Pacific Notes: Canucks, Ducks, Coyotes
Vancouver Canucks general manager Jim Benning found out talk isn’t so cheap after all. The NHL fined Benning $50,000 for his comments regarding Steven Stamkos and P.K. Subban reports Navin Vaswani. According to the report, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said that Benning violated By-Law 15 for speaking about his interest in other teams’ players. Sports Illustrated’s Allan Muir writes that while the comments may seem harmless, it’s the willingness to express signing desires for “public consumption” that landed Benning a fine.
Other Pacific Division Notes:
- The Ducks have indeed been talking with the Red Wings about Cam Fowler writes Mike Halford. The news was also reported by The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The Ducks would be a perfect trade partner for the Red Wings as they recently re-signed Sami Vatanen and could move Fowler’s reasonable contract that has a $4MM cap hit. After the Wings balked at the apparent price for Kevin Shattenkirk, which included Dylan Larkin. Fowler has also been linked with Buffalo.
- Sarah McLellan writes that new Coyotes general manager John Chayka says that the Pavel Datsyuk contract poses no issues for the organization. Chayka indicates that he wouldn’t have made the move had it hindered the ‘Yotes financially. But because Datysuk retired from the NHL, there is no payment attached to the contract. Instead, the Coyotes absorb the $7.5MM cap hit. McLellan also writes that the possibility of gaining a defenseman of Jakob Chychrun’s caliber was too good to pass up. As a result, they agreed to take on the contract. McLellan also spoke to Chayka about acquiring defenseman Anthony DeAngelo from Tampa Bay, an Arizona target for quite some time.
Free Agent Profile: Milan Lucic
When it was announced last week that talks between Milan Lucic and the Los Angeles Kings broke down, many teams around the NHL looking for size up front and scoring cackled with glee.
Listed as the #2 free agent available by the USA Today’s Kevin Allen, Lucic is a hard nosed forward known for his scoring prowess, and ability to irritate on the ice. Traded to the Kings prior to the 2015-16 season, Lucic had 55 points (20-35) in a 81 games, an improvement from the 44 points (18-26) he had a season’s prior in Boston. Lucic has been a 20+ goal scorer four times in his career. Last season, Lucic averaged .68 points/game
Potential Suitors
Lucic’s landing spot is anyone’s guess, though most pundits believe he’ll be tempted to go back to his hometown Vancouver where he saw tremendous success in junior hockey. The National Post reports that if Lucic were to take a discount, he would still be in Los Angeles, so the Canucks should be expected to pay a higher price for Lucic to come home. Canucks GM Jim Benning also indicated to the Vancouver Sun that he would be making a run at Lucic. The Bruins have expressed their desire to make calls on significant free agents–which would include Lucic. Lucic had a number of great seasons with the B’s, and there is certainly more than enough cap room to get a deal done. However as CBS Boston’s Matt Kalman writes, the Bruins dealt Lucic away because of salary cap concerns, inconsistency, and a style of play that breaks the body down sooner. Though Lucic wasn’t specifically named as someone spoken with, Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland had conversations Monday with several prominent free agent targets writes Helene St. James. Lucic would be a rugged, scoring option who could help the Red Wings scoring woes. Darren Dreger tweeted that Lucic was on the Red Wings “want” list.
Finally, Scott Burnside listed the Edmonton Oilers as another potential team because of Lucic’s relationship with current Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli, who oversaw the Bruins during Lucic’s tenure with the team. Pierre LeBrun tweeted that Lucic was scheduled to meet with Edmonton officials today and wrote more about the possibility of Edmonton snagging the winger.
Expected Contract
PHR has Lucic as the #3 free agent available, fetching a 5 year/$28.75MM deal by someone in the marketplace. PHR had him re-signing with Los Angeles, but talks broke down last week. Jim Matheson recently tweeted that the Oilers could offer upwards to $6MM/year and that it would force a trade of another forward currently on the roster. Ryan Rishaug agrees, thinking that a Lucic deal shuttles a forward to another team, possibly Taylor Hall.
If Edmonton is looking at a long term deal around $6MM, it will be interesting to see if other teams are willing to offer the same amount. Expect a deal somewhere between that $5.5MM-$6MM range.
Predators Considering Nystrom Buyout
Brooks Bratten tweets that the Predators are currently working to trade or buy out the contract of forward Eric Nystrom. The 33-year-old center currently has a cap hit of $2.5MM, but a buyout according to CapFriendly would save the Preds $2MM in the upcoming season. Bratten also indicated that the Preds would be letting Carter Hutton go to free agency.
Nystrom was signed to a four-year, $10MM deal prior to the 2013-14 season. Though he had 21 points in his first season (15-6) as a Predator, including a 4-goal game, Nystrom’s numbers fell each season after 2013-14.
Last week, Adam Vignan reported that the Preds were trying to deal the contract away prior to the draft. With no takers, it appears that the Predators will entertain a buyout.
Snapshots: Cullen, Brown, Panthers
Pittsburgh forward and 20-year veteran Matt Cullen announced that he will be back for another season. Elliotte Friedman tweeted that the Penguins hope to keep him. Dave Molinari reports that the Penguins do indeed want to re-sign him and that Cullen, who made $800,000 last season, shouldn’t expect a raise if he returned to Pittsburgh. because of the lack of cap room. Cullen had 32 points (16-16) during the regular season and 6 points (4-2) in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins.
- The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed forward Patrick Brown to a one-year, $650,000 contract. The 24-year-old Brown is the son of former NHL player Doug Brown. Brown spent time between the big club and AHL affiliate Charlotte in 2015-16. With the Checkers, Brown had 25 points (13-12) and was fifth in team scoring. During the 14 games with Carolina, Brown had 2 points (1-1).
- The Florida Panthers have announced the hiring of Leo Luongo as the goalies coach for AHL affiliate Springfield. The 31-year-old was the goaltending coach of HC Lugano in the Swiss League for the past three seasons. He is also the younger brother of current Panthers netminder Roberto Luongo.
Full List of Players Who Did Not Receive a Qualifying Offer
The deadline to make a qualifying offer to a restrict free agent ended at 5pm today. Below is a list of players who did not receive an offer and sorted by team for easy reference. Any player that did not receive a qualifying offer is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
(as of writing the Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team not to confirm which players received QOs)
Anaheim Ducks
F Matt Bailey, F Brandon Pirri, F Charles Sarault, D Kevin Gagne, and D Martin Gernat.
Arizona Coyotes
F Sergei Plotnikov, , D Philip Samuelsson, F Christian Thomas, D Kevin Connauton, D Jarred Tinordi, D Klas Dahlbeck, and G Niklas Treutle
Boston Bruins
F Landon Ferraro and F Brett Connolly.
Buffalo Sabres
F Alex Guptill, F Colin Jacobs, F Jack Nevins, and Nathan Lieuwen.
Calgary Flames
F Kenny Agostino, F Bill Arnold, F Joe Colborne, F Turner Elson, F Josh Jooris, F Drew Shore, F Bryce Van Brabant, G Joni Ortio, and Kevin Poulin.
Carolina Hurricanes
F Zach Boychuk, F Anthony Camara, F Dane Fox, F Carter Sandlak, F Justin Shugg, D Danny Biega, D Michal Jordan, D Rasmus Rissanen, and G Rasmus Tirronen.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Andrew Shaw To A 6 Year Deal Worth $23.4MM
Montreal Canadiens signed forward Andrew Shaw to a six-year extension today worth $23.4MM. The contract’s cap hit is $3.9MM a year—slightly lower than the $4.5MM Shaw was rumored to be seeking. The Canadiens did not include any NTCs or NMCs. Pierre Lebrun of ESPN reports that the contract is front-loaded and Cap Friendly gives us details on it:
2016 – $5.5MM ($2.5MM signing bonus)
2017 – $5MM ($2MM signing bonus)
2018 – $4MM
2019 – $3.25MM ($1MM signing bonus)
2020 – $2.75MM
2021 – $2.9MM ($1MM signing bonus)
Montreal acquired Shaw from the Blackhawks in exchange for the 39th and 45th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. The young forward scored 14G and 34P in 78 games last season, and 6P in 6 games in the playoffs. Shaw was considered an integral but underrated part of the Blackhawks’ playoff teams regardless of his run-of-the-mill production.
The signing leaves the Canadiens with approximately $8.03MM in cap space to work to land another free agent this summer. The Canadiens expect to be big players in the off-season, and Shaw’s contract does not unduly hamstring them.
Minor Transactions: 6/27/16
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions:
- The Penguins announced the re-signing of D Tim Erixon to a one year, two-way contract that will pay him the league minimum $575,000 at the NHL level. Erixon spent all of last year with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after coming over as part of the Phil Kessel trade last offseason. He last suited up in the NHL with Toronto in 2014-15.
- Edmonton announced the re-signing of F Iiro Pakarinen to a one year contract. Oilers radio voice Bob Stauffer reports it’s a one-way pact worth $725,000. He played in 63 games with the Oilers last season, picking up 5 goals and 8 assists.
- Vancouver announced they have re-signed F Emerson Etem to a one year, one-way contract worth $775,000. Etem played in 39 games split between the Canucks and Rangers, scoring 7 goals and 5 assists.
- Anaheim re-signed F Corey Tropp to a two year contract and G Dustin Tokarski to a one year deal, according to the team’s Twitter page. Tropp will have an NHL cap hit of $625,000 and Tokarski a $600,000 cap hit, reports Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.
- Calgary Flames prospect Pavel Karnaukhov will play in the KHL after spending two years with the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. The Flames drafted Karnaukhov 136th overall in the 5th round of the 2015 NHL Draft. Last season he scored 12G and 31P in 49 games for the Hitmen.
Players Not Receiving Qualifying Offers
Several players will not be receiving qualifying offers by Monday afternoon’s deadline. Here’s a breakdown of those who will be let go that haven’t already been reported:
- The Kings will not issue qualifying offers to G Patrik Bartosak, D Alex Roach, or F Maxim Kitsyn, reports Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider.
- Forwards James Wright and Justin Vaive will not be qualified by the Islanders, Newsday’s Arthur Staple reports. The 26 year old Wright has 146 games of NHL experience between Tampa Bay and Winnipeg.
- The Rangers will not tender qualifying offers to forwards Luke Adam, Chris McCarthy, Josh Nichols, and Michael St. Croix as well as defensemen Michael Kantor and Samuel Noreau according to Newsday’s Steve Zipay.
- Winnipeg has made qualifying offers to all of their restricted free agent with the exception of F Austen Brassard, reports TSN’s Gary Lawless.
- Dallas announced that they did not issue qualifying offers to forwards Emil Molin and Warren Peters as well as D Troy Vance.
- Tampa Bay issued a list of players who received a qualifying offer. Missing from that list is F David Broll which means he will become a UFA on Friday.
- The Canadiens issued qualifying offers to three players. Not getting one were defensemen Mac Bennett, Darren Dietz, and Morgan Ellis plus forwards Michael Bournival and Lucas Lessio.
- St. Louis issued their list of qualifying offers. Not receiving one are forwards Cody Beach, Zack Phillips, Ryan Tesink, and Yannick Veilleux plus defenseman Richard Nedomlel.
- Ottawa also issued their list of QO’s. Defensemen Jerome Gauthier-Leduc, Troy Rutkowski, and Patrick Wiercioch, as well as forwards Travis Ewanyk and Michael Keranen did not receive offers. Wiercioch was due a $2.7MM qualifying offer and had just 5 assists in 52 games with the Sens last season.
- The Sharks have given offers to four players, reports CSN’s Kevin Kurz. Those not receiving offers are forwards Chris Crane, Petter Emanuelsson, Jeremy Langlois, and Jeremy Morin as well as G Joel Rumpel.
- The Capitals will not qualify F Michael Latta, reports Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. Mike Vogel of the Caps’ official website adds that D Ryan Stanton and F Caleb Herbert did not receive offers.
- Philadelphia will not issue qualifying offers to forwards Brandon Alderson and Derek Mathers, according to the Courier-Post’s Dave Issac.
- Boston will not qualify forwards Landon Ferraro and Brett Connolly, reports ESPN’s Joe MacDonald.
- Carolina announced that they did not make offers to forwards Zach Boychuk, Anthony Camara, Dane Fox, Carter Sandlak, and Justin Shugg, plus defensemen Danny Biega, Michal Jordan, and Rasmus Rissanen, plus goalie Rasmus Tirronen.
- Columbus did not qualify C Michael Chaput or D Michael Paliotta, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
- Buffalo announced they made offers to 7 players and failed to tender an offer to G Nathan Lieuwen plus forwards Alex Guptill, Colin Jacobs, and Jack Nevins.
- New Jersey did not make offers to defensemen Raman Hrabarenka and Jon Merrill plus forwards Beau Bennett and Devante Smith-Pelly according to The Record’s Andrew Gross. As the Devils recently traded for Bennett, it’s likely they’ll come to terms on a new deal before July 1st at least than his required QO.
- Edmonton announced they didn’t tender an offer to D Adam Clendening, forwards Luke Gazdic and Kale Kelly, plus goalie Niklas Lundstrom.
- Nashville issued four qualifying offers, reports the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan. Not getting offers were forwards Gabriel Bourque and Cody Hodgson.
- Calgary announced they did not tender offers to forwards Kenny Agostino, Bill Arnold, Joe Colborne, Turner Elson, Josh Jooris, Drew Shore, and Bryce Van Brabant plus goalies Joni Ortio and Kevin Poulin.
- The Panthers didn’t give qualifying offers to forwards Greg McKegg, Quinton Howden, and John McFarland plus defenseman Dylan Olsen, reports the Sun Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov.
- The Ducks announced their list of offers. Not receiving offers were forwards Matt Bailey, Brandon Pirri and Charles Sarault plus defensemen Kevin Gagne and Martin Gernat.
- Colorado cut ties with Sami Aittokallio, Gabriel Beaupre, Trevor Cheek, Dennis Everberg, Joey Hishon, Brandon Gormley, Garret Meurs, Borna Rendulic, and Roman Will, reports BSN Denver’s Cole Hamilton.
- Arizona declined to extend qualifying offers to Kevin Connauton, Jarred Tinordi, Klas Dahlbeck, Sergei Plotnikov, Niklas Treutle, Philip Samuelsson, and Christian Thomas, reports AZSports writer Craig Morgan.
- Canucks sent qualifying offers to all their RFAs except Linden Vey, reports Vancouver Providence’s Ben Kuzma
This will continue to be updated as more information comes in.
Colorado To Buy Out Brad Stuart
The Colorado Avalanche will buy out D Brad Stuart, reports Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The 36 year old has spent the last two seasons with the Avs.
Last season, Stuart only saw sparing time in Colorado’s lineup, dressing in only 6 games, being held pointless while averaging just 14:00 of ice time. In his career, he has suited up in 1,056 games between San Jose, Boston, Calgary, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Colorado.
The buyout will cost Colorado $2.4MM in salary. However, as he’s on a 35+ contract, the Avs must eat the entire cap hit of $3.6MM in 2016-17, with no subsequent penalty for 2017-18.
Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces 2016 Induction Class
The Hockey Hall of Fame has announced their list of inductees for 2016. Gaining entrance to the Hall this year will be:
Eric Lindros
Sergei Makarov
Rogie Vachon
Pat Quinn (Builder)
Lindros was a dominant power forward who played from 1992-93 to 2006-07 with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dallas Stars. His career was shortened by concussion trouble while he famously held out in 2000-01. He finished his playing days with 372 goals and 493 assists with 1,398 PIMS in 760 career regular season games.
Makarov spent most of his playing career in Russia but spent parts of 7 seasons in the NHL with the Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas, collecting 384 points in 424 games. He led the Soviet League in scoring for 9 years and won 8 World Championships and 2 Olympic Gold Medals while being part of the famous ‘KLM Line’ with Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov. His first season with the Flames was so strong that the NHL was forced to institute the “Makarov Rule,” restricting those eligible to win Rookie of the Year to those aged 27 or younger.
Vachon spent 17 years between the pipes for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, Detroit Red Wings, and Boston Bruins before retiring in 1982. At the time of his retirement, he was fourth in all-time wins with 355. Today, that mark sits 18th on the all-time list. He won the Vezina Trophy in 1966-67 for the NHL’s best goaltender and won 3 Stanley Cup titles as well as a Canada Cup championship.
Quinn suited up in 606 NHL games over 9 seasons as a player but is being inducted posthumously as a builder. He was a long-time NHL coach with Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, and Edmonton, earning two Jack Adams Awards (for the best coach) in 1979-80 and 1991-92. He had a total of 684 career head coaching victories in the NHL as well as a Gold Medal in the Olympics in 2002.
The formal induction ceremony will take place Monday, November 14th at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario.