Rangers Re-Sign J.T. Miller
The Rangers have announced the re-signing of forward J.T. Miller. Miller’s agent, Scott Bartlett, announced that the deal carries a cap hit of $2.75MM. Miller will earn a base salary of $2.5MM in 2016-17 plus a signing bonus of $250K while earning a salary of $2.75MM in 2017-18. He will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the contract with a required qualifying offer of $2.75MM.
The 23-year-old Miller had 43 points (22-21) in 82 games last season, good for a tie for fifth on the team in points. In five playoff games, Miller had three assists which ranked third in team scoring. In 196 career games with the Rangers, the former first rounder (15th overall in 2011) has 76 points (37-39).
With Miller’s signing, both parties avoid arbitration which had been scheduled for August 2nd. The Rangers now only have Chris Kreider, Kevin Hayes, Dylan McIlrath, Tommy Hughes and Marek Hrivik as restricted free agents. They sit $9.675MM under the salary cap according to Cap Friendly.
Blues Re-Sign Ty Rattie To One-Year Deal
The St. Louis Blues have re-signed forward Ty Rattie to a one-year, 650K deal tweets Norm Sanders. The Blues also announced the deal this afternoon. It is a one-way contract.
The 23-year-old forward spent 62 games with AHL affiliate Chicago, registering 46 points (17-29). Barrie played in 13 games in St. Louis, notching six points (4-2). Rattie has a total of 26 games at the NHL level and posted eight points (4-4).
With the signing, the Blues have just over $8.7MM left in salary cap room. Only Jaden Schwartz remains unsigned. His arbitration date was recently set for July 20.
Las Vegas Hires George McPhee As General Manager
Speculated yesterday and confirmed today, Las Vegas chose former Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee as its first GM in team history. The announcement was made at 4pm ET press conference with owner Bill Foley. McPhee had been a special advisor with the Islanders.
Foley, tweets Tom Gulitti, was looking for someone with a “take no prisoners” outlook when it comes to team building. McPhee stated that his goal is to be competitive quickly, and to win the Cup. Stephen Whyno tweets that McPhee is in no hurry to hire a coach.
John Shannon tweets that as had been previously reported, Foley chose between former Coyotes general manager Don Maloney and McPhee.
Oilers Sign Jesse Puljujarvi To Entry Level Deal
The Edmonton Oilers have signed their 2016 fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi to an entry level deal reports David Staples. It is a three-year deal.
Staples wrote a glowing piece that highlights why Puljujarvi will be a significant boon to the Oilers forward lines. He does caution patience, however, as rushing a prospect who could become another cornerstone could do more damage than good. Staples suggests time with AHL affiliate Bakersfield, but fully expects him in Edmonton by the beginning of 2017.
Puljujarvi was projected to be a top three pick but fell to the Oil. He will eventually be one of many young players counted on to power an offense without Taylor Hall, who was dealt to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Though the Oilers needed help at the blue line (which they eventually received in the Hall-Larsson trade), TSN reported that general manager Peter Chiarelli couldn’t pass up the chance to get the top scoring winger. Puljujarvi dazzled at the World Junior Championships last December, and had 28 points (13-15) in the Finnish Elite League.
Cap Friendly reports that Puljujarvi will receive the maximum base salary of $925,000 (which includes a 10% signing bonus) each season as well the maximum potential ‘A’ bonuses of $850,000 per year. He also will be eligible for $1.65MM in Schedule ‘B’ bonuses in each of the three seasons.
Snapshots: Blackhawks, Islanders, Blue Jackets
The Chicago Sun Times’ Mark Lazerus writes about the new young talent in Chicago, one of which includes an un-signed and undrafted gem. Alexandre Fortin, the nephew of former NHL netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere, has turned some heads in camp. Fortin leads all scorers with five goals in three scrimmages, and the 19-year-old forward could be another great find by the Hawks front office. Fortin had 19 goals last season with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL. Lazerus reports that the center posted 43 points but struggled with confidence and injuries. Lazerus also writes about towering goalie Wouter Peeters, who stands at 6 foot 5. Peeters was a third round pick of the Hawks, and is only 17-years-old. He will play in Sweden during the 2016-17 season, but is a prospect Lazerus believes the Hawks will be watching closer than others as their goaltending depth is thin.
In other news:
- NBC’s Jason Brough reports that the New York Islanders ownership will spend every dollar they can in order to win a Stanley Cup. New owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin assumed control of the team July 1 from Charles Wang and Ledecky started by telling Peter Motte of the Daily News that they would not only be a “cap-max” team if necessary, but that the Isles would be staying in Brooklyn for the time being. Ledecky also stated that the focus would be on the fan experience as the ownership team works to bring a consistent Cup contender in.
- The Bluc Jackets have hired Cameron Scholvin as a senior vice president and Chief Revenue Officer according to Aaron Portzline. Portzline adds that Scholvin served as the senior vice president of corporate development for the Jackets from 2008-12. Scholvin was working with IMG College as a Regional Vice President prior to his new position with Columbus.
Snapshots: Trades, Cullen, Hall, Callahan
USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes today on eight teams he expects to be active in the trade market going forward, the Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, New York Rangers, and St. Louis Blues. While there are still several useful players left on the unrestricted free agent market, Allen suggests several teams are looking to either move out salary, or upgrade their teams via trade.
Allen suggests the Blues and Ducks would both like to add forwards, and could dangle defensemen to get it done. The Ducks have long been rumored to be willing to move Cam Fowler in exchange for forward help, and the Blues may be willing to move Kevin Shattenkirk, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency in 2017. All of the Oilers, Bruins, and Red Wings are said to be seeking defensemen, and the Oilers in particular have excess forwards who could be moved. Allen also suggessts defensemen Tyson Barrie of the Avalanche, Matt Dumba of the Wild, and Kevin Klein and Marc Staal of the Rangers may be shopped this summer. In the case of Klein and Staal, it would likely be in an effort to clear cap space, and it’s also possible the Rangers move forward Rick Nash, but his $7.8MM cap hit may make that difficult.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Recently acquired Devils forward Taylor Hall will switch from wearing the number four to the number nine, reports Scott Lewis at Sportsnet.ca. Hall had previously worn four for his entire NHL career, but it’s retired in New Jersey for former Devils’ captain Scott Stevens. There had been a previous controversy when Hall was given the number four in Edmonton, which had been retired for former defenseman and then Oilers’ President of Hockey Operations Kevin Lowe.
- Puck Daddy’s Josh Cooper reports today on deliberations over who will replace injured Lightning forward Ryan Callahan on the American team for the World Cup of Hockey. Cooper lists Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson, Buffalo’s Kyle Okposo, Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel, and New Jersey’s Kyle Palmieri as potential replacements.
- Penguins’ GM Jim Rutherford was quoted on Twitter by the Pittsburgh Tribune’s Bill West, saying they do have an offer out on center Matt Cullen, but suggests the money is less than his play last year would justify. Cullen, who turns 40 in November, had 16 goals and 16 assists in 82 games last year, helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.
Red Wings Re-Sign Teemu Pulkkinen To One Year Contract
The Detroit Red Wings announced today via Twitter and their website the re-signing of 24-year-old right winger Teemu Pulkkinen. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports on Twitter that the deal is worth $812k.
Pulkkinen, a fourth round pick of the Red Wings in 2010, played 36 games for the Red Wings last year, scoring six goals, and adding six assists. In his career, Pulkkinen has played 70 NHL games, scoring 11 goals, and nine assists. Pulkkinen would have to be waived to be sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, so it’s more likely he’ll be given an NHL spot. Other right wingers on the Red Wings include Tomas Jurco, Gustav Nyquist, and Johan Franzen, though the latter missed all but two games last year with concussion issues.
The Red Wings now have a little under $3.3MM in cap space, still needing to re-sign two restricted free agents, defenseman Danny DeKeyser, and goaltender Petr Mrazek. This will be somewhat difficult to pull off, given they combined to make almost that last year, but Detroit also has eighteen forwards under contract, giving them a lot of movable assets, and given the likelihood of Johan Franzen spending another season on the long-term injured reserve, they shouldn’t have too many problems unless they plan on adding more salary via trade.
Penguins Re-Sign Justin Schultz To 1-Year, $1.4MM Deal
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced via Twitter and their website the re-signing unrestricted free agent defenseman Justin Schultz to a 1-year contract worth $1.4MM. Schultz, who was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers at the trade deadline in exchange for a third round pick in 2016, became an unrestricted free agent when the Penguins declined to give him a qualifying offer, which would have been around $3.9MM.
Schultz played 18 regular season games for the Penguins, scoring one goal, and adding seven assists. In his first shot at playoff action, he played 15 games, picking up four assists, and was a scratch for nine of the team’s first twelve playoff games. Before joining the Penguins, Schultz played 248 games for Edmonton, scoring 28 goals, and adding 73 assists, averaging 22 minutes a game.
Originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks, Schultz starred at the University of Wisconsin, playing alongside fellow Ducks prospect Jake Gardiner. In a situation similar to that of Jimmy Vesey, Schultz went unsigned by Anaheim, and become an unrestricted free agent in 2012. He met with several teams, who saw him as an elite prospect, and chose the Oilers after a meeting with former Oilers star Wayne Gretzky.
Free Agent Profile: Luke Schenn
Free agent defenseman Luke Schenn came into the NHL with plenty of expectations, having been drafted with the fifth overall pick in 2008 by the Maple Leafs, winning a gold medal at the World Junior championship, and cracking Toronto’s lineup at 18 years old. Since then, Schenn’s value has diminished, and he’s quickly becoming a veteran journeyman, rather than a budding star.
Initially viewed as a young bright spot on a bad Leafs team, Schenn played 70 games at over 21 minutes a night. The longer Schenn played in Toronto, the more he seemed to be questioned. He was still seen to have the potential to become a high-end NHL defenceman in 2011, when he was signed to a five year, $18MM contract. After signing, Schenn continued to struggle, and was subject of trade rumors all season, until he was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers at the draft for left winger James van Riemsdyk.
There have been flashes along the way, and Schenn has had success playing with more skilled defense partners, such as Kimmo Timonen, or Michael Del Zotto. Like in Toronto with his draft position, Schenn faced expectations in Philadelphia based on his salary and what was given up to acquire him, and never fully lived up to them. In January, he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings along with Vincent Lecavalier for Jordan Weal and a third round pick.
Potential Suitors
While he’s unlikely to be called a top-four defenseman, Schenn has value. He’s an experienced and capable player, and plays the right-handed. Teams looking to balance their defense pairings will take a long look at him. The Boston Bruins, for one, only have two right-handed defensemen signed to NHL contracts, and have the sort of puck-skilled left-hand shots that Schenn has seen success with, including former teammate John-Michael Liles. The Edmonton Oilers have also been speculated to be looking for a right-hand shot.
Expected Contract
Placing Schenn 30th on our NHL free agent rankings, we had projected he would receive a three-year, $8.25MM contract. Given how much of the cap space throughout the league has already been spent, it’s hard to imagine him signing for much more than $1MM for one year in an effort to rebuild his value, or provide depth to a contending team. Teams looking for size and balance may be willing to pay more, but one would have to think that if they were, it would be done by now.
NHL Notes: RFA Defensemen
As we mentioned earlier this week, there are several very talented Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) who have yet to sign contracts for next season. Of the 24 RFA defensemen who played in the NHL last season, 15 of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game (minimum 25 GP). Despite the high value of young capable defensemen (see Larsson, Adam), it is the their teams who appear to have the upper hand in negotiations.
Let’s take a look at the top five unsigned defensemen:
1. Hampus Lindholm – Anaheim Ducks – The Ducks number one defenseman, Lindholm averaged 22:00 minutes per night last season with superior possession numbers. His 28 points were 54th among defensemen, but Lindholm is still a bona fide top-pairing option. Lindholm is likely looking for a long-term contract in the $5-6MM range, similar to the Morgan Rielly ($5MM, Seth Jones ($5.4MM), and Nick Leddy ($5.5MM). The Ducks would probably prefer something lower, in the Travis Hamonic ($3.86MM), Oscar Klefbom ($4.17MM), and Justin Faulk ($4.83MM) range. Anaheim is a budget team, and is already only $8.4MM away from the cap ceiling with Lindholm and Rickard Rakell still to sign. Lindholm is not eligible for arbitration, and an offer sheet seems unlikely given the current NHL climate.
2. Tyson Barrie – Colorado Avalanche – Barrie seems to be constantly featured in trade rumors, mainly due to his high-end offensive ability (49 points last season) and coach Patrick Roy’s apparent lack of confidence in him. It doesn’t help that the Avalanche have just $8.3MM in cap space before Barrie and Mikhail Grigorenko‘s arbitration hearings in late July. Barrie and his agent don’t need to look any further than teammate Eric Johnson‘s $6MM salary for a starting point; Barrie outscored Johnson by 22 points in similar time-on-ice.
3. Rasmus Ristolainen – Buffalo Sabres – Ristolainen lead the Sabres in ice-time by just under 500 minutes. He was also fourth in team scoring with 41 points. He’s also extremely big at 6’4, 207 lbs and mobile. Ristolainen is already the Sabres best defenseman, and he’ll only be 22 in October. The Sabres will look to sign him long-term somewhere in the Faulk to Rielly range. The Sabres have approximately $11MM in cap space and still need to lock up Marcus Foligno and Zemgus Girgensons.
4. Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets – Trouba is in an interesting situation in Winnipeg: he’s considered a future top-pairing player, and is big, mobile, and right-handed. However, he’s blocked from playing top-four minutes by fellow right-handers Dustin Byfulgien and Tyler Myers. Trouba has played the left side before, but like most players performs better on his natural side. There seems to be two options for Trouba; he can sign a bridge-deal and earn a big payday in two seasons when Mark Stuart and Toby Enstrom are free agents, or he can holdout for the big payday now. There was some talk last month about the Bruins looking at Trouba as an offer sheet candidate, but that seems to have passed. He’s not eligible for arbitration, so the ball is in Winnipeg’s court.
5. Danny DeKeyser – Detroit Red Wings – With Niklas Kronwall turning 35 last season, DeKeyser appears poised to be the next big man on the Red Wings blueline. The two defensemen lead the team in ice time, and DeKeyser will likely pass Krowall in that regard next season. The 25-year-old DeKeyser put up just 20 points last season, however Mike Green was the only defenseman who scored more. DeKeyser is scheduled for arbitration on July 28, but could very likely come to a longer agreement with the Red Wings before then.