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Free Agent Profile: Kyle Okposo

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Though Steven Stamkos has been dominating the free agent headlines as we inch closer to Friday’s deadline, there’s another player who some teams might value quite highly. Kyle Okposo has been a hugely productive player the last few years, ranking 17th in PPG since 2013-14. Last season he put up 64 points, tying him with Stamkos for the lead among the unrestricted class, and only turned 28 this April.

A three-time twenty goal scorer, Okposo now has 369 points in 529 career games and usually graded out as a positive possession player. The caveat though is that he’s spent a lot of time on the wing of New York superstar John Tavares, and his stats may be inflated because of it.

Potential Suitors

Despite the potential Tavares-shaped red flag, Okposo is sure to get interest from at least a dozen teams this offseason.  His combination of youth, offensive performance and an increasingly physical style will make teams salivate as they imagine installing him on their top line. 60-point wingers don’t grow on trees, and as Arthur Staple of Newsday reports there are already a handful of teams calling for him.

If the rumors are true, the LA Kings do seem like a natural fit for the winger as they’ll be losing both Milan Lucic and Kris Versteeg this summer. Though Okposo plays the right side, and Lucic the left, the offense would be a welcome addition to a team looking to make it back to the playoffs.  Perhaps playing along excellent centers in Anze Kopitar or Jeff Carter would hide some of the regression many believe to be coming.

Detroit also seems like a good fit, as though they are deep on the left side with Tomas Tatar, Justin Abdelkader and Henrik Zetterberg (when he’s not playing in the middle) they have only Gustav Nyquist as a proven top-six guy on the right side. Okposo would be a great consolation prize if they can’t land Stamkos, as the team heads into a new era without Pavel Datsyuk.

Expected Contract

In our Top 50 List we had Okposo receiving a seven-year, $47.25MM deal from the Sabres, giving him an annual salary of $6.75MM. As GM Tim Murray has recently been quoted saying he’s going to go after the “big fish” this summer, perhaps it’s not out of the question that Okposo would land there. Either way, expect him to sign a deal for at least six years, and upwards of $40MM. The Minnesota native may in fact crack $7MM per season, something that only 28 skaters currently do.

If the last few seasons are his true talent, perhaps he’ll be looking to be paid even higher than that, as players like Corey Perry, Phil Kessel and Jonathan Toews all earn a substantial amount more, while providing less offensive production (on a per game basis) the last three years. While it would be hard to see anyone rank him ahead of these players overall, perhaps that’s just a symptom of riding under Tavares’ shadow and in the less-covered portion of New York sports.

RFA Notes: Leafs, Colborne, Jones

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As the deadline to submit qualifying offers for pending restricted free agents came and went yesterday, information on the Maple Leafs was nowhere to be found. The notoriously tight-lipped Lou Lamoirello still hasn’t given an official update on his RFAs, but reports have started to trickle out. According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the Maple Leafs have qualified Connor Carrick, Garret Sparks, Peter Holland, Josh Leivo, Martin Marincin and Frank Corrado while not qualifying Stuart Percy, Sam Carrick and Colin Smith.

  • According to Darren Dreger of TSN, via Chris Nichols, the Calgary Flames are still confident they’ll sign recently non-qualified center Joe Colborne. After notching 19 goals and 44 points last season, Colborne had a great case for arbitration and was surprising to see among Calgary’s list yesterday. Dreger adds that the new contract will probably fall somewhere between $3.5 and $4MM per season.  Colborne has 100 points in 217 games as a Flame since coming over from the Maple Leafs in 2013.
  • Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen tells us that there were no trade offers for Patrick Wiercioch, another non-qualified name coming out of Ottawa yesterday. Wiercioch had played at least 50 games for the Senators for the past three seasons, but saw his point total drop to a career low last season with just five assists.  The 25-year old will now look for a job elsewhere as a left-handed, bottom pairing defenceman.
  • Dreger also gives us a note on pending RFA and offer sheet candidate Seth Jones and his current negotiation with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Though the team is in dire need of cap relief, the team sees him as a top priority going into the summer. Ian Mendes, also of TSN adds an interesting quote from GM Jarmo Kekalainen: “If someone wants to be silly and make it cost more money, we’ll match it.”

Eric Staal Has 3-4 Interested Teams

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After an extremely disappointing season, Eric Staal is on the free agent market for the first time in his career and looking to rebuild his value.  Tuesday afternoon John Shannon tells us that he has had interest from at least three or four teams to this point, and that Staal still considers himself a top-six center.

Staal, 31, put up less than 50 points for the first time in his career this past season, and saw his role diminished after a mid-season trade to the New York Rangers.  A former 100 point player, he’s looking to catch on somewhere and prove that he’s not finished as an elite goal-scoring center as he enters his thirties.

While he’ll probably not look for a long-term deal, Staal still might get upwards of $5MM per season from a team banking on a rebound. If he indeed can make it back to the player he once was, a two-year deal would put him back on the market at 33, able to make one last long-term deal before retiring.  In our recent top-50 UFA list we ranked Staal at 13, suggesting that the Islanders might be interested in the eldest brother.

CHL 2016 Import Draft Results

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The CHL import draft is an important one for NHL scouts to keep an eye on, as it brings some of the best talent in the world over to play and develop a little closer to home. While not all of the players selected make the trip across the ocean, many of the top draftees eventually make their mark in the NHL draft, as we saw first hand just last weekend.

Olli Juolevi, Alex Nylander and Mikhail Sergachev all were import drafts in 2015 and made their name in the OHL before going in the top-10 on Friday. Others, like German Rubtsov have already gone in the first round (#22 to the Flyers) before even being selected for the CHL.   Here is the first round of the 2016 CHL Import Draft:

#1 Kootenay – Klim Kostin (C, Russia)

#2 Guelph – Dmitri Samorukov (LD, Russia)

#3 Baie-Comeau – Ivan Chekhovich (C, Russia)

#4 Vancouver – Filip Zadina (RW, Czech Republic)

#5 Sudbury – Jachym Kondelik (LW, Czech Republic)

#6 Halifax – Nico Hischier (RW, Switzerland)

#7 Saskatoon – Mark Rubinchik (LD, Russia)

#8 Flint –  Michal Steinocher (LD, Czech Republic)

#9 Drummondville – Pavel Koltygin (LW, Russia)

#10 Swift Current – Aleksi Heponiemi (LW, Finland)

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Pacific Notes: Canucks, Ducks, Coyotes

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Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning found out talk isn’t so cheap after all. The NHL fined Benning $50,000 for his comments regarding Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban reports Navin Vaswani. According to the report, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that Benning violated By-Law 15 for speaking about his interest in other teams’ players. Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir writes that while the comments may seem harmless, it’s the willingness to express signing desires for “public consumption” that landed Benning a fine.

Other Pacific Division Notes:

  • The Ducks have indeed been talking with the Red Wings about Cam Fowler writes Mike Halford. The news was also reported by The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The Ducks would be a perfect trade partner for the Red Wings as they recently re-signed Sami Vatanen and could move Fowler’s reasonable contract that has a $4MM cap hit. After the Wings balked at the apparent price for Kevin Shattenkirk, which included Dylan Larkin. Fowler has also been linked with Buffalo.
  • Sarah McLellan writes that new Coyotes general manager John Chayka says that the Pavel Datsyuk contract poses no issues for the organization. Chayka indicates that he wouldn’t have made the move had it hindered the ’Yotes financially. But because Datysuk retired from the NHL, there is no payment attached to the contract. Instead, the Coyotes absorb the $7.5MM cap hit. McLellan also writes that the possibility of gaining a defenseman of Jakob Chychrun’s caliber was too good to pass up. As a result, they agreed to take on the contract. McLellan also spoke to Chayka about acquiring defenseman Anthony DeAngelo from Tampa Bay, an Arizona target for quite some time.

Free Agent Profile: Milan Lucic

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When it was announced last week that talks between Milan Lucic and the Los Angeles Kings broke down, many teams around the NHL looking for size up front and scoring cackled with glee.

Listed as the #2 free agent available by the USA Today’s Kevin Allen, Lucic is a hard nosed forward known for his scoring prowess, and ability to irritate on the ice.  Traded to the Kings prior to the 2015-16 season, Lucic had 55 points (20-35) in a 81 games, an improvement from the 44 points (18-26) he had a season’s prior in Boston. Lucic has been a 20+ goal scorer four times in his career. Last season, Lucic averaged .68 points/game

Potential Suitors

Lucic’s landing spot is anyone’s guess, though most pundits believe he’ll be tempted to go back to his hometown Vancouver where he saw tremendous success in junior hockey. The National Post reports that if Lucic were to take a discount, he would still be in Los Angeles, so the Canucks should be expected to pay a higher price for Lucic to come home.  Canucks GM Jim Benning also indicated to the Vancouver Sun that he would be making a run at Lucic. The Bruins have expressed their desire to make calls on significant free agents–which would include Lucic. Lucic had a number of great seasons with the B’s, and there is certainly more than enough cap room to get a deal done. However as CBS Boston’s Matt Kalman writes,  the Bruins dealt Lucic away because of salary cap concerns, inconsistency, and a style of play that breaks the body down sooner. Though Lucic wasn’t specifically named as someone spoken with, Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland had conversations Monday with several prominent free agent targets writes Helene St. James. Lucic would be a rugged, scoring option who could help the Red Wings scoring woes. Darren Dreger tweeted that Lucic was on the Red Wings “want” list.

Finally, Scott Burnside listed the Edmonton Oilers as another potential team because of Lucic’s relationship with current Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli, who oversaw the Bruins during Lucic’s tenure with the team. Pierre LeBrun tweeted that Lucic was scheduled to meet with Edmonton officials today and wrote more about the possibility of Edmonton snagging the winger.

Expected Contract

PHR has Lucic as the #3 free agent available, fetching a 5 year/$28.75MM deal by someone in the marketplace.  PHR had him re-signing with Los Angeles, but talks broke down last week. Jim Matheson recently tweeted that the Oilers could offer upwards to $6MM/year and that it would force a trade of another forward currently on the roster. Ryan Rishaug agrees, thinking that a Lucic deal shuttles a forward to another team, possibly Taylor Hall.

If Edmonton is looking at a long term deal around $6MM, it will be interesting to see if other teams are willing to offer the same amount. Expect a deal somewhere between that $5.5MM-$6MM range.

Predators Considering Nystrom Buyout

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Brooks Bratten tweets that the Predators are currently working to trade or buy out the contract of forward Eric Nystrom. The 33-year-old center currently has a cap hit of $2.5MM, but a buyout according to CapFriendly would save the Preds $2MM in the upcoming season. Bratten also indicated that the Preds would be letting Carter Hutton go to free agency.

Nystrom was signed to a four-year, $10MM deal prior to the 2013-14 season. Though he had 21 points in his first season (15-6) as a Predator, including a 4-goal game,  Nystrom’s numbers fell each season after 2013-14.

Last week, Adam Vignan reported that the Preds were trying to deal the contract away prior to the draft. With no takers, it appears that the Predators will entertain a buyout.

Snapshots: Cullen, Brown, Panthers

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Pittsburgh forward and 20-year veteran Matt Cullen announced that he will be back for another season. Elliotte Friedman tweeted that the Penguins hope to keep him. Dave Molinari reports that the Penguins do indeed want to re-sign him and that Cullen, who made $800,000 last season, shouldn’t expect a raise if he returned to Pittsburgh. because of the lack of cap room. Cullen had 32 points (16-16) during the regular season and 6 points (4-2) in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins.

  • The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed forward Patrick Brown to a one-year, $650,000 contract. The 24-year-old Brown is the son of former NHL player Doug Brown.  Brown spent time between the big club and AHL affiliate Charlotte in 2015-16. With the Checkers, Brown had 25 points (13-12) and was fifth in team scoring. During the 14 games with Carolina, Brown had 2 points (1-1).
  • The Florida Panthers have announced the hiring of Leo Luongo as the goalies coach for AHL affiliate Springfield. The 31-year-old was the goaltending coach of HC Lugano in the Swiss League for the past three seasons. He is also the younger brother of current Panthers netminder Roberto Luongo.

Full List of Players Who Did Not Receive a Qualifying Offer

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The deadline to make a qualifying offer to a restrict free agent ended at 5pm today. Below is a list of players who did not receive an offer and sorted by team for easy reference. Any player that did not receive a qualifying offer is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

(as of writing the Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team not to confirm which players received QOs)

Anaheim Ducks

F Matt Bailey, F Brandon Pirri, F Charles Sarault, D Kevin Gagne, and D Martin Gernat.

Arizona Coyotes

F Sergei Plotnikov, , D Philip Samuelsson, F Christian Thomas, D Kevin Connauton, D Jarred Tinordi, D Klas Dahlbeck, and G Niklas Treutle

Boston Bruins

F Landon Ferraro and F Brett Connolly.

Buffalo Sabres

F Alex Guptill, F Colin Jacobs, F Jack Nevins, and Nathan Lieuwen.

Calgary Flames

F Kenny Agostino, F Bill Arnold, F Joe Colborne, F Turner Elson, F Josh Jooris, F Drew Shore, F Bryce Van Brabant, G Joni Ortio, and Kevin Poulin.

Carolina Hurricanes

F Zach Boychuk, F Anthony Camara, F Dane Fox, F Carter Sandlak, F Justin Shugg, D Danny Biega, D Michal Jordan, D Rasmus Rissanen, and G Rasmus Tirronen.

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Montreal Canadiens Sign Andrew Shaw To A 6 Year Deal Worth $23.4MM

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Montreal Canadiens signed forward Andrew Shaw to a six-year extension today worth $23.4MM. The contract’s cap hit is $3.9MM a year—slightly lower than the $4.5MM Shaw was rumored to be seeking. The Canadiens did not include any NTCs or NMCs. Pierre Lebrun of ESPN reports that the contract is front-loaded and Cap Friendly gives us details on it:

2016 – $5.5MM ($2.5MM signing bonus)
2017 – $5MM ($2MM signing bonus)
2018 – $4MM 
2019 – $3.25MM ($1MM signing bonus)
2020 – $2.75MM 
2021 – $2.9MM ($1MM signing bonus)

Montreal acquired Shaw from the Blackhawks in exchange for the 39th and 45th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. The young forward scored 14G and 34P in 78 games last season, and 6P in 6 games in the playoffs. Shaw was considered an integral but underrated part of the Blackhawks’ playoff teams regardless of his run-of-the-mill production.

The signing leaves the Canadiens with approximately $8.03MM in cap space to work to land another free agent this summer. The Canadiens expect to be big players in the off-season, and Shaw’s contract does not unduly hamstring them.

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