Sabres Sign Casey Nelson To Two-Year Extension
The Buffalo Sabres signed rookie defenseman Casey Nelson to a two-year extension today worth $650,000 a year. The Sabres initially signed Nelson to an entry-level deal in March after playing three seasons in the NCAA for Minnesota State University.
Nelson made his Sabres debut on March 26, 2016. He performed admirably in his short time with the club, potting 4P in 7G. In college he managed 60P in 99 games—winning the WCHA defensive player of the year in his final year.
Nelson will be competing for a bottom-pairing role with the Sabres, as most experts pencil in Kulikov, Franson, Bogosian, and Ristolainen in the top 4. The Wisconsin native (though born in Minnesota) is waiver-exempt, however, so he can be shuttled back and forth from the AHL without risk. His opportunity to make the big club out of camp will also depend on if the Sabres sign any UFA defensemen.
Capology: Restricted Free Agents (Part I)
Restricted Free Agents can sign with any team once their SPC expires, but the player’s prior club can either match the new contract—called an offer sheet—or receive compensatory draft picks from the RFA’s new team. It allows a young player the opportunity to experience free agency while giving teams a exclusive chance to match any offer their player may receive.
Who is Eligible to be an RFA?
A player generally becomes an RFA after his first contract expires. Essentially, RFA status is tied to a player’s age* when he signed his first SPC:
18-21 when signing ELC: RFA after 3 years of pro experience
22-23 when signing ELC: RFA after 2 years of pro experience
24+ when signing ELC: RFA after 1 year of pro experience
Age is defined as the players age on September 15th of the year he signed his first SPC. Professional experience however, depends on a player’s age. For players 18 and 19, professional experience is 10+ games in the NHL. For players 20+, professional experience is merely 10+ games in any professional league.
Just because a player is eligible to be an RFA, however, does not automatically bestow RFA status. As explained below, a team must either make the player a Qualifying Offer (QO) or elect to take the player to salary arbitration. If a team does neither, the player becomes a UFA.
Flowchart Illustraing NHL RFA Timeline
What is a Qualifying Offer?
A qualifying offer (QO) is an offer of a one year SPC by a player’s team. The CBA requires that the SPC meet certain terms and conditions:
Salary
An SPC’s minimum salary is determined by a player’s previous year’s NHL Salary
- If a player’s previous year’s NHL salary was $660,000 or less, the SPC must offer a minimum of 110% of the player’s previous year’s salary;
- If a player’s previous year’s NHL salary was greater than $660,000 but less than $1,000,000, the SPC salary must be at least 105% of the player’s previous salary but cannot exceed $1,000,000; or
- If a player’s previous year’s NHL salary was equal to or greater than $1,000,000, then the SPC salary must be 100% of the player’s previous salary.
One-way and Two-way
Most QOs are two-way (meaning that the player receives a minor league salary if he is sent down). A QO must be one-way, however, if the player meets the following conditions:
- played at least 180 NHL games in the previous three NHL seasons;
- played at least 60 NHL games in the previous season; and
- did not clear waivers during the regular season waiver period.
Qualifying offers sheets are predominantly a formality. Teams are required to make an offer so they can retain a player’s RFA rights. Players can reject a team’s QO—something they usually do. Once the QO expires, both the team and the player will negotiate a more lucrative deal.
When Does a Team Make a Qualifying Offer?
A team seeking to retain its rights in RFA players (and not electing arbitration) must tender the QO by the later of June 25th or the first Monday after the NHL Entry Draft. That means that a player must receive the offer by that date. A late QO is insufficient, and the player immediately becomes a UFA.*
When Can a Player Accept a Qualifying Offer?
Even though a QO must be offered in June, a player cannot accept a QO until July 1st. The QO is open for two weeks until it expires on July 15th.
What if a Team does not Make a Qualifying Offer?
If a team does not make a Qualifying Offer by the CBA-imposed deadline, the RFA-eligible player immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent.
So an RFA either receives a QO, or becomes a free agent. If they receive a QO, they can still sign with another team, but their original team has right of first refusal. This process is called the offer sheet process. See our forthcoming post on offer sheet soon.
* in 2010, the Chicago Blackhawks tendered their QOs late, and their RFA-eligible players became UFAs
Free Agent Profile: Frans Nielsen
When you talk about free agents from Long Island this offseason, the conversation immediately goes to Kyle Okposo, the 28-year old winger who tied Steven Stamkos in points last season, or to Matt Martin, the bang-and-crash bottom six guy who everyone seems to want to add. Mostly forgotten, there is another UFA coming out of New York who should be commanding some attention.
Frans Nielsen has always been overlooked, perhaps because of his slender frame, or his Danish heritage – Denmark isn’t known for a flood of NHL players, though there have been some excellent ones – starting on draft day when he was selected deep into the third round. Nielsen has never earned more than $2.75MM in a single season, choosing to re-sign with the team who drafted him well before he became an unrestricted free agent in 2012.
He shouldn’t be overlooked any longer, as the 32-year old has put together an excellent career and comes into this offseason as a top-5 free agent, now that Stamkos and Yandle have both signed.
Potential Suitors
With, perhaps fittingly, almost no news coming out about Nielsen speaking with teams other than the Islanders, it’s a bit of a mystery where the Dane will finally end up. There are however a few teams who seem to fit with his ability and position perfectly.
In our UFA piece we had Nielsen going to the Red Wings, and after Stamkos re-signed this afternoon that seems even more a possibility. The club already has a young, up and coming center in Dylan Larkin who may be ready for the top line as soon as next season, so may not want to commit to the long-term deal that the other top option, David Backes, is surely to command.
While the Minnesota Wild have a young group of forwards who have shown the ability to play in the top six, they’ve also experimented with both Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund on the wing. If they think they’re more suited there, Nielsen makes a good choice as a steady veteran to put between them on the second line.
Expected Contract
Nielsen will be overlooked no more, as he hits this summer looking for one last big deal to finish his career on. If Backes goes early and the rest of the league views him as the next best option down the middle (which they should), he’ll look for a four or five year deal somewhere between $4.5 and $5MM per season. If he settles for a shorter term, he might be able to push just above that $5MM mark, but it would be very surprising to see him get close to $6MM.
Steven Stamkos Stays With Tampa Bay
According to Bob McKenzie, Steven Stamkos has decided to stay in Tampa Bay and re-sign with his current club. McKenzie reports that the deal is an eight-year contract, with an average annual value (and thus cap-hit) of $8.5MM.
After all the speculation about whether or not Stamkos would return to his hometown (kind of) in Toronto, or perhaps take big money to go to Detroit and replace Pavel Datsyuk it ends up being a little anti-climactic for the 26-year old superstar.
During a time in which Edmonton and Montreal were shipping their own stars out of town, the Lightning have managed to hang on to theirs. If the team had waited until Friday, they would no longer have been able to offer the eighth year, a clear advantage over the rest of the league.
For Stamkos, he may have left some money on the table to go back to the only club he’s ever played for, but he’ll still be earning a hefty salary for almost a decade. $8.5MM puts him into the top-10 in the league right between Corey Perry and Claude Giroux. His age, production and ability to play center ice probably would have gotten upwards of $9MM on the open market, but the Lightning must have made a pretty convincing case that they were still building towards a championship; their back-to-back deep playoff runs might have something to do with it.
The deal will also include a full no-movement clause, according to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, giving Stamkos the stability he needs to build a life in Tampa Bay and with the Lightning for the next eight years.
We had Stamkos as the #1 UFA available for this offseason, and predicted he would stay with the Lightning for an eight-year, $72MM deal. We were just $4MM off, as his deal will come in at $68MM.
P.K. Subban Traded For Shea Weber
Following the blockbuster trade of Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet reports that P.K. Subban has been traded for Nashville defenceman Shea Weber.
Long rumored to be on the market, Subban has been a lightning rod for speculation over the past few weeks. While many thought a young crop of prospects might have been the return for the former Norris trophy winner, instead it’s the three-time 20 goal scoring defenseman Weber headed to Montreal.
By all accounts, this is a shocking trade that doesn’t seem to improve Montreal much in the short or long term. While Subban is owed $9MM per season for the next six, Weber is due $7.8MM for the next ten years, after Nashville matched an offer sheet signed by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012. Weber is also about to turn 31 and has seen a steep decline in both possession numbers and his overall play in recent years.
Subban, almost four years Weber’s junior, heads to a club coming off a deep playoff run and will probably pair up with the responsible and Norris-nominated Roman Josi to form one of the best pairings in the league. Even while in a ‘down year’, Subban put up 51 points and is still considered an elite offensive defenseman.
After dealing away Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen last season, Nashville was criticized for giving up their future on the blueline, while Weber was stagnating in the top pairing. This deal fixes that, and gives the Predators the best top-4 in the league: Subban, Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis.
Edmonton Trades Taylor Hall To New Jersey
First reported by Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils have completed a deal that will see winger Taylor Hall change teams. In return, the Devils will send Adam Larsson the other way. It is a one-for-one deal, only including the two young stars.
The Oilers have been long rumored to be chasing a long-term defensive piece, and Elliotte Friedman adds that there was talk of a Hall for Larsson deal at the draft last weekend. Of course, when Jesse Puljujarvi fell to the Oilers with the fourth selection, they couldn’t convince themselves to draft a defenseman.
With the glut of young forwards that Edmonton now has they would be wise to deal one of them, however Hall looks like perhaps the best one not named McDavid. His 65 point 2015-16 season was excellent, and he’s now put up 328 points in 381 games.
In Larsson, the Oilers get an excellent young blueliner that is still locked up long-term. The 23-year old is signed through the 2020-21 season at a reasonable $4.17MM rate. While he’s not quite the shutdown number one guy many people thought that Hall would command, he is a young top-pairing defenseman who the Oilers so desperately needed. This may lend more credence to the idea that Milan Lucic has already agreed to a contract, as the Oilers completed this deal quickly after his Monday visit.
For the Devils, they get another young powerhouse talent to add to their forward group alongside Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri and Pavel Zacha. With a young corps of defensemen still under contract, Larsson was deemed expendable in order to get this kind of talent. First impressions are an absolute robbery by the Devils, who have more than enough room to add a top talent on a $6MM/year deal.
San Jose Signs Tomas Hertl To Two-Year Deal
According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the San Jose Sharks have come to terms with pending RFA Tomas Hertl. He’ll receive a bridge deal worth $6MM total for the next two seasons. Pierre LeBrun, also of TSN, adds that Hertl will receive $2.8MM in 2016-17 and $3.2MM in 2017-18. The Sharks have almost no long-term deals up front, and this will allow them to stay flexible in the future.
Hertl has been an excellent performer for the Sharks through his first three seasons, racking up 102 points in 200 games. Last season he set career highs in goals (21), assists (25), plus/minus(+16), blocked shots (60) and at least partially moved back to his natural center ice position.
Going forward the 22-year old will continue to build towards becoming a legitimate top-line player for San Jose, as they prepare for life after Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. The two long-time Sharks (and potential Hall of Famers) are both headed into their final season under contract and are both 36 years old. Hertl represents the next wave of Shark and will try to seamlessly continue their regular season dominance, and perhaps change their (until recently) lackluster playoff performances.
Free Agent Profile: Andrew Ladd
If you’re looking for intangibles like playoff experience, leadership and grit, Andrew Ladd might be your highest ranked free agent. It doesn’t hurt that the two-time Stanley Cup champion is also a five-time twenty goal scorer and has put up at least 46 points in six straight seasons. The big winger is a work horse, averaging close to twenty minutes a night and playing against the other teams’ top forwards.
Just 30-years old, Ladd has a lot more good hockey left in him and will look to score a big contract this summer. With over 200 career goals, and almost no recent injury history teams won’t be too afraid of giving him a long-term deal to help lead their club. We ranked him at #6 on our Top 50 UFA list.
Potential Suitors
After a report came out Tuesday morning listing the Islanders, Canadiens, Lightning and Predators as four of the teams pursuing Ladd, many fans started to imagine him as part of their squad. The Maple Ridge, BC native has always been thought of as a leader, wearing the ‘C’ for the Winnipeg Jets until his mid-season trade last year.
If the Canadiens are serious, Ladd would become the second former Blackhawk added this offseason as they recently signed Andrew Shaw to a six-year deal after acquiring his rights at the draft. While Montreal currently has Max Pacioretty entrenched as the top line left winger, Ladd could provide a huge upgrade on the second line. Skating alongside Alex Galchenyuk (if Montreal decides he’s still a center) for instance could make a pretty imposing duo for teams to try and control.
The Lightning are an interesting club to hear, as they would presumably be putting all their effort into re-signing top free agent Steven Stamkos. The could possibly be a backup plan for the team if they’re to lose their current captain. As the season wore on Stamkos played more and more on the wing, a spot that Ladd could fill alongside Tyler Johnson.
Expected Contract
Despite coming off a somewhat down year, we estimated Ladd’s contract at six years, $37.5MM. That would give him an AAV of $6.25MM, a substantial upgrade over his last deal that paid him $4.4MM per season. Early reports are that the Ladd camp is playing things slowly, waiting for the Stamkos situation to resolve itself before really throwing himself to the wolves.
As teams miss on the top names of Stamkos, Milan Lucic and Kyle Okposo, some may end up getting into a bidding war for Ladd. Don’t be surprised if you hear potential numbers that break $40MM in regards to Ladd, though whichever team signs him may regret it when he’s a 35-year old. If he brings another Stanley Cup in the meantime, they might just not care that much.
Latest Buyouts: Raymond, Nystrom, Stuart
With the buyout deadline of 4pm CST fast approaching, the league has started churning out names that will see their contracts terminated. Here is the latest:
- Elliotte Friedman reports that Calgary winger Mason Raymond has been placed on waivers and will be bought out. The 30-year old had a single season at $3.15MM left on his deal and will incur a $1.05MM cap-hit for next year.
- Also from Friedman, the Predators have decided to buyout Eric Nystrom, the 33-year old winger who scored just 7 points in 46 games for the club last season. His contract was set to expire after next season and had $2.5MM left on it. The Preds will take the $500K cap hit this year, and deal with the $1MM left next season.
- As reported two days ago, Brad Stuart was placed on waivers for the purpose of buying him out. Friedman and Bob McKenzie tell us that he’s now cleared them and will indeed be bought out today.
- The Blue Jackets have announced that they have bought out the final two seasons of Fedor Tyutin‘s deal that was worth almost $9MM. For a team desperate for salary relief, this will give them close to $3.3MM in cap room for 2016-17.
Minnesota Re-Signs Zucker, Close With Graovac
12:00 PM: Russo tweets that the deal for Zucker is indeed two-years for a total of $4MM. He’ll earn $2MM in each season.
10:55 AM: According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, the Wild are close to deals with upcoming RFAs Jason Zucker and Tyler Graovac. Elliotte Friedman chimes in with a report that would see Zucker earn around $2MM per season on the bridge deal that Russo originally stated.
The 24-year old Zucker scored 13 goals and 23 points this season, after breaking out in 2014-15 with 21 goals. The former second-round pick from California has shown some promise the last couple of seasons and will continue to work his way into the top-six in Minnesota. His versatility as both a scoring winger and penalty killer gives the Wild a valuable player for a reasonable price.
Graovac is a monster centerman that Minnesota drafted in the seventh round and had seen steady development at the AHL level until an injury plagued 2015-16 saw him post just 16 points in 39 games. He’ll still be hard pressed to make it to the NHL, but with his 6’5″ frame perhaps he’ll be a late-bloomer.