Rangers Trade Derick Brassard To Senators For Mika Zibanejad
The Ottawa Senators announced that they have acquired center Derick Brassard and a 7th round pick in 2018 from the New York Rangers in exchange for center Mika Zibanejad and a 2nd rounder in 2018.
Last season, Brassard played in 80 games with the Rangers, scoring a career high 27 goals and adding 31 assists while averaging a career best 17:53 per game. His 58 points ranked second on the team to winger Mats Zuccarello. He also added four points (1-3-4) in five postseason contests.
The 28 year old Brassard was originally the 6th overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by Columbus and was dealt to New York in 2013 as part of a package for Marian Gaborik. He has played in a total of 563 career NHL games between the Blue Jackets and Rangers, scoring 127 goals and 216 assists.
As for Zibanejad, he departs the only NHL organization he has ever known after being selected sixth overall back in the 2011 draft. Last season, he posted career highs across the board for the third straight season, recording 21 goals and 31 assists in 81 games. In 281 career contests with the Sens, he has 64 goals and 87 assists.
[Related: Updated Senators and Rangers depth charts.]
The deal represents a shake up for both teams’ top six forward units. In Brassard, the Senators acquire a consistent point producer as he has hit 45 points or more in each of the last three seasons and he is also someone who can play a top line role. Meanwhile with Zibanejad, the Rangers add a considerably younger but not as proven top six forward that also plays more of an all-around game.
TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie adds that this deal had been discussed for several weeks but that a $2MM bonus that Brassard received on July 15th needed to be paid by the Rangers for the Sens to do the deal.
Brassard has three years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5MM. However, his salary drops to $3.5MM in each of the final two seasons (while he is only owed $3MM in 2016-17 after the bonus payment) which is important for a budget-conscious Ottawa team. As for Zibanejad, he has one year left on his bridge deal that he signed last offseason with a cap hit of $2.625MM. He will be owed a qualifying offer of $3.25MM next summer.
New York now has just shy of $7.5MM in cap space according to Cap Friendly with left winger Chris Kreider, center Kevin Hayes, and prospect Marek Hrivik still to re-sign. As for Ottawa, they have just over $12.6MM in space per Cap Friendly with defenseman Cody Ceci and arbitration-bound left winger Mike Hoffman still to re-sign.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Bernier, Weber, Benn, Tavares, Patrick
Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that the Maple Leafs compensation for trading netminder Jonathan Bernier is contingent on a number of scenarios. According to Johnston, the only way the Leafs receive a draft pick is if the Ducks advance to the Stanley Cup Final. Johnston writes that there were four conditions placed on the trade.
The conditions, word for word from Johnston, are the following:
- If Bernier starts half of Anaheim’s playoff games next spring and the Ducks lose in the Stanley Cup Final, Toronto receives the Ducks’ 2017 third-round pick. (If Anaheim doesn’t still own that selection, it will transfer its next available third-rounder from a future year.)
- Should Anaheim trade Bernier to a team that starts him in half of its playoff games next spring and wins the Stanley Cup, Toronto receives the Ducks’ second-round pick.
- Should Anaheim trade Bernier to a team that starts him in half of its playoff games next spring and loses in the Stanley Cup Final, Toronto receives the Ducks’ third-round pick.
Failure to meet any of these conditions means Toronto misses out on a draft pick.
In other news around the league:
- The Shea Weber–P.K. Subban trade is still being talked about weeks after the trigger was pulled. The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell reports that fired analytics guru Matt Pfeffer called Weber “average,” but added that average players are “worth a heck of a lot.” Pfeffer, according to numerous reports, provided Canadiens management with a detailed report on the potential trade of Weber for Subban. His contract was not renewed. Campbell writes that Pfeffer believes the “eye test” still rules in NHL scouting circles, and that analytics have not been fully embraced throughout the league. Pfeffer also indicates that he holds no ill-will toward the Canadiens because they “gave him a shot.” Pfeffer knows that the maturation of analytics will take time, and that NHL teams use a number of different resources to make the final call on trades.
- Puck Daddy’s Ryan Lambert writes that Jamie Benn‘s rich new deal with the Stars can only mean good things for Islanders captain John Tavares. Lambert reports that Tavares has been the bargain of a lifetime for the Isles in terms of price, and knowing that he does similar, if not better work than Benn, a handsome payday should be in store. Lambert shows that without Tavares, the Isles depth chart gets pretty thin, and that the captain is also two years younger than Benn, only increasing his value. Tavares, he says, would have gotten paid no matter what. But he now has a better bargaining chip after Benn’s $9.5AAV deal.
- As many eyes turn to the 2017 NHL Draft, projected #1 pick Nolan Patrick is expected to play in training camp despite a sports hernia injury that will keep him out of Canada’s National Junior Development camp. The report from NHL.com says that Patrick should be ready for the Brandon Wheat Kings training camp which is slated for late August. Patrick paced the Wheat Kings to a WHL title, and was named the top playoff performer.
Minor Transactions: 7/18/16
Here’s where you can find minor transactions for today.
- New Jersey announced the re-signing of defenseman Reece Scarlett to a one year, two-way deal. Scarlett will make $600K at the NHL level. Last season, he played in 60 games with the Devils’ AHL affiliate in Albany, scoring four goals and 22 assists.
- Aaron Portzline tweets that 2015 first round pick Jack Roslovic has agreed to an entry-level, three-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets. Roslovic also tweeted confirmation of the deal. Roslovic was the 25th overall pick of the Jets in the 2015 draft. However, he enrolled at Miami University and tallied 26 points (10-16) in 36 games. Portzline writes that Roslovic will most likely play for the London Knights in 2016-17, though because he was drafted from the US developmental team, he is eligible to play in the NHL or AHL.
- The New York Rangers have signed Robin Kovacs to an entry-level deal for three years. Kovacs was a third round pick of the team in 2015. Last season with AIK, Kovacs had 34 points (21-13) in 44 games.
- Joe Haggerty tweets that the Boston Bruins have announced the hiring of Kevin Dean as the next head coach of AHL affiliate Providence. Mark Divver reports that the job was offered to Dean on Friday. Dean was the assistant coach for Providence under former bench boss Bruce Cassidy, who is now an assistant coach with the Bruins.
Red Wings Notes: Pulkkinen, Athanasiou, Mantha, Glendening
Detroit Red Wings beat writer Ansar Khan answered questions from readers on a range of topics. Here are some of the highlights from Khan’s column:
- On the chance of Teemu Pulkkinen seeing more ice time, Khan writes that the AHL scoring machine, aside from being injured, missed a chance to secure a regular roster spot. A constant cry from several fan blogs and even analysts who use advanced metrics argue that Pulkkinen, Anthony Mantha, Tomas Jurco, and Andreas Athanasiou have not been given the proper ice time or chance to succeed. Khan does acknowledge this claim, but argues that it falls on the individual player to “seize” the moment. With the signings of Thomas Vanek, and Steve Ott, it pushes out a number of bubble players. But Khan states that Ott will not be a reason Mantha doesn’t see more ice time.
- More on Athanasiou and Mantha: Khan predicts that Mantha will begin the season in Grand Rapids while Athanasiou could get the 2013 Gustav Nyquist treatment that saw the dynamic forward bottled up in Grand Rapids until injuries forced his call up. Khan states that burying Athanasiou in Grand Rapids would be a mistake should he show the same speed and offensive prowess he did during the latter half of last season.
- On Luke Glendening‘s new contract: Khan claims that the feedback he has received from fans has been mixed regarding Glendening’s new four-year, $7.2MM deal. Many fans bristled at the long term, and higher dollar amount for Glendening. Carolyn Wilke created a number of graphs that shows the value of players through a number of metrics. Wilke’s quantitative work reveals the irritation that many Wings fans had with the signing. Khan argues that Glendening “brings more to the table than people give him credit for.” While he points out that former coach Mike Babcock, current coach Jeff Blashill, and general manager Ken Holland like his work, the Red Wings are known for their loyalty to certain players.–often to a fault.
- On trades and Jimmy Vesey: Khan indicates that the Red Wings, like every other organization except Nashville, will certainly be in on pursuing Hobey Baker winner and free agent Jimmy Vesey. Additionally, he says to watch Colorado’s Tyson Barrie as another possible defensive target should the Avalanche make him available via trade.
Week In Review: 7/11/16 – 7/17-16
While the UFA and trade markets have dried up, there was plenty of activity as teams looked to re-sign their players. Here is a look back at the week that was.
Contract Extension
Jamie Benn (Stars) – Eight years, $76MM, commencing in 2017-18
Notable Re-Signings
Korbinian Holzer (Ducks) – One year, $700K
Shane Doan (Coyotes) – One year, $4MM guaranteed, up to $5.5MM with incentives
Victor Rask (Hurricanes) – Six years, $24MM
Justin Schultz (Penguins) – One year, $1.4MM
Teemu Pulkkinen (Red Wings) – One year, $812K
J.T. Miller (Rangers) – Two years, $5.5MM
Colin Miller (Bruins) – Two years, $2MM
Luke Glendening (Red Wings) – Four years, $7.2MM
Adam Lowry (Jets) – Two years, $2.25MM
Marcus Foligno (Sabres) – One year, $2.25MM
Jaden Schwartz (Blues) – Five years, $26.75MM
Alex Killorn (Lightning) – Seven years, $31.15MM
Notable Hirings
George McPhee (Las Vegas) – General Manager
Nolan Pratt (Avalanche) – Assistant Coach
Key Injury
Jamie Benn (Stars) – Core muscle, out for six weeks
Notable Prospect Signings
Jesse Puljujarvi (Oilers) – Three year entry-level deal
Alexander Nylander (Sabres) – Three year entry-level deal
AHL Affiliation Change
Canadiens (St. John’s to Laval, effective in 2017-18)
Snapshots: Tootoo, Lightning, Johansson, Staubitz
Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman had some help when it came to recruiting winger Jordin Tootoo to sign with Chicago, writes Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. Defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook both reached out to the 33 year old who signed a one year, $750K deal earlier this month. All three players live and skate together in Kelowna in the offseason.
Tootoo will likely be counted on to replace some of the grit vacated by the trade of Andrew Shaw to Montreal and Bryan Bickell’s deal to Carolina last month.
More news and notes from around the hockey world:
- Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman acknowledged to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times that the team will likely have to make a trade later this summer in order to accommodate their remaining restricted free agents. The Lightning have just over $8.5MM in cap space per Cap Friendly but still have RW Nikita Kucherov, C Vladislav Namestnikov, and D Nikita Nesterov to re-sign. It’s likely that the team will look to sign Kucherov to a long-term deal as they have with Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and, earlier today, Alex Killorn. Of their three remaining RFA’s, only Namestnikov is arbitration-bound with a hearing set for July 29th if a deal isn’t reached by then.
- Barring a last minute deal, it appears as if the Capitals and center Marcus Johansson are heading for arbitration on July 20th, writes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. If it does go to a hearing, he would be the first player in a decade to go to arbitration twice. Johansson’s agent J.P. Barry acknowledged that they have tried several times to get a long-term deal done but as of yet have not been able to agree to terms. Barry also noted they plan to talk again after pre-hearing briefs are exchanged. Johansson was awarded $3.75MM via arbitration last offseason and set career highs in goals (20), assists (27), and points (47) in 2015-16.
- Former NHL enforcer Brad Staubitz has been named an Assistant Coach of the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, the junior team announced. The 31 year old retired prior to last season. In 230 career NHL games between San Jose, Minnesota, Montreal, and Anaheim, Staubitz recorded 10 goals and 11 assists to go along with 521 penalty minutes.
Minor Transactions: 7/17/16
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions:
- The Sabres announced the re-signings of center Daniel Catenacci and goaltender Jason Kasdorf to two-way contracts. Financial terms of Catenacci’s deal were not disclosed while Kasdorf receives a two year pact with a cap hit of $612K according to General Fanager. Catenacci played in 11 games with Buffalo last season, being held pointless while he added 12 goals and 12 assists in 50 AHL games. Kasdorf made one NHL start late last year after being signed out of R.P.I., allowing four goals on 30 shots. Both players are likely bound for AHL Rochester in 2016-17.
- Veteran NHL forward Tomas Kopecky is a late entrant into the free agent market after his Czech team announced that they have mutually terminated his contract. (Link in Czech.) Kopecky recorded 18 points in 38 games for HC Trinec last season. The 34 year old is a veteran of 578 career NHL games with Detroit, Chicago, and Florida. He has 68 goals and 106 assists in his big league career.
- Forward Alexandre Mallet, who was a second round pick of Vancouver back in 2012 (57th overall), has signed a one year deal with HC Dynamo Pardubice, the Czech team announced. (Link in Czech.) Mallet spent all of 2015-16 with Kalamazoo of the ECHL, playing in 72 games while collecting 57 points. The Islanders acquired Mallet from the Canucks back in 2014 but declined to tender him a qualifying offer last month.
- Defenseman Mike Moore has signed a one year contract with the Fischtown Penguins of the DEL, the German league team announced. (Link in German.) Moore spent the last two seasons on two-way deals with Washington but didn’t get into any NHL action. Last season, with the Caps’ AHL affiliate in Hershey, he played in 48 games, collecting ten points. Moore has six career NHL games under his belt, all with San Jose.
Latest On The Bruins
While Boston GM Don Sweeney would be okay with going into the season with the roster the team currently has, he noted to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he is still exploring opportunities to add to the current team. Sweeney noted that the team still has plenty of cap flexibility (about $6.7MM according to Cap Friendly) by design but that he also values that flexibility moving into next couple of years as well which could affect their willingness to take on a longer-term contract, either in free agency or via trade.
More on the Bruins:
- Also in Conroy’s piece, the Bruins will name their new AHL head coach next week. Kevin Dean is believed to be the favorite to get the job in Providence while Keith McCambridge is also known to have interviewed.
- Within the span of just over a year, Boston has dramatically revamped and improved their prospect depth on the back end, writes WEEI’s DJ Bean. Sweeney mentioned that it had been an area of focus at the draft and the team has added five blueliners in the first two rounds of the last two drafts. Of those players, Bean suggests Brandon Carlo (37th overall in 2015) is closest to being NHL ready but with seven defensemen on one-way deals, there may not be a spot for him to step in right away. With just seven games of pro experience under his belt though, a trip to Providence would certainly be beneficial for the 19 year old.
- Prospect winger Jimmy Vesey, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on August 15th, told CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty that Boston is definitely on the short list of teams he plans to talk to. The 23 year old Massachusetts native grew up a Bruins fan and it has long been speculated that Boston should be considered a front runner to secure his services.
- In a separate column from Haggerty, Sweeney noted that both David Krejci and Torey Krug are both on track in their recovery schedules from offseason surgery. Krug had shoulder surgery on April 21st with an expected recovery of six months which could cause him to miss a handful of games to start next season while Krejci had hip surgery four days later with a five month timetable.
To Retire Or Not To Retire (Part One)
That is the question, especially for a handful of well-known veterans whose successful careers currently have an indefinite future. The NHL is getting younger and faster, and even the best veterans are being pushed out of the league earlier than ever. Meanwhile though, players like Jaromir Jagr, Shane Doan, and Zdeno Chara are still making a big difference for their teams well past their “prime” years. No one wants to retire while they still believe that they have gas in the tank and can help a team throughout the 82-game season, whether that be a contender in need of depth or a rebuild in need of leadership. The question is not totally on the player either; is there even a market for their services? The following players have had long, storied careers in the NHL, but as the summer continues to dwindle, they must decide whether they’re willing to keep playing, regardless of the team or contract, or if they’re ready to hang up the skates.
Dan Boyle: 40 years old, 24 pts in 2015-16
Boyle has had quite the career. A veteran of over one thousand NHL games, Boyle is a two-time All-Star and a Stanley Cup Champion and was once a perennial Norris candidate. He has been one of the best power play quarterbacks of the last two decades, and helped to usher in the age of the small, possession defenseman being a dominant force in the NHL. He was a force to be reckoned with during long stints in both Tampa Bay and San Jose. However, at 40 years old, gone are the days where Boyle can still fly around the ice and play top pair minutes. The past two years with the New York Rangers have been less than spectacular, and his average time on ice in 2015-16 was the lowest that it’s been since his days with the Florida Panthers in the late ’90s. The Rangers are not open to a return for Boyle, and in a market where players like Kris Russell, James Wisniewski, and Luke Schenn still remain available in mid-July, it seems unlikely that Boyle would find a suitor, especially one willing to pay him anywhere near his $4.5MM cap hit in New York. Verdict: Retire.
Patrik Elias: 40 years old, 8 pts in 2015-16
It’s always a great story when a player is able to play out his entire career with one team. Whether he retires or not, that will be the case for Patrik Elias and the New Jersey Devils. Elias made his NHL debut with the Devils all the way back in 1995, and twenty years later he is still the heart and soul of the team. The legendary fan favorite helped to lead New Jersey to Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003 and the team has clung to him ever since. With 1025 points in 1240 career games, the four-time All-Star has certainly made the most of his career. He is currently in the top ten among active players in goals, assists, points, plus/minus and nearly every other category. His versatility and ability to play in all situations helped the Devils franchise through all of the ups and downs of the past twenty years. The team now appears poised to be back on the upswing after some recent struggles, but a 40-year-old Elias isn’t going to be the piece that puts them over the top as a playoff team. Injuries kept him to just 16 games last season, as the wear and tear of twenty seasons finally caught up with him. Though Elias is just a few years removed from 53 points in 2013-14, and the Devils may use that to justify one more year with the face of the franchise, it seems like now is the time to call it quits. A position within the Devils organization seems almost like a guarantee, so it’s not as if his hockey career is over. The legend of Patrik Elias will continue. Verdict: Retire.
Scott Gomez: 36 years old, 9 pts in 2015-16
Elias’ teammate on those 2000 and 2003 Stanley Cup-winning Devils teams was a young Scott Gomez. The 1999-00 Calder Trophy winner helped to form the Devils dynasty, but his career took a different path than Elias’ did. Gomez left New Jersey in 2007 to sign a seven-year, $51.5MM contract across town with the New York Rangers. Two years in, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in a deal that brought the Rangers current captain Ryan McDonagh. Gomez played three years in Montreal before being bought out in 2012 and since has signed a one-year deal with a new team each year (SJ, FLA, NJ, STL). It’s not exactly the Elias route of sticking with one team, but it has worked for Gomez. His numbers are not what they were in the mid-2000’s, but he has provided a reliable veteran presence on every team, and even put up 34 points in 58 games in his return season to New Jersey in 2014-15. While Gomez has long lost the pedigree he once had, his services seem to be in demand by some team each and every year, and the short one-year deals and limited number of games have kept him from the usual rigors of playing hockey past 35. Gomez may not be a difference maker, but as long as there are teams out there that find you useful, like potentially the Ottawa Senators, who signed Gomez for a short 13-game span at the tail end of last season, then stay available. Verdict: Keep playing.
Brad Richards: 36 years old, 28 pts in 2015-16
Another veteran center who has bounced around since his early days as the face of a franchise is Brad Richards. The 2004 Conn Smythe winner, who led the Tampa Bay Lightning to its first ever Stanley Cup championship, has had a very successful and consistent career. Richards had at least 60 points in every full season for the first 11 seasons of his storied career, many of which were spent alongside Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Dan Boyle in Tampa. He was traded to the Dallas Stars in 2008, and then famously signed a nine-year $60MM contract with the New York Rangers in 2011 (which only lasted three years before he was bought out). He has spent the past two years as a productive veteran acquisition, helping the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup in 2014-15 and helping the Detroit Red Wings extent their postseason streak in 2015-16. However, the numbers have noticeably tailed off since Richards left Dallas, and at 35 years old, this past season in Detroit was the worst of his career. It may seem like Richards could fall into that Scott Gomez role of being a perennial veteran addition to a needy team, but the fact that both the Blackhawks and Red Wings jumped on Richards on July 1st the past two years, and he still sits unsigned, make it seem more likely that perhaps Richards is done. He also doesn’t come cheap like Gomez, and the money might not be there this year for a contender to hand out $2-3MM to a 36-year-old coming off a down year. He has certainly cashed in on an excellent career though, and there would likely be no regrets if he called it quits now. Verdict: Retire.
Lightning Re-Sign Alex Killorn
1:02 pm: The Lightning have officially announced the signing. The contract contains a full no-trade clause in years two, three, and four plus a modified no-trade clause in the final three years, according to Cap Friendly.
11:26 am: Elliotte Friedman reports this morning that the Tampa Bay Lightning and restricted free agent Alex Killorn have come to terms on a seven-year deal worth about $31MM. Killorn had filed for arbitration earlier this month, but the two sides appear to have reached a mutual agreement. The 26-year-old joins Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Andrei Vasilevskiy as core players that the Lightning have extended this off-season. The Lightning still have to find the cap space to re-sign fellow RFAs Vladislav Nemestnikov (who also filed for arbitration), Nikita Kucherov, and Nikita Nesterov. As of now, it appears that the Killorn deal has left them $8.53MM to do so.
Killorn, who was drafted by Tampa Bay in the third round of the 2007 Draft, is Canadian, but took an unusual path to becoming an NHL prospect. Instead of playing junior hockey in Canada, Killorn instead played prep school hockey for Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. He then took his talents to Harvard University, where he played for four years. Killorn jumped right into the NHL out of college, splitting his first pro season in 2012-13 between the Lightning and their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, who he helped lead to the Calder Cup finals. He became a full-time NHLer the next season, and has cemented himself as part of a strong young core that has led the Lightning to back-to-back deep playoff runs the past two seasons.
Some may be surprised by the seven-year term for a player about to turn 27 who has averaged about 40 points a season in the NHL, but with all of the players that the Lighting have to re-sign this summer and next summer, the longer term allows the team to keep the cap hit down. Also, Erik Erlendsson adds that Killorn’s contract does carry a no-movement clause, but it does not kick in until after the 2016-17 season, allowing the Lightning to keep Killorn exposed to the Expansion Draft next summer if they so choose. However, Killorn has proved to be a valued member of the Lightning, and management seems content to keep his toughness and hockey sense in Tampa Bay for another seven years.