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Teddy Purcell To Attend Bruins Camp

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The Boston Bruins have signed Teddy Purcell to a professional tryout according to Ty Anderson of WEEI.com, bringing in the veteran forward after he spent much of last season in the minor leagues. The 32-year old will attempt to earn a contract on a team that currently projects to have several rookies in the lineup on opening day.

Purcell was always an effective offensive player, even scoring a career-high 65 points in 2011-12 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but saw his play deteriorate last year. After signing a one-year $1.6MM contract with the Los Angeles Kings, Purcell was waived by the team in early December and sent to the minor leagues. At the time, he had just two points in his first 12 games with the Kings but then showed he could still dominate lesser competition. In 38 games with the Ontario Reign, Purcell scored 38 points, prompting his minor league coach to even state that he was “too good for this league.”

There is a real chance that Purcell could crack the Bruins lineup if he shows his offensive talent is still at least partly there. Even after signing David Pastrnak earlier today, the team could still be looking at players like Anders Bjork and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson for full-time roles, something that could be avoided with another veteran option. Though both young players look great, some time in the minor leagues wouldn’t hurt their development. That would all be predicated on Purcell showing up fit and looking the part of the 30-50 point man he was for so many years, something that is far from certain.

Zadorov To Miss Start Of Camp; Duchene In Denver

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10:50am: Duchene indeed reported to camp, but would not take questions from the media. His statement, from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post:

I’m here to honor my contract. I’m here out of respect for the fans, and I’m here for my teammates. I had a great summer training and I’m in great physical condition.

8:13am: Even though Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic said yesterday that he thought Nikita Zadorov could attend camp because the two sides were so close, Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that this will not be the case. The restricted free agent remains unsigned, and will not suit up with teammates today when camp opens.

Matt Duchene on the other hand is in town according to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, and is expected to be with the team today. Duchene had been skating on his own in Toronto, skipping both the optional “captain’s skate” and team’s charity golf tournament.

The last report has Zadorov and the Avalanche just $500K apart, meaning Sakic is probably correct in his assumption that the deal is close. Still, that has seemed to be the gap between the two sides for some time. If a contract can’t be reached, Zadorov has said in the past that he will play in the KHL, something the Avalanche want to avoid if possible. While they’re not expected to compete this season, letting Zadorov walk and get a taste of life in the KHL is a risky proposition. Not only would his development with the team stall, but there is always a chance of him never returning to the NHL.

Horton, Lupul Fail Medicals, Will Remain On LTIR

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have two players under contract for next season who haven’t played in more than a year, and are destined for long-term injured reserve once again. Before doing that, the team needed to bring Nathan Horton and Joffrey Lupul in for medicals, which they subsequently failed. The Maple Leafs will use the cap space opened by the pair this season, as they already project to be over by $4.78MM by CapFriendly.

Though usually it is believed that teams need to get under the salary cap by the start of the season, this is not necessarily the case for the Maple Leafs. Toronto will use a type of “offseason LTIR” to work their way under the cap, since both Horton and Lupul’s injuries were known long in advance. LTIR is calculated in two ways, depending on when it is used.

In season, the formula to find out how much extra cap space is created is as follows:

Bonus cap space = Cap hit of LTIR player – Current cap space

This usually results in teams using paper transactions to call players up and push them as close to the cap as possible, before placing a player on LTIR. That gives them the maximum amount of extra room to work with. During training camp though, it’s a little different.

Bonus cap space = Current team cap hit – Season salary cap

That means, a team like the Maple Leafs can place Lupul and Horton on LTIR during training camp in order to give themselves a huge amount that they’re allowed to exceed the cap by. The combined salaries of the injured pair is $10.55MM, meaning the Maple Leafs can manipulate the salary cap several ways. By pushing the team’s salary as close to $80.25MM as possible before putting one of the players on LTIR, they’ll get back under the limit for the start of the season. That’s what has allowed them to sign players like Patrick Marleau and Ron Hainsey this summer with little risk, even though they already were right up against the cap.

David Pastrnak Signs Six-Year Contract

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The Boston Bruins and David Pastrnak have finally come to terms, signing a six-year $40MM contract. The deal will pay Pastrnak an average of $6.67MM throughout the deal, which at first glance looks like a tremendous value.

David PastrnakBreaking out this season with 34 goals and 70 points, Pastrnak showed why he was so highly coveted by the Bruins organization and proved he could be an elite offensive talent. At just 21, he’s now completed three seasons in the NHL meaning this extension buys out only two UFA years. That length, which will make him a unrestricted free agent at 27, is why the cap hit is so much lower than someone like Leon Draisaitl, who was compared to Pastrnak all offseason. Draisaitl gave up three UFA years, but received an $8.5MM AAV on his new contract.

More similar is the deal Filip Forsberg signed last summer after his own entry-level contract expired. Forsberg received $34MM over six years, but was a year older than Pastrnak is now and didn’t have quite the high in terms of points. Forsberg backed up his deal with another 30-goal campaign, a path Bruins fans will hope Pastrnak follows.

One of the more interesting things is that Pastrnak’s average salary comes in right between Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, something that had been reported as important to the team. Though Marchand told them it was fine if the new contract surpassed his, they likely still didn’t want it to far outpace the two superstar forwards. It would have, had the term been extended to eight years.

While the deal seems good for the Bruins, it’s almost perfect for Pastrnak as well. He gets paid a hefty salary and entirely avoids the arbitration process, and will hit the market in 2023 as an in-his-prime scoring machine that could demand another huge contract. Obviously the Bruins will want to keep him around even longer, but he’ll likely have the ability to demand an eight-year contract from any team that wants to buy out UFA years (as long as the CBA stays the same).

Some may point to the fact that Pastrnak has “only had one good year,” but the Bruins certainly don’t think that he was just a flash in the pan. Even in his first two seasons he still scored at more than a 40-point pace, and those were mostly played as a teenager. If he continues to develop, he could be pushing Marchand for the team scoring lead as soon as this season.

The deal also has ramifications elsewhere around the league. Young wingers like William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Patrik Laine will be looking to get paid in the next couple of seasons, and there is now another sub-$7MM extension for an elite scorer. While Draisaitl’s deal likely gives them a top end to negotiate towards—though he has played plenty of center during his short career as well—Pastrnak, Forsberg and Johnny Gaudreau give them something more realistic to work up from. You can bet this deal will be brought up in negotiations for the next several years.

Darren Dreger of TSN was first to report the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Roman Polak Signs PTO With Toronto Maple Leafs

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Though it’s far from an NHL contract, the Toronto Maple Leafs released their training camp roster with a familiar name today; Roman Polak. The injured defenseman has signed a professional tryout, and will continue his rehab from a terrible leg injury suffered this spring.

Polak’s agent Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey posted some more video of the 31-year old training, again wearing Maple Leafs gear as he was a few weeks ago. With the Maple Leafs still having a need for a right-handed depth defenseman, bringing Polak in to make sure he’s healthy makes complete sense. There is clearly trust between head coach Mike Babcock and the veteran defenseman, who deployed him as a main penalty killer and defended him in the media almost weekly.

Though he’s never been the flashiest player, Polak has been able to log minutes on the back end of a defense corps for many years. He’s suited up for 634 games split between the Blues, Maple Leafs and Sharks, and should earn a contract somewhere around the league even if Toronto decides to pass.

Bryan Little Signs Six-Year Extension With Winnipeg Jets

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As training camp opens and some teams are still worried about signing their restricted free agents, the Jets have been working on extensions instead. The team today signed Bryan Little to a six-year extension worth $31.75MM ($5.29MM AAV). Little was heading into the final season of the five-year contract he signed in 2013, and will have a cap hit of $4.7MM this season.

Bryan LittleThe new deal will take Little through his age-36 season, and though that is definitely a bit longer than they probably hoped it’s paying off by keeping the cap hit fairly reasonable. Just this summer 30-year old T.J. Oshie, a player with only slightly better production over the years, signed an eight-year deal to stay in Washington that will pay him $5.5MM per season. Little hasn’t had a 30-goal season since he was a sophomore in Atlanta, but is still a consistent point producer on a team with its eye on the playoffs and is a capable two-way center that can drive a line.

Last year Little put up 21 goals and 47 points in just 59 games, missing the first part of the season after suffering an injury on opening night. That marked the fifth 20-goal season of his career, but also unfortunately was the second year in a row he played fewer than 60 games. That injury risk is a real one, but he obviously still has the skill to be a big part of the Jets team going forward.

The Jets now have their top two centers locked in long term, with Little slotting in behind Mark Scheifele who signed what has turned out to be a very team-friendly eight-year contract last summer. Scheifele exploded for 82 points this season, giving the Jets a pair down the middle easily capable of 150 points if everything breaks right. That’s an incredible feeling to have for a franchise that has made the playoffs just twice in their entire history, and have yet to even win a game when they get there. Inking Little to this extension proves that they have no interest in rebuilding anymore, and that this is the group they intend to contend with.

Next summer will still bring quite a bit of uncertainty. The Jets have 24 players who will hit free agency in one way or another, and though the vast majority are restricted free agents the team will still have to wisely plan out their salary structure. While new deals for Jacob Trouba, Nikolaj Ehlers and Josh Morrissey are important, they must retain the flexibility to pay Patrik Laine when his contract is up in two seasons. Locking Little in gives them some certainty in that regard, and will look just fine if the cap increases at all through the duration.

Jamie Thomas of Jets TV was first to report the contract, while Darren Dreger of TSN gave us the financial details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

 

West Notes: Doughty, Foligno, Duchene, Virtanen

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Last weekend, Kings defenseman Drew Doughty had some intriguing comments about his future in an interview with Matt Larkin of The Hockey News where he suggested that he could be okay leaving the team in pursuit of a contender if the team struggles over these next couple of seasons.  Speaking with reporters, including Curtis Zupke of the LA Times, Doughty clarified the statement and stated his desire to remain with Los Angeles long-term:

“You just never know what can happen … but I want to be here and I’m pretty sure that the L.A. Kings and all [my] teammates want me to be here, too. I’m sure something will happen and we will get it done.”

Doughty has two years remaining on his current contract with a $7MM cap hit and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2019.  The Kings already have more than $53MM committed to just 11 players for the 2019-20 season but undoubtedly will be prepared to make a significant offer to keep Doughty around well beyond then.

More from the West:

  • The Wild and RFA winger Marcus Foligno continued contract talks today, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). While it appears that talks are progressing, the two sides have yet to agree on a contract.  Earlier this week, it was reported that a three-or-four-year deal is in the works which would buy out multiple years of UFA eligibility.
  • It’s no secret that Avalanche GM Joe Sakic is seeking a big return for center Matt Duchene. Speaking with WGR 550 in Buffalo (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Avalanche are seeking one of Nashville’s top-four defensemen plus another asset in order to ship Duchene to the Predators.  While Duchene would certainly give them a top-six replacement for James Neal, that would certainly be a steep price to pay, especially with Ryan Ellis out until early 2018.
  • After reporting to training camp well past Vancouver’s targeted weight for him, Canucks winger Jake Virtanen has come to camp in much better shape this time around, notes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. At 215 pounds, Virtanen is well below the 231 he checked in at this time last year and that might help give him a leg up on a possible fourth line spot despite not exactly lighting it up in the AHL last season (he had 19 points in 65 games).  Head coach Travis Green acknowledged that the Canucks plan to give their fourth line a big workload this season which may make that role a better one for him over more playing time back with AHL Utica.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Anaheim Ducks

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Anaheim Ducks

Current Cap Hit: $71,684,167 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Ondrej Kase (One year remaining, $670K)
D Brandon Montour (One year remaining, $925K)
F Nick Ritchie (One year remaining, $894K)

Ritchie had a nice first full season that saw him collect 28 points while playing 13 minutes per game.  If he maintains that, he’ll position himself for a decent raise but if he can push closer to 40 points and take on a bigger role, he could push closer towards $3MM on a bridge contract.  Kase took on a fourth line role and will probably battle for that spot in the lineup again.  He’ll be in line for a small raise but nothing too significant.

Montour spent most of last year in the minors but played an important role in the playoffs due to injuries.  With a pair of regulars slated to be out for a while to start the season, he should see action early on and could play himself into a full-time role.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Francois Beauchemin ($1MM, UFA)
D Kevin Bieksa ($4MM, UFA)
F Jared Boll ($900K, UFA)
F Andrew Cogliano ($3MM, UFA)
D Josh Manson ($825K, RFA)
F Dennis Rasmussen ($725K, UFA)
F Logan Shaw ($650K, RFA)
F Antoine Vermette ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Chris Wagner ($638K, UFA)

Potential Bonuses

Beauchemin: $600K
Ritchie: $850K

Total: $1.45MM

Cogliano has quietly been an effective secondary scorer in past years and fits nicely into a middle-six role.  Those types of players have started to get squeezed out in free agency as teams look to sign top guys and round out the roster with cheap depth.  Some players still buck that trend though and if Cogliano can get around 30 points again, he should be able to as well.  Vermette has seen his production dip in recent years but remains one of the top faceoff players in the game which means there will always be some sort of market for him.  He’s also collecting $1.25MM from the Coyotes so between that and his current cap hit, he will likely have to take a pay cut next season.  The other four players on this list project to be depth pieces and won’t be expected to earn any sort of big raise on their next contracts.

On the back end, there are two different types of players.  The first are the aging veterans, highlighted by Bieksa.  He’s coming off of one of the quietest seasons of his career and has seen his role diminish quite a bit lately.  He might garner one more contract based on reputation but it shouldn’t be close to what he’s getting now.  Beauchemin has already stated that this is likely his final NHL season and will likely be more of a depth player when everyone’s healthy but value wise, this is still a pretty good contract.

Apr 19, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Manson (42) against the Calgary Flames during the second period in game four of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY SportsThen there’s Manson on the opposite end of the spectrum.  He has been buried behind their other young blueliners but has still managed to establish himself as an up-and-coming top-four option.  He should get a chance to play a bigger role this coming season and with it, he’ll have an opportunity to show he’s worthy of a long-term contract like the others.  Manson will also have arbitration rights so he is well on his way towards landing a much bigger contract coming off of his bridge deal.  A lack of offense will limit the final number (he’ll come in below their top-three) but it will still be a major raise that GM Bob Murray will need to budget for.

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Minor Transactions: 9/13/17

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With training camps starting shortly, several players that were on NHL contracts last season have scrambled to land minor league deals today.

  • Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, AHL affiliate of the Penguins, announced the signing of winger Christian Thomas to a one-year minor league deal.  The 25-year-old spent last season in Washington’s organization but wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer despite posting his best numbers in his career with 49 points in 65 games.  Thomas has played in 26 career NHL games over parts of four seasons with the Rangers and the Canadiens.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack, an affiliate of the Rangers, have signed winger Scott Kosmachuk per a team release. He was previously with the Jets but they let him go in June after a 28 point season with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose.  Kosmachuk last played in the NHL in 2015-16 with Winnipeg.  He’ll be reunited with head coach Keith McCambridge who coached him back in Manitoba two seasons ago.  Kosmachuk has also received an invite to New York’s training camp on a PTO.
  • The Sharks have added some goalie depth to their system as their farm team, the Barracuda, announced the signing of netminder Stephon Williams to a one-year AHL deal. He had previously been with the Islanders, who had signed him out of college but like the others, wasn’t given a qualifying offer in June.  Williams split last season between the AHL and ECHL, suiting up in 32 games.

Penguins Sign Alex D’Orio

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The Penguins have added some goaltending depth to their system as they announced the signing of netminder Alex D’Orio to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

D’Orio made a strong first impression in the QMJHL last season, playing in 28 games for the Saint John Sea Dogs, who won the league championship, while posting a 2.40 GAA and a 19-2-2 record.  He was eligible to be selected in the draft back in June but went unpicked despite being ranked 13th among North American goaltenders by NHL’s Central Scouting.

Pittsburgh invited him to their development camp back in July plus their recently-completed rookie tournament, where he had a .902 SV% in three games.

As D’Orio is only 18 and is signing out of the CHL, he is ineligible to play at the AHL level for the upcoming season.  Instead, he’ll return to Saint John where he will likely serve as their starter moving forward with starter Callum Booth (Carolina’s fourth rounder in 2015) set to turn pro in 2017-18.

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