According to the team, Wheeling has developed more NHL talent than any opponent in the ECHL, with 71 total alums across various roles, 64 of whom were players. Located just 60 miles away in Wheeling, West Virginia, the Nailers offered a local farm club with a dedicated fan base which Dubas referred to as an “invaluable part of the organization’s player development process”. Based on that, today’s news was expected, but it is still a tough end for what was the longest ongoing ECHL/NHL partnership in the league.
Hughes has said the Canadiens have been in active trade discussions, as they were leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline, but much like early March, Montreal has been able to make any big moves. Make no mistake, though, that indifference is patience, and Habs fans should be happy to see it from management at a time when most GMs would have made a move just to make one. Even if they had to stretch out west, the Utah Mammoth also are without a current partner, per the league’s website. Often a league for the less-heralded prospects, bright young goaltender Sergei Murashov and 23-year-old forward Avery Hayes form the next wave of younger talent who wore the Wheeling uniform and took to the ice in West Virginia.
Penguins Announce ECHL Affiliation Changes
Neuchev managed just nine points in 30 games with the Chicago Wolves down the stretch, a modest finish to a season that had shown flashes earlier in Rochester, where he’d put up 16 points in 34 games before the trade. The Oulu, Finland native was coach of the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers for the past three seasons, and helped steadily build his team into a junior hockey powerhouse. Limited to only five games last with the Montreal Canadiens, Patrik Laine remains a free agent. The first big decision time for the Vancouver Canucks on Marco Rossi may be at the trade deadline. A six-year deal will offer McMichael the security he needs to focus on winning that competition – and could land St. Louis with a high-value contract through his prime years. Instead, McMichael will step up as the Blues’ direct replacement for Kyrou – who rotated throughout the lineup while struggling to fit under head coach Jim Montgomery last season.
27 NHL Schedule: Key Dates And Storylines
- Toronto made a pile of ill-advised forays into free agency that resulted in a lack of cap space, and in some cases, trading away premium assets to make bad contracts go away (Patrick Marleau, for example).
- Jussi Ahokas has been appointed by the Colorado Avalanche as the head coach for their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.
- They are not receiving offers and are unable to negotiate for future assets.
- The Hurricanes have re-signed RFA forward Viktor Neuchev, to a one-year, two-way contract, per puckpedia.
The 25 year old has missed 150 games – or 61 perecent of Montreal’s action – over the last three seasons. The same could be said for the Predators, who signed Steven Stamkos, Brady Skjei and Jonathan Marchessault to huge contracts in free agency, only for Nashville to fall apart and miss the playoffs in back-to-back seasons. Penguins fans living close to the border had the option to attend Nailers games nearby and check in on prospects in an environment which brought the typical minor league charm. Rather than stay home and vie for games in the Liiga, Luca should immediately be a top OHL scorer in London, linking up with Kings 2025 first rounder Henry Brzustewicz and forward Jaxon Cover, Ottawa’s 32nd overall pick this summer. Already familiar with the game on this side of the pond, his son joins one of the most prestigious junior teams known for developing NHL star power including Patrick Kane, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Tkachuk.
This move will secure Dach’s spot in the lineup as he continues to work his way back into routine minutes. Toronto made a pile of ill-advised forays into free agency that resulted in a lack of cap space, and in some cases, trading away premium assets to make bad contracts go away (Patrick Marleau, for example). With all the flexibility and assets at his disposal, Hughes will certainly be content to enter training camp in the fall with the status quo if he can’t find the right additions for his team. The kind of moves that will keep this team humming along in contention for the present and future. Hughes has talked about pursuing big trades in the past, but has walked away when the prices exceeded his comfort level. This was a huge gamble for the Blackhawks, and it’s easy to see why Hughes didn’t have interest in these types of trades.
This is a low-risk move for Carolina to retain a former mid-round draft pick who is still young at 22. While keeping his emphasis on development, Ahokas has consistently achieved high-level victories. Although he lacks professional experience in North America, Ahokas possesses an impressive resume that aligns well with the requirements of an AHL head coach. He secured gold medals as head coach at the 2019 World Junior Championships and the 2016 World Under-18 Championships. Letestu has been appointed as an assistant coach under Ryan Craig, head coach of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The New York Islanders re-signed goaltender Henrik Tikkanen to a one-year, two-way contract worth $850,000 at the NHL level on Wednesday, per Puckpedia. Ahokas has extensive experience as a head coach in development-oriented settings, NRL predictions round by round and has helped develop numerous future NHL players. While at Turku, Ahokas got the chance to coach Juraj Slafkovsky, who in his lone season with the team rose from relatively unheralded prospect to eventual No. 1 overall pick. Before he crossed the Atlantic to coach in the OHL, Ahokas served as a head coach for two different franchises in Liiga, the top division of professional hockey in Finland.
There is an argument to be made that many of the moves this summer have been overpays, particularly if you look at a deal like the Bowen Byram trade to Chicago. What makes Montreal different from a team like Toronto, or some of the other more active teams, is that the Canadiens are just opening their window of contention and aren’t anywhere near a Stanley Cup-or-bust team. This summer has been a wild one thus far for many teams, as top-six forwards and top-four defensemen have been moved for massive hauls that are inflated returns compared to years past. As for what comes next for Wheeling, thankfully other nearby teams have ECHL vacancies; the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Buffalo Sabres. Even outside of transitioning between teams, unfortunately the past few years have been tough for the ECHL, as last December there was a player strike which was eventually resolved.
The Colorado Avalanche have announced the hire of Jussi Ahokas as head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. For players who age out of the development player threshold, the league’s rule can make finding a landing spot to stay in the AHL quite a bit more difficult. Additionally, Anderson-Dolan has now played in 372 combined games across the NHL and AHL.
He has a strong track record of optimizing returns on veteran players when necessary, while also preserving the organization’s depth in prospects as he integrates young NHL talent into the roster. It is quite likely that prices will decrease later in the summer or during the middle of the season, especially when teams fall out of contention and may choose to trade certain players.
Those dips have coincided with Dach’s slide down Montreal’s lineup – in favor of top prospect Ivan Demidov, buoying veteran Alex Newhook, and multiple additions at center. Extended stints outside of the lineup have capped Dach’s ability to find his footing in Montreal. Those injuries continued a year-over-year streak of missing extended stints to injury that began when Dach fractured his wrist during a game at the 2021 World Junior Championships.
Last month the Chicago-based Hoffmann Group was granted approval to acquire the Penguins, quite the step up from their only other venture into the hockey world, owning the Everblades. Holding top-six upside with a robust, straightforward game, Santala is one of the premium players out of Finland’s upcoming 2027 class although he’s technically a native of Zurich, Switzerland. Still with the dust settling from last month’s NHL draft, soon when the analysis picks up on 2027, expect Santala’s name to stand out. However, the relationship surrounding the Anaheim Ducks and the Philadelphia Flyers over the past few seasons has turned this out-of-conference matchup into must-see TV. Brady and the Panthers are scheduled to face off against the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre for the first time this season on October 21. The Utah Mammoth will play their first outdoor game on Dec. 31, hosting the Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium, home of the University of Utah, in the Discover NHL Winter Classic.
Three potential trade candidates for the Nashville Predators. They aren’t getting the offers and they can’t deal for futures. That lineup competition could be exactly what St. Louis is looking for after a year where many of their forwards seemed too comfortable with their assignments. McMichael’s top competition for a second-line role will be Pavel Buchnevich, who has also seen his impact dwindle over the last two seasons. Kyrou also scored 46 points last year – a dismal stat line, despite his strong play away from the scoresheet, after four seasons of at least 65 points.
A change of scenery will offer McMichael the chance to prove his everyday value after adjusting to the NHL game. He finished the year with just 14 goals and 46 points, while posting a 43.0 faceoff percentage – exactly in-line with his career average. That hot scoring pace didn’t continue through the full season – but McMichael’s growing willingness to play feisty and fundamental hockey kept him in Washington’s top-nine.