Quick Strikes: Ryan Dzingel signs with the Hurricanes and other NHL free agency news

The Bolts

Yesterday we published our last profile for this year’s draft [Raw Charge]

Stop me if you’ve heard this before but late in the draft, the Lightning selected an overage NCAA bound forward. Specifically, they used their last pick in the seventh round, 213 overall, to draft forward McKade Webster. Even by Lightning standards, Webster was an obscure pick. He only played six games last season due to injury. But nevertheless, we will bravely continue with an attempt to profile a player with no meaningful stats or video of his most recent season.

NHL Network is going to air classic games for every franchise on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. ET. The Tampa Bay Lightning day is set for August 28th

The Prospects

The Orlando Solar Bears announced contract extensions for defensemen Mike Monfredo and Alexander Kuqali, and forward Trevor Olson for the 2019-20 season.

The Game

Ryan Dzingel joins the Carolina Hurricanes on a two-year deal.

The New Jersey Devils first overall pick in this year’s draft, Jack Hughes, signed a three-year, entry level contract with the team.

Forward Johan Larsson is back with the Buffalo Sabres at least for one more year.

The Philadelphia Flyers have agreed to terms with Scott Laughton on a two-years, $2.3 million AAV worth contract.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced changes to their Hockey Operations department [NHL.com]

Former NHL goaltender Niklas Backstrom, who played 10 seasons in the league with the Minnesota Wild and Calgary Flames from 2006-16, has joined the organization as the Blue Jackets’ European Goaltending Coach. Zac Urback will work as a hockey analyst after serving as Director of Player Evaluation with the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga Steelheads the past two campaigns. John Hamre has been named the video coach for the Cleveland Monsters after serving as the University of Minnesota’s Director of Hockey Operations from 2017-19.

The Blue Jackets are also one of the teams which have spoken to Mitch Marner’s camp about the possibility of an offer sheet.

Greg Wyshynski of ESPN discusses what we have learned from the 2019 NHL offseason so far. [espn.com]

If Aho is worth $8.454 million, Point might be worth even more. But he’s going to probably end up signing a team-friendly deal because he wants to remain friendly with the team and potentially win a Stanley Cup with this group. And that’s OK!

The Score takes an early look at the next year’s free agency. [The Score]

Without an idea of when said transactions may come, the hockey world doesn’t have much to cling to at the moment. With that in mind, we can look ahead to next year, where a deep class of UFAs could make for a very interesting July 1.

Naturally, these players are eligible to sign extensions at any time, and some won’t make it to the open market. Still, we can dream of a world where such a star-studded group of players find themselves on the move, so let’s dive in.

The Calgary Flames have recently recruited Calgary Inferno player Iya Gavrilova to help their new Russian players Alexander Yelesin and Artyom Zagidulin adapt to North America. [The Athletic, paid content]

Born in Siberia, Gavrilova started playing hockey at age 8. She left home at 14, moving to Moscow to attend a special sports school. At 15, she made Russia’s national team. At 19, she came to North America and played one year for UMD before she lost her eligibility when the NCAA called her a professional (she had played with women in Russia, some of whom got paid).

Jaromir Jagr reminded everyone how the Washington Capitals got Alex Ovechkin.