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Archives for July 2018

Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes Complete Seven-Player Trade

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Marian Hossa won’t be playing in the NHL this season (or likely ever again), but his contract is still on the books for the Chicago Blackhawks. Though they can place it on long-term injured reserve to get some cap relief, doing so still complicates things for a team that is always pushing right against the cap ceiling. Because of this there has been plenty of speculation about the team moving out Hossa’s deal to a team closer to the salary cap floor, and that team is the Arizona Coyotes. The Blackhawks have sent Hossa, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle and a 2019 third-round pick to the Coyotes in exchange for Marcus Kruger, Andrew Campbell, MacKenzie Entwistle, Jordan Maletta and a 2019 fifth-round pick.

This isn’t the first time the Coyotes have done something like this, as they previously took on Pavel Datsyuk’s contract after he returned to Russia, Chris Pronger’s deal after he was forced out of the game by injury, and still have Dave Bolland on the roster despite him never playing a game in Arizona.

Hossa, 39, has three years remaining on the 12-year, $63.3MM contract he signed in 2009, but is actually only owed $3MM in salary due to the front-loaded nature of the deal. That cap hit hurts for the Blackhawks, as Hossa isn’t able to play due to a skin condition that has worsened over his career and forced him into retirement after the 2016-17 season. For Arizona though it wouldn’t have much impact as the team isn’t expected to push all the way up to the cap ceiling this year. For the low cost of covering whatever insurance won’t of the $3MM (CapFriendly reports the deal is 80% insured), they will add assets that could pay off quickly as they try to rebuild the franchise and make it back to the playoffs.

Hinostroza and Oesterle are both useful players who showed last season that there may be more to their skill set than previously believed. The former is a sixth-round pick who has turned into a legitimate NHL offensive threat—Hinostroza scored 25 points in 50 games last season despite relatively limited minutes—and recently signed a two-year contract that will pay him a total of $3MM. He’ll still be a restricted free agent at the contract’s end, and should fit in nicely on a young Arizona roster that wants to play with speed and skill.

The latter, Oesterle, found new life in his career when he debuted in Chicago. Quickly ascending to the top pair alongside Duncan Keith, the undrafted defenseman ended up with 15 points in 55 games and excellent possession statistics. Whether he’ll find that kind of success in Arizona isn’t clear—Oesterle struggled to find playing time on the Edmonton Oilers through the first part of his career—but at the very worst he’s an extremely cheap depth option for the Coyotes. The 26-year old will earn the league minimum of $650K this season before hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent next summer.

For Chicago, getting anything of value back in a trade like this is a positive. The team has cleared Hossa’s contract off the books while bringing back a familiar face in Kruger, who was part of the team’s last two Stanley Cup victories and had the best seasons of his career in a Blackhawks uniform. Dealing with injury last season he struggled mightily for the Carolina Hurricanes and was eventually sent to the minor leagues. The Blackhawks will hope that’s not the story this year, as he’s still carrying a cap hit of almost $3.1MM.

Maletta and Campbell will more than likely spend the entire 2018-19 season in the minor leagues and aren’t expected to make an impact at any point in the NHL, but Entwistle could be a different story. The 2017 third-round pick is a big lanky winger that played down in the Hamilton Bulldogs lineup this year but made quite an impact in the OHL playoffs. Once a very intriguing prospect the shine has come off him somewhat in the last year, but there’s no telling what he could become at this point. He’ll turn 19 in a few days and will play next season again in the OHL.

There will be obvious speculation surrounding the Blackhawks now that they’ve cleared some cap room, as the team now projects to have $9.3MM in free space for next season. While CapFriendly’s estimate of that number only includes nine forwards and six defensemen, there is obviously room for the team to add some bigger names over the next few months. The team has been linked in the past to potential scoring threats like Jeff Skinner and Max Pacioretty, but will still have to spend their assets carefully in any trade. The team can’t afford to get into any more long-term contracts for aging players if they want to compete down the road, but they do want to give the team a chance at the playoffs this year. You can bet that GM Stan Bowman is still working the phones trying to use that cap space on something, and there isn’t much left on the free agent market that could help the Blackhawks.

Dallas Stars Re-Sign Philippe Desrosiers

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The Dallas Stars have re-signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Philippe Desrosiers to a one-year two-way contract according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Desrosiers will earn $715K at the NHL level. The 22-year old goaltender was ineligible for salary arbitration this summer, and will be a restricted free agent again at the end of the contract.

Desrosiers was originally selected in the second round of the 2013 draft, but found his first real sustained success this season in the minor leagues. Playing for the ECHL Idaho Steelheads, the young goaltender went 23-9-1 with a .913 save percentage and performed even more impressively in the Kelly Cup playoffs. Even though the Steelheads would be swept in the second round by the eventual champion Colorado Eagles, Desrosiers put up a .934 save percentage in ten games and even collected a pair of assists. In two AHL games, he stopped 25 of 26 shots.

With Mike McKenna now in the Ottawa Senators organization, Desrosiers should get a bigger opportunity in the AHL this season and try to stake a claim to the starting role before other prospects like Jake Oettinger and Colton Point overtake him. While Dallas continues to use Ben Bishop and now Anton Khudobin at the NHL level, there are several young goaltenders who will be maturing in the system ready to take over when needed.

Reece Willcox Re-Signs With Philadelphia Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed Reece Willcox to a two-year two-way contract, keeping the 24-year old defenseman in the organization. Willcox was a restricted free agent that did not file for salary arbitration this summer.

This is a depth move for the Flyers as it seems unlikely that Willcox will be ready to contribute at the NHL level any time soon, but one that does strengthen the blue line for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After coming out of Cornell University in 2016, the 6’4″ Willcox has developed into a capable minor league player and one that helps fill in some of the gaps on the right side. The Flyers have several young defensemen ready to make the jump including Philippe Myers, whose ascension to the NHL would leave a hole on the Lehigh Valley blue line whenever it happens. Willcox will help mitigate that loss, though they are obviously not the same caliber of prospect.

At the end of these two years Willcox will presumably be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency, unless he is given 80 games in the NHL during that time. The 2012 fifth-round pick is also still waiver exempt, meaning he can go right to the AHL without incident after training camp in a few months.

Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Sean Malone

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The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed Sean Malone to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a $788K salary at the NHL level. Malone was a restricted free agent after finishing his entry-level contract and did not qualify for salary arbitration.

Malone, 23, was originally drafted in 2013 but spent four seasons at Harvard before joining the Sabres organization. After making his NHL debut at the end of the 2016-17 season, he spent last year with the Rochester Americans of the AHL where he recorded 22 points in 73 games. The two-way center struggled at times on an Americans team that relied on some more veteran players down the middle, but should return to Rochester and play an even bigger role next season.

The one year deal will keep Malone a restricted free agent next summer, and in the Buffalo system going forward. Though there isn’t a huge ceiling for the sixth-round pick, he does represent a legitimate depth option for the NHL squad going forward. Perhaps he’ll never be a full-time player, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him in the NHL at some point due to injury or other problems for the Sabres.

Winnipeg Jets Sign Connor Hellebuyck To Six-Year Contract

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One of the most important restricted free agents this summer for the Winnipeg Jets was goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who broke out last season and helped carry the team deep into the playoffs. Hellebuyck has been signed to a six-year, $37MM contract ($6.167MM AAV) that will keep him in Winnipeg through the 2023-24 season.

The 25-year old goaltender completely revamped his offseason training a year ago, and it paid off with huge dividends for the Jets in the 2017-18 season. Registering a .924 save percentage and finishing second in Vezina voting as the league’s best goaltender, Hellebuyck’s play changed the entire plan in net for Winnipeg going forward. Last summer they had signed Steve Mason to a two-year $8.2MM contract in order to help solidify a position that they’d struggled with for years, and still had Michael Hutchinson waiting in the minor leagues for another opportunity. Now Hutchinson is off in Florida, Mason’s deal was traded and then bought out, and Hellebuyck is the goaltender of the present and the future for Winnipeg.

Hellebuyck’s success may not come as a surprise to those who have watched him for years. Unranked among North American goaltenders heading into the 2012 draft he was selected in the fifth round by the Jets as the first of two goaltenders they picked that year—Jamie Phillips, who recently signed an AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers followed two rounds later. Hellebuyck immediately found success at the NCAA level, posting a 20-3 record for UMass-Lowell with a .952 save percentage. Despite his outstanding season the Jets still reached for a goaltender early in the 2013 draft, selecting Eric Comrie in the second round. Hellebuyck was still raw after all, and though he had all the size needed there were some that questioned whether his ability would continue at the next level.

After another great season in college, Hellebuyck jumped to the minor league ranks and again showed that he could dominate at that level. In two seasons in the AHL, he posted .921 and .922 save percentages and forced his way onto the NHL roster. Even then he’d start quickly, posting a .932 save percentage in his first ten NHL games including a shutout against the Pittsburgh Penguins in start #9. He looked like a future star even then, though perception swung on him in 2016-17.

Hellebuyck struggled for the Jets in that season, posting a .907 in 56 games and being a big part of why the team failed to reach the postseason. He faced real inconsistency for the first time and it wasn’t clear where his future was heading in Winnipeg. The Jets had never been able to find very reliable goaltending, and Hellebuyck looked like another candidate to disappoint. Not so fast though, as he bounced back and became one of the league’s elite starters this past season and is now being rewarded for his work. His new contract puts him among the upper group in the NHL goaltending fraternity, though still well behind established stars like Carey Price ($10.5MM AAV) and Henrik Lundqvist ($8.5MM AAV). Sergei Bobrovsky, who already carries a $7.425MM cap hit will likely push Price as the highest paid goaltender in the league on his upcoming contract, making Hellebuyck look like an even bigger bargain if he can continue to play like he did this season.

That’s the question for the Jets as they look to go deep in the playoffs once again. Without Mason or Hutchinson in the fold, the team brought in Laurent Brossoit as a potential backup for Hutchinson next year. Brossoit is not at a level where he can be expected to carry a contending team, meaning any struggles or injury from Hellebuyck would be devastating for the team. Comrie is still in the system but hasn’t developed as quickly as Hellebuyck, and can’t be relied upon at this point to make an impact at the NHL level.

The Jets have plenty of deals to work out as they lead the league in restricted free agents, but moving forward they should be expected to find a more stable backup for their star goaltender. Perhaps they believe Comrie or Brossoit can be that, but after investing so much in Hellebuyck with this contract they need to find some protection for him and a netminder they can reliably use to give him some rest. Hellebuyck played in 84 games (regular season and playoffs combined) last year, and may have to suit up a similar number in 2018-19.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Montreal Canadiens Invite Simon Despres To Training Camp

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The Montreal Canadiens will take a chance on a former top prospect, as they have signed Simon Despres to a professional tryout and invited him to their training camp. Despres played last season in the KHL, but indicated he would like another chance at an NHL career at some point. That chance is now, and the Canadiens may represent his best option while they deal with an injury to Shea Weber and need defensive depth.

Despres, 26, is from nearby Laval and is a worthwhile gamble for Montreal after recording 11 points in 44 games for Bratislava Slovan. Though he didn’t end up making the cut for the Canadian Olympic team, he did play some international games during the season and effectively proved his health on the ice. That health will obviously be the biggest factor in any potential NHL return, but the former QMJHL Defenseman of the Year was highly regarded in the early part of his career as a shutdown defender who used his long reach and good positioning to stifle offenses in his own end.

The Canadiens have already brought in other depth options like Xavier Ouellet and Mike Reilly over the last few months and could get a bigger contribution from Noah Juulsen this season, but are still looking for any way to upgrade their blue line after a disastrous 2017-18. With Weber missing a good chunk of last season, the team struggled at both even-strength and on the penalty kill. Despres doesn’t exactly fit their need of a puck-moving option, but if he can show he’s healthy enough to contribute the team could certainly use the depth.

Free Agent Profile: Dan Hamhuis

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With Rick Nash’s playing future in jeopardy, defenseman Dan Hamhuis is the highest-rated player on our Top 50 UFA list.  The veteran has been a stable defender for quite a few years so why is he still on the open market?

Last season, Hamhuis logged over 20 minutes per night for Dallas while chipping in more than usual offensively with 24 points in 80 games, his highest output since 2012-13.  While his days of being a top pairing player that can be used in any situation have come and gone, he should still be able to carry a third pairing and move up when injuries strike.  That’s still a pretty useful part of any defense corps.

One area that hasn’t fallen off over the years is his penalty killing.  He is still someone that can play on a top group and really anchor that unit.  Special teams are obviously a big part of the game so finding someone that can impact a penalty kill unit as much as he can at this stage of free agency isn’t something that happens very often.

One element that could be making teams a little wary is the fact that Hamhuis is now 35 which makes a multi-year offer a little bit more of a risk as it would qualify for 35+ status.  (This locks in the cap hit even if he is sent to the minors, retires, or is bought out.)  It wouldn’t be surprising to see Hamhuis seeking a multi-year commitment giving the year he just had but that doesn’t appear to be something teams are open to, at least for now.

Potential Suitors

Teams that are rebuilding or have outside chances of making the playoffs aren’t likely to have interest in Hamhuis.  He’s best served as a role player on a contender that can move up the lineup from time to time as needed.

Last week, Hamhuis indicated that Dallas wasn’t interested in re-signing him as they were saving up for a big-name acquisition.  With John Tavares now gone to Toronto, they could certainly try to circle back to see if they can come to terms on a deal to keep him around.  Chicago’s movement this summer suggests they believe they still have one more run left in them and Hamhuis would certainly represent an upgrade on their third pairing.  Nashville could also use some insurance beyond their big four and going there would bring his career full circle as they originally drafted him in the first round back in 2001.

Out East, Washington makes a lot of sense to give them another penalty killer that can also help shelter their younger players on the third pairing.  The Devils would undoubtedly like to add another top-four player to their back end but if they can’t do so, Hamhuis would still be a decent consolation prize.  Toronto’s strength in depth is on the left side but the veteran could still fill a role with them as well but he probably would have to be willing to take a one-year deal for that to become an option.

Projected Contract

Before free agency, we projected a two-year, $6MM deal for Hamhuis.  For someone capable of playing 20 minutes per game (or close to it), that AAV is a bargain but his age is clearly working against him to some degree.  A contract like that is still certainly a possibility but the closer this drags out towards training camp, he may have to settle for a one-year pact instead.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Edmundson, Gionta, Giroux

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After being active in the early stages of free agency, the Blues will be turning their focus to re-signing their own players now.  The most notable of those is RFA defenseman Joel Edmundson.  GM Doug Armstrong told reporters, including Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, that they have had initial talks with him so far but plan to really pick up negotiations next week.

Edmundson is coming off of the best season of his brief career, one that saw him collect seven goals and ten assists in 69 games while averaging over 20 minutes per game for the first time.  He also led the Blues in blocked shots per game.  Edmundson filed for arbitration last week and his case has been set for July 25th which gives the two sides two weeks to hammer out a deal before going to the hearing.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Veteran unrestricted free agent winger Brian Gionta hasn’t decided whether he’s finished playing or not, he acknowledged during an interview with the NHL Network (video link). He sat out most of last season but played in the Olympics and then signed with Boston for the stretch run but was told that they would not be offering him a new contract this summer.  He’s certainly at peace with having possibly playing his last game, stating that “The main focus right now is my family, my kids and trying to figure out what’s best for everyone involved. I’ve had a great run, playing a long time in the NHL, and if this is the end, it’s the end.”  If he does retire, Gionta could potentially get into coaching, something he dipped his toes into briefly last month as he served as a guest coach at Buffalo’s development camp.
  • After being unable to land a replacement for center Valtteri Filppula via free agency, the Flyers could be forced to shift Claude Giroux back to his former position, notes John Boruk of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Giroux flourished last season as a winger where he led the league in assists with 68 and finished second in points with 102.  However, considering that they have strong depth on the wing, shifting the 30-year-old back down the middle would allow them to run a much more balanced attack next season.  With the free agent market for centers largely dry, it will be interesting to see if GM Ron Hextall makes a trade for some insurance at center or if he opts to stick with the status quo and opens up the potential for Giroux to change positions again.

Canucks Have Held Preliminary Extension Discussions With Brock Boeser

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The Canucks have been discussing a contract extension with winger Brock Boeser, GM Jim Benning acknowledged to Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma.  However, talks have yet to advance past the preliminary stage although Benning expects that to change in the coming weeks, stating that:

“I talked to his agent this past week and we’ll have more time in the next couple of weeks to talk about it internally and then hear from their side.  If we’re going to do something, we’d do it then.  We’ll see where they’re at and where we’re at and see if something works.”

Boeser has fully recovered from back and wrist injuries that prematurely ended his season.  Before being shut down, the 21-year-old was in the midst of a strong year, posting 29 goals and 26 assists in just 62 games to lead Vancouver in scoring which is pretty good for someone in their first professional season.

That lack of overall NHL experience (totalling 71 games which includes a brief post-college stint in 2016-17) makes this a particularly interesting case to follow.  Generally, players that are signing early extensions while still on their entry-level deals have two full years of NHL experience under their belts; Boeser has yet to play a full season worth of games.

Despite that, it’s certainly understandable that the Canucks are at least looking into an extension with their young sniper.  Boeser has been touted as a top prospect since being drafted in the first round three years ago and had been expected to be a key part of their future.  Not many were expecting him to be a top-liner so quickly but it’s reasonable to think that this level of production will continue (if not improve) in the coming years.

As for what Boeser may be looking for, it’s likely that he’ll be looking at teammate Bo Horvat’s six-year, $33MM deal that was signed last September as a baseline.  While Horvat had three full NHL seasons under his belt at that time, none of them were as productive as Boeser’s 2017-18 performance.  If Boeser is indeed open to signing now, his next contract is probably going to be pretty close to Horvat’s as otherwise, he may as well just play out the 2018-19 campaign and hope to head to restricted free agency with even more leverage for a bigger deal next summer.

With two restricted free agents left to re-sign (including defenseman Troy Stecher who filed for arbitration), this is something that can be put on the backburner for now but a new deal for Boeser will be something to keep an eye on later this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Who Has Had The Worst Offseason So Far?

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The free agent market is nearly completely dry—though there remains a few bargain additions who could provide some value on defense—and many teams have already blown their cap space for next season. The trade market has already seen most of its action, and though Erik Karlsson and Max Pacioretty are still expected to be moved there may not be many improvements left to be made for the majority of the league.

Yesterday we asked which team had improved the most through the first part of the offseason, and the answer was clear among our readers. More than 31% of the vote went to the St. Louis Blues, with the Toronto Maple Leafs coming in with 24% as well. No other team registered even 7%, while Nashville was the only team who didn’t receive a single vote. Today we ask the opposite: who has had the worst offseason so far?

The first reaction may be to look at where the Blues and Maple Leafs acquired their biggest additions. St. Louis signed David Perron and Tyler Bozak out of Vegas and Toronto respectively, but made the most significant change by trading for Ryan O’Reilly from the Buffalo Sabres. The Blues clearly improved for next season in the deal, but it’s hard to write off what the Sabres got in return. The two franchises are at very different stages in their competitive windows, and while Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka were overpaid, underperforming players for St. Louis, they are also substantial improvements to the bottom-six for the Sabres.

For Toronto, their only real big move has come at the hands of the New York Islanders. John Tavares left the only team he’s ever known to return to the place he grew up, and no franchise would be able to immediately fill the hole left by a franchise center. The Islanders though have tried to fill it with several players, inking a number of depth forwards in an attempt to spread out some of the load next season. Toronto themselves lost a lot in free agency, seeing Bozak and James van Riemsdyk head to new locales. They’ll be just fine with their summer thanks to the addition of Tavares, but it didn’t come without a cost.

There are plenty of teams who made almost no splash at all when free agency opened. The New Jersey Devils tried but failed to add to their forward group, while the San Jose Sharks didn’t add a single unrestricted free agent outside of Joe Thornton and Dylan DeMelo, both of whom are returning to the team they’ve played on for years. Then there are the teams who found themselves selling instead of buying. The Ottawa Senators have dealt with scandal after scandal the past few months, and ended up having to move out Mike Hoffman at a discount and now may move their franchise defenseman before the season begins. The Montreal Canadiens swapped out Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi, but were also told that Paul Byron, Andrew Shaw and Shea Weber would all likely miss the start of the season—the latter in danger of missing much more.

Cast your vote below on who you believe has had the worst offseason so far, taking into account all that has happened since the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Washington Capitals. Make sure to explain your reasoning in the comment section below.

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