reassigned to affiliate Toronto Marlies.
In 11 AHL games since his return he’s scored two goals and 7 assists with a +1 rating.
The 5’11” 183 lbs. blue liner is in the first year of his entry level deal getting a slide last season.
He scored 6 goals and 22 assists in 44 games as a rookie but was a bit of a bad -10 rating but picked it up with 10 assists in 13 Calder Cup playoff games.
Originally coming across after skating 5 games for Rogle BK of the SHL he joined Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for the remainder of 2017/2018 before officially turning pro.
The 19-year old is signed through 2022, so does have some time to continue to grow his game.
