Around the League - Recapping This Week’s NHL Headlines - Week 10

New York Islanders

Free-agent center Derrick Brassard has signed a one-year contract worth $1.2-million with the New York Islanders. Brassard played across three different teams last season including the Florida Panthers and the Pittsburgh Penguins and ended the season with the Colorado Avalanche. He finished the year with 23 points in 70 games.

The Islanders also reached new deals with Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle. Ho-Sang signed a new one-year contract worth a reported $874,000. He had 43 points in 56 games AHL games last season. Dal Colle’s new deal has an annual average of $700,000 over the next two seasons. He had 34 points in 34 games in the AHL last season.

Minnesota Wild

Restricted free agent Joel Eriksson Ek has signed a new deal with the Minnesota Wild. The new contract will see Ek earn $2.975-million over the next two NHL seasons. Last season, the 22-year-old recorded seven goals and seven assists in 58 games with the Wild and nine points in nine games with their AHL affiliate.

Ottawa Senators

In a rare occurrence, Senators fans received some good news this week. The team announced earlier this week that they have reached a new deal with young star forward and restricted free agent Colin White. White’s new deal will have an annual average of $4.75-million over the next six seasons. At only 22-years-old, White seems poised to be a big part of Ottawa’s rebuild. Last season White put up 41 points in 71 games. With White signed, the Sens still have over $10-million in projected cap space.

Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche have added to their already impressive roster by signing former first-round pick Valeri Nichushkin to a one-year deal worth $850,000. Nichushkin was drafted tenth-overall by the Dallas Stars in 2013. Injuries hindered his early years and after spending two seasons in the KHL, Nichushkin returned to the NHL in 2019.

Other Headlines

Ottawa Senators

The Ottawa Senators’ new head coach D.J. Smith announced this week that the team will go into the 2020 NHL season without a captain. The team has been without a captain since they traded Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks during last year’s offseason. Smith was quoted as saying that a captain will emerge in time but that following hard games, he doesn’t want the young players having to face all the hard questions from the media.

IIHF

Washington Capitals forward Evgeni Kuznetsov has been suspended by the IIHF for four years after testing positive for cocaine during the 2019 World Championships. The suspension will last up until June 12, 2023. Should the NHL allow players to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics, Kuznetsov will not be eligible to play. Cocaine is not considered a performance-enhancing drug and is therefore not a prohibited substance under the NHL’s own Performance EnhancingSubstances Program.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild have announced the name of their fourth general manager in franchise history and that name is Bill Guerin. Guerin, a former two-time Stanley Cup winner during his playing days and two-time Cup champ as part of the Pittsburgh Penguins head office, replaces Paul Fenton, who was fired from the team in July after only one season as GM. It was the first season the Wild had missed the playoffs since 2012.

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks announced this week that they have reached a new deal with current General Manager Jim Benning. Benning signed a three-year extension with the club that will keep him in Vancouver until 2022-23. The Canucks have only made the playoffs once in Benning’s first five seasons as GM. After some criticisms over what was seen as bad contracts, Benning has been making mostly positive moves this offseason with the acquisition of J.T. Miller, Jordie Benn, and Tyler Myers.