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Reactions to Alex Galchenyuk-Max Domi Trade

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The first big trade of the offseason hit the NHL Friday when the Montreal Canadiens sent forward Alex Galchenyuk to the Arizona Coyotes for youngster Max Domi in a rare one-for-one deal. For Montreal, the Canadiens finally move on from a forward, who failed in their experiment to move him to the center position and while they didn’t get a center in return for the 24 year old, they have high expectations for the 23-year-old Domi to step in at a cheaper price. For Arizona, this gives the team another established scorer to potentially pair with Derek Stepan and push Arizona out of the cellar in the Pacific Division.

Here’s a rundown from across the league:

  • While there is a lot we don’t know, The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that Galchenyuk was a valuable asset for Montreal, who put up a 30-goal season while playing center for the team and for reasons that will never entirely be clear, the team decided he couldn’t play that position again. Basu writes that Montreal needed a center desperately, but the team opted not to work with him, or build his confidence or let Galchenyuk know they believed in him. Instead, they did the opposite of that, pointing out his defensive deficiencies, especially publically. The scribe writes the Canadiens didn’t want to give him an opportunity last season to return to the center position, because they feared had he played well, it would make the organization look bad.
  • Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that despite failing to succeed in Montreal, the Arizona Coyotes are looking for Galchenyuk to play some center this coming season, potentially even taking the No. 2 center spot behind Derek Stepan. “I think having depth at that position and having players who can play that position is something that we desired in this trade,” said Coyotes general manager John Chayka Friday after the trade. “He’s had success playing the centre position. I don’t think we’d make this trade if we didn’t think he had the ability to play centre.”
  • TSN’s Frank Seravalli writes that the trading of Galchenyuk reminds him of a trade last year when the St. Louis Blues traded for Brayden Schenn and turned him into a full-time center. Back then people had said that Schenn couldn’t play the center position either, but St. Louis got a great season out of Schenn and he proved that he could play there. Seravalli writes that Arizona hopes they can get the same spark out of Galchenyuk this season.
  • AZ Sports’ Craig Morgan writes that Galchenyuk asked if he could move back to center earlier this season, but it never happened. He was told it wasn’t his job to worry about it and it was his job to produce whether as a winger or at center. Regardless, Galchenyuk wants to play center in Arizona. “You’re more involved in the game and I feel you touch the puck, you have the puck on your stick way more than a winger,” Galchenyuk said. “I feel really comfortable when I have the puck on my stick. I really believe in my offensive abilities when I have the puck.”
  • Cowan also reported that while general manager Marc Bergevin has a policy about not talking about contract negotiations, the GM says that he expects winger Max Pacioretty to be back with the team next season. Could an extension be near?
  • The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun writes that this trade should have no impact if Montreal attempts to acquire Buffalo center Ryan O’Reilly. The Sabres would have had no interest in Galchenyuk and would want a different mix of assets.
  • Basu writes that Bergevin used the word “intangibles” multiple times while discussing Domi and why the Canadiens are a better team today.
  • Cowan tweeted that Bergevin said that while Domi can play center, the team acquired him to play the wing position.

Toronto Notes: Keefe, Dubas, Draft, Greening

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While winning a Calder Cup championship historically bodes well for that AHL head coach, so far it doesn’t look like it will help Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe with getting an NHL gig.

Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that no NHL team has requested permission from the Maple Leafs to speak with Keefe. The 37-year-old highly-touted coach was on many teams list earlier this offseason when there were many coaching lists. He was rumored to have been on the candidate list for job openings in Dallas and the New York Rangers. However, most of the NHL coaching vacancies were already filled before his team finished their playoff run.

Now there are only two current NHL head coaching positions remaining and the Washington Capitals are technically already set as the team is expected to either re-sign Barry Trotz, who is a free agent, or promote assistant coach Todd Reirden. That leaves the New York Islanders, which seems like a good fit with former Maple Leafs Lou Lamoriello now in charge in New York. However, Lamoriello is well-known for keeping things to himself.

Keefe posted a 150-63-15 record in three seasons with the Toronto Marlies with two all-star appearances and two 54-win seasons in that span. Nine NHL coaches currently sport AHL titles, so it’s likely Keefe will get that opportunity at some point, but whether it will be this year might be another question.

  • Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said the team has made no definitive decisions on their unrestricted free agents, which include James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov amongst others, according to The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler. The scribe reports that Dubas is still in touch with their agents, but speculates that it sounds like nothing is in the works. Dubas also said that he expects that the success of the Marlies will have an effect on their outlook on free agency as many of those players will be in the mix for next year’s Maple Leafs’ roster.
  • While the perception is that Dubas has a draft history of trading down, the GM said he is more than willing to consider moving up in this draft, especially with all the assets the team has, according to The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel. “I think if there is an opportunity for us to add players that can help our team, we have the capital in draft choices to be able to do so,” Dubas said.
  • TSN’s Kristen Shilton reports that Colin Greening has chosen to re-sign with the Toronto Marlies as he has signed a one-year deal with the AHL franchise. The alternate captain of the Calder Cup champions opted to return to the team after posting 16 goals this season as a veteran presence for the team. After playing in 286 NHL games throughout his career, he has accepted his role as a veteran leader for the minor league franchise. He played a critical role in the Marlies’ playoff run, putting up four goals and nine points.

Offseason Keys: San Jose Sharks

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With the Stanley Cup now awarded, the offseason is now in full swing.  What storylines lie ahead around the league in the weeks to come?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the San Jose Sharks.

Rather than make a lot of changes following a first-round exit at the hands of the Oilers in 2017, the Sharks opted to bring the majority of the team back for another run.  That trust was rewarded as San Jose, bolstered by the addition of Evander Kane at the trade deadline, made it to the second round before being ousted by the upstart Golden Knights.  Now, GM Doug Wilson has to decide whether to follow the same playbook again this summer or to shake things up.  He already has dealt with one major offseason key with extending Kane; here are three more.

Extension Talks

Wilson has been a proponent of getting new contracts done early.  He got Kane signed before he hit the open market and last summer, he wasted no time inking goalie Martin Jones and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to long-term extensions.  Two more core players are now eligible to sign as of July 1st in center Joe Pavelski and center/winger Logan Couture and it stands to reason that the Sharks will be looking to repeat recent history with these two.

Pavelski is coming off his lowest point total since the lockout-shortened season.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that he still put up 66 points which is still quite good.  The 33-year-old is unquestionably San Jose’s top pivot and they have used him in all situations so he is someone they’re going to want to keep around.  What will make his extension talks a little more interesting is that he will be 35 when his next contract kicks in.  Will the Sharks go with a longer term in order to try to keep the cap hit a little lower or come in with a two- or three-year offer at a higher AAV?  At either rate, expect talks to begin sooner than later if they haven’t already and that his next contract will exceed his current $6MM cap charge.

As for Couture, it sounds like talks have already started and that the team is hopeful to get something done in these next few weeks leading up to the turn of the calendar.  While the Sharks have flip-flopped at times in terms of using him on the wing instead of down the middle, he has still been a very consistent player for them, averaging between 0.69 and 0.83 points per game over the last eight seasons.  Unlike Pavelski, the 29-year-old is young enough that a max-term deal (or close to one) is certainly going to be on the table and he should be in line for a raise on his current $6MM AAV.

New Deal For Hertl

Two years ago following a 46-point season, San Jose opted to give center/winger Tomas Hertl a bridge contract instead of a long-term pact.  Now, following another 46-point season, the Sharks have to give the 24-year-old another new deal.

In his five-year NHL career, Hertl has been a capable secondary scorer but has yet to really establish himself as a true top-line forward despite having some opportunities to do so.  Despite that, he’s still an important part of their core and is someone that they’d like to keep around for a while yet.

What’s interesting here is how this could go a couple of different ways.  If the Sharks want to be active in free agency (more on that shortly), they may want to go with a one-year deal for Hertl this summer to maximize their salary cap flexibility.  His qualifying offer checks in at $3.2MM.  On the other hand, the time is right for a long-term pact as he looks to be entering the prime of his career (or close to it).

Is Hertl the type of player to commit to long-term though?  We’re seeing a time where the top players get the big bucks and more and more cheaper players coming in to offset the higher salaries.  As a result, the middle class is getting the squeeze and that’s where Hertl fits in; he’s not a top-line player but is still a legitimate top-six forward.  Are they better off committing the better part of $5MM to a second-line player or following the recent trend of bringing in a lesser player to fill that spot in order to have more money to allocate for a top-liner?  They can defer that call by signing him short-term but it’s one they’ll need to make sooner than later.

Add A Top-Six Center

The Sharks have had strong depth down the middle in recent years.  Pavelski has succeeded as a number one, pending UFA Joe Thornton (when healthy) is still a strong playmaker, while Couture and Hertl have flipped between the wing and center.  That’s a strong group to work with but none of those players are under team control for much longer.  They’re in good shape for 2018-19 but after that, it could get iffy.

Assuming at least one of Couture or Pavelski signs an extension, that gives them a bit more security for one of their top-six roles.  Thornton is at best a stop-gap; he turns 39 next month so he’s not part of the long-term plans.   Even Pavelski is a shorter-term solution given his age when his next contract kicks in.  San Jose has one legitimate center prospect in the system in Josh Norris but he’s still several years away from being ready.

Accordingly, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wilson pursue more help down the middle either via free agency or trade.  They have the cap space to make a splash since the salary cap is expected to jump by several million for next season and doing so would give them high-end center depth for 2018-19 to make them more of a contender while giving them some more security at that position long-term.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Green, Sabres, Canadiens, Miller

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On top of being one of the teams that have shown interest in signing free agent winger Ilya Kovalchuk, the Red Wings also are interested in signing winger Thomas Vanek this summer, reports MLive’s Ansar Khan.  Vanek spent most of the 2016-17 season with Detroit and fared quite well, recording 15 goals and 23 assists in 48 games before being shipped as a rental to Florida at the trade deadline.  Vanek’s nomadic journey continued this past season and he could once again be in line for a one-year deal in free agency.

Khan adds that the Red Wings has their eyes set on a pair of goalies that are soon set to hit the open market in Carter Hutton (St. Louis) and Anton Khudobin (Boston).  Both netminders have shown that they are capable of handling more than the typical workload for a backup goalie which will come in handy given incumbent Jimmy Howard’s up-and-down performance over the last few years.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • In the same column, Khan provides the details for the contract offers that Detroit has on the table for pending UFA defenseman Mike Green. The Red Wings have pitched a one-year, $6MM offer which matches what he made in each of the past three years as well as a two-year, $10MM proposal.  Green is slated to be one of the more prominent defenders on the open market this summer and is expected to be fully recovered from the cervical spine surgery he had back in April.
  • Although there have been reports that the Sabres were expected to buy out winger Matt Moulson, Sabres GM Jason Botterill told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that the team does not have any interest in buying anyone out at the moment. Moulson has one year remaining on his contract with a $5MM cap hit and spent most of 2017-18 in the minors on loan to the Kings’ AHL affiliate in Ontario.  While a buyout would save Buffalo some cap room this season compared to putting him in the minors, it would also create a cap charge of nearly $667K on their books for 2019-20.  The Sabres have a lot of cap room at the moment so they may feel that they’re better off absorbing the higher cost for 2018-19 to get him off the books entirely instead of taking on the extra hit the following year.
  • Speaking with reporters to discuss Friday’s trade, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin stated (via Arpon Basu of The Athletic on Twitter) that they currently have no plans to buy anyone out. Montreal had several veterans that underachieved in 2017-18 but most are signed for at least the next two years which would make a buyout somewhat prohibitive long-term.
  • Tampa Bay has yet to begin contract talks with pending RFA forward J.T. Miller, reports Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link). Instead, it appears that discussions between the two sides will pick up at the draft.  The 25-year-old has wrapped up his bridge contract, is coming off of a career season offensively, and has arbitration rights which put him in line for a sizable raise from the Lightning on the $2.75MM he made in each of the last two years.

Buyout Candidate: Marian Gaborik

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Technically speaking, Senators winger Marian Gaborik was the centerpiece of the return the Senators received when they dealt defenseman Dion Phaneuf to the Kings back in February.  Of course, he wasn’t a typical centerpiece in that he was acquired strictly for financial reasons, not because they actually wanted to acquire him.  As a result, even though they just got him, he could very well be sent packing by Ottawa over the next two weeks.

It has been a rather drastic fall from grace for the 36-year-old in recent seasons.  After he played a key role in the Kings winning the Stanley Cup in 2014, Los Angeles signed him to a front-loaded seven-year contract, one that looked bad right at the start.

Since then, Gaborik has yet to play in 70 games in a single season and this past year spent a lot of time as a healthy scratch although he did fare a little better with Ottawa after the trade.  However, a part-time player that puts up around 20 points a year isn’t worth $4.875MM on the cap let alone for three more years which is how much time is left on his contract.

Because of the way the deal is structured, the sum of the combined cap hits over the next six years will actually exceed the salary that he’s owed over that time.  That would be a concern for some teams but the budget-conscious Senators aren’t one of those.  From the minute this trade was done, it looked like the sole motivation was getting out of as much of Phaneuf’s longer-termed contract as possible and that Gaborik was merely a sunk cost to accomplish that.  A buyout would represent lowering that sunk cost by just over $3.6MM (one-third of his remaining salary) of real money which to them matters a lot.

In the case of a lot of players who are buyout candidates, the idea of trading the player with the maximum 50% retention is an outside possibility.  While Ottawa will certainly explore that idea, it’s not exactly a palatable one because Gaborik has three years left.  There won’t be enough demand to justify trading for him at half price and carrying him for that long when they can just wait for the buyout and try to sign him to a one-year, incentive-laden deal a few weeks from now.  (As he’s 36, he is eligible to have incentives in his contract as long as he signs for a single season.)

Theoretically, Ottawa could wait a year to see if Gaborik could build on his late showing and have a good full season to see if there is any trade potential down the road and if not, buy him out in the summer of 2019.  However, because 2018-19 is the highest remaining salary of the remaining three years of the contract, their financial savings will wind up being about $1.5MM less if they went that route.  Realistically, they can find someone in free agency that can put up the 21 points that Gaborik has averaged over the past three years for that price or less so they may as well bite the bullet now if the plan is to buy him out before his contract expires.

Assuming this is the route that gets taken which seems inevitable at this point, it will be quite the precipitous drop for a player who was once regarded as one of the premier scorers in the league.  It will also look less than ideal for the Senators who will wind up effectively paying more than $11MM (Gaborik’s buyout cost in terms of real dollars plus what they are covering on Phaneuf’s contract as part of the trade) for the blueliner to not play for them.  That’s not a pretty picture no matter how one tries to paint it.

Canadiens Sign Max Domi To A Two-Year Contract

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The Canadiens didn’t waste much time getting a new deal done with forward Max Domi.  After acquiring him last night, the team announced that they have signed him to a two-year, $6.3MM contract.  TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (Twitter link) that the contract carries a base salary of $2.9MM plus a $250K signing bonus for each season.

The fact that he received a bridge deal doesn’t come as much of a surprise as he is coming off somewhat of a quiet season.  While he picked up 45 points, he failed to hit the double-digit goal mark for the second straight year so it wasn’t likely that Montreal was going to commit to a long-term pact right away without seeing how he’d fit in first.

It will be interesting to see how Domi slots in with the Canadiens.  The team is desperate for help at center but the 23-year-old has spent the majority of his three-year NHL career on the left wing although he did see some time down the middle in 2017-18.  If he gets to play there and succeeds, he’ll position himself nicely for a long-term pact two years from now.

Regardless of which position he plays, the team will certainly be counting on more goal production from him after tallying just nine times in each of the last two years.  On a team that struggles to score as much as Montreal does, the fact that they moved a goal scorer in Alex Galchenyuk for someone who is more of a pure playmaker certainly raised some eyebrows.

Domi will be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of this deal and will have arbitration rights, something that he was not eligible for this time around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Focus: Los Angeles Kings

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Free agency is now less 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 Los Angeles’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Tobias Rieder – The Kings added the speedy winger back in February in the hopes that a change of scenery would rejuvenate him after he started to struggle with Arizona.  That didn’t happen as he wound up collecting just six points in 20 games while seeing his playing time dip to under 13 minutes per game.

That all said, the 25-year-old has scored at least a dozen goals in each of his four full NHL seasons and has the versatility to play both wings while also being good enough to log time on the penalty kill.  He’s a useful depth player to have that can move up when injuries arise.

The big question here is whether the Kings have seen enough to give him a qualifying offer.  The back-loaded nature of his bridge deal means that his qualifying offer checks in at $2.45MM.  For a team that doesn’t have a lot of roster or salary cap flexibility (more on that later), non-tendering Rieder would give them a bit more flexibility to work with this summer.  He’s the lone NHL restricted free agent they have to deal with and a decision could come down to the wire before the tender deadline on June 25th.

Other RFAs: F Justin Auger, D Paul LaDue, D Alex Lintuniemi, D Kurtis MacDermid, D Jordan Subban

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Torrey Mitchell – Another midseason acquisition, Mitchell was brought in to win faceoffs and kill penalties from the fourth line.  He wasn’t as successful at the dot as he had been in recent years but he took a regular turn on the penalty kill and chipped in with 11 points in 49 games.  He’s someone Los Angeles could look to bring back in a similar depth role although he’d need to take a pay cut from the $1.3MM salary he received in 2017-18.

D Christian Folin – Folin’s first season away from Minnesota was his best.  He set career highs in games played (65) and points (13) while logging 15:39 per game, an uptick over his time with the Wild.  He’s a depth defender who is best served in a sixth/seventh role but he’s still young enough (25) that teams will take a chance on him while it helps that he plays on the right side.  The Kings could choose to bring him back to play the same role but if they don’t, he should be able to land a one-way contract again this offseason.

Other UFAs: F Andrew Crescenzi, D Kevin Gravel, F Michael Mersch, G Scott Wedgewood

Projected Cap Space: With 20 players under contract already for next season, the roster is pretty close to full.  Accordingly, the Kings have the most money committed for 2018-19 at just over $71MM, per CapFriendly.  A new deal for Rieder if they keep him would likely put them over $74MM and give them enough space to add a mid-tier free agent assuming the salary cap goes up a few million as expected.  If they non-tender him though, they may have enough to go after one of the more prominent UFAs (or go after an established top-six forward in a trade).  It will be a quiet offseason in Los Angeles but they should have at least one move in them.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Central Notes: Hutton, Brodziak, Blackhawks

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While the Blues have held contract talks with pending UFA goaltender Carter Hutton, GM Doug Armstrong told Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the two sides are not close to an agreement and that the netminder is intent on seeing what options are available to him on the open market.  Hutton was the league leader in save percentage (.931) and goals against average (2.09) among qualifying goaltenders and has positioned himself to have a lot of suitors in free agency.  Armstrong acknowledged that neither side has ruled out Hutton returning once he gets a sense of what other teams are offering.

More from the Central:

  • Also from Gordon’s piece, the Blues have also been in contract talks with pending UFA center Kyle Brodziak. The 34-year-old is coming off of his best season points-wise since 2010-11 after he posted 10 goals and 23 assists in 81 games while also winning a career-best 52.1% of his faceoffs.  That type of production may garner some interest in him as a third-liner which would have him well-positioned for a nice raise on the $900K salary ($950K cap hit) he had this past season.
  • The Blackhawks would like to move the 27th overall selection in next week’s draft for a player that can come in and help the team now, reports Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. The pick was originally acquired back at the trade deadline from Nashville in exchange for winger Ryan Hartman.  Although Chicago missed the playoffs, they are still in win-now mode with several big contracts on the books so going for a rebuild doesn’t seem likely at this point.  If they do keep the pick, Lazerus notes that the team likes Drummondville defenseman Nicolas Beaudin who is currently pegged as a late first or early second-round selection.

Coyotes Acquire Alex Galchenyuk From Canadiens For Max Domi

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The first big trade of the 2018 off-season has dropped and to no surprise, the Arizona Coyotes are right in the middle of it. After making two minor deals on Thursday, Arizona GM John Chayka has made a much bigger trade, acquiring forward Alex Galchenyuk from the Montreal Canadiens. In return, Max Domi is headed to Montreal in a one-for-one swap. Both teams have confirmed the deal.

This trade is very much about both players getting a fresh start. Both Galchenyuk and Domi have been discussed as trade candidates this off-season and now they have been traded for one another. They are also similar in their struggles with both consistency and injury. Galchenyuk, the third overall pick in 2012, has shown flashes of brilliance but has yet to put it all together to reach his ceiling. Galchenyuk has 255 points in 418 NHL games, by no means a disappointing total, and even notched a 30-goal season in 2015-16. However, his scoring has been streaky and when he is not producing offense, his lack of a two-way defense game and difficulties at the face-off dot have become glaring. Under head coach Claude Julien, Galchenyuk struggled to find a defined role and lost play time as a result. On the other side of the deal is Domi, the 12th overall pick in 2013. After a breakout rookie campaign, Domi has been unable to produce at the same level the past two seasons. Altogether, he has 135 points in 222 games, but has failed to hit double-digit goals in each of the past two years and has also lost some of his two-way edge he displayed in year one. Like Galchenyuk, Domi’s issues at the dot and in playing a consistent well-rounded game had caused the Coyotes to question where he fit in their lineup.

The trade is even in many ways. The two players are almost identical in per-game scoring albeit Galchenyuk has done it over more seasons and clearly has a superior goal-scoring touch. Galchenyuk has a higher ceiling as an offensive producer but, while neither plays much of a physical game, Domi has shown a superior two-way ability and has been leaned on to play a bigger role in Arizona that Galchenyuk was ever asked of in Montreal. The deal is actually almost too similar, as both players get a much-need change, but both teams end up with the same type of player with positional questions and consistency issues. There is upside on both ends, but also bust potential for either acquisition. It is very much a gamble for both the Coyotes and Canadiens that their new player will somehow find their game in a way that the old player couldn’t. Both players are obviously talented, but need some work to reach their vast potential.

The only real significant difference in the deal could be a slight reprieve on the salary cap for Montreal. Galchenyuk is signed through 2019-20 at $4.9MM, while Domi is an impending restricted free agent who is unlikely to command that much given his recent struggles. While Galchenyuk will be an unrestricted free agent when his deal expires and could command market value, Domi is under team control for four more years. We will soon find out exactly how much the Canadiens value their new forward, as TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the team is already close on a new contract with Domi, indicating that this trade has been in the works for some time. LeBrun speculates that it will be a bridge deal; a reasonable assumption for a brand new player with some concerns to work through.

Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag

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The 2018 NHL Entry Draft is less than two weeks away, and things are heating up in the rumor mill. Mike Hoffman is expected to be traded at some point in the near future, while Jeff Skinner has been on the edge of the block for weeks. There will likely be plenty of movement leading up to the moment the Buffalo Sabres read out Rasmus Dahlin’s name on June 22nd, and we’re excited to cover it.

With more and more people checking in with PHR for all their NHL news and analysis, we’d like to ask you to submit some questions for the next edition of the #PHRMailbag. Your questions will be answered this weekend and can cover any topic from the draft to free agency to the offseason trade market. Submit them using the hashtag #PHRMailbag on Twitter, or by commenting down below.

You can read our last mailbag right here, where our very own Brian La Rose explained why he felt Carolina would be going with Andrei Svechnikov at #2. The Hurricanes have since confirmed their intention to take the big Russian winger. He also examined the Edmonton Oilers and suggested a swap of bad contracts, before the news surfaced that the team was looking to move Milan Lucic’s deal one way or another. Submit multiple questions if you’d like, and we’ll try to get to them all!

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