Big things are happening in the NHL! There were some interesting trades and signings in June

Before this year’s draft, there were several signings where teams secured important players, but there were also several trades. For example, a player went to one side in exchange for upcoming draft picks. Some players were so expensive to their organization that they had to be bought out of their contracts. Let’s go over the highlights of what happened during June.

The most interesting trades that happened before the 2023 draft

Defenseman Damon Severson headed from the New Jersey Devils to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The defenseman with frequent offensive forays is coming to the first team, which could make it difficult for the likes of David Jiricek to compete for the NHL. A third-round draft choice, on the other hand, went to New Jersey.

A huge trade happened between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks. David Pastrnak and co. said goodbye to Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno, while they welcome Ian Mitchell and Alex Rule to the team.

The Winnipeg Jets signed Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was sent to the Los Angeles Kings. Dubois signed an eight-year deal worth $68 million. Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari are coming to Winnipeg in exchange.

New Jersey remained active in player trades. In late June, they acquired a high-profile reinforcement from the Calgary Flames. Tyler Toffoli joined the Devils, while Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round draft choice moved to Calgary.

Reilly Smith, who was at the birth of the Las Vegas Golden Knights and led them to their first Stanley Cup this year, is done with the Kings and moving to Pittsburgh. The Penguins sent a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to Vegas for him.

Some players the organization wanted to keep

Russian defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov has agreed to terms with the Los Angeles Kings. He could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but the Kings have locked him up. The Russian signed a two-year, $11.75 million contract.

Important signings also happened in New Jersey. The Devils insured Swedish shifter Jesper Bratt for eight years, during which he will earn $63 million. In addition to the Swede, the Devils also insured Swiss star Timo Meier, who joined the team before this year’s playoffs. Meier also signed for eight years and will earn $70.4 million.

Lukas Rousek received a contract extension with the Buffalo Sabres. He signed a two-year deal where he will earn $775,000. The contract includes a clause where he will change from a two-way contract to a one-way contract in his second year.

The Dallas Stars have secured the services of Russian forward Evgeny Dadonov, signing him to a four-year contract. The shooting guard will earn $4.5 million annually.

David Kämpf of the Czech Republic extended his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kämpf, known for his great defensive play, signed a four-year contract with earnings of $10 million.

Changes in coaching positions

Right at the beginning of June, the Nashville Predators parted ways with head coach John Hynes. This coach spent four seasons in Nashville, but failed to record any significant success. He was replaced by Andrew Brunette.

The highly controversial coach Mike Babcock joined the Columbus Blue Jackets. The man known for abusing and bullying some of his charges joins a group of players that includes Czech youngsters David Jiricek and Stanislav Svozil.

The worst team of the past season, the Anaheim Ducks, was taken over by Greg Conin in early June. What is interesting about this coach is that he has been an assistant coach for 12 years with various organizations, but never a head coach.

Darryl Sutter retired as head coach after a setback with the Calgary Flames. The Flames narrowly failed to qualify for the playoffs, which wasn’t enough for management, so they parted ways with the coach. He was replaced by assistant Ryan Huska, who will also be making his debut as head coach.

The New York Rangers also announced a new coach in mid-July. They brought in the experienced Peter Laviolette, who coached for example with the rival Islanders. He also led the US national team.

There were also some expensive contract buyouts

The duo of David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron ended up with the Boston Bruins. Neither player wanted to extend their expiring contracts, yet the Bruins hope to see the return of these stars. The Czech forward is considering returning to the Czech Republic.

Star Matt Duchene will not continue with the Nashville Predators. The team bought him out of the remainder of his contract, making the forward a free agent. Duchene still had three years left on his contract.

The same fate befell Blake Wheeler, who was bought out of his contract by the Winnipeg Jets. Like Duchene, Wheeler became a free agent in early July. Wheeler had one year left on his contract.

Source: NHL