Flames Acquire Alex Chiasson From Ottawa
The Senators announced a trade Monday as they have dealt W Alex Chiasson to Calgary in exchange for D Patrick Sieloff.
Chiasson spent the last two seasons with Ottawa after being acquired as part of the Jason Spezza trade in 2014. Last year, he played in 77 games with the Sens, recording a career low 8 goals and 6 assists. In 239 career NHL games, the 25 year old has 38 goals and 44 assists.
Sieloff was Calgary’s 2nd round pick (42nd overall) in 2012. He made his NHL debut this past season, scoring in his lone game. He also suited up in 52 games with their AHL affiliate in Stockton, picking up 2 goals and 9 assists.
Shortly after the deal was announced, the Flames announced that they have inked Chiasson to a one year contract. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports the deal is for $800,000, well below his qualifying offer of $1.2MM.
Coyotes Re-Sign Louis Domingue
The Coyotes announced that they have re-signed G Louis Domingue to a multi-year contract. It’s a two year, one-way deal paying him $1MM in 2016-17 and $1.1M in 2017-18 for a cap hit of $1.05MM according to Cap Friendly.
Last season, Domingue played in 39 games with the Coyotes after joining the team due to injuries, posting a 15-18-5 record with a 2.75 GAA a .911 SV%, and 2 shutouts. His 15 wins set a franchise record for most by a rookie goaltender while he was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month back in January.
For his career, Domingue has suited up in a total of 46 games with Arizona, posting a 16-20-6 mark with a 2.74 GAA and a .912 SV%.
The team is not expected to re-sign pending UFA Anders Lindback, paving the way for Domingue to make the full-time jump to the NHL. He will battle with incumbent starter Mike Smith for playing time.
Penguins Will Not Qualify Justin Schultz
The deadline for teams to issue qualifying offers is just a few hours away and it appears that one player who won’t be receiving one is Pittsburgh D Justin Schultz, the team announced.
The 25 year old earned $3.9MM last season which meant that his qualifying offer was to be for the same amount. That was too rich for the Penguins who already are a team that is largely cap-strapped heading into free agency.
Last season, Schultz suited up in 63 games split between the Penguins and Edmonton Oilers, picking up 4 goals and 14 assists. Those 18 points marked a career low as prior to 2015-16, he had put up a minimum of 27 points in each of his three previous seasons.
The Penguins will retain Schultz’s rights until July 1st and are still able to re-sign him at an amount lower than his qualifying offer if they so desire. If they can’t come to terms, Schultz would enter free agency on Friday as an offensive-minded blueliner in a market that isn’t exactly overflowing with players like him.
As for the rest of Pittsburgh’s pending RFA’s, only forward Dominik Uher will be qualified. Uher has already signed with HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga for next season; qualifying him allows the Penguins to retain his rights in spite of his leaving.
Blues Re-Sign Kyle Brodziak
The Blues announced the re-signing of C Kyle Brodziak on Monday to a two year contract. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the deal will carry a cap hit of $950,000 per year.
The deal represents a $50,000 raise from 2015-16, Brodziak’s first with St. Louis. Last season, he suited up in 76 regular season games for the Blues, picking up 7 goals and 4 assists while averaging 10:48 per game. He also played in 20 postseason contests, collecting a pair of goals.
Brodziak has played in 697 career NHL games with St. Louis, Minnesota, and Edmonton after being a seventh round pick of the Oilers back in 2003, collecting 239 points (105-134-239). He should once again battle for fourth line and penalty kill ice time with the Blues next season.
Red Wings Re-Sign Drew Miller To One-Year Deal
Ansar Khan of MLive reports that the Detroit Red Wings have re-signed forward Drew Miller to a one-year contract extension at $1.025MM. The Red Wings also announced the deal.
Miller was an unrestricted free agent. Injuries limited Miller to just 28 games last season where he had 2 points (1-1). The move is a curious one only in that the Wings are still waiting to hear from speedy center Darren Helm, and expected to make a serious run at Steven Stamkos, as well as other marquee free agents should Stamkos be retained by Tampa Bay or sign elsewhere. Additionally, it seemed that the Wings were more willing to embrace the youth movement they’ve been hinting at for several seasons. Miller would conceivably take ice time away from the younger players Detroit intends on giving greater opportunities–specifically Andreas Athanasiou, Tomas Jurco, Teemu Pulkkinen, and Anthony Mantha. The re-signing of Miller could very well be a depth move and nothing more. However, the Wings insistence on playing veterans–despite many of them being past their best years–says otherwise.
Miller is known for his penalty killing capabilities, but brings little else to the table in terms of goal scoring or other production as his numbers have fallen since his career high of 25 points (14-11) in 2011-12. The financial deal is slightly below the $1.35MM Miller earned in his last contract, which was a three-year deal signed before the 2013-14 season.
Snapshots: Blackhawks, Lightning, Vanek, Higgins
The Blackhawks may no longer be in salary cap hell, but they are certainly thinner up front writes the Chicago Sun-Times Mark Lazerus. With Andrew Shaw being dealt to Montreal, both Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen off to Carolina, and Andrew Ladd hitting free agency, the Hawks have a number of open spots to shore up. While Chicago can now collectively breathe under the repressive Cap that has had them selling off parts since the summer of 2010, the casualties have come in the way of losing skill players. Lazerus has the Blackhawks possibly bringing back Brian Campbell, who could carry a $2MM/yr cap hit. Meanwhile, the bottom six forwards would look very different than the pedigree most Hawks fans are accustomed to. Lazerus lists Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann as potential candidates to return, while naming P.A. Parenteau or Sam Gagner as possible options to add in free agency.
In other league news:
- The Lightning have tendered qualifying offers to Yanni Gourde, Kristers Gudlevskis, Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, Tye McGinn, Vladislav Namestnikov, and Nikita Nesterov tweets Erik Eriendsson. In the meantime, general manager Steve Yzerman has a number of decisions to make as the free agency window opens on Friday. Steven Stamkos is still the top priority as teams are lining up to make their pitch. But the equally intriguing angle is what to do with goaltender Ben Bishop. Entering the final year of a contract with a $5.95MM cap hit, Bishop was reportedly working on contract specifics after the Flames were given permission to do so. That was scrapped as soon as the Flames acquired Brian Elliott from the Blues.
- Jason Brough reports that both the Canucks and Rangers may have interest in free agent Thomas Vanek. Though Vanek would be a backup plan to the higher tier free agents, namely Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson, he could be a decent pickup at a reasonable price for both teams seeking scoring help. Vanek had 41 points (18-23) and will see a much lower offer than the three-year/$19.5MM offer he received from Minnesota, who bought him out last week.
- Elliotte Friedman tweets that Canucks winger Chris Higgins was placed on waivers for the purposes of being bought out. According to CapFriendly, the cap hit would be $833,333 through the 2017-18 season. CBS Sports listed Higgins as one of their buyout candidates, and the Vancouver Sun reported the Canucks actively shopping Higgins back in January. Higgins had 4 points (3-1) in 33 games last season.
Predators Re-Sign Forsberg To Six-Year Deal
The Nashville Predators re-signed forward Filip Forsberg to a 6-year, $36MM deal tweets Stephen Whyno.
According to the release from the Predators, the contract will run through the 2021-22 season. Forsberg was a restricted free agent, and signing the 21-year-old forward to a long extension guarantees the dynamic forward as a critical piece for the Preds to build around.
Forsberg racked up 64 points (33-31) in a full season’s worth of games. The Swedish forward was traded to the Preds in 2013 from Washington for Martin Erat, and Michael Latta. The trade is now considered a heist and one that current Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan wishes he could have “done over,” though MacLellan was the assistant general manager to then GM George McPhee.
Since joining the Preds, Forsberg was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2014-15, and finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting for the league’s best rookie. Forsberg also etched his name into the Predators record book in both the regular and post season. One of his more recognized efforts was being the first Predator to register a hat trick in the playoffs, a feat he recorded in 2015 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
With the signing, Forsberg now becomes the second highest paid Predator after captain Shea Weber. The signing leaves Nashville with just over $7MM to secure their other free agents they wish to pursue. They include Calle Jarnkrok, Gabriel Bourque, Petter Granberg, Paul Gaustad, and Carter Hutton.
Andrey Makarov Signs Two-Year Deal in KHL
In a less than surprising move, Andrey Makarov signed a two-year deal with Spartak Moskva of the KHL. Aivis Kalnins tweets that the 2-year contract is worth about $1.2MM. Kalnins also tweeted that Makarov’s role is undetermined for now.
The Hockey News wrote that Makarov had already decided that the KHL was his next destination. Quoting Makarov from a Russian source, Makarov was displeased with his treatment by the organization, and went as far to let the Sabres know during exit interviews. Statistically, Makarov was the better goalie in Rochester, with other goaltender options Nathan Lieuwen and Linus Ullmark posting .909 and .902 save percentages respectively.
At Rochester, Markarov posted a 9-9-2 mark with a .916 save percentage.
Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets
Widely picked as a sleeper team for 2015-16, the Columbus Blue Jackets wound up at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings instead. Now, GM Jarmo Kekalainen must find a way to shuffle up the roster despite most of the team already being under contract for next season.
Key Restricted Free Agent: D Seth Jones – One of the biggest trades of last year involved Jones joining the Blue Jackets in exchange for C Ryan Johansen. Jones immediately became their top defenseman, logging 24:27 a night and picked up 20 points in just 41 games with the team.
At this point, the Jackets appear to be focused on securing a long-term contract with the former 4th overall pick, reports Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. That’s going to be a very pricey proposition as a 6-8 year deal should come in between $6MM – $7MM per season.
While a bridge deal is also a possibility, the odds of that are tempered with the threat of an offer sheet. Given his stature and Columbus’ cap situation (more on that shortly), Jones may be the prime target for one. If he signs (or comes close to signing) an offer sheet, it will most likely be a long-term pact.
Other RFA’s: C Michael Chaput, D Scott Harrington, D Michael Paliotta
Key Unrestricted Free Agent: LW Rene Bourque gets the nod by default as he’s the only full time NHL player that’s unrestricted for the Jackets. He’s coming off another disappointing campaign where he scored just 3 goals and 5 assists in 49 games while being a frequent healthy scratch. The 34 year old may be hard pressed to find a deal early on in free agency and is a likely candidate for a training camp tryout.
Other UFA: D Justin Falk
Cap Situation: The Blue Jackets already have 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies under contract for next season and have a little under $5.5 MM in cap space to work with according to Cap Friendly. Jones’ contract will likely cost more than that on top of potentially adding another player or two to the roster. Several players from their Calder Cup winning AHL affiliate in Lake Erie are close to being ready and the team would like to make room for some of them to play next season.
Kekalainen will have to try to move a fair bit of salary this offseason, either through buyouts (D Fedor Tyutin or RW Jared Boll are possibilities) or through trade; LW Scott Hartnell has come up in talks this offseason. That will be their primary offseason focus instead of the free agent market.
Week In Review: 6/19/16 – 6/25/16
Here’s a look back at what was a very busy week in the hockey world.
Draft
- The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was held on Friday and Saturday with a total of 211 players being picked. Here is who each team selected. (Link)
Salary Cap
- Officially set at $73MM US for the 2016-17 season. The cap floor is $54MM. (Link)
Expansion
- Las Vegas was officially granted an expansion franchise that will begin play in the 2017-18 season. An expansion draft will be held next June. (Link)
Awards
- The NHL Awards were held on Wednesday. Here’s the full list of the results. (Link)
Trades
- Sharks – Acquired C Maxim Letunov and a 2016 7th round pick from Arizona in exchange for a 2016 4th round pick and a 2017 3rd round pick. (Link)
- Sabres – Acquired LW Jimmy Vesey’s negotiating rights from Nashville in exchange for a 2016 3rd round pick. (Link) Also acquired D Dmitry Kulikov and a 2016 2nd round pick from Florida in exchange for D Mark Pysyk, a 2016 2nd round pick, and a 2016 3rd round pick. (Link)
- Maple Leafs – Acquired G Frederik Andersen from Anaheim in exchange for a 2016 1st round pick and a 2017 2nd round pick; signed Andersen to a 5 year, $25MM contract. (Link)
- Panthers – Acquired the negotiating rights to D Keith Yandle from NY Rangers in exchange for a 2016 6th round pick and a 2017 conditional fourth round pick. (Link)
- Avalanche – Acquired C Rocco Grimaldi from Florida in exchange for G Reto Berra. (Link)
- Canadiens – Acquired RW Andrew Shaw from Chicago in exchange for two 2016 2nd round picks; traded LW/C Lars Eller to Washington for 2017 and 2018 2nd round picks. (Link)
- Flames – Acquired G Brian Elliott from St. Louis in exchange for a 2016 2nd round pick and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2018. (Link)
- Coyotes – Acquired C Pavel Datsyuk’s contract and a 2016 1st round pick from Detroit in exchange for C Joe Vitale, a 2016 1st round pick, and a 2016 2nd round pick. (Link) Also acquired D Anthony DeAngelo from Tampa Bay in exchange for a 2016 2nd round pick. (Link)
- Devils – Acquired RW Beau Bennett from Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2016 3rd round pick. (Link)
- Kings – Acquired G Jack Campbell from Dallas in exchange for D Nick Ebert. (Link)
- Blue Jackets – Acquired D Scott Harrington and a conditional 2017 5th round pick from Toronto in exchange for LW Kerby Rychel. (Link)
- Rangers – Acquired D Nick Holden from Colorado in exchange for a 2016 4th round pick. (Link)
Signings
- Sabres – LW Nicolas Deslauriers (Link)
- Jets – G Michael Hutchinson (Link)
- Blues – RW Scottie Upshall (Link)
- Coyotes – D Alex Goligoski (Link)
- Panthers – D Keith Yandle (Link)
- Blue Jackets – C William Karlsson (Link)
- Flyers – D Radko Gudas (Link)
- Stars – D Jordie Benn (Link)
- Lightning – RW J.T. Brown, C Cedric Paquette (Link)
- Kings – C Trevor Lewis (Link)
Comeback Attempt
- G Ilya Bryzgalov (last played in 2014-15) (Link)
Prospect Signing
- Oilers – D Jordan Oesterle (Link)
Retirement
- Kings – C Vincent Lecavalier (Link)
Key Injury
- Lighning – RW Ryan Callahan (5 months) (Link)
Buyout
- Wild – RW Thomas Vanek (Link)