Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for July 2017

Ron Hainsey Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Toronto Maple Leafs have found their depth defender, signing Ron Hainsey to a two-year, $6MM contract.

Hainsey is coming off the first playoff run of his NHL career, one that ended in celebration with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In over 900 games, the 36-year old has been a solid puck mover for several teams and will look to continue his career with the young Maple Leafs team. After losing Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak to free agency, the Leafs had an opening on their bottom pairing and Hainsey’s versatility—left handed but has experience on both sides—will allow them to make decisions on who else to bring aboard.

The Leafs have several other bottom-pairing options, but aren’t expected to make any big defensive signings on the open market even with a perceived need for a right-handed upgrade. The options, outside of Kevin Shattenkirk of course, aren’t an exciting group. There is still the possibility of a trade, but for now the Maple Leafs seem to be adding depth instead.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN was first to break the deal.

Rangers Expected To Sign Ondrej Pavelec To One-Year Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported earlier this morning that Ondrej Pavelec was on his way to New York. The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe tweets that the deal is a one-year, $1.3MM agreement. The deal was anticipated, as it was reported yesterday that the Rangers were in discussions with the netminder.

Pavelec will now be the backup to Henrik Lundqvist, following the departure of Antti Raanta. Last season, Pavelec only saw eight games with Winnipeg and posted a 4-4 record with a .888 save percentage.

Panthers Notes: Werier, Haley, Jagr, Demers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Florida Panthers made official this morning the firing of Assistant GM Stever Werier, as Dale Tallon continues to undo moves made by the previous administration, now including the hiring of Werier. TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who first reported the front office change, states that the order may have come down even prior to last week’s Expansion Draft, but is just now being made public. The move corresponds with Tallon’s recent hiring of Chris Pronger and Bryan McCabe to front office positions, as the old guard is being moved out and Tallon is taking the team in a new direction.

  • Part of that new direction is adding more toughness to the lineup, which Tallon plans to do today with the expected signing of enforcer Micheal Haley. TSN’s Bob McKenzie confirmed that the Panthers plan to sign Haley, 31, when free agency opens. The veteran forward has only played in 130 NHL games, but skated in a career-high 58 contests with the San Jose Sharks last season, recording 12 points and 128 penalty minutes.
  • Another new movement in Florida is a desire to get quicker. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, that means that 45-year-old legend Jaromir Jagr will have to move on to yet another destination if he wishes to continue his career. Dreger’s TSN colleague Pierre LeBrun has stated that Jagr has cut ties with the Panthers and is on the hunt for a new team to give him a chance at extending his hockey playing days.
  • One player sticking with the Panthers (for now) is defenseman Jason Demers. The veteran righty, a major 2016 free agency acquisition, has been on the trade block this past week, but Pierre LeBrun reports that he used his No-Trade Clause to nix a deal with the Vancouver Canucks earlier this week. Florida seems intent on moving Demers, but he seems reluctant to move. The impending impasse could prove to be an intriguing story this off-season.
  • Two players the Panthers do want around are prospects Reece Scarlett and Chase Balisy. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie revealed that the young defenseman and forward have inked new deals with Florida as of this morning. Both one-year and two-way, Scarlett will make $650K at the NHL level, while Balisy will make $675K.

Maple Leafs Re-Sign Goalies Curtis McElhinney And Garret Sparks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s been all quiet on the Toronto Maple Leaf’s goalie front this past week, despite a need at backup to starter Frederik Andersen. However, with free agency about to open, the Leafs have announced an extension for impending UFA goalie Curtis McElhinney as well as a new deal for restricted free agent keeper Garret Sparks. The pair both inked two-year deals, with McElhinney making $850 on a one-way contract and Sparks earning $675K at the NHL level on a two-way contract in year one and $700K on a one-way contract in year two.

McElhinney was acquired by the Leafs via waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets last January and went on to post a .914 save percentage and 2.85 goal against average in 14 appearances with Toronto. Combined with seven appearances for Columbus, 2016-17 was the best season of the journeyman goalkeeper’s career. While there may have been superior talent available on the free agent market, the Leafs appear content to stick with McElhinney as the primary backup to Andersen as he was nothing if not consistent for them down the stretch last season.

Should the 34-year-old McElhinney falter, Sparks appears poised to take over the backup job if given the opportunity. The 24-year-old did not see any NHL action last season, but appeared in 17 games for the Leafs in 2015-16. The 2011 seventh-round pick followed that up with the best minor league campaign of his career, making 31 starts for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and posting a 2.16 goals against average and .922 save percentage. Sparks is a more than capable safety blanket in net for Toronto.

Free Agency Rumor Round-Up

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Free agency is set to open in mere hours, but there are already plenty of rumors out there about deals that will become official at noon ET. Here are all of the deals expected to be made official this afternoon with the link to the original PHR article or recent report:

Anaheim Ducks expected to sign G Ryan Miller (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Boston Bruins expected to sign LW Kenny Agostino

Buffalo Sabres expected to sign G Chad Johnson

Chicago Blackhawks expected to sign RW Patrick Sharp

Colorado Avalanche expected to sign G Jonathan Bernier

Dallas Stars expected to sign C Martin Hanzal (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Detroit Red Wings expected to sign D Trevor Daley

Florida Panthers expected to sign RW Evgeni Dadonov

Florida Panthers expected to sign C Micheal Haley

Montreal Canadiens expected to sign D Karl Alzner

New York Rangers expected to sign G Ondrej Pavelec

Philadelphia Flyers expected to sign G Brian Elliott

Tampa Bay Lightning expected to sign D Dan Girardi

Vancouver Canucks expected to sign D Michael Del Zotto

Vancouver Canucks expected to sign G Anders Nilsson

Vancouver Canucks expected to sign C Sam Gagner (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Winnipeg Jets expected to sign G Steve Mason (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Canadiens Sign Karl Alzner To Five-Year Deal

at CDT | by 3 Comments

TSN’s Aaron Ward was the first to tweet that defenseman Karl Alzner could be a member of the Montreal Canadiens. The deal will be for five seasons, and come in at an average annual value of $4.625MM.

The defenseman was rumored to a number of teams during the courting process and on PHR’s list, Alzner is ranked the third best UFA on the market. Though we targeted him heading to the Chicago Blackhawks, we predicted a five-year term at $24.5MM which clocks in at a $4.9MM AAV.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, another team looking to upgrade on the blueline, were apparently not targeting Alzner tweets The Tampa Times’ Joe Smith. The 28-year-old defenseman has spent his entire career with the Capitals organization, and last season, posted 13 points (3-10) in a full season’s worth of work.

 

Morning Notes: Sharp, Bernier, Agostino

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

It’s been a wild few weeks for the Chicago Blackhawks, including the departures of several key players like Niklas Hjalmarsson, Artemi Panarin, and Trevor van Riemsdyk, but the Western Conference dynasty appears to be bringing back a fan-favorite when free agency opens today to help deal with those losses. The Chicago Sun Times’ Mark Lazerus reports, as speculated, that Patrick Sharp will return to Chicago for the coming season. While details of the deal – term, salary, incentives – are not yet known, the deal is expected to be made official promptly after free agency opens at noon ET. Sharp, 35, is a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks and an eight-time 20-goal scorer over his impressive career. Sharp was essentially forced out of Chicago in the off-season two years ago, as the ’Hawks could not muster the cap space to re-sign the prominent forward. The Dallas Stars could, but after a strong 55-point campaign in 2015-16, Sharp struggled with injury and inconsistency this past season, recording just 18 points in 48 games. Age and health have clearly softened Sharp’s edge, but if he is going to rejuvenate his career at this age for any team, it will be in a return to Chicago and his former teammates. Sharp will join Brandon Saad as returning Blackhawks this off-season if this deal does come to fruition this afternoon.

  • Adrian Dater of BSN Denver was busy late last night, breaking the news that Jonathan Bernier is expected to sign with his Colorado Avalanche today. The Avs recently lost young backup Calvin Pickard in the expansion draft and were on the lookout for a reliable backup to Semyon Varlamov. While Bernier has been rumored to sign anywhere from the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins to a return to the Anaheim Ducks, the fit in Colorado makes sense. One could argue that Bernier is coming off the best season of his career in 2016-17 and will have a chance to be more of a “1B” than a definite #2 with the Avalanche. Per usual, there is still no word on the details of the deal that cannot be consummated until later today.
  • Dater also reported that the Boston Bruins are set to make a small, but interesting move today, as they have supposedly come to terms with AHL MVP Kenny Agostino on a short-term contract worth $850K. The high-scoring minor league left wing has seen only limited NHL action, but over the course of an 83-point season with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last season, he also contributed a goal and two assists in seven games with the St. Louis Blues. The Bruins were known to have some concerns over the potential of Matt Beleskey and Frank Vatrano to play top-six roles on the left side next season, but were also worried about blocking up-and-coming prospects like Jake DeBrusk, Peter Cehlarik, Anders Bjork, and more. The Agostino signing would add another option at a relatively cheap price and (likely) the flexibility of a two-way contract as well. The details will be revealed a few hours from now.
  • In more concrete news, the KHL’s Barys Astana has signed former Washington Capitals prospect Darren Dietz, according to European hockey insider Aivis Kalnins. Dietz was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Capitals by last Monday’s deadline and became an unrestricted free agent. Without any NHL interest, Dietz will try his hand at Russian pro hockey rather than a minor league deal to remain in North America.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top