Panthers Looking To Sign Alex Petrovic To A Long-Term Extension
The Florida Panthers are looking to lock up defenseman Alex Petrovic on a long-term contract, reports Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel. Fialkov also noted that the team has turned down several trade offers for him this offseason.
Petrovic is coming off of his best NHL season, picking up two goals and 15 assists with 90 penalty minutes in 66 games while playing 16:57 per game. He also picked up four points in six postseason contests (good for a tie for second in team scoring) while seeing his ice time jump nearly three full minutes to 19:55 per night.
The Panthers have been quite active this offseason under new general manager Tom Rowe. Since July, the team has inked long-term deals with returning players Aaron Ekblad (eight years, $60MM), Vincent Trocheck (six years, $28.5MM), and Reilly Smith (five years, $25MM). On top of those, the team also signed UFA additions Keith Yandle, James Reimer, and Jason Demers to long-term contracts of at least five years in length.
[Related: Panthers Depth Chart]
Petrovic is entering the final year of his current contract, one that will pay him $1.2MM while carrying a cap hit of $1.05MM. He will be eligible for salary arbitration following the 2016-17 season. As his deal is within one calendar year of expiring, he is eligible to sign an extension at any time.
Also from Fialkov, he adds that Florida is likely to sign a couple of players to tryout contracts for training camp. The Panthers have three players set to play at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey in Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, and Jussi Jokinen so there will be some vacancies in their lineup for the preseason. You can keep tabs on which players have already inked PTO’s with our Invite Tracker.
Pacific Division Notes: Coyotes, Daly, Marleau, Goldobin
After acquiring Dave Bolland and Pavel Datsyuk in separate trades this summer, the Arizona Coyotes could be in a position to conceivably carry nearly $18MM – once Chris Pronger‘s $4.935MM cap hit is added – on their salary cap for three players who won’t be suiting up for the this year. All told, the Coyotes will pay out just $1.675 in actual salary for those players (Pronger is set to earn $575K in the final season of a long-term arrangement he originally signed with Philadelphia, while the insurance policy on Bolland’s contract will cover all but $1.1MM once he is placed on LTIR). These maneuverings have allowed Arizona to easily cross the salary cap floor while at the same time limiting the actual salary obligations; not an unimportant factor for a small market, budget team.
In a piece appearing on Today’s Slapshot, Craig Morgan asked NHL deputy commissioner if Arizona’s handling of the salary cap was a growing concern for the league. Surprisingly, Daly indicated the league did not feel the Coyotes were exploiting a “loophole,” in the CBA while still leaving open the possibility the NHL could look to address the matter in future bargaining with the player’s union.
“I would say that it’s a matter that we monitor, like all other areas of the CBA (collective bargaining agreement), and if we believe it starts to be abused in a way that is inconsistent with how the system is designed to work, at that point, we would try to correct it in collective bargaining with the union. I would say we aren’t at that point on this issue — we do not view it as the loophole that some describe it as.”
While most teams utilize their available cap space to sign or trade for players from other organizations, or to extend their own players, Coyotes GM John Chayka is using Arizona’s as a method to add more quality young talent to what is already considered a strong group of prospects. It’s simply good business and soon enough Chayka’s talent-acquisition strategies will start paying off on the ice for the Coyotes.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division…
- Patrick Marleau has spent the entirety of his excellent 18-year NHL career with the San Jose Sharks; a career which has seen the forward tally 481 regular season goals and 1,036 points. Marleau’s name has shown up in trade rumors on more than one occasion during his time in the Bay Area, most recently last season, but nothing has ever come of it. Yet, as Joey Alfieri of Pro Hockey Talk writes, the 2016-17 campaign will, in all probability, be the final one of Marleau’s storied Sharks career. As Alfieri points out, Marleau is in the final year of his contract and the team has several younger options on the LW – Mikkel Boedker, Tomas Hertl and Nikolay Goldobin – under team control for the next several seasons. Even if Marleau is willing to take a discount on the $6.66MM he is earning this season, the Sharks are far more likely to prioritize re-signing Brent Burns and Joe Thornton, both of whom are also scheduled to reach free agency next summer.
- The Calgary Flames recently reached agreement with one of their top players, Sean Monahan, inking the restricted free agent to a monster seven-year deal worth $44.6MM. That’s quite an investment for a player just coming off his ELC but as the Calgary Sun’s Kristen Odland writes, Monahan is already well worth the financial commitment. She points out that he has produced more offense than other pivots comparable in age and who have also recently signed extensions. As good as Monahan is he may not even be the best player on his team. That distinction might belong to winger Johnny Gaudreau, a restricted free agent who remains unsigned. Inevitably the Flames will also get Gaudreau under contract but it will be interesting to see how his contract compares to that of Monahan’s.
Week In Review: 8/22/16 – 8/28/16
With the World Cup of Hockey and NHL training camps both set to start next month, teams are actively trying to wrap up the last of their offseason business and finalizing their rosters. This week saw a couple of late unrestricted free agent signings that look to be bargains at first glance and a major trade completed by two of the league’s more analytically inclined organizations. We’ve got that and more in this installment of Week In Review.
Notable UFA Signings
Jiri Hudler (Dallas) – Hudler’s presence on the open market this late into the summer has been a bit of a mystery. He’s averaged at least 0.64 points-per-game in each of his last three seasons; a rate good enough to prorate into a 50-point campaign in a full schedule. With plenty of clubs looking to add scoring depth this summer it is somewhat surprising that it was the league’s most prolific offensive team that added Hudler on a one-year, $2MM deal. If Hudler remains healthy and in the lineup and reaches the 40-point mark, the deal will go down as a steal for Dallas.
Brandon Pirri (New York Rangers) – Pirri, like Hudler, has been a strong offensive player who surprisingly drew little interest this summer. Based on the last three seasons, Pirri places tied for 30th in goals-per-game averaging 0.33. But concerns about his defensive play may have limited his market. Ultimately the Rangers took a calculated risk and signed Pirri to a one-year pact worth $1.1MM.
Jhonas Enroth (Toronto Maple Leafs) – Toronto finalized their one-year agreement with the veteran backstop weeks after it was initially reported to be close. Enroth should provide a reliable backup to the newly-acquired Frederik Andersen at a great rate relative to other quality #2 goalies in the league.
Notable RFA Signings
Cody Ceci (Ottawa) – The Senators finally locked up RFA defenseman Cody Ceci, signing the three-year veteran to a two-year bridge deal with an AAV of $2.8MM. He will earn $2.25MM in 2016-17 and $3.35MM in year two of the agreement. Ceci tallied a career-high 10 goals and 26 points this past season and believes he has more to offer, particularly on the power play.
Notable ELC Signings
Max Jones (Anaheim) – The Ducks agreed to terms with Jones on an ELC that will pay the 24th overall selection in June $925K at the NHL level and $70K while suiting up in the AHL. As noted, the agreement does not contain any performance bonuses; a relative rarity for first-round picks.
Trades
The Arizona Coyotes continued to convert available cap space into young talent by agreeing to take on the remaining three years and $16.5MM of Dave Bolland‘s contract while also adding Florida’s first-round pick in the 2015 draft, Lawson Crouse, in the transaction. In return, the Panthers acquired a conditional second in 2018 and a 2017 third-round choice.
Bolland is unlikely to suit up for Arizona this year and his injuries could actually spell the end of the road for the veteran forward. Consequently, the Coyotes will inevitably place Bolland on LTIR, subtracting his cap hit from their books. Meanwhile, since the contract is insured, the Coyotes will only have to pay Bolland $1.1MM in actual cash this season.
Opinions are mixed on Crouse’s potential with some thinking he profiles only as a bottom-six player who acquiring is not worth also absorbing Bolland’s deal. Others think he has top-six, power forward potential. Count Coyotes GM John Chayka among the latter as he feels players who share Crouse’s skill set are “rare to find, difficult to obtain.”
Florida, meanwhile, gains salary relief which can be reinvested in the 2016-17 product and two draft picks to help add to the team’s diminishing prospect pool.
PTOs
Rene Bourque – Bourque has been invited to attend camp with Colorado.
Brandon Prust – After a down year in Vancouver, Prust looks to latch on with the Leafs as a 4th liner who adds toughness.
Jeff Glass – With Toronto’s expected starter and backup, Frederik Andersen and Jhonas Enroth respectively, participating in the World Cup, Toronto decided to add a body to the training camp roster. Theoretically, Glass could earn a job somewhere in the Maple Leafs organization with a solid training cap performance.
Paul Bissonette – Bissonette will attempt to earn a job with the Kings but seems most likely destined for their AHL affiliate in Ontario, California.
Goalies Moved During 2016 NHL Offseason
The annual goalie shuffle this offseason has ostensibly settled with most rosters set as to who will be between the pipes. Many goalies will wear different crests this upcoming season, and remembering who went where is a lot easier if you consult PHR’s list below:
- Frederik Andersen: Anaheim to Toronto
- Reto Berra: Colorado to Florida
- Jonathan Bernier: Toronto to Anaheim
- Brian Elliott: St. Louis to Calgary
- Jhonas Enroth: Los Angeles to Toronto
- Jonas Gustavsson: Boston to Edmonton
- Jonas Hiller: Calgary to EHC Biel (Swiss)
- Carter Hutton: Nashville to St. Louis
- Chad Johnson: Buffalo to Calgary
- Anton Khudobin: Anaheim to Boston
- Anders Lindback: Arizona to Unsigned
- Al Montoya: Florida to Montreal
- Joni Ortio: Calgary to Unsigned
- Justin Peters: Washington to Arizona
- Karri Ramo: Calgary to Unsigned
- James Reimer: San Jose to Florida
- Ben Scrivens: Montreal to HC Dinamo Minsk (KHL)
- Jeff Zatkoff: Pittsburgh to Los Angeles
The biggest story here is that Calgary completely traded in its goaltending by declining to re-sign Ortio and Ramo, and instead acquiring starters Brian Elliott and Chad Johnson. Elliott will be the clear starter but Johnson performed well enough in Buffalo to warrant competition if Elliott falters. The second biggest name changing teams was Frederik Andersen. The Anaheim Ducks traded the RFA to Toronto for a 1st and 2nd round pick, and then Toronto immediately signed him to a five-year deal. The Leafs sent Bernier back the other way—but delayed that move so that Anaheim would not be on the hook for Bernier’s signing bonus.
Most of these moves involve backup goaltending for two reasons. GMs consider the backup position easily replaceable, and goalies like to move to other teams for better odds of becoming a starter. Injuries may thrust some of these names into the limelight, and teams will hope that their transactions pan out.
Red Wings Expect Kronwall At Training Camp
Red Wings Coach Jim Blashill is confident that Niklas Kronwall will be healthy for training camp despite missing the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. The Swedish defenseman bowed out of the fall tournament because of a lingering knee injury that sidelined him for 15 games last season. Kronwall says the knee isn’t 100% but there is nothing surgery can do at this point.
Having Kronwall back is a boon for the Red Wings as they will be right up against the cap season and have little money to spend on replacements. Right now Detroit exceeds the cap by $4.2MM, but expects to place injured Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale on LTIR, saving approximately $5M in cap space. The Wings did not acquire any defensive help this offseason, so losing the veteran Kronwall would be a huge blow.
If the Red Wings had to replace Kronwall they would do it from within, and hope that a Xavier Ouellet or Brian Lashoff are able to make the jump to the NHL. There is still time to re-sign Kyle Quincey to a contract, but GM Ken Holland will have some salary maneuvering to do to fit the UFA defensemen under the cap. Look for the Red Wings to make more salary cap-based trades this season if Kronwall has to miss any significant time.
Offer Sheets And The Remaining RFAs
Training camps open soon and valuable restricted free agents (RFAs) remain unsigned. An RFA has two options if he cannot reach a deal with his current team: sit out or sign with another club via an offer sheet. There are rules and restrictions regarding offer sheets, and the following guide should help navigate the thicket before training camp starts.
Offer Sheets are governed by Section 10.3 and 10.4 of the CBA. The basic premise is that an RFA can sign a contract with any club, but the RFAs prior club has seven days to match the principal terms—salary, bonuses, and length. If a prior club matches, then they are bound to the contract. If the prior club declines to match, however, they get compensated with draft picks from the RFA’s new club. The draft pick compensation is commensurate with the average annual value (AAV) of the RFA’s new contract. The prior club gets better (and more) draft picks the higher the contract value.
Determining draft pick compensation is easy. Take the full salary offered and divide it by the contract term, but only up to five years. Even if a player signed a seven year contract, the CBA dictates that the salary only be divided by five. The resulting number determines the draft picks a prior club receives from the new club. The CBA breaks the compensation down into tiers, and CapFriendly published a convenient guide:
The draft pick compensation mechanism limits the teams that can submit offer sheets. A team must only use its own draft picks—not picks previously owned by another team—and must have them available for the next draft. General Fanager has a great resource that keeps track of which teams can submit offer sheets at each value tier. If a team owes two picks in the same round, both picks must be available in the next three drafts. If they owe four, then they must be available in the next five drafts.
Fourteen RFAs remain unsigned as of writing, and with NHL training camp only two weeks away, time is ticking for both players and teams. The following players still have yet to sign, in order of last season’s scoring:
- Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames
- Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Rickard Rakell – Anaheim Ducks
- Rasmus Ristolainen – Buffalo Sabres
- Tobias Rieder – Arizona Coyotes
- Dmitry Orlov – Washington Capitals
- Valeri Nichushkin – Dallas Stars
- Hampus Lindholm – Anaheim Ducks
- Ryan Strome – New York Islanders
- Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets
- Zemgus Girgensons – Buffalo Sabres
- Nikita Nesterov – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Stefan Elliott – Nashville Predators
- Freddie Hamilton – Calgary Flames
Some teams are close to signing their RFAs—like the Flames and Gaudreau—but others, like Arizona and Rieder, are far apart. The next two weeks should bring a wave of signings, but for now offer sheet speculation ramps up as fans ponder what a player is worth and whether a team is better off receiving draft picks or matching value.
Metro Notes: Tavares, Capuano, Bednar, Rangers
John Tavares is undoubtedly one of the top players in the game today, but even the best athletes work hard every day to improve their game. Arthur Staple of Newsday writes about what Tavares is doing this summer to try to avoid the lengthy slumps in production he experienced during parts of the 2015-16 campaign.
Tavares tied for 10th in the NHL in goals with 33 so it’s not as if his performance should be described as disappointing. But this summer he’s implemented a new workout schedule trying to find ways to stay fresher during the rigors of a long regular season. Tavares offered up this explanation for the change:
“I got sick really early in the season and I felt like I was overcoming some fatigue a little bit still after that. I just tried to manage this summer a little differently, making sure I got some really good recovery, some really good rest. I actually started training pretty early but I didn’t kick it into high gear for a little while. I tried to be on the ice a bit more, but just tried to make sure my quality was really high, that I didn’t try to do too much. So just to change up some things, stay fresh, stay healthy, work on some things you want to improve on in your game.”
Within the same post, Staple relays comments from head coach Jack Capuano, who wants his defensemen to generate more offense this season. Even though the team’s blue liners finished the 2015-16 season with nearly as many points as the previous season, Capuano felt the unit simply wasn’t as “dynamic” as they were the year before.
The Islanders did see a drop off in overall team goal scoring, falling from 252 goals in 2015-16 to 232 this past campaign. If Capuano can find a way to squeeze more production from his blue line corps, they should return to being one of the more prolific offenses in the league.
Elsewhere in the Metro……
- Despite suggestions that the New York Rangers would be among the busiest teams in the league this offseason, the club’s foray into free agency was minimal with Michael Grabner and Jimmy Vesey – who represented a unique case – being the only outside free agents to be given multiyear deals. On the trade front, the team did move top-line pivot center Derrick Brassard but acquired a suitable long-term replacement in Mika Zibanejad in exchange. For a team that has been in “go-for-it” mode for the last several years and consequently moved a ton of futures in deals to acquire veteran players – such as Martin St. Louis, Eric Staal and Keith Yandle – this summer has been strangely devoid of blockbuster acquisitions. But as Matt Larkin of The Hockey News writes, the team’s philosophy this summer was to inject youth and speed into the lineup and it appears general manager Jeff Gorton has been able to do so without making the kind of splashy moves expected.
- The Colorado Avalanche hired Jared Bednar this week to be the team’s new head coach, filling the void created when Patrick Roy abruptly resigned from his post. Bednar was formerly employed by the Blue Jackets organization and had been the head coach of the team’s AHL affiliate the last two seasons. But as Terry Frei of the Denver Post notes, Bednar was not the only candidate with Columbus ties that the Avalanche considered for their coaching vacancy. Frei points out that current Colorado assistant general manager, Chris MacFarland, formerly held the same position for Columbus. Part of his responsibility with the Blue Jackets was overseeing the team’s minor league organizations which would have put him in direct contact with Bednar. Additionally, the Avalanche interviewed Bob Boughner, who spent a single season as an assistant in Columbus while MacFarland was employed with the club. Scott Arniel, who was head coach in Columbus for a year-and-a-half, and current Blue Jackets assistant Brad Larsen were also both considered to some level for the job.
Snapshots: Blues, Ho-Sang, Hartman, Rooney
In recent years, the St. Louis Blues have had a veteran-laden lineup but that won’t be the case as much in 2016-17. The departures of David Backes (to Boston), Troy Brouwer and Brian Elliott (to Calgary), and Steve Ott (to Detroit) have created openings for some of their younger players to take on a larger role. As GM Doug Armstrong told Lou Korac of NHL.com, the shift towards a younger, quicker team is by design:
“We’re one of 30 teams that is seeing this phenomenon take place right now of the evolution of the game. I think we’re as current or ahead of the curve in a lot of different areas. I think puck-moving defensemen, we’ve put a premium on, the last little while. I think the game’s gone to a less physical, more puck-oriented game from your back-end players. … It’s just staying current with the game.”
Between the pipes, 26 year old Jake Allen will take over as the new number one netminder while six of the Blues’ projected top nine forwards are aged 28 or younger. The same can be said for four of their top six defensemen. Between that and the planned coaching change to Mike Yeo for 2017-18, it’s going to be a season of transition for St. Louis.
More from around the league:
- After unceremoniously being cut from training camp after the first day as a result of arriving late, Islanders prospect Josh Ho-Sang is looking forward to the chance to redeem himself, writes Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. The 20 year old was a first rounder of New York (30th overall) in 2014 and put up 19 goals and 63 assists in 66 OHL games last year while adding another 26 points in 17 postseason contests. As a waiver exempt player that is now AHL eligible, there’s a strong chance Ho-Sang will wind up starting the season with their minor league affiliate in Bridgeport.
- Chicago assistant GM Norm MacIver believes prospect Ryan Hartman is knocking on the door for a full-time roster spot with the Blackhawks, writes Scott Powers of The Athletic. Hartman has spent the last two years with Chicago’s AHL affiliate in Rockford, picking up 72 points but a whopping 249 PIMS in 130 games. For his part, Hartman acknowledges his over aggression and has taken strides off the ice towards improving that this summer, including working with a mental skills coach. He has also dropped ten pounds this offseason in an effort to become a faster skater.
- Long-time NHL referee Chris Rooney ruptured his Achilles tendon and will not only miss the World Cup of Hockey but the first 3-5 months of the regular season, reports ESPN’s John Buccigross. Rooney has been an NHL official since 2000 and has worked in a pair of Stanley Cup Finals.
Oilers Sign Matt Benning
The Edmonton Oilers have signed college free agent defenseman Matt Benning to a two year, entry-level contract, according to a team release. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Benning was originally a sixth round pick of the Boston Bruins back in 2012 (175th overall) but opted not to sign with the team and became eligible for free agency on August 16th. The Bruins weren’t interested in signing him for 2016-17 and would have preferred he stayed to play his senior year in college, reports Mark Divver of the Providence Journal.
The 22 year old blueliner spent the last three seasons with Northeastern of the NCAA. Last season, he played in 41 games, picking up six goals and 13 assists to go along with 37 penalty minutes. In three college campaigns, he collected nine goals, 47 assists, and 101 PIMS in 110 games.
Benning is the nephew of Vancouver GM Jim Benning (who was Boston’s Assistant GM when he was drafted) and it was speculated that the Canucks were also interested in acquiring him. Oilers radio analyst Bob Stauffer adds that Chicago had made an offer while Benning had also visited with Los Angeles earlier this week.
It’s likely that Benning will battle for a roster spot with Edmonton’s AHL affiliate in Bakersfield this season.
[Related: Oilers Depth Chart]
Minor Transactions: 8/27/16
Here are some recent minor transactions from around the hockey world:
- Former NHL center Nikolai Antropov is on the verge of returning to Barys Astana of the KHL according to a Hockey Pravda report (link in Russian). The 36 year old has spent the last three years with Astana but had held off on re-signing earlier in the hopes of securing an NHL contract. Antropov has 788 career NHL games under his belt with the Maple Leafs, Rangers, Thrashers, and Jets, tallying 193 goals and 272 assists.
- Veteran winger Alexei Ponikarovsky has signed on for another season in the KHL, joining the new Chinese team Kunlun, reports Semen Galkevich of R-Sport (link in Russian). Ponikarovsky last saw action in the NHL in 2012-13 with New Jersey and Winnipeg. He has suited up in 678 NHL contests in his career with six different teams, recording 323 points (139-184-323).
- College free agent center Quentin Shore will attend rookie camp with the Kings, according to John Hoven of Mayors Manor. Shore was originally an Ottawa prospect (a 6th rounder in 2013) but was unsigned by the August 15th deadline where he was ranked fourth on our top college free agents list. Shore’s older brother, Nick Shore, played in 68 games for Los Angeles last season.
- Senators UFA defender Jerome Leduc has signed a contract with HC Dynamo, the Czech Extraliga team announced (link in Czech). The 24 year old split last season between Buffalo and Ottawa’s AHL teams, scoring 11 goals and 15 assists in 76 games. He was acquired in a seven player trade of minor league players prior to the trade deadline but the Sens declined to tender him a qualifying offer by the deadline back in June.