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Archives for June 2018

Salary Cap Ceiling Set At $79.5MM For 2018-19

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It’s official now, the NHL salary cap ceiling will be set at $79.5MM for the 2018-19 season. The cap floor will be $58.8MM, just under where it was expected to land. The NHLPA exercised a 1.25% inflator, much smaller than the 5% maximum they are allowed each season.

The new limit will allow teams a little more flexibility this summer when looking to address problems on their roster, and should increase the amount of money free agents can ask for on the open market. The new maximum salary a single player can receive—20% of the cap ceiling—is $15.9MM, a number that no one comes close to around the league. Right now Connor McDavid is set to be the player with the highest cap hit at $12.5MM, though there is a possibility that John Tavares breaks that this summer if he reaches free agency and is involved in a bidding war.

With the release of the schedule, we also know how that daily cap hits are based on an 186-day season. CapFriendly has already updated their site and reflect these totals, giving you a clear picture of how much space each team has. At present, the Florida Panthers have the least amount of cap space with just over $8.3MM, while the New York Islanders lead the way with a whopping $32.8MM. That could obviously change with Tavares’ contract, though Lou Lamoriello and company will likely be active either way.

There are currently 14 teams that sit under the $58.8MM floor, but many would eclipse that just by keeping some of their minor league two-way contracts on the roster. For others like Carolina and Vegas though, there is quite a bit of work to be done just to meet the minimum. Vegas seems ready and willing to spend the money in free agency, but Carolina is more of a wildcard under owner Tom Dundon. The team has several restricted free agents to sign, but have been involved in trade talks for some of their more high-priced talent.

Barry Trotz Named Head Coach Of New York Islanders

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1:30 PM: The Islanders have officially announced Trotz’s hiring.

11:25 AM: Though nothing is official yet, multiple sources including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Darren Dreger of TSN and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic have reported that the New York Islanders are closing in on a deal with Barry Trotz to become their next head coach. Friedman reports that a deal is likely to be for five years, and worth at least $4MM. That would go along with what Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) had heard, though he suggested it would be “in the neighborhood” of $5MM per season.

Trotz is coming off a Stanley Cup championship with the Washington Capitals, but resigned on Monday after the two sides weren’t able to work out a salary for a potential two-year extension. Trotz was out of work for just a few days, and snatched up by Lou Lamoriello and the Islanders to fill their vacancy at head coach. Lamoriello had relieved Doug Weight of his coaching duties earlier this offseason after taking control of the team, and was likely waiting to see what would happen with Trotz before making a move on anyone else. Lamoriello had this to say to Andrew Gross of Newsday:

Barry brings to the New York Islanders franchise a tremendous amount of knowledge, experience and success. He is and has been one of the top coaches in the National Hockey League. I am excited to have the opportunity to work with him.

The Islanders are currently in a key negotiation with superstar John Tavares as free agency approaches, and the stability that Lamoriello and now Trotz will bring to the organization can only be a positive for the team. Though Tavares has never said anything to suggest he wouldn’t want to re-sign in New York, he’s just days away from being allowed to speak with other teams and just over a week away from becoming an unrestricted free agent. Tavares would represent arguably the biggest free agent to hit the market in the salary cap era, and should command a massive long-term contract. The Islanders have the advantage of offering an eighth year, but only up until July 1st when they would be limited to seven seasons just like anyone else.

New York struggled last season keeping the puck out of their net, and after Tavares the goaltending situation is likely the biggest issue on the agenda for Lamoriello this summer. It’s now easy to make the connection between Trotz and Philipp Grubauer, the backup goaltender in Washington who is on the market after expressing that he wants a chance to start somewhere. It was Trotz who actually started the playoffs with Grubauer, believing in him as the Capitals’ best option in net ahead of a struggling Braden Holtby. While Holtby would eventually reclaim his starting role and lead the Capitals to a Stanley Cup win, Trotz obviously feels comfortable putting Grubauer out on a regular basis.

The Islanders do have a good nucleus to build around though, especially if Tavares returns for the next part of his career. Mathew Barzal showed that he can be an elite offensive producer in his first season, scoring 85 points while anchoring the second line and powerplay. The team has several solid options on the wing, and some good young defensemen in Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech. While there is certainly work to be done, Trotz is not walking into a disaster that needs a complete tear down.

The team has also secured a permanent home for the future, as they are expected to move into a new facility in Belmont Park for the 2021-22 season. While that is still a few years away, a summer where they bring in Lamoriello, Trotz and lock up Tavares would certainly be a step in the right direction for a franchise that has floundered without a real home or any stability for several years.

Edmonton Oilers Willing To Move 10th Overall Pick

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Though rumored for some time, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli confirmed that he has had discussions with teams about moving the tenth-overall pick in the upcoming draft. Nothing is imminent, but with the team missing the playoffs last season despite being in a win-now mode, it seems obvious that they would be willing to discuss acquiring some immediate help for future assets. Chiarelli also claimed that his team would select the “best player available” should they keep the pick, instead of targeting a certain position of need.

This all confirms what we’ve heard out of Edmonton for the last few weeks, as many have speculated that they’d be willing to move the pick. That draft position rarely gives you a player who can step into the lineup right away, something that the Oilers desperately need as they look to cash in on some of Connor McDavid’s prime years. Though the captain is only 21, he’ll already be the most expensive player in the league next season and is doing enough to expect the team to be real Stanley Cup contenders. The team needs more help up front and several bounce back seasons from key defensemen, or else they may waste another 100-point season from the two-time Ted Lindsay Award winner.

It’s not clear exactly what Edmonton would be after in a trade for their first-round pick. Though obviously scoring is a necessity, many have speculated on the need to add another right-handed puck-moving defenseman to the mix. Teams aren’t quick to give up those players though, as they remain some of the hardest to find in the entire league. Up front it depends on whether Chiarelli sees Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl as wingers or centers going forward, as both have played—and found tremendous success—alongside McDavid at times over the last two years.

The pick might be of interest to several teams looking to add youth to their group. There have been rumors of the Montreal Canadiens looking to trade down, but don’t really have the defensive assets that would interest Edmonton after moving Mikhail Sergachev last summer. A team like the Buffalo Sabres are involved in nearly every discussion about first-round picks, but most of the speculation around them centers on Ryan O’Reilly. Chiarelli said last season that it may not be wise to use a huge chunk of your assets on centers—at that point speaking about McDavid, Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins—making O’Reilly perhaps a bad candidate for trade.

Regardless of who is a perfect fit, you can bet almost every team would have interest in finding out how expensive the pick would be in terms of assets. Even teams closer to contention might find themselves in a position to trade up, especially if they have some burgeoning young players ready to take over at the NHL level.

There is also the question of Milan Lucic and the reports that the Oilers are trying to get out from under his hefty contract, but not as a pure cap dump. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Chiarelli seemed to indicate today that Lucic would be back for Edmonton next season with a new level of motivation, but nothing is certain at this point in the summer. That could easily be the Oilers’ GM trying to pump up an asset that he’s looking to trade, or perhaps he truly believes that Lucic can return to the 50-point winger that he has been for much of his career.

Either way, there are changes coming in Edmonton before the 2018-19 season begins. Whether it is enough to get them back into the playoffs is still yet to be seen, but Chiarelli is obviously doing everything he can to try and get back to contention.

Morning Notes: Trotz, Predators, Saints

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The future is still cloudy for reigning Stanley Cup Champion head coach Barry Trotz, as no one has a clear read on where he will go next. Trotz resigned from the Washington Capitals after the two sides couldn’t agree on a salary increase, and now there is rampant speculation that he will join the New York Islanders under Lou Lamoriello. Nothing under Lamoriello though is ever certain until a press release is given out—and even those can be misleading at times—which is why Arthur Staple of The Athletic (subscription required) can’t say for sure what’s about to happen.

Staple writes that some of his sources around the league believe Trotz has already agreed to come on board with the Islanders for what would likely be a five-year deal worth around $25MM, but knows Lamoriello well enough to not report any guarantees. Staple writes that there was “stony silence” on Wednesday from everyone involved. The Islanders fired head coach Doug Weight quickly after Lamoriello took control of the hockey operations, and are one of only two (including Washington) vacancies around the league.

*Moments after posting this, both Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the Islanders and Trotz were closing in on a deal.

  • The Nashville Predators have shuffled around some people in the organization, promoting Tom Nolan to Chief Amateur Scout in the wake of Jeff Kealty being bumped up from that position to Assistant General Manager. The team has also moved Stan Drulia from the coaching side of the Milwaukee Admirals to the scouting division within the Predators front office. All of these moves were caused by long-time AGM Paul Fenton accepting a role in Minnesota, allowing an opportunity to move everyone up a step on the executive ladder. Nolan has been credited with finding a ton of the Predators top players, with the team release naming Ryan Ellis, Kevin Fiala, Colton Sissons, Eeli Tolvanen, Viktor Arvidsson and Juuse Saros as players drafted as a direct result of his work. He’ll try again tomorrow night when the Predators will have to wait until the third round to make a selection.
  • The Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL have been purchased by a group of former and current NHL players and coaches. Names like Johnny Gaudreau, Zemgus Girgensons, Dan Bylsma and Peter Luukko have surfaced from the sale, a move that several other former players have done in various junior leagues around the world. Gaudreau played one season for the Saints in 2010-11, scoring 72 points in 60 games and winning the league championship before heading to Boston College.

Edmonton Oilers To Buy Out Eric Gryba

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We have our first buyout of the offseason, as the Edmonton Oilers have placed Eric Gryba on waivers for the purpose of buying out his contract. Gryba has just one year remaining on his deal worth $900K, meaning the Oilers will incur a cap charge of just $300K for each of the next two seasons. This move does bring a bit of confusion though, as playing in the minor leagues would take Gryba’s cap hit completely off the books as anything under $1.025MM is buried.

This move does save the Oilers $300K in real cash and opens up a contract spot, but is likely more of a favor to a player to allow him to pursue other opportunities. The team sent Gryba to the minor leagues last season where he spent much of the year, and it did not appear he was in their plans for this season. The 30-year old defenseman has 279 NHL games under his belt and could be an option for another team as a depth defenseman who can provide some physicality and penalty killing. There’s not a lot of upside to his game though, and it will be hard to find a full-time opportunity anywhere in the league.

The Oilers now have just over $1.6MM in cap charges from buyouts on the roster, following the expulsion of Benoit Pouliot last season. Though that’s not a debilitating amount, Edmonton is a team that needs every dollar it can get as they deal with the mega contracts for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Though this move does have some benefits, the team must be careful with their remaining cap space.

Kristers Gudlevskis Signs In KHL

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The New York Islanders have several free agent goaltenders this summer, and now one of them has left the North American ranks completely. Kristers Gudlevskis has signed with Dinamo Riga of the KHL, returning to the organization he played for as a junior.

Gudlevskis, 25, was acquired by the Islanders from the Tampa Bay Lightning last summer but struggled for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. The Latvian netminder recorded just an .897 save percentage and wasn’t given an opportunity in the NHL despite the struggles of the goaltenders there. Because of that lack of opportunity, both in New York and Tampa Bay, Gudlevskis qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer and could sign anywhere he chose.

The Islanders have the same problem with fellow minor league goaltender Christopher Gibson, who is a Group VI UFA himself. Jaroslav Halak is also set to hit the open market, leaving GM Lou Lamoriello an organizational void to fill. That might not be the worst problem to have though, as none of the Islanders goaltenders have been very good the last few years.

For Gudlevskis, it may not be the end of his North American career, but it certainly could be. With World Championship and Olympic experience under his belt, he should continue to be one of Latvia’s top options for international play and will try to prove his talent at the KHL level.

2018 NHL Awards Recap

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The NHL Awards were held Wednesday night and some interesting choices were made for the trophies. Below are the award winners, finalists and voting totals where applicable (via the PHWA unless otherwise noted):

Ted Lindsay Award – Most Outstanding Player (as voted by the players)

Winner: Connor McDavid (Oilers)
Runners-Up:  Taylor Hall (Devils), Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche)

Norris Trophy – Top Defenseman

Winner: Victor Hedman (Lightning)
Runners-Up:  Drew Doughty (Kings), P.K. Subban (Predators)

Full Voting Results

King Clancy Trophy – Humanitarian

Winners: Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin (Canucks)
Runners-Up: P.K. Subban (Predators), Jason Zucker (Wild)

Calder Trophy – Rookie Of The Year

Winner: Mathew Barzal (Islanders)
Runners-Up: Brock Boeser (Canucks), Clayton Keller (Coyotes)

Full Voting Results

Lady Byng Trophy – Most Gentlemanly Player

Winner: William Karlsson (Golden Knights)
Runners-Up: Aleksander Barkov (Panthers), Ryan O’Reilly (Sabres)

Full Voting Results

Bill Masterton Award – Perseverance, Sportsmanship, And Dedication

Winner: Brian Boyle (Devils)
Runners-Up: Jordan Staal (Hurricanes), Roberto Luongo (Panthers)

Selke Trophy – Best Defensive Forward

Winner: Anze Kopitar (Kings)
Runners-Up: Patrice Bergeron (Bruins), Sean Couturier (Flyers)

Full Voting Results

Jack Adams Award – Coach Of The Year

Winner: Gerard Gallant (Golden Knights)
Runners-Up: Jared Bednar (Avalanche), Bruce Cassidy (Bruins)

Full Voting Results (via Sean Leahy of NBC Sports)

Messier Leadership Award

Winner: Deryk Engelland (Golden Knights)
Runners-Up: Wayne Simmonds (Flyers), Blake Wheeler (Jets)

Vezina Trophy – Goaltender Of The Year

Winner: Pekka Rinne (Predators)
Runners-Up: Connor Hellebuyck (Jets), Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning)

Full Voting Results (via Leahy)

General Manager Of The Year

Winner: George McPhee (Golden Knights)
Runners-Up: Kevin Cheveldayoff (Jets), Steve Yzerman (Lightning)

Full Voting Results (via Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge)

Hart Trophy – Most Valuable Player

Winner: Taylor Hall (Devils)
Runners-Up: Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche), Anze Kopitar (Kings)

Full Voting Results

East Notes: Lindholm, Lehner, Johnson

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The Flames have expressed interest in Hurricanes center Elias Lindholm, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (video link).  He notes that the talks took place a couple of weeks ago and may not be on the front burner for the time being, however.  The 23-year-old has been a consistent secondary producer over the past four years for Carolina, notching between 39 and 45 points each season.  While he has mostly played down the middle, he has spent some time on the wing as well and Calgary head coach Bill Peters is certainly familiar with Lindholm’s game having coached him in Carolina until he resigned earlier this offseason.

In the meantime, LeBrun notes that the Hurricanes plan to resume contract talks with Lindholm’s agent in the coming days as he is slated to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights on July 1st.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • The Sabres may be considering non-tendering goaltender Robin Lehner next week, suggests Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 26-year-old is owed a $4MM qualifying offer which may be deemed too pricey for a player who posted a 3.01 GAA and a .908 SV% in 53 appearances this past season.  Instead, Buffalo appears to be ready to hand prospect Linus Ullmark a much bigger workload and Hoppe believes that GM Jason Botterill may look to trade for a second goaltender rather than pursue a replacement for Lehner in what is a relatively weak free agent market.
  • The Penguins have discussed the idea of pursuing pending Blue Jackets UFA defenseman Jack Johnson, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 31-year-old played with center Sidney Crosby back at Shattuck-St. Mary’s and remain close to this day.  GM Jim Rutherford is also familiar with Johnson having drafted him third overall back in 2005.  However, with the idea that he could get upwards of $6MM per year on his next contract, the team would certainly need to clear out a player or two to free up that type of money to bring Johnson into the fold.

Kings Undecided On Tobias Rieder’s Future

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The Kings have yet to decide if they are going to tender a $2.45MM qualifying offer to RFA winger Tobias Rieder, GM Rob Blake told Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider.  It appears that the final decision on what to do with him won’t come until right before the 4 PM CST deadline on June 25th:

“That’s going to come to a decision probably right before the period, whether we offer that qualifying offer or not – whether we change the look or acquire a player on our team or what we look like after the draft.  It’s kind of a holding pattern for us right now with him.”

Rieder was acquired from the Coyotes back in February as part of the return for backup goalie Darcy Kuemper.  However, he wasn’t particularly productive with his new team, posting just four goals and two assists in 20 regular season games while being held off the scoresheet in four postseason contests.  Looked at on its own, that type of production doesn’t justify a qualifying offer.

However, the 25-year-old has been more productive with Arizona previously.  While he wound up with just 25 points in 2017-18, he tallied 37 points back in 2015-16 and 34 in 2016-17.  Players with those types of numbers are worth that type of money which complicates things.  Was this past season a blip on the radar with an expectation that he’ll return to his previous form or a sign of things to come?  What Blake and the Kings ultimately decide to do will indicate which of those they believe to be true.

Even if they don’t qualify Rieder, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he won’t be back next season.  It is becoming an increasingly common practice for teams to non-tender arbitration-eligible players and then try to negotiate a new deal at a lower salary which is an avenue they could certainly consider.  If they are leaning towards going in that direction, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team try to shop him to see if someone else wants him first.  With the qualifying offer deadline now just a few days away, Rieder’s case is certainly one of the more intriguing ones left to watch for.

Latest On The Arizona Coyotes & Phil Kessel

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Part of Josh Yohe’s latest piece for The Athletic (subscription required) touched on the fact that Phil Kessel would be willing to play for the Arizona Coyotes due to his solid relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet. The problem, according to Yohe, was that the Coyotes are only looking to stay near the salary cap floor this season and had told the Penguins it likely wouldn’t be possible to take on Kessel’s salary. Now Arizona GM John Chayka wants to dispel any notion that he’d be stopped from going after Kessel because of financial reasons.

On Arizona Sports 98.7 today, Chayka sounded off about the report:

I’d like to know more about it, too. I think it’s terrible reporting. It’s inaccurate across the board from start to finish. I don’t know where some things come up. I’m the one having trade discussions, those discussions with the Penguins haven’t occurred. So unless someone else is making calls that I don’t know about, I’m not sure where his information is coming from.

I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but the basis of that reporting is not coming from anything tied to the Coyotes and certainly not anywhere close to factual.

Chayka by no means confirms that he is pursuing Kessel, but the fact that he reacted so strongly to the suggestion that the Coyotes are limited financially does make them an even more interesting team to follow this offseason. Arizona currently has around $57MM in salary obligations for next season, but that includes Dave Bolland’s contract that will be mostly covered by insurance and no real important restricted free agents to sign. If they had the full salary cap to spend, the Coyotes could go on a shopping spree in free agency and certainly afford to bring Kessel on board.

More likely though is that Arizona will sit somewhere in the bottom third of the league once again and could even be a landing spot for another bad contract at the draft. Similar to the way they took on Bolland and Pavel Datsyuk in the past, Chayka could use his cap space to take a contract like Marian Hossa’s off the books of Chicago in exchange for an asset.

It seems in this case as though a source was mistaken or perhaps was speculating on discussions between Pittsburgh and Arizona, though a trade between the two would likely benefit both. The Coyotes are looking to compete next season and could use another veteran star to support their young core, and the Penguins need to create some cap flexibility if they’re to do anything in free agency. Pittsburgh has several RFAs to get under contract, and currently less than $10MM in cap space to do it.

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