Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for June 2016

Free Agent Focus: Philadelphia Flyers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Philadelphia Flyers surprised everyone this season with an unlikely playoff appearance during an expected rebuilding year. And while they bowed out in the first round, the Flyers took the President’s Trophy-winning Washington Capitals to six games. They enter the offseason with a decision as to whether to continue with the planned rebuild or to double down on their unexpected success.

Cap Space: $10,503,334MM (According to CapFriendly). Cap space is marred by two buyouts on the books: F Vincent Lecavalier and recently bought-out R.J. Umberger.

Key UFAs: F Sam Gagner. Sam Gagner is looking to bounce back after a career-worst 8G and 16P in 53 Games. Gagner held promise when drafted, but he has struggled to realize his potential and is now entering his tenth year as a pro. Any offer Gagner accepts would likely be a short-term “prove yourself” contract.

Other UFAs: F Ryan White, D Evgeny Medvedev, and G Ray Emery.

Key RFAs: F Brayden Schenn. Re-signing Schenn is Philadelphia’s biggest priority. The young forward was third in team scoring with 26G and 59P in 80 Games. More importantly, Schenn has increased his point total every season—showing definite improvement and an upward trajectory. He represents an integral piece of the Flyers’ youthful core going forward, and the team would be wise to secure him to a long-term contract.

Other RFAs: F Jordan Weal, F Nick Cousins, D Radko Gudas, D Brandon Manning.

The Flyers face the age-old dilemma of following their success or sticking to a rebuild. No team wants to be mired in standings purgatory where they are too good for a high draft pick, but never good enough for an extended playoff push. Draft day and July 1st will indicate which way the Flyers go.

Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Rangers again amassed over 100 points and made the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year in 2015-16, going 46-27-9 and just edging out the Islanders for third in the Metropolitan division.  What that won them was a matchup with the eventual Stanley Cup winning Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.  As they head into the summer, they have some big questions to answer all over their club, with only 14 players under contract at the moment.

Key Restricted Free Agents: There isn’t just a single RFA that the Rangers need to worry about, there is a trio of them. LW Chris Kreider, C Kevin Hayes and RW J.T. Miller are all arbitration eligible and due for substantial raises this summer, after scoring 57 goals between them. Miller led the pack with 22 including five game winners, and racked up 43 points (tied with Kreider).

The Rangers may have some trouble with the expansion draft next year, as these three will all need protection along with Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello which will put at risk some of their other young players like Jesper Fast or Oscar Lindberg, even if they leave Rick Nash unprotected. It will be even more strained if they decide to sign any big name free agent forward, most of which would demand a NMC to come to New York.

Other RFAs: Dylan McIlrath

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: D Keith Yandle – The top blueliner on the UFA market this summer, Yandle is going to command a huge salary and will have teams lining up to offer it. After coming over in a trade from the Arizona Coyotes in 2014-15, Yandle has been one of the better defencemen in the league, putting up 58 points in a Rangers uniform.

The 29-year old will head into free agency after completing a five-year $26.25MM dollar contract he signed with the Coyotes in 2011. That cap-hit of $5.25MM is sure to go up this summer when teams bang down his door looking for a #1 defenceman. Over the last five seasons, Yandle has the 5th most points of any defenceman in the league, only trailing Erik Karlsson, P.K. Subban, Dustin Byfuglien, and Shea Weber – all of whom are earning at least $7MM next year.

Other UFAs: Dan Boyle, Eric Staal, Viktor Stalberg, Dominic Moore

Projected Cap Space: $15.33MM, 14 players under contract.

Losing Yandle and Boyle from their blueline doesn’t look good for the Rangers, who won’t have much room for free agents after the deals for their RFAs. With Dan Girardi and Marc Staal both taking a lot of heat for their poor possession numbers, the team might be in trouble defensively next season. The Penguins exploited it in the playoffs, and with Henrik Lundqvist another year older he may not be able to bail them out as much in 2015-16.

The deal for Eric Staal ended up not working out very well for the club, as he scored just six points for the club down the stretch before being held scoreless in the playoffs. Carolina has already made good use of one of the picks, dealing it to Chicago as the main piece in the Teuvo Teravainen deal two days ago.

If the team is to get back to the playoffs they’ll have to rely on their speed and skill up front, unless they make a move to shore up that back end. Look for teams to start kicking the tires on those young forwards, trying to entice one or two of them out of the Big Apple, and into their system.

Rumor Roundup: Bogosian, Kulikov, Trouba

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Rumor season is alive and well as we head towards the NHL Entry Draft and free agency. While fans salivate at the possibilities, and reporters fight for any scrap of information, here are some of the rumors that are floating around the league right now:

  • In an offseason that will be spent trying to find a number one (not to mention two, three, and four) defenceman, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal hears that the Oilers are interested, at least somewhat, in Buffalo Sabres blueliner Zach Bogosian and have been since last season.  While it doesn’t seem likely that the former third overall pick would be on the move to Edmonton due to his no-movement clause, Buffalo may try to get him to waive it in order to move his contract.
  • Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com hears that the Boston Bruins have interest in Florida defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and have at least been kicking the tires on a possible trade. The 25-year old has just one year remaining on his contract at $4.3MM before he would become a (much sought after) UFA. The Panthers have a lot of young players that they need to get signed over the next year and a half, with Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Reilly Smith and Alex Petrovic all restricted free agents after next season.
  • After rumors swirled this week about the Colorado Avalanche’s interest in Jets’ defenceman Jacob Trouba, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post asked GM Joe Sakic about it: “There’s a lot of speculation out there. All I can tell you is we’ve had conversations with different teams and we want to try to improve our crop.”.  Trouba is sure to be sought after by many teams if the Jets do indeed make him available this summer.  The 22-year old is a former ninth overall pick, is an RFA for the first time this summer and has performed well in his three NHL seasons.

Minor Transactions: 6/17/16

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions, updating as they happen.

  • Maxim Lamarche, a former undrafted free agent signed in 2013, has re-upped on an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  The 23-year old defenceman has yet to make his debut in the NHL and isn’t expected to do so anytime soon.
  • The first captain of the Stockton Heat, Aaron Johnson has decided to take his talents to Europe.  He has signed a contract to play with Adler Mannheim of Germany’s DEL. Johnson was once a staple of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ blueline, playing in 172 games for them over two different stints (4 total seasons). He hasn’t played in the NHL since 2o12-13, when he suited up for 10 games with the Boston Bruins
  • Daniel Sprong, one of Pittsburgh’s top prospects underwent shoulder surgery Friday and will be out 7-8 months. Sprong made his NHL debut this season before joining the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins for their playoff run and showed his scoring ability, putting up 7 points in 10 games in his first taste of professional playoff hockey.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed center Tyler Pitlick to a one-year deal, according to the team twitter.  Pitlick, a former second round pick, didn’t play for the Oilers this season after fighting injury again. He did put up 21 points in the 37 games he suited up in for the AHL Bakersfield Condors.
  • According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Lightning center Jonathan Drouin has withdrawn the trade request he issued last season during a battle with GM Steve Yzerman over playing time. After making his return to the team and performing well in the playoffs, Drouin now wants to stay in Tampa for the long haul.  The quickly approaching free agency of first-line center Steven Stamkos may have something to do with it, as Drouin can feature heavily in the future of the Lightning if Stamkos were to sign elsewhere.
  • Recent Calder-cup winning goaltender Anton Forsberg has been re-signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to the team. He’ll receive a one-year, two-way deal that will keep him on the AHL roster unless something changes on the big club. Forsberg has played in seven games for the Blue Jackets’ over the last two seasons, but backstopped their AHL affiliate to 43 wins over that time.

Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Islanders got back to the postseason in 2015-16, making it two straight years they’ve gotten there. The John Capuano coached team went 45-27-10 in the regular season, and advanced past the Florida Panthers before getting knocked out by the Tampa Bay Lightning. As superstar John Tavares continues to crawl toward his eventual free agency – he has two remaining seasons at $5.5MM – the team has quite a few big names to worry about this offseason.  Here’s a look at their upcoming free agents:

Key Restricted Free Agent: C Ryan Strome – The elder Strome brother and former 5th overall pick, Ryan had a somewhat disappointing season for the Isles this year. After putting up 17 goals and 50 points in his sophomore year in 2014-15, Strome only collected 28 this season while seeing less powerplay time and experiencing a drop-off in possession metrics.

Strome will turn 23 in less than a month, and is coming off his entry-level contract; he’ll be looking for a bridge deal like the one Nazem Kadri signed in 2013.  While Kadri was coming off a stronger season, he didn’t have as much history in the league as Strome does now. That deal lasted two years at $2.9MM, and while Strome might not hit that mark he’s expected to get over $2MM.

Other RFAs: Alan Quine, Shane Prince, Scott Mayfield, Christopher Gibson, Jean-Francois Berube

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: RW Kyle Okposo – After putting up a huge season, Okposo is in line for a big pay raise. The former seventh overall pick put up 64 points in 79 games, continuing what has been very strong play since 2013-14. He’s racked up 184 points during that time, ranking him 17th overall in PPG over that span among players with at least 50 GP. Coming in ahead of players like Corey Perry, Phil Kessel and Jonathan Toews, Okposo is going to get a huge contract this offseason.

As reported earlier today, it looks like the Islanders are set to move on from the winger, with GM Garth Snow wishing him luck in the future. For the team, they’ll be losing their second highest scorer and a player who has been a big part of the turnaround in New York. With the third highest, center Frans Nielsen, also being a UFA this summer the Isles are at risk of losing a substantial part of their offense on July 1st.

Other UFA: Nielsen, Eric Boulton, Matt Martin, Steve Bernier, Brian Strait, Marek Zidlicky

Projected Cap Space: $13MM, 18 players under contract.

While the Islanders seem to have their defense corps set up for next year, their forward group will have to rely on some young talent stepping up if they don’t make any big free agent splashes. 24-year old Brock Nelson put up an impressive 26 goals and will be expected to take on an even bigger role with the departures of Okposo and Nielsen.

The goaltending tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss performed admirably this season, but the team may look to move one of them at some point, with Greiss entering his final contract year and Halak only with two remaining.  As they both enter their thirties, the team may look to move on as they have a number of solid prospects in the system.

Coaching Notes: Groulx, Shaw, Pollock

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After being confirmed earlier this week that Glen Gulutzan would be hired as the Calgary Flames head coach, the team held a press conference Friday to officially announce him. Gulutzan will try to take the Flames back to the playoffs after an underwhelming season in which they 35-40-7 and were surrounded by controversy all season, from Dennis Wideman’s collision with an official and eventual suspension and appeal, to the benching of star players Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for “disciplinary reasons”. He’ll come in as a much different voice than outgoing coach Bob Hartley, and will try to instill a different tone in the locker room.

Here are more coaching notes from around the league:

  • The Ottawa Senators have hired Pierre Groulx as their next goalie coach, replacing the outgoing Rick Wamsley who was jettisoned along with head coach Dave Cameron and the rest of the staff in April. Groulx, formerly the goalie coach in Florida and Montreal, will lead a group that allowed the third most goals in the NHL last season, and had poor performances throughout the season. Number 1 goaltender Craig Anderson should appreciate the familiar face; Groulx was his coach for three years in Florida.
  • Former St. Louis Blues’ assistant Brad Shaw has been brought into Columbus to work with head coach John Tortorella according to Aaron Portzline with the Columbus Dispatch. Shaw spent nine seasons with the Blues, and actually was the New York Islanders’ head coach for half a season in 2005-06, after the firing of Steve Stirling midway through a disappointing year.
  • According to Gary Lawless of TSN, while not as a coach, Richard Pollock has been hired by the Florida Panthers as a pro scout. This comes after the organization has changed direction in scouting, firing long time director Scott Luce and hiring the more analytics-based Cam Lawrence and Josh Weissbock. Former Panther and veteran-NHLer Bryan McCabe, currently the team’s manager of player development, has also taken a larger role.

Snapshots: Okposo, Lucic, Walsh

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With the buyout period starting Wednesday, and the entry draft coming closer and closer, teams have started making decisions on upcoming free agents and begun to make calls on available players.  Already we have seen a deal for Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen, and just yesterday the Stars traded away the negotiating rights to upcoming UFA Alex Goligoski. Obviously the team felt they were not going to be able to get a deal done before July 1st.  Here are some other notes about upcoming free agents:

  • It sounds like Kyle Okposo is on his way off the Island, as General Manager Garth Snow recently was quoted saying “We wish him nothing but the best.”  Okposo heads into this offseason as one of the top forwards available after scoring 64 points this past year.  That tied him with Steven Stamkos for the most from any upcoming UFA.
  • In an interesting read from John Hoven around Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi’s latest media call, he reveals that they will be making an offer to Milan Lucic, but that “there’s a number of things we had to work through that we didn’t anticipate.” While it’s not clear exactly what that means, one has to wonder if it’s a medical issue that surfaced after the playoffs.  Lucic put up another strong season with 55 points this year, and notched 20 goals for fifth time in his career.
  • In Chris Nichols’ latest, he talks to Octagon Hockey agent Allan Walsh about the interview period that beings five days prior to July 1st. In it he voices his concerns over who it benefits: “I would love to get rid of it. it gives teams a tremendous advantage going into July 1, and really doesn’t benefit the players much, if at all.” Walsh would like to get back to a time when July started with a true frenzy for players, stating “Decisions had to be made in five minutes or 10 minutes. Big decisions. For many years of term. And a lot of dollars.” Walsh represents many upcoming UFAs including David Perron and Brian Campbell.

Pavel Datsyuk Not Returning To Detroit

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Accoring to former NHLer Aaron Ward, and confirmed by TSN’s Darren Dreger, Pavel Datsyuk will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce he will not return to the Detroit Red Wings.  Detroit will now look to move his contract to another team, in order to get out from under the $7.5MM cap-hit his contract will incur due to being signed after his 35th birthday.

Datsyuk has long been considering heading back to his home in Russia to play out his final hockey years in the KHL and be closer to family. The 37-year old has scored 314 goals and 918 points in his surely hall-of-fame career, winning two Stanley Cups along the way.  He was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship four times, while collecting the Frank J. Selke, awarded to the league’s top defensive forward, three times.

Datsyuk’s departure will leave a hole not easily filled in the Detroit lineup, as even at his advanced age his presence on the ice was important.  He scored 49 points this season, a down one by his standards, but still logged over 19 minutes a night playing against the oppositions top lines.  Centres like Riley Sheahan, who recently re-signed for two seasons, and Dylan Larkin will now be relied on more heavily on game nights. Henrik Zetterberg, the last bastion of a past era of Detroit excellence will continue to lead the team, now without his longtime partner in crime.

If the Red Wings can move Datsyuk’s contract, it will give them some much needed cap relief, as the team currently sits at just over $60MM in salary for only 16 players, with notable restricted free agents Petr Mrazek and Danny DeKeyser still to sign.

Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After getting back to the playoffs following a disappointing 2014-15 campaign, the Kings weren’t able to go far as they fell to the eventual Stanley Cup finalist San Jose Sharks in the first round.  GM Dean Lombardi will have his work cut out for him if he wants to bring everyone back for next season.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D Derek Forbort – The Kings’ first round pick in 2010 used up the last of his waiver exemption last year, a season where he was up and down between Los Angeles and AHL Ontario.  He has progressed slowly in his development but should be viewed as the seventh defenceman heading into next season as things stand.  He’s coming off his entry-level deal with a cap hit of $863,333 and might be wise to accept an NHL pay cut for more guaranteed money in an effort to aid his chances of making the opening night lineup.

Other NHL RFA’s: F Nic Dowd

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: W Milan Lucic was LA’s key offseason acquisition and they managed to fit him under the cap as a result of Boston picking up $2.75MM of his $6MM cap hit.  That luxury won’t be there this offseason and the power forward is set to be one of the top forwards available on the market.  The Kings have already expressed an interest in re-signing him but Lucic may have to take a pay cut for that to happen.

W Kris Versteeg was added at the trade deadline for added offensive depth and produced relatively well, picking up 4 goals in in 14 regular season games after being acquired.  Coming off a $4.7MM salary, he will probably be too pricey for the Kings to bring back.  G Jhonas Enroth did a fine job as the backup goalie but if they want to keep Lucic, he too may be too expensive to keep around even if the asking price is close to the $1.25MM he earned last year.

Other NHL UFA’s: F Trevor Lewis, D Jamie McBain, D Luke Schenn

Cap Situation: The Kings sit less than $4MM under the cap, according to Cap Friendly though that number would increase if the cap goes up.  They don’t have many holes to fill on their roster though, just a backup goalie and perhaps one more forward.

Calgary’s Goalie Dilemma

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

With Carolina re-signing Cam Ward earlier today, one of the top goalies was taken off the UFA market.  That’s not the best of news for the Calgary Flames who are looking to rebuild their goaltending tandem after Jonas Hiller, Karri Ramo, and Joni Ortio all struggled last season.

With Ward off the market, the only two remaining free agents that have spent some time as a starting netminder in recent years are San Jose’s James Reimer and Ramo, both of whom have struggled at times when given a greater workload.

Accordingly, a trade may be the way to go for Calgary to get their starting goalie.  Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun believes that Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury could be a solution for the Flames and reports that GM Brad Treliving has been in contact with his Penguins counterpart Jim Rutherford regarding the 31 year old.

Fleury could be deemed expendable following Matt Murray’s strong efforts en route to Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup victory and trading him would also free up some much-needed cap space for the Penguins, who currently have just shy of $74MM in contracts for next season.  With the ability to only protect one goalie in an expansion draft, the Penguins may have some motivation to do something this offseason over risking losing one for nothing next June.  Fleury carries a cap hit of $5.75MM for each of the next three season but does, however, have a no-move and partial no-trade clause which could make a trade more difficult.

There’s no denying that Fleury would represent an upgrade between the pipes for the Flames.  Last year, Calgary’s goaltenders combined for a league-worst save percentage of just .892.  By comparison, Fleury has posted at least a .913 SV% in each of the last six seasons and recorded a 2.29 GAA and a .921 SV% last season.

If the Flames and Penguins can’t reach a deal though, there could be other goalies available this offseason.  Here are a trio that could be on the trade block for various reasons:

  • Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay): Andrei Vasilevskiy is viewed as the goalie-in-waiting for the Lightning and he certainly more than held his own in the postseason. Bishop has one year left on his deal and GM Steve Yzerman may want to get something for Bishop now and hand the goaltending reins to the young Russian.
  • Frederik Andersen (Anaheim): Andersen is a restricted free agent this offseason and is just one year away from UFA eligibility. He has been the starter for the Ducks for each of the past two years but saw his job usurped at times by John Gibson.  Gibson is widely viewed as their goalie of the future and accordingly, it’s expected that Anaheim will likely move Andersen at some point this offseason.
  • Jimmy Howard (Detroit): Howard played in a career-low 38 games last year as he lost his #1 job to Petr Mrazek (an RFA this offseason). He has three years left on his contract with a cap hit just below $5.3MM which is too pricey for a backup or platoon goalie.  As a result, they could be a motivated seller and Howard would give the Flames an upgrade over what they had last season.

This is not the year to rebuild a goalie tandem through the free agent market which means it’s likely that Treliving will have to resort to the trade route to shore up that position at least once this offseason.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top