CANTLON: FREE AGENCY FRENZY – PART TWO 

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings

HARTFORD, CT – The cyclonic activity of roster changes during free agency continued even into Monday.

With a pandemic and large economic worldwide distress, salaries in the NHL and AHL are off the chart.

On Saturday, the Hartford Wolf Pack saw Group Six free agent, Vinni Lettieri, sign a whale-of-a-deal with the Anaheim Ducks paying him $750K for play in the NHL and if he should play in San Diego with the Gulls, he’ll make a whopping $425K.

On Sunday, the Wolf Pack lost their other Group Six free agent, centerman, Danny O’Regan, who signed with the Las Vegas Golden Knights and AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. O’Regan received a very nice two-year, one-way deal paying $700K.

Phil Di Guiseppe, an RFA, signed a one-year, two-way contract extension paying $700K for NHL play and $250K should he be in Hartford for the New York Rangers.

Boo Nieves was allowed to become a free agent and has yet to be signed.

Expect to hear something soon regarding last year’s Wolf Pack captain, Steven Fogarty, who is a UFA, on where he will be filling out his change of address card.

Goalie, J.F. Berube, also a UFA, will be playing elsewhere. Niklas Jensen is playing in the KHL, two years removed from becoming a UFA.

Vincent LoVerde, Mason Geersten, Paul Thompson, and Keith Kinkaid, are four-of-the-five permitted AHL veterans allowed by rule on the roster.

The Rangers’ first-round, number one overall pick, made last Tuesday, Alexis Lafreniere, got a nice 19th birthday present. He signed a standard CBA required three-year, two-way, entry-level contract (ELC) for $925K-NHL/$70K-AHL.

Here is a rundown of the myriad of address changes;

Ex-Wolf Pack, Jesper Fast, signs a three-year, $6 million deal for the Carolina Hurricanes. He gets $1 million in Year One, $2 million in Year Two, and in the last year $3 million.

Ex-Pack, Ryan Graves, signs a new three-year, $9 million deal, with the Colorado Avalanche. It calls for $2 million in Year One, $3 million in Year Two, and in Year Three, he gets $4 million.

Ex-Pack, Jayson Megna, re-signs with the Colorado Avalanche on a one-year, two-way deal, that pays $700K in the NHL and $360K in the AHL.

Former AHL MVP, Daniel Carr, who played with the Milwaukee Admirals last year, and has already started playing for HC Lugano (Switzerland-LNA), signed a free-agent deal with the Washington Capitals. He’ll receive a one-year, two-way deal that pays him $700K in the NHL and $415K in the AHL.

Another ex-Wolf Pack, Vladislav Namestnikov, goes from the Colorado Avalanche to the Detroit Red Wings on a two-year deal. It’s his fourth NHL team in two years. His father Evengi “John” Namestnikov, who is currently a Toronto Maple Leafs scout, played for the Wolf Pack early in this century.

Charles Hudon of the Laval Rocket is in Switzerland to finalize a deal with HC Lausanne (Switzerland-LNA). In a story in the Montreal French-language newspaper, La Presse, what complicated the situation was that Hudon was in a real race against time to get to Switzerland. The Federal Office of Public Health based in Zurich has just added Canada to its red list. People arriving from countries on the “red list” must observe a quarantine of 10 days upon arrival in Switzerland. However, this instruction came into force on Monday, October 12; by arriving in Switzerland a few days before, he was, therefore, able to escape quarantine and will be able to jump on the ice almost immediately. Hence, the eagerness of Hudon to go there even if the agreement is not yet finalized. Hudon was a free agent with compensation. The Canadiens had submitted a qualifying offer to him in order to retain his rights, but no agreement had been signed between them for the coming season. The potential of trading him has not been ruled out either, but it never materialized. The qualifying offer, however, ensures that if all goes as planned, Hudon could return with the Canadian once the season in Switzerland is over, somewhere in March. This qualifying offer indeed ensures Montreal to retain its rights in the NHL allows him to be on a playoff roster. The winger could either sign a contract with the Canadiens to conclude the season or constitute a bargaining chip. A successful campaign in Europe could therefore benefit the player, but also Montreal

Henrik Samuelsson, the son of Hartford Whaler great, and former Rangers player and assistant coach, as well as former Wolf Pack assistant coach, and Avon Old Farms assistant, Ulf Samuelsson, has had a change of address. He leaves Manchester (England-EIHL) and signs with HC Levice (Slovakia Division-2). He originally signed a deal with Saryarka Karaganda (Kazakhstan-KAHL). The team when he signed the deal in the late spring was in the Russian-based VHL (Vyassha Hockey League), the AHL-equivalent in Russia, but the team dropped out of the league because of the COVID border issue and moved over into the Kazakhstan league. Father Ulf is a scout with the expansion Seattle Kraken team.

Winger Dalton Smith, the nephew of former Whaler, Keith Primeau, signs a one-year AHL contract with Rochester.

Ross Colton (Taft Prep), picks up a one-year, two-way deal paying $700K in the NHL and $100K in the AHL.

Last season’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers captain, defenseman, Kyle Burroughs, was traded to Colorado for forward, A.J. Greer. The Islanders did another deal on Monday with Colorado moving former Quinnipiac Bobcat, Devon Toews, for two second-round draft picks in 2021 and 2022.

Chandler Stephenson, the nephew of former Whaler, Bob Stephenson, gets a four-year contract extension from the Vegas Golden Knights.

Ex-Pack defenseman, John Gilmour, is now a UFA. So is former QU goalie, Andrew Shortridge, from the San Jose Barracuda. Goalie, Callum Booth (Salisbury Prep), has the same status with the Carolina Hurricanes, and Wiley Sherman from (Greenwich/Hotchkiss Prep) from the Boston Bruins. Ron Hainsey (Bolton) also a UFA formerly of the Ottawa Senators, and ex-Pack, Dale Weise, is a UFA from the Montreal Canadiens.

Ex-Pack players, Ryan Haggerty (Stamford/Trinity Catholic) from the Florida Panthers, Matt Puempel from Detroit, Colin Wilson (Greenwich) from Colorado, ex-Sound Tiger, Travis Harmonic by the Calgary Flames, and ex-Pack, Michael Del Zotto from the Anaheim Ducks all also hold UFA status.

Logan Day leaves the Bakersfield Condors for a one-year AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Tyler Verbeek, (no relation to former Whaler, Pat Verbeek), heads from the Connecticut Chiefs (EHL/EHLP) for the Sicamous Eagles (KIJHL) – the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League, a Junior B league in Western Canada.

The AHL has still yet to announce their upcoming schedule. They have only issued a tentative opening date of December 4th. What the AHL structure for 2020-21 will look like, be it divisional or some other configuration, how many games, a playoff system, are all yet to be made public with a lot of huge questions. The 31 teams cover 18 states and four AHL Canadian teams in three provinces. Lots of different jurisdictions to hurdle their way through.

Clarification of the release of the ECHL schedule on Friday.

The now 26-team ECHL has announced it will operate a split-season for the 2020-21 season with 13 teams starting a 72-game schedule in December 2020 and the 12 other teams starting a 62-game schedule in January 2021 borrowing from the AHL model.

The Atlanta Gladiators have decided to sit out the 2020-21 season under the ECHL’s COVID-19 Voluntary Suspension policy and the team plans to return to the ice for the 2021-22 season.

The ECHL’s regular season will end on June 6, 2021, and the standings will be based on winning percentages instead of total points because of the hybrid split schedule format.

The SPHL announced that just five of the league’s ten teams will participate in a shortened 2020-21 season that will is slated to start on December 26, 2020, which is Canadian Boxing Day.

The Birmingham (AL) Bulls, Huntsville (AL) Havoc, Knoxville (TN) Ice Bears, Macon (GA) Mayhem, and Pensacola (fl) Ice Flyers will each play a schedule that will be less than the normal 56-game schedule with the season schedule still has not been announced.

Because of the varied state and local restrictions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Evansville (IN) Thunderbolts, Fayetteville (NC) Marksmen, Peoria (Illinois) Rivermen, Quad City (Illinois) Storm, and Roanoke (VA) Rail Yard Dawgs will sit out the 2020-21 season.