Category: Free Agent Signing

04Jan

Kyle Rau (42)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Free Agent Signing, Juniors, Minor League Deal, NHL Draft Pick | Leave a comment

8th year center Kyle Rau(42) signed his 1st minor league deal to play for Abbotsford Canucks in 2022/2023.

He was coming off his 4th season in Minnesota Wild system, where he played NHL games in each frame, equally 28 appearances with 4 assists to his credit.

The 5’8″ 173 lbs. forward has 369 AHL games to his credit and rolls a fairly decent 119 goals and 142 assists with a bit of a woeful -24, but has 3 times struck for 20+ goals and 4 times 20+ assists in the league.

From Eden Prairie, MN, the Florida Panthers‘ 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft (#91 overall) attended nearby University Of Minnesota Golden Gophers, always good for point-per-game or better numbers.

In 7 games this season he has 2 goals and 2 assists with a +2 rating, so is right on track at 30-years old.

For what we thought was a fairly solid frame for the Eden Prairie High captain, takes a little time as he enters into his 9th season to sign with San Jose Barracuda, who can likely use hims

After a pretty good season, scoring 23 assists, he somewhat late signs with Kunlun RedStar for 2024/2025.

He actually has a pretty good session with 6 goals and 5 assists in 20 games, but decides to head off to Switzerland’s NL and signs HC-Fribourg-Gotteron for 2025/2026.

04Jan

Dominic James (17)

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University Of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs‘ senior center Dominic James(17) was a Chicago Blackhawks‘ 6th round pick in the 2022 draft (#173 overall), but did not sign.

Instead he became an unrestricted free agent and agreed to a 2-year NHL entry level deal with Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 6′ 190 lbs. forward has skated 23 games with 3 goals, 5 assists and a +1 rating.

He has been reassigned to affiliate Syracuse Crunch and popped with 3 goals and 2 assists in 4 AHL games with a +3 rating.

From Plymouth, MI, the 23-year old is doing nicely for himself.

31Dec

Alex Gagne (45)

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University Of New Hampshire Wildcats‘ senior captain, defenseman Alex Gagne(45) is in his rookie year with Colorado Eagles for 2025/2026.

In 27 AHL games, he has 1 goal and 7 assists with a +6 rating.

The 6’5″ 227 lbs. had a college best 4 goals, 13 assists and 17 points in his final year.

From Bedford, NH, the 23-year old is a Tampa Bay Lightning 6th round pick in the 2021 draft (#192 overall), but didn’t elect to sign and Colorado Avalanche, stepped in and signed the now unrestricted free agent to a 2-year NHL entry level contract.

23Dec

Michael Kapla (3)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Europe, Free Agent Signing, Minor League Deal | Leave a comment

7th year defenseman Michael Kapla(3) signs on for a 2nd season with Rogle BK and is off to a nice start with 2 goals and 9 assists in 12 SHL games.

He scored 7 goals and 21 assists with a +12 rating in 44 games last season.

After his junior and senior year as captain of UMass-Lowell Riverhawks, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with New Jersey Devils.

He played 5 NHL games upon signing.

The 6′ 201 lbs. blue liner from Eau Claire, WI is 29-years old and has to be pretty happy about his hockey career has worked out.

After 3 seasons in Sweden, he switches things up to head to Switzerland next, signing with HC Fribourg-Gotteron of the NL.

In 35 games, he has 9 goals and 14 assists with a +5 rating, which gets him re-upped to stay another 2 season in Friboug-Gotteron.

14Dec

Grant Hutton (7)

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New York Islanders‘ undrafted, 3rd year defenseman Grant Hutton(7) is getting first looks at the NHL, appearing in his debut games.

He skated 19/20 shifts for 13/14 minutes of ice with a few shots on net.

The 6’3″ 209 lbs. blue liner spent four years at Miami University (Ohio) Redhawks, getting 14 assists as a junior and senior and serving as captain in his final year.

He has 98 AHL games, all with affiliate Bridgeport Islanders.

The 26-year old is set to become a restricted free agent for the last time in his pro career at the end of the current frame.

Due to injuries with the parent club he could be receiving a bit longer of a look than what was originally thought.

After 6 years with the same organization, recording 1st NHL goal along the way and 2 assists in 13 games last season with a +1 rating and 29 games in the minors, he has decided at 30-years old to stop playing pro hockey.

He has yet to announce anything, but you have to wonder, considering where he has played for so long.

11Dec

Zach Sanford (12)

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Winnipeg Jets‘ 6th year left wing Zach Sanford(12) was recently acquired as they head towards playoffs from Ottawa Senators, where he scored 9 goals and 8 assists in 62 games.

Since arriving he has 3 assists in 15 appearances.

The 6’4″ 203 lbs. Washington Capitals‘ 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft (#61 overall) was probably most known for his time spent with St. Louis Blues, where he won the 2019 Stanley Cup Championship his 1st year with the club.

He has played a total of 286 NHL games, scoring 47 goals and 47 assists.

The former 2-year Boston College Eagles‘ forward left after putting up very close to point-per-game numbers.

At 27-years old, he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current session.

He only managed 4 assists in 18 games with his new club, so was left unsigned.

It didn’t take long into being unsigned for him to pick up a 1-year 1-way deal with Nashville Predators for 2022/2023 at the league minimum to see if he can reconnect with the scoring sheet.

He contributes nicely when called, but mostly serves as a veteran to help the kids with affiliate Milwaukee Admirals, where his numbers are good, then his playoff points additional.

For 2023/2024, he signs a new very short money deal on the 2-way with Arizona Coyotes, but with his size and strength may make the $800,000 AAV the deal is good for.

He was picked up off waivers by Chicago Blackhawks and in 18 games had 4 assists, then subsequently signed for the 2024/2025.

Opting out of maybe signing a minor league deal, he jumps for a new target, coming to terms with HC Lugano for 2025/2026 in NL.

He explodes scoring in Switzerland with 9 goals and 17 assists in 30 games with a +12 rating and re-ups to stay for another 3 seasons through 2027/2028 at HC Lugano.

11Dec

Trevor Kuntar (15)

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Boston Bruins‘ 3rd round pick in the 2020 draft (#89 overall), Boston College Eagles‘ junior center Trevor Kuntar(15) will leave a year of college on the table to sign a 2-year NHL entry level deal.

The 6′ 196 lbs. forward recorded a college career best 13 goals and 16 assists in 34 games with a +5 rating as a junior.

He was a more than a point-per-game player in his 2nd season with Youngstown Phantoms, getting 53 points in 44 USHL games.

The 21-year old may report to and help affiliate Providence Bruins go for a Calder Cup, but will most definitely compete in camp 2023 for a roster spot.

He goes into restricted free agency unqualified, so able to look for a contract as an unrestricted free agent and signs a 1-year AHL deal with Rochester Americans for 2025/2026.

In 24 games this season, he has a team high 9 goals and 13 points, so gets offered a 1-year contract with parent club, Buffalo Sabres worth $775K AAV.

We expect an NHL recall soon.

10Dec

Chris Brown (11)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Europe, Free Agent Signing, Juniors, Minor League Deal, NHL Draft Pick | Leave a comment

11th year center Chris Brown(11) takes 4 seasons with Nurnberg Tigers and trades it in to return to Iserlohn Roosters, the team he started with overseas, for 2022/2023.

The 6’3″ 214 lbs. forward was originally a Phoenix Coyotes‘ 2nd round pick in the 2009 draft (#36 overall) and was in their system for only about a year and a half before being traded to Washington Capitals. , where he arguably had his best success, but still only played 23 NHL games with 2 goals, 1 assist and a +1 rating.

He’s a 3-time 10+ goal scorer and 20+ assist guy in DEL.

The 31-year old former 3-year University Of Michigan Wolverines from Flower Mound, TX keeps on ticking very nicely.

For 2023/2024, he will start a new adventure at now 32-years old and head to Slovak Extraliga to suit up for HC Slovan Bratislava.

He scores kind of big in Austria with 14 goals in 24 games and decides to head back to Germany and signs with Schwenninger Wild Wings.

After 7 seasons in the same league, he looks to switch things up a bit and signs with Fehervar AV19 of IceHL and comes away with 21 goals and 12 assists in 48 games.

For 2025/2026, he late was going to retire, but decides to come play hockey a little closer to home and agrees to terms with Tahoe Knight Monsters of the ECHL.

08Dec

Zane McIntyre (30)

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9th year net minder Zane McIntyre(30) signs for a 3rd straight season 2023/2024 in Minnesota Wild system after 34 AHL games with a 16-12-5 record, 2.87 GAA and .899 SV% last season.

He was in the cage for 37 the year before that with even better numbers.

Originally a Boston Bruins‘ 6th round pick in the 2010 draft (#165 overall), he left a year at University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks on the table before turning pro.

Although he hasn’t played an NHL game since his 2nd season, he’s always been under a contract to a big league club.

At 30-years old from Grand Forks, ND, he has to be smiling how things have worked out.

Dispatched almost exclusively to affiliate Iowa Wild, he struggles on a not so good team.

He is going to head back overseas, but looks for far more success, signing a 1-year deal with Straubing Tigers of DEL for 2024/2025.

In 28 games, he posts a good record, but decides at 33-years old to head closer to home for his next hockey and signs a 1st ECHL contract with Tahoe Knight Monsters for 2025/2026.

He gets into 5 starts, but ultimately decides and maybe gets wooed back overseas to join Stavanger Oilers of the Eliteserien league.

02Dec

Mike Matheson (8)

Posted in College Hockey Player, Free Agent Signing, Juniors, NHL Draft Pick | Leave a comment

8th year defenseman Mike Matheson(8) just got rolling with new team, Montreal Canadiens after missing the early part of 2022/2023 with an abdominal muscle strain and scored a goal in his debut.

The 6’2″ 193 lbs. blue liner was traded from 2-year club, Pittsburgh Penguins, where he scored a career NHL best 11 goals and 20 assists with a +12 rating in 74 games, then added another 6 points (1-5) in 7 playoff matchups.

He has played a bit of an eye popping 420 games in the big league.

Originally a 1st round pick in the 2012 draft by Florida Panthers (#23 overall), he played 3 years at Boston College Eagles and left after scoring a college career high 22 assists.

The 28-year old from Pointe-Claire, QC is likely to continue to putting up excellent points and remains signed through 2025/2026 on his 8-year deal.

With his contract up at the end of the current frame and him connecting for 4 goals and 11 assists in 24 games with a +12 rating, he is re-upped for another 5-year term for $6.M AAV to stay a Canadiens.