The Latest In The Jimmy Vesey Saga
The story of highly-sought-after pending UFA Jimmy Vesey has taken a few twists and turns in the last few months: Vesey allegedly told the Predators he would sign with them, then didn’t and denied ever saying he would. He was traded to Buffalo, where he would have the chance to play with good friend Jack Eichel. Despite the opportunity in Buffalo, Vesey has remained firm about getting to free agency on August 15.
It’s believed the Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Sabres are among the frontrunners to land Vesey; he played in Harvard, his dad and brother are currently in Toronto as a scout and draft pick respectively, and the Sabres have his friend Eichel and paid a third round pick to acquire him. However, Vesey’s agent Peter Donatelli told Powers his camp won’t “pigeonhole” themselves by making a decision before speaking to teams. Now it appears that a new team has entered the sweepstakes: the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks.
Donatelli told The Athletic’s Scott Powers that Chicago “will be a team we want to talk to on August 15”.
On the surface, there appears to be a great fit with Chicago on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. The pairing played with several different players last season after Brandon Saad was traded to Columbus last summer. The Blackhawks can offer him a big chance to play with two of the best players in the game and a chance to win now, whereas the other teams believed to be on the list are all in various states of rebuilding or re-tooling. Vesey would also give the Blackhawks a cheap young talent to help offset the recent losses of Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw.
With the power squarely in Vesey’s hands to choose his destination, Donatelli said it will be up to each team to sell their program to Vesey.
Snapshots: Predators Defense, Elliott, Yakimov
The Nashville Predators bolstered their already-impressive defense on Wednesday with the Matt Carle signing. While Carle is no longer the top-four defenseman he once was, he remains a decent bottom-pairing option. His time in Tampa Bay came to an end after he was passed by younger and cheaper players. Carle said he’s excited by the chance to play under coach Peter Laviolette, with whom Carle enjoyed his best seasons in Philadelphia. He’ll play with younger pros like Petter Granberg on the third pairing of what very well could be the best defense in hockey:
Roman Josi – P.K. Subban
Mattias Ekholm – Ryan Ellis
Carle – Petter Granberg/ Yannick Weber
The top pairing consists of a Norris Trophy-winner and Josi, who has been as good or better than former partner Shea Weber for the last couple seasons. Dynamic offensive defenseman Ellis and the two-way Ekholm form a dependable and competent second pairing, and now the veteran Carle will anchor a third pairing.
In other news from around pro hockey:
- The Calgary Flames introduced new starting goalie Brian Elliott today. Elliott said he’s looking forward to getting settled and playing in front of a young and skilled Flames team on the rise. He went 23-8-2 in 41 appearances with St. Louis last season, posting a 0.930 save percentage and a 2.07 GAA. Elliott will wear number one in Calgary.
- The Edmonton Oilers have loaned prospect Bogdan Yakimov to HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL. The monster center (6’5, 203 lbs) appeared in one NHL game (October 2014 versus Los Angeles) in two pro seasons in North America. He posted 43 points in 93 AHL games in that time, which included an 11-game stint in with Nizhnekamsk last season before returning to the AHL. Yakimov has one year remaining on his entry-level contract. It’s not yet known what the Oilers will do with Yakimov; in the past they retained the rights to KHL-bound Roman Horak and Philip Larsen, but terminated Toni Rajala‘s contract for wanting to play in Europe.
Oilers Notes: Captain Candidates, Larsson
Who will be the Oilers new captain? Chris Wescott writes that the Oilers have a multitude of players who could sew the C on the sweater. Last season, Andrew Ference, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all served as alternate captains by committee and definitely deserve a look. But what about Connor McDavid?
While Wescott confirmed that head coach Todd McLellan would indeed name a captain this season instead of having a plethora of alternate captains, Jared Clinton of the Hockey News penned an article back in April anointing McDavid as the most logical choice for captain. Clinton writes that McLellan extolls the winning and leadership virtues that McDavid displays and goes onto report that the 19-year-old center didn’t crumble under the expectations of a success-starved city weighing on his shoulders.
Clinton speculates that had McDavid played a full season (he broke his clavicle in November which sidelined him for close to three months), his projected performance could have been around 80 points. Though McDavid appeared in 45 games, he was slightly over a point-per-game player as he notched 48 (16-32). Aside from performance, both his head coach and general manager have vouched for his leadership qualities, making him the favorite. Naming a young captain wouldn’t be an oddity as Clinton points out that Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby, and Gabriel Landeskog all wore the C very early in their respective careers.
In other Oilers news:
- Wescott also reports that McLellan expects newly acquired defenseman Adam Larsson to play against top competition come October. McLellan doesn’t expect Larsson to be a force on the score sheet, but instead, expects that he will “grow his game” along with the rest of the younger Oiler players. McLellan also urged patience with the young Swedish defenseman who many forget is only 23. The Oilers bench boss is more interested in making sure Edmonton’s new acquisition is comfortable in his new surroundings, and isn’t measured simply by who the Oilers traded to get him. Instead, Wescott writes, McLellan will only add pressure as Larsson’s comfort level increases.
Over The Cap: Detroit Red Wings
After agreeing to a new two-year, $8MM contract with young net minder Petr Mrazek minutes before his scheduled arbitration hearing this morning and handing out six-year, $30MM deal to defenseman Danny DeKeyser yesterday, the Detroit Red Wings are in over their heads, quite literally, in regards to the NHL salary cap.
Accounting for the two new added cap hits for Mrazek and DeKeyser, $4MM and $5MM respectively, the Red Wings are now approximately $5MM over the salary cap limit of $73MM. Once the season begins, this burden can be relieved by placing Johan Franzen, whose career is all but over due to concussions, and Joe Vitale, who was recently acquired from the Arizona Coyotes, but won’t be ready to start the season as he also struggles with post-concussion syndrome, on Long-Term Injured Reserve. The pair combine for a cap hit of just over $5MM, which will be subtracted once they are placed on LTIR, bringing Detroit back down to the cap limit. However, the question still remains whether the Red Wings can get to that point through just roster manipulation or if they lack the flexibility to do so and must move a roster player.
General Manager Ken Holland has reiterated multiple times that he does not see the salary cap as being a problem and does not expect his hand to be forced into any unwanted trades. However, the numbers seem to tell another story. While Franzen and Vitale remain on the roster, the Red Wings must remove at least $5MM in salary through sending two-way contracts down to the AHL. While young star Dylan Larkin may be waivers-exempt, others like Luke Glendening, Tomas Jurco, or Teemu Pulkkinen may be exposed in order to open up cap space. For this reason, it seems likely that Detroit will instead look to make a trade. The team has a lot of forward depth, but has been looking for a top-pair defenseman, and is also greatly lacking in right-shooting forwards, with just Glendening and Pulkinen (making waivers even more dangerous) and Thomas Vanek as of now. If they can acquire one of those two needs while also gaining cap space, then Holland will be able to call this off-season a success. However, if he is handcuffed and forced to dump a player like Jimmy Howard or Gustav Nyquist (both rumored trade targets) simply for cap relief, then the contracts given to the likes of DeKeyser and Darren Helm, as well as the infamous Stephen Weiss buyout will come under even more scrutiny.
Ken Holland is a veteran GM, fully capable of making some roster magic happen, but he seems to have dug himself into a hole that roster management might not be enough to get him out of. One way or another, the Red Wings will be a team to watch for the remainder of the summer, as something has to give in their salary cap battle.
Coyotes Notes: Rieder, Stone, National TV
It’s beginning to look like the Arizona Coyotes and restricted free agent winger Tobias Rieder have reached an impasse in contract negotiations. Dhiren Mahiban reports that it is growing more and more likely that the young German forward will spend this next season playing in the KHL, rather than agreeing to a new contract with the Coyotes.
Rieder, who had 14 goals and 23 assists in 2015-16 while playing in all 82 games for Arizona, plays a very complete game at just 23 years old. His numbers are very similar to those of Vladislav Namestnikov (35 points in 80 games last season), a young forward who was just awarded a new contract by the Tampa Bay Lightning that pays him a little under $2MM per season, and the Coyotes would like to pay Rieder somewhere in that arena as well. However, Rieder believes he is worth significantly more, reportedly asking for $4MM per season. While Rieder is probably a better hockey player than Namestnikov right now, it seems as though the Coyotes are balking at a value that is worth more than twice that of a comparable young player. As a restricted free agent that is not yet arbitration-eligible, Rieder’s only leverage is to sign elsewhere, leading to the speculation that he could receive his desired contract from a KHL club for 2016-17. The Coyotes, who qualified the young RFA, would continue to hold onto his NHL rights, but would definitely feel the loss of a crucial cog in their rebuilding team. Likewise, Rieder may get the money he wants, but will be playing outside the world’s best hockey league and would still be Coyotes property should he return. Rieder departing the desert to go overseas does not really solve any problems. While this conclusion seems very likely, it is far from mutually beneficial.
In other Arizona news:
- Rieder is not the only RFA that the Coyotes still have to worry about, as defenseman Michael Stone is one of just three remaining unsettled arbitration cases league-wide, and is scheduled to go in front of the arbitrator on August 4th. Stone’s case is a tough one, as he scored a career high 36 points last season, only one point less than new teammate Alex Goligoski, who the Coyotes signed to a long-term deal worth nearly $5.5MM per year, but is still developing his defensive game. Add in that he suffered a serious knee injury which he is currently rehabbing from, and a fair market value is tough to nail down. While the figures submitted to the arbitrator by both sides have not yet surfaced, expect Stone to ask for a comparable contract to Goligoski and expect the Coyotes to offer far less. Given that 22 of 25 scheduled salary arbitration cases have been settled prior to their deadlines, it seems likely that the two sides will agree to terms somewhere in the ballpark of $4-4.5MM per season on a short bridge deal.
- However, if arbitration does occur and the arbitrator awards Stone with a one or two year deal that the Coyotes are uncomfortable with, it is very likely that his name could hit the trade rumor mill. Arizona has more than enough cap space, but may not want to commit too much of their budget in the short-term to a defenseman coming off a serious injury. A right-shot, puck-moving defenseman who is just 26 years old would be very attractive to many teams, regardless of an injury. For the Coyotes though, they have depth on the right side of the blue line with fellow RFA Connor Murphy, Zbynek Michalek, and the recently signed Luke Schenn. Should the return for Stone be sufficient to new GM John Chayka, Stone’s arbitration case may just end up shipping him out of town.
- As AZCentral’s Sarah McLellan reports, the Coyotes will play just one nationally televised game in 2016-17. That of course could increase, especially if the team makes the playoffs, but as of right now it stands as a disappointing total for an upstart team. One game is the minimum that each team must have covered nationally, but the Coyotes are not a team deserving of minimal coverage. Although Arizona may not be the biggest hockey market, it has been highlighted recently as the birthplace of #1 overall pick Auston Matthews and is now home to two pro teams, as the Coyotes moved their AHL franchise to Tuscon and re-named it the Roadrunners. The Coyotes have one of the top prospect systems in the NHL and should be a fun team to watch with a lot of great young talent. National audiences will unfortunately miss out on much of the action, but be sure to tune in to their November 1st tilt against the San Jose Sharks on NBC Sports.
Atlantic Notes: Kane, Ceci, Leafs
After turning himself in for arrest on July 22nd, Evander Kane was charged with four counts of non-criminal harassment and one count of criminal trespass which, according to Kane’s attorney Paul Cambria, he plans to plead not guilty to. Now, police documents acquired by WKBW Buffalo show (via Deadspin) sworn statements from multiple women and the bouncer at the club which the incident occurred.
“He grabbed my hair. He pulled it so hard he pulled my whole head. It hurt a lot.” claims one of the women, who also says Kane tried to force her to kiss his hand. Another woman claims that this is “how he always treats women. Aggressive and disrespectful.”
Immediately after news of the incident broke, trade speculation surrounding the former fourth-overall pick heated up, with many believing that his hometown of Vancouver would be a natural destination as they look to rebuild their club. Canucks’ beat writer Jason Botchford (The Province) fanned the flames today when he told TSN 1040 “there is no doubt about it. The Vancouver Canucks are going to be in on Evander Kane. Ownership loves Kane. Jim Benning really likes Kane. Trevor (Linden) is maybe a little ambivalent, but he can be won over.” Kane has two seasons remaining at $5.25MM, and scored just 35 points last season.
- The Ottawa Senators addressed one problem today when they re-signed RFA Mike Hoffman to a four-year deal, and will now turn their attention to defenseman Cody Ceci. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports what many have thought, that Ceci is amiably working towards a deal with the Sens and will work something out before camp starts. Garrioch goes on to report that the sides are working on a two-year deal at the moment, though obviously anything can change before ink goes to paper. Ceci scored a career-high 10 goals last season and is a big part of the Senators’ top four.
- Martin Marincin represents the Toronto Maple Leafs’ last remaining arbitration case after re-signing Peter Holland and Frankie Corrado on Monday. While Marincin offers some intrigue to Leaf fans because of his improved play last year as Morgan Rielly‘s partner, there is more to his signing than meets the eye. Three days after Marincin signs (or has the arbitration dispute resolved at his August 2nd hearing), the Leafs will be awarded a second buyout window which they could use to free up some more cap space. With Jared Cowen having filed a grievance over the attempted buyout from the first window (he maintains that he’s still rehabbing an injury sustained during the season, which would make him exempt from any buyout), the team may be waiting until it’s resolved in order to use the second buyout to terminate his contract. Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Colin Greening and Brooks Laich all remain as other possible options for the second buyout window, should the Maple Leafs choose to use it.
Predators Sign Matt Carle For $700K
The Nashville Predators have dipped into the free agent market Wednesday, signing UFA Matt Carle to a one-year, $700K contract. Recently bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning, we profiled Carle’s free agency and projected a contract between $750K-$1MM. Obviously, this comes in below that and with it the Predators get a veteran blueliner with over 700 games experience.
After signing a huge six-year, $33MM contract with Tampa Bay before the 2012-13 season, Carle was never able to replicate the strong two-way play he provided for Philadelphia. Last season, he only contributed 9 points (2-7) in 64 games, though he did chip in five assists in the playoffs.
The Predators came to an agreement with Petter Granberg the other day, avoiding arbitration and seemingly putting him in contention for a bottom-pairing spot; this Carle deal may throw a wrench in those plans, unless Nashville decides to start him in the AHL to try and rediscover his game.
Only 31, Carle has two 40+ point seasons under his belt and was once considered an excellent puck-moving defenseman. With P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm already locked into the top-four in Nashville, all Carle would have to do is provide solid bottom-pairing minutes against team’s third or fourth lines. For a player who once logged over 23 minutes a night on a consistent basis, this is a low-risk, fairly high-reward move for the Predators.
Flames Notes: RFAs, Injuries, Tuulola
Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving spoke to reporters today and gave some insight into a few situations, including the ongoing negotiations with star restricted free agents Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. Darren Haynes of the Canadian Press tells us that with a grin, Treliving said “the only hold-up is term and money“.
Despite the tongue-in-cheek joke from Treliving, Flames fans are getting nervous about their two young forwards; the duo combined for 57 goals and 141 points last season, and are both still under the age of 23. After the youngsters were benched earlier this year for being late to practice, both are looking for long-term deals that would let them become the professionals they hope to be, and stay in Calgary together for at least a decade.
- On the health front, Treliving reports (via Haynes), that Ladislav Smid is nearing a decision on playing status for next season, after lingering neck issues have put his 2016-17 in jeopardy. Smid underwent surgery in February of this year. Daniel Pribyl, a Czech prospect signed earlier this year, is progressing well in his ACL recovery. The big-bodied winger underwent surgery to repair the ligament after signing with the team in late April. Jyrki Jokipakka, part of the return for Kris Russell in February, is still nursing an injured hip and his place on team Finland in the upcoming World Cup is up in the air.
- Eetu Tuulola, the Flames sixth-round pick from this year’s draft will be heading to the WHL for 2016-17, Treliving confirms. Previous reports had the Finnish winger joining the Silvertips for the upcoming season, where he’ll find himself under the tutelage of former NHL head coach Kevin Constantine.
Blues Sign Second-Round Pick Jordan Kyrou To ELC
The St. Louis Blues announced today that they have signed second-rounder Jordan Kyrou to a three-year entry-level contract. Kyrou was the Blues’ second pick, 35th overall.
Kyrou played the last two seasons for the Sarnia Sting of the OHL, putting up 87 points in 128 games. Already an elite skater, Kyrou needs to fill out into his 6’0″ frame to become the two-way force that many think he can be.
While he’ll probably never become a legitimate first line center, many believed that Kyrou could go in the first-round at this year’s draft, and see him as a definite NHL contributor should he continue on his current development path. He’ll head back to Sarnia for another season, and look to lead a team who will be losing top-prospects Pavel Zacha and Travis Konecny (and perhaps Jakob Chychrun).
Arbitration Breakdown: Tyson Barrie
Early Wednesday morning it was reported that the Colorado Avalanche and Tyson Barrie have exchanged arbitration numbers in advance of their hearing scheduled for Friday. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tells us that the the team has offered a two-year deal worth a total of $8.25MM, while Barrie’s camp has countered with a one-year, $6MM pact.
[For more background on the arbitration process, consult Parts One and Two of our Capology 101: Arbitration series.]
Barrie has played parts of five seasons already for the Avalanche, after being selected in the third-round of the 2009 draft and putting up impressive numbers in the AHL. His offensive game has been excellent since his debut, scoring 153 points in 264 games.
Last year, Barrie saw a slight dip in point production and a huge swing in plus/minus, ending with a -16 rating, third worst on the team (behind Jarome Iginla and Erik Johnson). There have been detractors of Barrie’s defensive game for his entire career, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to improve a ton at this point.
Barrie does, however, have solid possession stats because of his deftness with the puck. He is a breakout machine when he does recover the puck in his own end, and can anchor a powerplay on any team. His 18 assists with the man-advantage led his team by a wide margin, and put him among the league leaders.
For what it’s worth, Barrie’s name has been bandied in trade (or offer sheet) speculation all summer, with some thinking that Colorado may not want to pay him what he’ll earn in arbitration. His $6MM ask is a big one, which would equal Erik Johnson as the team’s highest paid defenseman.
Barrie’s Stats
2015-16: 78 GP, 13 G, 36 A, 49 P, 23:12 ATOI, -17 rating
Career: 264 GP, 40 G, 113 A, 153 P, 21:06 ATOI, -7 rating
Potential Comparables
Dougie Hamilton (Calgary) – Hamilton avoided arbitration before last season by signing a huge six-year, $34.5MM ($5.75MM AAV) deal on June 30th, a deal that is surely Barrie’s target in negotiations. Hamilton had played in less games, had lower production, but was a full three years younger than Barrie is now, and had been a top-ten pick. While Hamilton’s 6’5″ frame doesn’t compare very well, the deal for a puck moving offensive d-man does.
Nick Leddy (Islanders) – Leddy is a more age-appropriate comparison, and the Islander blueliner re-signed last season for a seven-year $38.5MM ($5.5MM AAV) deal that will keep him in Brooklyn (or Queens, or Nassau) for the long-term. Leddy had more games under his belt but trailed in production, only reaching 40 points for the first time this past year. He was, however, a possession-driving force similar to Barrie, and was coming off a season which garnered him Norris votes.
T.J. Brodie (Calgary) – Brodie didn’t have the same track record when he signed his five-year, $23.25MM deal before last season, but he was coming off a year similar to Barrie’s latest. Brodie is seen as a better two-way defender, but doesn’t have quite the offensive flair, which may be why his AAV of $4.65MM comes in well under the other two examples despite still being a very valuable member of the Flames’ back-end.
Projection
With the two sides nearly $2MM apart, it’s indicative of the reported distance in negotiations thus far. While no other player has actually reached a hearing this summer, Barrie might be the first to leave his award in the hands of an arbitrator. If a long-term deal is struck, Barrie might consider taking something around $4.75MM per season, but if it heads to a hearing it’s hard to believe the arbitrator will award anything less than $5MM.
With Barrie ranking just outside the top-10 in defenseman scoring across the last three seasons, he’ll point to the huge deals that the rest of his comparables have signed, and demand something in-line with those contracts. We project a one-year, $5.25MM award from the arbitrator should the sides not be able to come to an agreement.