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Flyers Ink T.J. Brennan To Multi-Year Deal

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According to a team release, the Philadelphia Flyers have signed free agent defenseman T.J. Brennan to a multi-year contract.  Tim Panaccio of CSN gives us the financials: It’s a two-way deal which will pay Brennan $625K at the NHL level.

Brennan has long been a prolific offensive threat at the AHL level, twice winning the Eddie Shore trophy for the leagues best defenseman.  Last season he put up 68 points in 69 games for the Marlies, leading the AHL’s best regular season club in points by a wide margin.

While he’s never really been given a chance at the NHL level, many believe that Brennan could help a big league powerplay. His defensive ability has been what has kept him in the AHL for so long, but perhaps a change of scenery and system will do the 27-year old wonders.

Pacific Notes: Oilers, Kings, Canucks

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The Oilers trade for Adam Larsson was not well received in many parts of the hockey world, and TSN’s Travis Yost writes that just getting Larsson was not enough for Taylor Hall. Outside of opining that Larsson might not be as good as the Oilers think, he notes that the Devils were often better with Larsson on the bench. However, Yost also points out that Oilers bench boss Todd McLellan could do wonders for the young d-man by employing a “friendly two-way approach.” Yost provides a number of statistical defenses as to why Larsson may not be as bad as many think, but he concludes by indicating that Hall was more valuable than just a one for one trade for Larsson.

  • The Los Angeles Kings are one of six teams that have been very quiet this offseason writes Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski. Despite signing Teddy Purcell, and Tom Gilbert, Wyshynski notes that the Kings are in need of a left wing after losing Milan Lucic to Edmonton and they have little cap room to spare. Wyshynski wonders if the Kings can move Dustin Brown, who was recently stripped of the captaincy. The cap concerns are troubling since Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson are both due raises after next season.
  • Ben Kuzma writes that Canucks winger Jake Virtanen has to put on his “big boy pants” and plunge into the crowded rink filled with forwards. Kuzma writes how Virtanen has a number of different hurdles to clear, one of which includes impressing new assistant coach Doug Jarvis, who’s in charge of forwards and the power play. Kuzma insists that Virtanen possesses the skills to make an impact on the Canucks roster, but that his maturity last season suffered when his “attention span would waver or his conditioning wasn’t where it should be.” Virtanen had 13 points (7-6) in 55 games.

Rangers Re-Sign Jensen, Bodie

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The New York Rangers have announced the re-signing of defenseman Mat Bodie and forward Nicklas Jensen. Financial terms were undisclosed. Both players were restricted free agents but only Bodie could have filed for arbitration.

In 41 games for AHL affiliate Hartford,  Jensen had 25 points (15-10) and in 27 games with Utica, he had 12 points (4-8). Bodie, in 76 games with Hartford, had 36 points (7-29).

Red Wings’ Pulkkinen Out 4-6 Months

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Red Wings forward and restricted free agent Teemu Pulkkinen is out four to six months following shoulder surgery writes Navin Vaswani. MLive’s Ansar Khan tweeted that the surgery was in early June while Vaswani indicates that the winger will definitely not be ready for the season.

It’s an interesting wrinkle in that the Red Wings are trying to acquire a defenseman via a trade and Pulkkinen’s name has been one linked as possibly being moved. This could also hurt Pulkkinen as the Red Wings are overwhelmed with forwards after signing Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek, and Steve Ott. Not returning until possibly December could make Pulkkinen the odd man out, or all but guarantee a chance of him being packaged in a deal for a #1 or #2 defenseman. The injury only casts more doubt on where Pulkkinen fits in with Detroit.

Last season, Pulkkinen had 12 points (6-6) in 36 games, but ended up being a healthy scratch despite a booming slapshot and a dizzying scoring performance in the 2015 Calder Cup playoffs with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Pulkkinen had 14 goals in 16 playoff games, and while expected to have a better chance to compete with Jeff Blashill as the Wings bench boss, Pulkkinen never saw the ice time many thought he would.

Blues Re-Sign Magnus Paajarvi To One-Year Deal

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NBC Sports is reporting that the St. Louis Blues have re-signed restricted free agent Magnus Paajarvi to a one-year deal. According to CapFriendly, the deal is worth $700K.

The 25-year-old forward played in 48 games and had 9 points (3-6). In the playoffs, Paajarvi saw limited action, playing three games and registering an assist.

After signing Paajarvi, the Blues have just over $8.7MM left in salary cap room.

Central Notes: Blues, Jets, Predators

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Jake Allen is the undisputed #1 goalie in St. Louis writes Jeremy Rutherford as the Blues are no longer looking to platoon the position. After being a tandem with Brian Elliott, who was dealt to Calgary, Allen is now the top goaltender in the organization. General manager Doug Armstrong, goalie coach Jim Corsi, and assistant manager Martin Brodeur believe that it’s Allen’s turn, and like many other clubs around the league, are willing to hand the reins to a younger netminder.

  • While the Winnipeg Jets recently signed 2016 second overall pick Patrik Laine to an entry level deal, it’s the organization’s 2015 draft pick who is looking to make a stride within the organization. The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe writes that Kyle Connor, a Hobey Baker finalist, is ready to take the next step as an NHL player. Connor spent last season with the University of Michigan and scored 35 goals in just 38 games. He also notched 71 points. Though the ice is crowded with forwards for the Jets, Connor is confident that if he does the right things, the impact he made at Michigan will be similar in Winnipeg.
  • The Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes about the impact of newly acquired P.K. Subban and how the larger than life defenseman will have no problem fitting into his new surroundings. While many speculated that Montreal bench boss Michel Therrien and Subban were at odds because of a personality clash, Vingan reports that Nashville coach Peter Laviolette is of a similar no-nonsense mentality. The difference, Vingan writes, is that the Preds stand to benefit from Subban’s “on the edge” and also takes chances, something he feels benefits the Predators style of play. Vingan goes further by quoting NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes, who stated that Subban wanted to be with an organization that values him. Weekes added that he thought “there are so many similarities between a place like Nashville and P.K.”

Atlantic Snapshots: Matthews, Hoffman, Red Wings, Panthers

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Auston Matthews is participating this week in his first development camp as a member of the Maple Leafs.  Usually, it’s around this time that a first overall pick gets his entry level contract signed but as Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston writes, there’s a bit of a unique situation when it comes to getting this particular deal done.

Toronto GM Lou Lamoriello is strongly opposed to putting performances bonuses in contracts, refusing to include them in any of his deals with New Jersey.  While Mitch Marner’s entry level deal does contain bonuses, they were already in the framework of contract talks when Lamoriello joined the Leafs last season so their inclusion were honored when the new GM took over the talks.

Players selected with the first overall pick typically receive the maximum amount of bonuses allowable: Schedule ‘A’ bonuses worth $850K which are set in the CBA and are tied to individual performance and $2MM in Schedule ‘B’ bonuses which are tied to league-wide performance standards.

While no one expects there to be much difficulty in terms of getting a deal done, it will certainly be interesting to see how much Lamoriello is willing to bend his own policy to get Matthews signed.

Other news and notes from the Atlantic Division:

  • Ottawa winger Mike Hoffman is expected to file for arbitration on Tuesday, reports Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. Last season, Hoffman led the Senators with 29 goals and recorded 59 points in 78 games.  Hoffman went through the arbitration process last season and was awarded a $2MM salary, a considerable bargain given his production.
  • Detroit made Matt Martin a frontloaded four year, $10MM offer early on in free agency, writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.  After he declined their offer to sign a four year, $10MM pact with Toronto, they quickly turned around and signed Steve Ott for one year and $800K.  They’ll likely need to use those savings towards inking RFA’s Danny DeKeyser and Petr Mrazek, who are also strong candidates to file for arbitration tomorrow.
  • The Panthers have lost four regular defensemen from last season via trades and free agency but Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy suggests their new look blueline should at least equal, if not improve upon the play of their predecessors and that their offseason moves have them well positioned to contend for another division title next season.

Ducks To Sign Mason Raymond

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The Anaheim Ducks have reportedly agreed to terms with Mason Raymond on a one year, two-way deal.  Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Raymond will make $675K at the NHL level and $225K in the AHL.  Dean Molberg of the FAN 960 was the first to report Raymond had signed in Anaheim.

Raymond spent the last two seasons with Calgary after signing a three year deal with the Flames in the 2014 offseason.  Last year, he picked up four goals and an assist in 29 NHL games before being waived and sent to Stockton of the AHL.  He was much better at that level, picking up six goals and nine helpers in 15 games.

The Flames opted to buy out the final year of Raymond’s contract at a cost and cap hit of $1.05MM for each of the next two seasons.

Raymond’s best season came with Toronto in 2013-14 where he played under Randy Carlyle, who was named Anaheim’s head coach last month.

The Ducks have several vacancies up front and Raymond could presumably fit in anywhere from the second to fourth lines.  However, the fact that he received a two-way deal would suggest that GM Bob Murray intends to bring in several more players this offseason to fight for those roles and that Raymond’s spot on the roster is far from a guarantee.

This Day In History: Seguin Traded To Dallas

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Monday is three years ago to the day that the Bruins and Stars made a blockbuster deal with Boston sending Tyler Seguin to Dallas as part of a seven player swap.  It was a deal that significantly shaped the look of each franchise.  Here’s a closer look at each player in the original deal and what they’ve accomplished since the trade.

Dallas Received:

Tyler Seguin – Seguin has been better than a point per game player in each of the last three seasons and has the fourth most points in the NHL in that span.  Seguin has three years left on a six year, $34.5MM contract, making him one of the better bargains among top line forwards in the league.

Rich Peverley – Peverley played most of the 2013-14 season with Dallas, picking up 30 points in 62 games before collapsing mid-game on the bench in March.  He was never able to get the green light to return to the ice and officially retired in September of 2015.  He remains with the Stars as their Player Development Coordinator.

Ryan Button – Button spent 2013-14 with Dallas’ two minor league affiliates but was not given a qualifying offer at the end of the season.  He has played the last two years in Germany.

Boston Received:

Loui Eriksson – Eriksson played each of the last three seasons with Boston, saving his best effort for last with a 63 point campaign in 2015-16.  However, he no longer is with the team as he signed a six year, $36MM contract with Vancouver on Friday.

Reilly Smith – Smith spent two years with Boston, collecting 91 points in 163 games in that span.  He was traded to Florida last July in exchange for Jimmy Hayes.  Smith picked up 50 points last year with the Panthers and signed a five year, $25MM extension yesterday afternoon.

Joe Morrow – The former first round pick spent all of last season up with the Bruins but only got into 33 games of action.  He should be positioned to play more of a regular role in 2016-17.

Matt Fraser – Fraser spent parts of two seasons with the Bruins, picking up five goals in 38 games.  He was lost to Winnipeg on waivers in December of 2014 and spent all of last season in the AHL, split between Manitoba and Rockford.

At the time, the return for the Bruins was widely panned and a few years later, that still seems like the case as all they have left to show for Seguin, one of the NHL’s top players, is Hayes and Morrow.  Meanwhile, the Stars have themselves a franchise player on a team-friendly contract for several more seasons.

Free Agent Profile: Jiri Hudler

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What a difference a year can make sometimes.  Two years ago, Jiri Hudler was eighth in NHL scoring with 31 goals and 45 assists in 78 games.  One year later, he’s coming off a down year and isn’t garnering a lot of looks in free agency.  Here’s a closer look at his situation.

Before last season even began, it was expected that Hudler would take a step or two back.  At no point in his NHL career had he shown flashes of being a top ten scorer so no one figured he’d be able to repeat his 76 point 2014-15 campaign.  And while Hudler certainly fell short of matching that point total, he still had a fairly strong season, recording 16 goals and 30 assists in 72 games split between Calgary and Florida, the team he was traded to just prior to the NHL’s Trade Deadline.

Statistically speaking, Hudler is a legitimate top six forward, having put up or at least played at a 40 point pace in every season since 2007-08.  So why hasn’t he received a lot of interest so far?

Working against Hudler is his size.  At just 5’10, he’s one of the smaller forwards out there and he isn’t the fastest of players either.  He’s also 32 which is around the time where players start to exit the primes of their careers.  Despite that, he should still have at least a couple of good years left in him in a second line role.

Potential Suitors

Vancouver is still looking to add top six help and is believed to have contacted Hudler’s agent, Petr Svoboda.  Ottawa also needs some more offense and could get in the discussion as the asking price drops.  The same can be said for Anaheim, New Jersey, and Carolina.  Those could all be potential fits for multi-year deals but if Hudler decides to take a one year pact, the opportunities to join a contending team should increase.

Projected Contract

We ranked Hudler 16th on our Top 50 UFA list, projecting a four year, $16MM contract.  That was under the assumption that he’d have several suitors early on in free agency.  At this point, it seems likely that he’s going to come in below that number, both in term and salary.  A one or two year pact seems more probable at this point for Hudler.

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