Examining What’s Left Of The Goalie Market
What was already a thin goalie market to begin with has gotten even thinner just a few days into free agency. Only two goalies remain on our Top 50 UFA list, Karri Ramo and Jhonas Enroth.
While there aren’t many notable goalies still available, there aren’t many vacancies to fill either. Here is a closer look at each team’s goaltending situation:
Anaheim: John Gibson, Dustin Tokarski, Matt Hackett
Arizona: Mike Smith, Louis Domingue, Justin Peters
Boston: Tuukka Rask, Anton Khudobin, Malcolm Subban
Buffalo: Robin Lehner, Anders Nilsson, Linus Ullmark
Calgary: Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson, Jon Gillies
Carolina: Cam Ward, Eddie Lack, Daniel Altshuller
Chicago: Corey Crawford, Scott Darling, Lars Johansson
Colorado: Semyon Varlamov, Calvin Pickard (RFA), Jeremy Smith
Columbus: Sergei Bobrovsky, Curtis McElhinney, Joonas Korpisalo
Dallas: Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi, Maxime Lagace
Detroit: Petr Mrazek (RFA), Jimmy Howard, Jared Coreau (RFA)
Edmonton: Cam Talbot, Jonas Gustavsson, Laurent Brossoit
Florida: Roberto Luongo, James Reimer, Reto Berra
Los Angeles: Jonathan Quick, Jeff Zatkoff, Peter Budaj
Minnesota: Devan Dubnyk, Darcy Kuemper (RFA), Alex Stalock
Montreal: Carey Price, Al Montoya, Mike Condon
Nashville: Pekka Rinne, Marek Mazanec, Jusse Saros
New Jersey: Cory Schneider, Keith Kinkaid, Scott Wedgewood
NY Islanders: Jaroslav Halak, Thomas Greiss, J-F Berube (RFA)
NY Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, Antti Raanta, Magnus Hellberg
Ottawa: Craig Anderson, Andrew Hammond, Matt O’Connor
Philadelphia: Steve Mason, Michal Neuvirth, Anthony Stolarz
Pittsburgh: Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Murray, Tristan Jarry
San Jose: Martin Jones, Mantis Armalis, Aaron Dell
St. Louis: Jake Allen, Carter Hutton, Jordan Binnington (RFA)
Tampa Bay: Ben Bishop, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Kristers Gudlevskis
Toronto: Frederik Andersen, Jonathan Bernier, Garret Sparks
Vancouver: Ryan Miller, Jacob Markstrom, Thatcher Demko
Washington: Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer, Joe Cannata
Winnipeg: Ondrej Pavelec, Michael Hutchinson, Connor Hellebuyck
In terms of starting goalie vacancies, there really aren’t any. It’s believed that Dallas would like to improve their starter but they already have over $10MM committed to their tandem so any goalie they acquire would have to see one of Lehtonen or Niemi sent the other way. That could be a problem for teams like Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay who could potentially part with their veterans (Fleury and Bishop respectively) but wouldn’t want someone else making #1 money coming back the other way.
As for backup openings, Anaheim and San Jose are in need of a new #2 after losing Andersen and Reimer respectively this offseason. While Ramo and Enroth are the best of who’s still available, there are a trio of other goalies on the UFA market that have some backup experience in Joni Ortio, Ben Scrivens, and Anders Lindback.
If those teams can’t come to terms with (or don’t want to sign) any of those players, there are a handful of teams with a surplus between the pipes. While the Jets re-signed Hutchinson earlier this offseason, Hellebuyck showed last year that he’s ready for full-time NHL duty which could make Hutchinson expendable. Condon was supposed to be a backup last year but due to injuries played in 55 games in 2015-16. However, his spot appears to have been filled with the addition of Montoya which could make Condon available. The Panthers have a trio of goalies with NHL experience and could potentially part with Berra although he is insurance for Luongo whose hip injury has his availability to start next season in question.
While there are still several strong forwards and defensemen available, the same can’t be said for goalies. Aside from the Ducks and Sharks adding a backup and some teams signing their restricted free agents, it’s shaping up to be a quiet few months in terms of news between the pipes.
Central Snapshots: Staal, Roslovic, Perron
The Wild are hoping that Eric Staal, their biggest free agent acquisition on Friday, can buck the recent trend of offensive players struggling upon arriving in Minnesota, writes Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune. Russo notes that GM Chuck Fletcher hasn’t been shy in adding big name players since he took over in 2009 but there have been more misses than hits out of that group.
While Fletcher hopes that Staal will be able to give the offense a boost, he acknowledges that young players such as Mikael Granlund and Charlie Coyle will need to take another step forward in order to help take the Wild to the next level.
Fletcher also noted that the trade market is also quite active, telling Russo that “I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to more managers more often than I have the past few weeks.”
More from the Central Division:
- Still with the Wild, pending RFA Jordan Schroeder is expected to file for arbitration by Tuesday’s deadline, Russo tweets. Schroeder had two goals and two assists in 24 games with Minnesota last season.
- Winnipeg prospect Jack Roslovic intends to return to college for his sophomore season, reports Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. Roslovic’s junior rights were traded to OHL London a couple of weeks ago at the draft, fueling speculation that he would forego his college eligibility to join the Knights instead. Roslovic was a first round pick of the Jets (25th overall) in 2015.
- Last season, the Blues considered trading for David Perron before he wound up being dealt to Anaheim, writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Perron’s success with the Ducks only added to the Blues’ interest in bringing back their former first rounder and they were quickly able to come to terms on Friday on a two year deal. While there was concern when St. Louis traded Perron away three years ago that he couldn’t fit in Ken Hitchcock’s system, the veteran bench boss played a key role in getting a deal done as he encouraged GM Doug Armstrong to bring him back to the fold.
Free Agent Profile: Sam Gagner
The curious case of Sam Gagner began in his rookie season, when he scored a career-high in points. Yes, you read that right and yes that is very unusual. The nine-year NHL veteran, who turns only 27 next month, finds his career in a tailspin, despite being in the prime of his career. The sixth overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft broke into the league at 18 and excelled, but it has been all downhill from there.
The Edmonton Oilers were excited to select Gagner early in the first round of the ’07 draft. He was coming off a dominant season with the London Knights of the OHL, when he scored 118 points in 53 games and, along with Patrick Kane and Sergei Kostitsyn, led the Knights to a league-leading 104 regular season points. The Oilers were even more excited when Gagner made the team in his first season and went on to score 49 points, including another career-high of 36 assists. The young play maker continued to play well in Edmonton, scoring over 40 points in each of the next five seasons, and then putting up 38 points in 48 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season.
Gagner signed a three-year, $14.4MM contract the following off-season, and with it came a steep decline in production. In his final season in Edmonton, Gagner managed to score only 37 points and was a -29. The Oilers, disappointed in the drop-off under the new contract, traded Gagner to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Teddy Purcell. That same day, Gagner was dealt again, along with B.J. Crombeen, to the Arizona Coyotes for a 6th round draft pick in a salary dump by Tampa. Gagner’s production remained the same in Arizona, as he scored 41 points, but struggled defensively yet again at -28. He was traded again last summer, this time to the Philadelphia Flyers, in exchange for Nicklas Grossman and the contract of Chris Pronger. The wheels fell off completely in Philadelphia, as Gagner played in only 53 games, recording just eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, 22 points less than the 38 he had in five less games only three years prior.
Gagner now finds himself in a precarious situation. Last season was a dismal effort offensively, and the options for a player that is not defensively inclined looking to find a role with those numbers will be few. He must find a team where he would be a good fit in the top nine and that can help him get his scoring back on track. Another down year could signal the end of a once promising career.
Potential Suitors
Gagner remains unsigned, but there have been teams that have considered the reclamation project. Gagner’s best chance to re-boot his career would be to find a team with thin forward depth, where he could work his way into a top six role, or a talented offensive team where he could fill a hole and boost his statistics. Vancouver and Ottawa have kicked the tires on the forward, while a team like Chicago or San Jose could try to squeeze him in under the cap as well.
Expected Contract
Despite his recent struggles, his offensive potential (and a thin market) has him ranked within our Top 50 NHL Free Agents list, at #46. With many of those names off of the list following the free agent frenzy on July 1st and over the past few days, Gagner’s market may be gaining steam as he is likely one of the best dozen players that remain unsigned. We have predicted that Gagner will sign a one-year, $1MM deal with the Blackhawks. Some of the younger, rebuilding teams may be interested in a multi-year deal for Gagner, but his best option would be to sign a one-year “show me” deal with a good fit and try to redeem his numbers before hitting the open market again next year.
Minor Transactions: 7/4/16
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions:
- The Toronto Marlies announced the signing of Marc-Andre Cliche to an AHL contract. A 2005 second round pick of the New York Rangers, Cliche has only played in 151 NHL games and totaled only 14 points. He did not make an NHL appearance during the 2015-2016 season after spending the prior two seasons as a full-time member of the Colorado Avalanche. The former Manchester Monarchs captain was back in the AHL last year, splitting the season between the San Antonio Rampage and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He’ll return to minors again this year, now playing for the Maple Leaf’s affiliate. In a separate move, the team also announced that they have brought back winger Rich Clune on a one year, AHL deal. The 29 year old put up 24 points in 49 games with the Marlies last season while adding four assists in 19 NHL contests.
- Jared Staal is set to join the Edinburgh Capitals of the Elite Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom, the team announced today. The fourth Staal brother was a 2nd round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes in 2008, but to date has played in only two NHL games, with his brothers’ Carolina Hurricanes. He has spent the majority of his pro career with the Hurricane’s AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, but spent all of last season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. This will be his first season playing in the EIHL, and he will likely be expected to help the Capitals of Edinburgh, Scotland take the next step, as they have finished in last place two of the past three years.
- The Vancouver Canucks have hired Doug Jarvis as an assistant coach. Jarvis spent the last six years with the Boston Bruins. He is now set to join the Canucks after being hired by former Bruins Assistant GM and current Vancouver General Manager Jim Benning. In addition to the Bruins and now Canucks, Jarvis has also spent time as an assistant coach with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars and Montreal Canadiens, and was also head coach of the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs. He is a six-time Stanley Cup champion, with two as a coach and four as a player, as well as a past Selke and Masterton winner.
- Boston has signed D Alex Grant to a one year, two-way deal, according to General Fanager. Grant spent most of last season with Arizona’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, scoring 11 goals and 31 assists in 69 games. He also got into five games with the Coyotes, being held pointless. Grant will earn $600K at the NHL level and $225K in the AHL.
Free Agent Frenzy: Day 3 Activity
Day three of free agency was much quieter than the fireworks we saw on July 1.
Free Agent Signings:
RD Matt Tennyson (CAR) – One year, $675K (link)
RW Adam Cracknell (DAL) – One year, $600K (link)
LW Taylor Beck (EDM) – One year, undisclosed (link)
LW Mike Liambas (NSH) – One year, $575K (link)
Entry-Level Contracts:
RW Patrik Laine (WIN) – Three years, $10.725MM (link)
Extensions:
RW Reilly Smith (FLA) – Five years, $25MM (link)
With 34 of the 50 Top UFAs already signed, the rest of the summer should consist mostly of RFA contracts and trades. We’ll be right here to keep you updated throughout. Make sure to check out Roster Resource for the project depth charts of your favorite team, and bookmark PHR for easy visits!
Maple Leafs Sign Roman Polak
July 3: General Fanager has confirmation on the financials; Polak will recieve $2.25MM from the Maple Leafs on his one-year deal.
July 2: The Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back a familiar face in D Roman Polak as the team announced Saturday that they have signed him to a one year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Polak spent most of last season with Toronto before being dealt to San Jose in the days leading up to the trade deadline. Between the Leafs and Sharks, he played in 79 games last year, scoring a goal and 15 assists, while playing an average of 19:09 per game. Polak also played in 24 postseason games with San Jose, being held pointless while seeing his average ice time drop to 15:46.
In his career, Polak has played in 559 games with St. Louis, Toronto, and San Jose. He has 19 goals and 85 assists in that span, with 439 PIMS.
Polak will bring some physicality to Toronto’s bottom defense pairing next season. Last season, he had a career high 303 hits and 146 blocks. He was rated 36th on PHR’s Top 50 UFA list.
RFAs Still Waiting On Contracts
After a busy few days watching free agent contracts be handed out like candy, and millions of dollars spent like pennies, there are still some key restricted free agents out there negotiating their next contracts. Vincent Trocheck, Filip Forsberg and Seth Jones have already received deals eclipsing $25MM, locking them in long before they even get a sniff of unrestricted free agency. Here are a few more names still waiting on deals:
- Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan of the Flames still are without deals, though reports indicate they are both open to signing long-term with Calgary and want to play with each other for “the next ten years”. The pair combined for 57 goals and 141 points last season, completed before either turned 23.
- The Ducks’ Hampus Lindholm is still without a contract, as discussed earlier today. The 22-year old is considered one of the best young defensemen in the league, and the team would like to lock him up to a similar term as partner Sami Vatanen, who received a four-year deal last month.
- After re-signing Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy to what seem like team-friendly deals, GM Steve Yzerman still has work to do in the form of Nikita Kucherov, the team’s young sniper. Reports are that the two sides are working on a deal, but Yzerman has to be careful as the team is inching closer and closer to the salary cap with Kucherov and three other players still to sign.
- After acquiring Taylor Hall in a blockbuster deal, the Devils still have another star winger to get under contract in the form of Kyle Palmieri. The 25-year old broke out last season with 30 goals, and will be looking to cash in on his sudden performance. The Devils have over $17MM in cap space even after bringing back Devante Smith-Pelly and signing Ben Lovejoy and Vernon Fiddler.
For the entire list of RFA players, and the projected depth charts for each team head to Roster Resource and check out their detailed info.
Oilers Sign Taylor Beck To One-Year Deal
According to a team release, the Edmonton Oilers have signed free agent forward Taylor Beck to a one-year deal. Details regarding the financial terms were not released. Beck played most of last season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, tallying 33 points in 46 games.
Beck, 25, has played 87 career NHL games between the Predators and Islanders, including 62 in 2014-15. The winger scored 8 goals and 16 points that season while seeing under 12 minutes of ice-time a night.
A prolific scoring threat in junior, Beck put up 267 points in his four seasons with the Guelph Storm, and has carried it over to the AHL level. He has 165 points in 243 career games in the minor circuit, and will head to camp trying to crack the bottom half of the Edmonton roster.
Snapshots: Russell, Vesey, Forsling
After rumors swirled the past two days indicating that the Maple Leafs had offered a contract to free agent defenseman Kris Russell, agent Allain Roy took to Twitter to set the record straight: “Reports of Kris Russell turning down any offer from the Maple Leafs are false. Simply rumors…” The former member of the Dallas Stars is still available as of Sunday evening, and ranked 12th on our Top 50 UFA list last month. Here is some more news from around the league:
- As our own Brett Barrett outlined this morning, Harvard grad Jimmy Vesey is set to wait until August 15th when he will become an unrestricted free agent. Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe opines that both Pittsburgh and Chicago will also make offers to the 23-year old should he make it that far. He has stated that he wants to stay in his native north east region.
- Scott Powers of The Athletic tells us that Blackhawks’ prospect Gustav Forsling is headed back to Sweden for the 2016-17 season if he doesn’t make the NHL club out of camp. After signing an ELC in March, Forsling was thought to have a decent shot at making the team this year, but with recent signings Brian Campbell and Michal Rozsival coming into the fold (or, in Rozsival’s case back into), it seems much less probable.
Panthers Notes: MacKenzie, Reimer, Huberdeau
Today marked another long-term extension for the Panthers, as the team locked up 25-year old Reilly Smith for another five seasons. It’s the latest in a series of big moves the Panthers have done as they build their team to compete for the short and long term. In a series of tweets, play-by-play announcer and Fox Sports Florida reporter Steve Goldstein gives us some insight into the rest of their summer:
- Assistant captain Derek MacKenzie is currently an unrestricted free agent but seems destined to head back to Florida at some point. Goldstein describes it as a formality, and expects him to be around for the next few seasons. MacKenzie is regarded highly in the Panther dressing room, and provides some toughness to their bottom six.
- Newly signed goaltender James Reimer may play in as many as 35 games this season even without an injury to starter Roberto Luongo. With Luongo’s advanced age, the team will look to protect him for a long playoff run. Reimer signed for five seasons and is expected to take the reins at some point down the road.
- GM Tom Rowe expects to get a long-term extension done at some point with forward Jonathan Huberdeau. The former third overall pick represents the last of the young group Florida has built, and due to some savvy cap management, the team will have money for him going forward. Huberdeau scored 20 goals and tied for third on the team in points last season with 59.