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Sharks Reach Out To Thornton And Marleau

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The San Jose Sharks have talked with veteran pending UFA forwards—and former captains—Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, reports the NHL.com’s Eric Gilmore. Both are set to become free agents on July 1st, and could potentially leave for the right price.

Thornton has amassed 215G and 722A in 914 regular season games over 11.5 seasons for San Jose, and an additional 21G and 84A in 125 playoff games. Though he will be 38 next season, Thornton still managed to put up 7G and 43A in 79 games. If the Sharks and Thornton come to a deal, it will most likely be a two or three year deal. Because Thornton’s contract is a 35+ contract, it stays on the salary cap if Thornton retires early.

Marleau has been the face of the franchise since he was drafted 2nd overall in 1997—one pick later than Joe Thornton to the Boston Bruins. In 19 seasons, Marleau has 508G and 574A, and an additional 68G and 52A in 177 playoff games. Like Thornton, expect Marleau to get a two or three year deal, but slightly less than Thorton because of Marleau’s lesser production.

The two veterans, however, are not the only contractual talks concerning San Jose. Both goaltender Martin Jones and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic are free agents at the end of next season, and San Jose will want to sign them to extensions as soon as possible.

Columbus To “Steer” Vegas Expansion Pick

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The Columbus Blue Jackets may have a deal in place with the Vegas Golden Knights to overlook certain Blue Jackets in the expansion draft. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports that in exchange for Columbus’s first round pick and a second-tier prospect, the Golden Knights will only select one of Matt Calvert, William Karlsson, or Ryan Murray. Portzline also thinks that Vegas may take injured forward David Clarkson as well.

The deal, if true, allows Columbus to protect its core forward and defensive group, and keep an up-and-coming goalie prospect in its system.

[See PHR’s Columbus Blue Jackets Expansion Primer]

The deal essentially protects forward Josh Anderson and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who Columbus risked losing because they did not have enough protection slots. Anderson had 17G and 12A as a 22 year -old, and would certainly entice the Golden Knights.

The price, however, is steep. Columbus gives up the 24th pick in this summer’s draft, and because they gave up their second round pick when they hired coach John Tortorella from the Vancouver Canucks, they do not draft this year until pick 86. That being said, the team has one of the stronger youth movements in the NHL, and can afford to pause the pipeline for a year.

The price may also dissuade other teams from making a similar move. The Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators also face a significant loss in the expansion draft, and have to weigh whether a first round pick is worth more than the player they risk losing. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted, however, that an anonymous NHL GM thinks the Golden Knights have at least three first round draft picks so far, and more to come before the draft is over, so that decision may have already been made.

Roster Freeze Deadline Today

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Today is a big day for the NHL and the expansion draft. Not only does it mark the last day that teams can trade, waive, or sign players, but today is also when teams submit their expansion draft protected lists.

Teams have until 3pm EST to trade, sign, or waive a player before the roster freeze takes effect. After that, no move is allowed until Thursday June 22nd at 8am EST. The roster freeze applies to all teams except the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Then those teams have until 5pm EST to submit their protected lists to the NHL. Presumably teams have figured out who they will protect, but last minute moves by other teams could throw a wrench into a team’s predictions.

Stay tuned in the coming hours for any breaking news before the roster cutoff. It’s bound to be a good one.

Coyotes Acquire Nick Cousins From Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have traded center Nick Cousins and the rights to Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2018 fifth round pick and the rights to Brendan Warren. TSN’s Bob McKenzie  tweeted the specifics that the Flyers received a 2018 fifth round pick and Warren, who is currently at the University of Michigan. Warren was the Coyotes’ 3rd round pick in 2015. Elliotte Friedman reported Madsen being part of the deal, and added that he was “no guarantee” to sign with the Flyers.

Cousins was taken in the third round by the Flyers back in the 2011 NHL draft. He appeared in 60 games and had 16 points (6-10). Cousins was likely to be exposed by the Flyers in the expansion draft, so it’s a situation where Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is getting something instead of losing him for nothing. PHR’s Seth Lawrence projected Cousins to be unprotected in the draft.

Craig Custance was the first to tweet a potential deal.  TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that it was Cousins involved in the deal.  

Expansion Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

Steve Yzerman fired the first shot in the pre-expansion draft trade market by acquiring  Mikhail Sergachev from Montreal for Jonathan Drouin, a move that gave the Lightning flexibility both with the cap and their expansion protection list. It also filled a need with the Bolts on defense. With that in mind, it makes Yzerman and the Lightning’s decisions slightly easier as to who to protect and who to expose. But there are still some tough choices to make.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards: Steven Stamkos (NMC), Ryan Callahan (NMC), Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn, Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, Erik Condra, Cedric Paquette, Ondrej Palat (RFA), Tyler Johnson 

Defensemen: Victor Hedman (NMC), Jason Garrison, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, Andrej Sustr (RFA), Slater Koekkoek, Jake Dotchin

Goaltender: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Kristers Gudlevskis (RFA)

Notable Exemptions

Mikhail Sergachev, Brett Howden

Key Decisions

Unloading Drouin certainly helped from a financial and expansion list aspect.  This makes it somewhat easier for forwards to put on the protected list.

Ondrej Palat and Alex Killorn are both choices that benefitted from Drouin being moved. Killorn netted 19 goals while Palat will continue to get better. Stamkos and Callahan both have NMCs. Despite fighting injury and not matching his production from 2014-15, Johnson is too good of a talent to leave exposed.

It’s on defense where tougher decisions need to be made, and it will come down to three players. Hedman and Stralman will both be protected, Hedman because he has a no-movement clause and Stralman is key to the Lightning blueline. Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn are both carrying heavier hits for the cap and will most likely be left alone when they’re exposed. Garrison could hypothetically be taken with his deal ending at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, but the $4.6MM hit would probably scare Vegas away.

May 24, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center <a rel=That leaves three choices to protect: Andrej Sustr, Jake Dotchin, and Slater Koekkoek. Sustr is a restricted free agent and won’t be able to command much in the way of money after having a down year. That doesn’t make him exempt from being exposed. If anything, seeing his numbers drop with a number of other options pounding on the door for the big club could make him the odd man out. However, he’s still an economical option and any leverage he had took a hit with the acquisition of Sergachev, who if scouting is correct, should find time on the Tampa blueline next season. But the problem with protecting Sustr is that Tampa would risk losing two young, and talented defensemen for nothing. In the same breath, would the Bolts want to possibly lose a steady defenseman who is only 26?

That leads to Dotchin and Koekkoek. Dotchin just turned 23, and registered 11 points in 35 games this season. The problem is, as Lightning blog Raw Charge pointed out, his sample size was limited compared to Koekkoek while being paired with Hedman. The 23-year-old Koekkoek logged 41 games over the past two seasons,  but played strong for AHL affiliate Syracuse during the Calder Cup playoffs. Picking between them is essentially splitting hairs. Koekkoek  appears to have the higher ceiling, and plays a cleaner game than Dotchin. Though they play different games, Yzerman might prefer a more disciplined, puck moving defenseman when choosing who to protect. At the same time, Dotchin plays a physical game, and can move the puck as well. He’s not afraid to muck it up, and provides a presence that protects his teammates on the ice–while still contributing on the score sheet. As Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith wrote, Dotchin has stood out to management, especially in the NHL and AHL during Syracuse’s Calder Cup Final run.

With two younger defensive prospects and after having a less than stellar season, predict Sustr to be exposed and Koekkoek protected. Don’t be surprised, as many others have written, if Yzerman pulls something off to keep all of his young defensemen so Dotchin remains in the fold.

Projected Protection List

F – Steven Stamkos (NMC)
F – Ryan Callahan (NMC)
F – Tyler Johnson (RFA)
F – Nikita Kucherov
F – Vladislav Namestnikov
F – Alex Killorn
F – Ondrej Palat (RFA)

D – Victor Hedman (NMC)
D – Anton Stralman
D –Slater Koekkoek (RFA)

G – Andrei Vasilevskiy

Vasilevskiy is truly the only option to protect as 24-year-old netminder Kristers Gudlevskis is unlikely to be taken with other options presumably available from other teams. Of the decisions, it seems to be the least of Tampa’s worries.

The Lightning, despite missing the playoffs and sustaining injuries to one key player after another, still have a strong lineup that will absolutely compete next season. Peddling Drouin off certainly helped matters, but the third player to protect defensively is a tough decision to make. At the end of the day, though, Yzerman has shown skills deft enough to take a challenging situation and somehow make it work out. Don’t be surprised if he finds a way to do it again.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Despres, Shero, Hextall, Flames

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Anaheim general manager Bob Murray released a statement regarding the buyout of defenseman Simon Despres. The 25-year-old was placed on waivers earlier in the day with the intention of being bought out. Murray said the following from Anaheim’s twitter account:

“Simon Despres is a good hockey player and a good person. But, at this point, we feel it is the best interests of both Simon and the organization to part ways. We wish him the very best in the future.”

Despres responded as well on Twitter, writing:

“I’d like to thank the for a wonderful 2 and a half years. I wish my teammates all the best moving forward.”

  • Ray Shero still has the #1 pick with a week to go before the draft writes the AP’s Tom Canavan. Shero isn’t denying that he could still trade the pick away, but for all intents and purposes, he told his staff to prepare for taking someone with the first overall choice. The next question: who would they take? Shero told Canavan that the draft reminds him of 2013, where there were four very good players in Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Drouin, and Seth Jones. Canavan writes that the Devils need a goal scorer, which would definitely be found in either Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier, both believed to be the top two prospects in the draft.
  • Flyers general manager Ron Hextall might still make a move writes Philadelphia Inquirer’s  Sam Carchidi. Saying there was a 25-75% chance he makes a move, Hextall is going with the 7-3-1 format and has to decide between Michal Neuvirth and Anthony Stolarz when choosing the one goaltender to protect. Hextall calls it a more “philosophical” decision than a “difficult” one since it essentially comes down to picking a veteran or a rookie. Carchidi also writes that Hextall may still re-sign Steve Mason while saying that he will not be buying out any contracts. Sitting behind New Jersey with the second pick, Hextall also professes to having “no idea” what the Devils will do with the first overall pick.
  • Postmedia’s Kristen Odland reports that the process of an expansion draft is especially taxing to players who have no idea what to expect. She quotes assistant general manager Craig Conroy, who survived an expansion draft with the St.Louis Blues in both 1998 and 2000. Conroy likened it to the trade deadline, saying there’s nothing players can do about it and that they “signed up for this.” Odland lists netminder Brian Elliott as a question mark, wondering if he’ll be protected as free agency looms. With a goalie market that isn’t exactly full of options, she believes that he could be protected, but his struggles during the playoffs may be a reason he’s left off the list.

Expansion Notes: Phaneuf, McPhee, Final Decisions

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TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweets that nothing changed on Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf’s decision to waive his no-movement clause prior to the 5pm deadline today. This doesn’t mean, however, that he won’t be traded. Phaneuf is definitely in the mix to be dealt as Ottawa agonizes over who to protect and who to leave exposed as lists are due tomorrow at 5pm. Phaneuf has been the subject of trade rumors, and it was confirmed by general manager Pierre Dorion that he’s received calls about the 32-year-old defenseman. Some pundits thought Phaneuf might waive his NMC before the 5pm deadline, but with that now passed, it will be interesting to see if he’s one of many players shuttled to another team to ease the restrictions on the list.

  • The USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes that Vegas general manager George McPhee has encouraged his staff to catch up on their sleep prior to the weekend as all NHL teams will have their protected lists submitted tomorrow. Noting that he only has 72 hours to put a team together, McPhee told Allen that teams have been straightforward with McPhee as to what they’re thinking and that it’s been in line with what McPhee and his staff expected. Allen reports that McPhee plans on informing each team who they plan on taking, so they can circle back to see if another deal can be worked out. Further, McPhee indicates that they are trying to build a balanced squad that can compete right away. He adds that they also want to acquire as many draft picks as possible to “expedite their building process.” McPhee also told Allen that even though he’s in his office at 6am Vegas time, his phone has been ringing non-stop with colleagues looking to make deals.
  • On the other side of McPhee’s phone line are 30 general managers wrangling with what they’re going to do in anticipation of the draft. The AP’s Stephen Whyno spoke with general managers who are also losing sleep over the draft, albeit for different reasons. Minnesota’s Chuck Fletcher told Whyno that he often reminds himself at 3am that he can “only lose one player–go back to sleep.” Florida’s Dale Tallon remarked that “everyone’s a little nervous, a little reluctant” in anticipation of what will happen. Tampa general manager Steve Yzerman already responded by trading Jonathan Drouin to Montreal while New York and Colorado bought out the contracts of Dan Girardi and Francois Beauchemin respectively. Meanwhile, LeBrun tweets that deals could go down to the wire after speaking with Fletcher while  Tampa Bay Times beat writer Joe Smith tweets that he sees Tampa Bay in potential talks with Fletcher since the Wild have a logjam at defense.

Expansion Primer: Ottawa Senators

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We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft; which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.

The Ottawa Senators came into this season with a new coach, a new second line center and a dream that getting back to the Conference finals for just the third time in their history might be a possibility. All season people wrote them off as a weak team piggy-backing on the dominant play of their captain and best player, Erik Karlsson. With some extra help from an outstanding goaltending duo, the team shattered expectations and came within one game of the Stanley Cup Final, a successful year to be sure.

Ottawa is now looking to reload for another playoff run next season, with youngster Colin White and blue-chip prospect Thomas Chabot in tow. Their future looks quite bright, even if they did trade away some assets in questionable trade deadline deals. Just like any Cup contender, Ottawa isn’t in the best shape when it comes to the expansion draft and were dealt a further blow when Dion Phaneuf decided to not waive his no-movement clause. As protection lists are due tomorrow evening, the Senators have to make up their mind fast (if they haven’t already) and make some tough decisions.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards: 

Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Clarke MacArthur, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris, Zack Smith, Alexandre Burrows, Mike Blunden, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Dzingel

Defensemen:

Dion Phaneuf (NMC), Erik Karlsson, Marc Methot, Cody Ceci, Mark Borowiecki, Chris Wideman, Fredrik Claesson, Patrick Sieloff

Goaltenders:

Craig Anderson, Andrew Hammond, Chris Driedger

Notable Exemptions

Colin White, Logan Brown, Chris Didomenico, Thomas Chabot, Ben Harpur

Key Decisions

The first decision any team must make is whether to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie (7-3-1) or eight skaters and one goalie (8-1). The Senators are no different, as they have several interesting defensemen that project to go unprotected should they use the former, but will likely go with the latter due to their distinct lack of forward depth. Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Up front the Senators can’t afford to lose a player like Jean-Gabriel Pageau for nothing, as they learned this year when several key forwards went down to injury at the same time. Even though they play a defensive, trapping scheme, their secondary scoring depth isn’t good enough to sustain losses and with Pageau coming off an outstanding playoff run he’s a lock to be protected in a 7-3-1 format.

Mike Hoffman, Derick Brassard, Mark Stone and Kyle Turris are the others who should feel comfortable, and even with his extremely inflated salary, Bobby Ryan may have played his way back into the team’s good books with a strong playoff run. So, decisions at forward generally come down to Clarke MacArthur, Zack Smith and Ryan Dzingel of which the team can only protect one. MacArthur is an emotional leader of the team after returning from concussion problems late in the year, but Smith and Dzingel offer more for the relatively low price tags.

Fredrik ClaessonOn defense is where it gets really tight for the Senators, as Phaneuf’s NMC and Karlsson’s no-brainer leave them with just one spot to protect Marc Methot, Cody Ceci, Mark Borowiecki, Chris Wideman and Fredrik Claesson. That’s a lot of names to decide between, and all of them deserve protection to some degree. Ceci, for all the hate he gets at times logged the second-most minutes on the team and combined with Phaneuf on a relatively solid second pair, while Methot was the yin to Karlsson’s yang all season.

Neither of those two hold a candle possession-wise to Wideman, while Borowiecki was the clear physical leader of the team, even leading the NHL in hits. Claesson is the real wildcard in the group, as even though he’s suited up for just 49 NHL games he showed he could handle himself in the playoffs and perhaps move up alongside Karlsson at some point in the future. At just 24 he would be another interesting option for the Golden Knights.

In net Anderson will get the call, unless the team comes to a long-term extension with Condon before the deadline. The only reason to do that would be if they think Vegas could swoop in and sign him out from under them, though that would also cause them to forfeit their selection. In terms of other free agent options there isn’t much to see on Ottawa.

Projected Protection List

F Bobby Ryan
F Mike Hoffman
F Derick Brassard
F Mark Stone
F Kyle Turris
F Zack Smith
F Jean-Gabriel Pageau

D Dion Phaneuf (NMC)
D Erik Karlsson
D Cody Ceci

G Craig Anderson

In the end, Ceci offers too much due to his age and cheap contract to let walk for nothing. At just 23, and signed for only $2.8MM this season he still exists as an excellent asset, if not a perfect fit for the Senators system. He could easily used in a trade, or improve next season and beyond as he heads into his prime. Leaving the other defensemen unprotected though isn’t a move GM Pierre Dorion wants though, which is likely why Phaneuf’s name has been floating around in trade speculation for the last couple of days.

Ultimately the Senators could probably stand to trade two of their defensemen before the draft just to avoid losing them for nothing, but it’s more likely that they’ll just bite the bullet and lose a player of value. There is also the possibility of making a side-deal with Vegas in order to take someone else, but there has been no indication so far that Dorion has been pursuing that idea.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Tyson Barrie Available In “Hockey Deal”

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As rumors swirl around defensemen all over the league, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was talking about the various available players on CHED 630 in Edmonton. Friedman says that he has been told Tyson Barrie of the Avalanche is available in a “hockey deal.” That would mean something akin to the Drouin-Sergachev deal from yesterday, one that helps both teams instead of just a contract dump.

Barrie signed a four-year extension just a year ago, one that could have contributed to Patrick Roy’s departure before the season. Earning $5.5MM per season, Barrie’s numbers took a dip this season like everyone else on the Colorado roster. The smooth skating defender still put up 38 points and was a positive possession player, but recorded a league-worst -34 rating on the year.

Set to turn 26 this summer, Barrie is starting to look like he won’t be able to help the next iteration of the Avalanche very much, meaning getting as much as possible for him before he hits free agency would be a wise move for Joe Sakic and company. Whether that high point is now, or after a potential bounce-back 2017-18 season (when the Avalanche should be better simply because of how historically bad they were this year) is something the team will have to decide.

A right-shot defenseman capable of putting up 50 points is basically on the wish list of every team in the NHL, meaning there would be plenty of suitors should the Avalanche be serious about moving him. What exactly would be wanted in return in a “hockey deal” is unclear, as Colorado should be stockpiling picks and prospects, not anything that would help them this season. Alas, the desire to make the playoffs likely runs through their blood just a year removed from their respectable 2015-16 season, but making a deal for a veteran winger like Jordan Eberle (who has been tenuously linked to the Avalanche) would be a mistake.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jujhar Khaira

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The Edmonton Oilers have inked forward Jujhar Khaira to a two-year extension. Khaira was set to become a restricted free agent this summer, but will now be under contract until the summer of 2019. The deal will pay him $675K per season. Jujhar Khaira

Just ten days ago we looked at the expansion situation for Edmonton, in which our own Brett Barrett (in what would unfortunately be his last post for us here at PHR; he’s off to bigger and better things at Global News in Edmonton, give him a follow here) discussed the possibility of protection slot being used on the young forward. Khaira was selected in the third round of the 2012 draft and has shown the potential to develop into a checking center in the NHL. While the decision between him and Mark Letestu is still a difficult one, getting him under contract for such a low number for a couple of years may make him even more attractive.

The 6’4″ 220-lbs center played just 10 games for the Oilers this season, scoring his first NHL goal but nothing else. He was more effective in the AHL with 20 points in 27 games, but it was an injury that dominated the headlines of his 2016-17 season. He’ll try to get back on track next year and fight for an NHL role, should he make it through the expansion process unscathed. Even though he hasn’t done much in the NHL as of yet, at just 22 he could grow with the Golden Knights and give them some depth down the middle, a position that will be extremely difficult to fill.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported the financials of the deal. 

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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