Nick Bjugstad Out Four Weeks With Broken Hand
According to George Richards of the Miami Herald, Florida Panthers centerman Nick Bjugstad has broken his hand and will be out at least four weeks. With the season beginning in less than a week, the young Panther will miss at least a few games with the injury.
Bjugstad, 24, is one of the core of young forwards the Panthers have locked up over the past two years, joining Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau and Reilly Smith in signing at least through the 2020-21 season. These five, when joined by the likes of Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle and Jason Demers on the back end, will be the foundation on which the Panthers operate for the future.
After three solid seasons with Florida, Bjugstad is looking to take the next step and move from the 30-40 point two-way center to a legitimate offensive force capable of scoring 25 goals and 50 points each year. While this injury is a setback, he’ll likely only miss around 10 games and should be able to contribute after that.
The Panthers made a few cuts this morning and are now down to 26 (not including Bjugstad) in camp. The team can only take 23 with them when the season begins, meaning there are still a few tough decisions to be made.
Capitals Reach Four-Year Extension With Hershey
According to a team release, the Washington Capitals have reached a four-year extension with the Hershey Bears, to keep the team’s AHL affiliate in the chocolate capital. The team will play through the 2019-20 season.
In Hershey, the Capitals have one of the best organizations in the AHL. The Bears have reached the post-season in 10 of their 11 seasons as the Washington affiliate, including Calder Cup championships in 2006, 2009 and 2010. They also went to the finals just last season where they would eventually lose to the Lake Erie (now Cleveland) Monsters.
With the stability, the Capitals can continue their pipeline of talent, one remeniscint of past Red Wings teams. Many of the Caps’ players have spent time in the AHL, including Vezina trophy winner Braden Holtby and defensive stud John Carlson.
Led by Chris Bourque, who scored 80 points to lead the team last season, the Bears were first in AHL attendance once again (their 10th consecutive season as such), drawing close to 400,000 fans in 2015-16. Once again they will be a powerhouse in the league and continue to develop young players for the Capitals for the next few years.
RFA Focus: Johnny Gaudreau
With the season now just a week away, the pressure for teams to come to terms with their remaining restricted free agents really starts to increase. Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau is the most notable RFA left on the market. Here is a closer look at his situation.
2015-16
Last season was Gaudreau’s second in the NHL and he improved upon a strong rookie year with a stellar sophomore campaign. He set career highs in goals (30), assists (48), and points (78) which not only gave him the team lead in scoring but also ranked him eighth overall in league scoring. He also saw his ice time increase to 19:55 per game which was 13th highest among all NHL forwards.
Statistics
2015-16: 79 GP, 30 goals, 48 assists, 78 points, +4 rating, 20 PIMS, 217 shots on goal
Career: 160 GP, 55 goals, 88 assists, 143 points, +16 rating, 34 PIMS, 385 shots on goal
The Market
Unlike the other remaining RFAs, Gaudreau is not eligible to receive an offer sheet as he has not accrued three years of professional service time. That really limits his leverage as GM Brad Treliving doesn’t have to worry about another team swooping in and making an offer that’s well above what they’re willing to pay. Basically, Gaudreau’s only card to play is to hold out from signing until he gets the deal he’s looking for (or close enough to it).
Various reports over the summer have Gaudreau looking for a max term eight year contract worth around $8MM annually. That would make him tied for the 14th highest cap hit in the league this season with Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel. All of the players with a higher cap hit are at least 27 years old; by comparison, Gaudreau is just 23.
Therein lies the problem. With just two full seasons of NHL experience, Gaudreau doesn’t have a long history of consistent production like those making the most money do. The last two players to get $8MM or more on a contract just two years into their careers were Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin ($8.7MM) and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin (just over $9.5MM) and those deals were signed back in 2008 with both having a 100+ point season under their belts. There simply isn’t much precedent for handing out that type of money to a player with the type of production that Gaudreau has.
Comparable Contracts
Filip Forsberg (Nashville) – Six years, $36MM – Forsberg signed this contract back in the summer after two straight 60+ point seasons. While Gaudreau out produced him, Forsberg also carries the pedigree of being a first round pick which often is worth some extra money. That said, had this deal been the eight years that Gaudreau is seeking, the AAV would come in higher than $6MM per season.
Sean Monahan (Calgary) – Seven years, $44.625MM – This deal was signed about six weeks ago with Monahan being arbitration-eligible. He’s more of a well-rounded player than Gaudreau and is viewed as a possible captain of the future but Monahan’s career high in points is 63, well below what Gaudreau was able to produce last season.
Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis) – Eight years, $60MM – The Blues gave Tarasenko this deal last offseason following Tarasenko’s third NHL campaign, one in which he had just hit the 70 point mark for the first time in his career. The Russian also has a similar profile to that of Gaudreau in that they’re both offense-first players who aren’t asked to log major defensive minutes.
By the way, the average cap hit for the seven players who finished ahead of Gaudreau in scoring last season is $7.04MM.
Projected Contract
Given that the season is nearing and the lack of precedent (and leverage), it’s hard to expect that Gaudreau’s next deal will start with an eight. It’s going to have to come down and the only question is how much.
The Flames undoubtedly would like to get a deal closer to that of Monahan’s, locking up two key core forwards long-term at reasonable rates. That may be a bit unrealistic as with offense at a premium, Calgary should have to pay more to get Gaudreau locked up than they did Monahan.
While it’s believed both sides would be happy with a maximum eight year term, perhaps cutting a year or two off that term may help bridge the gap. Those seasons would be years where he would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency and accordingly, the money in those years would be higher. If fewer UFA years are bought out, that should bring the asking price down towards a more palatable AAV.
One way or another, something should give sooner than later although Gaudreau’s agent noted to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman late last weekend that no talks had occurred since September 9th. However, Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun reported that Treliving was expected to speak with Gaudreau and his agent on Wednesday.
Projection: Seven years, $49MM – It’s a compromise on term and money as the Flames pay more than they did for Monahan while still giving Gaudreau one of the richer deals coming off a rookie contract in recent years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Kucherov, Wild, Dumoulin
While TSN’s Bob McKenzie noted yesterday that Tampa Bay RFA Nikita Kucherov is the most likely of the remaining restricted free agents to receive an offer sheet, he told TSN 690 in Montreal today (via Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot) that he doesn’t expect the Lightning to make him available in trade talks:
“Steve Yzerman is not, I don’t believe, going to make a conscious decision to trade him. Because I think of all of those guys, some of them that he signed recently like (Alex) Killorn – we’ll keep Hedman out of the equation because he’s a lynchpin on defense – but when you’ve got all of those guys… Palat is up next year, Tyler Johnson is up next year, you’ve got Killorn. Let’s be honest. The guys that you would think Steve Yzerman would be most interested in moving are guys like Val Filppula and some of the other guys up front, not Kucherov.”
On top of Killorn and Palat needing new deals next year, so too does Jonathan Drouin while Ben Bishop will be an unrestricted free agent. The team has roughly $5.5MM in cap space to work with this season according to Cap Friendly and have just over $55MM committed to 13 players already for 2017-18. While Yzerman has suggested in the past that he shouldn’t have to trade anyone to get Kucherov signed for this season, someone inevitably will have to go sooner rather than later.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Wild have a quartet of players drafted in the first two rounds back in 2009 that will be crucial to their success this season, writes Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune. Forwards Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, and Jason Zucker are all 24, which in the eyes of GM Chuck Fletcher is a key year as it often represents the time that players have their breakthrough. The team didn’t change much up front over the summer and will be counting on those four to take another step forward offensively under new head coach Bruce Boudreau.
- After spending 2015-16 in a shutdown role, Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin is looking to get more involved in the attack this season, notes Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune. After starting last year on the third pairing, he slowly worked his way up the lineup, finishing the postseason on the top pair while averaging nearly 22 minutes per night. He made a mark at the offensive end late in the postseason and wound up scoring in the Stanley Cup-clinching game which also was just his second goal in 103 games. With Olli Maatta now healthy, Dumoulin is in a battle in training camp to retain his top pairing spot alongside Kris Letang.
Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Ninth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?
Here are the results of our redraft so far:
1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
Now we move forward to the ninth pick, which was held by the Ottawa Senators.
To recap how this works:
- We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
- The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.
Back in 2005, the Senators selected blueliner Brian Lee with their top pick. He was coming off an injury-marred season with Lincoln of the USHL which had him under the radar but the Sens were hoping that he’d become a solid two-way blueliner. While he has over 200 NHL games under his belt, Lee never really became more than a depth defender and five years later, Ottawa dealt him to Tampa Bay for Matt Gilroy, who came to the NHL as a coveted NCAA free agent signing but he too never panned out. Lee last played in 2012-13, splitting the season between the Lightning and their AHL affiliate.
With the ninth pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, who should the Ottawa Senators select? Cast your vote below!
Mobile users click here to vote.
Flyers Notes: MacDonald, Gostisbehere, Konecny, Cousins
After being cut and waived by the Flyers early last season, that’s not likely to be the case this time around, CSN Philly’s Tim Panaccio believes. Not only does Philadelphia have the room to keep his $5MM cap hit on the books but MacDonald’s ability to play both sides on the blueline has made him a much more valuable player to have around.
Last season, MacDonald formed a pairing with Michael Del Zotto with MacDonald playing on the left side. In camp, he has found himself on the right side alongside top prospect Ivan Provorov, who appears likely to make the opening night roster.
The Flyers currently have eight defensemen in camp and are expected to trim that to seven before the season gets underway. While it remains likely that the team could ship MacDonald back to the minors as he would be a safe bet to clear waivers, another option is Brandon Manning, who was in and out of the lineup last season and would be in a similar role if he were to break camp with the team. However, he would have to clear waivers to be sent down. The only players who don’t are Provorov and Calder finalist Shayne Gostisbehere, who is a lock to make the team.
[Related: Flyers Depth Chart]
More out of Philadelphia:
- While rookies who quickly surge to become impact players midseason often drop off the next year, the Flyers are expecting Gostisbehere to buck that trend, writes Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post. After starting last season in the AHL, he was recalled and quickly became a force, scoring 17 goals while adding 29 assists in just 64 games and merely repeating those numbers over a full season would have him among the higher scoring blueliners in the league once again. The 23 year old logged just over 20 minutes per game last season and will likely shoulder a similar workload in 2016-17.
- Speed is a huge factor in today’s NHL which should work well for 2015 Flyer first rounder Travis Konecny, Isaac pens in a separate piece. The 19 year old is looking to forego his last junior season (with OHL Sarnia) to stick with Philadelphia and has made a strong impression at camp, leading the team in preseason scoring with four points in four games. However, at just 5’10, he’s undersized for the bottom six role he would likely play with the team. As a junior aged player, Konecny can play in nine NHL games before burning the first year of his entry level contract.
- Also from the above column, center Nick Cousins is attempting to transition to the left wing. Although he spent a good portion of the season as their third line center last year, the bottom two spots at that position appear to be earmarked for returnee Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and newcomer Boyd Gordon. Cousins appears to be open to the move, telling Isaac, “It’s going to be a little different, but I’m open to try it. I think once I get used to it, I’ll be good at it. I’ll fit in wherever they want me.”
Minor Transactions: 10/5/16
Unrestricted free agent center Cody Hodgson announced his retirement earlier this week at the age of 26, writes Jonathan MacDonald of the Vancouver Province. He spent last season with Nashville and will remain with the organization as part of their hockey and fan development program.
Hodgson was originally drafted by the Canucks back in the first round (10th overall) back in 2008. He suited up in 71 games with the team, putting up a respectable 17 goals and 18 assists. However, he was dealt to Buffalo in 2012 in exchange for rugged winger Zack Kassian in a swap of one-time top prospects who could use a change of scenery.
The move didn’t work out too well for Hodgson as he collected 99 points in 218 games with the Sabres but never really became the core player they desired when the trade was made. He did, however, manage to land a six year, $25.5MM deal shortly after being acquired, a contract that was bought out last summer. In the hopes of revitalizing his career, he signed with Nashville but was waived after just 39 games, spending the second half of the season in the minors.
Hodgson wraps up his career with 64 goals and 78 assists in 328 games with the three teams. He will still be paid for many years to come though as the Sabres will owe him just shy of $800K per season every year through 2022-23.
Other recent minor transactions from around the hockey world:
- Carolina UFA winger Anthony Camara has joined the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL, the league announced in its daily transactions list. Camara was originally a third round pick of the Bruins in 2011 but was traded to the Hurricanes as part of the John-Michael Liles deadline deal. Camara finished the season with their AHL affiliate in Charlotte but did not receive a qualifying offer back in June.
- While the Blue Jackets cut right winger Aaron Palushaj from training camp yesterday, he will remain in their organization, having agreed to terms on a minor league contract with their AHL affiliate in Cleveland. He spent last season with Philadelphia’s AHL team in Lehigh Valley but has 68 NHL games under his belt with Montreal, Colorado, and Carolina.
- Columbus has also offered Marc-Andre Bergeron, who was released from his PTO today, a minor league contract, reports Steve Turcotte of leNouvelliste (link in French). The 36 year old will take some time to make the decision whether to accept the offer, retire, or try to continue his career elsewhere. Bergeron has been a power play specialist for most of his career, picking up 235 points in 490 NHL contests.
- Ottawa UFA center Travis Ewanyk has joined the Utica Comets (affiliate of Vancouver) on a tryout deal, the AHL team announced via Twitter. The 23 year old spent last season with Ottawa’s farm team in Binghamton, picking up nine points and 110 PIMS in 66 games. The Sens declined to tender him a qualifying offer in June.
West Notes: Benn, Pearson, Boyle
Dallas center Jamie Benn has been one of the top players in the NHL in recent years but at one point was strong considering baseball, he told Jonas Siegel of the Canadian Press. Before the Stars selected him in the fifth round back in 2007, he had an NCAA commitment to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks where he would have played both sports. However, after being drafted, he agreed to play in the WHL, thereby foregoing his college eligibility.
On the diamond, Benn spent his time at center field and first base while also pitching from time to time. One of his former coaches called him the second best hitter to come out of Victoria, B.C., behind only Michael Saunders of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Benn’s commitment to both sports may have played a role in him dropping as far as he did in the draft as his hockey conditioning and skills weren’t as sharp as many other junior aged players at that time.
It’s hard to say the selection hasn’t panned out for the Stars, who picked four players ahead of Benn that year with only one actually playing in the NHL (Colton Sceviour, who signed with Florida this summer). The 27 year old – who suited up in his first preseason game this week and appears to be on track to start the season – has put up three straight seasons of 79 points or more. Although he may very well have been a successful baseball player had he opted to make that his primary choice, it’s safe to say that the decision to stick with hockey has served the Stars’ captain well.
Other news from out West:
- Los Angeles left winger Tanner Pearson has been suspended for the remainder of the preseason plus the first two games of the regular season for an illegal check to the head on Edmonton defenseman Brandon Davidson, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced. Pearson had received a match penalty on the play originally. He will forfeit just over $15.5K in salary to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund and will be eligible to return on October 18th against Minnesota.
- Veteran defenseman Dan Boyle officially announced his retirement at a press conference today in San Jose. The 40 year old played in 1,093 games over a 17 year career, suiting up for the Panthers, Lightning, Sharks, and Rangers and won a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004. With 605 points to his name, Boyle ranks 35th in scoring amongst blueliners in NHL history.
Injury Notes: Kronwall, Zetterberg, Klefbom, Kessel, Miller
Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall may not be ready to start the regular season as his knee is not recovering as quickly as originally anticipated, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Unfortunately for both him and the team, this won’t be an issue that will completely go away, even when he does return to the lineup as the damage is permanent. As a result, he’ll be dealing with pain management throughout the season:
“We have somewhat of a plan in place. But in saying that, you feel how you feel every day. If something doesn’t feel right, then you have to take a step back. But so far, we’ve been able to move along.”
If Kronwall isn’t ready to start the season, he could potentially be placed on injured reserve which could buy the team a bit more time to sort out the rest of their blueline. Xavier Ouellet, Ryan Sproul, and Nick Jensen are all waiver eligible and if all of Detroit’s defensemen are healthy, at least one of them will be heading for the waiver wire.
[Related: Red Wings Depth Chart]
Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg is also recovering a bit slower than expected from his knee issue but St. James adds that he is more optimistic about being ready to start the season. Zetterberg is also expected to spend more time on the wing this year which should be a little less stressful in terms of skating.
Other injury notes:
- Although Edmonton defenseman Oscar Klefbom was pulled out of the lineup by a concussion spotter last week, he didn’t actually suffer one and passed all of the baseline tests, notes the Edmonton Sun’s Robert Tychkowski. The 23 year old missed 52 games last season due to injuries and will be counted on to play a key role for the Oilers this season.
- Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel admitted that his hand is not yet 100 percent but he is expected to make his preseason debut tonight, writes Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The right winger had surgery in the summer to correct a lingering issue in his hand and is at the point in his recovery that playing is the next step in the rehab process. Assuming no issues come up, he should be ready to start the season to keep his consecutive games streak intact.
- Boston defenseman Kevan Miller left Tuesday’s preseason game against Montreal with a lower body injury after getting hit with puck and CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty notes that Miller was also absent from practice today. However, it appears the Bruins are exercising caution more than anything at this point and head coach Claude Julien doesn’t expect it to be more than a day-to-day thing.
Oilers Name McDavid Team Captain
As expected, the Edmonton Oilers have announced that Connor McDavid will be the team’s captain for the 2016-17 season and likely well beyond. At just 19-years-old, McDavid becomes the youngest team captain in NHL history, as the team tweeted, edging out Vincent Lecavalier for the honor by about six weeks.
The top overall selection in the 2015 draft, McDavid has the potential to be a generational talent. McDavid was one of only five players last season to average better than a point-per-game, tallying 48 in 45 contests as a rookie. It’s likely had he not missed nearly half the season due to injury that he would have been an easy choice for the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
Despite his youth, McDavid appears perfectly suited for the role of captain. He served in the same capacity for both his junior club, the Erie Otters, and for Team North America at the World Cup.
In addition to giving McDavid the “C,” the Oilers also appointed Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle and Milan Lucic as alternates.
While it’s a near-certainty McDavid will soon be one of, if not the best hockey player on the planet, it remains to be seen whether he can finally lead the long-suffering Oilers back to the postseason in 2016-17. The Oilers have long boasted tremendous talent and skill but have failed to reach the playoffs in a decade. After several high-profile offseason acquisitions and with their best player now leading the way, Edmonton looks poised to make a jump in the standings.