Buyout Candidates: Higgins, Nystrom, Vanek
The NHL buyout window is now open but so far only two players have been added to the pending free agent market, Jared Cowen and R.J. Umberger, formerly of Toronto and Philadelphia respectively. As we get closer to the June 30th deadline, several more will join them. Here are a trio of players that are prime candidates to receive a buyout:
Chris Higgins (Vancouver): Higgins had a disastrous year with the Canucks. He followed up a 36 point campaign in 2014-15 with just three goals and an assist in 33 games last year before clearing waivers and being demoted to the American Hockey League. He fared a bit better down there, collecting 13 points in 22 contests but that still comes nowhere close to justifying a $2.5MM contract. Vancouver would only receive $950,000 in cap savings if they were to bury his contract in the minors again next season but would save over $1.6MM this season if they buy him out. Of course, they’d be saddled with a small cap charge in 2017-18 as well.
Buyout Cap Charges: $833,333 in both 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Eric Nystrom (Nashville): Predators GM David Poile has already acknowledged that a buyout is possible for the 33 year old winger if they can’t find a trade for him in the coming days. Nystrom has scored just seven goals in each of the last two seasons (after scoring 15 in his first year with Nashville) and is entering the final year of a four year deal signed back in 2013. If he is bought out, he could still potentially catch on in a fourth line/depth role with another team but it would be at a considerable pay cut from the $3MM in salary (and $2.5MM cap hit) he’s owed for 2016-17.
Buyout Cap Charges: $500,000 in 2016-17 and $1MM in 2017-18. This is due to the back loading of salary in his contract.
Thomas Vanek (Minnesota): Vanek had a down year by his standards last season, picking up 41 points in 74 games with the Wild, equalling the lowest output of his career (he previously had 41 points in 2012-13 but played just 38 games that year). He’s owed $7.5MM in salary with a $6.5MM cap charge for 2016-17, a sum that could be deemed too pricey, especially if GM Chuck Fletcher has eyes on making an impact signing in free agency. Minnesota is fairly tight to the cap and has several important restricted free agents which makes Vanek a candidate to fall victim to their cap situation.
Buyout Cap Charges: $1.5MM in 2016-17 and $2.5MM in 2017-18. This is due to the back loading of salary in his contract.
Top Draft Prospects: Auston Matthews
The NHL draft is now less than a week away with the first round set for this Friday. Over the next several days, we will be taking a closer look at the prospects who will hear their name called early on Friday night.
We start with the consensus #1 pick, Auston Matthews.
Bio
Position: Center
Birthdate: September 17, 1997
Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona
Height: 6’2.25”
Weight: 216 lbs
2015-16
Matthews shocked the hockey world by opting to spurn offers from both the junior and collegiate levels, deciding to turn pro and sign with the Zurich Lions of the Swiss NLA instead. It’s hard to argue he made the wrong decision as he finished in the top-10 in league scoring (and second in team scoring) despite missing time due to injury.
He was also busy internationally, representing the US in a pair of tournaments. Matthews was an alternate captain at the World Junior Championships and tied for the team lead in scoring while being named to the tournament All-Star Team. He also suited up at the World Championships last month where he once again tied for the team lead in points.
Statistics
Zurich: 36 GP, 24 goals, 22 assists, 46 points, 6 PIMS, +16 rating
WJC’s: 7 GP, 7 goals, 4 assists, 11 points, 2 PIMS, +6 rating
Worlds: 10 GP, 6 goals, 3 assists, 9 points, 2 PIMS, even rating
Scouting Report
Very few players are the ‘complete package’ coming into the draft but Matthews is one of those exceptions, especially after really improving his defensive game playing under Marc Crawford (now the Associate Coach with Ottawa) with Zurich. He has the speed to outrace his opponents plus the size and strength to muscle himself away in tight corners.
Offensively, Matthews can do it all. He’s a gifted passer and sees the ice well, he can play well in transition or cycling along the boards, and he has an elite, powerful shot that he needs very little time to get off. One area that he will need to improve on is a tendency to be too creative. That’s not unique to high-level teenage talents though and is something that will be refined and improved on in the NHL.
In his own end, Matthews doesn’t cheat and look to fly the zone early; instead, he’s one of the first ones back and doesn’t leave until his team is in possession of the puck. He also has made strides defending one-on-one and is now more than capable of handling himself against most opposing forwards. He may struggle a bit early on against some of the bigger power forwards in the NHL but that shouldn’t hinder him for too long.
Projected Future Role
Franchise center capable of playing in any situation.
NHL Timeline
Not many players from this draft will make the jump to the NHL right away but Matthews will be one who steps in and makes an impact right away. He may not start out as a #1 center day one (starting on the second line seems more likely as he’s eased into playing at a new level) but it shouldn’t be long before he ascends into that role. He’ll be heard from quickly in the NHL.
Snapshots: Puljujarvi, Lalonde, Backes
With the Entry Draft getting closer and closer, there has been lots of chatter over who will go after Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine go in the top two selections. The expected #3 pick, Jesse Puljujarvi hasn’t exactly helped his stock as Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reported yesterday that the Finnish winger underwent knee surgery after winning gold at the World U-18’s in April. He will be missing all the summer development camps, but should be ready for the regular season. While Columbus wonders what to do with the third overall pick, here’s more from around the league:
- Up-and-coming coaching prospect Derek Lalonde has been hired on as the newest head coach of the Iowa Wild, reports Jeff Cox of ESPN. Lalonde previously coached in both the USHL and ECHL and is considered by many to be a coach on the rise. The Wild, who finished last in the AHL last season were coached by John Torchetti until he moved up to Minnesota after the mid-season firing of Mike Yeo.
- Although they’d be open to a return, it sounds like the St. Louis Blues will not be re-signing captain David Backes. When asked by Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch, GM Doug Armstrong related as much: “I think the unrestricted guys will most likely hit the open market. We’d like to have David back…but it has to work for both sides, not just one. We’re willing to invest a little bit of ‘thank you’ money, but it has to make sense.”
Chicago Blackhawks Sign Nick Schmaltz
UPDATE 5:00 PM CST: The Blackhawks have offically announced the signing.
1:17 PM CST: Hine updates, saying that the Teravainen deal helped push Schmaltz from North Dakota. More minutes available for the similarly built player.
12:42 PM CST: Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune adds that it’s a three-year entry level deal for Schmaltz.
10:53 AM CST: According to Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports, the Chicago Blackhawks have signed North Dakota forward Nick Schmaltz. Schmaltz was drafted by the Hawks 20th overall in 2014, but took his talents to the NCAA where he has excelled.
In two seasons at North Dakota, Schmaltz put up 72 points in 75 games, including a whopping 46 (11-35) this season. The Fighting Hawks won the National Championship this season, out-dueling Quinnipiac in the final Frozen Four game 5-1.
The 20-year old Schmaltz will now move into a competition up front for the Blackhawks, who recently sent out Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell and have a number of pending unrestricted free agents. Chicago continues to fill their ranks with talented youngsters, despite losing many excellent players in cap-crunches over the past few years.
Free Agent Focus: Ottawa Senators
After a season in 2014-15 that saw the Ottawa Senators put up 99 points and make the playoffs, last year was a big disappointment. Despite having a legitimate superstar in Erik Karlsson on the blueline, Ottawa went just 38-35-9 and missed the playoffs by 8 points. Karlsson put up 82 points and is a candidate to win his third Norris trophy, and would hide a lot of flaws on any team with his exceptional possession and offensive numbers.
With a very young roster, the team is another cap-floor team like Carolina (which we profiled earlier today) and won’t spend anywhere near the $71MM cap. They do however have some important names to re-sign if they want to build this core together. Here’s a look at their upcoming offseason:
Key Restricted Free Agent: LW Mike Hoffman – Following Hoffman’s breakout 2014-15 season where he scored 27 goals, the former 5th round pick improved in almost every category this season. Racking up 29 goals and 59 points, the 6’1″ winger moved to a spot on the top line and flourished in his new role, averaging almost 18 minutes a night.
Hoffman will turn 27 next season and will be looking for a long-term deal with the Senators this summer; paid $2MM last season, he’s earned a much bigger deal this time around. If the Senators aren’t willing to commit long-term to the Kitchener, Ontario native, Hoffman could sign a one-year deal and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If he could hit that 30-goal mark in 2016-17, he’d be in for a huge payday.
Other RFAs: C Ryan Dzingel, RW Alex Chiasson, RW Buddy Robinson, LW Matt Puempel, D Fredrik Claesson, D Cody Ceci, D Patrick Wiercioch
Key Unrestricted Free Agent: None. The Senators only have two players hitting UFA status this summer, and both Scott Gomez and Mike Kostka are insignificant to their future plans. The 36-year old Gomez hasn’t been an effective NHL player in years, and Kostka is a minor-league journeyman who has never had NHL success.
Projected Cap Space: $17.5MM, 18 players under contract.
The blockbuster deal to bring over Dion Phaneuf from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season made a huge impact on the Sens’ salary structure going forward, inducing a cap hit of $7MM a season for the next five. Fortunately for Ottawa, Phaneuf’s deal was front-loaded and they’ll only be paying him $5.5MM in his age-35 season, despite the big cap hit.
It’s the NMC in his deal that may be troublesome for the Senators, as he’ll have automatic protection in next year’s expansion draft. With Karlsson obviously also needing it, the Senators will only have one more defenceman protection slot to use on their other young blueliners.
Overall, the team is in good shape going forward without many anchoring contracts, and a large crop of young players. They’ll try to get back to the playoffs this season, and may sign a veteran or two to help lead the group there.
Pavel Datsyuk Signs With SKA
After officially announcing his retirement yesterday, Pavel Datsyuk has signed on with SKA Saint Petersberg of the KHL for $4.8MM. After breaking the dollar amount in early June, KHL insider Aivis Kalniņš now tweets out that it’s a done deal.
Terms of the deal haven’t been announced, but many have thought that SKA would offer an open-ended deal to one of the country’s most storied athletes. Datsyuk is returning home to be closer to his daughter and to play out the rest of his career after an exceptional stay in the NHL.
A veteran of 953 NHL games, Datsyuk scored 314 goals and racked up 918 points as one of the most exciting players in the game. He helped the team to two Stanley Cups and never missed the playoffs in his 14-year career.
He’ll now be joining a team that has many former NHL players, including Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Dmitri Kalinin. The SKA squad were the 2014-15 champions, and lost in the third round this past season.
Free Agent Focus: Carolina Hurricanes
After a season which many fans and front office types would consider a success, the youthful Carolina Hurricanes came closer to a playoff spot than many believed they would. With a blue line that was built for today’s NHL, the ‘Canes were quick and resilient, leading to 86 points and many encouraging signs.
The team even pulled the trigger on what was once considered an unthinkable trade, dealing long-time captain and face of the franchise Eric Staal to the New York Rangers months before he became an unrestricted free agent. The return of that deal – two second round draft picks – has already been used to acquire another good young player, taking Teuvo Teravainen off the Blackhawks’ hands in return for paying Bryan Bickell this season.
The Hurricanes are a cap-floor team, meaning they will not spend the entire $71 million allowed this season. They are, however poised for another season of growth, with Justin Faulk and Noah Hanifin leading from the back end.
Key Restricted Free Agent: C Victor Rask – Among the talented young forward group, Victor Rask stands out. His rise from second round pick to twenty-goal man has come quicker than many expected, eclipsing the mark in just his second NHL season. After what was an excellent rookie year (33 points), Rask proved he could skate with the big boys in 2015-16, racking up 48 points and tying $6MM dollar man Jordan Staal for second on the team.
While his possession numbers dipped playing against stronger competition, Rask is still only 23 and finding his footing among his NHL peers. Grouped with Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm and now Teravainen, he could be part of an excellent core going forward for the ‘Canes.
Expect him to get something similar to the two-year, $5.4MM extension Lindholm received last summer. While Rask has slightly better production than Lindholm had at the time, he trails a bit in the pedigree department – Lindholm was drafted fifth overall in 2013 and broke in as a 19-year old.
Other RFAs: LW Brendan Woods, D Michal Jordan, D Ryan Murphy
Key Unrestricted Free Agent: F Riley Nash – Just a few days ago the ‘Canes key UFA would have been long-time goaltender Cam Ward, but after re-signing him to a two-year $6.6MM deal, they have almost no one of importance headed out on the market.
Nash represents the best of the group, and after another underwhelming but effective season as a bottom six forward should get plenty of interest on the market. Nash will never be an offensive dynamo, but plays a smart possession game against some tough opponents. While it might be a bit disappointing given his first-round pick status, he’ll play for a long time in the NHL with this style.
He’s coming off a year in which he earned $1.15MM and chipped in with 22 points, seeing his ice-time drop off with the emergence of the other young forwards. If Carolina doesn’t bring him back, look for him to get another deal around the league for somewhere under $2MM per season.
Other UFAs: F Nathan Gerbe, F Ryan Malone, W Chris Terry
Projected Cap Space: $22.5MM, 19 players under contract.
As stated above, Carolina won’t be spending up to the cap and are focused on the slow burn of rebuilding. That being said, they did have a cap hit of $61 million last season, and could have some money to spend this year. After seeing Staal and his big contract shipped out, it would be surprising to see him back, but if they have concerns about James Wisniewski‘s surgically repaired knee, they might go after one of the younger defensemen on the market.
Also watch for them to eat salary in return for assets like they did with Bickell, including being a destination for the $7.5MM cap-hit of Pavel Datsyuk after his retirement from the NHL.
Minor Transactions: 06/19/16
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions, updating as they happen.
- The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed former fourth round pick and pending RFA Andrew O’Brien according to General Fanager. The contract is a two-way deal, earning O’Brien $632,500 in the NHL, and $62,500 in the AHL. The 23-year old defenseman put up 14 points for the San Diego Gulls last season.
Ducks Re-Sign Sami Vatanen
Sunday 9:02 AM CST: According to Cap Friendly, Vatanen’s deal comes with a modified-NTC in years three and four. The Ducks’ blueliner will submit a 12-team list which he can be traded to. For more information on how no-trade and no-movement clauses work, check out Pro Hockey Rumors’ handy primer.
Saturday 11:35 AM CST: According to the Anaheim Ducks website, the team has re-signed defenseman Sami Vatanen to a four-year deal. The 25-year-old defenseman previously made $1.275MM and was due for a hefty raise. Though the team didn’t release financial details, Eric Stephens reports that it is a 4-year, $19.5MM deal.
The contract is broken down as owing Vatanen $5MM through the 2018-2019 season. In the final year of the deal, Vatanen will earn $4.5MM. CapFriendly indicates that the cap hit will be $4.875MM. With the signing, the Ducks estimated cap room drops to $13,232,500.
Vatanen has been a key component on the Ducks blueline. He notched 38 points in 2015-2016, having 38 points (9-29), while having 4 points (1-3) in 7 playoff games.The deal make Vatanen the highest paid d-man on the team, and also inks another young blueliner to an already strong core. General manager Bob Murray is far from done, with a host of RFA’s, namely Brandon Pirri, Hampus Lindholm and Frederik Andersen, still awaiting contracts.
Free Agent Focus: Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins were faced with a “win and you’re in” situation in the final game of the regular season versus Ottawa. Unfortunately, Tuukka Rask was a last-minute scratch due to illness, and his backup, Jonas Gustavsson allowed 4 goals in 8 minutes in the second period as the Senators routed the Bruins 6-1. The Flyers won later in the day to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
It was a bizarre season for the Bruins, coming off their first non-playoff year since 2006-07. GM Peter Chiarelli was fired and replaced by his assistant Don Sweeney. Sweeney got off to a rough start with Bruins fans, trading emerging blue-liner Dougie Hamilton to Calgary for three draft picks, despite the belief Edmonton (now helmed by Chiarelli) had a better offer on the table. He then traded longtime Bruins winger Milan Lucic to Los Angeles, resulting in the Bruins having three consecutive picks in the first round (13-15). Sweeney selected tough defender Jakub Zboril and wingers Jake Debrusk and Zachary Senyshyn. Senyshyn was a particularly controversial pick, as he was rated to be a mid-second round pick.
The Bruins went on to post 42-31-9 record, missing the playoffs after that brutal loss to Ottawa.
Cap space: $18.43MM, 16 players under contract
Key RFAs: D Torey Krug – Krug may have been the best defenceman on the Bruins last year, scoring 44 points and averaging 21 minutes per game. Krug underwent shoulder surgery after the season and may miss the beginning of the 2016-17 season. The diminutive Krug will be looking for a raise on the $3.4MM he made last year. With Zdeno Chara getting older, the Bruins are going to rely on Krug more than ever.
Other RFAs: RW Brett Connolly, D Colin Miller, D Joe Morrow, F Landon Ferraro
Key UFAs: W Loui Eriksson – the two-way scoring winger acquired in the Tyler Seguin trade scored 30 goals and 63 points in 82 games last season. Eriksson was widely expected to be traded or re-signed by the trade deadline, but neither happened. Eriksson is believed to be asking for around $6MM per season for 5-6 years. If the Bruins don’t sign him, they’ll be in the market for his replacement.
Other UFAs: R Lee Stempniak, C Chris Kelly, D John-Michael Liles, G Jonas Gustavsson, D Zach Trotman, RW Tyler Randell
Outlook: The Bruins have a busy off-season ahead, with two of their top players needing contracts, and a desperate need on the blueline. The Bruins have allegedly had conversations about acquiring Dmitry Kulikov from the Panthers, according to Joe Haggerty from CSN. Aging defenceman Dennis Seidenberg is a potential buyout candidate. The Bruins also have $5.25MM eaten up by a pair of third-pairing defensemen Kevan Miller and Adam McQuaid. McQuaid could be on the trade block to make room for a higher priced defenceman.
Expect Frankie Vatrano to spend the entire year on the Bruins roster after scoring 36 goals and 55 points in 36 AHL games. He also scored 11 points in 39 NHL games.
They shouldn’t have a problem protecting their current roster from an expansion draft, though goalie-of-the-future Malcolm Subban will have to be exposed.
Sweeney also needs to ensure leading goal-scorer Brad Marchand is under contract well before the trade deadline.