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Capitals Sign Defenseman Martin Fehervary To Entry-Level Contract

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thThe defending Stanley Cup champions have worked quickly to lock up a recent draft pick. The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan first reported that the Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Martin Fehervary to an entry-level contract. The team has confirmed the deal for the maximum three years.

The 46th pick in the second round of last weekend’s NHL Draft, Fehervary is a big Slovakian blue liner who plays with intensity and a fast, physical style. Fehervary has limited offensive upside, but is already playing at a pro-ready level in his own end.

Although Fehervary impressed at Capitals development camp this week and has signed his first contract, the team expects that he will return to Sweden and HV71 of the SHL for the coming season. NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports that Fehervary’s plan is to play in North American full-time beginning in 2019.

Free Agent Focus: Winnipeg Jets

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Free agency is now just hours 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 Winnipeg’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: G Connor Hellebuyck – After a mediocre 2016-17 season, Hellebuyck and the Jets opted to settle on a one-year contract rather than work out a long-term pact.  That’s a decision that turned out quite well for the netminder as he led the league in wins and games played while posting a very strong 2.36 GAA and a .924 SV% before following that up with nearly identical numbers in the postseason.  That has him in line for a big raise from the $2.25MM he made this past season.

Unlike last summer, the 25-year-old is eligible for salary arbitration this time around as well.  He’s two years away from UFA eligibility so this will be the time to get a long-term pact done as they won’t want to risk giving Hellebuyck the option to simply file for a hearing next summer, take another one-year deal, and head for free agency in 2020.  He doesn’t have the long-term success to get top dollar but his numbers at this time in his career are pretty close to San Jose’s Martin Jones before 2017-18 when he signed a six-year, $34.5MM contract (7.67% of the salary cap).  A new deal for Hellebuyck could check in at that amount as well.

D Jacob Trouba – It took a long time to get a deal done last time around as discussions wound up lasting into the 2016-17 season.  It shouldn’t take as long this summer as Trouba has arbitration rights so if he wants to ensure a contract is done well before training camp, he can simply file for a hearing and then there won’t be a holdout situation.

Finding the right value is going to be a challenge, however.  Two years ago, the 24-year-old had a career year despite the contract squabble.  He wound up with 33 points in 60 games and averaged nearly 25 minutes a night.  Things didn’t go as well in 2017-18 though.  He had trouble staying healthy (playing in just 55 contests), his point total dropped to 23, while his ATOI was the lowest of any of his five NHL seasons (21:54).  Trouba may very well want to be paid like a top pairing defender but his output was more of a second pairing player.  That’s the gap they’re going to need to bridge in negotiations.

Other RFAs: G Eric Comrie, F Marko Dano, F Nicolas Kerdiles, F J.C. Lipon, F Adam Lowry, D Josh Morrissey, F Nic Petan, D Tucker Poolman, F Brandon Tanev

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: F Paul Stastny – The veteran fit in quite well with the Jets who acquired him at the deadline.  He wasn’t counted on to be the number one center like he was in St. Louis and the lesser role fit him quite well.  He was quite productive for them down the stretch and in the postseason and there is mutual interest in him returning.  On the other hand, he is the second best center available on the open market and is bound to receive several big offers.  Winnipeg made a move on Saturday to free up cap room to help give them a shot at bringing Stastny back but with all of their other players to re-sign, they may still be in tough to do so.  Early indications are that they still aren’t in agreement on terms and that Vegas is now the front-runner for his services.

Other UFAs: D Toby Enstrom, F Matt Hendricks, G Michael Hutchinson, D Jan Kostalek, F Jimmy Lodge, F Shawn Matthias, D Julian Melchiori, G Jamie Phillips, F Buddy Robinson, D Cameron Schilling, F Michael Sgarbossa

Projected Cap Space: The good news is that Winnipeg has plenty of cap room to work with as they sit nearly $28.2MM below the cap, per CapFriendly.  They have a lot of core players to sign though and by the time they do that and fill out the rest of their roster, it’s doubtful that they’ll have enough to be players in free agency or the trade market unless they free up some more funds first.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Matt Hendricks Expected To Sign With Minnesota

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After agreeing to terms with Eric Fehr earlier, Minnesota is set to add another depth forward.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have agreed to terms with center Matt Hendricks on a one-year contract.  Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that the deal is worth $700K.

The 37-year-old spent last season in Winnipeg where was a depth forward that was in and out of the lineup.  He played in 60 games for the Jets, scoring five times while adding eight assists along with 39 penalty minutes.  He also won 49.4% of his draws although that number was below his career average of 52.9%.

Hendricks has been a fourth liner for several teams in recent years, including Colorado, Washington, Nashville, Edmonton, and Winnipeg.  He will likely reprise that role in 2018-19 with the Wild who appear to be targeting size and some grit for their fourth line.  In his career, Hendricks has played in 581 games, scoring 54 goals and 59 assists.

Red Wings Re-Sign Mike Green, Agree To Terms With Thomas Vanek

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9:30 AM: The Red Wings have announced (via Twitter) that Green has signed his two-year deal.

7:36 AM: Craig Custance of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that Vanek has agreed to a one-year, $3MM deal with Detroit.

Saturday: While the Red Wings are believed to be in rebuilding mode, it doesn’t appear that this is stopping them from being active in free agency.  On top of being expected to add goalie Jonathan Bernier tomorrow, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Mike Green is staying put and that winger Thomas Vanek is also considering a return to Detroit as well.

Green remaining in Detroit isn’t a huge surprise as the team has been actively trying to re-sign him over the past week or so, offering multiple contracts of varying term and money.  It was reported earlier this week that the team was hopeful that they could lock him up on a two-year pact.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (via Twitter) that the deal will carry a $5.375MM AAV.

His re-signing would take arguably the most prominent defenseman off the market before the market even opens up.  Green ranked eighth on PHR’s Top 50 UFA list, one of only two rearguards in the top-10.  He gives Detroit back their top offensive threat from the back end; he has led the team in scoring by a defender in each of his three seasons with the Red Wings, averaging 35 points per season.

As for Vanek, he is quietly one of the highest scoring players in free agency this summer as his 56 points in 2017-18 rank third among all unrestricted free agents.  That helped earn him the #14 ranking on our list.  Despite his offensive performance in recent years, he has bounced around in recent years, playing for five different teams since 2016.

One of those teams is Detroit, who initially signed him in the summer of 2016 after he was bought out by Minnesota.  He fared relatively well as he posted 38 points in 48 games before being dealt to Florida as a rental player at the trade deadline.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see if that was the idea they have in mind here as well although Vanek would certainly prefer to have a little bit more stability and security after moving around as much as he has lately.

These moves would likely represent the bulk of Detroit’s offseason spending in free agency.  While the team has a little over $20.5MM in cap space per CapFriendly, these three veterans would likely eat up half of that or more and they still have some notable restricted free agents to re-sign, headlined by center Dylan Larkin.

Eric Gryba Expected To Sign With New Jersey

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Although he was bought out by the Oilers last month, defenseman Eric Gryba isn’t going to be out of a job for long.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link) that the blueliner is close to signing with New Jersey.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 30-year-old split last season between Edmonton and their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.  In 21 games with the Oilers, he picked up two assists along with 31 penalty minutes while averaging 14:44 per night.  Meanwhile, in the minors, he was held off the scoresheet in 24 contests while spending 27 minutes in the penalty box.

Gryba, a veteran of 279 career NHL games between Ottawa and Edmonton, will likely battle for a spot at the back of New Jersey’s back end.  If he fails to land a spot, he’d then likely served as a top call-up option when injuries strike during the season, similar to the role he had with the Oilers in 2017-18.

PHR 2018 Free Agent Frenzy Live Chat Transcript

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Welcome to another year of Free Agent Frenzy here at PHR! With the NHL about to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the span of a few minutes, we are proud to announce the return of our Live Chat series. This will bring a return of the weekly Thursday chats, so make sure to jump in later this week to discuss all the official deals.

For now, click here to read a transcript of this morning’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee!

Minor Goalie Signings: Sateri, Hutchinson, Hammond, Wedgewood

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Among the flurry of signings this morning are a quartet of goaltenders that are likely to be third stringers with their new organizations.  Here are those moves:

  • The Red Wings have agreed to terms with Harri Sateri, reports Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland (Twitter link).  The 28-year-old spent most of last season with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, posting a stellar .927 SV% with a 2.30 GAA in 29 games.  He got into nine games with the Panthers down the stretch, going 4-4-0 with a 2.92 GAA and a .911 SV%.
  • Replacing Sateri with Florida will be Michael Hutchinson, once again per Strickland on Twitter.  He lost the number two spot in Winnipeg last year after they brought in Steve Mason although Mason’s frequent time on IR allowed Hutchinson to get into a handful of games with the Jets.  He played in 26 games with AHL Manitoba, posting a sterling .935 SV% along with a 2.08 GAA.  With 103 NHL games under his belt, the Panthers should be comfortable using him should one of Roberto Luongo or James Reimer get hurt.
  • On top of adding Carter Hutton shortly, the Sabres are set to add Scott Wedgewood as well, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (via Twitter).  The 25-year-old cleared waivers with New Jersey at the start of the year but was flipped to Arizona where he served as their backup for a big chunk of the season.  He got into 20 games with the Coyotes where he put up a 3.45 GAA and a .893 SV% before being moved to the Kings as part of the Darcy Kuemper deal where he was once again waived and sent to the minors.
  • Minnesota is set to have a competition for their number two spot as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Wild have agreed to terms with Andrew Hammond.  The 30-year-old spent most of the season with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Belleville (even after his NHL rights were moved to Colorado as part of the Matt Duchene trade) but he did get into three postseason games with the Avalanche after their top two goalies went down with injuries.  He will battle with Alex Stalock to back up Devan Dubnyk next year.

Carter Hutton Expected To Sign With Buffalo Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres have decided that goaltending is an area of need after letting Robin Lehner walk in free agency, and are expected to sign Carter Hutton to a three-year contract. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet also reports that the team will sign Scott Wedgewood, giving them a third option behind Hutton and Linus Ullmark. Hutton is expected to command a cap hit just under $3MM per season, while Wedgewood is on a two-way deal.

Hutton, 32, is arguably the best goaltending option on the open market after another excellent season in St. Louis. The veteran netminder has plenty of experience pushing young goaltenders and supporting them when they invariably face inconsistency, and he’ll be asked to do much of the same with Ullmark in Buffalo. After posting a .931 save percentage in 32 appearances last year though, Hutton will also be asked to help lead the Sabres back into playoff contention. After finishing at the bottom of the standings once again, Buffalo will be bringing in young phenom Rasmus Dahlin on the blue line and have already acquired some help up front in Conor Sheary. Now with a solidified goaltending situation, the team is poised to find much more success in 2017-18.

Wedgewood on the other hand will be asked to fill a different role for the organization. GM Jason Botterill has been very clear that he intends on building a winning organization from top to bottom, and that includes the Rochester Americans of the AHL. Wedgewood is an extremely capable minor league goaltender, who should fill Ullmark’s shoes admirably going forward.

Stars To Sign Roman Polak

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The Stars have added some grit and experience to their back end.  Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports (Twitter link) that Dallas has inked defenseman Roman Polak to a one-year contract.

Polak has spent the last four seasons with Toronto (aside from a brief stint with the Sharks as a rental player in 2015-16) but has seen his playing time and role decrease lately.  Last season, he played in just 54 games, collecting a dozen points while averaging 17:39 of ice time, primarily on their third pairing.

It’s likely that the 32-year-old will fill a similar role with Dallas.  They’ve already lost one right-shot defender in Greg Pateryn in free agency while veteran Dan Hamhuis is also an unrestricted free agent.

The Stars will be counting on Polak to provide some grit and shot blocking, elements that have long been a part of his game.  He has averaged nearly 3.4 hits per game over the last four years along with just shy of 1.9 blocks per night in that span.

Blues To Sign David Perron

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Winger David Perron is heading back to St. Louis…again.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Perron has agreed to a four-year, $16MM deal to rejoin the Blues.  This will mark his third seperate stint with the team.

Perron is coming off of his best season by far that saw him post 16 goals and 50 assists in just 70 games with the Golden Knights, who acquired Perron via the Expansion Draft.  His 66 points ranked him second among players available on the open market behind only John Tavares.

However, his struggles in the postseason may very well have hurt his value.  He scored just once in 15 postseason games and was even a healthy scratch at one point.  To be fair, he still wound up with nine playoff points (1-8-9) which tied him for eighth on the team.

St. Louis had been on the lookout for a top-six winger to replace Perron all of last season and as it turns out, Perron will effectively fill the spot he initially vacated.

With the signing, the Blues still have a little over $12.6MM in cap space at their disposal, per CapFriendly.  However, a good chunk of that will be earmarked for their restricted free agents, headlined by defenseman Joel Edmundson and winger Robby Fabbri.

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