Minor NHL Transactions: 6/14/16
Keeping track of Tuesday’s minor signings:
- Chicago has re-signed G Mac Carruth to a one year contract, reports CSN’s Tracey Myers. Carruth split 2015-16 between Chicago’s minor league affiliates Rockford (AHL) and Indy (ECHL). He posted a 6-5-2 record with a 2.30 GAA and a .926 SV% in 17 AHL games while adding a 12-10-3 record with a 2.43 GAA and a .918 SV% in 25 ECHL contests. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
- The Detroit Red Wings have signed pending RFA defenceman Brian Lashoff to a one year, two-way contract worth $650,000 according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Lashoff spent last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL, scoring 16 points in 74 games.
- Defenceman Chris Summers has re-signed with the New York Rangers, also according to Lavoie. Summers played 74 games with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford, scoring 11 points. He appeared in 3 games with the Rangers where he was held off the scoresheet, with 4 PIM and a -2 rating. He was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes at the 2015 trade deadline in the Keith Yandle trade. Lavoie reported the one year, two-way extension to be worth $600,00 at the NHL level.
Las Vegas To Be Added As An Expansion Team
The NHL is reportedly set to announce that Las Vegas will be added as an expansion team according to Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. It’s expected that the decision will be made official following the NHL’s Board of Governors Meeting on June 22nd.
Las Vegas has long been thought of as a likely expansion candidate. Prospective owner Bill Foley spearheaded a season ticket deposit campaign last year, collecting over 13,200 deposits in advance of submitted their expansion application in July.
Also aiding in their application was the recent completion of the T-Mobile Arena, a $350MM facility completed earlier this year. Las Vegas is also the largest US market without a major professional sports franchise and it is believed that the NHL was intrigued by the idea of being the first league in that market.
The expected expansion fee is believed to be $500MM and the earliest a team would start would be the 2017-18 campaign. More information on that will likely be available following the Board of Governors meeting next week.
Information has already leaked about the rules for the expansion draft. Our Gavin Lee broke down the eligibility rules last weekend.
Quebec, the other prospective franchise that participated in the expansion application process, is not expected to be awarded a franchise at this time. However, as they have an NHL-ready arena in the Videotron Centre, they will certainly come up in terms of future expansion or relocation discussion.
Snapshots: Predators, Smid, Coaching Updates, Gillis
Nashville GM David Poile provided updates on some of his players in an interview with Brooks Bratton on the team’s website on Monday.
On pending restricted free agents Filip Forsberg and Calle Jarnkrok:
“We’ve had a couple of conversations with each of their agents, but as I always say, this is a process. I don’t look for these to be getting done tomorrow, but we’re moving ahead.”
He also noted that he is attempting to trade Eric Nystrom and that he wouldn’t rule out buying out the final year of his contract if he can’t find a trade partner. Nystrom is set to earn $3MM in salary with a $2.5MM cap hit for 2016-17. A buyout would trigger a $500,000 cap hit in 2016-17 and a $1MM charge in 2017-18.
Poile added that he will begin to send qualifying offers to his restricted free agents starting next week. Aside from Forsberg and Jarnkrok, the Preds have seven other RFA’s between their NHL and AHL teams.
Elsewhere around the league:
- Ladislav Smid’s future remains uncertain as he continues to recover from a season-ending neck injury sustained back in February, writes Darren Haynes on his From 80 Feet Above blog. His neck issues stem back to his first neck surgery six years ago. The continuing issues will prevent him from being a candidate for a buyout as the CBA does not permit injured players to be bought out.
- Tampa Bay assistant coach Rick Bowness has agreed to a multi-year extension with the Lightning, the team announced. He was reportedly a contender for the Anaheim coaching job which instead went to Randy Carlyle.
- The Blue Jackets have offered former St. Louis assistant coach Brad Shaw a contract to join them in a similar role according to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
- ESPN’s John Buccigross reports that Kevin Dineen is “getting a late look” for Calgary’s head coaching job. He also adds that Glen Gulutzan and Todd Reirden are other finalists.
- Former Vancouver GM and player agent Mike Gillis has accepted a job on the board of directors for Swiss club Geneve-Servette HC, the team announced. Gillis’ Assistant GM in Vancouver, Lorne Henning, is also joining him in this new role.
Capology 101: Buyouts
The annual NHL buyout period is almost upon us, and here at Pro Hockey Rumors we are going to give you a quick crash course in NHL contract buyouts so that you can make sense of the incoming news.
What is a buyout? Buyouts allow teams to prematurely terminate a player’s contract. The team is still responsible for paying a portion of the player’s salary, but over a longer term and lesser cap hit. If a player is bought out before he turns 26, the team owes him 1/3rd of his salary over twice the remaining contract length. If the player is 26 and older, he is entitled to 2/3rds of his salary over twice the remaining contract length. The player immediately becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any other team.
Why would a team buy out a player? Players are bought out mainly because their performance does not correlate to their salary. In other words, they are paid too much and provide too little. Sometimes it’s an aging vet with a inflated contract, and other times its a well-paid goalie usurped by an up-and-coming rookie. In every event, a team buys out a player to save salary cap space.
What are the salary cap implications? Even though a player’s contract is bought out, the team still carries a cap hit. The cap hit is calculated in two phases: original contract years phase and extra buyout years phase.
In phase one, the cap hit for the year is equal to the difference between the salary initially owed and the salary paid by the buyout, and subtracted from the original SPC’s AAV:
Cap Hit = SPC AAV – (Original Salary Owed – Salary Paid in Buyout)
This equation is used to determine the cap hit in each year of the contract had it not been terminated.
In phase two, the cap hit is equal to the buyout amount the player is paid that year:
Cap Hit = Buyout Salary
Finally, if a player has a no-movement clause (NMC), the team has to first give the player an option to be placed on unconditional waivers.
When can teams buy out players? The official buyout period begins on the later of (a) June 15th, or (b) 48 hours after the end of the Stanley Cup Finals, and ends on June 30th at 5:00pm EST. Teams can buy out as many players as it likes during this time. This year it begins on June 15th.
Teams may also buy out a player outside the buyout period if they meet the following requirements:
- the team has more than one salary arbitration hearing in a given year;
- the player was on the team’s reserve list at the trade deadline; and
- the player’s average salary is $2,750,000* or higher.
If a team meets these three requirements they can buy out up to three contracts outside the regular buyout period.
* in 2013 dollars. This number increases at the same percentage rate of annual increase as the average league salary
Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning
The 2015-2016 Tampa Bay Lightning lost in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Final. Their performance followed up a Finals appearance last year where they lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. The Lightning’s record implies that no drastic moves are necessary, but with star forward Steven Stamkos still unsigned, the team risks losing arguably their best player to free agency.
Cap Space: $18,849,999 (according to CapFriendly)
Key UFAs: F Steven Stamkos. Stamkos is coming off a 36G and 64P season but missed all but one playoff game due to blood clots. While he hasn’t posted more than a point-per-game since 2013-2014, Stamkos remains one of the most dominant young forwards in the game. That being said, the Lightning were within one game of the Stanley Cup Finals without him, so they could seemingly let him walk without suffering much setback.
Other UFAs: D Mattias Ohlund, F Mike Blunden, F Jonathan Marchessault, D Matt Taormina.
Key RFAs: F Alex Killorn and F Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov scored 30G and 66P this year while adding another 19P in the playoffs. He is set for a significant raise after finishing off his entry level contract. Killorn potted 14G and 40P in the regular season before posting 13P in the playoffs. He is coming off of a deal worth $2.55MM AAV and is also looking for a raise. The Lightning will have to decide whether to offer both players bridge contracts or lock them into long-term deals. They will also have to be wary of next year’s RFAs Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, Tyler Johnson, and Andrei Vasilevskiy seeking significant raises.
Other RFAs: F J.T. Brown, F Vladislav Namestnikov, F Nikita Nesterov.
Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks fell just a bit short of winning their first ever Stanley Cup title as they lost the championship series in six games to Pittsburgh. It was still their most successful postseason in their 25 year franchise history as they made it to the final for the first time.
With less than three weeks until the beginning of free agency, GM Doug Wilson will have to put together his offseason plan in a hurry. One area that won’t need to be looked at is the coaching staff as Wilson confirmed today that all coaches would return next season. Here is a closer look at their free agent outlook.
Key Restricted Free Agent: W Tomas Hertl – Hertl had the best year of his NHL career in 2015-16, picking up 21 goals and 25 assists in 81 regular season games while adding six goals and five helpers in 20 postseason contests before missing most of the Stanley Cup Final with a right knee injury (that will not require surgery). He is coming off his entry-level contract which saw him earn $925,000 per year plus another potential $425,000 per season in bonuses. Wilson will have to decide whether or not to lock Hertl up long-term or to pursue a short-term bridge contract instead.
Other NHL RFA’s: D Dylan DeMelo, W Matt Nieto
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: The Sharks acquired D Roman Polak and G James Reimer in separate deals from Toronto in the days leading up to the trade deadline. Polak played a regular role down the stretch and in the postseason, bringing some physicality and shot blocking to the table on the third pairing. Reimer, meanwhile, provided more reliable insurance in goal behind starter Martin Jones and gave them someone capable of taking over should Jones get hurt or struggle. San Jose has already added youngster Mantis Armalis this offseason but may still prefer a veteran behind the 26 year old Jones.
Other NHL UFA’s: C Nick Spaling, D Matt Tennyson, W Dainius Zubrus
Cap Space: Just over $10.5 million, according to Cap Friendly (estimates based on the 2015-16 salary cap). San Jose must add at least three more forwards and one more goaltender to meet the NHL’s roster minimums.
Snapshots: Strader, Hutton, Alfredsson, Cullen, Coaching Vacancies
Some sad news out of Dallas today as the team announced that their play-by-play announcer, Dave Strader, has been diagnosed with cancer. Strader just completed his first season as the voice of the Stars and has been in play-by-play booths for the last 36 years. Everyone at PHR sends their best wishes to Dave and his family through this difficult time.
Other news and notes from around the NHL:
- The re-signing of goalie Marek Mazanec in Nashville earlier today brings forth some doubt as to Carter Hutton’s future with the team. GM David Poile confirmed the two sides are in talks on a new contract but that he feels that “Going to another team will give him a better opportunity to get more games and to probably extend his career” and that “It’s not over yet, but I would say that is probably the way that Carter is leaning”. Hutton has spent the last three years with the Preds, posting a 33-23-12 record in 75 games with a 2.55 GAA and a .910 SV% and will be an unrestricted free agent July 1st.
- Former NHLer Daniel Alfredsson has signed a one year extension to stay on as Ottawa’s Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations, a role he first began in this past season. Alfredsson is the Senators’ All-Time scoring leader, collecting 1,108 points over 17 seasons with the team.
- Pittsburgh center Matt Cullen has yet to decide on his playing future. The 39 year old is an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and played with a broken toe since Game 2 of the Conference Finals. Cullen was the fifth oldest NHLer to suit up in a game this past season.
- It appears that one of the two remaining head coaching vacancies is close to being filled as Calgary GM Brad Treliving said in a radio interview this morning that their search would be “coming to a conclusion very quickly”.
- Following Lake Erie’s AHL title, Columbus will now look to fill their replacement for former Associate Coach Craig Hartsburg. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that Lake Erie coach Jared Bednar, as well as Darryl Sydor and Brad Shaw, are likely to be interviewed for that position.
Red Wings Notes: Datsyuk, Howe, And Blashill
The hockey world mourned with the Detroit Red Wings when legend and ambassador Gordie Howe passed away last Friday at the age of 88. Tributes poured in, and San Jose even included a video tribute during the first intermission of last night’s Stanley Cup Final Game 6.
Howe’s wake will be held at the Joe Louis Arena tomorrow and open to the public to offer their respects. Howe’s death also affects the ramifications of the discussion between General Manager Ken Holland and Pavel Datsyuk on his expected retirement. Datsyuk’s contract will prove to hamper the Red Wings as it was extended when Datsyuk was 35. This of course means the full amount of his final year, $7.5MM, will remain on the books despite his retirement.
Already with the season over, speculation has run rampant over where the contract will be moved should Datsyuk indeed retire. The most likely places for his contract to be dealt to are Arizona, or Carolina. Most pundits have Arizona as the front runner since they have nearly $37MM of cap room to work with according to General Fanager. Once the meeting between Holland and Datsyuk takes place, it’s expected that the Red Wings will move accordingly to rid themselves of the contract. One element that Ken Holland has mentioned is his unwillingness to include a prospect or high draft pick to dispose of the contract. That may prove problematic since teams know how the contract hinders any offseason moves the Red Wings would want to make.
MLive.com’s Ansar Khan answered a lot of questions regarding head coach Jeff Blashill and the hiring of assistant coaches this offseason. Doug Houda and former Wild interim head coach John Torchetti were added in the past few weeks. Blashill came under fire for the regression of many players, namely forwards Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar, who were both expected to carry the team offensively. Blashill lost Tony Granato to the University of Wisconsin, where Granato once played and now serves as the head coach. Additionally, assistant coach Pat Ferschweiler was moved to the press box after the power play was dismal in the Red Wings first round loss to Tampa Bay.
St. Louis Blues Hire Mike Yeo As Associate Coach
With the retirement of head coach Ken Hitchcock expected after the 2016-2017 season, the St. Louis Blues added former Wild boss Mike Yeo as an associate coach and head coach in waiting. According to the team’s official release, Rick Wilson will also be brought aboard as an assistant coach and the expectation is that Yeo will take over as the head coach upon Hitchcock’s retirement. The deal is over three years.
The news is an interesting wrinkle as Yeo was tasked with guiding a winner in Minnesota, which never materialized despite consecutive playoff appearances. Yeo failed to move the team past the second round of the playoffs, losing both times to the Chicago Blackhawks in both the 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 seasons. Yeo’s Wild also lost to the Blackhawks in the 2013 playoffs, but that time in the first round. Upon his firing this past February, General Manager Chuck Fletcher said that the team’s struggles led to Yeo’s departure.
Yeo is now tasked to work alongside Hitchcock with a team that exorcised some playoff demons by finally advancing to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2001. The pressure remains on as the Stanley Cup Final drought extends another year.
Hitchcock’s future has been murky at times, but this year’s success earned him a final year on the bench and the ability to retire on his own terms. Though the Blues roster is more complete in terms of talent, especially in the net, Yeo is hardly walking into an ideal situation.
The Blues first have to determine who to re-sign with captain David Backes, and winger Troy Brouwer among others scheduled to hit the market. Jaden Schwartz is a restricted free agent, and will command a much higher salary than the $2.35MM he was making before. General Manager Doug Armstrong has his work cut out for him in deciding who to keep, and possibly, who to shuttle to maintain the depth and prowess that powered the Blues out of past playoff failures.
Inevitably, Yeo will be measured against the more recent success and his ability to take the Blues to not only a Stanley Cup Final, but to finally bring the trophy home for the franchise. His failures with the Wild serve as a cautionary tale, but that was a team heavily dependent upon stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. With more balance throughout the lineup and a much more stable presence in the net, Yeo and the Blues might be what each other need to finally reach the promised land once Hitchcock steps away.
Minor NHL Transactions: 6/13/16
Some free agent signings to report around the NHL:
- The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed defenseman Mark Barberio to a 2-year deal worth $1.5MM. The 26-year-old spent last season with the Canadiens before a concussion ended his season in March. Barberio had two goals and ten points in 30 games last season.
- The Nashville Predators inked G Marek Mazanec to a one-year, $575,000 deal according to a team report. The 24-year-old netminder was signed to a two-way contract and spent the 2015-2016 season playing for the Milwaukee Admirals, Nashville’s AHL affiliate.
- The Carolina Hurricanes agreed to a 3-year deal with 18-year-old forward Sebastian Aho. The cap hit is $925,000. Aho was a second round pick for the Hurricanes in the 2015 draft and spent last season in the Finnish league Liiga where he registered 45 points in as many games. Aho will also play for Team Finland in the World Cup of Hockey. They also inked 19-year-old forward Aleksi Saarela to a two year, entry level deal. Saarela was acquired as part of the Eric Staal deal prior to the trade deadline.
- The Calgary Flames signed G David Rittich to a one-year, $925,000 deal. A team report stated that the 23-year-old Czech netminder agreed to a two-way contract. Rittich spent last season with BK Mlada Boleslav of the Czech Extraliga.