Sabres Agree To Terms With Ristolainen
Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray has confirmed earlier reports that the team has signed Rasmus Ristolainen to a new contract, as John Vogl of The Buffalo News tweets. Terms of the new arrangement are unknown at this point.
Ristolainen developed into the team’s top blue liner in 2015-16, scoring nine goals with 32 helpers. The three-year veteran has tallied 19 goals and 65 points in 194 games during his career.
Bob McKenzie adds that the deal is for six years and worth an average of $5.4MM annually. He notes the contract is identical to the one recently agreed to between fellow right-handed defenseman Seth Jones and Columbus.
The signing leaves the Sabres with just a shade less than $2MM of cap space with 23 players under contract – 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies – as Cap Friendly notes.
With Ristolainen under contract, only three prominent RFAs remain unsigned: Hampus Lindholm, Rickard Rakell and Jacob Trouba. Mckenzie speculates that the Ristolainen contract represents the absolute floor for Lindholm. It will be interesting to see whether this agreement helps push the negotiations between Lindholm and the Ducks any closer to a resolution.
Canucks Roster Moves
The Vancouver Canucks have announced a series of moves via their team Twitter account, as the club works to get down to the 23-man roster limit. Included among them is that veteran forward Jack Skille has made the team and will be signed to a contract. Apparently, Skille beat out Emerson Etem for one of the final spots on the roster. Subsequently, Vancouver placed Etem on waivers.
According to Canucks GM Jim Benning, Etem “got beat out of his spot.” It seems unlikely that Etem will be claimed on waivers though the possibility shouldn’t be completely dismissed. Head coach Willie Desjardins added: “This year we were deeper and Emerson didn’t have a bad camp, but other players were better.”
While perhaps not the end of Etem’s tenure with the Canucks organization, it’s certainly a disappointing development in the career of the former first-round draft pick. The 24-year-old native of Long Beach, California has NHL size and skill but has so far failed to put it together consistently at this level. If he clears waivers it’s presumed he will be assigned to the AHL.
Meanwhile, a couple of the team’s prospects also made the final roster. F Brendan Gaunce and D Nikita Tryamkin, both 22, will be with the Canucks for their season-opening tilt against Calgary Saturday night.
Also making the club is LW Anton Rodin, who is currently dealing with complications from knee surgery performed last season.
Earlier today the Canucks released veteran forward Tuomo Ruutu from his PTO.
Grossman, Flames Agree To One-Year Deal
Bob McKenzie reports that defenseman Nicklas Grossman has made the Flames roster and has signed a one-year contract worth $575K. It’s a one-way deal for Grossman, who is expected to be the team’s 7th defenseman.
Grossman, 31, spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes and tallied seven points in 58 games.
More to come.
Edmonton To Sign Eric Gryba To One-Year Deal
October 12, 11:05am: The Oilers have confirmed the signing, and announced that Gryba has been placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL.
October 11, 1:55pm: Gryba will earn $950K in the NHL and $250K in the AHL but comes with a guarantee of $450K, as McKenzie tweets.
According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Edmonton Oilers are about to re-sign defenseman Eric Gryba to a one-year, two-way deal.
Gryba played last season with the Oilers and suited up for 53 games, but was only brought in on a PTO this summer. Still just 28 years old, Gryba hasn’t seen the AHL since 2012-13, but may have to prove that he can still be effective by leading Bakersfield instead of Edmonton.
After the signing of Kris Russell, the team had given Gryba a chance to talk to other teams and see if there was an NHL deal to be had somewhere. Evidently, he hasn’t found a better option than staying in the City of Champions for another year, and waiting for an injury for his chance with the big club.
Calgary Flames Closing In On Deal With Kris Versteeg
Update (1:10pm): In a follow-up tweet, Dreger pegs the value of Versteeg’s one-year deal with the Flames at $950K pending final approval.
According to Darren Dreger of TSN, Kris Versteeg‘s time with another club has come to an end. He’ll be leaving the Oilers, and is close to a deal with the Calgary Flames instead. The veteran winger also was close to a deal in Switzerland earlier this summer, before taking a PTO from the Oilers. Dreger says that the deal with the Flames would be for one year, somewhere under $1MM.
Versteeg, 30, has been a solid contributor in the league for nearly a decade now, scoring 30+ points six different times, while playing for seven different teams. He’s the perfect trade deadline addition (as many teams have found out), as he can provide depth on the wing and play anywhere up or down a lineup.
A former fifth-round pick, Versteeg has accomplished more than most first rounders do in their career, winning the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 before beginning his journeyman path. The Flames will try and take advantage of that playoff experience – Versteeg has 44 points in 89 career playoff games – and get back to the postseason this year. One of their biggest weaknesses was depth on the wing, which Versteeg would fill admirably.
Final Training Camp Cuts: 10/11/2016
As teams work to get their rosters finalized before today’s 4pm deadline, the final cuts from camps have started to come down.
Buffalo Sabres (via team release)
Alexander Nylander (to Rochester, AHL)
Nick Baptiste (to Rochester, AHL)
Dan Catenacci (to Rochester, AHL)
Brendan Guhle (to Prince Albert, WHL)
Calgary Flames (via team release)
Linden Vey (to Stockton, AHL)
Daniel Pribyl (to Stockton, AHL)
Brett Pollock (to Adirondack, ECHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (via Chip Alexander):
Warren Foegele (to Kingston, OHL)
Chicago Blackhawks (via team release)
Brandon Mashinter (to Rockford, AHL)
Mark McNeill (to Rockford, AHL)
Colorado Avalanche (via team release):
Trent Vogelhuber (to San Antonio, AHL)
Mike Sislo (to San Antonio, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team release)
Scott Wedgewood (to Albany, AHL)
New York Islanders (via Arthur Staple)
Adam Pelech (to Bridgeport, AHL)
Ryan Pulock (to Bridgeport, AHL)
Minnesota Wild (via Michael Russo)
Christoph Bertschy (to Iowa, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (via Mike Halford)
Mirco Mueller (to San Jose, AHL)
Nikolay Goldobin (to San Jose, AHL)
Ryan Carpenter (to San Jose, AHL)
Barclay Goodrow (to San Jose, AHL)
Dan Kelly (to San Jose, AHL)
Kevin Lablanc (to San Jose, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (via team release):
Jordan Binnington (to Chicago, AHL)
Vancouver Canucks (via Bob McKenzie)
Tuomo Ruutu (released from PTO)
Emerson Etem (waived for purpose of assignment to Utica, AHL) – per team release
Pulkkinen, Condon Among Those Claimed On Waivers
Many players were claimed off waivers today, as teams make their final adjustments before the season opens.
Teemu Pulkkinen (DET), claimed by Minnesota
Klas Dahlbeck (ARI), claimed by Carolina
Seth Griffith (BOS), claimed by Toronto
Mike Condon (MTL), claimed by Pittsburgh
P.A. Parenteau (NYI), claimed by New Jersey
Pulkkinen especially is an interesting case, since Minnesota was 17th in waiver order, meaning that half the league passed on the AHL sniper. The 24-year old has multiple seasons of 30+ goals in the minor circuit, but has some major concerns about his skating and ability to translate that offense to the NHL level.
With Parenteau, the Devils get a consistent NHL scoring threat that has over 100 goals to his name. Last year, even through injury and on a poor Maple Leafs team, he chipped in 20 and was surprisingly held on to at the trade deadline. This summer, he signed a one-year, $1.25MM deal with the Isles and was expected to see time alongside John Tavares, his former linemate. Instead, he’ll try to work his way up a Devils group that is loaded with goal scoring talent.
Pittsburgh brings in Condon to effectively replace Matt Murray until his hand has healed. Murray broke his hand at the World Cup, and will still be out for the beginning of the season.
Nathan Gerbe Will Not Report To AHL, Contract To Be Terminated
According to Larry Brooks of the New York Post, Nathan Gerbe will not accept his assignment to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL, and has been put on waivers before terminating his contract. He will instead go play for a team in the NLA (Switzerland). Gerbe was signed to a one-year, $600K deal earlier this summer, but was cut this week from Rangers camp.
Gerbe, one of the shortest players in professional hockey at 5’5″, has never been much of an offensive contributor, only adding 138 points in his 394 career games. What he has brought though, is an excellent energy presence to a bottom-six role, and the kind of checking ability usually found in a bigger player. He has, periodically, been able to chip in double digit goal totals, mostly by going hard to the net with reckless abandon.
In New York, he thought he’d found a home to ply his trade, but instead the speed checker spot has gone to Michael Grabner instead. He’ll take his talents to Europe, where he’ll likely do well on the bigger rink against smaller opponents. Look for him to be back in the NHL next summer on a PTO.
Nikita Kucherov Signs Three-Year Deal With Lightning
Restricted free agent Nikita Kucherov has signed a three year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning that will pay him $4.766MM per season. The two sides completed a ‘bridge-deal’, after discussing long-term options. Yesterday, Bob McKenzie reported that Kucherov was on his way back to North America to sign a deal, and today we get the details on the contract. 
At $4.766MM for three years, Kucherov will remain a restricted free agent at the end of the deal. Both sides will have to get together and see if they can then work out a longer-term extension, one that would likely see the winger paid handsomely for his free agent seasons.
In the past two seasons, Kucherov has proven himself as an elite goal-scoring winger with seasons of 28 and 30 markers. His real impact though has come in the playoffs, where he has put up 41 points in 43 games, en route to multiple series victories. At just 23-years old, Kucherov looks like he’ll be able to put up 30+ goals for the next decade, though perhaps they won’t all be in Tampa.
The Lightning likely were exploring every avenue to open up more cap space, since this deal takes them right up to it as the season begins. The team now has under $800K, meaning they couldn’t afford to buy out any of Kucherov’s free agent years, which would have pushed the cap hit above $6MM.
This summer has been a great one for GM Steve Yzerman, who now has his top three players locked up long-term in Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman and Kucherov. While Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin are all restricted free agents next summer, at least now he has some cost certainty (and cap savings, it seems) to work with. All three deals have come in slightly below the expected rate, with each saying that playing in Tampa Bay together is a big part of why they signed. If they can build a core who want to stay together long-term, the Lightning will be a force to be reckoned with for the next while.
Ducks Expected To Make Trade Once Rakell, Lindholm Sign
According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Anaheim Ducks are going to have to make a deal after completing contracts with their currently pending restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm. As discussed on this site yesterday, Rakell isn’t any closer to a deal with the Ducks, however McKenzie does hear that the two sides are close on money and term and that it’s something else holding up the deal.
Either way, when Rakell and Lindholm come in for something around $9MM combined, the Ducks will be way over the cap and need to shed some salary. McKenzie says as much in a tweet today, in which he suggests that Cam Fowler will be the odd man out in Anaheim and be on the move while the ink is still drying.
If it is Fowler, one would imagine many teams would be after the 24-year old. The former first-round pick will have over 450 games in the NHL before his 25th birthday, bringing a mixture of youth and experience to whichever team lands him. Fowler is owed $8MM over the next two seasons, a fine number for a player who many would consider a top-4 defenseman. He’ll become an unrestricted free agent following the 2017-18 season, and be looking for a long-term deal.
The Ducks seemingly have painted themselves into a corner this summer, with the addition of Jonathan Bernier‘s deal. If Frederik Andersen being shipped to Toronto was a cost-saving measure, it has been completely undone by taking the former Leafs goaltender back. The Ducks are expected to start John Gibson for the majority of their games this season, despite making almost $2MM less than Bernier.
There is also the impending expansion draft, in which one of the Ducks young defenders is sure to be at risk, as the picture stands currently. If the team was to start moving pieces like Fowler out however, perhaps they’ll be able to keep their whole pipeline intact.