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Archives for July 2016

Juolevi Will Head Back To London In 2016-17

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According to team president Trevor Linden (via Ben Kuzma of TSN 1040) , the Vancouver Canucks’ fifth-overall pick Olli Juolevi will be headed back to the London Knights for another year:

“His ability to process the game and make the right play is impressive. Our plan for him is London.”

Though many expected Juolevi to head back to London after an exceptional rookie season with the club in which he scored 42 points and was a big part of their Memorial Cup victory, it’s a bit surprising to have the team say it this early in the summer.

Juolevi still hasn’t signed his entry-level contract, and perhaps this is why, since the team clearly doesn’t think there is even a possibility of him cracking the NHL roster out of camp.  Instead, he’ll go back to London and look to continue his impressive development on the North American ice.  The Finnish defender still has work to do in his own end to become the top-pairing player that the Canucks envisioned when they took him as the first defenseman in this year’s draft.

Though it’s still at least a year away, Canuck fans should be counting the days until Juolevi makes his debut on the back end for the big club, as his 6’3″ frame and excellent skating ability will translate beautifully to a league that is going more and more towards possession and transitional play from it’s defenders.

Maple Leafs Sign Trevor Moore To ELC

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According to a team release, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed NCAA prospect Trevor Moore to a three-year entry-level contract. Moore played last season at the University of Denver, where he scored 11 goals and 44 points in just 40 games.

Moore had been skating at the Maple Leafs development camp earlier this month and must have impressed the coaching staff enough to deserve this deal.  He went undrafted before heading to college in 2013, but immediately made his mark by leading the Pioneers in scoring as a freshman. In 121 games at the UofD, Moore scored 120 points, and led the team to the semi-finals in the most recent Frozen Four.

Moore will add another body to the Maple Leafs stocked prospect cupboard, joining the likes of Kerby Rychel, Andreas Johnson and Tobias Lindberg on the left side. He’ll surely be headed for the AHL Marlies to season his game somewhat before getting a chance at the NHL level.

Predators Avoid Arbitration With Petter Granberg

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According to Tim Wharnsby of CBC, the Nashville Predators have signed Petter Granberg to a two-year, two-way deal worth a total of $1.225MM. Granberg was set to go to an arbitration hearing on August 3rd, but will avoid the process now that he’s under contract.

Granberg, 23, was claimed by the Predators off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season after rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon suffered in training camp.  He played 27 games for the Predators last season, providing solid depth to an already incredibly talented blueline. Selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, Granberg is known for a stay-at-home defensive game that isn’t overly physical.

For the Predators, they’ll hope they can turn Granberg into a sound positional defenseman capable of logging some minutes on the bottom pairing, and perhaps some time on the penalty kill. He’ll go to camp battling fellow right-handed defenseman and recent signee Yannick Weber for a spot with the Preds to start the season.

(Current Predators Roster via Roster Resource)

Maxim Lapierre To Receive Try-Out With Rangers

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After we profiled five players who are candidates for a professional try out (PTO) with a team in upcoming training camps, it seems as though one is set to be handed out to a former NHLer who has been playing in Europe.

Maxim Lapierre, a veteran of 614 NHL games who split last season in Sweden and Switzerland, will receive a PTO with the New York Rangers, according to Nicola Berger of the NZZ (New Zurich Times).  In a piece by TVA Sports back in May, Lapierre was quoted as saying that he was ready to head back to the NHL, be it on a PTO or two-way deal.

While nothing will be confirmed until closer to camp, Lapierre would represent the perfect candidate for the PTO system.  After scoring 15 goals and 28 points for Montreal in 2008-09, Lapierre was never able to duplicate that success and found himself bouncing around fourth-lines across the NHL.

Now 31, Lapierre will try and crack an NHL roster once again, to provide leadership and grit to a young forward group. The Rangers will see if there is anything left in the former second-round pick, as it’s a no-risk, low-reward move for a team looking to head back to the playoffs.

Western Notes: Chayka, Sydor, Eberle

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When the Arizona Coyotes gave then 26-year old John Chayka their GM job, many in the hockey world cringed at the thought of the analytic community finally having a poster boy at the top of an NHL franchise. Chayka promised to bring with him the newer possession-based analysis of NHL players, and today summed it up quite nicely in an interview with Dan Rosen of NHL.com:

“The philosophy is fairly simple. It’s when we don’t have the puck, recover the puck as quickly as possible. There are all kinds of different forms where you can gain possession of the puck, some of them are physical and some of them are non-physical, so I think you need a blend to have both. Once you get the puck back it’s to transition the puck. Defense isn’t about defending, it’s about getting the puck in the forwards’ hands and getting the puck moving into the offensive zone. It’s about transitioning.”

The phrase “defense isn’t about defending” will stick out as a sort of mantra for the analytics push, as the league continues to move away from players who can impose themselves physically in their own end, but can’t move the puck when they end up with it.  His team has added Alex Goligoski, a possession darling who moves the puck well, but has also signed Luke Schenn and Jamie McGinn, both players who aren’t so revered for their new-age skills.  It’ll be interesting to watch what Chayka does in the future, and whether he breeds a level of success rarely seen in the desert of Arizona.

  • The Chicago Wolves of the AHL have hired former NHLers Darryl Sydor and Daniel Tkaczuk as assistant coaches for 2016-17, adding to a group that is led by Craig Berube.  The St. Louis Blues affiliate went 33-35-8 last season, and will look to improve on that record this year. Sydor, a 19-year NHL veteran played in over 1200 games in his career, and has been coaching as an assistant with the Minnesota Wild for the past five seasons. Tkaczuk, an AHL journeyman who made it into just 19 NHL games during his career, coached with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL last season.
  • Jordan Eberle has hired the “Shot Doc” to help him with his shooting ability for next season. Ron Johnson, a skills coach who has worked with Joe Pavelski and Ryan Kesler in the past has been known for improving things like grip mechanics and puck protection. If Eberle can improve on the 14.5% shooting percentage he put up last season, he could climb back above the 30-goal mark for the second time in his career.  Eberle has 145 career goals in 425 games, and is a near-lock for 25 each season.

Flyers’ Buyout Candidates For Second Window

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After signing Brandon Manning earlier Tuesday morning to a two-year deal, the Philadelphia Flyers have come to agreements with all of their restricted free agents and will now have a 48-hour buyout period (which starts Friday, three days after the final deal was struck) to clear cap room for the upcoming season.  The team currently sits less than $500K away from the cap ceiling, offering little room in which to operate.

The team used the first window earlier this summer to rid themselves of R.J. Umberger and his $4.6MM cap hit. He’ll cost them just $1.6MM on the cap this season and $1.5MM next, after contributing just 26 points over the past two years for the Flyers.

While there has been no word from the Flyers on whether they’d take advantage of this new window, there are a couple of under-achievers that could be jettisoned over the weekend to open up some more room for GM Ron Hextall to work.

Matt Read – Two years, $3.625MM AAV: Read signed a four-year, $14.5MM deal in 2013, but has never been able to replicate the 24-goal, 47-point season he put up in his rookie year. After putting up the worst season of his career in 2015-16, and climbing to the wrong side of 30, Read has seen his role with the club diminished greatly and might be the next victim of a buyout.

If he was to be bought out, the Flyers would save $2.75MM in cap space this season, and $2.25MM next. He’d then cost them $1.25MM in space from 2018-20.  Each year’s cap-hit broken down:

2016-17: $875K
2017-18: $1.375MM
2018-19: $1.25MM
2019-20: $1.25MM

Andrew MacDonald – Four years, $5MM AAV: The Flyers signed MacDonald to a six-year, $30MM deal in 2014 after he was traded from the New York Islanders mid-season. While MacDonald was coming off a 28-point season in which he logged almost 25 minutes a night, both those marks would prove to be career highs to this point, as a couple of injury-marred seasons has left MacDonald contributing just 20 points in 86 games since.

With the emergence of Shayne Gostisbehere last season, the Flyers have little use of MacDonald and his huge cap-hit going forward, especially if he can’t regain any of his form from years past.  Now 29, it’s not unbelievable that he could get some of his skills back, but it looks like he’ll never be worth the $5MM that the Flyers gave him.

If the Flyers did buy him out, they’d save a good amount of cap space for the next four years, ranging between $2.98MM (next year) and $3.98MM (2019-20), though would be paying him until 2023-24.  The cap-hit breakdown is as follows:

2016-17: $2.02MM
2017-18: $1.52MM
2018-19: $1.27MM
2019-20: $1.02MM
2020-21: $1.77MM
2021-22: $1.77MM
2022-23: $1.77MM
2023-24: $1.77MM

While both of these options seem like drastic measures, the team has a real chance of competing going forward with their young stars locked up long-term.  Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, Sean Couturier and Gostisbehere are all under contract or team control until at least 2019-20, with many stretching far beyond that.  If the team is looking to push deep into the playoffs, it may need to rid itself of some of the weighty contracts it’s given out in the past.

We’ll continue to watch Hextall’s moves carefully, and follow the Flyers depth charts both here and on Roster Resource.

Philadelphia Re-Signs Brandon Manning

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According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Philadelphia Flyers have reached an agreement with their final arbitration-eligible player Brandon Manning on a two-year, $1.95MM deal. Tim Wharnsby of CBC breaks it down: 2016-17 $950K, 2017-18 $1MM.

After the Flyers got Brayden Schenn to sign a long-term deal, Manning was next on the docket and was headed to an arbitration hearing on August 2nd.

Manning made an impact on the Flyers lineup this season, getting into 56 games at the NHL level.  The 26-year old scored seven points and logged over 16 minutes a night in his first lengthy chance with the big club.

He’ll now head to camp looking to secure a bottom-pairing job and show that he’s advanced past the AHL level – where he has been spectacular, scoring 43 points in 60 games in 2014-15.

As with the Rangers, the Flyers will now receive a 48-hour buyout window after re-signing multiple arbitration cases. The team has under $500K left under the cap, but no one left to re-sign.

Danny DeKeyser Inks Six-Year Extension

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According to multiple reports, including James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail, the Detroit Red Wings have signed Danny DeKeyser to a six-year, $30MM extension ahead of his arbitration hearing set for Thursday. The young defenseman is thought of as an integral part of the Red Wings’ core, and will now be paid like one.

DeKeyser, 26, has been a regular on the Wings’ blueline for three seasons now, playing over twenty minutes a night and contributing at least 20 points each year. His best came in 2014-15, when he put up 31 points and had his best possession metrics of his career.

The Michigan native went undrafted before attending Western Michigan University, where he excelled over three seasons. Upon his exit from the NCAA, DeKeyser had many suitors, seen as a strong two-way option that could step into an NHL lineup immediately.  He proved that true when he signed with the Red Wings, getting into 11 games down the stretch in 2012-13.

While DeKeyser doesn’t get much love from the analytic community because of his relatively poor possession numbers, he does get continually praised from his coaching staff and front office, with former Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock referring to him as a “human eraser” and saying he’s an elite skater with an elite hockey mind.

Detroit now has six defensemen under contract for a total of $24.2MM next season. While they project to currently be over the salary cap, CapFriendly points out that the team still has the ability to sign Petr Mrazek because of the 10% overage a team can use before the end of training camp.  With the team set to take him to arbitration on Wednesday, they’ll try to get a contract on the books before any blood is spilled in the arbitration room.

(Detroit Red Wings Depth Charts via Roster Resource)

Snapshots: Larsson, Zborovskiy, Davidge

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The Oilers prized new defenseman Adam Larsson was in his new home city for the first time on Monday, meeting teammates and taking part in a charity golf tournament. Larsson said he’s excited about his new city and teammates, specifically fellow Swede and potential defensive partner Oscar Klefbom, saying “it’s going to be fun playing with him”.

When asked about filling the departed Taylor Hall’s shoes, Larsson said it’s different because he’s a defenseman while Hall is a winger, but that New Jersey got a “really good player”.

The Oilers also announced Larsson will wear number six.

Here are some other items from around the hockey world:

  • The New York Rangers have signed 2015 third-round pick Sergey Zborovskiy to his entry-level contract, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Zborovskiy will make $633K per season, and will pocket a $278K signing bonus. He was the 79th pick in last year’s draft. He posted 44 points in 135 games over two seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats.
  • Bill Davidge, the Columbus Blue Jackets color analyst for Fox Sports, took to Twitter to announce he is cancer free. Davidge was diagnosed with myeloma in 2014. He joined the Blue Jackets as a scout in 1999 before joining the broadcast crew for their inaugural season in 2000-01.

Blackhawks Cut Ties With Rundblad, Free Up Cap Space

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The Chicago Blackhawks have freed up an additional $100K for next season after agreeing to a mutual termination of defenseman David Rundblad’s contract, according to salary cap tracking website General Fanager. Rundblad cleared waivers on July 1 but was never bought out. A buyout of his contract would have counted against the Blackhawks’ cap to the tune of $133,333K for 2016-17 and $183,333K in 2017-18. At the time Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman told CSN Chicago he wanted to “let him find a spot where he knows he’ll be a regular player every day”.

Rundblad had one season remaining on his contract at $1.05M. Had he decided to go back to play in Europe, the Blackhawks would have been hit with a $100K cap hit. The $100K is the difference between Rundblad’s salary and $950K, the maximum amount of cap relief per buried player.

Rundblad split the 2015-16 campaign between Chicago, their AHL affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs, and Zurich SC in the Swiss-A league. He left for Switzerland shortly after being assigned to the AHL, but returned in time to appear in three playoff games, going pointless as the Blackhawks were eliminated by St. Louis.

Once a highly-touted prospect, Rundblad played a total of 63 games with Chicago over three seasons after being acquired at the 2014 trade deadline from the then-Phoenix Coyotes for a second round pick. Runblad was originally picked 17th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2009, but never played a game for them. At the 2010 draft, the Blues traded him to Ottawa for the 16th overall pick, which was used to select Vladimir Tarasenko. He lasted just 24 games with the Senators before being traded to Phoenix alongside a second round pick for disgruntled center Kyle Turris. Rundblad has scored 4 goals and 25 points in 113 NHL games over five seasons. Because Rundblad is right-handed and has shown offensive ability in the past (he has a 50-point campaign in Sweden and a 39-point one in the AHL), he would likely be a candidate for a training camp tryout this fall if he doesn’t return to Europe.

The Blackhawks now have $2.54MM in cap space for next season.

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