NHL Hockey Player News

Sgarbossa has bounced around the league in his career but has been a good AHL scorer along the way. The 26-year-old led Hershey in points (65) and was second in goals (30) during 2018-19 and will likely remain with the Bears to start 2020.

The Maple Leafs have found a seventh-round gem in Johnsson. The 24-year-old had 20 goals and 23 assists (43 points) in 73 games during his first full NHL season. Johnsson also added one goal and three assists in seven playoff games and should be locked into a top-6 role on a line with Auston Matthews in 2020.

During his first full season with the Maple Leafs, Kapanen registered 20 goals and 24 assists (44 points) in 78 games. The 22-year-old was quiet during the postseason but should be able to build off of strong start to his NHL career. However, Kapanen’s ceiling may be limited because he is destined to play third-line minutes on a deep Toronto roster.

Nedeljkovic, who is viewed as one of the best goaltending prospects in the NHL, is coming off of an outstanding 2018-19 AHL campaign. Nedeljkovic led the AHL in wins (34) and GAA (2.26) en route to being named the league’s best netminder. He wasn’t done there, Nedeljkovic went 10-4-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .916 SV% in the AHL playoffs to help guide Charlotte to a Calder Cup Championship. With Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney both likely leaving in free agency, Nedeljkovic could see a lot of games at the NHL next year.

Sikura was a prolific point producer during his time at Northeastern University but has not had the same success at the NHL-level yet. Last year he appeared in 46 AHL games and 33 NHL games. During his time in Rockford he had 17 goals and 18 assists (35 points) but registered just eight assists with the Blackhawks. The lack of wing depth in Chicago should allow Sikura to start the 2020 season in a middle-6 role with the opportunity to move up the lineup if he starts producing.

Quenneville, who was a restricted free agent, was acquired from the Devils last week for John Hayden. The 23-year-old winger split last year between the AHL and NHL. With Binghamton (AHL), he had 18 goals and 21 assists (39 points) in 37 games but scored just one goal in 19 games with New Jersey. Quenneville projects to start the 2020 season on the Blackhawks’ third or fourth line.

Gunnarsson had a difficult season with injuries in 2018-19, missing a total of 57 games with a combination of ailments. He finished the year with seven points (3G / 4A) in 25 games and added three points (1G / 2A) in 19 playoff games to help the Blues to a Stanley Cup—the first of his career.

Rodewald spent most of the 2018-19 season with Belleville (AHL), where he was first on the team in goals (23) and second in points (47) in 59 games. He also played in six NHL games but has yet to register a point in 10 career games with the Senators.

Fedun had four goals and seven assists (11 points) in 54 games with Dallas last year and also appeared in seven games on their playoff run. The 31-year-old defenseman will likely remain as the Stars’ No.6/7th blueline option in 2020.

Trotman, 28, splits 2018-19 season between the AHL and NHL. During his brief time with the Penguins, Trotman had one assist in 13 games. He scored one goal with four assists (five points) in 24 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he will likely start the 2019-20 campaign.

Czuczman spent all of last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL), where he was second among defensemen with 21 points (4G / 17A) in 65 games. The 28-year-old has just 13 games of NHL experience and they all came in 2014 with the Islanders.

Philadelphia had their choice between three goalies, Elliott, Cam Talbot and Michal Neuvirth to be Carter Hart’s backup next season and it looks like Elliott will be the guy. The 34-year-old had a 2.96 GAA and .907 SV% last year but was limited by injuries to just 26 games.

Reilly had three goals and eight assists (11 points) in 57 games for Montreal last year. Reilly shuffled in and out of the Montreal lineup all season but ranked third among defensemen in PP TOI/gm (1:25) when he did play. He will likely fill the exact same role in 2020.

Robinson split the 2018-19 season between the NHL and AHL but failed to register a point in 13 games with the Blue Jackets. During his time in the AHL, Robinson had 12 goals and 12 assists (24 points) in 45 games. He is expected to be a member of the Blue Jackets bottom-6 to start 2019-20.

The Lightning selected Nolan Foote with the No.27 overall pick last Friday and didn’t waste any time signing him to an entry-level deal. Foote, who is the son of for Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote, joins his brother (Cal) in the Tampa Bay organization. The left-winger had 36 goals and 27 assists (63 points) in 66 games with the Kelowna Rockets (WHL) this season.

Clendening spent the majority of the year in the AHL, where he led all Cleveland defensemen and was third on the team in points with 37 (4G / 33A) in 45 games. The 26-year-ol has 24 points (4G / 20A) in 90 career NHL games with seven different organizations (CHI, VAN, PIT, EDM, NYR, ARI and CBJ).

Goloubef appeared in just five games with Ottawa this season, spending most of the year in the AHL, where he had 12 points 3G / 9A) in 30 games. Goloubef is expected to start the 2020 season with Belleville.

Kampfer served as the Bruins seventh defenseman in 2019, picking up just six points (3G / 3A) in 35 games. He spent some time in the AHL but should be a No.6/7 defenseman in the 2020 season.

In his second season with the Golden Knights, Karlsson expectedly saw his shooting percentage drop from 23.4% to 14.2% which led to him scoring just 24 goals with 32 assists (56 points) in 82 games. Over the last two seasons, Karlsson ranks 17th in goals (67) and tied for 45th in points (134). His new cap-hit is the same last Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov, which is tied for 109th highest in the NHL—extremely reasonable for a player who is in the top-50 in scoring.

Sanheim had a terrific first full NHL season in 2019, scoring nine goals with 26 assists (35 points) in 82 games with the Flyers. Through the first two months of the season, Sanheim played just 16:19 TOI/gm but by February he was second among Flyers defenseman in TOI, averaging 21:42 per game. Even with Philadelphia bringing in veteran blueliners Justin Braun and Matt Niskanen, Sanheim still projects to be a top-pairing defenseman next to Ivan Provorov in 2020.