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Archives for August 2018

Minor Transactions: 08/17/18

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The hockey machine continues to chug along this offseason, with veteran players finding homes overseas and junior stars swapping sweaters. We’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • Matt Frattin has re-signed with Barys Astana in the KHL, returning to the league after playing in Switzerland at the very end of last season. Frattin, a former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect scored 29 points in 42 games during his first taste of KHL action last year and should find success again going forward. In 135 NHL games, Frattin recorded just 35 points but always showed flashes of a high offensive ceiling. Now 30 years old, his NHL career is likely behind him.
  • Former NHL defenseman Karl Stollery is heading to Jokerit of the KHL, leaving Dinamo Riga after a successful 2017-18 campaign. Stollery logged huge minutes for the club and also participated for Canada at the 2018 Winter Olympics. After a great four year career at Merrimack College, Stollery tried to grind his way through the North American minor leagues and only managed to suit up for 23 NHL contests.
  • The Hershey Bears have signed Logan Pyett and Adam Morrison to AHL contracts, giving the team some more experience for this season as they look to bounce back. Pyett is a former Detroit Red Wings prospect who has played in the KHL the last few seasons, while Morrison was originally selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in round three of the 2009 draft. The 27-year old goaltender has spent most of his professional career in the ECHL, but regularly posts solid numbers and should give the Bears some depth at the position.
  • The Oshawa Generals have traded four draft picks to acquire Giovanni Vallati from the Kitchener Rangers, bringing in the Winnipeg Jets prospect to give them another puck-moving defenseman for this season. Vallati has a ton of talent though still is learning how to use those skills to lock down the defensive zone and play a more consistent game. Two second and two third round picks was the cost to acquire the 18-year old, meaning the Generals will hope to get immediate dividends from Vallati.

Snapshots: Krug, Maroon, Patera

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With Andrej Sekera once again out long-term following surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports Boston notes that the Oilers showed interest in Bruins blueliner Torey Krug last season and wonders if the injury could help re-spark the talks.  Boston doesn’t necessarily want to move Krug but given their depth on the back end, it could make sense for them to use him as a trade chip to get some top-six help up front.

However, with Krug checking in at a $5.25MM cap hit, Edmonton would need to unload a similarly-priced contract as they still have to re-sign blueliner Darnell Nurse and long-term injury reserve would only help until Sekera is ready to return; they will have to be back in cap compliance before they can activate him later in the season.  The team only has a handful of forwards near that price range in Milan Lucic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  It’s doubtful that Boston would want Lucic and the five years left on his contract so unless the Oilers are comfortable with moving Nugent-Hopkins (something that has seemingly become less and less likely compared to a year ago), there may not be a great trade fit at this time between the two teams.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Winger Patrick Maroon – who signed with the Blues last month – is showing no ill effects from the surgery to repair a herniated disc back in May, reports NHL.com’s Lou Korac. He resumed skating last month and has been training fully for the last few weeks.  Getting off to a strong start to the season will be critical for Maroon as he inked just a one-year deal with the hope that he would be able to parlay that into a multi-year extension with his hometown team.  That extension can’t be worked out until January 1st.
  • Golden Knights goaltending prospect Jiri Patera has signed with Brandon of the WHL, the junior team announced. The netminder was selected in the CHL Import Draft back in June after spending last season with Cedar Rapids of the USHL.  The Wheat Kings have the rights to a pair of NHL first-round picks as well in defenseman Erik Brannstrom (also a Vegas prospect) and winger Martin Kaut; teams can only have two import players on their active roster so if all three were to make it there, they would have an issue.  However, it’s possible that one of Brannstrom or Kaut could start at the AHL level next season which would allow Patera to suit up in Brandon.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: New Jersey Devils

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

New Jersey Devils

Current Cap Hit: $61,343,333 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Joey Anderson (two years, $925K)
F Jesper Bratt (two years, $749K)
D Will Butcher (one year, $925K)
F Nico Hischier (two years, $925K)
F Pavel Zacha (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Bratt: $93K
Butcher: $2.85MM
Hischier: $2.85MM

Total: $6.63MM

Hischier wasn’t among the rookie scoring leaders when all was said and done but the number one pick in 2017 still made his mark by finishing second in team scoring while ascending to a top-six role as a center quickly instead of being eased in as a winger.  That should have him in line to potentially max out his Schedule ‘B’ bonuses ($850K) but he’ll have a hard time locking down the loftier Schedule ‘A’ one.  He’ll be eligible for a contract extension next summer and it will be interesting to see if the Devils look to lock him up early or let him play out his contract and wait until the 2020 offseason to work something out.

Bratt was a big surprise last season.  Only one year removed from being a sixth-round pick, he wasn’t even on the radar to make the team but wound up playing over 15 minutes a night while providing strong secondary scoring.  A repeat performance could make him an early extension candidate as well.  Zacha has disappointed over his first two NHL seasons as he has to make much of an impact offensively.  He has the size and skills to carve out a big role but has yet to do so thus far.  Even if he rebounds next season, he’s a strong candidate for a bridge deal.  Anderson has yet to play in the pros but New Jersey thinks highly enough of him that they burned the first year of his entry-level deal in mid-April without him playing even a single game.  With that in mind, it’s reasonable to think they expect him to make an impact fairly quickly.

As for Butcher, he made a strong impact coming over in free agency after declining to sign with Colorado.  While he was sheltered (as many rookie blueliners often are), he made an immediate impact at the offensive end and is poised to take on a bigger role in 2018-19.  He should hit at least some of his ‘B’ bonuses (also $850K in total) but the ‘A’ one is going to be out of reach.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Brian Boyle ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Marcus Johansson ($4.583MM, UFA)
G Keith Kinkaid ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Ben Lovejoy ($2.67MM, UFA)
D Mirco Mueller ($850K, RFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($1.725MM, RFA)

Johansson was New Jersey’s big acquisition last summer but concussion trouble limited him to just 29 games.  When healthy, he is still a quality top-six forward capable of playing all three positions and a full season could help him land a nice raise on the open market.  However, another injury-filled campaign could have him settling for a one-year deal next summer.  Boyle’s start with the Devils got off to a rough start after being diagnosed with leukemia but he made an immediate impact upon his return and scored 13 times for the third straight year while winning the Masterton Trophy.  It’s hard to see him really boosting his pay on his next deal, however, as he’ll be 34 and some teams are starting to look for cheaper role players now.  Noesen had a career year last season which earned him a $1.125MM raise but if he takes a step backwards next season, he could become a non-tender candidate.

Lovejoy was a regular in his first season with the Devils but was more of a depth player at times for them last year, spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch.  That appears likely to continue as their back end remains intact which means that he will be taking a considerable pay cut on his next deal.  Mueller missed over 30 games with a fractured clavicle and was also scratched at times which resulted in what’s basically a one-year bridge deal.  If he’s in a similar role for 2018-19, he will be in line for another deal like that next offseason.

Kinkaid’s case is particularly interesting.  He re-signed last summer as someone without too much of an NHL track record.  That changed last season as he got into 41 games, took over the number one job briefly, and posted numbers around the league average.  That may not sound too exciting but a similar performance next year will still have him well-positioned for a sizable pay increase.

Two Years Remaining

D Andy Greene ($5MM, UFA)
F Taylor Hall ($6MM, UFA)
D Sami Vatanen ($4.875MM, UFA)

Hall’s stellar showing last season has been well documented.  The Hart Trophy winner shattered his career highs across the board and was a huge factor in them getting to the postseason.  Even if he takes a step back next season, he’ll still be in line for a notable raise on an early extension.  If he has a comparable performance in 2018-19 though, it’ll likely take putting him close to the league leaders in salary to get him to forego free agency.

Vatanen wasn’t quite as productive as expected after being acquired from Anaheim but he was still able to step up and play a number one role.  With the state of their back end, that’s going to be the case again next season which will be helping to make a case for his next deal starting with a six or a seven to be more in line with top-pairing players.  Greene has become more of a shutdown player compared to a few years ago which makes his deal a little bit of a premium.  Between that and his age (he’ll be 36 next summer), there’s a very good chance that he’ll be asked to take a pay cut on his next contract.

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Hurricanes Have Started Extension Discussions With Sebastian Aho

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The Hurricanes have started discussions on a contract extension for forward Sebastian Aho, notes NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.  Aho acknowledged that he’s hopeful that his agent Gerry Johansson can get a long-term deal done but that he has “nothing to say yet”.

The 21-year-old is coming off of a very strong sophomore campaign that saw him improve his point total from his rookie season by 16.  His 65 points on the year led all Carolina players and he followed that up with a stellar showing at the World Championships where he finished second in the tournament in scoring with 18 points in just eight contests.

Aho could also be in line for a position change for next season.  After finishing the year as a center, new head coach Rod Brind’Amour noted that they will consider moving him back to the wing.  Despite losing both Elias Lindholm (trade) and Derek Ryan (free agency), Carolina still has some good options down the middle in Jordan Staal, Victor Rask, as well as youngster Martin Necas who is expected to be a regular in 2018-19.

Aho is already signed through the upcoming campaign with a $925K cap hit plus another $850K in Schedule ‘B’ bonuses that he should have a strong chance at achieving.  It’s safe to say that his next deal, whenever it’s signed, will vastly surpass that amount.  Fortunately for Carolina, they have plenty of room to work with under the salary cap so they shouldn’t have to move anyone out to accommodate his eventual new salary.

Ryan Ellis Doing “His Part” To Keep Nashville Predators Together

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When the Nashville Predators announced an eight-year, $50MM contract extension for Ryan Ellis earlier this week, the initial reaction by many was surprise at the relatively low cap hit. Ellis’s deal will carry an average annual value of just $6.25MM starting in 2019-20, putting him 21st in the league among defenders already signed through that season. He’s sure to drop at least a few more spots as contracts are signed by players like Erik Karlsson, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba and Jake Gardiner depending on what they eventually negotiate, and even more if youngsters like Zach Werenski or Charlie McAvoy get huge contracts coming out of their entry-level deals.

While Ellis isn’t among the absolute elite, he should likely be considered in the group just below that and could have earned more than $6.25MM in free agency next summer. We’d already seen offensive defensemen like John Carlson and Oliver Ekman-Larsson get upwards of $8MM per season, and even if he didn’t get to those heights a $7MM cap hit could’ve been expected. It seems like he knows that, but was more than willing to take a little less to stay in Nashville and compete for the Stanley Cup for a long time. Ellis spoke with Robby Stanley of NHL.com and explained his thought process in negotiating the reasonable cap hit.

I’m getting paid more than enough to play hockey, and I’m very excited to be able to do that for a long time. It was just about coming across a fair deal and what worked for both sides. We have other guys that need to be re-upped and need to be signed in the future, and I had to do my part to keep this thing going in the right direction. If we can keep everyone here and keep the core together, I think we can compete for a Stanley Cup for the next ten years at least.

Ellis has long been considered one of the key leaders in the Nashville locker room, and from comments like these you can easily see why. Though he certainly won’t be worried about money any time soon, taking even a little less in order for the team to stay competitive is not a common practice among professional athletes. As well it shouldn’t be, some would argue, given that every time someone gets the best deal he can it helps the entire group of players drive salaries upwards. Comparable contracts are used extensively in negotiations, and someone like Ellis settling for a little bit less actually could hurt the earning potential of another player. We’ve seen a similar thing happen with Connor McDavid settling for just $12.5MM per season instead of the $15MM maximum he likely could have demanded, making it basically impossible for any other player coming out of an entry-level deal to ask for that much. Auston Matthews, who could get a six figure salary on his next contract, potentially can’t ask for $12.5MM if he isn’t making the same contribution as McDavid, even though he likely could have if the Edmonton Oilers superstar had taken a bit more.

Still for Nashville, having a player take a little less is extremely important. We’ve seen the Predators work out team-friendly contracts in the past which has made their current salary structure more than manageable, but there are still big names to sign in the coming years. Captain Roman Josi is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in 2020, and they’ll have to make a decision on Pekka Rinne’s future at some point in the next 10 months. Though they have Juuse Saros on one of those team-friendly contracts, it’s hard to just walk away from a perennial Vezina contender.

For Ellis, there is still plenty of money to go around in the contract and having the security of an eight-year extension makes it possible that he spends his entire career with one organization. Though GM David Poile doesn’t give out no-trade clauses, Ellis at least has the chance to play parts of 16 seasons with the Predators before needing a new contract. That’s a heck of a career for any player, especially one who many people doubted in the 2009 Entry Draft for being too small to handle defense in the NHL. Ellis rewarded the Predators with incredible play for a bargain basement price on his first multi-year extension, and now has taken at least a little bit less to stick around another eight years.

Arizona Coyotes Lack Flexibility Due To Roster Limits

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One of the CBA rules that rarely gets the spotlight of media attention, yet affects NHL organizations every year is that of the Standard Player Contract (SPC) limit. Each team is only allowed to have 50 NHL contracts on the books at any one time, including two-way contracts and players on injured or long-term injured reserve. The Arizona Coyotes currently find themselves at that limit, with 50 players already signed. That’s why the recent Marian Hossa trade included Andrew Campbell and Jordan Maletta going back to the Blackhawks, despite neither really being very valuable to an NHL team. The Coyotes couldn’t take on all three of the contracts for Hossa, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jordan Oesterle without matching with the same outgoing number.

The Coyotes do have a pair of players who likely will not count towards the 50-contract limit this season, as Barrett Hayton and Pierre-Olivier Joseph are both young enough—18 or 19 years old—to be removed from the SPC list when they are sent back to junior hockey. That of course assumes that they won’t make the Coyotes out of camp, something that isn’t necessarily guaranteed but should be expected. Even with those two added slots, the Coyotes will have to be wary of their contract totals all season long. Staying right at the limit is dangerous given that you may run into injury trouble and want to sign a veteran out of free agency or promote a player on an AHL contract. It also limits what you can do in terms of signing players out of the college ranks.

Today a list of sixteen players became unrestricted free agents after failing to reach an entry-level contract with the team that drafted them. One of those players, Jared Fiegl, couldn’t have been signed because of the Coyotes current situation even if they had wanted to. While Fiegl was just a seventh-round pick and likely wouldn’t have earned an NHL contract anyway—he has since signed with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL—there are always players who deserve contracts at the end of the college season, both drafted and undrafted.

In Arizona’s system for instance, there are Ty Emberson and Cameron Crotty who will both be playing in the NCAA this season. Each a third-round pick, there is always a chance of a breakout season and the desire to turn pro in early spring. If there are no contract slots available, the Coyotes won’t be able to bring them into their system on an entry-level deal right away and run the risk of them returning to school for another season. The undrafted players pose an even bigger risk, as a team without a contract slot would be at a severe disadvantage in free agent negotiations.

Though the Coyotes are currently the only team right at the limit, there are several others who are flirting with it. The Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights are already at 48 contracts and each have a restricted free agent left to sign in Nick Ritchie and Shea Theodore respectively. The Ottawa Senators are also at 48, and two players that could potentially come off the list in Brady Tkachuk and Alex Formenton both might not be playing in junior this season. Tkachuk could potentially go to the AHL to work with the Binghamton Senators if he doesn’t make the NHL, while Formenton already has an NHL game under his belt and might jump right to Ottawa this season.

Living on the edge doesn’t cripple a team, but it does reduce their flexibility when working out trades or negotiating with free agents. Teams like the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs dealt with that issue at times last year, and many others could this time around. Though it rarely gets much attention it is definitely something to keep an eye on as training camp comes around next month, and injuries start to pile up.

Sixteen College Players Become Unrestricted Free Agents

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At midnight last night, sixteen college players drafted by NHL teams became unrestricted free agents after failing to sign an entry-level contract. These players are now eligible to sign with any team in the league, though none of them stand out as immediate targets. Our Zach Leach broke down the best available options recently, including several players who have already agreed to minor league contracts. None of the teams that drafted these players will receive any compensation for the expiring rights.

Johnathan MacLeod – Tampa Bay Lightning, 57th overall, 2014

Jack Glover – Winnipeg Jets, 69th overall, 2014

Shane Eiserman – Ottawa Senators, 100th overall, 2014

Michael Prapavessis – Dallas Stars, 105th overall, 2014

Aidan Muir – Edmonton Oilers, 113th overall, 2013

Steven Johnson – Los Angeles Kings, 120th overall, 2014

Max Willman – Buffalo Sabres, 121st overall, 2014

Terrance Amorosa – Philadelphia Flyers, 132nd overall, 2013

Tyler Bird – Columbus Blue Jackets, 137th overall, 2014

Avery Peterson – Minnesota Wild, 167th overall, 2013

Kelly Summers – Ottawa Senators, 189th overall, 2014

Jared Fiegl – Arizona Coyotes, 191st overall, 2014 *Has signed with Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL)

David Drake – Philadelphia Flyers, 192nd overall, 2013 *Has signed with Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)

Matt Ustaski – Winnipeg Jets, 192nd overall, 2014 *Has signed with Manitoba Moose (AHL)

Dwyer Tschantz – St. Louis Blues, 202nd overall, 2014 *Has signed with Maine Mariners (ECHL)

Judd Peterson – Buffalo Sabres, 204th overall, 2012

“A Lot Of Doubt” Still Surrounds Henrik Zetterberg’s Future

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Reports have surfaced every few weeks this summer that Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg may not play in the 2018-19 season due to a lingering back injury, and last week GM Ken Holland muddied the water even further. Holland called Zetterberg an “unknown” when speaking to reporters, and indicated he would know more in September. That timeline is what head coach Jeff Blashill repeated to Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News, but seemed even less confident in Zetterberg’s ability to play this season:

He’s had a hard summer and I don’t think his back is reacting great. Certainly we’ll know more in a month, but as of today, there’s a lot of doubt as to whether his back will be healthy enough to play.

If Zetterberg does sit out the year, the Red Wings could put his $6.08MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve to create some more cap flexibility. The actual salary of his deal drops to just $3.35MM this season, and the contract will pay him just $1MM in each of the next two years. That seems like quite the coincidence given that Zetterberg hasn’t missed a regular season game in three straight seasons, but Blashill was quick to point out that his captain was also forced to stop practicing entirely for the last two months of the 2017-18 season.

From 1990-91 to 2015-16 the Red Wings never missed the postseason, and Zetterberg played a crucial role in many of those seasons. He, Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom formed the core of a powerhouse team for years, until the latter’s retirement in 2012. Now having missed the postseason in back to back years, the Red Wings will try to form a new young core of players like Dylan Larkin, Filip Zadina and Anthony Mantha to get them back to the promised land and compete for the Stanley Cup once again. It never seemed like Zetterberg could be a real part of that, even without a career-threatening injury popping up. The 37-year old has seen his offensive numbers decline in recent years, to the point of just scoring 11 goals last season. That was the lowest full-season total of his career, and one that the team should be able to replace.

They won’t as easily replace his leadership though, which will put even more pressure on Larkin to develop into a true first-line center. Without that the Red Wings could be in for a tough season, given their cap problems and lack of real elite talent throughout the lineup.

If it is the end for Zetterberg, he would be leaving the game with 960 career points in 1,082 regular season games. The veteran forward has been in Selke contention for nearly his entire career as one of the better defensive forwards in the league, and took home a Conn Smythe trophy during the Red Wings 2008 Stanley Cup run. Undoubtedly one of the most well-respected and beloved Red Wings players in history, this would be a tough way to see his career come to an end.

Full NHL Preseason Schedule

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The NHL preseason is less than a month away with things scheduled to kick off on September 15th in Shenzhen, China. The Calgary Flames will take on the Boston Bruins as the NHL tries to expand their influence in China before the upcoming 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Last year saw the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks meet in Shanghai and Beijing during the preseason, events that were generally regarded a success.

This preseason will also feature matchups in Germany and Switzerland as the league continues their Global Series Challenge, and several neutral-site games in smaller towns and cities across North America. The full preseason schedule is below (all times central):

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