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Archives for July 2018

Toronto Re-Signs Marincin, Adds Cracknell And Subban

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Nothing that the Toronto Maple Leafs do today will likely ever be remembered outside of signing John Tavares, but the team continues to make tweaks to the rest of its roster with small additions. After it was previously revealed that the Leafs had signed Josh Jooris, the team also added that they re-signed defenseman Martin Marincin and signed veteran forward Adam Cracknell and young defenseman Jordan Subban. All three contracts are for one year. Marincin signed a one-way, $800K deal; Cracknell a one-way, $650K deal; and Subban a two-way deal worth $650K at the NHL level.

More to come…

Riley Nash Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have added some center depth, signing Riley Nash to a three-year contract worth $8.25MM according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Nash came in at #15 on our Top 50 UFA List, where we had predicted exactly that term and salary—though with his former team the Boston Bruins. Instead, Nash will head to the Metropolitan Division and help replace outgoing forwards like Mark Letestu and Matt Calvert.

Nash, 29, is a useful center that can play in various situations and find success all throughout the lineup. Coming off his best season as a pro, in which he recorded 41 points for the Bruins, a three-year deal at less than $3MM is more than reasonable for the Blue Jackets. In fact, if he can find that same level of offensive success in Columbus it would be regarded as one of the better deals of free agency, though it seems unlikely given the circumstances he’s walking into. Nash was given a chance to play at times with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand while Patrice Bergeron was injured, while Pierre-Luc Dubois will likely be anchored to the Blue Jackets’ top line as long as he stays healthy.

Instead, Nash will be asked to provide some jump among a bottom-six that struggled to keep up offensively at times last season. The Blue Jackets had just four forwards register 40 or more points on the season, with Alexander Wennberg being an incredible disappointment with only eight goals and 27 assists in 66 games. If Wennberg struggles again next season you can bet Nash will be ready and waiting to take some of his top-six and powerplay minutes.

Ottawa Senators Sign Mike McKenna

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The Ottawa Senators will bring back a familiar face in journeyman goaltender Mike McKenna, who previously played for the organization in 2011-12. The team announced a one-year, two-way deal for McKenna, who is currently slotted at the third-string goalie. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch adds that the veteran will make $700K at the NHL level and $175K at the AHL level, where he excelled with the Texas Stars last season.

More to come…

 

Eric Gryba, John Ramage, Kurtis Gabriel Sign With New Jersey Devils

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The New Jersey Devils have signed Eric Gryba to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a $700K cap hit at the NHL level. Gryba was recently bought out by the Edmonton Oilers, and will receive a salary of $300K from them in each of the next two seasons. The team has also signed defenseman John Ramage and Kurtis Gabriel to one-year, two-way contracts worth $650K at the NHL level.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Four Players

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed four players to two-way contracts, adding Stefan Elliott, Zach Trotman, Jimmy Hayes and goaltender John Muse on one-year, two-way deals worth the minimum $650K at the NHL level. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will be happy with the announcement, as none of the four are expected to make a huge impact in the NHL next season.

Hayes may be the most notable name, as a former regular for both the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins. Once a 19-goal scorer, his career has dropped off a cliff over the last few years to the point of registering just nine points in 33 games for the New Jersey Devils last season after signing a professional tryout in the summer. Hayes, the older brother of New York Rangers forward Kevin Hayes, will try to find his game again in a system known for reclamation projects.

Trotman played in the Pittsburgh organization last season, and is re-signing after just a few hours of being an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year old actually suited up for three games in the NHL this past year, though did most of his work in the minor leagues. The big-bodied defenseman uses a long reach to effectively defend, but hasn’t really been able to establish himself at the highest level.

Minnesota Signs Michael Liambas And Matt Bartkowksi

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The Minnesota Wild continue to add depth pieces today. The team has agreed to a two-year, two-way contract with forward Michael Liambas as well as a one-year, two-way contract with defenseman Matt Bartkowski. Both Liambas and Bartkowksi are set to make $650K at the NHL level next year, with Liambas getting a bump to $700K in his second year.

More to come…

Sharks Agree To Eight-Year Extension With Logan Couture

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July 1: The Sharks have now made the deal official and confirmed the aforementioned terms.

June 30: The extension is worth $64MM over the eight years, report David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link) and Josh Dubow of the Associated Press.

June 27: The Sharks are closing in on an eight-year contract extension with forward Logan Couture, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (video link).  No financial terms are available at this time but he notes that the contract could be made official on Sunday, the first day that he’s eligible to sign the extension.

Signing players to early extensions is something GM Doug Wilson has done in the past.  Last summer, he inked defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic (eight years) and goaltender Martin Jones (six years) as soon as they were eligible to.

Couture has spent his entire career with the Sharks who drafted him in the first round (ninth overall) back in 2007.  He became a regular with the team three years later and has never looked back as he has emerged into a reliable two-way forward that has been fairly consistent offensively, averaging between 0.69 and 0.83 points per game over the last eight years.

The 29-year-old is coming off of one of his best seasons as he set a new career high in goals (34) which will certainly help his negotiating leverage.  He’s set to earn $6MM for 2018-19 and it’s quite likely that this new deal will exceed that amount.

As the contract won’t kick in until 2019-20, it won’t have any immediate bearing on their pursuit of soon-to-be UFA center John Tavares or any other players they’d look to add this summer.

Assuming this gets finalized as expected, it will be interesting to see how quickly Wilson and the Sharks turn their focus to center Joe Pavelski.  He’s also set to enter the final year of his contract next season and is eligible to sign a new contract as early as Sunday.  The 33-year-old has also spent his entire career in San Jose and is coming off another strong campaign where he posted 66 points in 82 games.  However, if they are able to land Tavares or another prominent addition up front, they may not have the long-term cap room to keep him around.  Accordingly, while the Sharks have acted quickly on extensions as of late, one for Pavelski may have to wait a little while yet.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

St. Louis Blues AddTyler Wotherspoon, Brian Flynn

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The St. Louis Blues are getting some extra help in their own zone. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the team has signed defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon to a one-year, two-way contract. Wotherspoon is set to make $700K at the NHL level, with $400K guaranteed. The team has also signed forward Brian Flynn according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, inking a one-year two-way deal worth $650K in the NHL.

Vladislav Namestnikov Signs Two-Year Contract With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Vladislav Namestnikov on a two-year contract that will pay him $4MM a season. There had been rumors earlier in the day that Namestnikov was considering a return to the KHL, but agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey immediately shot them down and indicated the deal was in the works. Namestnikov will instead remain in New York and try to find some chemistry with the team that acquired him midseason.

After being sent by the Tampa Bay Lightning as part of the package to acquire Ryan McDonagh, Namestnikov struggled in New York. With just four points in 19 games, he finished his season with 48—which was still a career high, but much less than he was on pace for at the time of the trade. Of course, in Tampa Bay Namestnikov had spent much of the season on a line with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, something he won’t be afforded during his time with the Rangers. Instead, they’ll rely on him to create offense on his own and help round out a forward group that has a lot of potential, but were very inconsistent last season.

Interestingly the 25-year old will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this deal, meaning he could turn into trade bait again should the Rangers struggle to rebound from their disappointing season in 2017-18. There’s a ton of talent in the Russian forward, who can play center or wing, but he hasn’t quite been able to put it all together for a full season. If that happens in New York, they’ll have a very valuable asset on their hands, or a key player to build around on a free agent deal.

For now, a $4MM cap hit puts him as the fourth highest-paid forward on the team and he’ll be expected to produce like it. We’ll have to wait and see if he ends up playing center, or if Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson’s development ends up pushing Namestnikov to the wing once again.

Dallas Stars Sign Forward Erik Condra

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The Dallas Stars continue to make moves as the first day of free agency wears on. The team announced a one-year, two-way deal with two-way forward Erik Condra. No salary terms have yet been disclosed, but it will surely be a step down from the $1.25MM cap hit Condra has carried the last three seasons for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Condra, 31, is a sneaky good signing for a Stars organization that experienced a lot of success at the minor league level with established veterans. Names like Curtis McKenzie, Travis Morin, Sheldon Dries and Mike McKenna took the Texas Stars all the way to the Calder Cup Finals despite being underdogs in every postseason series, and while Condra will attempt to crack the Dallas roster, his presence could bring about another successful season for the minor league club.

Originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2006, Condra has 392 NHL games under his belt including 26 playoff contests, and won a Calder Cup in 2011 while a member of the Binghamton Senators. He helped the Syracuse Crunch to a finals berth in 2016-17 while wearing a captain’s “C” and was an effective player for them again in the most recent season.

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