Boston Bruins‘ 11th year right wing Drew Stafford(19) was picked up on trade deadline day to help the team’s chances to make the postseason for the first time in three attempts.
In 18 games he connected for 4 goals and 4 assists, then added another two tallies in 6 playoff contests.
The former Buffalo Sabres‘ 1st round pick in the 2004 draft (#13 overall) has played an outstanding 725 NHL games scoring 400 points (183-217).
The fairly big 6’2″ 214 lbs. power forward spent his first 9 years in upper state New York before being dealt to Winnipeg Jets, where he spent parts of the last three seasons before the recent transaction.
He’s scored 20+ goal 4 times plus recorded 20+ assists on 5 occasions.
The 31-year old’s 2-year deal signed before free agency was to begin in 2015 is up, so he becomes unrestricted once again and is likely looking for a good, long contract that will at least match what he was last given.
The Black N’ Gold would be well-suited to keep him in the fold but might not have the space under their salary cap.
Florida Panthers‘ 2nd year left wing Tim Bozon(26) has elected to not see about a contract extension as a restricted free agent and opts to join EHC Kloten of NLA for 2017/2018.
The dual US/France citzen played some of his first junior hockey in Switzerland with the team so is familiar.
His dad, former NHL-er Philippe Bozon played in many overseas leagues including the one he’s heading to during his 20-year pro career.
The 6′ 201 lbs. forward appeared in a career high 43 AHL games last campaign scoring new bests 7 goals, 8 assists and 15 points for affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds.
He was also reassigned further down to Manchester Monarchs, where he skated 14 ECHL games.
Originally a Montreal Canadiens 3rd round pick in the 2012 draft (#64 overall) he split his time in similar fashion as he did in his sophomore year with farm club St. John’s IceCaps and their lower affiliate Brampton Beast before being traded before the start of 2016/2017.
Always a prolific scorer in the WHL, he was a point-per-game performer through all of his 4 years but almost didn’t even play his final run as he was attacked by a form of bacteria that put him in a coma for a couple weeks before rebounding to skate virtually the full 2014/2015 calendar for Kootenay Ice.
The still very young 23-old may be leaving North America hockey for awhile but you can always bet if he’s able to connect with an overseas team and catch the attention of a big league club he’ll return to continue pursuing that NHL dream.
Boston Bruins made it official removing the interim tag from Bruce Cassidy making him the 28th head coach in team history.
He took over the spot late in the season from being a first year assistant, running up an 18-8-1 record to help them advance for the first time in three years to the postseason.
Although they were knocked out of the playoffs in 6 games by a healthy Ottawa Senators, he got the job done and deserves a shot.
It was his tenure with affiliate Providence Bruins from 2011 – 2016 that definitely helped solidify the decision to hire him full-time.
His only other time in the position was with Washington Capitals from 2002-2003.
The 51-year old was a former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round pick in the 1983 draft (#18 overall) and played 36 NHL games in his 11-year pro career that ended in 1997 with Indianapolis Ice of the IHL.
He was an assistant coach for the ‘Hawks from 2004-2006.
It will be interesting to see him manage a squad that might once again be a bit challenged with enough talent to make it to see some extended hockey time.
15th year veteran right wing Brandon Segal(26) signs on for a third season with Nurnberg IceTigers of DEL.
The soon-to-be 34-year old even pumped in more points with 32 on 16 goals and assists with a +11 rating, which was significantly better than his first campaign in Germany, which wasn’t so bad at 12-12-24 through 47 games.
His first season away from North America was in 2014/2015 for Medvescak Zagreb of the KHL.
He basically did ok here as well with 10 goals, 15 assists in 54 games.
Being a decently steady scorer he decided to seek ice overseas after a pair of 44 point seasons in the AHL while under contract to parent clubs.
By our count, he’s had a nice run of big league contracts from 2003/2004 through 2013/2014 and played in 103 NHL games and an eye-popping 652 in the minors.
There looks to be no stopping him from possibly playing 20 years of pro hockey.
Vancouver Canucks‘ rookie left wing Yan-Pavel Laplante(25) spent most of his first pro season on reassignment to Alaska Aces, where he skated 38 ECHL games scoring a modest 9 goals and 11 assists with a -7 rating on a non-playoff squad.
He also played 13 AHL games with affiliate Utica Comets but only managed one assist with a -7.
Originally an Arizona Coyotes‘ 3rd round pick in the 2013 draft (#62 overall) he was not signed and put back into the pool as he was ready to start a fifth, overage campaign in the QMJHL with his 4th team, Gatineau Olympiques.
In 2015/2016, he put up point-per-game numbers (34-31-65 in 63), then signed a very handsome 3-year entry level deal.
The 6′ 185 lbs. forward may be a bit inconsistent on the score sheet but puts in a full effort every time out on the ice.
This type of performance earned him a look in the big league with an NHL recall at the end of the season to practice with the team and potential feel the energy of being up in the show for a short stint to put some more energy in his sails.
At 22-years old with his contract running through 2019, he still definitely has some time but needs to prove his game sooner than later before he starts being overlooked.
Florida Panthers‘ 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft (#31 overall) rookie defenseman Ian McCoshen(12) was having a good first season with affiliate Springfield Thunderbirds leading the team with a +23 rating.
The fairly sizable 6’3″ 217 lbs. blue liner has never been a big point getter through three years at Boston College and previously three campaigns with Waterloo Blackhawks but managed a respectable 4 goals and 12 assists through 68 AHL games.
He did have one offensive explosion in his last season in the USHL, where he put up 11 goals and 33 assists.
His hard work and accountability earned a first big league recall and recorded one assist in 3 NHL games skating roughly 18 shifts for an average of 13 minutes ice time per appearance.
The 21-year old is signed through 2019 on a three-year entry level deal so still has plenty of time to develop but seemed to be off to a nice, quick start.
One of the most positive things you can say about the big d-man is sometimes you don’t even notice he’s out there but know he’s getting the job done.
That’s a goal!
Albany Devils‘ center John Quenneville(17) lunges towards a puck near the opposing net and fires it past Toronto Marlies‘ net minder Garret Sparks(40) for their second and final goal of the evening.
The upstate NY squad would fall 6-2 in the 2nd game of AHL North Division Semi-Finals tying the best of 5 series at 1-1.
This potentially could be the final sighting at the Times Union Center as the team leaves for Binghamton starting 2017/2018.
New York Rangers‘ 7th year net minder Magnus Hellberg(45) received his first big league start and got an NHL win in a tough fought battle against 2016 Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
He made 22 saves on 24 shots leaving the game with a .917 SV%.
The 26-year is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current calendar and even though he was unable to save affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack from being the worst team in the AHL it seems likely he would be a good bet for the Blueshirts to keep around.
6th year defenseman Chad Billins(4) heads back to the SHL, signing a two-year deal with former club as recent as 2015/2016, Linkoping HC through 2019.
He returns after a one-year visit back to North America under a one-year two-way agreement with Vancouver Canucks.
The small-ish d-man was likely looking for some time in the big league but spent all of 2016/2017 on reassignment to affiliate Utica Comets playing 72 AHL games 3 goals, 17 assists and a +4 rating.
On a team that was basically out of the playoff push to begin, he definitely should have been given a look.
He’s almost always effectively puts up helpers in the mid 20’s for a pair of seasons and 31 when he was skating for Abbotsford Heat, while under his only other major contract with Calgary Flames.
After winning the 2013 Calder Cup with initial club as a rookie, Grand Rapids Griffins he was given an NHL deal and even played 10 games recording three assists.
He split first for the KHL hooking up with CSKA Moskva but that last only 24 games before he was off on his first venture to Sweden for Lulea HF.
The 27-year old will be 28 soon enough in the offseason and is probably just looking for the best spot to contribute and when he settles he’ll likely do just that.
And it’s officially a long way from his playing days with Alpena IceDiggers.
Pittsburgh Penguins‘ undrafted third year center Jean-Sebastien Dea(9) received his 1st taste of the NHL in what is a contract year for the upcoming restricted free agent.
In his debut he skated 21 shifts for 11:18 minutes of ice time with one shot on net, 2 penalty minutes, 3 hits and he went 50% on the face off dot in a tough battle 3-2 loss.
The 5’11” 175 lbs. forward has almost unusual identical stats through his last two seasons with affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 75/73 AHL games scoring 20/18 goals, 16 assists for 36/34 points and a bizarre double +13 rating.
He was quite the scorer for Rouyn-Noranda Huskies of the QMJHL in his last two seasons twice pocketing 40+ goals (49 in 2013/2014, his last year of juniors) and averaged 30+ assists.
The 23-year old should have no problem extending his contract for at least another year as his game continues to grow.
