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Campbell Returns To Chicago

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After five seasons with the Florida Panthers, defenseman Brian Campbell will reportedly sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, the team with which he played for from 2008 to 2011 and helped to lead to the 2010 Stanley Cup championship.

Ironically, Campbell signed his last contract with the Blackhawks, an eight-year $57MM deal on this day in 2008, but he was traded to Florida in June of 2011 to serve out the remainder of that mammoth contract. Now that it has expired, Campbell will sign quite a different deal with Chicago, as John Shannon of Sportsnet first reported that the opening of free agency will make official a one-year, $2MM contract for Campbell, who is likely looking for another championship with the talented, but cash-strapped Blackhawks.  Campbell is also eligible for performance incentives on a one year deal.

Last season, Campbell played in all 82 games with Florida, scoring six goals and 25 assists.  He also added an assist in six postseason contests.  In his career, he has played in 1,002 games , scoring 82 goals and adding 405 assists.

Yesterday, Campbell indicated that his preference was to rejoin the Hawks and that he would be willing to take a cheaper deal to get it done to help accommodate Chicago’s cap concerns.

 

Cap Space For Each Team Heading Into Free Agency

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With the free agent market ready to open up, here is a closer look at what each team has to spend and how many roster spots they have filled (the maximum roster size is 23).  All numbers are courtesy of Cap Friendly.

Anaheim: $14.8MM in cap space, 16 players signed
Arizona: $26.3MM in cap space, 14 players signed
Boston: $17.6MM in cap space, 16 players signed
Buffalo: $18.0MM in cap space, 19 players signed
Calgary: $21.0MM in cap space, 18 players signed
Carolina: $26.0MM in cap space, 18 players signed
Chicago: $5.2MM in cap space, 19 players signed
Colorado: $20.9MM in cap space, 15 players signed
Columbus: $4.4MM in cap space, 19 players signed
Dallas: $14.2MM in cap space, 17 players signed
Detroit: $13.3MM in cap space, 19 players signed
Edmonton: $14.4MM in cap space, 23 players signed
Florida: $18.0MM in cap space, 20 players signed
Los Angeles: $7.9MM in cap space, 19 players signed
Minnesota: $11.6MM in cap space, 16 players signed
Montreal: $9.2MM in cap space, 21 players signed
Nashville: $9.3MM in cap space, 19 players signed
New Jersey: $24.9MM in cap space, 16 players signed
NY Islanders: $14.6MM in cap space, 18 players signed
NY Rangers: $15.3MM in cap space, 15 players signed
Ottawa: $18.4MM in cap space, 18 players signed
Philadelphia: $12.0MM in cap space, 17 players signed
Pittsburgh: $1.5MM over the cap, 23 players signed
San Jose: $9.1MM in cap space, 17 players signed
St. Louis: $14.2MM in cap space, 19 players signed
Tampa Bay: $13.0MM in cap space, 18 players signed
Toronto: $3.8MM in cap space, 21 players signed
Vancouver: $10.1MM in cap space, 21 players signed
Washington: $8.9MM in cap space, 19 players signed
Winnipeg: $20.1MM in cap space, 19 players signed

Note that these amounts don’t factor in any potential LTIR savings for players that are signed but are not expected to play next season.

Free Agent Profile: Loui Eriksson

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Once Steven Stamkos was crossed off several teams’ wishlist, a name that continues to rise to the top is Loui Eriksson. The one time Dallas Star and current Boston Bruin is a 30-year-old winger who could provide a scoring punch for any team that signs him.

Eriksson is coming off a season where he had 63 points (30-33), his best season statistically since 2011-12 when he was in Dallas. Fairly or unfairly, Eriksson was seen as the lesser of the two in the deal for Tyler Seguin and his first couple seasons in Boston didn’t entirely quiet that notion. Though he had 47 points in 2014-15 (22-25),  it was a far cry from the three 30+ goal seasons Seguin produced in Dallas. Regardless, Eriksson has been a 20+ goal scorer six out of his nine NHL seasons.

Potential Suitors

After Stamkos re-signed with Tampa Bay, Eriksson had a lot of teams–possibly up to eight–kicking the tires. Vancouver, Montreal, Nashville, and San Jose are thinking about a future with the 31-year-old forward. Boston should not be counted out from re-signing him, either. The Hockey News listed Eriksson as one of the better bets to pick up during the free agent period because of his size, skill, and scoring prowess. Teams looking for scoring, Detroit and Buffalo also come to mind, may be intrigued should the bidding not get completely out of hand.

Expected Contract

PHR listed Eriksson #10 out of the top 50 free agents and had him staying with the Bruins. The predicted contract was six years, $27.5MM. While the price tag might go up due to Eriksson being one of the better goal scorers available, expect a yearly deal somewhere between $4.5-$5.25MM.

Red Wings Re-Sign Darren Helm

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The Red Wings have reportedly agreed on a five year, $19.25MM deal with C Darren Helm, reports NHL analyst Aaron Ward.

Helm has spent his entire nine year career with the Red Wings after being a 5th round pick (132nd overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.  Last season, he picked up 13 goals and 13 assists in 77 games while adding a goal in five postseason contests.  The speedy forward was also a cornerstone of Detroit’s penalty kill.

For his career, Helm has played in 443 games, scoring 72 goals and adding 90 assists.  We had him ranked 28th on our Top 50 UFA list, projecting a 3 year, $9.75MM contract.

Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press was the first to report a deal was close earlier this morning.

The Latest On Jared Cowen

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Back when the buyout window opened up, Toronto D Jared Cowen was the first to go through (and clear) the waiver process, paving the way for the final year of his contract to be bought out.  However, the first window ended last night and the Maple Leafs have not bought Cowen out.

The issue, according to TSN, appears to be Cowen’s medical status.  He missed the bulk of last season due to a hip injury and TSN’s Bob McKenzie suggests that the NHLPA is now involved in a potential grievance process.  That would suggest that Cowen may not be fully recovered from his hip concerns and players cannot be bought out unless they’re healthy.  Neither the Leafs nor Cowen’s representatives are commenting on the process.

For the time being at least, Cowen’s $3.1MM cap hit in 2016-17 comes back onto the books for the Maple Leafs instead of the $650K cap credit they were pegged to receive.  Should it be ruled that Cowen is still injured long-term, the potential to place him on LTIR next season would exist for the Maple Leafs.

Cowen played in just 37 games last year, all with Ottawa who dealt Cowen to Toronto as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade, collecting four assists.  In his six year career, all with the Sens, he has 15 goals and 31 assists in 249 games.

Panthers To Sign Aaron Ekblad To Eight Year Extension

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July 1: George Richards of the Miami Herald reports that an eight year, $60MM deal has been agreed on in principle.  He adds that the deal will not likely be officially announced today but should be in the coming days.

June 24: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Florida Panthers is preparing a long-term extension offer for D Aaron Ekblad.  It’s believed that the offer will be the maximum of 8 years at around $60MM in total.  No deal could be finalized until at least July 1st as no extensions can be signed until there is one year or less remaining on a contract.  Friedman also notes that both the team and Ekblad’s representation declined to comment on the report.

Ekblad was the first overall pick in the draft in 2014 and made the jump to the NHL right away.  He quickly became a top pairing option for the Panthers, averaging just shy of 22 minutes per game last season, a number that jumped to 25:37 per night in Florida’s first round playoff loss to the New York Islanders.

In two seasons, Ekblad has played in a total of 159 games, scoring 27 goals and adding 48 assists.

Morning Minor Transactions: 7/1/16

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Here is where we’ll keep track of the morning’s minor transactions before the free agent market opens up.

  • Columbus has signed the 3rd overall pick in last week’s draft, Pierre-Luc Dubois, to a three year, entry level contract, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.  He adds the deal should be made official later today.
  • Boston prospect Alexander Khokhlachev has signed a 2 year deal with SKA of the KHL, the Russian team announced.  He was a 2nd round pick of the Bruins (40th overall) back in 2011.  Last year, he scored 68 points in 60 AHL games while being held off the scoresheet in 5 NHL contests.  The Bruins will retain Khokhlachev’s rights as they issued him a qualifying offer earlier in the week.
  • Arizona forward Sergei Plotnikov also signed a two year deal with SKA, according to a separate release from the team.  He split the season between the Penguins and Coyotes, collecting three assists in 45 games.
  • The Hurricanes announced that they have hired longtime NHL goalie Curtis Joseph as a goaltending consultant.  He’s expected to work primarily with Carolina’s AHL affiliate.
  • Washington announced the signing of prospect D Connor Hobbs to a three year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms were not disclosed.  Hobbs was Washington’s 5th round pick in 2015 and spent last season with the WHL’s Regina Pats.
  • Detroit has agreed to a deal with D Alexey Marchenko, reports NHL analyst Aaron Ward.  MLive’s Ansar Khan adds that it’s a two year deal with a cap hit of $1.45MM.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed pending UFA Tom Sestito just before he hit the market to a two-way, $575K deal. The 28-year old has scored 19 points in 141 career NHL games.
  • Also with Pittsburgh, the team has announced they’ve re-signed defenseman Steven Olesky to a similar deal, worth $575K. Olesky played the entire season with the Wilks-Barre Scranton Penguins of the AHL, scoring 19 points in 63 games.

Free Agent Profile: Mikkel Boedker

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Mikkel Boedker’s name doesn’t quickly come up when discussing the top unrestricted free agents available but he is one of the more intriguing players on the market.

At just 26 years of age, Boedker is one of the youngest free agents on the market and the youngest of the impact (top six) forwards.  It’s safe to say he’s entering the prime of his career which isn’t often the case when dealing with UFA’s.  He also has the ability to play both wings, making him one of the more versatile players available.

Offensively, Boedker has shown signs of improvement the last several years.  Over the past three seasons, he has passed the 50 point mark twice and played at a 50 point pace in an injury-riddled 2014-15 campaign.  Last year, split between Arizona and Colorado, he picked up 17 goals and 34 assists in 80 games.  That put him in a tie for fifth in points amongst all remaining UFA forwards.

On top of his improving offensive ability, Boedker’s speed is his biggest weapon.  He’s one of the fastest skaters in the league and has the potential to be a big factor in transition wherever he winds up.

There are some concerns with his play though.  He’s not the most consistent defensive player nor is it a particular strength of his.  That limits where he can play in the lineup; for teams that run a two-way second line, he’s not really an option there nor is he strong enough to really be a top line player.

Potential Suitors

There haven’t been many teams linked to Boedker yet as most of the focus has been on the bigger names with a more proven track record.  There should be no shortage of options as he’s young enough to be considered a core piece on rebuilding teams while being enough of an impact player.

Vancouver is the only team that has publicly been linked to him at this point.  Other teams that could have varying degrees of interest are Toronto, Montreal, New Jersey, Buffalo, and Detroit among others.  A return to Arizona is certainly a possibility as well.  Those are all teams that have a young, emerging core that also have vacancies inside their top six.

Projected Contract

Boedker is ranked eighth on our Top 50 list of free agents.  We have him signing a 6 year, $31.5MM contract.  He may be wise to wait for some of the bigger names to go as that should increase the number of suitors he has as they will likely circle to him as a fallback option.

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