- Calen Addison is expected to sign with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons
- New Jersey non-tendered the 26-year-old defenseman roughly six weeks ago
- Read below for his NHL numbers plus video of his 38-second shift with the puck
Calen Addison’s next contract is going to be in China.
The 26-year-old defenseman is expected to sign with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons, per Sport-Express reporter Artur Khairullin. New Jersey non-tendered him roughly six weeks ago, and he has been on the market ever since.
Neither the Dragons nor the KHL has announced anything yet, and no terms have been reported.
Pittsburgh took Addison 53rd overall in 2018 and shipped him to Minnesota a year and a half later in the Jason Zucker trade. He has 152 NHL games between the Wild and the Sharks, 50 points, and 16:29 a night of ice time.
Scoring was never his problem. Addison put up 29 points in 62 games for Minnesota in 2022-23 as a 22-year-old power-play quarterback. His work without the puck is what kept sending him back down.
Last season he played the full year with AHL Utica, aside from a short run with Canada at the Spengler Cup. Six goals and 25 assists in 65 games left him fifth on the Comets in scoring and first among their defensemen.
One January night in Laval, he took the puck behind his own net and refused to give it up for 38 seconds. Watch the video:
He can shoot it, too. Here’s video of his goal against the Rocket in March:
What pushed him overseas is a rule nobody outside the AHL thinks about. Add 152 NHL games to 204 in the AHL and Addison now counts as a veteran under AHL roster rules, and clubs can dress only six veteran skaters per game.
That label thins out the offers every summer for players in his bracket.
Shanghai should hand him a power play and real minutes. The Dragons keep shopping the North American market, too, adding Martin Frk in July and picking up goalie Amir Miftakhov from Ak Bars this month.
A strong year running a Shanghai power play would put a 26-year-old with 50 NHL points back in front of North American scouts.
