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Archives for July 2018

Arizona Coyotes Re-Sign Brad Richardson

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It seemed as though there was no room for Brad Richardson on the Arizona Coyotes after they traded for Marcus Kruger and Alex Galchenyuk, but the team has nevertheless signed the veteran center to a two-year contract according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.25MM.

Richardson, 33, is well liked in Arizona for his willingness to do whatever it takes on the ice and played a strong bottom-six center role for the team last season. With the expectation that young Dylan Strome makes the team full-time, there may need to be a switch for Richardson to the wing this season, something that shouldn’t really reduce his effectiveness as a checking option and penalty killer. He will still likely be asked to take a ton of faceoffs as he did a year ago, easily posting the best winning percentage among Arizona forwards at 52.1%. That’s actually slightly below his career average, and a number that even Kruger—also known for his defensive abilities—has failed to reach on many occasions.

For $1.25MM this deal presents very little risk for the Coyotes, who add a quality NHL player for a little more than what can be buried in the minor leagues. Though Arizona rarely flirts with the salary cap ceiling, they can certainly afford to pay one of their veteran leaders a little less than $1.5MM for the next couple of seasons. If Richardson could ever post another season like his 2015-16, in which he scored 11 goals and 31 points, his contract would look like an incredible bargain.

Washington Capitals Re-Sign Riley Barber

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The Washington Capitals have re-signed Riley Barber to a one-year, two-way contract that will pay him $650K at the NHL level. Barber is coming off his entry-level contract and was a restricted free agent, but will forgo any more negotiation and start working on trying to crack the Capitals next season.

Barber, 24, put up his second 20-goal campaign with the Hershey Bears in 2017-18, registering 38 points in 60 games. The former Miami University (Ohio) standout has developed into a key piece for the AHL Bears, and could play a part for the Capitals at some point as a depth forward. Most people will remember Barber from his days with USA Hockey, winning gold at the U18 Worlds before captaining the gold-medal winning 2014 World Junior team that included names like Jack Eichel, Will Butcher, Jaccob Slavin and Brady Skjei.

A sixth-round pick of Washington in 2012, Barber is at worst an excellent player for the Capitals at the minor league level and at best a bottom-six forward for the minimum salary. He did play three games for the team in the 2016-17 season, but will have to fight and claw to get back to the NHL at this point.

Boston Bruins Re-Sign Sean Kuraly To Three-Year Deal

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The Boston Bruins have announced the signing of restricted free agent Sean Kuraly to a three-year contract that will carry a cap hit of $1.275MM. Kuraly was given a qualifying offer last week and was eligible for arbitration, but will instead re-sign for the next three seasons. The team also formally announced the one-year two-way contract for Anton Blidh, which will carry a $650K cap hit in the NHL.

Kuraly, 25, played his first full season for the Bruins in 2017-18, recording 14 points in 75 games. Though that offensive output isn’t very inspiring, Kuraly did provide a reliable physical presence at the fourth-line center position and chipped in on the penalty kill. His possession numbers are skewed by the fact that Bruce Cassidy used him in an almost exclusively defensive role, giving him more than 70% of his zone starts in his own end.  For such a tough role Kuraly actually performed admirably, something he’ll likely be asked to do again next season.

After losing Riley Nash in free agency, the Bruins needed to keep the rest of their center depth in tact this summer and signing Kuraly is a big part of that since the team only signed Chris Wagner to replenish the position. It’s not clear how the lines will shake out, or if some of Boston’s young players will make the roster, but at this point Kuraly seems locked in for somewhere between 12-14 minutes a night while taking plenty of defensive draws for the Bruins in 2018-19.

Washington Capitals Interested In Brooks Orpik Return

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The Washington Capitals moved Brooks Orpik earlier this offseason in order to clear enough cap space to re-sign John Carlson. Orpik was carrying a $5.5MM cap hit, so the team attached him to Philipp Grubauer in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche, only to see him bought out by the acquiring team immediately. Now, after the team re-signed both Carlson and Michal Kempny, they’re considering bringing back the 37-year old Orpik as well on a lower salary. GM Brian MacLellan told reporters including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post as much today as the team introduced new head coach Todd Reirden.

The Avalanche were clear when they acquired Orpik that they did it just to lower the price tag on Grubauer, a potential starting goaltender that cost them just a second-round pick. Colorado will be paying the 37-year old defenseman $4MM split over the next two years to not play for them, giving him plenty of incentive to return to the place where he just won a Stanley Cup on a very cheap deal. If Washington does bring back the veteran defenseman, it would likely be at a near-minimum contract given their relatively little cap space and need to still sign Tom Wilson and Madison Bowey as restricted free agents.

Orpik’s play has deteriorated in recent seasons, but he played well in the playoffs for the Capitals and could still be a valuable veteran option for the bottom pairing. With young players like Christian Djoos ready to take on a bigger role, bringing in someone like Orpik as a part-time player may make a lot of sense. Obviously if there are any other teams involved—and it sounds like there is at least mild interest from a few—Orpik could instead go somewhere he’s expected to play every game. If he can’t find that, or if he just wants to go back where he won his latest Stanley Cup, the Capitals seem like they’d be more than willing.

Remi Elie Re-Signs With Dallas Stars

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The Dallas Stars have turned their attention to their own restricted free agents, and have signed Remi Elie to a one-year $735K contract. Elie had reached free agency for the first time since being selected 40th overall in 2013 and is coming off his first full season with the Stars. The $735K salary was the qualifying offer that Elie was given last week, as he still wasn’t eligible for arbitration.

Elie, 23, played 72 games for the Stars this season and recorded 14 points while getting just over 10 minutes of ice time per game. The big, physical winger was part of a Dallas bottom six that really threw their weight around last season, but will be asked to do more than just bang and crash going forward. It’s not like Elie doesn’t have some offensive skill, but with such a top-heavy lineup in Dallas wasn’t given much of a chance to use it. With a new coach in town in Jim Montgomery, perhaps players like Elie will get a chance to shine more and contribute at both ends of the rink.

Even if he doesn’t take a step forward offensively, an NHL player for $735K is always a bargain. The Stars still have work to do to become the powerhouse that many believed they were headed for a few seasons ago, and getting solid contributions from their young players is a big first step.

Hudson Elynuik Signs AHL Contract With Toronto Marlies

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Just over a month ago teams around the NHL lost the exclusive negotiating rights to nearly three dozen draft picks. Some of those players like Adam Mascherin, re-entered the draft and were selected by another team. Others were free to sign professional contracts with whoever they chose. One of the most interesting names on that list was Carolina Hurricanes draft pick Hudson Elynuik, who has now signed an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies to begin his professional career. The Marlies also signed Emerson Clark, Ryan Moore, Zach O’Brien, Sam Jardine, Stefan LeBlanc and Giorgio Estephan—a draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres that saw his rights expire last year.

Elynuik though is the most exciting name of the bunch. The 6’5″ center was selected 74th overall in 2016, and put up consecutive seasons in the WHL averaging more than a point per game. This year saw him record 86 points in 71 games for the Spokane Chiefs, adding another seven points in seven playoff matches. Son of Pat Elynuik, a former NHL player and eighth-overall pick in 1986, Hudson carries an extremely heavy shot and doesn’t lumber along on his skates as poorly as some other players of his size.

It seems as though Kyle Dubas has added a prospect to the pipeline for free, but it’s important to note that signing an AHL deal with the Marlies does not technically add him to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since he has still not signed an entry-level contract, his rights are still not owned by the Maple Leafs and he could easily sign with another team when his AHL deal expires. That said, it does give Toronto the inside edge on bringing him in if he can show that there is still real NHL potential in that large frame.

Free Agent Frenzy 2018: Day 2 Signings By Team

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In NHL free agency, July 1st reigns supreme. Hundreds of millions of dollars were given out on Sunday, while teams raced and scrabbled their way to an improved roster. We saw long-term deals to aging scorers, and huge extensions to lock up superstars before they even get a sniff of the open market. John Tavares finally let us all know where he would play the next seven years of his career, while minor league veterans changed AHL addresses. Check out all the signings from Day 1 right here.

On Monday, things slowed down quite a bit. Calgary was the only team to really make a big splash, signing James Neal to a five-year contract. The Sharks continued to lock up their own, giving Tomas Hertl quite the pay raise. The full list of signings can be found below, with a link to each individual story:

Anaheim Ducks

F Carter Rowney – Three years, $3.4MM (link)
F Brian Gibbons – One year, $1MM (link)
F Ben Street – One year, $750K (link)

Arizona Coyotes

(none)

Boston Bruins

F Anton Blidh – One year, $650K (link)

Buffalo Sabres

(none)

Calgary Flames

F James Neal – Five years, $28.75MM (link)
F Buddy Robinson – Two years, $1.4MM (link)

Carolina Hurricanes

D Dan Renouf – One year, $650K (link)

Read more

Nashville Predators Sign Colin Blackwell

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The Nashville Predators have added even more minor league depth, signing Colin Blackwell to a two-year, two-way contract that carries a $675K cap hit in the NHL. Blackwell had been playing for the Rochester Americans on an AHL contract, but certainly did enough to deserve an NHL deal this summer.

Blackwell, 25, was originally a seventh-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2011 but decided to finish his degree at Harvard and spent all four years low on the depth chart at the ivy league school. After finishing his collegiate career, he played a season for the San Jose Barracuda but really broke out last year for Rochester. In 61 games he registered 45 points and was arguably their most consistent forward, and now will try to bring that newfound confidence to the Milwaukee Admirals.

Nashville has been adding plenty of talent for their minor league organization over the last few days, already signing Rocco Grimaldi, Connor Brickley and Jarred Tinordi to two-way contracts. Blackwell will just add to that depth and try to get the Admirals back on top in the AHL.

Nail Yakupov Signs In KHL

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It’s finally happened, Nail Yakupov has gone back to Russia. After years of struggling to find his game in the NHL, bouncing around between a few cities and roles, the 2012 first-overall pick has signed a one-year contract with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL. We wrote about this option last summer before Yakupov signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, a team that he played just 58 games for last season.

Yakupov, 24, broke onto the NHL scene with a splash, scoring 17 goals and 31 points in his rookie season—a year that was lockout shortened and only lasted 48 games. With that, it looked like the young Russian forward was on track for a tremendous career that would see him grow into a dominant offensive weapon. Unfortunately, that’s not at all what happened. Yakupov regressed heavily in his next season, and never topped the 17 goals he scored as a rookie. He left Edmonton after just four seasons, and couldn’t find a full-time role in St. Louis. Last year for Colorado he was a useful part-time player, but didn’t come anywhere close to living up to the hefty expectations that came with being the first-overall pick.

Armed with all the physical skills to make it in the NHL, something failed to clicked for Yakupov and his effort level waned at times. While he’s now headed back to Russia, by no means does this mean his career in North America is over. If he can find his game with SKA and round out his defensive capabilities, there’s no telling how quickly he could return to the NHL for another chance. The Avalanche gave up his rights by failing to extend a qualifying offer, meaning he could sign with any team next summer. Since he’s still relatively young, you can bet there will be someone who wants to take another chance on him down the road. For now, he’ll try to learn from some of the best in Russia like Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Plotnikov and Nikita Gusev.

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