The Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals have all made minor signings as unrestricted free agency looms on Saturday.
Cory Conacher, Jacob de La Rose Among Minor Signings on Wednesday
Boston
The Bruins have re-signed forward Noel Acciari to a two-year contract. Acciari will make $725,000 in both years of the deal.
Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Providence College, Acciari has emerged as a depth piece on the Bruins. He has played 48 games over the last two years in Boston, recording six points. Last year in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, Acciari tallied 14 points in 30 games. The 25-year-old was a pending RFA with arbitration rights.
Carolina
Brock McGinn and Philip Samuelsson have re-signed with the Hurricanes. McGinn was signed to a two-year, one-way contract. He will make $875,000 in year one and $900,000 in year two, carrying a $887,500 cap hit.
McGinn was signed to a two-year contract. He will make $875,000 in year one and $900,000 in year two, carrying a $887,500 cap hit.
A pending RFA, McGinn spent a majority of the 2016-17 season in the NHL with Carolina. A former second round pick, the 23-year-old scored 16 points in 57 games. McGinn was sent down for a short stint with the Charlotte Checkers, scoring eight points in nine games. Expect McGinn to feature in the Hurricanes lineup full-time next year as he requires waivers to be sent to Charlotte next year.
Samuelsson was signed to a one-year, two-way contract. He will make $650,000 in the NHL and $160,000 with the Charlotte Checkers.
Acquired in February for Keegan Lowe, Samuelsson played very well for the Checkers upon arrival. After just five points in 40 games with St. John’s, Samuelsson tallied 14 points in 25 games with Charlotte. His second half success has resulted in a contract, while Lowe was not qualified by the Canadiens.
Chicago
Restricted free agent Ville Pokka has re-signed with the Blackhawks on a one-year, two-way deal. The 23-year-old defenceman will make $650,000 in the NHL and $200,000 with the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL.
Acquired in the Nick Leddy trade, Pokka has been a member of the IceHogs for three seasons. Last year, the former second-round pick recorded 30 points in 76 games from the blueline. For the first time in his career, Pokka requires waivers to be sent to the AHL in 2017-18. A solid, right-handed defensive prospect, Pokka would absolutely be claimed off of waivers. As such, expect Pokka to battle for minutes deep into Blackhawks camp.
Minnesota
The Wild have brought back veteran center Patrick Cannone on a one-year, two-way contract. Cannone was set to be an unrestricted free agent on Saturday. His new contract pays him $650,000 in the NHL and $225,000 with the Iowa Wild of the AHL.
Cannone, 30, made his NHL debut this year with Minnesota, playing three games without recording a point. An alternate captain with Iowa in 2016-17, Cannone recorded nine goals and 38 points in 73 games.
Montreal
The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed forward Jacob de La Rose to a one-year, $725,000 contract. He was a pending RFA.
The 34th selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, de La Rose has yet to break out in the AHL. This past year, at 22, the Swede scored 31 points in 62 games with the St. John’s IceCaps as an alternate captain. He has played 64 games with the Canadiens, tallying just seven points. De la Rose requires waivers to be sent to the newest AHL team, the Laval Rocket, next season.
St. Louis
The St. Louis Blues have re-signed Chris Butler to a two-year, two-way contract. The AAV of the contract is currently unknown.
The veteran, 30-year-old defenceman has been in the St. Louis system since 2014-15. He has split time between the Blues and their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. Last year, Butler appeared in just one NHL game. As captain of the Wolves, Butler recorded 26 points in 76 games from the back end. A valuable leadership piece for the Wolves, Butler has played 388 career games in the NHL.
Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forwards Cory Conacher and Gabriel Dumont to two-year contracts. Both are one-way in year one and two-way in year two. Conacher and Dumont will carry cap hits of $650,000.
Once a top prospect traded for Ben Bishop, Cory Conacher has become a depth player. After one year in Switzerland, Conacher returned to the Tampa organization on a one-year contract last summer. An elite scorer in the AHL, he scored 60 points in 56 games with the Syracuse Crunch. He played 11 games for the Lightning, tallying four points. Unlikely to be a key component in the NHL again, Conacher is still a valuable piece in the Lightning organization.
Drafted in the fifth round by Montreal, Dumont joined the Lightning last summer. Expected to be a depth piece for the Syracuse Crunch, injuries forced Dumont into the Tampa lineup. After playing just 18 games previous, he featured in the Lightning lineup 39 times in 2016-17. Dumont scored just four points, but the role he filled was enough to earn a two-year contract.
Washington
Pheonix Copley has re-signed with the Washington Capitals on a two-year contract. In the first year of the contract, Copley will make $650,000 in the NHL and $200,000 in the AHL. The second year is one-way, where Copley makes $650,000.
Copley was not qualified by the Capitals by the 5:00 pm deadline on Monday, but similarly to Brett Connolly, was still re-signed. Acquired as a minor piece in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade, the 25-year-old netminder posted some promising numbers as a member of the Hershey Bears. In 19 games, Copley had a 2.15 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.
Main Photo:
