Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for 2017

Calgary Flames Bring In Tanner Glass On PTO

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

In a move that feels like it came right from Brian Burke’s mouth, Tanner Glass has been signed to a professional tryout by the Calgary Flames according to Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130. Dhaliwal confirms that the Vancouver Canucks, a team Glass spent two years with, had no interest in bringing him into camp.

Glass, 33, has spent the last three seasons with the New York Rangers organization, playing 134 games while bouncing up and down from the minor leagues. Known almost exclusively as a “tough guy”, Glass actually was a playoff story for the Rangers this year scoring four points in seven games—more than either of J.T. Miller or Kevin Hayes.

The Flames have been known for mixing toughness with skill, and Glass definitely will bring some of the former. If he can secure a job with the team, he’ll likely play the role of the 13th (or 14th) forward and only be inserted into the lineup on certain nights.

Jared Cowen Signs PTO With Colorado Avalanche

at CDT | by 2 Comments

One of the more interesting names to keep an eye on this summer was Jared Cowen, and he’ll now head to camp with the Colorado Avalanche on a professional tryout. If the 26-year old is healthy, he should stand a good chance at making the club as they by no means have depth at the position.

The question of his health does remain though, as Cowen filed a grievance against the Toronto Maple Leafs when the team tried to buy him out last summer. It would ultimately fail, but Cowen would still miss the entire 2016-17 season with hip problems, and hasn’t played in an NHL game in 18 months.

Selected ninth overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2009, Cowen showed all the signs of developing into a premiere shut down defender. His 6’5″ frame allowed him to eliminate attackers and get into passing lanes, but quickly his foot speed started to drag and he found himself chasing the play more often than not. The Senators would eventually include him in the Dion Phaneuf trade, but Cowen would never play a game for the Maple Leafs.

Still young enough to make an impact, if Cowen can show his hip is fully healthy and his skating is to an acceptable level the Avalanche could have a nice third-pairing option for extremely cheap. If not, it could spell the end to a once promising NHL career.

Morning Notes: Butcher, Drouin, Bourque

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The team at CapFriendly returned from a quick vacation to drop a bombshell on the hockey world today, reporting that Will Butcher’s entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils includes maximum performance bonuses. Though many players are given max Schedule A bonuses, that can total up to $850K if they reach various milestones, just six players drafted outside the top two overall picks have ever been given the max in Schedule B—that is until now.

Butcher becomes the seventh such player and could earn up to $2.85MM in bonuses each year, making his deal worth a potential $3.78MM per season. While these Schedule B bonuses are difficult to achieve, it’s likely another factor in his decision to sign with the Devils. Though teams can offer little variance in terms of salary for entry-level players, bonuses can be used as a negotiating tactic like any other free agent.

  • Jonathan Drouin and Alex Galchenyuk will both begin training camp in Montreal as centers, according to J.F. Chaumont of the Journal de Montreal. Chaumont spoke with head coach Claude Julien, who would like to see what each of them can bring to the position before making any decisions. Galchenyuk has a checkered history with the position on the Canadiens, while Drouin was used almost exclusively as a winger in Tampa Bay. Both clearly have enough talent to drive a line from the middle, but will have to be more consistent in their own end if they want to be leaned on heavily in the Montreal rotation.
  • Rene Bourque has signed in Sweden for the upcoming season, according to TSN. The 35-year old Bourque played last year with the Colorado Avalanche, scoring 18 points in 65 games. In 725 career games he’s registered 316 points, including a pair of 27-goal campaigns with the Calgary Flames in his youth. Bourque is another example of an undrafted college player making an impact in the league, but will now take his game to Europe to look for more success.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Eric Gelinas To PTO

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Montreal Canadiens have given Eric Gelinas another chance to make an NHL team, signing the 26-year old defenseman to a professional tryout. Gelinas will attend Canadiens camp hoping to impress enough to deserve a contract there or around the league.

Eric GelinasIt’s been a tough road for Gelinas since a rookie season with the New Jersey Devils saw him put up 29 points. A second-round selection, the hulking defender had huge offensive potential but could never seem to make the right decision in his own end. That led to coaching staffs giving him fewer and fewer minutes, and eventually pushing him off the Devils entirely.

He has spent the last year and a half with the Colorado Avalanche organization, but only skated in 33 games with the club. He has just one point during that time, playing fewer than 12 minutes a night and losing his offensive touch almost entirely.

Montreal could prove to be a solid destination for the French-Canadian Gelinas; born in Vanier, a French part of Ottawa just a few hours west of Montreal, he would be embraced by the Canadiens fans if he could find his way. Not only does he speak the language, but he was once an up-and-coming defender who could do it all. For the Canadiens, who lack many puck-moving options after seeing Andrei Markov return to Russia, Gelinas would be an interesting fit.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

New Practice Facility For St. Louis Blues In Political Controversy

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The St. Louis Blues find itself in some hot water this week as a proposed practice facility potentially runs afoul of U.S. federal conservation laws. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Stephen Deere reports that the St. Louis County Council may attempt to delay issuing permits to the project.

The practice facility is proposed to be built in Creve Coeur Lake Park, MO, about 20 miles from the St. Louis Blues’ Scottrade Center. But because federal funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund were used to develop part of the park, any future development must receive approval from the National Park Service. The developers are still waiting for approval as state and federal officials review environmental assessments.

The Post-Dispatch’s Tony Messenger reports that developers have begun bulldozing and grading the proposed site, despite not receiving the required approvals. Messenger writes that county officials state that the work is unrelated to the practice arena development, but city permits authorizing the work list the purpose as “Construction of an Ice Center.”

 

Calgary Flames Sign Brett Kulak

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Brett Kulak to a one-year, two-way deal worth $650K at the NHL level, reports Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg. Kulak was a restricted free agent coming off his three-year entry-level contract this offseason.

Kulak—drafted in the fourth round of the 2012 NHL draft by the Flames—has bounced between the Flames and its AHL affiliate Stockton Heat. Last season Kulak played 21 NHL games and earned 3 assists. In 22 AHL games he scored 2 goals and 8 assists.

Kulak will compete for one of the last defensive spots open on the Flames’ blueline. Right now the team has five defensemen signed for at least three more seasons, and a sixth in Matt Bartkowski on an expiring deal. If Kulak wants to earn a raise next season, he’ll have to fight his way into the lineup.

The signing leaves the Flames with two RFAs left to sign—forward Sam Bennett and defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon. The team has approximately $7MM in cap space to fit in those two players before the season starts.

 

Snapshots: Ratelle, Butcher, Lehner

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After the Philadelphia Flyers announced this morning that Eric Lindros would see his number retired to the rafters this season, the New York Rangers are also making plans to honor one of their greatest players. Jean Ratelle’s #19 will be retired in February, joining Ed Giacomin (#1), Brian Leetch (#2), Harry Howell (#3), Rod Gilbert (#7), Adam Graves and Andy Bathgate (#9), Mark Messier (#11), and Mike Richter (#35) in the rafters of Madison Square Garden.

Ratelle played 16 seasons for the Rangers during his career, scoring 817 points in 862 games for the franchise. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and has been waiting a long time to see his number retired in New York. Jesper Fast, who wore the number last season, will have to change for 2017-18. The ceremony is scheduled for February 25th, before a game against the Detroit Red Wings that will be deemed “Jean Ratelle Night.”

  • Will Butcher held a conference call with reporters today to explain why he chose the New Jersey Devils, and spoke mostly about his new head coach John Hynes and the effect he had even in just a short meeting. Butcher explained that his final four teams were indeed Vegas, Los Angeles, Buffalo and New Jersey, before eventually settling on the Devils. Butcher could step right into an NHL role in New Jersey, and he has the confidence if nothing else; he compared himself to Duncan Keith in terms of style of play.
  • Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat has a great piece on the thought process of Robin Lehner in this summer’s contract negotiations with the Sabres, writing that Lehner wanted a long-term deal even though his agents disagreed. Even though his representatives explained that with a one-year deal he could set himself up for a big raise in what will be his final summer of restricted free agency, Lehner wanted to sign long-term in Buffalo. Hoppe writes that former Sabres GM Tim Murray may have been open to that, but the new regime wasn’t. Lehner has had extreme ups and downs since coming to Buffalo, but clearly has the talent to be one of the very best goaltenders in the league. In a year where almost everything went wrong for the Sabres, Lehner made a career-high 58 starts and maintained an excellent .920 save percentage. Next summer any long-term contract will be buying out almost exclusively UFA seasons, and will push much higher than the $4MM salary he’ll earn this season.

Poll: Which Restricted Free Agents Will Miss The Start Of The Season?

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Connor Brown signed this weekend, the count is now fourteen on remaining restricted free agents still to sign. David Pastrnak, Alexander Wennberg and Bo Horvat lead the group, while Damon Severson, Sam Bennett and Andreas Athanasiou all represent important players on their clubs.

While most of these fourteen will surely sign within the next few weeks and be ready for the start of the season, there are often a few that take a little longer to sign. Last year we saw Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm and Jacob Trouba all sign contracts after the regular season had begun. Though Rakell was injured and wouldn’t return until the beginning of November anyway, the other two missed important game action that could have cost their teams in the standings.

With the end of August upon us, there could be more examples of RFAs holding out into the season. Below we’re asking you to vote on who you think will be left without a contract come the beginning of the year. Every RFA that has yet to be officially signed by his team is listed. You can vote for as many as you want, and make sure to leave how many games you think they’ll each miss in the comments.

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Danis Zaripov Cleared To Sign In NHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As we discussed this weekend, banned KHL player Danis Zaripov had started the process to become eligible for a contract in the NHL. Today, his agent Dan Milstein released a statement from the Russian forward thanking the NHL for allowing him to pursue contracts here in North America. Zaripov had been given a two-year doping ban from the KHL for testing positive both for a prohibited substance and masking agent. He is appealing the decision, but will likely sign in the NHL in the interim.

The NHL issued a press release on Zaripov, which among other things indicated that his test results would not have triggered a suspension under the NHL’s own prohibited substance list. The NHL operates separately from the World Anti-Doping Agency and the IIHF governing body, issuing its own drug tests and policies.

Zaripov is a legendary KHL player who has won the Gagarin Cup four times, holds five World Championship medals and competed in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Though he’s on the back-half of his career, he still registered 45 points for Magnitogorsk in just 56 games and added 22 more (including 15 goals) in 18 playoff games. He’s been one of the most impressive playoff performers in the KHL and Russian leagues for his entire career, and could add a different wrinkle to a team in the NHL.

An even more interesting factor for Zaripov is his age. While he’ll face no entry-level restrictions upon coming to the NHL, any contract he does sign will be held to the 35+ restrictions and allowances. That means that he presents some risk on a long-term deal, but could also be signed to an incentive-laden one-year deal which is what he’ll likely end up with. Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press tweets that Milstein expects a one-year pact, which would allow him to reevaluate next summer.

Latest On Cody Franson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Following up on a report from last week that there had been increased interest in free agent defenseman Cody Franson, Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 reports that the former Buffalo Sabres player could “possibly sign this week.” While that doesn’t sound like much, it does put the spotlight back on an interesting offseason case.

Franson went through a long period of free agency in 2015 before finally signing with the Sabres, and again this summer hasn’t seemed to be able to drum up much interest. The 30-year old defenseman has vocal supporters and detractors among hockey fans, but does have a history of putting up points at the NHL level. In 527 career games, Franson has registered 205 points, a better per-game rate (0.39) than players like Morgan Rielly, Hampus Lindholm and Matt Niskanen. Though he’s obviously not as mobile as those three, his overall possession contribution is still quite high.

The question is how effective Franson can be in his own end or without receiving much powerplay time. With most rosters all but set for their special teams contributors, Franson faces a similar situation as Thomas Vanek: able but not needed. It will be interesting to see what kind of guaranteed money a team gives him, or if he has to settle for a professional tryout. Drew Stafford recently settled for just $800K, but will be expected to play a fairly substantial role on the New Jersey Devils. A training camp injury could help Franson’s case, but waiting that long puts him in jeopardy of not finding any work in the NHL this season.

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top