Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders
The New York Islanders got back to the postseason in 2015-16, making it two straight years they’ve gotten there. The John Capuano coached team went 45-27-10 in the regular season, and advanced past the Florida Panthers before getting knocked out by the Tampa Bay Lightning. As superstar John Tavares continues to crawl toward his eventual free agency – he has two remaining seasons at $5.5MM – the team has quite a few big names to worry about this offseason. Here’s a look at their upcoming free agents:
Key Restricted Free Agent: C Ryan Strome – The elder Strome brother and former 5th overall pick, Ryan had a somewhat disappointing season for the Isles this year. After putting up 17 goals and 50 points in his sophomore year in 2014-15, Strome only collected 28 this season while seeing less powerplay time and experiencing a drop-off in possession metrics.
Strome will turn 23 in less than a month, and is coming off his entry-level contract; he’ll be looking for a bridge deal like the one Nazem Kadri signed in 2013. While Kadri was coming off a stronger season, he didn’t have as much history in the league as Strome does now. That deal lasted two years at $2.9MM, and while Strome might not hit that mark he’s expected to get over $2MM.
Other RFAs: Alan Quine, Shane Prince, Scott Mayfield, Christopher Gibson, Jean-Francois Berube
Key Unrestricted Free Agent: RW Kyle Okposo – After putting up a huge season, Okposo is in line for a big pay raise. The former seventh overall pick put up 64 points in 79 games, continuing what has been very strong play since 2013-14. He’s racked up 184 points during that time, ranking him 17th overall in PPG over that span among players with at least 50 GP. Coming in ahead of players like Corey Perry, Phil Kessel and Jonathan Toews, Okposo is going to get a huge contract this offseason.
As reported earlier today, it looks like the Islanders are set to move on from the winger, with GM Garth Snow wishing him luck in the future. For the team, they’ll be losing their second highest scorer and a player who has been a big part of the turnaround in New York. With the third highest, center Frans Nielsen, also being a UFA this summer the Isles are at risk of losing a substantial part of their offense on July 1st.
Other UFA: Nielsen, Eric Boulton, Matt Martin, Steve Bernier, Brian Strait, Marek Zidlicky
Projected Cap Space: $13MM, 18 players under contract.
While the Islanders seem to have their defense corps set up for next year, their forward group will have to rely on some young talent stepping up if they don’t make any big free agent splashes. 24-year old Brock Nelson put up an impressive 26 goals and will be expected to take on an even bigger role with the departures of Okposo and Nielsen.
The goaltending tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss performed admirably this season, but the team may look to move one of them at some point, with Greiss entering his final contract year and Halak only with two remaining. As they both enter their thirties, the team may look to move on as they have a number of solid prospects in the system.
Coaching Notes: Groulx, Shaw, Pollock
After being confirmed earlier this week that Glen Gulutzan would be hired as the Calgary Flames head coach, the team held a press conference Friday to officially announce him. Gulutzan will try to take the Flames back to the playoffs after an underwhelming season in which they 35-40-7 and were surrounded by controversy all season, from Dennis Wideman‘s collision with an official and eventual suspension and appeal, to the benching of star players Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for “disciplinary reasons”. He’ll come in as a much different voice than outgoing coach Bob Hartley, and will try to instill a different tone in the locker room.
Here are more coaching notes from around the league:
- The Ottawa Senators have hired Pierre Groulx as their next goalie coach, replacing the outgoing Rick Wamsley who was jettisoned along with head coach Dave Cameron and the rest of the staff in April. Groulx, formerly the goalie coach in Florida and Montreal, will lead a group that allowed the third most goals in the NHL last season, and had poor performances throughout the season. Number 1 goaltender Craig Anderson should appreciate the familiar face; Groulx was his coach for three years in Florida.
- Former St. Louis Blues’ assistant Brad Shaw has been brought into Columbus to work with head coach John Tortorella according to Aaron Portzline with the Columbus Dispatch. Shaw spent nine seasons with the Blues, and actually was the New York Islanders’ head coach for half a season in 2005-06, after the firing of Steve Stirling midway through a disappointing year.
- According to Gary Lawless of TSN, while not as a coach, Richard Pollock has been hired by the Florida Panthers as a pro scout. This comes after the organization has changed direction in scouting, firing long time director Scott Luce and hiring the more analytics-based Cam Lawrence and Josh Weissbock. Former Panther and veteran-NHLer Bryan McCabe, currently the team’s manager of player development, has also taken a larger role.
Snapshots: Okposo, Lucic, Walsh
With the buyout period starting Wednesday, and the entry draft coming closer and closer, teams have started making decisions on upcoming free agents and begun to make calls on available players. Already we have seen a deal for Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen, and just yesterday the Stars traded away the negotiating rights to upcoming UFA Alex Goligoski. Obviously the team felt they were not going to be able to get a deal done before July 1st. Here are some other notes about upcoming free agents:
- It sounds like Kyle Okposo is on his way off the Island, as General Manager Garth Snow recently was quoted saying “We wish him nothing but the best.” Okposo heads into this offseason as one of the top forwards available after scoring 64 points this past year. That tied him with Steven Stamkos for the most from any upcoming UFA.
- In an interesting read from John Hoven around Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi’s latest media call, he reveals that they will be making an offer to Milan Lucic, but that “there’s a number of things we had to work through that we didn’t anticipate.” While it’s not clear exactly what that means, one has to wonder if it’s a medical issue that surfaced after the playoffs. Lucic put up another strong season with 55 points this year, and notched 20 goals for fifth time in his career.
- In Chris Nichols’ latest, he talks to Octagon Hockey agent Allan Walsh about the interview period that beings five days prior to July 1st. In it he voices his concerns over who it benefits: “I would love to get rid of it. it gives teams a tremendous advantage going into July 1, and really doesn’t benefit the players much, if at all.” Walsh would like to get back to a time when July started with a true frenzy for players, stating “Decisions had to be made in five minutes or 10 minutes. Big decisions. For many years of term. And a lot of dollars.” Walsh represents many upcoming UFAs including David Perron and Brian Campbell.
Pavel Datsyuk Not Returning To Detroit
Accoring to former NHLer Aaron Ward, and confirmed by TSN’s Darren Dreger, Pavel Datsyuk will hold a press conference tomorrow to announce he will not return to the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit will now look to move his contract to another team, in order to get out from under the $7.5MM cap-hit his contract will incur due to being signed after his 35th birthday.
Datsyuk has long been considering heading back to his home in Russia to play out his final hockey years in the KHL and be closer to family. The 37-year old has scored 314 goals and 918 points in his surely hall-of-fame career, winning two Stanley Cups along the way. He was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship four times, while collecting the Frank J. Selke, awarded to the league’s top defensive forward, three times.
Datsyuk’s departure will leave a hole not easily filled in the Detroit lineup, as even at his advanced age his presence on the ice was important. He scored 49 points this season, a down one by his standards, but still logged over 19 minutes a night playing against the oppositions top lines. Centres like Riley Sheahan, who recently re-signed for two seasons, and Dylan Larkin will now be relied on more heavily on game nights. Henrik Zetterberg, the last bastion of a past era of Detroit excellence will continue to lead the team, now without his longtime partner in crime.
If the Red Wings can move Datsyuk’s contract, it will give them some much needed cap relief, as the team currently sits at just over $60MM in salary for only 16 players, with notable restricted free agents Petr Mrazek and Danny DeKeyser still to sign.
Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings
After getting back to the playoffs following a disappointing 2014-15 campaign, the Kings weren’t able to go far as they fell to the eventual Stanley Cup finalist San Jose Sharks in the first round. GM Dean Lombardi will have his work cut out for him if he wants to bring everyone back for next season.
Key Restricted Free Agent: D Derek Forbort – The Kings’ first round pick in 2010 used up the last of his waiver exemption last year, a season where he was up and down between Los Angeles and AHL Ontario. He has progressed slowly in his development but should be viewed as the seventh defenceman heading into next season as things stand. He’s coming off his entry-level deal with a cap hit of $863,333 and might be wise to accept an NHL pay cut for more guaranteed money in an effort to aid his chances of making the opening night lineup.
Other NHL RFA’s: F Nic Dowd
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: W Milan Lucic was LA’s key offseason acquisition and they managed to fit him under the cap as a result of Boston picking up $2.75MM of his $6MM cap hit. That luxury won’t be there this offseason and the power forward is set to be one of the top forwards available on the market. The Kings have already expressed an interest in re-signing him but Lucic may have to take a pay cut for that to happen.
W Kris Versteeg was added at the trade deadline for added offensive depth and produced relatively well, picking up 4 goals in in 14 regular season games after being acquired. Coming off a $4.7MM salary, he will probably be too pricey for the Kings to bring back. G Jhonas Enroth did a fine job as the backup goalie but if they want to keep Lucic, he too may be too expensive to keep around even if the asking price is close to the $1.25MM he earned last year.
Other NHL UFA’s: F Trevor Lewis, D Jamie McBain, D Luke Schenn
Cap Situation: The Kings sit less than $4MM under the cap, according to Cap Friendly though that number would increase if the cap goes up. They don’t have many holes to fill on their roster though, just a backup goalie and perhaps one more forward.
Calgary’s Goalie Dilemma
With Carolina re-signing Cam Ward earlier today, one of the top goalies was taken off the UFA market. That’s not the best of news for the Calgary Flames who are looking to rebuild their goaltending tandem after Jonas Hiller, Karri Ramo, and Joni Ortio all struggled last season.
With Ward off the market, the only two remaining free agents that have spent some time as a starting netminder in recent years are San Jose’s James Reimer and Ramo, both of whom have struggled at times when given a greater workload.
Accordingly, a trade may be the way to go for Calgary to get their starting goalie. Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun believes that Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury could be a solution for the Flames and reports that GM Brad Treliving has been in contact with his Penguins counterpart Jim Rutherford regarding the 31 year old.
Fleury could be deemed expendable following Matt Murray’s strong efforts en route to Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup victory and trading him would also free up some much-needed cap space for the Penguins, who currently have just shy of $74MM in contracts for next season. With the ability to only protect one goalie in an expansion draft, the Penguins may have some motivation to do something this offseason over risking losing one for nothing next June. Fleury carries a cap hit of $5.75MM for each of the next three season but does, however, have a no-move and partial no-trade clause which could make a trade more difficult.
There’s no denying that Fleury would represent an upgrade between the pipes for the Flames. Last year, Calgary’s goaltenders combined for a league-worst save percentage of just .892. By comparison, Fleury has posted at least a .913 SV% in each of the last six seasons and recorded a 2.29 GAA and a .921 SV% last season.
If the Flames and Penguins can’t reach a deal though, there could be other goalies available this offseason. Here are a trio that could be on the trade block for various reasons:
- Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay): Andrei Vasilevskiy is viewed as the goalie-in-waiting for the Lightning and he certainly more than held his own in the postseason. Bishop has one year left on his deal and GM Steve Yzerman may want to get something for Bishop now and hand the goaltending reins to the young Russian.
- Frederik Andersen (Anaheim): Andersen is a restricted free agent this offseason and is just one year away from UFA eligibility. He has been the starter for the Ducks for each of the past two years but saw his job usurped at times by John Gibson. Gibson is widely viewed as their goalie of the future and accordingly, it’s expected that Anaheim will likely move Andersen at some point this offseason.
- Jimmy Howard (Detroit): Howard played in a career-low 38 games last year as he lost his #1 job to Petr Mrazek (an RFA this offseason). He has three years left on his contract with a cap hit just below $5.3MM which is too pricey for a backup or platoon goalie. As a result, they could be a motivated seller and Howard would give the Flames an upgrade over what they had last season.
This is not the year to rebuild a goalie tandem through the free agent market which means it’s likely that Treliving will have to resort to the trade route to shore up that position at least once this offseason.
Snapshots: Read, Salary Cap, Brown, Hawks Overage, Affiliations
Flyers winger Matt Read underwent minor surgery on his shooting hand on Wednesday, writes CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio. GM Ron Hextall acknowledged that the procedure was a clean-up and that the rehab period should be 4 weeks. Read played in 79 games with the Flyers last season, posting 11 goals and 15 assists.
Elsewhere around the league:
- James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail reports that the NHL will set its salary cap figure by the middle of next week and that it should be in the $73MM range. That would represent a small increase from the $71.4MM cap in 2015-16.
- Despite his recent struggles and removal of the captaincy, the Kings are not currently considering buying out Dustin Brown’s contract according to Helene Elliott of the LA Times. Brown has six years left of a frontloaded eight year deal carrying a cap hit of $5.875MM per season but has failed to crack the 30 point mark since 2011-12.
- Chicago will be facing a significant cap crunch as a result of a $3.07MM bonus overage from last season, writes Scott Powers of The Athletic. The overage consists of bonuses being hit by Artemi Panarin, Michal Rozsival, and recently-traded Teuvo Teravainen.
- Speaking of the Blackhawks, they announced an extension of their affiliation agreement with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs. The extension is for five years and will commence following the 2016-17 campaign. Chicago has been affiliated with the IceHogs since 2007.
- The Vancouver Canucks have announced a one year affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Alaska Aces for the 2016-17 season. They did not have an ECHL affiliate last season.
Canucks Re-Sign Sven Baertschi
The Vancouver Canucks have announced the re-signing of forward Sven Baertschi to a 2 year contract. The deal will pay him $1.7MM in 2016-17 and $2MM in 2017-18, resulting in a cap hit of $1.85MM. That represents a sizable jump from the $900,000 in salary he earned in 2015-16.
Baertschi played in 69 games with Vancouver last season, posting career highs in goals (15), assists (13), and points (28) while averaging 13:27 per game in ice time.
The 23 year old was originally a first round pick of Calgary (13th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft before being traded to Vancouver at the 2015 trade deadline. In his career, Baertschi has played in a total of 138 NHL games, scoring 25 goals while adding 33 assists.
The Canucks still have a pair of restricted free agent forwards to re-sign this offseason, Emerson Etem and Linden Vey.
Minor Transactions: 6/16/16
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions.
- Craig Cunningham, who would have been a Group VI free agent July 1st, has re-signed on a one year, two-way deal with Arizona, according to General Fanager. Cunningham will earn $600,000 at the NHL level and $200,000 in the AHL while the pact contains a $250,000 guarantee. He has 3 goals and 5 assists in 63 career NHL games between Boston and Arizona.
- Rob Klinkhammer, a pending UFA with Edmonton, has signed a contract with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL, according to the team (link in Russian). Klinkhammer has 193 NHL games under his belt and suited up in 14 games with the Oilers last season, collecting a goal and 6 penalty minutes.
- The Hurricanes announced the re-signing of Derek Ryan to a one year, two-way contract. The 29 year old center made his NHL debut in 2015-16, picking up 2 goals in 6 games. He also was the leading scorer for Carolina’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte. Ryan will earn $600,000 at the NHL and $300,000 at the AHL level with a total guarantee of $350,000.
- The Bruins announced the signing of prospect forward Peter Cehlarik to a three year, entry-level contract. Cehlarik was Boston’s third round pick (90th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He will carry a cap hit before performance bonuses of $742,500 according to Cap Friendly.
- Jared Cowen went unclaimed at today’s 11AM CST waiver deadline according to the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle. The Maple Leafs are now free to proceed with buying out the final year of his contract.
- Florida has re-signed forward Connor Brickley to a one year, two-way deal according to George Richards of the Miami Herald. Brickley played in 23 games with the Panthers last year, scoring once while adding 4 assists. They also inked G Sam Brittain to a one year, two-way pact, reports the Sun Sentinel’s Harvey Fialkov.
- Anaheim has reportedly re-signed forward Joseph Cramarossa to a one year, two-way deal according to Cap Friendly. Cramarossa had 11 goals and 6 assists for the Ducks’ AHL affiliate in San Diego last season.
Coyotes Acquire Alex Goligoski’s Negotiating Rights From Stars
3:32 PM: The Coyotes have made the acquisition official. The Stars receive Arizona’s 5th round pick in next week’s draft (128th overall) in return.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie notes that there is no deal currently in place between Goligoski and the Coyotes. Pierre LeBrun of TSN/ESPN adds that the Stars did try to get a deal done with Goligoski but couldn’t agree to terms so the team decided to get something for his rights rather than lose him for nothing in a couple of weeks.
3:15 PM: According to ESPN’s Craig Custance, the Arizona Coyotes are on the verge of acquiring the negotiating rights to pending unrestricted free agent blueliner Alex Goligoski from the Dallas Stars.
Goligoski suited up in all 82 regular season for the Stars in 2015-16, picking up 5 goals and 32 assists while logging just shy of 24 minutes per game in ice time. He also posted a +21 rating, good for a tie for 7th amongst all NHL defenders. He also played in 13 postseason contests, collecting 4 goals and 3 assists while averaging 23:12 per game.
By acquiring his rights, Arizona will have exclusive negotiating rights to talk to the 30 year old Goligoski until the UFA interview period opens up on June 25th. The Stars still have a pair of pending UFA defensemen to deal with in Jason Demers and Kris Russell.