9th year veteran defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti(25) leaves North American pro hockey for a 2nd time in his career.
His first departure happened in 2013/2014 when he signed a two-year deal to join Atlant Mytishchi of the KHL but that only lasted 15 games (with 2 goals and 5 assists) before he headed back to the U.S.
He did not play for another team through the remainder of that season.
The 6’3″ 190 lbs. blue liner has mostly been skating in the minors (378 AHL games) with his best scoring totals coming right after he suffered an injury in 2011/2012 that limited him to just 31 games for Charlotte Checkers, while under contract with Carolina Hurricanes.
In the following campaign he posted career high 40 assists and 50 points through just 60 contests.
His only full season in the NHL was after the lockout in 2012/2013, when he appeared in 37 games connecting for a pair of goals and 4 assists.
The 28-year old has been under major contracts for all of his playing time but didn’t suit up for the big league team in the last two seasons while skating for Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) and Utica Comets (Vancouver Canucks).
His next stop takes him to Switzerland’s NLA on a one-year term with EHC Kloten.
He should be able to do very well here and may even climb the ladder overseas before he hangs up them skates.
3rd year defenseman Justin Holl(41) receives his 1st NHL contract, a one-year entry level deal from Toronto Maple Leafs after a solid season with affiliate Toronto Marlies.
The tall 6’3″ 190 lb. blue liner posted career highs in the AHL scoring 5 goals and 16 assists for 21 points with a tied for team third +32 rating through 60 games.
Originally a Chicago Blackhawks 2nd round pick in 2010 (#54 overall) he was never signed but did agree to a minor league contract with affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs.
He played only two games during his rookie season 2014/2015 but instead was shuffled down to Indy Fuel, where he did quite nicely getting 7 goals and 27 assists in 60 ECHL games.
All this point scoring is a bit odd, as he only had over 10 points in a campaign twice at University Of Minnesota.
Still at only 24-years old for a d-man, it’s a good time for the parent club to have a look to see what might develop for a very decent rate.
Undrafted 2nd year left wing Matt Lorito(28) parlays an outstanding rookie season with Albany Devils into a 2-year deal with Detroit Red Wings.
The small 5’9″ 170 lbs. forward scored a team leading 36 assists and 54 points with 18 goals in 71 AHL games.
He would add another 7 points in 11 Calder Cup Playoff contests.
These totals were similar to the final three years at Brown University, when he was pretty much a point per game performer.
He was also captain and assistant in his senior and junior years.
This was actually his 2nd stint in the Capital region as upon graduation he signed an ato and exploded for 3 goals and 9 assists in 11 games.
The already 26-year old will likely join affiliate Grand Rapid Griffins but with a good training camp and continued success on the score sheet in the minors could find himself on the short list for his first NHL recall.
Florida Panthers‘ 5th round pick in the 2009 draft (#138 overall) center Wade Megan(28) has played in the club’s system for the last three seasons on minor league contracts, first through two years with San Antonio Rampage, then last season with new affiliate Portland Pirates.
The seemingly graciously listed at 6’1″ 190 lbs. forward recorded new career highs in all categories through 2015/2016 getting 14 goals, 9 assists for 23 points with a +10 rating, 145 shots on net and even a new best 53 penalty minutes.
These totals were more in line with what he achieved in his last two years at Boston University, where he posted identical 29 point campaigns, serving as captain in his senior season.
Heading into his fourth season on an upward scoring trajectory, the soon-to-be 26-year old scores his first NHL contract signing a one-year two-way deal with St. Louis Blues that will likely see him spent most of his time with farm club Chicago Wolves.
Exceedingly large 6’5″ 215 lbs. 7th year defenseman Dustin Stevenson(6) gets his first big league contract of the 1-year 2-way variety with Dallas Stars since his entry level deal was up with Washington Capitals at the end of 2013 season.
Even after signing his next contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins he only played 7 games without recording a point.
He was instead reassigned to affiliate Wheeling Nailers, where he had his most productive season since juniors with 5 goals and 21 assists in 57 ECHL games with a monster, tied for team best +23 rating.
In the postseason he would continue this uptick scoring 1 goal and 3 assists in 10 Kelly Cup Playoff contests.
With a pair of good campaigns in the lower league, Adirondack Flames stepped in and gave him a contract for 2014/2015.
While he may have only appeared in 45 AHL games and was a healthy scratch on far too many occasions he still was able to notch 3 goals and 8 assists with a +5 plus/minus on a non-playoff contending squad.
This performance was good enough to keep him in Calgary Flames‘ minor league system as he next inked for 2015/2016 with new affiliate Stockton Heat.
Not sure what Dallas saw in the big blue liner but they must have liked something to get him tied up on the opening day of unrestricted free agency.
The soon-to-be 27-year old will likely see most of his playing time with their farm team Texas Stars but could get an NHL look depending on the situation.
Still, this is an all around good story of persistence and perseverance.
Vancouver Canucks‘ Swedish-born right wing Loui Eriksson(21) will almost astonishingly be heading into his 14th pro season after he was quickly scooped via unrestricted free agency and signed to a new 6-year contract, which actually could be a legitimately good gamble as he’ll turn only 36 at the end of its’ term.
He is set to turn 31 soon.
The 6’2″ 183 lbs. forward cleared the 60-point mark for the 5th time in his career last season while playing in the final stint of his 3-year deal with Boston Bruins.
Originally a Dallas Stars‘ 2nd round pick in the 2003 draft (#33 overall) he spent from 2005-2013 with the team, including his rookie year played entirely in the AHL with Iowa Stars.
He also skated two campaigns in his own country’s top league, SHL with Frolunda Indians before arriving in North America.
All eyes are going to be on him, as Vancouver is on the rebuild and he’s expected to help lead the charge.
Adler Mannheim undrafted 9th year German-born right wing Mattias Plachta(22) heads home after signing a one-year two-way entry level deal with Arizona Coyotes for the 2015/2016 season.
He received an NHL recall once early in his “rookie” campaign but was never inserted into the lineup before being reassigned back to affiliate Springfield Falcons.
The fairly sizeable 6’2″ 218 lbs. forward never quite seemed to catch on scoring only 2 goals and 5 assists in 46 AHL games, when he was involved in a bit of a low rent trade deadline deal that sent his playing rights to Pittsburgh Penguins.
From there he was sent down to continue with farm club Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he exactly matched his earlier scoring totals in the league but through only 20 games.
He also had his first North American postseason experience appearing in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games through the Eastern Conference Finals getting a goal and assist.
That would be it though for the 25-year old, as he wouldn’t be given a qualifying offer to stick around.
So did the next best thing, accepting a 4-year contract to return to the only other team he’s known and had great success with in his last year before he went exploring putting in 14 goals and 21 assists in 47 games, then adding another 5 goals and 4 assists on the way to the 2015 DEL Championship.
5th year right wing Emerson Etem(26) received a little reassurance after a bumpy start but nice finish to 2015/2016.
Traded in the offseason to New York Rangers as his entry level deal was expiring with draft team Anaheim Ducks he signed a low budget 1-year deal but sputtered at the start with his new team scoring only 3 assists with a -4 rating in 19 games.
That was plenty enough for the Blueshirts to see and ship him off to Vancouver Canucks for a kindred, under-producing former 1st round pick.
The change of scenery was exactly what the now 6’1″ 212 lbs. California native needed as his game got on track nicely ending with a career tying 7 goals, new best 5 assists and 12 points.
The only drawback was a -8 plus/minus on a non-playoff contending team but means he still has some accountability work to do.
At 24-years old he’s on his 2nd one-way contract but really should be stepping it up to continue in the NHL.
Arizona Coyotes traded a draft pick to get Tampa Bay Lightning‘s 2014 1st round selection (#19 overall), 2nd year defenseman Anthony DeAngelo(79).
He played his entire rookie campaign with Lightning affiliate Syracuse Crunch leading all rookies and other blue liners in assists with 37 and was tied for first in rookie points through 69 AHL games.
This scoring domination continued from his time in juniors, initially with Sarnia Sting until he was dealt to Soo Greyhounds in his final year of OHL.
Three times he topped all other d-man for assists, recorded most goals a pair of seasons ago and had most points in both 2013/2014 and 2014/2015.
There’s little doubt he will compete for a roster spot in the upcoming training camps but could also spend a bit more time in the minors with new farm team Tuscon Roadrunners.
He does however need to work on two-way game as he was a dismal -18 last season and a healthy scratch on a number of occasions, possibly due to some attitude issues.
Regardless of where he plays next year, he has plenty of time to develop with his entry level contract running through 2018/2019, but should step up pretty quickly with such an offensive upside.
Undrafted 4th year Russian-born goaltender Andrey Makarov(1) was signed by Buffalo Sabres in 2012/2013 season but sent back to finish up his third year of juniors with Saskatoon Blades. where he won the Memorial Cup and was voted Most Outstanding Goalie despite a 4.09 GAA and .889 SV%.
He started his rookie campaign with affiliate Rochester Americans but was pretty quickly sent further down to Fort Wayne Komets playing 31 ECHL games posting a decent 2.79 GAA and .906 SV% before returning to the AHL.
The 6’1″ 195 lbs. net minder appeared in 10 contests putting up a very decent 7-3 record with 2.20 GAA and .927 SV% then starting all 5 Calder Cup Playoff match-ups.
A late cut from his sophomore training camp he appeared in his only NHL game near the end of the 2014/2015 season.
He was primarily the Amerks‘ starting goalie amassing 39 games without a postseason berth.
For the final year of his entry level deal he was shipped to the minors and basically forgotten.
The still super-young 23-year back stop voiced his displeasure with the arrangement and heading into restricted free agency has decided to head back home the the KHL signing for two years with Spartak Moskva.
It will be super-interesting to see how this develops.
