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Rick Bowness, Brad Lauer Will Not Return As Coaches For Tampa Bay

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The Tampa Bay Lightning are making changes behind the bench. The team announced today that Rick Bowness has been relieved of his duties as assistant coach, while Brad Lauer has “mutually agreed to part ways” according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.

The Lightning ended up losing a heartbreaking series against the Washington Capitals, and are likely re-evaluating their entire organization. Bowness has been with the club for five seasons but will now have to look for new employment. That likely won’t take long, as he has been in a coaching position somewhere around the NHL for over three decades and holds the record for most games coached. He was the experienced hand for head coach Jon Cooper, who came into the role with little experience.

There is a chance that Bowness could even find himself in head coaching interviews over the next few weeks if opportunities arise, as he’s held the role multiple times before and—as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet points out—was a finalist for a job as recently as 2016 with the Anaheim Ducks. There are also several openings at the AHL level, but for a coach who hasn’t worked in the minor leagues since 1991, that is likely off the table.

Lauer was the Tampa Bay “eye in the sky” this season, and had previously worked with the Ducks and Ottawa Senators in various positions. He could also be considered a candidate for the vacant AHL jobs, though he hasn’t held a head coaching position to this point.

Jacob Nilsson Agrees To Terms With Chicago Blackhawks

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The Chicago Blackhawks will add another European free agent to their forward mix, as the team announced today they’d agreed to terms with Swedish center Jacob Nilsson. No financial details were released, but Nilsson is eligible to sign a one-year entry-level contract.

The 24-year old forward broke into the SHL this season after dominating the Allsvenskan in 2016-17, and held his own at the higher level. In 40 games he recorded 18 points, good for fourth on the low-scoring Mora IK team. It’s hard to believe he could immediately translate that into NHL success, but Nilsson appears to be the definition of a late-bloomer who has just started to really find his game.

Chicago has clearly targeted the European leagues once again as a place to supplement their roster, signing several players this offseason and even trading for Victor Ejdsell after missing out on him last summer. For a team that has struggled with a cap squeeze for several years, adding cheap but experienced talent is the only way to keep everything moving. Obviously the team will try to continue to build through the draft, but players like Nilsson can come in and play at a high level in the minor leagues right away and potentially move into a limited role with the NHL club should they have a need.

Montreal Canadiens Agree To Terms With Rinat Valiev

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Fans worried that Rinat Valiev would be heading overseas in 2018-19 have nothing to worry about anymore. The 22-year old defenseman has agreed to terms with the Montreal Canadiens on a one-year two-way contract that will pay him $650K at the NHL level. Valiev had been involved in KHL rumors for the last few weeks, but agent Dan Milstein even tweets that his client was never considering heading to Russia.

Valiev was acquired by the Canadiens earlier this season when they sent Tomas Plekanec and Kyle Baun to Toronto at the trade deadline. Though the deal was mostly about getting a second-round pick for a few months of Plekanec—the veteran center has been clear about his desire to return to Montreal this summer—Valiev and fellow prospect Kerby Rychel both could see time in Montreal next season.

The 23-year old defenseman was a third-round selection of the Maple Leafs back in 2014, but was given just 10 games in the NHL while with the Toronto organization. After being dealt to Montreal, Valiev suited up for two games at the end of the season and could be in line for a more prominent role next year. The Canadiens are desperately looking for help on their blue line, and a player like Valiev is handy depth to have sitting in the minor leagues. Should the team experience injuries or ineffectiveness like in this past season, they won’t hesitate to call-up their latest signing.

That said, Valiev is no long waiver-exempt and won’t be able to pop up and down like in previous years. It’s unlikely Montreal will want to expose him very often, meaning there is a chance he could break camp with the team as a sixth or seventh option. We’ll have to wait to see how it all shakes out, but currently there doesn’t seem to be room for him on the NHL roster.

Offseason Keys: Minnesota Wild

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With just two teams still playing, the rest have already started their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Minnesota Wild.

Following a disappointing first-round exit, Minnesota was hoping for better things in 2017-18.  They had another strong regular season as they hit the 100-point mark for the third time in four years.  They also hovered near the top-ten in both goals scored and allowed and did so despite several key injuries to some of their top players.  In the end, the final result was the same, a five-game series loss in the opening round.  One big change has already been made with Paul Fenton replacing Chuck Fletcher as GM; what will Fenton have on his plate this offseason?

Decide On An Ennis Buyout

The inclusion of Tyler Ennis in the trade that saw Marco Scandella go to Buffalo was more for salary cap purposes than Minnesota wanting him but they were certainly hopeful that a change of scenery would help him get closer to the 40+ point mark that he reached a couple of times with the Sabres.  While his offensive numbers improved slightly, he still didn’t provide much value compared to his $4.6MM cap hit.

Now, with just one year remaining on his contract, a buyout looks like a realistic possibility.  Because his deal was front-loaded though, they’d still be on the hook for a $2.17MM cap charge in 2018-19 plus $1.22MM in 2019-20.  That said, they could still find a suitable replacement for Ennis for less than the roughly $2.5MM difference between his current AAV and his buyout cap hit for next season which would allow them to allocate the savings to fill another hole.

The other idea that they may want to explore is a trade with 50% retention.  While that would bring about a slightly higher cap hit compared to a buyout for next season, it would get him off the books entirely for 2019-20.  However, they’d also likely have to take another contract back which would lessen the benefit from doing this.  It’s also a possibility that Ennis stays but given how tight they’re going to be on the salary cap, he is someone that appears to be in line to be a casualty in some form.

Re-Sign Dumba, Zucker

The Wild don’t have many restricted free agents to re-sign but they have a pair of prominent ones to lock up in defenseman Mathew Dumba and winger Jason Zucker.

Dumba is coming off of his bridge contract and had a great platform season, posting 50 points while logging just shy of 24 minutes per night.  He has emerged as a top pairing defender and has positioned himself to get a significantly higher payday than his $2.75MM qualifying offer.  Dumba is two years away from UFA eligibility so a long-term deal is a likely outcome with an AAV around double what his qualifier is.

As for Zucker, he vastly outperformed his two-year, $4MM deal for the second straight season and posted career bests across the board offensively.  Those types of numbers (33 goals, 31 assists) will look awfully strong in an arbitration room.  While Dumba’s deal is certainly important, Zucker’s case may be even more so as he is just a year away from UFA eligibility.  If they can’t agree on a long-term deal, he can just opt for arbitration, get a significant raise, and potentially hit the open market next summer.  That’s not a scenario Fenton and the Wild will want to deal with so it wouldn’t be surprising if they push to get something done sooner than later with Zucker.

Add Defensive Insurance

Because of their cap situation, Minnesota basically rolled with four quality defenders and used youngsters and depth players to fill out the back half of their back end.  That’s a risky play when everyone is healthy, something that may not be the case to start the season with Ryan Suter’s availability being in doubt.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Fenton try to add a veteran that can be a strong fit on a third pairing when the full lineup is available that can move up and hold his own on a second pairing when there are injuries.  Ideally, a true top-four defender would be better but even with the expected increase to the salary cap, they won’t have a lot of room to work with once Zucker and Dumba are locked up.  A fourth or fifth defender is about all that they will be able to afford but that would still give them some form of insurance which is something they didn’t really have this past season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacific Notes: Calgary’s Draft Picks, Ward, Neal

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The Flames have explored trying to get back into the first round of the draft and have even spoken with the teams holding the top picks, Assistant GM Craig Conroy acknowledged during an interview with Sportsnet 960 (audio link).  However, the indication that they have been given is that none of the teams at the top are interested in dealing their selections.  Calgary has just four picks next month and the earliest is 105th overall so they will be continuing to try to add to what they have.  When asked about the likelihood that they’d be able to do so, Conroy handicapped their odds as 60/40 that they would be able to add another pick, though not necessarily a first-rounder.

More from the Pacific:

  • Still with Calgary, Sportsnet 960’s Pat Steinberg reports (Twitter link) that Devils assistant coach Geoff Ward has emerged as a candidate to fill a similar role with the Flames. Ward has spent the last three seasons in New Jersey while doubling as an assistant for the German National Team for the past four years.  He also spent seven seasons as an assistant with Boston.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds via Twitter that Ward is likely Calgary-bound.  Steinberg also notes that Ryan Huska, the head coach of Calgary’s AHL affiliate in Stockton, is a candidate to be promoted to work under new bench boss Bill Peters.
  • Golden Knights winger James Neal is set to become one of the more intriguing unrestricted free agents in July. He has surpassed the 20-goal mark in each of his ten NHL seasons and for teams in need of scoring, that type of consistency is going to be appealing for general managers.  With that in mind, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on a segment on TSN 1040 (audio link) that he has heard rumblings that Neal’s camp may be asking for a deal around seven years and $42MM on the open market.  He turns 31 in September so that type of term may scare some suitors off but because he has been a productive scorer for a long time, a $6MM AAV is certainly a possibility.

Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Buffalo’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Sam Reinhart – While Reinhart hasn’t exactly lit up the league since being the second-overall pick in 2014, he has made progress and had a career year in 2017-18 with 25 goals and 25 assists.  The first thing that Buffalo needs to decide is whether or not he’s still a part of their long-term plans.  If no, then he could be someone they look to move this summer.  Assuming they decide he is part of their future, there’s a good chance that they will look to work out a long-term contract as a bridge deal for a 50-point player would wind up still being quite pricey.

G Robin Lehner – Last summer, the Sabres were faced with a decision as to whether or not to make Lehner their goalie of the present and the future.  They wound up punting on that call and gave him a one-year, $4MM pact instead so this summer, they are faced with the same question with one extra pressure point; Lehner is one year away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency.  His numbers have actually worsened year-to-year since he came to Buffalo but Linus Ullmark isn’t ready for the number one job and there isn’t a prominent starter set to become available on the open market.  A long-term pact still seems unlikely but a medium-term one, a move that would buy them some time to find a goalie of the future, would make some sense.

Other RFAs: D Victor Antipin, F Justin Bailey, F Nicholas Baptiste, F Hudson Fasching, G Jason Kasdorf, F Sean Malone, F Daniel O’Regan, F C.J. Smith, F Scott Wilson

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Benoit Pouliot – While Buffalo was hoping that Pouliot would rebound in a new environment, that wasn’t the case.  Even though his goal total went up to 13, he was still a depth player and didn’t take much advantage when he was moved up in the lineup.  After taking a one-year, $1.15MM deal last summer, Pouliot will be looking for a similar pact this time around.  If nothing else, he can get some comfort knowing that Edmonton still owes him another $4MM over the next three seasons after they bought him out last June.

G Chad Johnson – After a decent season with Calgary, Johnson returned to Buffalo back in July to the scene of arguably his best year.  In 2015-16, he posted a 2.36 GAA and a .920 SV% in 45 appearances but his second stint was nowhere near as strong as he put up the worst numbers of his career.  That will prevent him from matching the $2.5MM he received this past season but there should be a few teams that will take a chance on him having a bounce-back season.

Other UFAs: D Justin Falk, D Josh Gorges, F Seth Griffith, F Jordan Nolan, D Zach Redmond, G Adam Wilcox

Projected Cap Space: Even with center Jack Eichel’s new $10MM per year deal kicking in, Buffalo still has a lot of room to work with; they have just under $56MM committed for 2018-19 per CapFriendly.  With the cap expected to jump by a few million, that should give them more than $20MM to work with.  However, they still have nearly half of their roster to fill out so while they should have enough wiggle room to make a splash, expect to see a handful of bargain signings in the coming weeks and months as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Pittsburgh’s Fourth Line, Hall, Canadiens, Red Wings

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The Penguins are expected to try to add some offense to their fourth line this summer, notes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Getting some scoring from their bottom trio was an important key to their successful Stanley Cup runs the past two years but that was an area of concern this past postseason.  With that in mind, GM Jim Rutherford will be looking to put together a more balanced fourth line that can chip in with a goal here and there.  If they re-sign pending RFA Riley Sheahan, he’ll likely be part of that unit while youngsters Zach Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong could be options as well.  If they look to the open market for a veteran to take a spot, Mackey suggests that Tampa Bay UFA winger Chris Kunitz could make some sense; prior to joining the Lightning last summer, the 38-year-old had spent nine seasons in Pittsburgh.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Still with Pittsburgh, with the Friday deadline to sign 2016 CHL draft pick fast approaching, the Penguins are expected to relinquish the rights to defenseman Connor Hall, reports Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Hall was a third-rounder that year (77th overall) but he has battled considerable injury problems that have limited him to just 64 games (less than one full season) since being drafted.  The 20-year-old posted 11 assists and 78 penalty minutes in 47 games with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL in 2017-18 and will look to catch on with another organization.
  • Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin acknowledged to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that the team is leaning towards keeping the third-overall selection unless they are blown away by a trade offer. Assuming that Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov go first and second to Buffalo and Carolina as expected, the Canadiens will likely choose from wingers Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk.  Bergevin also stated that the team is not ready to write off using Jonathan Drouin at center next season.  Drouin, who played down the middle in junior but was a winger with Tampa Bay, struggled considerably at the beginning of the year but appears to have made enough progress in the eyes of management to get a second chance.
  • The Red Wings are open to moving their sixth-overall selection in the draft, reports Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required). GM Ken Holland admitted that trading up doesn’t make a lot of sense for them but sliding down a few spots would certainly be a possibility for them.  Custance adds that Holland has had preliminary meetings with the agents for pending RFA wingers Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha plus pending UFA defenseman Mike Green.

Nick Ellis Announces Retirement From Professional Hockey

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In a surprising decision, Edmonton Oilers minor league goaltender Nick Ellis announced his retirement today via a post on his Instagram page. Ellis will instead pursue a career as a teacher and coach, ending his professional playing career just a few years after it began.

Ellis, 24, was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer after spending the last two seasons in the Edmonton organization playing for the Bakersfield Condors and Wichita Thunder. Though it seemed likely that he wouldn’t get a qualifying offer, it’s unusual to see players walk away from the game at such a young age. Ellis signed out of Providence College in 2016, but never made it into a game at the NHL level.

In his only season as a starter for Providence, Ellis dominated the NCAA ranks with a 25-7-4 record and .936 save percentage. Turning that into a pro contract, he found early success in the AHL and looked like a solid signing for the Oilers to provide some depth at the goaltender position. This season Ellis wasn’t as effective, and it’s easy to see how he wouldn’t have had a job with Bakersfield next season. Dylan Wells is an upcoming prospect for the Oilers, and after signing Mikko Koskinen the team will likely have to send Al Montoya to the minor leagues. Shane Starrett is also still around, while Stuart Skinner—while still in junior—is being groomed as the goaltender of the future.

For Edmonton, this is little more than a few hundred thousand dollars lost for their trouble. Ellis didn’t take up a draft pick, or steal any real development time from their other goaltending prospects. Though he was an effective goaltender at times, the team has other plans for the position.

Poll: Where Will Ilya Kovalchuk Sign?

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One of the biggest question marks this summer is the potential return of KHL superstar Ilya Kovalchuk. Though he’s made it known he wants to return to the NHL this season, there isn’t a clear front-runner to sign the 35-year old winger. The teams in New York and Florida were reported as his preferred destinations last summer, but now that he is an unrestricted free agent there could be any number of teams reaching out. Indeed we heard recently that his new agent J.P. Barry has been discussing Kovalchuk with several teams, but don’t know who those are.

The Rangers were once believed to be interested, though now that they’re heading into a mini-rebuild could avoid going after the veteran forward. After trading Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Derek Stepan, Rick Nash and more over the last few years, New York is trying to get faster and younger to compete in the new NHL. Kovalchuk doesn’t really fit that mold, but would certainly be a big attraction at Madison Square Garden should he end up there.

Florida could use some more firepower up front and has former teammate Evgeni Dadonov under contract, but might be happy plugging in younger options like Henrik Borgstrom and Maxim Mamin. The Panthers also aren’t flush with cap room, unless Kovalchuk was one of their only moves of the summer. Still, they could be an enticing option if they believe that the team can compete in 2018-19.

The Islanders are probably the most interesting contender right now, as they’re in one of his preferred destinations and just hired Lou Lamoriello, the same man who signed Kovalchuk to a 15-year $100MM contract in 2010. Obviously Lamoriello felt strongly about Kovalchuk’s talent at that point, but there’s no telling what he thinks this time around. The Islanders are working to re-sign John Tavares and compete right away, and adding a five-time 40-goal man wouldn’t hurt either situation.

Where do you think Kovalchuk will land? Does he stay on the east coast as expected last summer, or will he end up out west? Is Lamoriello the one to bring him back to the NHL, or has that bridge been burned? Vote below and make sure to leave your explanation in the comments.

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Magnus Paajarvi Signs One-Year Extension

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The Ottawa Senators have come to an agreement with Magnus Paajarvi, signing the Swedish forward to a one-year contract extension worth $900K. Paajarvi was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. GM Pierre Dorion released this statement along with the announcement:

We’re happy to have Magnus back in Ottawa. He showed us last season that he can play the game with speed, which fits with the style of play we want our team to exhibit. Magnus is a versatile player who will be able to provide us productive minutes in many situations.

Paajarvi, 27, was claimed off waivers by the Senators midseason and found himself a good fit in their bottom-six. Registering eight points in 35 games after the claim, the Senators used him heavily on the penalty kill and will likely continue to do so moving forward. Selected 10th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2009, many expected Paajarvi to develop into a premiere power forward that could play in all situations. Instead, after a 15-goal, 34-point rookie season in 2010-11 he has failed to eclipse 10 goals or 16 points in any following year. That’s not good enough to deserve a spot in the top-six, but Ottawa isn’t signing him with that in mind.

Still, there is a chance that he can find some more offense in Ottawa with regular playing time. His stint in St. Louis was filled with trips to injured reserve and the minor leagues, never really finding a consistent footing. A one-year deal poses little risk for the Senators, who could easily waive or bury his entire cap hit should they feel the need. Paajarvi will be an unrestricted free agent again in the summer of 2019.

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