Matt Hendricks Signs One-Year Deal With Winnipeg
Elliottte Friedman tweeted that veteran center Matt Hendricks has found a home with the Winnipeg Jets. TSN’s Darren Dreger confirmed it, saying the deal with the Jets is a one-year deal worth $700K.
The former Edmonton Oiler was a fan favorite over the four years he played there. The 36-year-old compiled 20 goals and 18 assists in 214 games with the Oilers, but offense wasn’t what got him his notoriety. His physical style of play, leadership skills, willingness to stick up for his teammates as well as for his love of meeting with military people outside the locker rooms of home games to salute them is what everyone loved about Hendricks.
However, his age was starting to catch up to him (as well as the continued improved play of the team’s youth) and he only managed to get into 42 games this past year and was a healthy scratch for all 13 of the team’s playoff games. He scored four goals and three assists in this past season.
With the Jets, Hendricks hopes to take a similar role in helping tutor a young team that hopes to make the playoffs this year.
KHL’s Danis Zaripov Considering Coming To U.S.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that there may be another NHL free agent entering the market soon. KHL’s Danis Zaripov, a 36-year-old winger, who was suspended in July for two years by the International Ice Hockey Federation, is considering leaving Russia and coming to the United States to finish out his career.
According to Friedman, a KHL media release stated that Zaripov samples “contained banned stimulants plus substances prohibited as diuretics and masking agents.”
While Zaripov stated he’d appeal, he also started the process to become eligibile to play in the U.S. and according to Friedman, that process might come to a conclusion next week. His former team already voided his contract, so he has no contractual commitment. There has already been some interest from a couple of teams, including the New York Rangers and the Vegas Golden Knights.
Zaripov, who has played his entire career in Russia, put up 16 goals and 29 assists last season with Magnitogorsk Metallurg. However, it was his playoff run last year that turned some heads. He scored 15 goals and added seven assists in 18 playoff games to reach the championship finals.
Red Wing Notes: Athanasiou, Helm, Nielson, Svechnikov
A few days ago, PHR reported that Detroit Red Wings winger Andreas Athanasiou is receiving interest in signing a one-year deal with the KHL as he and the team struggle to sign a new deal. MLive’s Ansar Khan answers mailbag questions for readers and quickly points out that it is a legitimate possibility that he signs a deal in the KHL, although it’s still more likely he stays in Detroit and signs before training camp begins.
While the Red Wings have handed out some major contracts over the past few years to free agents, the team must take a hardline approach with Athanasiou because they have other young players they must lock up in the future, including Anthony Mantha and Dylan Larkin. Most hockey players don’t start making the big money until their third contract, so it’s unlikely the team will break the bank to bring Athanasiou back on a big deal.
Khan adds that if Athanasiou does leave for Russia, the team does have several options. While Athanasiou was the team’s second-leading goal scorer with 18 goals in just 64 games, he’s still a developing player, having scored just nine goals in 37 games during his rookie campaign. Many Red Wings players had down years last year and the Red Wings have high hopes to see some of their veterans bounce back this year. Much of Athanasiou’s production could be filled by increased production by Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader, Riley Sheahan and Larkin. The other possibility is that the team inks Thomas Vanek in such a situation, assuming he’d agree to ink a one-year deal and the team can move out some salary to make that deal work.
- In the same mailbag, Khan writes that there is little chance the Red Wings could take advantage of the Pittsburgh Penguins need at center and move out the contracts of either Darren Helm or Frans Nielsen. He writes that both contracts remain too long and too expensive to trade off to a desperate team. Helm’s deal still has four years at $3.85MM per year, while Nielsen’s is even worse with five years remaining at $5.25MM per year.
- Khan adds that 2015 first-round pick Evgeny Svechnikov would not be a likely candidate to make the team this year as he is still not ready for a full-time NHL role yet. He writes that he believes he needs another full year at the AHL level with the Grand Rapids Griffins. He scored 20 goals and 31 assists for the Griffins last year in 74 games.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Pittsburgh Penguins
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.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Current Cap Hit: $71,720,000 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Zach Aston-Reese (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Jake Guentzel (Two years remaining, $734K)
Potential Bonuses
Guentzel: $183K
Guentzel was the latest of Pittsburgh’s youngsters to come up and make a difference right away to the point where he became a key cog in their attack down the stretch. It will be interesting to see if his production carries over to a full season; if it does, he’s going to be a major bargain for them. Aston-Reese was one of the more sought after college free agents during the season. With their lack of depth down the middle as the roster currently stands, he’ll get a long look at training camp.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Ian Cole ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Patric Hornqvist ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Tom Kuhnhackl ($625K, RFA)
G Antti Niemi ($700K, UFA)
D Derrick Pouliot ($800K, RFA)
F Ryan Reaves ($1.15MM, UFA)
F Carter Rowney ($613K, UFA)
F Bryan Rust ($640K, RFA)
F Scott Wilson ($625K, RFA)
Hornqvist has been a reliable and consistent secondary scorer for Pittsburgh since they acquired him three years ago. He has posted at least 21 goals and 44 points in each season in that time. That type of production is always in demand so barring a down year, he’s likely to have a shot at more money in free agency. The Pens paid a notable price to add Reaves at the draft, trading from the first into the second round to do so. He has improved his all-around game to the point where he can handle a regular shift and there aren’t many tough guys that can do that and the ones that can have landed sizable deals on the open market. The other four forwards are all poised to play bottom six roles and given the number of big contracts on their books already, the team will likely be pushing for them to give up a bit of money on their next deals to hold down their spots in the lineup.
Cole is coming off a career year in both points (26) and ice time (19:49 per night). That’s a notable jump for someone who has been more of a stay-at-home player in the past. A repeat of that performance will have him in line for a big raise but if he reverts back to his normal numbers, his next contract should come in somewhat close to his current one. Pouliot spent the majority of last year at the minor league level but as he now requires waivers, he’s likely to stick on the roster in some capacity. Whether or not he can lock down a regular spot will go a long way towards determining what his next contract will be.
Niemi is coming off a tough season with Dallas that resulted in the final year of his contract being bought out. That allowed him to take a cheap deal to join the Penguins where he’ll likely be tasked with playing 20-25 games to give Tristan Jarry another season to develop in the minors. A strong season would go a long way towards rebuilding his value, especially with some of the better backups landing some bigger deals in recent years.
Atlantic Notes: Bertuzzi, Namestnikov, Gauthier
Although he had only a minor role with the Red Wings last season and has waiver exemption remaining, the team expects winger Tyler Bertuzzi to break camp with the big club in October, writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Bertuzzi played in just seven games with Detroit in 2016-17 and averaged just nine minutes per game but played quite well with AHL Grand Rapids in the playoffs where he collected 19 points (9-10-19) in 19 contests.
St. James adds that there are those in the organization who believe the 22-year-old would be best suited to start in the minors once again but both GM Ken Holland and head coach Jeff Blashill are among those who would like to see him start with the Red Wings. The fact that Bertuzzi is on a league minimum contract will certainly help his case considering their current salary cap situation. However, because of that and his waiver exemption, there’s a good chance that Bertuzzi will be forced to go back and forth a lot during the year in an effort to open up a bit of wiggle room during the season.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Lightning forward Vladislav Namestnikov has switched agencies as he has joined Gold Star Sports Management according to agent Dan Milstein (Twitter link). He previously had been with Newport. The timing of this is notable as Namestnikov is entering the final year of his bridge contract and will be set to enter restricted free agency with arbitration rights next summer. His qualifying offer will check in just north of $1.93MM.
- Although Frederik Gauthier’s recovery from his hamstring surgery back in May is going well, there remains no firm timetable as to when he could return, notes Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star. He resumed skating for the first time last week. At the time of the surgery, the speculation was that it would be at least six months before he’d be ready to return to game action. When he does recover, the former first round pick will likely be headed for the AHL level once again.
Poll: Where Will Thomas Vanek Wind Up?
The results of yesterday’s poll, “Will Jaromir Jagr or Thomas Vanek Play in the NHL This Year?“, have been an overwhelming “yes”. So far, more than 71% of voters think both will play, while the next highest scoring option was that Vanek will play, with close to 14%. While the idea of Jagr’s NHL career being over seems impossible to many, it has been relatively quiet for the future Hall of Famer this off-season, with the only recent news being whispers of interest coming out of Calgary. Vanek, on the other hand, has reportedly seen an uptick in interest of late and has ties to many teams across the league. So, the question then becomes, assuming Vanek plays in the NHL this year, where will he end up?
The most recent rumors have connected Vanek with the Vancouver Canucks. A team that seems unsure of its direction, the Canucks have added several veteran pieces this off-season, like Sam Gagner and Michael Del Zotto, and seem determined to make a playoff push with the soon-to-be 37-year-old Sedins set to hit free agency next summer. Loui Eriksson did not work out on the top line with Henrik and Daniel last year, and trying Vanek out could make some sense. On the other hand, Vancouver has some young talent that could use a shot and, even with Vanek, the team stands little chance of reaching the postseason. The Canucks should be in full rebuild mode, but until management realizes that, adding a veteran like Vanek is a real possibility.
The other team who has long been rumored to be in contact with Vanek are the Detroit Red Wings. Another team that probably shouldn’t be adding veterans, the Red Wings also simply may not have the capacity to sign the veteran scorer, given their current cap overage and unfinished business with Andreas Athanasiou. Nevertheless, the rumors have hung around, as Vanek did seem to fit in nicely in Detroit last season. A return could be best for him, but it wouldn’t be the most logical decision for the team.
The Boston Bruins seem intent on giving their young players the opportunity to make the team this year. However, the team also kept in touch with free agent Drew Stafford this summer and seemed likely to offer him a contract or tryout deal once they had the David Pastrnak negotiations wrapped up. Pastrnak remains unsigned, but now Stafford is off the market, signing in New Jersey. The Bruins could now turn their attention to Vanek, who has historically been a thorn in the team’s side, to provide some depth and insurance on the wings if the prospects aren’t ready for regular roles just yet.
Then there’s the Arizona Coyotes, who are in desperate need of a right-shot winger, and could use some more veteran leadership up front as well. Yes, the ‘Yotes are still rebuilding, but they need to take the next step sooner or later. Vanek would bring a scoring boost and most of all some balance to the lineup and, with a league-high $19.3MM in cap space remaining, Arizona can certainly take a chance and pay Vanek what he’s asking. The fit makes sense, but does Vanek want to go to the desert? Will he have any other choice?
Finally, the San Jose Sharks lost Patrick Marleau this summer and his 46 points from last season and have only added Brandon Bollig and his zero points from last season to make up for it. That speaks for itself. Vanek would immediately be the Sharks’ biggest off-season acquisition and a great candidate to step in and replace Marleau in the top six.
So, what do you think? The response has been near total agreement that Vanek is staying in the NHL, but where exactly will he play?
Minor Transactions: 8/26/17
Just as NHL teams have begun to fill out rosters with affordable deals and tryout offers, such as those yesterday for Drew Stafford (New Jersey) and Jay McClement (Pittsburgh), minor league squads are also trying to get their teams in order with the season set to start in just a little over a month. Here are some recent minor moves:
- The pro game has not been kind to the Rupert twins, but all hope is not lost. Ryan Rupert, a 2012 sixth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of the smaller pieces sent to Ottawa alongside Dion Phaneuf in that massive 2016 exchange, was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Senators this off-season and became an unrestricted free agent. After splitting each of his first three pro seasons between the AHL and ECHL, it was unlikely that he would find an NHL contract. However, it was somewhat of a surprise when he and brother Matt Rupert signed ECHL deals with the Indy Fuel back in July. The Rupert twins were both very successful junior players with the OHL’s London Knights, with each wearing the alternate captain “A” for a season and combining for over 400 points during their tenure. After a brief reunion with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies in 2014-15, Ryan has amassed 58 points in 149 AHL games and 40 points in 53 ECHL games, while the undrafted Matt has 56 points in 125 ECHL games, as well as a couple AHL games on his resume. The duo seem to at least be worthy of an AHL contract, even if they do spend much of the season in the ECHL. It seems that one team agrees, as the Rockford Ice Hogs have invited the twins to camp on a tryout basis, according to The Sporting News’ Murray Pam. The Chicago Blackhawks’ affiliate is set to have some exciting, young players on the roster this season, but could use a couple hard-working minor league veterans like the Ruperts as well. If the tryout doesn’t pan out, the pair will likely return to Indy for the coming season and try to boost their in-season loan value and free agent stock for next summer.
- The San Diego Gulls, the Anaheim Ducks’ AHL affiliate, announced that they have re-signed defenseman Brian Cooper to a one-year contract. Cooper, 23, was a fifth-round pick of the Ducks in 2012, but signed a minor league deal with their affiliate last season after not being offered a pro contract by the team. Cooper played four years at the University of Nebraska-Omaha after being drafted, delivering modest offense and a solid defensive game, especially given his 5’10”, 196-lb. stature. The Alaska-native brought the same skill set to the AHL in 2016-17, recording 10 points in 37 regular season games for the Gulls and another pair of clutch points in the postseason, all while playing mistake-free in his own end. Cooper is expected to play a larger role for San Diego next season, as he works towards showing Anaheim that he can indeed be an NHL-caliber player one day.
More to come…
Options For Coyotes At Lacking Right Wing
By all accounts, the Arizona Coyotes are still a re-building club without much for expectations in 2017-18. However, at some point this team needs to take the next step and to do so the club needs to develop their many talented, young players as best as possible. For that reason, the incredulous lack of right-shots and experienced right wingers on the Arizona roster presents a substantial problem. In an article on the biggest issues facing each of Arizona’s sports teams, Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports opines that the Coyotes’ right wing depth is a major obstacle. With so few options, the team would be forced to move young players out of position or field unbalanced lines for the purposes of making the right wing position make sense. Instead, Morgan suggests that the roster still needs “tinkering”, with an outside addition going a long way to balancing out the team.
Morgan certainly is not exaggerating the problem that the Coyotes have on the right side. The only right-handed shot guaranteed to make the roster is newly-acquired top center Derek Stepan. Beyond him, Arizona could end up fielding an entire forward corps of lefties. Morgan mentions 20-year-old Christian Fischer as a near lock for one of the right-wing spots, given that he is likely the only natural right winger with the NHL ability in the organization right now. Fischer skated in seven games with the Coyotes last year, scoring three goals, and put up big numbers in the AHL as well. He looks primed for a full NHL campaign and the team’s lack of right wing options only helps to solidify his chances of making the roster. Young forwards Jens Looke and Nick Merkley are also righties with right wing experience, but what they lack is North American pro experience and seem better suited for a season in Tuscon, at least early on. So who fills the final three spots? Although he is a lefty, Tobias Rieder has fared well on the right side for much of the past few seasons in Arizona and will likely resume his role on the off wing in 2017-18. Brad Richardson and Anthony Duclair have routinely played on the off side in their careers as well, but with Richardson’s health still in question and Duclair coming off a disappointing season and has yet to re-sign, so relying on either, nevertheless both, is a risk for the ‘Yotes. That leaves Arizona with the option of moving young lefties like Brendan Perlinin, Lawson Crouse, or Nick Cousins to the left side or giving veteran wash-ups like Emerson Etem, Michael Latta, or Mike Sislo a regular job. Neither of those avenues seem to be the best fit for the Coyotes.
Instead, GM John Chayka may be looking to fill the void with a new addition. A couple obvious names pop up as right side options still available on the free agent market, as Arizona could simply fill the hole left by veteran scorer Radim Vrbata with another veteran scorer like Thomas Vanek or Jaromir Jagr. The team said goodbye to the face of the organization, Shane Doan, this summer, so it is fair to be skeptical of them bringing in another aging player. However, Vanek and Jagr offer a scoring touch that Doan hasn’t had of late and that others like Jarome Iginla or Brian Gionta may not bring. If the Coyotes are going to take a roster spot away from a young player, even if it is to fill a notable absence, it will need to be someone ready to contribute. Younger veterans with more gas in the tank like Alex Chiasson or P-A Parenteau would make some sense as well. A trade, even at this point in the off-season, is always a possibility for Chayka as well. The Coyotes young GM has showed a willingness to take on bad contracts and a propensity for winning those trades as well. The cap-strapped Toronto Maple Leafs may be willing to give up a pick or prospect alongside Joffrey Lupul to remove that contract, especially when Lupul appears to be moving closer to playing health, while the Detroit Red Wings also need to move some salary at some point soon.
There are options aplenty for the Coyotes on the right side, but the question remains whether they see 2017-18 as yet another stepping stone campaign or a season where they can actually compete. It if it’s the former, then the team may hesitate to add another contract with so many young forwards eager for play time (even on their off side), but the latter would require another body at right wing. The decision belongs to Chayka an his staff, but there appears to benefits all around to adding another body to compete at right wing.
Roster Or Bust For Sharks’ Noah Rod
The “Russian Factor” is an old adage in hockey referring to the reluctance of some Russian players to fully commit to North American hockey. Thus far in his pro career, San Jose Sharks prospect Noah Rod may be pushing for “Swiss Factor” to gain some credence as well. A 2014 second-round pick and a highly-regarded young forward who played professionally in the Swiss NLA before the age of 18, Rod didn’t make his move overseas until late last season. After three seasons of only modest offense with Geneve-Servette HC, Rod turned some early season production – 14 points in 27 games – into leverage for a entry-level deal with the Sharks with hopes of an NHL shot. However, after inking a three-year, $2.43MM ELC on March 23rd, Rod skated in just two regular season games and five playoff games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, recording only two points.
Now, with a new season upon us, Rod is again showing that he may not be committed to North America. Rod would like to play in San Jose this season, but with only one of the city’s two teams. The Swiss Hockey News reports that Rod seems unwilling to play with the Barracuda and would like to return to Switzerland if he cannot crack the Sharks roster. Rod will certainly be given plenty of play time in San Jose’s upcoming prospect showcase, a four-team tournament between Western Conference adversaries where he will skate alongside fellow Swiss forward prospect Vincent Praplan, and will likely see significant ice time in the preseason as well. However, if the Sharks decide that Rod is not yet ready for a full-time NHL role, they could lose his services altogether if he returns to Geneve-Servette. The historic club has a handful of former NHLers leading their forward corps – Nick Spaling, Nathan Gerbe, Cody Almond – but would love to add their homegrown young talent back into the mix.
By all accounts, not sticking Rod on the NHL roster, at least initially, would be a mistake by the Sharks. After an off-season in which the Sharks have thus far done practically nothing, including losing long-time star Patrick Marleau and adding only veteran checker Brandon Bollig to replace him, San Jose needs any scoring spark they can get this season to make up for Marleau’s lost production. Rod may not have been an offensive dynamo in the NLA, but he has improved each year and is still just 21 years old. The Sharks would be wise to give the Swiss winger an early season audition to gauge his NHL readiness and whether or not the team can afford to lose him for the 2017-18 season. On the other hand, if Rod truly wants to play in the NHL one day, he must develop quicker and adjust to the North American game, and would be wise to simply stay in San Jose to accomplish those goals, regardless of whether he begins the season in the NHL or AHL.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: New York Rangers
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.
New York Rangers
Current Cap Hit: $71,949,444 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Pavel Buchnevich (Two years remaining, $925K)
D Anthony DeAngelo (Two years remaining, $863K)
D Brady Skjei (One year remaining, $925K)
F Jimmy Vesey (One year remaining, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
DeAngelo: $400K
Vesey: $2.85MM
Total: $3.25MM
Vesey, the top prize out of the 2016 August free agent group, got off to a strong start with New York but tailed off as the season progressed. Now that he has gone through a full professional season, expectations will be higher and if he can live up to them, he’ll get a nice boost on his next deal. Buchnevich was held back by injuries for a good chunk of last year but he should be in line for a bigger role next season.
Skjei was a major bright spot in 2016-17. Although he had just 12 games of NHL experience (regular season and playoffs) heading into the year, he wound up locking down a regular spot and was extremely productive from the third pairing with 39 points (5-34-39) in 80 games. If he comes even close to that next season, he will be in line for a significant raise. DeAngelo now finds himself with his third organization since June of 2016. He was productive at times in a limited role with Arizona last year but there’s no guarantee he locks down a full-time spot. If he winds up going back and forth between the Rangers and the AHL’s Wolf Pack, he might be a player who takes a smaller NHL AAV next summer in exchange for more guaranteed money (or a one-way deal).
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F David Desharnais ($1MM, UFA)
F Michael Grabner ($1.65MM, UFA)
F Kevin Hayes ($2.6MM, RFA)
D Nick Holden ($1.65MM, UFA)
F J.T. Miller ($2.75MM, RFA)
G Ondrej Pavelec ($1.3MM, UFA)
F Matt Puempel ($725K, RFA)
F Rick Nash ($7.8MM, UFA)
Nash is by far the most notable name on this list. His production has nosedived the past two years (injuries haven’t helped either) but he still has the reputation of being a quality goal scorer. He hasn’t lived up to his contract and shouldn’t land close to that in free agency but even though he’ll be 34 next summer, he’s likely to garner a fair amount of interest based on his reputation alone. It was noted earlier today that no extension talks have taken place between Nash and the team.
As for the other forwards, Miller is wrapping up his bridge deal in 2017-18 and expectations will be high. Not only is he coming off of a career year, he will also be asked to take on more of the load with Derek Stepan now in Arizona. It’s certainly reasonable to think that he could double his current deal if he eclipses the 50 point mark again. Hayes is in a similar situation and is also coming off of a career season with 49 points. He is also likely to shift up a notch with Stepan gone which can only bode well for his next deal. Grabner was a pleasant surprise as he finished second in goals last season on a team-friendly contract. He has been hot and cold over his career but another 20-goal campaign would make him a much more coveted player next summer. Desharnais was added to give them some extra depth down the middle while they wait for their prospects while Puempel will once again attempt to lock down a regular spot on the fourth line.
Holden struggled with Colorado but saw his fortunes take a turn for the better with New York. He set career highs across the board offensively and cemented himself as a top-four option. His name has been involved in trade speculation throughout the summer as someone they could move to find a replacement for Stepan but being a rental player that should land a bigger deal next summer, his value around the rest of the league may not be as high as it should be based on the way he played last season. If he makes it to free agency, he’ll be in line for a considerable pay increase.
With Antti Raanta also being moved to the Coyotes, the Rangers moved quickly to bring Ondrej Pavelec in as their new backup goalie. He’s coming off a rough year that saw him spend a long time in the minor leagues but on a new team and lower expectations than he had with Winnipeg, he’s a good candidate to bounce back.