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Archives for August 2018

Minor Transactions: 08/20/18

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The hockey world chugs along as we wait for preseason games to start in a few weeks. We’ll keep track of the minor moves right here:

  • Joseph LaBate has signed an AHL contract with the Belleville Senators, leaving the Vancouver Canucks organization after three years. LaBate was eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer after failing to crack the Canucks lineup for more than 13 games, and will now try his hand with the AHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. The 6’5″ winger is a tough player to line up against, and will give the Senators a little more size for the 2017-18 season.
  • Brett Murray has left Penn State University to return to junior hockey according to Patrick Burns of the Daily Collegian. Murray, a Buffalo Sabres fourth-round draft pick, has experience in the USHL but could also go to the OHL where the Oshawa Generals still hold his rights. The big winger scored just six points in 21 games for Penn State last season, but will take his talents back to the junior ranks where he had found more success in the past.
  • Colton Hargrove, a Boston Bruins draft pick, has signed an AHL contract with the Texas Stars for 2018-19. In three seasons with the Providence Bruins Hargrove registered 87 total points, including a solid season in 2017-18 with 33 in just 52 games. The 26-year old became an unrestricted free agent in 2017 when the Bruins decided not to extend him a qualifying offer.

Ty Smith Signs Entry-Level Contract With New Jersey Devils

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The New Jersey Devils have signed their top draft pick, inking Ty Smith to a three-year entry-level contract. Smith was the 17th-overall pick in June’s draft, and is expected to continue his CHL career with the Spokane Chiefs this season. If he fails to play in more than nine games with the Devils, his entry-level deal would slide forward at least a year.

That nine game mark seemed unattainable when Smith was drafted, but after impressing everyone at the Devils’ development camp earlier this summer there is a chance he could begin the year in New Jersey. Few players from his place in the first round jump right to the NHL, but is already a fairly polished offensive defenseman capable of moving the puck with incredible quickness and accuracy. It’s clear that the Devils are trying to build a defense corps with those skills, after adding players like Will Butcher and Sami Vatanen over the last year.

It remains unlikely that Smith will be a full-time option for the Devils this year, but that won’t be the case very long. He believes he will find great success in the NHL and there is little reason to doubt him at this point. For now, a return to Spokane and a key role with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship in December should help him take the next step in his development.

Bode Wilde Signs With Saginaw Spirit

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After deciding earlier this summer to not attend the University of Michigan, Bode Wilde has officially signed with the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL for the upcoming season. Selected 41st overall by the New York Islanders, the big American defenseman will try to traverse the CHL ranks instead of heading the collegiate route for the next step in his hockey career.

Wilde may have been recruited by former US National Development Team teammate Blade Jenkins, who also was drafted by the Islanders in June and spent last year with the Spirit. Jenkins will be back in Saginaw this season and with Wilde should give them a big boost this year. Last year the Spirit were able to sneak into the playoffs despite a losing record, one that should improve dramatically this season.

For the Islanders, having Wilde go to the CHL and renounce his NCAA eligibility can only mean positive things for their ability to sign him. While the argument can be made that spending a few seasons at a top program like Michigan would be better for his development, there is now very little risk that they will lose him to free agency. Wilde will also likely be given a bigger role in Saginaw than he could have received with the Wolverines, given Quinn Hughes’ return to the college for this season.

An extremely smooth-skating defenseman for his size, Wilde should find success in the CHL and translate that to a promising professional career in the coming years. Though he slipped out of the first round and was not invited to the recent Summer Showcase, there are plenty of reasons to believe he can turn things around to become the top-end two-way defenseman many have projected him as.

Dustin Tokarski Agrees To Terms With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have added a little more goaltending depth to the organization, agreeing to terms with Dustin Tokarski on a one-year contract. Rangers fans should be familiar with Tokarski’s work from the 2014 Eastern Conference Final, when he replaced Carey Price against New York. He’s now coming into one of the few organizations with an unsettled depth chart, and could potentially even push for an NHL backup job.

We recently listed the Rangers as one of the teams who could be interested in veteran goaltenders like Kari Lehtonen and Steve Mason, but this Tokarski signing likely puts an end to that speculation. Though he doesn’t have a ton of NHL experience—just 34 career regular season games—he’ll need a spot somewhere in the organization and with Marek Mazanec and Alexandar Georgiev already battling it out for the NHL backup and AHL starter roles, there isn’t much room to add anyone else. Those three should have a healthy competition for playing time, and should give rebuilding clubs at least competent netminding as they try to re-establish themselves.

Now 28 years old, Tokarski has a .904 career NHL save percentage and actually posted a .915 in 39 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season. New York’s AHL affiliate the Hartford Wolf Pack struggled to find any consistency in goal last season and it showed in their record, going 34-33-9. Tokarski will help solidify that position even if he doesn’t receive any NHL playing time.

Five Key Stories: 8/13/18 – 8/19/18

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With training camps now just a month away, the pressure will start to pick up slightly to get new contracts done.  We saw a few of those deals inked this past week which highlight the top stories.

Three Years For Kase: Ducks winger Ondrej Kase was one of their more pleasant surprises in 2017-18.  After being largely a role player in his rookie campaign, he emerged as a quality secondary scorer as he scored 20 goals, tied for the second most on the team.  Anaheim rewarded him for his efforts, signing the 22-year-old to a three-year, $7.8MM contract.  The deal pays an even $2.6MM in each of the three seasons which means that figure will also represent his qualifying offer when it expires.  The Ducks still have some work to do in restricted free agency as winger Nick Ritchie is also in need of a new deal.

Sekera Out Indefinitely: After missing a big chunk of last season due to his recovery from a torn ACL, the Oilers were counting on a big year in 2018-19 from defenseman Andrej Sekera.  Unfortunately for them, that won’t be the case as he sustained a torn Achilles tendon during offseason training and has undergone surgery.  While the team is listing him simply as out indefinitely at this point, this will cost him a significant portion of the upcoming season.  As Edmonton’s top-paid blueliner, he will be tough to replace while this also places a bit more pressure on getting a deal done with restricted free agent defenseman Darnell Nurse.

Ellis Locked Up: Earlier this summer, Predators GM David Poile called locking up defenseman Ryan Ellis to a long-term extension their top priority.  They were able to get that accomplished on Tuesday as the two sides agreed to an eight-year, $50MM extension that will kick in for the 2019-20 season.  Notably, the deal does not contain any no-trade protection.  While he missed nearly half of last year due to knee surgery, he still managed to put up 32 points in just 44 games; his 0.73 points per game average was a career-best.  With the signing, Nashville’s big four on the back end are all locked up through 2019-20 while three of them are signed through 2021-22 meaning that their defense corps will continue to be the backbone of their team for a while yet.

Boeser, Canucks To Discuss Extension: Although he has just one full NHL season under his belt, Canucks winger Brock Boeser is entering the final year of his entry-level deal and is eligible to sign an extension at any time.  The two sides had preliminary talks last month and will meet again next week to see if they can make some progress on a new deal.  Some notable players have signed in the $6MM range coming off their entry-level contracts and it’s reasonable to expect that Boeser should check in somewhere around that area as well even though he has less of a track record than most players coming off of the second year of their rookie pact.

Laine In No Rush To Sign Extension: While the Canucks will be talking to their top youngster about a new deal, that may not be the case for the Jets and winger Patrik Laine.  In an interview, the 20-year-old acknowledged that he’s in no rush to get a deal done and that he’s open to signing this summer or waiting until next offseason.  He did, however, indicate that his preference is to get a long-term pact done with Winnipeg.  Laine has scored 80 goals in his first two rookie seasons (the second most in the league) and he should have a case that he’s worth the eight-year, $80MM extension that Buffalo handed center Jack Eichel (the second overall pick in 2015) last summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Reinhart, Bjork, Jensen

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While a short-term bridge contract had been viewed as the best option for the Sabres when it comes to RFA forward Sam Reinhart, that may no longer be the case as Jared Clinton of The Hockey News suggests.  The 2014 second overall selection put up a career-best 50 points last season but 37 of those came in the final 38 games of the season.  If the team believes his strong second half is a sign of things to come, it’s may be in their best interest to try to save a bit more by committing long-term compared to doing so in a few years even if it’s the riskier way to go.  However, there’s a good chance that Reinhart’s representatives may point to the deal Dylan Larkin received from the Red Wings (five years, $30.5MM) as a potential comparable which may be more than what Buffalo is willing to pay.  Reinhart is one of the top unsigned RFAs remaining and his could be a case that takes a little while yet to settle.

More from the Atlantic:

  • Bruins winger Anders Bjork is ahead of schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery, notes Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. While he wasn’t expected to be fully recovered until the end of the month, Bjork has been training with full range of motion for the last several weeks and will be suiting up in Boston’s entry in a rookie tournament early next month.  With Rick Nash not re-signing with the team, there once again is an opening in the top-six up front and Bjork is expected to be among those battling for that spot in training camp.
  • Depending on how some youngsters fare in training camp, Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News believes that defenseman Nick Jensen could be a potential trade candidate around the start of the season. The 27-year-old played a regular role last season for the first time in his career and played relatively well, collecting 15 assists while logging over 16 minutes per night.  He has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit just over $812K which is certainly affordable for a depth defender while the fact he shoots right would also endear him to some teams as players shooting on that side aren’t in high supply.

PHR Originals: 8/13/18 – 8/19/18

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Here’s a rundown of some of the original content at PHR over the past seven days.

For the second straight year, the Oilers will be heading into the season without the services of veteran defender Andrej Sekera.  Zach broke down what’s left of the free agent market as well as some possibilities to hit the waiver wire if Edmonton decides to try to fill his spot with a cheap veteran.

Our Salary Cap Deep Dive series continues.  I took a look at the situations for the Penguins, Devils, and Flames while Holger assessed the Kings.

Meanwhile, the Red Wings currently find themselves over the salary cap.  Zach went over their situation including possibilities for long-term injury reserve, players that could be snuck through waivers, as well as some potential trade candidates.

While the salary cap rightfully gets most of the attention, there is also a contract cap in the NHL.  Gavin notes that the Coyotes are presently right up against the limit and even if their signed junior-aged players don’t make the team, it’s a situation they’re going to have to carefully navigate throughout the season.

Troy Brouwer was a late entrant into the free agent market after the Flames used a window after their salary arbitration cases to buy out the remainder of his contract.  Zach reviewed his free agent case and what type of deal he may have to settle for this summer.

Topics in our latest mailbag included a look at what the Senators should do with their notable pending unrestricted free agents, projects the Metropolitan Division, reviews Henrik Zetterberg’s injury situation and Detroit, and discusses whether Boston needs to make a move for top-six help now or wait until later in the season.

Teams have been looking overseas for players more and more frequently and this offseason has been no exception.  Zach provided a listing of all of the signings and looked at some of the players that are already projected to have an impact in the NHL next season.  Some of those players came from some non-traditional hockey markets; another non-traditional place that is starting to produce some talent is Southern California as Zach detailed.

With several key defensemen already inking long-term extensions to stick with their current teams, Toronto’s Jake Gardiner is quickly becoming one of the more intriguing UFAs on the back end.  Zach previewed his situation, noting that if Toronto wants to keep their top forward group intact, they may have some difficulties finding enough cap space to keep him in the fold as well.

What Does The Future Hold For Jake Gardiner?

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Before July 1st, few people outside of the Toronto Maple Leafs front office were too concerned about the contract status of defenseman Jake Gardiner, who enters the final year of his current deal in 2018-19. Then Drew Doughty, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ryan McDonagh, and Ryan Ellis all preemptively signed long, expensive extensions. Just like that, the situation for Gardiner changed completely.

Looking ahead to next summer, there is now an argument to be made that Gardiner is the second-best defenseman on the unrestricted free agent market as it currently stands. That was far from true earlier this summer. He has gone from an afterthought to an Erik Karlsson consolation prize. While the free agent class features many prominent veteran defenders – Jay Bouwmeester, Anton Stralman, Marc Methot, and Alexander Edler – it lacks many long-term pieces behind Karlsson and Gardiner. The Winnipeg Jets’ Tyler Myers and the Vegas Golden Knights’ Nate Schmidt would perhaps offer Gardiner some competition, if either unexpectedly reaches the market, but there is a strong case to be made that Gardiner would be the superior target.

The real question is whether or not Gardiner actually makes it to free agency. While nothing has changed about Gardiner’s value or ability since July 1st, his relative cost has shifted dramatically. With a potentially loaded free agent market for defensemen, Gardiner would have been taking a risk by turning down a fair extension from the Leafs to pursue other offers that may not have come once the smoke cleared from the major signings. Now that he almost certainly will be considered one of the top available names, Toronto may have to pay a premium to keep him from testing the waters, if they can. By the time Gardiner finishes next season, his career games played and offensive production will likely be superior to those currently of a player like McDonagh, who just signed a seven-year extension worth $6.75MM AAV. Granted, Gardiner is not the all-around player that McDonagh is, but given his continuously improving play and the boost of being a top available younger player, it is a fair frame of reference. For example, look at the four-year, $18.2MM contract that Calvin de Haan – considered by many to be the best defenseman in this current free agent class – signed with the Carolina Hurricanes this summer despite missing the majority of last season due to injury. The market sets the price and scarcity drives up price.

So will Toronto ante up to keep Gardiner? The Maple Leafs have to be careful with their long-term salary cap management. The team still owes William Nylander a contract this summer, as well as extensions for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner by next off-season. Those are the three names that everyone is focused on when it comes to Toronto. Yet, in addition to Gardiner, other impending free agents that the Leafs would like to keep include forwards Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Josh Leivo, defensemen Travis Dermott, Andreas Borgman, and Connor Carrick, goaltender Garret Sparks, and even incoming imports Par Lindholm and Igor Ozhiganov who could win spots on the team this season. This is the final year that Toronto can take advantage of this massive group of bargain players, all of whom are paid $1.3MM or less and due raises. Not to mention, signing Gardiner and the other blue liners and losing veteran Ron Hainsey will still keep a massive hole open on the right side of the defense that the team will need to continue to search to fill.

The numbers simply don’t seem to add up, at least not very neatly. It would seem difficult for the Maple Leafs to pay Gardiner his market value, extend all of their other key impending free agents, fill the gap on the right side of the top pair next to Morgan Rielly, and still somehow end up under the salary cap next season. The story line to watch this season, as the John Tavares era begins, is whether the Jake Gardiner era is ending. Another career year for the capable defenseman could leave the Leafs without much choice but to let him walk next off-season and continue to work with a pieced together blue line. Do they trade him at the deadline? Do they trade a young core forward to replace him? Or instead do they somehow move salary to fit Gardiner in at any cost? Find out in 2018-19.

 

Southern California Becoming A Hotbed For Young Hockey Talent

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Can you name the all-time leading NHL scorer who was born or raised in California? No? It’s long-retired journeyman defenseman Lee Norwood of course with a total of 211 points. Coming in at number two is Brooks Orpik and his 185 career points and Orpik was raised in New York and played his developmental hockey in Massachusetts. The state of California has simply never been much of producer of hockey talent. Not for long. The grassroots movement in Southern California, fueled by the success of its three NHL rival teams, has begun to grow talent at a rate never before seen in the state or in many southern markets. Soon, California natives will be making names for themselves at the highest level.

For a while now, Boston Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller has been the best player in the NHL both born and raised in California. The rugged blue liner from Los Angeles is 30 years old, making him more of an outlier ahead of his time. However, younger pros are beginning to line up behind him for the title of top Californian. Chad Ruhwedel, Ian McCoshen, Matthew Nieto, Beau Bennett, Nic Kerdiles, Eric Comrie and Collin Delia make up the list of other West Coast natives that are getting play time in the NHL.

The above group is still not all that impressive. The point being that the SoCal hockey movement hasn’t hit just yet. It is the next wave that will really start to turn heads. The poster boy is Vancouver Canucks top goalie prospect Thatcher Demko. The San Diego product was an early second-round pick in 2014 and has impressed at every level: the USHL, NCAA, and AHL. Once the Canucks finally give him a legitimate role in the NHL, he could become a top goalie in the league.

Demko was a product of the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League, a nationwide premiere youth league with teams based in major cities across the U.S., some of whom have even adopted the local NHL club’s moniker. Demko played for the Los Angeles Jr. Kings U16 team in 2011-12. To take a look at how hockey has grown since, here are some other names who have suited up for the same team since:

  • Robby Jackson, the leading scorer for St. Cloud State University, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18. Jackson turned down pro offers to return to school for his senior season.
  • Jake McGrew, a 2017 sixth-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks who currently plays a top-six role for the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL
  • Cole Guttman, a 2017 sixth-round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning and former top ten USHL scoring leader who heads to the University of Denver this year
  • Murphy Stratton, a point-per-game power forward in the BCHL last year who is committed to the University of North Dakota
  • Sahil Panwar, the 23rd overall pick by the London Knights in the OHL Priority Selection Draft this year and a 2020 NHL Draft prospect

While the Jr. Kings have had quite a run in recent years, the cross-town rival Anaheim Jr. Ducks have been keeping busy of late. In just the past year, the Ducks have had numerous major commitments. Josh Groll, on of the T1EHL’s top scorers last season, is bound for the University of Michigan. Ryan Johnson, who scored the second-most points by a defenseman in league history a year ago, is committed to the University of Minnesota. Just today, the University of Massachusetts received a commitment from forward Ethan Wothers. The top player to watch of them all though is Jackson Niedermayer, son of Hall of Famer Scott Niedermayer, who will join the Penticton Vees of the BCHL this season and promises to be an intriguing name in next year’s NHL Draft.

This is just the beginning of what grassroots hockey may grow to be in Southern California. Beaches and year round warm weather aside, the area has everything it needs to continue to grow the game: popular NHL teams, plenty of wealth to support facilities and training, an opportunity to be noticed, and now a high level of interest among the many young athletes. Kevan Miller may want to watch out, his title of being the best Californian in the NHL might not last much longer.

Minor Transactions: 8/19/18

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While we are deep into the dog days of summer, with just one unrestricted free agent signing thus far in the month of August, players of note nonetheless continue to make decisions about their hockey futures. Here are some of those minor moves today:

  • Washington Capitals free agent forward Wayne Simpson has signed with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, the team announced. The 28-year-old right winger earned his first NHL contract last summer, when the Caps offered him a two-way deal following back-to-back impressive seasons with the AHL’s Portland Pirates and Providence Bruins. While Simpson did not get to make his big league debut in 2017-18, he did have another strong showing in the minors with 42 points in 76 games for the Hershey Bears. Now, Simpson returns to upstate New York where he previously made a name for himself as a standout with Union College, just a couple hours from Rochester in Schenectady. Simpson would have been among the most productive players on the Amerks squad last season and will likely play an important role for the team this year.
  • Former Providence College star Tom Parisi is crossing the pond to continue his hockey career. The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver relays that Parisi has signed with the Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom. The Welsh club is gaining a major asset in Parisi, who played last season with the Laval Rocket of the AHL and led the team in ice time. Divver states that many will remember Parisi from his time with the Friars, when he scored two clutch goals en route to the program’s first ever National Championship in 2015. Parisi will likely be the best player on the Cardiff roster next season.
  • Another college hockey hero is on the move and to another surprising location no less. University of Denver goaltender Tanner Jaillet has signed with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey League in Germany. The team announced the contract, also naming Jaillet as the presumptive starter for next season. Jaillet has been one of the best goalies in the NCAA over the past two years, posting a save percentage just under .930 and a GAA of less than 1.90 in back-to-back seasons. In 2017, Jaillet led the Pioneers to a National Championship with several strong tournament outings. He was additionally named the winner of the Mike Richter Award as the top goalie in the NCAA, an award he was a finalist for again this past season. While it is unknown what the contract terms are with Wolfsburg, it is somewhat shocking that Jaillet could not land a similar or superior deal in North America. At 25, he is not much of a prospect any longer, but still showed immense talent in the college ranks. One would assume that a lights-out campaign in Germany could see NHL teams with renewed interest next off-season.

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