Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
A wild first day of NHL free agency saw several well-known AHL names finding new homes and new opportunities.
The Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks saw a few key figures from their just-completed title run move on, names who dotted the AHL scoring leaders all season landed new jobs, and NHL organizations worked the phones to build the depth necessary to compete and develop at the AHL level.
A full running list of the action is available here. Here are just a few of the early storylines from Day 1 on Tuesday.
Abbotsford, Charlotte rosters get shake-ups
Success in the Calder Cup Playoffs means new opportunities, and top performers cashed in Tuesday.
Goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen and forward Sammy Blais found themselves rivals in the Calder Cup Finals between Abbotsford and Charlotte. Now they are members of the same organization after signing one-year deals with the Montreal Canadiens.
Blais, who tied for third in Calder Cup Playoff scoring with 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 23 games for the Canucks, has a strong chance to return to a regular NHL roster spot after spending this season in the AHL. Kähkönen had a short but memorable three-month stint in leading the Checkers. Like Blais, he also could put himself back in the NHL this fall. Kähkönen has 140 games of NHL experience to battle with Jakub Dobeš for playing time alongside Sam Montembeault.
No rest for Canucks
While the Abbotsford roster took a few hits Tuesday, the Vancouver Canucks got to work replenishing some of that departed talent for the organization.
San Jose Barracuda captain Jimmy Schuldt joined the Vancouver organization on a two-year contract. Vancouver also added forward help with significant AHL experience in MacKenzie MacEachern (Springfield Thunderbirds) and Joseph LaBate (Cleveland Monsters).
Habs stay busy, too
Laval was the AHL’s regular-season champion and an Eastern Conference finalist, and the Canadiens made it clear that they are hungry to see more success.
Montreal brought back forward Alex Belzile, who spent parts of five seasons with the organization before two strong seasons with the Hartford Wolf Pack. Defenseman Nate Clurman (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins) also joined the organization while defensemen Tobie Bisson (Syracuse Crunch) and Wyatte Wylie (Belleville Senators) arrived with one-year AHL deals.
Getting set in net
Goaltending depth can take a team a long way in the AHL, both in the regular season and the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes opted to overhaul their organizational depth chart this week. After acquiring Cayden Primeau from Montreal on Monday night, the Hurricanes signed him to a new one-year deal Tuesday. Primeau split this past season between Montreal and Laval and excelled with the Rocket. Carolina also signed Amir Miftakhov, who last played in the AHL in 2021-22 with the Syracuse Crunch. Since then, Miftakhov went on to play the next three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League, and he was 13-11-3 in 30 games this past season with AK Bars Kazan. He also had a 2.18 GAA and .927 save percentage.
With Kähkönen’s departure, Brandon Bussi took a one-year deal with Florida after four seasons with the Providence Bruins. Coming back from bilateral hip surgery with the Toronto Marlies, veteran Matt Murray turned in an excellent season that won him a one-year contract with the Seattle Kraken.
Scorers move quickly
As in most years, this summer’s free agent crop features several top snipers.
NHL organizations wasted little time securing goal-scoring help they believe can contribute. Charlotte’s John Leonard earned a new one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings following his 36-goal season. Leonard also showed that he can be a top playoff performer and provided 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 18 playoff games for the Checkers.
The Boston Bruins also loaded up on goal-scoring, bringing in Matěj Blümel and Alex Steeves. Blümel’s 39 goals with the Texas Stars led the AHL while Steeves tied Leonard with 36 goals for the Toronto Marlies. Each of them got one-way deals from Boston, and with the NHL club trying to recover from finishing last in the Eastern Conference this past season, they should have a strong chance to make the team’s opening-night roster.
Terry back with a new cast
Chris Terry will return for his 17th pro season after signing a one-year AHL deal with the Bridgeport Islanders.
Terry is coming off an excellent season with Bridgeport in which he had 66 points (19 goals, 47 assists) in 68 games and ranked third in AHL scoring. He has played 883 AHL games and has logged 807 points (330 goals, 477 assists).
Terry is not the only boost as Mathieu Darche takes over as general manager of the parent New York Islanders. The NHL club brought in some significant depth via defenseman Ethan Bear, a Second All-Star Team selection with the Hershey Bears, and two-way forward Matthew Highmore, who split this past season with the Ottawa Senators and Belleville Senators. Defenseman Cole McWard, a member of Abbotsford’s Calder Cup team, also signed a one-year deal with New York.
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.