NHL: Flames file for club-elected salary arbitration with Matthew Tkachuk, and more news
The Daily Goal Horn
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The Calgary Flames have opted to file for salary arbitration with restricted free agent forward Matthew Tkachuk on Monday. By doing so, the team has not eliminated any possibility of an offer sheet.
Per PuckPedia: Tkachuk can no longer just accept his Qualifying Offer (deadline was July 22). This extends the time period for Flames and Tkachuk to work out a deal before he potentially ends up with a 1 year 9M contract and is a UFA.
Matthew Tkachuk arbitratiion
Tkachuck, 24, is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights that just completed a three-year deal worth $7 million per season. His qualifying offer was for $9 million. If Tkachuk is only willing to sign short term, he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at 27.
Sharks re-sign Kaapo Kahkonen
The San Jose Sharks re-signed goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to a two-year contract on Monday.
The details of the deal were not released, but multiple media outlets reported the contract to have an average annual value of $2.75 million.
San Jose brings back Kahkonen despite already having a pair of experienced goaltenders on its roster in James Reimer and Adin Hill.
Kahkonen, 25, made 295 saves in 322 attempts (.916) and posted a 2.86 goals-against average in 11 games (10 starts) with the Sharks last season after being traded from the Minnesota Wild in March.
During his two-plus seasons with Minnesota, Kahkonen finished with a .907 save percentage and 2.88 GAA in 54 games (51 starts). He went 31-17-4 during that span.
The Helsinki, Finland native was selected by the Wild in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL draft with the 109th overall pick.
Maple Leafs re-sign Pierre Engvall
The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed forward Pierre Engvall to a one-year, $2.25 million contract on Sunday.
Engvall finished a two-year, $2.5 million deal last season.
Engvall, 26, set career bests of 15 goals and 35 points in 78 games last season.
Overall, he has 62 career points (30 goals, 32 assists) in 168 games over the past three seasons. The Swede also has four assists in 17 career playoff games.
Eddie Olczyk leaves Blackhawks for Kraken
Longtime Chicago Blackhawks color commentator Eddie Olczyk has left his role with the team.
After Olczyk’s contract with the team expired, the veteran broadcaster and former Blackhawks player has chosen to join the Seattle Kraken in the same capacity.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Olczyk’s contract with the team ended in June and the sides could not come to a new agreement in negotiations since then.
Speaking through tears during an appearance on the “Waddle & Silvy” radio show in Chicago, Olczyk emphasized that it was his decision to leave the franchise he worked for for 16 years.
“There was a deal on the table, and I just felt that at this particular time that I would step back,” Olczyk said. “And it’s been a hell of a run.”
“This was my decision to step away,” Olczyk told NHL.com. “We just couldn’t come to terms on a contract.”
NHL.com
Olczyk’s brother Rick Olczyk is the assistant general manager of the Kraken, which just completed its inaugural season as the NHL’s 32nd team.
Eddie Olczyk also works national NHL broadcasts for TNT and previously did the same for NBC Sports, but he is most commonly linked with the Blackhawks.
“I have the utmost respect for this franchise, for my home,” Olczyk said, “and the way that (principal owner Rocky Wirtz) and his family have always treated me and my family, and this is what made this decision so hard.”
Olczyk, 55, played five of his 16 NHL seasons with Chicago, which made him the third overall pick of the 1984 draft. A center, Olczyk played in 1,031 games and tallied 342 goals and 452 assists in his career, including 77 goals and 132 assists across 322 games with the Blackhawks.
“For 16 seasons, we were fortunate to have legendary broadcaster Eddie Olczyk bring Chicago Blackhawks hockey into the homes of our fans,” the Blackhawks said in a statement Monday. “We are going to miss him as much as our fans will. Though we are disappointed to learn today that he has decided to go in another direction, Eddie will always be part of the Blackhawks family. We appreciate his many contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
–Field Level Media