Free Agent Notes: Stamkos, Okposo, Lucic
With the completion of the NHL Entry Draft, the negotiating window with upcoming unrestricted free agents has now opened. From now until July 1st, teams are allowed to contact, but not sign, the pending UFAs. This is a key period when teams decide on strategy for the summer before the free agent frenzy begins, and also the last chance for teams looking to re-sign their own players to eight year contracts. Once the player becomes unrestricted next Friday, teams may only offer seven year pacts. Here is some information already coming out about some of the top names:
- Steven Stamkos is the most important example of a team who would lose their advantage after July 1st, with the superstar center surely demanding a maximum length deal. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the Buffalo Sabres may be joining the hunt for the 26-year old, quoting GM Tim Murray: “We’re going to chase the big fish.” The Sabres do have over $20MM in cap space for the upcoming season, and could fit a Stamkos-like contract into their current structure.
- After opening, the window for Kyle Okposo must have been pretty stuffed as Arthur Staple of Newsday reports there was plenty of interest in the 28-year old. Among the teams that came calling were the Jets, Blues, Kings, Wild and Red Wings. Okposo put up 64 points last season and landed at #2 on our list of the top 50 UFAs.
- ESPN’s Joe McDonald passes along a report that Boston Bruins’ GM Don Sweeney has considered a reunion with Milan Lucic, and that the team will at least inquire about Stamkos. Boston isn’t finding much luck trying to re-sign their own star forward, as Loui Eriksson looks poised to hit the open market next week.
Avalanche Trade Nick Holden To Rangers For Draft Pick
According to the team Twitter account, the Colorado Avalanche have traded defenceman Nick Holden to the Rangers in exchange for a fourth round pick in 2017. This comes after weeks of speculation about pending RFA (and Holden’s partner) Tyson Barrie and his status on the trade market.
Holden played in all 82 games for the Avalanche last season, and saw his role increase to just under 22 minutes a night. Chipping in 22 points, the hulking defenceman was among the Colorado leaders in both hits and blocked shots. He’ll probably move to a third pairing role on a Rangers squad who despite losing Keith Yandle are still a deep group.
For the Rangers, a fourth round pick is a small price to pay for the dependability and control that Holden gives you on the blueline. The 29-year old is under contract for the next two seasons at just $1.65MM and leaves them with close to $17MM in cap room for 2016-17.
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Kerby Rychel From Blue Jackets
According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Columbus Blue Jackets have dealt forward Kerby Rychel to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenceman Scott Harrington and a conditional fifth round pick. If Harrington is put on, then claimed off waivers, the Maple Leafs will surrender the 2017 pick.
The 21-year old Rychel, who was drafted in the first round of the 2013 draft, played 32 games for the Blue Jackets last season and tallied just nine points. He has shown his scoring ability in the AHL however, racking up 60 points over the past two seasons (88 games). His pedigree and youth will fit in nicely for the Maple Leafs as they continue their full re-build.
For Harrington, this is the second time he’s been included in a trade despite only having played 25 NHL games. The left-handed blueliner was included in the Phil Kessel trade from last summer and saw limited time this season on the last-place Maple Leafs. He’ll head to Columbus where he is expected to be sent to the Calder Cup winning Lake Erie Monsters and will have to pass waivers to do so.
The Leafs did well turning Harrington into Rychel, if only because of the log-jam they have on their back end for next season. The team currently has between eight to ten young defensemen fighting for NHL playing time, including recent signee Nikita Zaitsev and last year’s second round pick Travis Dermott.
Kings Re-Sign Trevor Lewis To Four-Year Deal
The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed forward Trevor Lewis to a four-year deal, per the team site. Lewis tallied 16 points last season, and chipped in two goals in the Kings’ first-round exit. Though the team has not released the financial details, Darren Dreger of Sportsnet tells us that it will be a four-year deal worth a total of $8MM.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Lewis was originally drafted by the Kings in the first round of the 2006 entry draft. A steady contributor to the Kings’ bottom six, Lewis has played in at least 72 games in each of the last five full seasons, and all 48 in the lockout shortened 2012-13.
At $2MM per season, the Kings have locked up a reliable presence in their lineup for a reasonable amount as they look to try and bring back their other UFAs, including Milan Lucic, Luke Schenn and Kris Versteeg.
Kings Acquire G Jack Campbell From Stars for D Nick Ebert
The LA Kings acquired G Jack Campbell from the Dallas Stars for D Nick Ebert. Campbell was once a heralded goalie prospect for the Stars, leading the 2010 US U20 Junior team to a championship over Team Canada. More recently, however, he has been relegated from the Stars’ AHL team to its ECHL affiliate Idaho Steelheads.
Campbell looks for a fresh start in LA. The Kings have had significant success developing goalies of late, with both Martin Jones and Jonathan Bernier emerging from the Kings goaltending pipeline.
American defenseman Nick Ebert—Campbell’s former teammate with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires—is a heavy-hitting defensive prospect.
Penguins Trade Beau Bennett to the Devils for the 77th Pick (Connor Hall)
The Pittsburgh Penguins traded F Beau Bennett to the New Jersey Devils for the 77th pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. The Penguins used that pick to select D Connor Hall.
Bennett is an RFA coming off his ELC and is looking for a slight raise. The Devils would be hesitant, however, because the oft-injured Beau Bennet played only 33 games last year, scoring 6G and 6A. GM Jim Rutherford stated during a draft interview that Bennett did not fit into the Penguins’ plans going forward, and that the team had to make room for other young prospects.
Defenseman Connor Hall scored 2G and 9P with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL last season, and potted 5 more points in 9 postseason games. NHL Central Scouting rated him the 100th best North American skater in this years draft.
Tampa Bay Trades Prospect Anthony DeAngelo for the 37th Pick (Libor Hajek)
The Tampa Bay Lightning traded prospect Anthony DeAngelo for Arizona’s 37th Pick. Tampa subsequently used the pick to draft D Libor Hajek.
DeAngelo put up 6G and 43P in 69 games for Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. The 2014 first-rounder was scratched eight times last season for the Cruch. Coach Rob Zettler opined that DeAngelo has excellent offensive ability, but struggled defensively.
The Lightning acquired the Czech defense prospect Libor Hajek with the pick. Hajek scored 3G and 26P with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL last season.
Panthers Trade Kulikov to Sabres for Pysyk And Picks
The Florida Panthers traded D Dmitry Kulikov and the 33rd pick to the Buffalo Sabres for D Mark Pysyk and the 38th and 89th pick. More details forthcoming.
Kulikov scored 1G and 17P last season in 74 games. He has one year left on his contract worth $4.33MM a year. Mark Pysyk scored 1G and 11P in 55 games for the Sabres.
2016 NHL Draft Results
Pro Hockey Rumors will be following and updating every selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. Below are the results of the first round.
Round 1
1. Toronto Maple Leafs: C Auston Matthews (Zurich Lions – SUI)
2. Winnipeg Jets: RW Patrik Laine (Tappara – SM-liiga)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets: LW Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton – QMJHL)
4. Edmonton Oilers: RW Jesse Puljujarvi (Karpat – SM-liiga)
5. Vancouver Canucks: D Olli Juolevi (London – OHL)
6. Calgary Flames: LW Matthew Tkachuk (London – OHL)
7. Arizona Coyotes: C Clayton Keller (USA NTDP – USHL)
8. Buffalo Sabres: F Alexander Nylander (Mississauga Steelheads – OHL)
9. Montreal Canadiens: D Mikhail Sergachev (Windsor – OHL)
10. Colorado Avalanche: C Tyson Jost (Penticton – BCHL)
11. Ottawa Senators (from New Jersey): C Logan Brown (Windsor – OHL)
12. New Jersey Devils (from Ottawa): C Michael McLeod (Mississauga Steelheads – OHL)
13. Carolina Hurricanes: D Jake Bean (Calgary – WHL)
14. Boston Bruins: D Charlie McAvoy (Boston University – NCAA)
15. Minnesota Wild: C Luke Kunin (Wisconsin – NCAA)
16. Arizona Coyotes (From Detroit): D Jakob Chychrun (Sarnia – OHL)
17. Nashville Predators: D Dante Fabbro (Penticton – BCHL)
18. Winnipeg Jets (From Philadelphia): D Logan Stanley (Windsor – OHL)
19. New York Islanders: LW Kieffer Bellows (US NTDP)
20. Detroit Red Wings (from Arizona via New York Rangers): D Dennis Cholowski (Chilliwack (BCHL)
21. Carolina Hurricanes (from LA Kings): RW Julien Gauthier (Val-d’Or Foreurs – QMJHL
22. Philadelphia Flyers (From Winnipeg via Chicago): C German Rubtsov (Team Russia U-18)
23. Florida Panthers: C Henrik Borgstrom (HIFK – SM-liiga Jr)
24. Anaheim Ducks: LW Max Jones (London – OHL)
25. Dallas Stars: LW Riley Tufte (Blaine – USHSW)
26. St. Louis Blues (From Washington): C Tage Thompson (Connecticut – NCAA)
27. Tampa Bay Lightning: C Brett Howden (Moose Jaw – WHL)
28. Washington Capitals (From St. Louis): D Lucas Johansen (Kelowna – WHL)
29. Boston Bruins (from San Jose): C Trent Frederic (USA U-18 NTDP)
30. Anaheim Ducks (from Pittsburgh via Toronto): C Sam Steel (Regina – WHL)
Draft Snapshots: Draft Pick Trades, Matthews
The Devils and Senators swapped picks in the first round. The Devils dealt the 11th overall pick to Ottawa for their 12th overall pick and 80th overall pick. Ottawa selected C Logan Brown, whose father coaches Ottawa’s OHL team and has family in Ottawa. The Devils used the pick to draft C Michael McLeod.
Other Draft notes:
- The Flyers traded for the Jets 22nd and 36th overall picks while giving up their 18th and 79th overall picks.
- The Capitals dealt their 26th overall pick to St. Louis for their 28th overall pick and 87th overall pick.
- #1 overall pick Auston Matthews was thrilled to be selected by the Maple Leafs, no matter the long road they still have to competing for a Stanley Cup. Matt Larkin from The Hockey News writes that Matthews was “euphoric” on being a Maple Leaf after the Arizona native seemed less than excited following the revelation that the Leafs would pick first. Matthews is the first American to be drafted first overall since Patrick Kane in 2007.