Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for July 2018

Brett Kulak Receives Arbitration Award

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The decision is in for the Calgary Flames and defenseman Brett Kulak. An arbitrator has awarded a one-year, $900K contract for the restricted free agent, which is below the walk-away threshold and therefore already official. Kulak had filed for $1.15MM, while the Flames had filed for a $650K two-way deal.

The 24-year old Kulak played in 71 games for the Flames in 2017-18, and seemed to be in line for a full-time role next season. That may have changed with the Dougie Hamilton for Noah Hanifin swap, since the Flames now have an extra left-handed defenseman, but still Kulak should be part of the NHL team in some capacity. The Flames though showed how precarious that situation was by waiving him prior to his arbitration hearing, only to see him go unclaimed by the rest of the league. That showed just how he was valued by the league, and likely helped in keeping his salary under $1MM.

Now that he has been through waivers once, the team could potentially try to slip him through again at some point this season. While that may carry more risk of a claim, since there won’t be an arbitration hearing hanging over his head, Kulak hasn’t shown quite enough to be a prime target for other teams. His 71 games were fine, but he averaged fewer than 13 minutes a night and didn’t have to take on any of the toughest matchups. This season should be more of the same even if he does play a full-time role, leaving little room to prove that he deserves a bigger deal next summer.

Kulak will still be a restricted free agent next year, though the increased salary now puts his future in Calgary at risk. A qualifying offer next offseason would need to be for $945K, something that the Flames may feel is too expensive given his role on the team.

Vancouver Canucks Re-Sign Jake Virtanen

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks will continue to try and coax a top-six player out of young Jake Virtanen, signing him today to a two-year contract. The deal carries an average annual value of $1.25MM, giving them a chance for a real bargain if he can reach his potential. Virtanen will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal, but now will have even more pressure to be a full-time part of the NHL team.

Selected sixth overall in 2014, Virtanen has lagged behind the development of several of his draft contemporaries including William Nylander (8th), Nikolaj Ehlers (9th), and Dylan Larkin (15th). While those players have already made huge impacts on their NHL clubs, Virtanen has only just put in his first season without spending any time in the AHL. In 75 games during the 2017-18 season, he recorded 10 goals and 20 points a total he’ll obviously have to improve on if he’s to be part of the solution in Vancouver going forward. With other prospects like Elias Pettersson and Adam Gaudette coming quickly to take big roles on the team, Virtanen has to find a niche somewhere in the lineup where he can thrive. GM Jim Benning believes he can, releasing this statement on his young forward:

We’re pleased to sign Jake to an extension. He adds physical presence and speed to our line-up and can help create offensive chances when going hard to the net. We look forward to seeing Jake take the next step in his game and consistently contribute to the team’s success.

Virtanen, 21, could be a huge piece of a Vancouver team that has a very talented young group coming through the ranks. If he can find his game and live up to his draft status that $1.25MM will be an incredible value. If not, it will be a difficult arbitration process going forward and one that might end up with him being forced to continue his career elsewhere. For now, we’ll have to wait and see how he plays this season and if he can be the kind of power winger they were hoping for.

Mattias Janmark Re-Signs With Dallas Stars

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Dallas Stars have dealt with one of their restricted free agents, re-signing Mattias Janmark to a one-year contract. The deal carries a cap hit of $2.3MM, and will allow the team to avoid the arbitration hearing which had been set for August 3rd. Janmark will remain an RFA at the conclusion of the contract.

This deal is the very definition of a “prove it” contract for Janmark and the Stars, who will see whether the 19 goals he scored last season are a sign of things to come or a result of his 14% shooting percentage. For being almost 26 years old, Janmark doesn’t have a huge history of NHL success since he spent several professional seasons in Sweden and lost an entire year to Osteochrondritis dissecans. As Sean Shaprio of The Athletic tweets, Janmark seems to be the only professional athlete to have ever dealt with that specific disorder, which claimed his entire 2016-17 season following surgery.

Still, he has produced 63 points in 154 games and seems entirely recovered and ready to contribute this season. For $2.3MM he doesn’t have to produce any more than that, but he now has a chance to prove he deserves a long-term deal with an even higher cap hit. Next summer he’ll be in his final year of restricted free agency, meaning any deal would have to buy out almost exclusively UFA years. If he’s going to stay in Dallas and be part of the solution, he’ll have to show that he can be a consistent secondary scoring threat while being responsible enough to contribute on the penalty kill.

Nashville Predators Sign Dan Hamhuis

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Dan Hamhuis is heading back to where it all began. The Nashville Predators have signed the veteran defenseman to a two-year contract worth a total of $2.5MM. Hamhuis ranked 24th on our Top 50 UFA list this offseason which predicted his return to Nashville, though for much more money that he ended up getting. This deal comes in at an incredible bargain for the Predators, given Hamhuis’ recent play.

The 35-year old Hamhuis logged more than 20 minutes a night last season for the 13th time in his career, anchoring the shutdown pairing for the Dallas Stars alongside Greg Pateryn. Given almost every tough defensive matchup to allow John Klingberg and others to contribute offensively, Hamhuis still provided the Stars with 24 points on the year. His 2:40 of average short-handed ice time easily led the Stars, and will likely be a role he takes up in Nashville now that he has returned to the place his career began.

Selected 12th overall in 2001, Hamhuis played 483 regular season games for the Predators over six seasons before moving on to the Vancouver Canucks, and was part of a group that continually made the playoffs but couldn’t get out of the first round. He was part of a defensive factory that also produced players like Ryan Suter, Shea Weber and Kevin Klein, and will now likely end his career after having come full circle.

Turning 36 this year means there isn’t a ton of miles left on Hamhuis, especially after playing more than 1,000 games in the NHL. What he will bring is a excellent experienced and capable option for the Predators third pairing, slotting in at the bottom of what has become an elite group. Alexei Emelin held this role last season for the team but was relatively ineffective when asked to fill in for injuries, something that Hamhuis should be able to do with ease. Behind the likes of P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis, Hamhuis should be able to prey on easier matchups and contribute with his excellent two-way style. The fact that it will cost the team just $1.25MM per season brings almost no risk, especially given his recent play.

The only thing the Predators would have to worry about is potential retirement by Hamhuis next offseason, since this contract was signed after he turned 35. His $1.25MM cap hit will be counted against the Nashville cap regardless of whether he’s playing on the team, but with the way they’ve built their salary structure it shouldn’t be a problem. The Predators still have more than $8MM in cap space this season, and though they do have some big contracts coming up—like a Ryan Ellis extension—are still in pretty good shape financially.

Ottawa Senators Sign Adam Tambellini

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Ottawa Senators have signed some forward depth, adding Adam Tambellini on a one-year two-way contract. The deal will pay Tambellini $650K at the NHL level and just $85K in the AHL. Tambellini was not issued a qualifying offer from the New York Rangers and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

It was a surprise when Tambellini, 23, didn’t receive a qualifying offer this summer, since he’d been a solid player in the Rangers organization for the past three seasons. Scoring at least 13 goals and 32 points in each of his professional seasons, the third-round pick could have been given another two-way contract in 2018-19. He is no longer waiver-exempt, but it seems unlikely that any team would claim him at this point in his career. For the Senators he’ll have to go through the same process, but without any NHL experience to speak of he’ll likely clear with no problem.

For Ottawa, he’ll join a Belleville Senators team that is looking for offense after scoring just 194 goals last season. That put them near the very bottom of the league, something they’ll need to change if they are to compete for the Calder Cup playoffs. Tambellini can certainly help the AHL squad, but there isn’t much reason to think he’ll play a big role for Ottawa this season.

Calgary Flames Avoid Arbitration With Mark Jankowski

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Calgary Flames have settled on a two-year contract with Mark Jankowski, avoiding the arbitration process entirely. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.675MM. Jankowski was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing on Friday, but will no longer need to go through it.

Jankowski, 23, played his first full season in the NHL in 2017-18, and rewarded the Flames’ patience with 17 goals. Selected in the first round of the 2012 draft, he’d previously played just a single game in the NHL and looked like he might never become the powerful two-way center that Calgary had hoped for. Now that future looks bright again and he’ll head into next season fighting for a role on the third line. The team did bring in Derek Ryan to help out their center depth, but Jankowski has a much greater upside with his big frame and scoring ability.

That upside could be a huge factor for the Flames this season if they’re going to get back to the playoffs and compete for the Stanley Cup. Even with outstanding seasons from the top duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, the team didn’t have enough secondary scoring or defensive unity to compete in the Pacific Division. Jankowski, along with newcomers like Elias Lindholm and James Neal, should bring an added punch to the forward group that will allow them to score with anyone in the west, while also being stable enough in their own end to help Mike Smith post another good season.

The two-year deal will carry Jankowski to age 25, at which point he will still be a restricted free agent. Technically he could qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency, but only needs seven more games played to become ineligible. Instead, he’ll be trying to sign a long-term deal that pays him like the first-round pick he was, and solidifies him as the team’s third center option behind Monahan and Mikael Backlund.

Pacific Notes: Hughes, Virtanen, Chychrun

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While it was expected that the Canucks would make a quick decision on whether or not to turn top draft pick Quinn Hughes pro next season, it appears that the team hasn’t decided whether that’s the best move for him just yet.  In an interview with TSN 1040 (audio link), GM Jim Benning stated that he remains in conversations with Hughes’ family advisor in an effort to determine what’s best for his long-term development.  He also acknowledged the current logjam on their back end but indicated that if he was to attend training camp and play well enough to earn a roster spot that they would make a move to make room for him.  For him to attend camp, he’d have to be signed to an entry-level deal which would put an end to his NCAA eligibility although he would be able to play in the AHL.

More from the Pacific:

  • The Canucks have only one restricted free agent remaining in winger Jake Virtanen. From the same interview, Benning mentioned that the team remains in discussions with his agent Kevin Epp and classifies the talks as “going good”.  Given Virtanen’s inconsistency over the past couple of seasons, it’s likely that Vancouver will be pushing for him to sign a short-term contract.  The 21-year-old had ten goals and ten assists in 75 games last season.  He had a qualifying offer of roughly $875K but that expired back on July 15th.
  • Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun is expected to resume skating next week as he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery notes Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan. The team remains hopeful that he’ll be ready for training camp and if he does so and plays well early on next season, Morgan believes the team may look to get an early extension done rather than wait for him to his restricted free agency next summer.

Free Agent Profile: Alexei Emelin

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While he isn’t a big name defenseman, Alexei Emelin has quietly logged just shy of 20 minutes per game over the last six years.  There are always teams looking for players that can log big minutes on the back end but more than three weeks into free agency, he remains on the open market.

Last season was Emelin’s first outside of Montreal and his role was considerably reduced with the Predators, who acquired him from Vegas shortly after the expansion draft.  After spending time on the top pairing with the Canadiens the year before, the 32-year-old was reduced to third pairing duties when Nashville’s top four were all healthy.

While his playing time was lowered, Emelin still provided the physicality that he has been known for while also blocking at least 100 shots for the fifth straight season.  On top of that, he took a regular turn on the penalty kill.  As far as a stay-at-home player goes on a third pairing, he brings some value.

However, his possession numbers are typically below average and as the league trends more and more towards speed, Emelin’s lack of foot speed and puck-moving skills certainly will work against him.  That will wind up limiting the number of teams that might show interest in him.

Potential Suitors

Unlike some of the other veteran defenders on the market, Emelin isn’t going to be able to limit himself to potential contenders.  He may actually be better off signing with a lesser team where he might be able to get regular playing time and then potentially be flipped towards the trade deadline.

Among Eastern Conference teams, the Senators (who haven’t been remotely active in free agency) feel like a fit.  They are very weak in terms of established options on the left side so there is certainly an opening that could be filled.  However, they already have a similar player in Mark Borowiecki and having two players like that on the back end could be an issue.  New Jersey could use more depth but he may be more of a seventh defender than a sixth which may not be a palatable option for him.

The options aren’t more plentiful in the West either.  He’d still make some sense in Nashville but that was ruled out shortly after the playoffs.  Chicago has some roster spots to fill and Emelin could conceivably surpass Erik Gustafsson on the depth chart but they likely have their sights set higher for now.  Most of the other teams in the Western Conference either lack the cap space to add another player or are already set on the left side defensively.

If those options don’t pan out, there is always the KHL.  Emelin is no stranger to that league having played parts of eight seasons there already and would likely command a nice contract to go back home.

Projected Contract

Emelin was slotted 42nd in our Top 50 UFA Rankings with a projected one-year, $2MM deal to the Rangers.  (New York instead chose to add Fredrik Claesson in free agency and since they’re leaving spots for youngsters, they’re probably not a great option now either.)  With there only being a handful of teams where he’d fit and other veterans still available, he’s going to have to take an even bigger pay cut from the $4.4MM in salary he received last season.  A one-year deal around $1MM may be close to his ceiling for this next contract now and Emelin will have to decide if that’s a better option than going back to Russia.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor Transactions: 7/24/18

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

A pair of minor league free agents have found new homes.  Here is the rundown of those moves.

  • Oilers UFA winger Kyle Platzer has signed with Charlotte of the AHL, per a team release. The 23-year-old split last season between Edmonton’s AHL and ECHL affiliates but was much more productive in the ECHL where he collected 22 points in just 20 games.  However, that wasn’t enough to warrant being tendered a qualifying offer from the Oilers last month.
  • Another former Oilers farmhand signed elsewhere as center Grayson Downing signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Eagles, the AHL team announced. The 26-year-old spent all of last season at the AHL level, collecting 23 points in 48 games with Bakersfield.  Since he’s over 25 and has three professional seasons under his belt, Downing was a Group Six unrestricted free agent.

West Notes: Watson, Blues, Ducks

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Predators winger Austin Watson pleaded no contest to his domestic violence charge today, notes Natalie Neysa Alund of The Tennessean.  Watson will spend the next three months on probation and has been placed on judicial diversion.  That means that if he abides by the terms set, his case will be expunged.

In the meantime, the NHL released a statement (Twitter link) indicating that they will initiate a full investigation into the matter to determine what, if any, supplemental discipline will be warranted.  Unlike other leagues, the NHL does not have a blanket domestic violence policy so any discipline is determined on a case-by-case basis.

More from around the West:

  • With Joel Edmundson re-signing with the Blues earlier today, the team is down to a pair of remaining restricted free agents in fellow defensemen Petteri Lindbohm and Jordan Schmaltz. GM Doug Armstrong told Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they expect to get a deal done with Schmaltz but that there’s no rush to do so.  Meanwhile, Timmermann suggests that Lindbohm could potentially sign overseas given his uncertain status on the depth chart.  If that was to happen, St. Louis would retain his rights.
  • After locking up center Adam Henrique to a five-year extension last week, Ducks GM Bob Murray told Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register (Twitter link) that they hope to lock up goaltender John Gibson and winger Jakob Silfverberg to long-term deals as well. Both players are entering the final year of their respective contracts with Gibson being eligible for restricted free agency with arbitration rights next summer while Silfverberg will is set to become an unrestricted free agent next July.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top