Archives for 2017

Options For Coyotes At Lacking Right Wing

August 26, 2017 at 10:35 am CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

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

August 26, 2017 at 9:30 am CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

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

August 25, 2017 at 8:47 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

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.

Two Years Remaining

D Ryan McDonagh ($4.7MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello ($4.5MM, UFA)

There aren’t many players here but they’re prominent ones. Zuccarello was more or less an afterthought going back to 2012-13 but since then he has been consistently productive, averaging 57 points over the past four years. Even though he’s undersized, that won’t stop him from being highly sought after if he makes it to the open market.

McDonagh has been a dependable workhorse on the blueline for a long time and has cracked 40 points as well in two of the last four years. He’s still a legitimate top pairing defender and will be 30 once he’s eligible for free agency. At that age, he could very well land another six-year deal at a higher rate than he’s getting now.

Three Years Remaining

F Jesper Fast ($1.65MM, UFA)
F Chris Kreider ($4.625MM, UFA)

After not being able to agree to terms on a longer-term deal last summer, Kreider and the Rangers avoided arbitration by basically meeting in the middle with a four-year pact. That lines him up to hit the open market at 29 and power forwards like him are always in high demand. Fast saw his numbers decline last year but he’s still a capable third liner that’s locked up at a reasonable rate for the foreseeable future.

Four Or More Years Remaining

G Henrik Lundqvist ($8.5MM through 2020-21)
D Kevin Shattenkirk ($6.65MM through 2020-21)
D Brendan Smith ($4.35MM through 2020-21)
D Marc Staal ($5.7MM through 2020-21)
F Mika Zibanejad ($5.35MM through 2021-22)

Zibanejad’s deal is still quite fresh as it was signed just one month ago. With Stepan gone, the 24-year-old will have a chance to push for a regular spot on the top line and if he can pull that off and produce like a number one, this will be a bargain pretty quickly.

Shattenkirk turned down more money and term to land with his preferred team in the Rangers. He’ll provide them with a big boost offensively from the back end while strengthening their top four. Smith fit in well after being acquired from Detroit around the trade deadline and his contract slots in around what a typical second pairing player gets in free agency although he doesn’t bring much to the table in the attacking zone. Staal’s contract has been nothing short of a disaster to the point where it appears they’ve at least considered buying him out. His reputation was that he was a strong shutdown player but that hasn’t been the case in recent years. He can log minutes but not much else which is going to make this a rough contract to move.

Lundqvist’s deal stood up as the richest for a goalie before Montreal’s Carey Price signed his extension last month. He’s 35 and is coming off his worst statistical season in the NHL. If it was just an off year and he reverts back to his normal numbers it won’t be an issue but if 2016-17 represented the beginning of a downswing, this also has the potential to be a problem contract down the road.

Buyouts

D Dan Girardi ($2.61MM in 2017-18, $3.61MM in 2018-19/2019-20, $1.61MM from 2020-21 through 2022-23)
C Brad Richards (compliance buyout so no cap hit; payments to be made through 2025-26)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Miller
Worst Value: Staal

Looking Ahead

As things stand, New York is in a good spot cap-wise this season while they have $51.6MM committed to 11 players for 2018-19. A good chunk of that money will need to go to new deals for Miller, Hayes, Vesey, and Skjei which will make it a challenge to keep Nash or Holden in the fold or find replacements.

The biggest test will come in 2019-20 when McDonagh and Zuccarello are set to hit the open market. Both of them are likely to command sizable raises and the team already has a little over $40MM tied up in just seven players, an amount that will assuredly jump when the above group sign their next contracts. Will GM Jeff Gorton be able to keep the entire core together at that time? That might prove to be a bit too much of a challenge without moving at least one key player out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: McClement, Sabres, Garteig, Campbell

August 25, 2017 at 7:28 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

As part of their quest to replenish their center depth following the departures of Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen via free agency, the Penguins announced that they have brought in veteran Jay McClement on a professional tryout deal.

McClement has spent the past three seasons with Carolina but has seen his role dip in recent years. In 2016-17, he collected just five goals and three assists in 65 games while his 48.2% success rate at the faceoff dot was well below the 55% marks he put up the previous two seasons. McClement will likely battle Carter Rowney for a spot on Pittsburgh’s fourth line but the Penguins will undoubtedly continue their search for someone to play behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on their third trio.

Other notes from around the hockey world:

The Sabres had expressed interest in college free agent center Blaine Byron, notes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News. However, Byron ultimately chose to take a minor league deal with Florida in the hopes of earning a spot on Canada’s Olympic team. Had he signed a two-way NHL pact, he wouldn’t have been eligible. Buffalo only has 43 committed contracts out of the limit of 50 at the moment so it’s not surprising to see them active in this segment of free agency.
After spending last season on an entry-level deal with Vancouver, the Canucks have brought back goalie Michael Garteig on a minor league deal, their affiliate in Utica announced. Garteig wasn’t able to build on his strong numbers over four years with Quinnipiac in the NCAA and spent the bulk of last season with ECHL Alaska, posting a 3.11 GAA and a .906 SV% over 22 appearances.
The Red Wings have retained some depth at the minor league level as their farm team in Grand Rapids announced the re-signing of center Colin Campbell to a two-year deal. He signed an entry-level deal back with Detroit back in 2014 out of college but has been kept around on minor league deals since that ELC expired a year later. Last season, he had a career best 20 points in 56 games.

Bob Hartley Signs Five Year Extension To Coach Latvia’s National Team

August 25, 2017 at 6:10 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Although he finds himself without a current coaching job in the NHL, Bob Hartley will still be behind the bench for a while to come. He has agreed to stay on as the bench boss for the Latvian Hockey Federation for the next five years, notes Martin Merk on the IIHF’s official website.

Hartley was brought in shortly after Latvia failed to qualify for the upcoming Winter Olympics and was behind the bench at the World Championships back in May. At that time, Hartley didn’t want to commit to a longer-term deal in case another opportunity presented itself there but now he will be able to give their developing program some stability in the years to come.

The 56-year-old has over 1,000 games of NHL experience (between the regular season and playoffs) with a points percentage of .554 during the regular season. Hartley also won a Stanley Cup with Colorado back in 2001 and the Jack Adams Award for Coach of the Year with Calgary.

This isn’t the first time that the Latvian Federation has had someone with NHL experience behind the bench for their national team. Ted Nolan, who had a pair of stints as head coach with Buffalo plus one with the Islanders, coached Latvia’s entries in the 2012 and 2013 Worlds as well as the qualification tournament for the 2014 Olympics.

Poll: Will Jaromir Jagr Or Thomas Vanek Play In The NHL This Year?

August 25, 2017 at 4:37 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

With Drew Stafford signing this morning, many fans are turning their sights to Jaromir Jagr and Thomas Vanek, arguably the top two names left on the open market. Both have had rumors recently about renewed interest, but it’s now late August and neither has found a team.

As we’ve looked at in the past, Jagr is one of several players from the Czech Republic who could give his country a huge boost for the upcoming Winter Olympics. The NHL isn’t going, and Jagr could play in Europe until after the international tournament. Thomas Vanek is not so lucky.

Vanek is Austrian, and though he captained his country’s team in the 2014 Games he won’t get the same chance in 2018 regardless of where he plays his hockey. Austria—playing without Vanek—got crushed by Latvia in Olympic qualifying 8-1 and then again by Germany 6-0 last summer to get knocked out of contention, despite ranking nearly ten spots higher than the host South Korean team in the world rankings. There’s no Olympic incentive for him, making his continued free agency something of a mystery.

So, we ask you reader what you think will happen this season. Coming off 46 and 48 point seasons respectively will Jagr and Vanek both suit up for an NHL game in 2017-18? Or depart for the professional leagues abroad?

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Snapshots: Vanek, Duchene, Kerfoot, Tolvanen

August 25, 2017 at 2:29 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

We saw Drew Stafford go off the board earlier today in a late-summer free agent signing, and now Darren Dreger of TSN told The Instigators on WGR 550 in Buffalo that he believes the Detroit Red Wings still have interest in bringing back Thomas Vanek.

Vanek’s name is at the top of the page. I think that Detroit legitimately does have interest in Vanek. Between Florida and the Red Wings he scored what, 17 goals last year? I think they’d like to add him, but at what cost—they don’t have a lot of cap space.

We’ve discussed many times the cap trouble that the Red Wings are in as they start their rebuild, but there remains this underlying hope that the team can get back to the playoffs this year. Vanek could legitimately help that cause, and be a potential trade deadline flip should the Red Wings fall out of it again. The team would likely need to make a subsequent move in order to fit him in.

Dreger also speaks on the potential of a Matt Duchene trade, saying that the Avalanche still want a top young defenseman in return. Dreger has said in the past that it would be awkward for Duchene and Colorado to start the season together, but makes it clear that the forward is a professional and would not make a public show of his frustration. Nashville and Montreal are mentioned as possible destinations, but not as anything more than speculation from the insider.
CapFriendly sorted out the details on Alex Kerfoot’s entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche, reporting that it will be for the maximum $925K each season (salary+signing bonuses) while it also carries $212.5K in performance bonuses. With Kerfoot likely to jump right to the NHL, many of the bonuses will be in his reach, which could cause his cap hit to creep over $1MM.
Eeli Tolvanen got off to a great start with his KHL team, and the Nashville Predators’ prospect spoke about where his future lies as he continues to develop. Tolvanen was denied admission to Boston College just before the draft, likely causing him to fall to the Predators at 30th-overall. Tolvanen says that Boston College told him he could join the university after Christmas, but he’s now dedicated to Jokerit where he’s playing against other professionals. Tolvanen has one of the most remarkable wrist shot releases in this year’s draft class, but he won’t compare himself to the best just yet: “When I was young, I dreamt about shooting like [Alex] Ovechkin. Hope that one day I can be at his level.”

Will Butcher To Meet With More Teams Today

August 25, 2017 at 1:03 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Butcher-watch is alive and well, with Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reporting that Will Butcher is heading to New Jersey today to meet with the Devils, and will also have a meeting with the Los Angeles Kings at some point before making his decision this Sunday. Butcher has been linked to the Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights as well, though there still doesn’t seem to be a favorite to land him at this point.

The 22-year old defenseman is looking for long-term success, but nearly every place he’s visiting also offers a quick path to the NHL. The Devils have had a big offseason, starting with the drafting of Nico Hischier and continuing through their signing of Drew Stafford today. Adding Butcher to their defense would be the cherry on top, even if there are doubts of his next-level ability.

A powerplay quarterback and puck-mover, Butcher would offer something for the Devils that they currently don’t have outside of Damon Severson. They did add Mirco Mueller this summer, but still lack depth on the back end. Similarly, the Kings have seen Brayden McNabb selected by Vegas and could use some depth on defense. With rumors already starting to surround Drew Doughty, their group could take an even bigger hit at some point in the near future.

Canucks Notes: Horvat, Pettersson, Kerfoot

August 25, 2017 at 12:22 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

Trevor Linden joined TSN 1040 yesterday in Vancouver, and spoke on a variety of issues including the pending contract for restricted free agent Bo Horvat. Linden explained that the two sides have discussed contracts everywhere between two and eight years, and that the negotiations are still ongoing.

We’re looking forward to getting Bo under contract. Out of respect for the process I don’t want to say a whole lot, but things have been very positive. We’re moving along and I don’t see any issues.

As Linden explains, negotiations with a player like Horvat were never going to be completed quickly but both he and GM Jim Benning haven’t been worried at all. Addressing the previous reports that eight years was off the table, Linden was non-committal, but did say “anything is a possibility.”

Talking about their newest top prospect Elias Pettersson, Linden said that he’s been impressed every time he’s watched him. Pettersson is currently playing for Vaxjo in the European Champions League, and won’t be attending camp for the Canucks. He’ll be given a bigger role in the Swedish Hockey League this year, and could compete for an NHL spot next season.
Linden said that the Canucks were indeed after Alex Kerfoot, but mentioned that him being from Vancouver actually could have worked against them. Kerfoot signed in Colorado, citing a good opportunity for him to jump right to the NHL. He also confirmed that the Canucks are not in on Will Butcher or any other NCAA free agents. Butcher is expected to sign this Sunday, and Vancouver has never been involved.
Though many believe that Vancouver’s free agent additions of Sam Gagner, Alexander Burmistrov and Michael Del Zotto all could be flipped at some point as the team rebuilds, Linden spoke about how each of them fits a hole that Vancouver had last season. He also was very clear that they didn’t want to just give big roles to their young players, and instead make them earn their opportunity in the NHL.

New Jersey Devils Sign Drew Stafford

August 25, 2017 at 11:05 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

The New Jersey Devils have signed free agent forward Drew Stafford. The deal is for one season, and will pay Stafford $800K. Stafford ranked #21 on our list of the top 50 free agents, but will have to settle for a relatively low salary after a long wait this summer. He’s coming off six straight seasons of earning at least $4MM.

After performing poorly in the first half with the Winnipeg Jets, Stafford was shipped off to the Boston Bruins at the deadline for just a conditional draft pick (it ended up being a fifth rounder). In Boston he seemed to find his legs again, scoring eight points in 18 games and providing solid bottom-six depth. That’s exactly what he’ll be asked to do in New Jersey, with the upside of his former 20-goal self making it a low-risk, moderately high-reward move. Stafford has shown an ability to play in almost any role on a club, moving up and down a lineup throughout his career.

The Devils have some shuffling to do in their forward group after Travis Zajac was injured, with Stafford perhaps providing a veteran winger for one of their young centers. Nico Hischier will likely be sheltered early on, and having a defensively responsible winger with some scoring touch like Stafford may be a good fit. If Pavel Zacha has to move back to center, he could be another fit alongside the long-time Buffalo Sabres forward.

[Updated: New Jersey Devils Depth Chart]

Stafford is a solid addition for a team looking to compete this season, and could even provide some powerplay experience for a team that had trouble scoring goals last year. Though he’ll play this season at age-32 and has clearly slowed down over the last few years, there could be something of a resurgence in a new market.

Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo Sports broke the news on Twitter.

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