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Buffalo Sabres Sign Jack Eichel To Eight-Year Deal

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed franchise cornerstone Jack Eichel to an eight-year extension worth $80MM. The contract—which kicks in for the 2018-19 season—will pay Eichel an average annual value of $10MM, putting him in rare company. Only Connor McDavid, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Carey Price will earn at least $10MM in the 2018-19 season. The extension will buy four years of free agency, sending Eichel to the open market at 29. The contract breaks down as follows:

  • Jack Eichel2018-19: $10MM salary
  • 2019-20: $10MM salary
  • 2020-21: $2.5MM salary + $7.5MM signing bonus
  • 2021-22: $10MM salary
  • 2022-23: $2.5MM salary + $7.5MM signing bonus
  • 2023-24: $10MM salary
  • 2024-25: $10MM salary
  • 2025-26: $10MM salary

Selected second overall in the 2015 draft, Eichel immediately left Boston University for the professional ranks and make an impact as a rookie. He finished with 24 goals and 56 points in the 2015-16 season, but still finished just fourth in Calder Trophy voting as the league’s top rookie. Artemi Panarin, Shayne Gostisbehere and McDavid all finished above him despite Eichel coming second in rookie scoring and showing he could survive as a top-line center in the NHL.

Last year, he suffered a high ankle sprain early in the season and was limited to just 61 games but once again proved his elite talent by scoring 57 points down the stretch. That total put Eichel 11th among forwards in points-per-game, ahead of players like Panarin, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jamie Benn.

Eichel’s deal—like his career—will certainly be compared to draftmate McDavid’s eight-year, $100MM contract. While McDavid dealt with his own injury problems as a rookie, he bounced back this season to capture nearly every individual trophy available. Though Eichel isn’t quite at that level, the Sabres wanted to spend no time waiting around before locking him in long-term. As the new face of the franchise, he’ll be leaned on as the go-to offensive weapon and first-line center for some time. Ryan O’Reilly will offer a strong partner for him on the second line, but the Sabres future will hinge on Eichel’s improvement.

The deal has sent shockwaves throughout the league, as though Eichel was always expected to get a large contract extension many didn’t believe he would crack the $10MM mark. While he’s certainly talented enough, he still hasn’t won any individual awards or taken his team to the playoffs. As other teams look to extend their young stars—Toronto and Auston Matthews in particular—Eichel’s deal now represents a second data point behind McDavid to compare to. Matthews, whose 40 goals and 69 points easily eclipsed Eichel’s rookie season, will now have two comparable extensions to bring up in negotiations next summer. Should he lead the Maple Leafs to the playoffs once again, and even surpass his own rookie totals, something pushing close to McDavid’s $12.5MM per season is not out of the question.

Still, some of Buffalo’s need to extend Eichel comes directly from that lack of playoff success. With the team struggling to put a playoff contender on the ice, letting Eichel get anywhere close to free agency (even restricted as it would have been) would have put a sour taste in the mouths of many fans. The 20-year old wasn’t going to give up money on a long-term deal before he’d really proven what he can do over a full season, so the team had to come in with an offer that would be in line with the other top players in the league. It doesn’t come without risk, as Eichel could regress or have more injury problems, but they’re willing to hitch their wagon to him right away.

NBC Sports’ Kathryn Tappen was first to announce that a deal had been reached, while TSN’s Darren Dreger gave us the financial details.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Tom Wilson Suspended Four Games

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The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has come down hard on Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson by handing out his second suspension of the preseason. Wilson will be suspended for four regular season games for boarding St. Louis Blues defenseman Samuel Blais. In their video explanation of the incident, the DoPS puts it this way:

It is important to note that based on Wilson’s angle of approach, at no point is he in a position to deliver a legal body check on Blais. While we understand Wilson’s explanation that he attempted to maneuver around Blais in a way that would enable him to deliver a shoulder-to-shoulder check, he is unsuccessful in this attempt.

The onus is on Wilson to deliver this hit in a legal fashion, minimize the force of the hit, or avoid this hit completely. Instead, having seen nothing but Blais’ numbers for some time, he drives forcefully through Blais’ upper back, driving him forcefully into the boards.

Wilson was suspended on September 23rd for two games for a hit he delivered against St. Louis forward Robert Thomas. Because of the recency of his suspension, he was seen as a repeat offender and thus given a harsher penalty than the previous discipline. Should Wilson get into trouble again the penalties will only increase.

The 23-year old forward spoke to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press earlier today, saying that though physical play is part of his game, he has to “play within the rules.” Because he didn’t, he’ll be out until Friday October 13th when the Capitals take on the New Jersey Devils.

Jordin Tootoo Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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The Chicago Blackhawks have made several roster moves heading into the season, including moving Jordin Tootoo to long-term injured reserve. The list also includes assigning several players to the minor leagues, but both Alex DeBrincat and Gustav Forsling are expected to be back with the club.

Tootoo joins Michal Rozsival on LTIR for the Blackhawks, who are also expected to use it for Marian Hossa after the roster deadline passes today. Chicago is using these transactions to maximize the amount of cap space they’ll be able to use, and set themselves up to sign Cody Franson to an NHL contract. The team is right up against the cap at the moment, but will have some room to play with once the season begins.

Interestingly, both Tootoo and Rozsival signed one-year contract extensions on the same day last season, in order to fulfill some of the expansion draft requirements for the Blackhawks. Now both will start the year away from the team on LTIR, without clear timelines on when they’ll be back with the team. Chicago will instead turn to another crop of young players to contribute this season, including DeBrincat and John Hayden.

Snapshots: Juolevi, Wiercioch, Liljegren

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The Vancouver Canucks will be entrusting much of their success this year to young players, but fans of the team will have to wait at least one more year for a look at Olli Juolevi, the fifth-overall selection from 2016. The team announced today that they’ll be sending Juolevi back to Finland for this season to play for TPA Turku, where former Canuck Sami Salo is an assistant coach.

With Pierre-Luc Dubois set to make his debut this week with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Juolevi will be the final player in the top-10 without an NHL game under his belt. The two-way defenseman could have gone back to the London Knights of the OHL, but Vancouver prefers him to play against professionals to continue his development.

  • Still with the Canucks, the team has announced it will place Patrick Wiercioch on waivers tomorrow to make room for Derrick Pouliot who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier today. Wiercioch played 57 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season after several years in Ottawa, and was an early favorite for a spot on the Vancouver blueline. It will be interesting to see if anyone claims him, as he’s proven over the years he is at least capable of holding down a depth role in the NHL.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have decided something different with their prized European prospect, as Dhiren Mahiban is reporting that the team will keep 2017 first-round pick Timothy Liljegren in Toronto to play with the AHL Marlies. Liljegren could have returned to Sweden, but according to his agent it is a “very good situation” to continue working with the Maple Leafs’ development team. Liljegren showed better than expected in training camp, suiting up several times with the NHL club and not looking completely out of place. Though he still has trouble making the right decision at times, his skating looks every bit as excellent as promised. The AHL will be a daunting task for him, but the Maple Leafs staff can keep a closer eye on his development.

Ottawa Senators Sign Drake Batherson To ELC

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The Ottawa Senators have signed another prospect, inking Drake Batherson to a three-year entry-level contract. The 19-year old forward was selected in the fourth-round of the most recent draft, and is back playing with Cape Breton of the QMJHL.

Batherson has several similarities to Alex Formenton, the late-blooming speedster that Ottawa signed yesterday to his own entry-level deal. Both players were late entrants into junior hockey, as Batherson was a rookie in the QMJHL last season even though he turned 19 during the year. Still, he 58 points in that rookie season and showed off some incredibly slick hands at the Senators’ development camp. He’s armed with a ton of skill, but will need to get stronger and more consistent before making a real impact.

Luckily he’ll get to do it in Cape Breton where there is plenty of opportunity after the team saw several key players graduate this summer, and traded away Pierre-Luc Dubois in the middle of last year. Batherson will be their go to center, and has already registered four points in the first three games. It’s an important year for Batherson, who will turn 20 in April and will be expected to join the professional ranks next year. For now, he just needs to focus on adding explosiveness and power and let his skill do the rest.

Pittsburgh Trades Derrick Pouliot To Vancouver

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have finally given up on Derrick Pouliot, trading the first-round defenseman to the Vancouver Canucks for Andrey Pedan and a fourth-round pick. Pouliot is no longer waiver-exempt, and did not earn a role with the Penguins this fall. Pedan on the other hand cleared waivers today and can immediately be sent to the minor leagues if the team so chooses.

Derrick PouliotPouliot has had a long and disappointing tenure with the Penguins since they drafted him eighth overall in 2012. The 23-year old defenseman has struggled to even crack the lineup, and whenever given a chance hasn’t been able to stay in the NHL. In the minor leagues his offensive upside shines through, but the Penguins time and again haven’t been able to live with his lack of defensive consistency.

He’ll get a new start with the Canucks, who are taking a flier on a player who was once considered a blue-chip prospect. When he was selected out of the WHL, Pouliot was compared to Brian Campbell because of his skill with the puck and elite playmaking ability. It’s what made him the first-overall pick in the WHL Bantam draft, and what helped him rack up points with the Portland Winterhawks (where Canucks’ coach Travis Green was behind the bench) and Canada’s World Junior team. That skill remains, and he’ll be given a chance right away to show it off with Vancouver.

While he may never reach his full potential, the Canucks are hoping that he’ll have a bigger impact than Pedan. Though Pedan is blessed with size and strength, he has barely seen the NHL since being drafted in the third round six years ago, and doesn’t project out to be a full-time defender at the highest level. He does have some upside as a depth player, but isn’t expected to ever reclaim the scoring touch he showed for the Guelph Storm.

In all, the Penguins cut their losses and gain an asset for a player they were likely to lose at some point for nothing, while the Canucks take a home run cut without risking very much. The rebuilding Vancouver club will likely take more of these chances over the next year or two, as it tries to build a core around Bo Horvat, Brock Boeser and their other young players.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Calgary Flames Sign Tanner Glass To One-Year Deal

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The Calgary Flames continue to make moves this offseason, today signing Tanner Glass to a one-year deal worth $650K. Glass had been attending camp on a professional tryout, but will now join the club on a full-time contract.

Glass will be joining the Flames after a three-year stint in New York where he suited up for 134 games with the Rangers. Amazingly, he’ll leave that team after perhaps his most impressive period. In seven playoff games last year, Glass recorded four points including the game winner in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens. He won’t be expected to do much scoring with the Flames, as he has just 69 career regular season points.

Still, Glass will provide a bit of toughness and physicality for the Flames as they try to prove they’re ready for the next step. The team went out and acquired Mike Smith, Eddie Lack and Travis Hamonic this summer before signing Jaromir Jagr in recent days. While the team will still be relying on their young group of forwards, Glass and the other veteran additions will try to add whatever they can to the fringes of the roster.

Joffrey Lupul Fails Second Physical, Eligible For LTIR

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According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the Toronto Maple Leafs will indeed be allowed to place Joffrey Lupul on long-term injured reserve, after the veteran forward failed a second physical administered by the league. Like Marian Hossa in Chicago, this ruling will provide Toronto with some cap relief, though the two situations are very different.

Joffrey LupulLupul hasn’t played with the team in several years, and caused a media uproar earlier this summer when he posted some comments seeming to call out the Maple Leafs for cheating the system. He later deleted them and apologized, explaining that it was just frustrating for him sitting on the sidelines. The Lupul saga has many reports of the team not wanting him around anyway, and that they were willing to eat his contract to keep him off the team.

Interestingly, CapFriendly just this morning released a new full explanation of the ways you can use LTIR but if you aren’t interested in the minutia of the rule just know that the Maple Leafs are at little risk of going over the cap this season thanks to Lupul and fellow injured forward Nathan Horton. They still could carry another bonus overage into next season thanks to the outstanding totals of their entry-level players, but that’s less of a concern for the time being.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Final Training Camp Cuts: 10/03/17

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Hockey is back. Tomorrow night the NHL will begin its 2017-18 season and the long wait will be over. Today, however, teams have one last job to do: reduce their roster to a cap-compliant 23 players by 5pm EST. Several teams are already there, but many have one or two more cuts to make. None of this means those players can’t be called back up quickly, but these are the rosters teams will head into opening night with. We’ll keep you up to date right here with all the official final transactions.

Arizona Coyotes

F Mario Kempe – Tucson (AHL)
G Marek Langhamer – Tucson (AHL)

Buffalo Sabres

F Alexander Nylander – Rochester (AHL)
F Brad Malone – Rochester (AHL)

Calgary Flames

F Luke Gazdic – Stockton (AHL)
F Mark Jankowski – Stockton (AHL)

Carolina Hurricanes

D Jake Bean – Calgary (WHL)

Chicago Blackhawks

F Tomas Jurco – Rockford (AHL)
F Alex DeBrincat – Rockford (AHL)
D Gustav Forsling – Rockford (AHL)
G Jean-Francois Berube – Rockford (AHL)

Colorado Avalanche

D David Warsofsky – San Antonio (AHL)
D Duncan Siemens – San Antonio (AHL)
G Joe Cannata – San Antonio (AHL)

Columbus Blue Jackets

F Tyler Motte – Cleveland (AHL)

Detroit Red Wings

D Ryan Sproul – Grand Rapids (AHL)

Edmonton Oilers

F Anton Slepyshev – Bakersfield (AHL)

Montreal Canadiens

F Andreas Martinsen – Laval (AHL)
F Byron Froese – Laval (AHL)

Nashville Predators

F Frederick Gaudreau – Milwaukee (AHL)
F Vladislav Kamenev – Milwaukee (AHL)

New Jersey Devils

F Joseph Blandisi – Binghamton (AHL)
F Nick Lappin – Binghamton (AHL)
F John Quenneville – Binghamton (AHL)
D Brian Strait – Binghamton (AHL)

New York Islanders

F Steve Bernier – Bridgeport (AHL)
F Stephen Gionta – Bridgeport (AHL)

Philadelphia Flyers

F Matt Read – Lehigh Valley (AHL)

San Jose Sharks

F Marcus Sorensen – San Jose (AHL)
F Brandon Bollig – San Jose (AHL)
F Adam Helewka – San Jose (AHL)
F John McCarthy – San Jose (AHL)
F Daniel O’Regan – San Jose (AHL)
F Brandon Mashinter – San Jose (AHL)
F Filip Sandberg – San Jose (AHL)
D Joakim Ryan – San Jose (AHL)
D Nick DeSimone – San Jose (AHL)
D Cavan Fitzgerald – San Jose (AHL)
D Radim Simek – San Jose (AHL)
G Troy Grosenick – San Jose (AHL)

Toronto Maple Leafs

D Calle Rosen – Toronto (AHL)
D Timothy Liljegren – Toronto (AHL)
D Roman Polak – Released from PTO

Vancouver Canucks

F Darren Archibald – Utica (AHL)
D Olli Juolevi – Turku (Finland)

Vegas Golden Knights

F Tomas Hyka – Chicago (AHL)
F Teemu Pulkkinen – Chicago (AHL)

Washington Capitals

D Madison Bowey – Hershey (AHL)

Winnipeg Jets

F Kyle Connor – Manitoba (AHL)

Vegas Golden Knights Claim Malcolm Subban

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The Vegas Golden Knights have gotten into the waiver action today, as according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the team has claimed goaltender Malcolm Subban from the Boston Bruins. Subban was placed on waivers yesterday when the team decided to keep Anton Khudobin as their backup.

Malcolm SubbanSubban was an extremely divisive player among fans in Boston since being selected in the first round five years ago. Though he continues to show all the ability in the world and potential to be a top-flight goaltender in the NHL, his game has been marred by inconsistency since turning professional. Though he’s posted strong numbers throughout his AHL career, he’s prone to give up back-breaking goals at the most inopportune times and has struggled in his two chances at the NHL level.

While all of that is true, Subban is only 23 years old and could still develop into a legitimate NHL player. His reflexes, size and athleticism are all still above average, and if the Golden Knights can find a way to harness all of those things, they could have a potential goalie of the future. Still, they have challenges to deal with right now. The team will have to keep three goaltenders on the roster for the time being, as Marc-Andre Fleury and Calvin Pickard are not going anywhere unless through trade. That would leave Subban as a scratch most nights, which isn’t likely the best thing for his development.

That fact will lead to much speculation about a Vegas roster that already seems destined for a trade. They didn’t place anyone on waivers today, and now have 26 players on their roster. While Shea Theodore and Vadim Shipachyov are waiver-exempt, it’s unlikely either of them are being cut from the final roster. That means either some of their players are being put onto injured reserve, or a trade is in the works to get them down to 23 by today’s deadline.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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