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Chicago Blackhawks Sign Four Players

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The Chicago Blackhawks have signed four players this Monday morning, announcing deal for Dominik Kahun, Lucas Carlsson, Darren Raddysh and Kevin Lankinen. Carlsson has signed a three-year entry-level deal, while the other three have inked two-year entry-level contracts.

Kahun, 22, is coming off a huge season in which he won his third consecutive DEL championship and represented Germany in both the Olympic Games and World Championship. Germany was able to shock many with their surprise silver medal performance at the Olympics, and Kahun was a large part scoring five points in seven games. The young forward can compete at both ends of the rink, and could vie for a spot on the Blackhawks in short order.

Carlsson and Raddysh might not be quite as close, but will provide more depth and skill to the Chicago defense pipeline. The 20-year old Carlsson was a fourth-round pick in 2016, and played this season in the SHL. Raddysh went undrafted, but signed an AHL deal with Chicago after his huge 2016-17 campaign in junior. Playing for the Rockford IceHogs this season, he recorded 22 points in 66 games and showed that he may have some late development coming in the defensive zone. An offense force in the OHL, he’ll try to prove he can play a two-way game at the professional level.

Lankinen, 23, has performed well in the Finnish Liiga for several years but never been given much of a chance to be the number one starter. That changed in the playoffs this season for HIFK when he posted a .936 save percentage in 13 postseason contests. Chicago has struggled with goaltending depth the last few years when faced with injury, something that Lankinen could help to address if he proves he can keep up his high level of play in North America.

Busy Offseason Now Looms For Winnipeg Jets

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The Winnipeg Jets have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, knocked out by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in just five games. That ends what was an outstanding season for the Jets, who not only climbed into the playoff picture but showed they could be a long-term contender. Their young core has all reached new heights, and should be able to put pressure on the best teams in the Western Conference for some time.

With those young pieces though come several big decisions. The offseason, not even 24 hours old for the Jets, already must seem too short for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and the rest of the front office staff. Not only do they have to prepare for the draft in a month’s time, but the roster has just 14 players under contract for next season.

The biggest negotiations will come with Winnipeg’s pending restricted free agents. The list is a who’s who of talent on their club, and will chew up a big part of their salary structure if signed this summer. The Jets’ restricted free agents include:

Jacob Trouba
Josh Morrissey
Tucker Poolman
Joseph Morrow
Jan Kostalek

Brandon Tanev
Joel Armia
Marko Dano
Adam Lowry
Chase De Leo
Jimmy Lodge
Nic Petan
J.C. Lipon

Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Jamie Phillips

Especially on defense and in goal, these are key players who could demand long-term contracts with substantial cap hits. Trouba, who once wanted out of Winnipeg to play a bigger role somewhere else, has recently indicated that he would like to stay with the Jets long-term. The team would obviously want that too, but have to carefully manage their finances as they approach restricted free agency next summer with Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Success is eventually paid for.

With so many restricted free agents, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Paul Stastny, Toby Enstrom, Matt Hendricks, Shawn Matthias and Michael Hutchinson are also headed for the unrestricted waters this summer. Several of these players will generate extensive interest should they hit the open market, and it’s not clear if Winnipeg intends on re-signing any of them. If they do, July 1st is coming quicker than you may think, and work needs to be done to secure their future contracts.

Either way, Winnipeg has a busy few months ahead of them as they try to piece the roster back together and take another shot at the Stanley Cup in 2019. Though there needs to be a few days of decompression from their shocking defeat, there’s plenty of work to be done.

Five Key Stories: 5/14/18 – 5/20/18

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With the Stanley Cup Final (which will feature the expansion Vegas Golden Knights) fast approaching, activity is starting to pick up around the league.  Here are the top stories from the past week.

Hartnell, Emelin Unlikely To Return To Predators: Following their elimination at the hands of the Jets, Nashville has made a pair of decisions regarding two of their free agents.  They have decided not to offer another contract to rugged winger Scott Hartnell while they are unlikely to retain defenseman Alexei Emelin.  Hartnell was relatively productive in a bottom-six role for the Preds with 24 points (13-11-24) in 62 games despite averaging only 12:01 per night in ice time but he didn’t see much action in the postseason, suiting up just four times.  Meanwhile, Emelin was a regular on the third pairing but after Nashville re-signed depth defenders Yannick Weber, Matt Irwin, and Anthony Bitetto back in January, he became a likely candidate to be let go.

Oilers Sign Persson, Loan Him Back To SHL: Edmonton added some defensive depth into their system by signing Joel Persson to a one-year, entry-level deal.  That in itself isn’t particularly notable but what they announced at the same time is.  The team has already confirmed that Persson will be loaned back to the SHL for next season where he will burn that year of his contract and become a restricted free agent in July of 2019.  This enables him to effectively bypass the entry-level system despite being just 24 years of age.  Other teams around the league will undoubtedly be taking note and it will be interesting to see if anyone else makes a move like this in the weeks to come.

Hurricanes Will Be Making A Change In Goal: Don Waddell hasn’t been in place for long as the full-time GM of Carolina but he has already identified one position that will see some changes for next season.  He acknowledged that when it comes to goaltending the Hurricanes “can’t bring the same two guys back”.  Scott Darling didn’t fare well in his first season as a starter while Cam Ward was a little bit better but as a team, they posted a .893 save percentage which ranked them dead last in the league.  Darling has three years at a cap hit of $4.15MM left on his deal while Ward, who has been in Carolina’s organization since they drafted him in 2002, is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.  On the surface, it certainly appears that Ward’s tenure has come to an end.   Still with Carolina, there may be more changes coming following a report that they are open for business and that winger Sebastian Aho appears to be the only untouchable from their current roster.

Coyotes Discussing Extension With Ekman-Larsson: While a new contract can’t be signed until July 1st, that isn’t stopping the Coyotes from discussing an eight-year extension with defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.  The 26-year-old has been a staple of their back end since he debuted back in the 2010-11 season and has emerged as a legitimate number one blueliner.  He has one year remaining on his contract (similar to Erik Karlsson of the Senators and Drew Doughty of the Kings, widely viewed as the top free agents of 2019) and he should be set to earn a considerable raise on his current $5.5MM cap hit; it’s believed the proposed contract is a little over $8MM per season.

Hossa Officially Won’t Return: While he was holding out hope that taking this past season off would give him a shot at playing later on, that won’t be the case for Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa.  He announced that his skin disorder (and the medication) will not allow him to return to the NHL which makes him effectively retired.  However, it appears that he won’t file retirement papers with the league which will allow him to be placed on LTIR for the remaining three years on his contract.  With his playing days now officially over, it wouldn’t be surprising to see if Chicago looks to find a taker for his deal with a small market team looking to get to the salary cap floor.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Wild Close To Naming Paul Fenton Their New General Manager

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The Minnesota Wild are close to landing their next general manager.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they are nearing a deal with Nashville Assistant GM Paul Fenton but that there is no timetable for an announcement.  Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (subscription required) that owner Craig Leipold offered the position to Fenton early on Saturday with negotiations ongoing since then.  He also notes that Fenton’s agent, Neil Glasberg, was at the World Championships in Denmark which could be delaying things a little bit.

Fenton has been on the radar to be a GM for several years now and actually interviewed for the Minnesota position when it was last available back in 2009 but Chuck Fletcher got the nod back then.  He has been with the Predators since 1998 in a variety of different roles including Director of Player Personnel, Assistant GM, and GM of their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee while also serving as Director of Player Personnel for Team North America at the 2017 World Cup.  Worth noting is that Leipold also has some familiarity with Fenton from his time with the Preds as he was with the team as its owner from 1998 through 2007.

Minnesota had interviewed several other candidates for the position, including Julien BriseBois (Tampa Bay), John Ferguson Jr. (Boston), Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey), Bill Guerin (Pittsburgh), Dave Nonis (Anaheim), and Bill Zito (Columbus).  Fitzgerald was the other finalist for the position having gone for a second interview earlier in the week.

Assuming a contract is agreed upon, Fenton will be tasked with making some changes to a Minnesota roster that has largely underachieved in recent years.  Most of the core of the team is already locked up for next season (aside from pending RFA winger Jason Zucker) so most of those moves will likely need to be made via the trade route in the weeks and months to come.

Offseason Keys: Calgary Flames

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While the playoffs are ongoing, many teams have already started their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Calgary Flames.

After making the playoffs a year earlier, Calgary took a step back this past season.  A late-season injury to Mike Smith was costly as the team struggled down the stretch and wound up missing the playoffs as a result.  That led to a change behind the bench as Glen Gulutzan was let go with former Carolina bench boss Bill Peters takes over.  That and the departure of Brian Burke have been the big off-ice changes so far but the Flames have some key decisions to make on the ice as well.

Determine Their Backup

Eddie Lack was brought in to be the backup goaltender for Smith but that didn’t last too long.  He struggled mightily at the beginning of the year and wound up being dealt to New Jersey in a swap of waived-and-buried veteran players.  That resulted in a pair of youngsters getting chances and suffice it to say, the results were mixed.

David Rittich got off to a strong start, posting a .938 SV% in his first six starts.  However, he failed to come even close to maintaining that mark the rest of the way, checking in with a .889 mark in his final 14 appearances which is well below the NHL average.  Jon Gillies saw some action when Smith went down and he was consistently inconsistent and didn’t stake a claim to a full-time spot either.

Both players are set to become restricted free agents this summer and if nothing else, they should receive qualifying offers.  However, is it a prudent move to leave the number two spot open for one of them?  Or does it make more sense to add a veteran backup in a move similar to what Lack was supposed to provide this past season?  While a backup goaltender doesn’t seem like a key need most of the time, that player can make a big difference, a lesson that Calgary learned the hard way in 2017-18.

Find A Top Line RW

This one has been on their radar for a while.  Three years ago, Michael Frolik was brought in and while he has shown an offensive touch at times, he’s too inconsistent to hold down a spot alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.  The following summer, Troy Brouwer was brought in to fill that spot.  Two years later, that $4.5MM per year contract looks like somewhat of an albatross after he scored just six times this past season.

Micheal Ferland saw some time to start the season and to his credit, he held his own relatively well despite being more of a physical energy player.  The team brought in Jaromir Jagr with the hopes that he could keep up and that simply didn’t happen; he wound up being waived and loaned back to the Czech Republic.  Ferland saw a lot of time there in the second half of the year but that’s still not his ideal spot to be.

Finding a legitimate scoring threat to play on that top unit would go a long way towards helping an offense that ranked 26th overall in the NHL in 2017-18.  Not only would it make that top line that much more dangerous but it would also allow their other wingers to play in roles that are better suited for them.

Decision On Bennett

Sam Bennett’s third full NHL season largely resembled that of his sophomore campaign which has led to plenty of questions about his long-term upside.  The fourth overall pick in 2014 has shown flashes that he can still become an impact player but at other times, he has struggled considerably.  A change of position from center to the wing didn’t do much to change his fortunes either.

Last summer, the call Calgary needed to make was whether to give him a bridge contract or take a gamble and lock him up long-term.  They went with the short-term deal, two years with a $1.95MM cap hit and that certainly looks like the right choice at this time after he put up his second straight 26 point campaign.

This offseason, the decision that needs to be made is whether or not they still believe he is part of their long-term future.  If not, the time might be right to move him, even though his value isn’t exactly at its peak.  If there’s a team that believes a change of scenery is all he needs to get on track, the Flames should still be able to leverage a quality asset in return.  If they opt to hold onto him, one more year like the one he just had will only weaken his value.  On the flip side, with Peters behind the bench and a new system in place, GM Brad Treliving has to at least consider the possibility that those changes might be enough to get Bennett going in Calgary.  It’s a bit of a risky decision to make either way but it’s a call that they will have to make sooner than later.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Should Pittsburgh Have Traded For Derick Brassard?

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With the Eastern Conference Finals set to continue on Monday between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning, one team that hasn’t been sitting around for the last couple of years is the Pittsburgh Penguins. Entering the playoffs red-hot after a key trade deadline acquistion, many people thought that the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins might make their third-straight trip to the Stanley Cup. Instead, they were ousted by the Capitals, who are fighting for their life.

The Penguins felt they hit the jackpot after making a big three-way trade between the Ottawa Senators and the Vegas Golden Knights to acquire that second-line center they desperately needed in Derick Brassard. While he seemed to be a good fit early during the final part of the regular season when he put up eight points in 14 games, Brassard suffered through an undisclosed “difficult injury,” near the end of the season and struggled throughout the playoffs. He managed just one goal and four points in 12 playoff games.

“I don’t know if we ever got there, to the comfort level where we know he’s capable of being the player he is,” said head coach Mike Sullivan following the season.

In exchange for Brassard, the Penguins gave up quite a bit to the Ottawa Senators and Vegas Golden Knights, including defenseman Ian Cole (who was subsequently flipped to Columbus), goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson, enforcer Ryan Reaves, a 2018 first-round pick, a 2019 third-round pick and the Vancouver Canucks’ 2018 fourth-round pick.

Cole fit in nicely with Columbus and became a key piece to the Blue Jackets’ defensive core and his gritty play and leadership may have been missed from the Penguins lineup, although defenseman Chad Ruhwedel did a solid job replacing him. While many won’t miss Reaves, his size and leadership also may have been underestimated as he eventually was a key figure in the Vegas Golden Knights’ playoff run, scoring the game-winning goal to clinch the team’s first trip to the Stanley Cup. And while the Penguins are overloaded in prospects, Gustavsson finished his season, came over to the U.S. and already on the Senators’ AHL roster getting valuable playing time.

That doesn’t include the picks that the Penguins have given up, not including the fact that Pittsburgh will have drafted in the first round just once in the past six years (and Kasperi Kapanen was traded not long after to Toronto).

On a positive note, the Penguins have one more year to show that Brassard was worth the haul they gave up. He still has one more year at $3MM (after Vegas retained some of his salary) suggesting he’s on a very affordable contract.

So, did the Penguins make the right decision in trading for Brassard?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Western Notes: Pettersson, Fabbri, Blues, Skinner

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The Vancouver Canucks top prospect Elias Pettersson received a gold medal today at the IIHF World Championships. While the 19-year-old center did not  play after fracturing his thumb last week in a game against finals opponent Switzerland, there is also no word on whether he intends to sign his entry-level deal with the Canucks either, according to Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal.

Dhaliwal said he believes that Pettersson has yet to make up his mind about whether he wants to sign with Vancouver or stay another year in the SHL and play another year for Vaxjo. There is no timetable when the 2017 fifth-overall pick will make his decision.

  • In a mailbag edition, St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes that the best option for both the St. Louis Blues and restricted free agent Robby Fabbri is a one-year deal. Fabbri who hasn’t played a game since Feb. 4, 2017, is recovering from a torn ACL injury and had to undergo surgery a second time in training camp this year when he reinjured the same knee. Gordon writes with his value at an all-time low, as many players have trouble coming back from double surgery to the same knee, so both teams would want a one-year deal, including Fabbri who would want to prove to everyone he’s healthy if he wants to cash in on a lucrative contract.
  • Sticking with the Blues, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes that the St. Louis Blues continue to shop some of worst contracts in hopes of clearing some cap space, including Patrik Berglund, Vladimir Sobotka and goaltender Jake Allen, although it’s unlikely they would be able to move any of those contracts. The 29-year-old Berglund has a $3.85MM AAV deal for another four years. Sobotka has two more years at $3.5MM AAV, while Allen has three more years at $4.35MM.
  • The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) evaluates the play of Edmonton Oilers goaltending prospect Stuart Skinner, who has been a solid prospect, but had a really good stretch after he was traded to the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos. The 2017 third-rounder posted a .932 postseason save percentage in 26 games, leading Swift Current to the WHL title. Is he the goalie of the future for the Oilers? Mitchell compares the prospect to other top goaltending prospects, but still admits its too early to know how good he could be. Regardless, the Oilers have something to look forward to in the future.

 

Eastern Notes: Callahan, Burke, Mascherin

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After undergoing two hip surgeries a year ago, veteran forward Ryan Callahan has been a key player for the Tampa Bay Lightning this season. While his defensive skills and penalty killing have been critical for the Lightning, he also contributed a goal and an assist Saturday in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. What’s amazing, writes The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required), is that Callahan admits that he thought he would need season-ending surgery back in December when he suffered a serious shoulder injury.

The 33-year-old collided with Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson in a Dec. 14 against the Arizona Coyotes in which the two players got tangled and Callahan’s shoulder vaulted into the boards. He lost three weeks of his season, rehabbing the injury, but returned in early January. Despite re-injuring the shoulder in March, he has not let up and continues to throw his body around for the Lightning in the playoffs.

“There’s no question the last three years have been tough for me,” Callahan said. “I think, for me, I appreciate this even more, especially being in the league for 12 years now too. You realize you don’t get this chance and this opportunity very often. I appreciate it and I realize how hard it is to win. And I’m trying to take advantage of it.”

  • Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that Montreal Canadiens scout Sean Burke, who served as co-general manager with Martin Brodeur, for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships this week, has no idea what his next step will be. Burke, who has served as a scout for Canadiens’ head coach Marc Bergevin, said he might like to return as a scout, but will wait to see if he gets a better offer. “(Marc) Bergevin has been great with me in allowing me to do both roles and gain experience here as well. So we’ll see what’s down the road, but like everybody in this business you’re looking to get better and I’ve been fortunate to work with great people,” Burke said.
  • In his most recent podcast, TSN’s Bob McKenzie talks about Florida Panthers prospect Adam Mascherin, who says he will not sign with the team and has indicated he wants to re-enter the 2018 draft. The Panthers’ 2016 second-round pick claims to have been treated poorly by the Panthers and claims to not have been offered an entry-level deal. McKenzie says the Panthers have offered him an entry-level deal, a lucrative one that compares to that of the one that the Chicago Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincat signed. He chose not to sign, because he “wasn’t feeling the love.” McKenzie adds that Mascherin is playing a dangerous game if he re-enters the draft as most players who re-enter get drafted lower and get lesser contracts.

Toronto Maple Leafs Lead Bonus Overages List

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It looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs are at the top of at least one list. CapFriendly released a list of teams with Bonus Overages for this year, which result from players on their entry-level contracts hitting their standard bonuses. Nine teams’ performance bonuses went over the salary cap with the Maple Leafs leading with $2.55MM, which will now count against their 2018-19 cap. The bonus overages range from Toronto’s $2.55MM to the Minnesota Wild’s $25K.

The Maple Leafs’ bonuses came from just three players from the entry-level contracts of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander which totaled the $2.55MM. Since the team had no remaining cap room in 2017-18, it pushes over to the following year. Most of the nine teams were at the cap threshold, while others like the Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning had some cap room to take a part of the bonus hits.

Two teams bonuses could still go up as Boston’s Jake Debrusk and Tampa Bay’s Mikhail Sergachev could each receive bonus if they are named to the All-Rookie Team.

Here is the nine-team list:

Toronto Maple Leafs: $2,550,000
Chicago Blackhawks: $1,232,500
Vancouver Canucks: $852,847
Boston Bruins: $774,000
Detroit Red Wings: $755,000
St. Louis Blues: $150,988
Tampa Bay Lightning: $142,947
Washington Capitals: $82,500
Minnesota Wild: $25,000

Coyotes Notes: Team Upgrades, Ekman-Larsson, Kruger

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With a strong second half, the Arizona Coyotes are ready to take that next step from cellar dweller to competitive team. The hope is that now that head coach Rick Tocchet has held the coaching reigns for a full season, he can help Arizona take that next step. While the importance of signing of star defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is critical to the long-term success of the team is key (he has been rumored to be considering and eight-year extension), the team must continue to upgrade its roster.

According to Tocchet, in an interview with Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan, the team has several key needs with center being at the top of the list, followed by another top-five defenseman and a scoring wing. The team upgraded at center a year ago when it went out and traded defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and their first-round pick in a package deal for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta. Stepan put up solid numbers as the team’s top center, scoring 14 goals and adding 42 assists in his first year for Arizona. However, the team might want a stronger, more veteran presence for the No. 2 center spot, which was held by Christian Dvorak last season. Dvorak had just 22 assists last season.

Despite a solid nucleus on defense starting with Ekman-Larsson and Alex Goligoski as well as the strong additions of veterans Jason Demers and Niklas Hjalmarsson in the offseason and the improved play of youngster Jakob Chychrun, the team would like to add more to their defense. While the team might address that with the fifth-overall pick this year, the team wouldn’t mind adding another player to their group, which might have to come via trade.

  • Tocchet said he has worked hard to form a relationship with Ekman-Larsson over the past year. “In December, we had a really frank 30 or 40 minute talk,” said Tocchet. “I’m not a big meeting guy but we just talked about life and everything. I wanted him to have more of a voice in how we do things. What time should we have practice? Do you like the day off here? Should we travel at 2 PM? I want him to be proactive in those decisions. I want him to take responsibility and I think he understands that now that I want more from him.”
  • In the same article, Tocchet said that the addition of veteran Marcus Kruger is important due to his leadership skills. While the veteran struggled in his one year in Carolina with just six points in 48 games, Kruger did admit he played the entire year with a hernia. However, fully healed, he should give the Coyotes some grit on their fourth line. “The Chicago coaching staff loved him. I hear his hockey IQ is high and he’s a leader in the sense that he does the right things, practices hard. Since I’ve started, hockey IQ to me is bigger than I ever thought it was. When you add players with high hockey IQ, the chemistry comes quicker. He can probably help some young guys with that,” Tocchet said.

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