Archives for May 2017

West Notes: Braun, Dallas Goaltending, Berube, Therrien

May 27, 2017 at 11:38 am CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

This offseason could be one of change for San Jose. Two long-term veteran forwards in Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton are both eligible for unrestricted free agency and if both walk, there are going to be some holes to fill offensively.

On the flip side, the Sharks have strong defensive depth not to mention a lot of money tied into their back end; they have nearly $27MM committed to their top seven for next season. (That amount is expected to jump considerably for 2018-19 as well assuming the team can get a deal done with Marc-Edouard Vlasic.)

Accordingly, CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz anticipates that GM Doug Wilson will deal from his blueline to try to add some offensive help and brings up Justin Braun as a player who could be dealt. Braun has been paired up with Vlasic in a shut-down role in the past and fared well while he has a decent cap hit of $3.8MM for three more seasons that will likely intrigue some teams.

The Sharks do have some depth on the back end with players like Mirco Mueller, Tim Heed, and the recently-signed Radim Simek waiting in the wings so if they do trade from their position of strength, it shouldn’t force them to spend big in free agency to replace whoever gets moved.

Other notes from the Western Conference:

Stars GM Jim Nill noted to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News that he has yet to decide who will back up recently-acquired Ben Bishop next season. The team has two pricey veterans in Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi who each have one year remaining on their contracts. If they aren’t able to find a taker for one via trade or expansion in the coming weeks, a buyout is a likely outcome. Lehtonen has had the better numbers of the two so despite the fact he has the higher cap hit of the two ($5.9MM versus $4.5MM for Niemi), the early expectation is that he’ll stick around while Niemi will be let go.
Chicago Wolves head coach Craig Berube is the top candidate for the lead assistant coaching job with the Blues, reports Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The fit is a logical one given that the Wolves will no longer the primary AHL affiliate for them starting next season. However, he is in the running for the head coaching job with Buffalo. Rutherford notes that former Canadiens head coach Michel Therrien is also a candidate for the role but they don’t appear to be interested in former Buffalo bench boss Dan Bylsma.

Expansion Primer: Dallas Stars

May 27, 2017 at 10:29 am CDT | by Mike Furlano 1 Comment

Over the next few weeks we will be breaking 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 Dallas Stars enter the offseason with more questions than answers. Failing to make the playoffs caused consternation in a season where the team was expected to compete. But unlike some teams, the Dallas Stars do not have to worry about losing a significant piece in the expansion draft. The Stars are one of a few teams that will be relatively unaffected by the expansion draft, though some may see that as indicative of a team lacking quality depth.

Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza, and recently acquired goaltender Ben Bishop all have NMCs that mandate protection, and outside of Tyler Seguin, represent Dallas’s best players. Rather, the Dallas Stars may be hoping for some salary relief—though they are not in imminent cap trouble—if the Vegas Golden Knights take one of Dallas’s remaining goaltenders.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards
Jamie Benn (NMC), Jason Spezza (NMC), Tyler Seguin, Cody Eakin, Antoine Roussel, Curtis McKenzie, Adam Cracknell, Brett Ritchie, Radek Faksa, Valeri Nichushkin, Justin Dowling, Gemel Smith, Mark McNeill, Matej Stransky

Defense
John Klingberg, Dan Hamhuis, Greg Pateryn, Stephen Johns, Esa Lindell, Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak, Andrew Bodnarchuk, Mattias Backman, Ludwig Bystrom, Justin Hache, Nick Ebert

Goaltender
Ben Bishop (NMC), Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi, Maxime Lagace, Henri Kiviaho

Notable Exemptions

Devin Shore, Mattias Janmark, Julius Honka, John Nyberg

Key Decisions

As noted above, the Dallas Stars are relatively safe in the upcoming expansion draft. The team is able to protect all of its stars, average producers, and promising young prospects. Any question or controversy arising from who the Stars protect will lie with which mid-20s quasi-prospect the team decided to protect.

Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza—second and third in scoring respectively—have NMCs and must be protected per the expansion draft rules. Neither player poses a burden for the team, so those protections are uncontroversial. Dallas will also protect its leading scorer Tyler Seguin, so its top-three are safe.

Whether Dallas chooses to protect 7F / 3D / 1G or 8FD / 1G will depend on how Dallas values players like Curtis McKenzie and Adam Cracknell over Dan Hamhuis and RFA defensive prospects. The Stars will expose at least one young RFA defenseman along the lines of a Patrick Nemeth or a Jamie Oleksiak. Given that Dallas isn’t in a bind to protect certain players, expect the team to choose the 7F / 3D /1G to maximize its protectable assets. Protecting an additional defenseman or forward at the expense of two extra protection slots does not make much sense for this team.

Goaltending-wise, the Stars are set. They have to protect Ben Bishop, and leave exposed contractual burdens Antti Niemi and Kari Lehtonen. Rather than worry about losing a skilled goaltender, the Stars may hope that the Golden Knights select one of Dallas’s goalies. Right now the Stars will probably have to buy out either Niemi or Lehtonen, so losing one to the draft would save the Stars buyout money and some cap space.

Projected Protection List

Scheme: 7F / 3D / 1G

Forwards
Jamie Benn (NMC)
Jason Spezza (NMC)
Tyler Seguin
Cody Eakin
Antoine Roussel
Radek Faksa
Valeri Nichushkin

Defensemen
John Klingberg
Stephen Johns
Esa Lindell

Goaltender
Ben Bishop (NMC)

For the forwards, Dallas should protect Nichuskin over Brett Ritchie just to see what they have in the Russian forward. On defense, the Stars will hem and haw between protecting Johns over Hamhuis. The Stars would have statistical support to believe that Hamhuis may be nearing the end of his career. The rugged defenseman turns 35, played less than 20min a night for the first time in his career, and scored only 16 points last season. If the Stars are still high on Johns then they will expose Hamhuis this summer.

All in all, Dallas enters the expansion draft with little issue. They will not lose a significant piece or highly-regarded prospect. Rather, they may come out ahead by gaining some cap and salary relief.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Michal Kempny To One Year Extension

May 27, 2017 at 9:08 am CDT | by Mike Furlano Leave a Comment

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed defenseman Michal Kempny to a one-year extension, the team announced this morning. The Czech defenseman scored 2G and 6A in 50 games for the Blackhawks last season. According to CapFriendly the deal is a one-year, one-way extension for $900K.

The Blackhawks signed Kempny from the KHL last season, but relegated him to the press box after acquiring Johnny Oduya at the NHL Trade Deadline. The Blackhawks are no stranger to defensive depth, and this signing should shore up a blue line that could lose the aforementioned Oduya and pending UFA Brian Campbell.

The 26 year-old defenseman is known for his speed and puck-possession skills. His 56.3 CF% led the team and furthers the Blackhawks focus on controlling the play. With Chicago ever-struggling with the salary cap, it needs to hit on some of these depth signings with potential high upside to compensate.

Offseason Keys: Tampa Bay Lightning

May 26, 2017 at 8:57 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Expectations were high for the Lightning this season but not much went their way. Goaltending was expected to be a strength but Ben Bishop (before being dealt) and Andrei Vasilevskiy both struggled at times while they were dealt a crippling blow when Steven Stamkos tore his meniscus early on, ending his season after just 17 games. Tampa wound up missing the postseason and are now heading into what will likely be a summer of change for GM Steve Yzerman and company. Here are some key decisions that need to be made.

Rebuild The Blueline

Yzerman hasn’t hidden his desire to improve Tampa Bay’s back end. It was reported earlier that he and the Blues had pretty much agreed on a deal for Kevin Shattenkirk but it fell through when they weren’t able to agree on a contract extension. While that one didn’t work, it gives teams (and agents) around the league an idea of what they’re looking to do.

It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see them take another run at Shattenkirk in free agency. The market doesn’t have many players who can play a top pairing role and while they could certainly benefit from the second tiered players, it may not be the best use for the money they have to work with (more on that shortly).

The Lightning have a couple of youngsters who will likely make a strong push for a roster spot next season. Jake Dotchin spent time with Victor Hedman down the stretch and held his own while 2012 first rounder Slater Koekkoek will be waiver eligible next season. While those two will likely factor into the roster next year, there is still a need to add from outside the organization if the team intends on getting back into contention.

Shed Salary

Tampa has a little over $55MM committed in payroll for 2017-18 per CapFriendly and they only have 14 players under contract. They have several key players to re-sign but will have great difficulty getting them all signed without shedding a cumbersome contract or two.

Ryan Callahan dealt with hip trouble for most of the season and has three more years left on his deal with a pricey $5.8MM cap hit. He also has a full no-move clause which could come into play in expansion. The expectation is that he will be ready to go to start next season which takes out a long-term stashing on LTIR out of the question as well. Alex Killorn has six years left on his deal with an AAV of $4.45MM and while he has been a consistent middle six winger, they could decide to try to deal him and stick a cheaper forward in his place.

On the back end, the expiring contract of Jason Garrison ($4.6MM) is likely someone they will be looking to move. He isn’t the top four defender he was in his Vancouver days and is slowing down as he gets older. If they can’t move him (and they’d probably have to attach an asset to get a team to take him), a buyout may be an option as well. Braydon Coburn is another blueliner that isn’t living up to his deal but with two years left at $3.7MM per season, they’ll be in tough to find a taker. Yzerman will need to find a way to move one of these deals if he wants to keep his core restricted free agents in place.

Decisions For RFAs

The Lightning have no fewer than three prominent restricted free agents that are all in line for big raises. Jonathan Drouin had a career year with 53 points in 73 games which was good enough to rank him third in team scoring. A year removed from a midseason holdout and trade request, he has boosted not only his value to Tampa Bay but his trade value around the league. He earned just $832K last season before performance bonuses and will surpass that amount by a considerable margin. Will he be willing to take a bridge deal? That’s a key question and it’s plausible that the answer to that will determine whether or not they’ll be able to keep him for next season; if they opt to move him, they’ll have no shortage of suitors.

Tyler Johnson is a couple of years removed from his breakout 72 point season but is still a legitimate top six centre. The back loaded structure of his second deal results in him needing a $4MM qualifying offer, a fair bit higher than the $3.33MM cap hit he carried for the last three seasons. Ondrej Palat is coming off the identical contract as Johnson but his platform year was a bit more productive as he finished fourth in team scoring with 52 points. At 26, both are candidates for long-term deals but they could also opt to go to arbitration for one year contracts which would set them up for unrestricted free agency next summer.

There’s no doubt that Yzerman would like to go long-term with both but it’s unlikely they’ll be able to do so without losing a core player. It’s certainly shaping up like there will be some tough decisions upcoming this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Kovalchuk, Kerfoot, Ruhwedel, Grabovski

May 26, 2017 at 7:53 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

There have been no discussions in the past two weeks between the Devils and Jay Grossman, the agent for winger Ilya Kovalchuk, GM Ray Shero told The Record’s Andrew Gross. Grossman does have permission to speak with other teams to gauge their interest and potentially attempt to broker a trade.

Kovalchuk retired from NHL and New Jersey back in 2013 but has played in the KHL since then. He has indicated that he would like to record to the NHL next season but will require a sign-and-trade to do so since it’s unlikely that all 30 teams will willingly sign off on his return. Although early indications are that Kovalchuk isn’t particularly interested in returning to play for the Devils, Shero hasn’t completely given up on hope on that happening just yet.

Other news and notes from around the hockey world:

Still from Gross, there have been no talks between New Jersey and 2012 fifth rounder Alexander Kerfoot since the Frozen Four tournament. The Devils will lose the rights to the 22 year old on August 15th if they are unable to reach a deal. Kerfoot had a strong senior season at Harvard where he tied for the team lead in scoring with 45 points (19-26-45) in 36 games and would attract a lot of interest if he were to hit the open market.
Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel took part in yesterday’s morning skate as he works towards returning to the lineup from a concussion sustained in Game Four against Ottawa, notes Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 27 year old has skated in six postseason games so far and, when healthy, will likely be the first to draw in if there are any more injuries to Pittsburgh’s back end between now and the end of the Stanley Cup Final.
Although he was skating on his own during the second half of the season, Islanders center Mikhail Grabovski hasn’t recovered enough from his concussion symptoms to be eligible to be bought out this summer, reports Newsday’s Arthur Staple. The 33 year old last played in March of 2016 but carries a pricey cap hit of $5MM though he’ll likely be placed on LTIR once again if he doesn’t get the green light to return from team doctors at the start of next season.

Pacific Notes: Ducks, Robinson, Schmalz

May 26, 2017 at 6:49 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Anaheim Ducks face one of the tougher challenges when it comes to navigating through the upcoming expansion draft and that fact isn’t lost on GM Bob Murray. He noted to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register that he has already had discussions and made offers to Golden Knights GM George McPhee about what type of sweetener it may take for him to not take the top player they leave exposed:

“There may be ways to do things with George where I can not affect too much. Giving him something he may need. George is a very intelligent man, and I have a pretty good idea what he is going to try to do there. I can obviously help him with that a little bit. “There’s certain players here there’s just no way I can afford to lose them.”

The Ducks have several high quality defenders that are worthy of protection that would undoubtedly draw interest from Vegas if left unprotected. If they want to protect more than the standard three, that would force them to only protect a maximum of four forwards which would likely leave Jakob Silfverberg exposed and he too would surely be of interest to McPhee. Murray certainly realizes the situation he’s in and now, it’s just a matter of trying to figure out what type of side deal it’s going to take to keep their core players intact beyond the expansion draft.

Elsewhere around the Pacific:

The Sharks have parted ways with director of player development Larry Robinson, reports Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette. The Hall of Fame blueliner had been with San Jose for the past five seasons in a couple of different roles, including associate coach. Though he’s 66, he isn’t looking to retire just yet but wants a job that will allow him to be closer to his home in Florida on a more regular basis. It’s unlikely that he’d return behind the bench but a role similar to the one he had in San Jose where he worked primarily with defensemen would certainly be a possibility.
The Kings have yet to decide if they will offer a contract to 2015 fifth rounder Matt Schmalz, notes Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider. They have until June 1st to sign the 21 year old winger or they lose his rights. Schmalz doesn’t project to be a big scorer at the professional level but he stands 6’6 and has a nose for the net which could make him an intriguing bottom six forward. Los Angeles has plenty of room on their 50 contract limit to get him signed as they have just 30 players signed so far for next season.

Offseason Keys: Philadelphia Flyers

May 26, 2017 at 5:43 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

After making the playoffs in 2015-16, expectations were high in Philadelphia this season. However, they wound up taking a step backwards as inconsistency plagued them throughout the year and they came up a little short of making the postseason. They did receive a nice consolation prize in the form of the second overall pick through the draft lottery, starting the offseason on a high note. Here’s what’s in store for Ron Hextall and the Flyers this summer.

New Deal For Gostisbehere

Shayne Gostisbehere burst onto the scene in 2015-16 after a recall a month into the year as he quickly became one of the top offensive threats from the back end in the entire NHL. Expectations were high heading into his first full NHL season but he struggled to repeat his freshman performance while even being scratched periodically.

Gostisbehere’s entry level contract expires in July and he is Philadelphia’s most prominent restricted free agent. Although he had a down season, he still put up 39 points which ranked him in the top-25 league-wide. He’s viewed as a key cog for the Flyers and accordingly, he has a case for a big contract.

Had the 24 year old taken a step forward or two this season, it would have been easy to anticipate Hextall being more than comfortable signing him long-term. However, given Gostisbehere’s drop in production and role, the GM may be inclined to look for a short-term bridge deal. From a cap standpoint, the Flyers have plenty of space to work with this offseason (something that hasn’t been said for quite a while) so they certainly have the flexibility to go either way with their young defenseman.

Find A Starting Goalie

This one is a familiar key for Philly fans. Despite bringing in some prominent netminders over the years, they’ve struggled to find a consistent number one goalie. The tandem of Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth didn’t get the job done this season and while Neuvirth signed a two year, $5MM extension at the deadline, he’s not really being viewed as the long-term solution. Mason is set to become an unrestricted free agent and indicated after the season he wasn’t likely to re-sign if the platoon situation was in place again next season.

Anthony Stolarz is coming off a bit of a down season himself at the AHL level but is still viewed as a prospect with some NHL upside. As things stand, he’s in line to make a push for a spot with the Flyers (assuming he makes it through expansion) but the pending RFA also has another year of waiver exemption remaining which increases the likelihood that he will start with AHL Lehigh Valley next year.

There are going to be quite a few goalies available between free agency and the trade market, several of which could come in and take over the starting role. While there aren’t any long-term solutions available, there are some players who could hold down the fort for a year or two which, given the quality prospects Philadelphia has in the system between the pipes, might just be exactly what they need.

Reshape The Back End

One way or the other, the defense is going to likely look a lot different next season. Mark Streit was dealt away at the deadline while other pending UFAs in Michael Del Zotto and Nick Schultz aren’t expected to return.

The Flyers have several young prospects that are nearly ready to make the jump to the NHL, including Samuel Morin, Robert Hagg, and Travis Sanheim. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Hextall opt to leave a spot or two open heading into training camp for their youngsters to try to step up and seize a spot.

That said, given the payroll room they have to work with, it also wouldn’t be surprising to see them be active in free agency to try to add a quality veteran. An alternative option may be to utilize the pre-expansion trade market as they really only have two blueliners that are must-protect players in Gostisbehere and Radko Gudas. Hextall could opt to make a trade before Vegas makes their selection and add to their blueline that way. Philadelphia has plenty of options to change up their defense corps for next season and it certainly will be interesting to see which route they wind up taking.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Expansion Primer: Buffalo Sabres

May 26, 2017 at 4:38 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

After finishing the 2015-16 season with 81 points (a 27 point increase on the previous year) a Stanley Cup-winning coach and a budding superstar who had scored 56 points as a teenager, the Buffalo Sabres felt pretty good about their future. So they went out and gave a 28-year old Kyle Okposo a seven-year, $42MM deal, traded for Dmitry Kulikov and held onto the off-ice troublemaker Evander Kane. It looked like they would compete for the playoffs this season, but the optimism wasn’t held for long.

Decimated by injury, the team couldn’t put it together even after Eichel’s mid-season return and would finish with just 78 points. They now head into this offseason with a much different outlook, clearing house and bringing in first-time GM (save for a short interim period in Pittsburgh) Jason Botterill to hire coaches for both the NHL and AHL clubs. They’ll pick eighth once again in this year’s entry draft and have quite a lot of picks in the first few rounds, though are looking to compete next season and catch up with the success that Edmonton and Toronto realized this season. In terms of expansion, they find themselves in a pretty good spot because many of their prized possessions are still ineligible for selection.