Latest On Vladimir Sobotka
Vladimir Sobotka is continuing to try to get out of his KHL contract in the hopes of rejoining St. Louis at some point this season, reports Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. However, a major hurdle to clear at this time appears to be the disappearance of the out clause from his KHL deal.
GM Doug Armstrong noted that Sobotka signed a renegotiated contract at the time of the collapse of the Russian ruble to guarantee him more money. The new deal did not contain an NHL out clause, something that may not have been communicated to him when he signed it.
For the time being, Sobotka has reported to Avangard Omsk after representing the Czech Republic at the World Cup of Hockey and is skating with the team although he has yet to suit up in a game.
The potential still exists for the 29 year old center to buy his way out of the final year of his contract but doing so would basically mean that he would be playing for free this season. Sobotka is earning $4MM with Omsk but the team is requesting a two-thirds buyout, meaning that he would have to pay them $2.68MM to get out of the deal. His NHL salary with the Blues would be $2.725MM (based on an arbitration award from 2014), meaning that he’d effectively be playing for a salary of $45K if he were to return to St. Louis this year. To put that in perspective, the NHL minimum salary this season is $575K; the AHL minimum is also $45K.
The NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement does not permit the Blues to pay any portion of the buyout while they are also not allowed to renegotiate his current contract to pay him a higher salary to offset the buyout either. One option that could exist in a few months would be a contract extension as an enticement to leave Omsk midseason. However, as Sobotka is on a one year deal, the CBA blocks teams and players from signing extensions until January 1st.
In the meantime, the Blues are left with a hole to fill in their roster as they had kept a spot open for Sobotka, who had 33 points in just 61 games in his last NHL season. They have just shy of $4MM in cap space to work with according to Cap Friendly which gives them some wiggle room although they will need to conserve some of that if they do manage to bring him back later on in the year.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Eighth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
Now we move forward to the eighth pick, which was held by the San Jose Sharks.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
The Sharks selected Devin Setoguchi with the eighth overall pick and at the time, it looked like a solid pick. In 2008-09, Setoguchi had his best season with 65 points (31-34) and it looked like he would only go up from there. Unfortunately, he never came close. Instead, Setoguchi bounced around the league and recently signed a professional tryout with the Kings. In eight NHL seasons, Setoguchi has 249 points (127-122).
With the eighth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the San Jose Sharks select? Cast your vote below!
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Penguins Notes: White House Visit, Fleury, Wilson
The Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins will be heading to the White House to be honored by President Obama. In a fit of coincidence, Obama welcomed the Penguins in his first year as president and will welcome the champions in during his final year at the White House. Obama said back in 2009, that it was a good time to be a Pittsburgh fan because of the Penguins and Steelers championships. The Penguins are visiting earlier because of the election in November.
In other Penguins news:
- The Pens are not worried about Marc-Andre Fleury‘s performance writes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Mackey points out that with Matt Murray‘s injury sidelining him 3-6 weeks, Fleury is now the top netminder in Pittsburgh. Though he struggled against Detroit, giving up three goals on 19 shots, Fleury bounced back by producing a shutout against the Blackhawks. Though rusty, Fleury knows that it’s about getting back into a routine:
“I think it’s just getting back into game shape a little bit, getting the timing back. Over the summer, I do a lot of shots and drills. Then in the game you kind of stand there sometimes with nothing to do for awhile. You have to stay focused, with traffic and people crashing the net.”
- Fleury was outstanding during the Penguins 1-0 victory over Chicago. He stopped Tyler Motte twice on breakaway opportunities and notched 23 saves in the shutout. Scott Wilson notched the only goal for the Penguins early in the second period. Wilson has opened some eyes within the organization regarding his performance and head coach Mike Sullivan said that they are “trying to get him as involved as they can.” Last season, Wilson admitted that he was “uneasy” in camp and instead, feels more relaxed this season. Mackey notes that the positive results on the ice indicate his ease and comfort.
Snapshots: Tkachuk, Rinne, Red Wings
Matthew Tkachuk scored the game winning goal for the Flames in their 2-1 victory over Vancouver Friday night. But all of Calgary took a collective sigh of relief after Tkachuk looked to suffer an injury early in the second period. Pat Steinberg tweeted the reaction as soon as Tkachuk was rocked into the boards by defenseman Joseph Labate. What appeared to be a serious injury barely kept him off the ice. Tkachuk returned to score the game winner and the sixth overall draft pick of the 2016 has looked good early on a line with Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer. Calgary bench boss Glen Gulutzan said this about Tkachuk:
“(Brouwer) certainly helps and Bennie, they’ve got a little chemistry, but Matthew, he fits right in. He’s always around the net so he’s always picking up loose change.”
In other NHL notes:
- Adam Vingan writes about Pekka Rinne and his approach to the game after playing for Team Finland in the World Cup of Hockey. The 33-year-old netminder has been fighting the perception that he is in decline and Vingan notes that Rinne was the rock of Nasvhille’s team for many years. Last season, Rinne had 66 starts, which was second in league for all goalies. Vingan points out, however, that Rinne led the league in starts with a save percentage less than 85 percent during eleven of those 66 starts. Regardless, the Preds don’t seem too concerned about Rinne’s performance. Captain Mike Fisher agreed with coach Peter Laviolette who said Rinne is capable of winning games for the Preds:
“We’re all excited to see him back. He’s a leader around here. Practices, games, he works so hard. He brings the level up by the way he competes.”
- The Red Wings have trimmed their roster and included veteran Dan Cleary who was signed to a professional tryout. Cleary will now report to Grand Rapids, and it appears that his days, or opportunities with the Red Wings are over. Since signing again with Detroit during the 2013-14 season, Cleary has been in steep decline and a lightning rod of criticism from fans who felt he took a spot from younger players to play.
Red Wings Notes: Hicketts, Howard, Zetterberg, Kronwall
The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James pens an article about 20-year-old defenseman Joe Hicketts and his adjustment as he graduated from juniors and embarks on the newest stage of his career. Hicketts was a free agent pickup by Detroit in 2014, and though he has a smaller stature, Hicketts certainly feels that it works to his advantage:
“Being a smaller guy, you’re always going to have doubters. But if I can be physical and win those battles, it helps me and the team.”
Though Jeff Blashill has described him as a slower skater, Ansar Khan writes that Blashill also believes that Hicketts is a hockey player “through and through” and must be willing to have “statement” games every time he laces up the skates. Hicketts will be assigned to Grand Rapids once exhibition games cease, but for Hicketts, whose childhood dream was to be a hockey player, just going out and having fun with the game he loves is how he will overcome the questions of his 5’8 frame and lack of speed.
In other Red Wings news:
- St. James adds that goalie Jimmy Howard was slated to be in the net for the entirety of tonight’s contest against the Bruins. When asked about Howard, Blashilll had this to say:
“I spoke to Jimmy about two weeks ago. I’m not going to discuss everything I talked with him about in terms of his role, but the one thing I will tell you is that I said there’s no question that he is going to have an impact on our success this year.
Howard, of course, was the subject of trade rumors and beyond that, a likely candidate for being left unprotected for the upcoming expansion draft next summer. Though it’s an expensive tandem with Petr Mrazek, Howard was instrumental last season in picking up the club when Mrazek struggled.
- Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News tweets that Blashill believes captain Henrik Zetterberg and defenseman Niklas Kronwall could skate on Tuesday. Zetterberg’s availability has been a source of uncertainty because of a knee injury. Kronwall has suffered through his own knee issue that has lingered on and would threaten his career if he chose to have surgery. Zetterberg is expected to move to the wing this season while Kronwall will most likely see his minutes reduced as a result of the knee problem.
Boston Offers Christian Ehrhoff Professional Tryout
According to Bob McKenzie via Twitter, the Boston Bruins have offered defenseman Christian Ehrhoff a professional tryout. After an impressive performance with Team Europe, Ehrhoff was given the chance to extend his NHL career with the Bruins. During the World Cup of Hockey, Ehrhoff had three assists in six games.
Last season, Ehrhoff signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Kings but the move never panned out. Instead, he was dealt to Chicago for Rob Scuderi and played sparingly with the Blackhawks. In 40 games with the Kings, he had 10 points (2-8) while with Chicago he had 2 assists in 8 games. He did not appear in any playoff games during the Hawks’ seven game series loss to the Blues.
NBC’s Cam Tucker points out that while Ehrhoff is on the wrong side of 30, and has seen his skill set steadily decline, he has a chance to work in with a “seasoned” group of defenseman that include Zdeno Chara, and John-Michael Liles.
2016-17 Season Preview: Vancouver Canucks
We’re now less than two weeks away from the start of the 2016-17 regular season. PHR continues with our season preview series, moving on to the Vancouver Canucks.
Last Season: 31 – 38 – 13 (75 points); finished sixth in the Pacific Division and missed the playoffs.
Cap Space Remaining: $2.771MM, via Cap Friendly.
Key Newcomers: Loui Eriksson (free agent – Boston); Erik Gudbrnason (trade – Florida); Philip Larsen (free agent – KHL)
Key Departures: Radim Vrata (free agent – Arizona); Jared McCann (trade – Florida); Matt Bartkowski (free agent)
Player(s) To Watch: Bo Horvat and Ryan Miller: Horvat represents a key building block for the future whereas Miller can help the Canucks compete for a playoff spot and/or become a valuable trade deadline chip.
Horvat may have already established himself as the team’s second best center after Henrik Sedin following a 40-point sophomore season and depending on how Brandon Sutter rebounds from an injury-filled 2015-16 season. While 40 points is strong production for a 20-year-old, second-year player but Horvat still needs to work on his overall game. This past season he finished with a -30 plus-minus rating and he also struggled in the puck possession department ranking 212th out of 234 forwards who played at least 800 minutes at 5v5 in Corsi For % with a 45.8%.
The third-year pivot will not only be a key contributor for the Canucks in 2016-17 campaign but his further development is an instrumental part of the organization’s roster retooling. With many of the team’s best players nearing the end of their careers – either with Vancouver or in the NHL – Horvat will be counted on to help lead the next wave of stars and to help guide the team back to the postseason.
Miller has long been regarded as one of the better goalies in the league, even if his average numbers don’t necessarily concur with that reputation. Of the 28 netminders who have seen 5,000 5v5 minutes combined over the last three seasons, Miller ranks just 22nd in Save % at 92.2%. He rated better when facing high danger chances at same strength situations, placing 15th with a HDSv% of 81.05%.
Regardless, excellent goaltending can help overcome a roster devoid of prime talent and if Miller turns in one of his better career performances in 2016-17, he may be able to keep the Canucks playoff chances alive late into the campaign.
It’s also quite likely that the team will shop Miller, who is entering the final year of his contract, ahead of the trade deadline in an effort to add futures to help speed up the rebuild. Even if no playoff contenders are in dire need of a starting goalie, an experienced option like Miller would still carry value as a backup. Since the Canucks probably would have little interest in re-signing the 13-year veteran, they might consider trading him – even for a second-round pick or less – a better option than losing him for nothing after the season.
Key Storyline: Will the Canucks fully buy in to a rebuild or continue to pretend they can be a playoff team at the same time they inject youth into the lineup? The harsh reality is the Canucks would need too many things to go right for them to make the postseason in 2016-17. Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom would have to provide top-notch play between the pipes. The Sedin twins will have to continue to stave off Father Time and perform at an elite level. Several of the team’s younger players – like Horvat – will need to improve further. And even if all of that goes their way it still probably wouldn’t be enough in a division that sent three teams to the postseason in 2015-16 and saw every other non-playoff squad make significant moves to improve their rosters.
Vancouver probably should have embraced the rebuild last year when they potentially could have moved some veteran assets for futures. But they shouldn’t be afraid to do so now, particularly if they don’t get off to a hot start to the season. It’s important that the organization adopts and implements a strategy that’s going to ensure on-ice success for the organization in the future as opposed to simply treading in the waters of mediocrity as they seem to be doing now.
Pacific Division Roster Battle Notes: Setoguchi, Dell, Hamilton, Jones, Booth
A 30-goal scorer in the NHL at the age of 22, Devin Setoguchi was well on his way to stardom once upon a time. But a steady decline in his on-ice performance coupled with a well-documented problem with alcohol derailed his once promising hockey career. Now completely sober, Setoguchi is in camp with the L.A. Kings and according to Elliot Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News, the 29-year-old forward is taking full advantage of what well could be his last opportunity to make an NHL roster.
Steoguchi, who the Kings signed to a PTO earlier this month, has impressed the Kings coaching staff with the “energy and effectiveness” that is reminiscent of his early days playing for the Sharks, opines Teaford. And while the Kings may not expect Setoguchi to again score 20 or more goals in a single season at this level, there is a real opportunity for him to make the roster and contribute. The Kings lost LW Milan Lucic to free agency while Marian Gaborik injured his foot at the World Cup and is set to miss the start of the 2016-17 season. Even if it’s in a bottom-six role, Setoguchi can add quality depth to the Kings lineup if he continues to play with energy.
Kings assistant coach John Stevens had this to say about Setoguchi:
“You have to give him a lot of credit.” He was out of the league for a little bit and I didn’t know what to expect, but to his credit he came here in a very good condition and was ready to go and wanted to put his best foot forward to win a position on the squad. I think for me it’s exciting to see that, just coming in here prepared.”
“He’s going to give himself a good chance to perform well, so it’s good to see.”
Whether Setoguchi will make an impact with the Kings in 2016-17 and possibly jump start his NHL career remains to be seen. But at the very least, it appears as if he has his life in order again.
Elsewhere regarding position battles in the Pacific Division:
- When James Reimer signed lucrative contract this summer to become the Florida Panthers new backup goalie, the Sharks were left searching for his replacement. As Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News writes, it appears as if 27-year-old journeyman netminder Aaron Dell is the front-runner to earn the #2 position behind incumbent starter Martin Jones. Dell, who played collegiate hockey for the University of North Dakota, suited up for five different professional teams prior to signing with the Sharks organization in March of 2015. He finished with 17 wins, a GAA of 2.42 and a save % of 92.2 in 40 appearances for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL during the 2015-16 season. Troy Grosenick represents Dell’s competition for the position. The two shared duties with the Barracuda a year ago with Grosenick’s numbers – 3.16 GAA, 89.4% Save % – inferior to those posted by Dell. Of the pair, Grosenick is the only goalie with any NHL experience, albeit with just two appearances with the Sharks in 2014-15.
- Last season, Freddie Hamilton assisted on a goal by his brother, Dougie, becoming the first set of siblings to appear on the same line on the score sheet. As Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun writes, Freddie would like that to be the first time of many for the brothers. While Dougie is a big-ticket player for the Flames and assured of a spot among Calgary’s top four blue liners, Freddie will have to earn regular ice time as a forward. The elder Hamilton brother recently inked a two-year, one-way contract with the club but as GM Brad Treliving noted, “Last year, we had players on one-way contracts that were making good money that went to the minors. I think all the players know that there is still the make-the-team portion of this, and that’s no different for Freddie or anybody.” Hamilton appeared in just four games with the Flames in 2015-16 and has only 33 career games of NHL experience. Hamilton’s chances of making the club could hinge largely on whether the team elects to keep Matthew Tkachuk on the roster or return the 2016 first-round pick to juniors. If Tkachuk makes the team it would likely push more accomplished players down the depth chart and leave little room for Hamilton.
- The Anaheim Ducks may be deep on defense but they have a couple of openings up front with plenty of competition for those spots. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register writes, veteran forwards David Booth, David Jones and Sean Bergenheim are in camp with Anaheim, trying to convert a PTO into a guaranteed deal. All three have achieved a fair amount of success in this league but have struggled in recent seasons, with Booth and Bergenheim each failing to land an NHL job in 2015-16. Jones, on the other hand, scored 11 goals in 75 games between Calgary and Minnesota.
Ducks Looking To Make Trade To Clear Cap Space For RFAs
Pierre McGuire today spoke with Blake Price of TSN 1040 in Vancouver and ssiad that the Ducks were in talks with a team in the Eastern Conference to “unload a significant contract,” presumably in order to clear enough space to re-sign RFAs Hampus Lindholm and Rickard Rakell, according to this tweet from Price. We discussed Lindholm’s situation specifically earlier today, and if McGuire is accurate it would seem the Ducks and the Swedish-born defenseman have made enough progress on a new contract to prompt Anaheim to scour the trade market.
Earlier reports have placed Linholm’s asking price to be in the $6MM – $6.5MM range annually with the Ducks preferring to keep the AAV at around $5.5MM. For his part Rakell is looking for a contract similar to that which fellow Swede Victor Rask signed this summer: six years with an AAV of $4MM. Even if the parties meet somewhere in the middle of their respective positions, it looks like Anaheim will need somewhere between $9MM and $10MM of cap space to re-sign Lindholm and Rakell.
At this moment, the Ducks have around $7.5MM in available space according to Cap Friendly; meaning they will need to free up an additional $2MM to $3MM. It’s long been suggested Anaheim could move one of their other defensemen – Cam Fowler has been mentioned frequently – if needed, and they do have five on the roster – not counting Lindholm – slated to earn upwards of $3MM in 2016-17. The Ducks also boast enough young defensive depth in Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour to make the hypothetical loss of a veteran blue liner manageable.
Detroit has long been thought to be in the market for a top-four blue liner and has been linked to Fowler in the past. However it must be noted that the Ducks wouldn’t appear to be interested in taking back much, if any salary in a trade. Detroit is currently over the cap – though placing Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale on LTIR would bring the club within compliance – and would therefore seem a long shot to add salary without sending a contract back in the exchange.
Boston is another club who could use some help on the back end. They have enough room under the cap ceiling but may rather elect to see if some of their younger defenders evolve into top-four options as opposed to swinging a deal for an expensive veteran.
A wild card might come in the form of New Jersey, who could conceivably be interested in bringing in more blue line depth even after inking Kyle Quincey to a one-year contract earlier this week. The Devils have plenty of cap space and created a void on the back end earlier in the offseason in the Taylor Hall-for-Adam Larsson trade. Plus it’s interesting to note Devils GM Ray Shero was running things in Pittsburgh when the Penguins drafted Simon Despres in the first round and perhaps Shero would be interested in reuniting with another of his former charges. Shedding Despres’ $3.7MM cap charge would free up the needed space for the Ducks to re-sign both Lindholm and Rakell, though the notion of trading Sespres is purely speculative.
Hossa Hopes To Play Out Contract
In a Chicago Tribune article, released yesterday, Marian Hossa answered the question of whether or not he would play out his days with the Chicago Blackhawks and finish his mammoth contract with an emphatic “yes”. Hossa, who will turn 38 during the upcoming season, is one of very few players whose contracts predate the current NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The new CBA put in place an eight-year term limit on contracts, as they looked to eliminate cap-circumventing deals like those of Ilya Kovalchuk and Roberto Luongo, as well as ridiculous offer sheets like the one submitted to Shea Weber. Prior to 2012-13, there was no such limit, and decade-plus deals were being handed out with no regard for the reality of the situation. A then-30-year-old Marian Hossa, fresh off of back-to-back Stanley Cup defeats with and against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings, inked a 12-year deal with the up-and-coming Blackhawks. They’ve since won three Stanley Cups.
However, the story doesn’t end there. Hossa is entering his eighth year with the team, and the last before the bottom falls off of his contract. In the final four years, Hossa is paid just $1MM per season to balance out $7.9MM cap hits in the past seven years and a $4MM salary in 2016-17. If Hossa plays for that amount through the end of his contract, he will be 42 years old when it ends in 2020-21. If he doesn’t? The recapture penalties for Chicago would be steep and Hossa could very well cripple the team for years.
For this reason, the health and commitment of Marian Hossa will be an important story line for Hawks fans over the next five years. Hossa told the Tribune that he evaluates his physical conditioning and talent level before each season and, as of now, he still feels he has enough left in the tank to play for five more years. However, should his skill diminish or injuries pile up, he is not ruling out early retirement. No one would blame him either, as only Jaromir Jagr is currently playing at a high level in his 40’s. Hossa is ready for another big year with the Blackhawks, but it’s two, three, four seasons down the road that are really the focus for Chicago and their Hall of Fame-caliber winger.