First of all, congratulations to the Texas Stars on their first-ever Calder Cup victory. It was a good playoffs, but I must admit I was too focused on my LA Kings winning a second Stanley Cup to follow the AHL as much as usual!
Oh, so much to report on in this off season…. from rumors of major western expansion in the AHL to places like California, the yet-to-be determined AHL realignment (and my wish for five divisions in five seasons as the Checkers looks to be coming true!), and off season moves by the Checkers and Hurricanes, there is a lot to talk about. But to keep today’s update simple, I compiled a list of all of the Checkers currently under contract, along with d those who have expired contracts and have signed elsewhere in the off season.
A few days ago, it was announced that Mike Murphy has signed in Austria for next season. Murphy is a player who I admire so much, both on and off the ice. He was the Checkers first “Man of the Year” winner in the team’s inaugural AHL season. That same year, he led the team to the Eastern Conference Finals, and has played some of the most epic games of his career for the Checkers. 2013-14 was a challenging season for Murphy between major goaltending injuries to himself and others. He will be greatly missed. I will certainly follow his team in Austria (one of my favorite European countries!).
So… about the contract situation. The Hurricanes and Checkers have a number of contracts to figure out in the coming month or so. RFA qualifying offers should go out in the very near future, and as these are released, I’ll update them here.
2014-15 Charlotte Checkers under contract:
| Goaltenders under contract | ||||
| Daniel Altshuller | G | 2016-17 | RFA | Eligible for AHL, played for Oshawa Generals in OHL |
| Defensemen under contract | ||||
| Danny Biega | D | 2015-16 | RFA | |
| Trevor Carrick | D | 2016-17 | RFA | Eligible for AHL, played for Sudbury and Missisauga in OHL |
| Austin Levi | D | 2014-15 | RFA | Spent majority of 2013-14 in ECHL |
| Keegan Lowe | D | 2015-16 | RFA | |
| Dennis Robertson | D | 2015-16 | RFA | Brown University alumni, played 1 game for CHA in 2014 |
| Beau Schmitz | D | 2014-15 | RFA | |
| Forwards under contract | ||||
| Patrick Brown | LW | 2015-16 | RFA | Boston College alumni, signed as a free agent by Carolina |
| Phil Di Giuseppe | LW | 2016-17 | RFA | Eligible for AHL, Univ. of Michigan Alumni |
| Erik Karlsson | LW | 2016-17 | RFA | Eligible for AHL, will likely spend 2014-15 in Sweden |
| Brock McGinn | LW | 2016-17 | RFA | Eligible for AHL, played for CHA briefly in 2013, Guelf Storm alumni |
| Victor Rask | C | 2015-16 | RFA | |
| Carter Sandlak | LW | 2015-16 | RFA | Eligible for AHL, spent 5 years in OHL |
| Brody Sutter | RW | 2015-16 | RFA | |
| Brendan Woods | LW | 2015-16 | RFA | |
| Goaltenders not under contract | ||||
| John Muse | G | AHL | ||
| Defensemen not under contract | ||||
| Rasmus Rissanen | D | RFA | ||
| Tommi Kivisto | D | RFA | Spent 2012-13 with Everblades/Checkers. Plans to play in Europe in 2014-15 | |
| Michal Jordan | D | RFA | ||
| Matt Corrente | D | UFA | ||
| Forwards not under contract | ||||
| Nic Blanchard | C | UFA | ||
| Zach Boychuk | LW | RFA | ||
| Phillipe Cornet | LW | AHL | AHL contract in 2013-14 | |
| Sean Dolan | C | AHL | AHL contract in 2013-14 | |
| Greg Nemisz | C | RFA | ||
| Matt Marquart | LW | AHL | AHL contract in 2013-14 | |
| Aaron Palushaj | RW | RFA | ||
| Justin Shugg | LW | RFA | ||
| Jared Staal | RW | RFA | ||
| Brett Sutter | C | UFA | ||
| Chris Terry | LW | UFA | ||
| Kellan Tochkin | RW | RFA | Spent 2013-14 in ECHL | |
| Will not return to Charlotte | ||||
| Mike Murphy | G | UFA | Signed in Europe | |
| Mark Flood | D | UFA | Signed with KHL | |
