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Toronto Maple Leafs Listening On Kapanen, Kadri

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have dominated headlines as the draft approaches because of their ongoing negotiations with top restricted free agent Mitch Marner, but might be making news of another kind in the coming days. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Maple Leafs are “bracing for activity” and will listen to trade offers for both Kasperi Kapanen and Nazem Kadri. Dreger also lists Connor Brown as a possible trade candidate.

Kapanen, 22, has already been traded once in his young career, flipped to the Maple Leafs as a key part of the Phil Kessel deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015. Though he’d flirted with NHL playing time over the last several seasons, Kapanen broke out as a regular with the Maple Leafs in 2018-19, scoring 20 goals and 44 points in 78 games. Often strapped to Auston Matthews’ wing, Kapanen took advantage of the situation Toronto found themselves in without William Nylander to start the season and proved he could be a top-six player in the NHL even at a young age.

Scheduled to hit restricted free agency for the first time, the speedster isn’t yet eligible for salary arbitration but should still earn a healthy raise. That poses a problem for Toronto who are still waiting to see where Marner’s deal will leave them in terms of cap space for next season. With news that the cap ceiling may not be as high as originally thought, there’s good reason for the Maple Leafs to listen on potential trade offers, and Dreger notes that they are looking for a defenseman in return for the young winger. In fact, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Toronto recently spoke with the Carolina Hurricanes about a deal that would have seen Kapanen and Brown exchanged for Brett Pesce. LeBrun isn’t the first person to indicate that Carolina isn’t willing to move Pesce at the moment however.

Kadri meanwhile is in a different situation, as he is one of the few bargains the Maple Leafs have on the roster currently. Now a third-line center thanks to the acquisition of John Tavares, the 28-year old is a two-time 30-goal scorer and carries just a $4.5MM cap hit for three more seasons. His contract is relatively inexpensive for his skill level but after seeing his goal total drop to just 16 in 2018-19 and earning a playoff suspension for the second consecutive season, his name has been in trade rumors for weeks. Dreger notes that the Maple Leafs would want a center back in any Kadri deal.

New York Rangers Involved In Multiple Trade Discussions

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“This may mean we lose some familiar faces, guys we all care about and respect.”

That’s what the New York Rangers front office stated in a letter dated February 8, 2018 as they began their deconstruction of a roster that had brought such immense regular season success. That day they waived Brendan Smith less than a year after signing him to a four-year extension, and two weeks later started the process of selling off all the aging or expiring assets. First out the door was Nick Holden, then Michael Grabner and Rick Nash. That could have been a shocking trade deadline it its own right, but GM Jeff Gorton had an even bigger deal up his sleeve, sending captain Ryan McDonagh and power forward J.T. Miller to the Tampa Bay Lightning. A year later Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes were shipped off as well.

Now, even after starting to turn the corner from tear down to rebuild with acquisitions like Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba, the Rangers still might have a few items for sale. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that the Rangers are “involved in multiple discussions to improve their club” at the moment, and lists Chris Kreider, Jimmy Vesey, Vladislav Namestnikov, Kevin Shattenkirk and Pavel Buchnevich as potential trade options. Indeed Vesey even rose to the eighth spot on his Trade Bait board, noting that the Rangers have “a lot on the go.”

That TSN report comes at nearly the same time as Larry Brooks’ latest column for the New York Post, which suggests that this is likely the end for Kreider in New York. Brooks reports that the Rangers and Kreider’s agent Matt Keator of Olympic Sports Management haven’t yet held a “substantive conversation” about what a contract extension would look like. The 28-year old forward has just one year remaining on his current deal, and would likely fetch the biggest return out of the group listed above.

The questions will now become what the Rangers are after. Do they move Kreider for more draft picks and continue to collect young talent, or do they try and bring in more established players like Trouba to start the turnaround right away. With just two players on the entire roster signed for more than two years—Mika Zibanejad and Brady Skjei—the team has more flexibility than almost any in the league. Free agency will be a tempting pool to jump into this season, especially with the expected interest of Artemi Panarin and others in playing for a New York-area team.

First though the team must navigate the next few days and decide whether or not they will be losing some more familiar faces—even ones that they care about and respect.

Increased Interest In Carolina Defenders As Draft Approaches

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The Carolina Hurricanes have had a surplus of good young defensemen for years now. Just about every time a team was looking for help on the blue line, the Hurricanes were linked as a possible trade target. That’s what happens when you have potentially eight top-four options in the organization (including Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean), all 28 or younger. Now, even after the group finally came together and showed what they could do in the playoffs, the Hurricanes are still being targeted as a team that might want to move one of their defensemen. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports that Carolina GM Don Waddell is “getting calls left and right” on their right-handed group, especially Brett Pesce who the Hurricanes do not want to trade.

One possibility however is Justin Faulk, whose representatives the Hurricanes will meet with at the draft in Vancouver to have some initial discussions about an extension. Faulk, 27, is heading into the final year of his current deal and is an obvious option for the Hurricanes to trade if they wanted to move someone from the back end. Still, the team has made it clear that they would like to extend him if possible, something they certainly have the cap space to do if they choose. Even with a new contract due for Sebastian Aho the Hurricanes will have tons of room to do whatever they want this summer, as long as owner Tom Dundon approves the spending.

Seravalli points out that a similar meeting to speak about extension numbers took place last year for Carolina, that time with Elias Lindholm’s camp. It didn’t go well and Lindholm was traded to the Calgary Flames the next day. A few weeks after that, Lindholm signed a six-year extension with the Flames at a cap hit of $4.85MM and then proceeded to break out offensively while playing with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan.

The Hurricanes are in a prime position as the draft approaches. The team found success on the ice this season, but still have four picks in the first two rounds and plenty of cap space to play with. Add in an overflowing prospect pool and more quality NHL defensemen than they can ice on any given night, and Waddell could have the rest of the league eating out of the palm of his hand on Friday night.

USA Hockey Announces Invitees For 2019 Summer Showcase

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After Canada released their group yesterday, USA Hockey has announced their 44 invites for the 2019 World Junior Summer Showcase, the first step towards participating at the next World Junior tournament. GM John Vanbiesbrouck and head coach Scott Sandelin will be evaluating all 44 players over a short period in Plymouth, Michigan between July 26-August 3 where they will take on teams from Canada, Sweden and Finland.

The list of players includes many already drafted names, but also some that are available this weekend in the 2019 Entry Draft. The full group is listed below:

G Drew DeRidder (2019 draft eligible)
G Spencer Knight (2019 draft eligible)
G Isaiah Saville (2019 draft eligible)
G Dustin Wolf (2019 draft eligible)

D Slava Demin (VGK, unsigned)
D Ty Emberson (ARZ, unsigned)
D Jordan Harris (MTL, unsigned)
D Drew Helleson (2019 draft eligible)
D Zach Jones (2019 draft eligible)
D Ryan Johnson (2019 draft eligible)
D Christian Krygier (NYI, unsigned)
D Jackson LaCombe (2019 draft eligible)
D K’Andre Miller (NYR, unsigned)
D Alec Regula (DET, unsigned)
D Mattias Samuelsson (BUF, unsigned)
D Spencer Stastney (NSH, unsigned)
D Jayden Struble (2019 draft eligible)
D Alex Vlasic (2019 draft eligible)
D Bode Wilde (NYI)
D Cam York (2019 draft eligible)

F John Beecher (2019 draft eligible)
F Matthew Boldy (2019 draft eligible)
F Bobby Brink (2019 draft eligible)
F Cole Caufield (2019 draft eligible)
F Jack Drury (CAR, unsigned)
F Joel Farabee (PHI)
F John Farinacci (2019 draft eligible)
F Parker Ford (2019 draft eligible)
F Jon Gruden (OTT)
F Curtis Hall (BOS, unsigned)
F Trevor Janicke (2019 draft eligible)
F Blade Jenkins (NYI, unsigned)
F Arthur Kaliyev (2019 draft eligible)
F Owen Lindmark (2019 draft eligible)
F Luke Loheit (OTT, unsigned)
F Robert Mastrosimone (2019 draft eligible)
F Blake McLaughlin (ANA, unsigned)
F Shane Pinto (2019 draft eligible)
F Jacob Pivonka (NYI, unsigned)
F Nick Robertson (2019 draft eligible)
F Alex Turcotte (2019 draft eligible)
F Luke Toporowski (2019 draft eligible)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (NYI)
F Trevor Zegras (2019 draft eligible)

Notably not on the list is potential first overall pick Jack Hughes, who is still eligible for the tournament but will likely be playing in the NHL for the 2019-20 season.

Alex Edler Re-Signs With Vancouver Canucks

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The Vancouver Canucks and Alexander Edler have finally agreed upon a new deal. The veteran defenseman has re-signed with the Canucks on a two-year contract worth a total of $12MM. GM Jim Benning released a statement on the signing:

Alex is important to our team and has played as the cornerstone of our defence throughout his career. He’s a leader with tremendous experience, plays important minutes and contributes to every part of our team game. We’re very pleased for Alex and his family that he’ll continue his career as a Vancouver Canuck.

After reports had surfaced yesterday that the two sides had finally found a solution on the biggest sticking point—Edler did not want to be exposed in the upcoming Seattle expansion draft—many expected the deal to be three or four years in length but not include a no-movement clause. Instead, the two sides have come to an agreement that will see the veteran defenseman hit the open market in 2021. While that technically leaves him open to being selected in the draft—expansion clubs are allowed to take a certain number of pending free agents—he would never have to actually play for Seattle if he didn’t want to.

By keeping the term short, Benning did need to offer a fair amount of money. Edler will actually get a raise on the $5MM cap hit he carried for the past six years, and once again becomes the most expensive defenseman on the Canucks roster. In fact, his $6MM cap hit matches Loui Eriksson as the highest on the team, though restricted free agent Brock Boeser may have something to say about that in the coming days.

Unlike Eriksson though, Edler is still an effective piece for the Canucks moving forward. While he has deal with injuries in almost every season of his career, he still is an excellent puck-moving option for the team that can log huge minutes in all situations. Through 56 games last season the 33-year old had 34 points, a pace that would have seen him set a new career high. If that same player returns to the team next season Edler will be perfect insulation as the young Quinn Hughes gets his feet wet in the NHL.

The deal does however once again weaken what is a razor thin free agent defense group. Beyond Tyler Myers and Jake Gardiner there are very few legitimate top-four options, with older players like Anton Stralman, Ron Hainsey and even Niklas Kronwall leading the way. That kind of shallow pool is another reason why the trade market has been so active and will likely continue to be, with players like Justin Braun, Olli Maatta, Radko Gudas, Matt Niskanen and Jacob Trouba already changing hands. Vancouver was expected to be involved in that trade market, but retaining Edler at least guarantees that one of their top spots will be filled by someone they can rely on next season.

2019 NHL Awards Recap

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The NHL Awards were held on Wednesday night and some notable choices were made for the trophies. Below are the award winners, finalists, and voting totals where available (via the NHL).

Calder Trophy – Rookie Of The Year

Winner: Elias Pettersson (Canucks)
Runners-Up: Jordan Binnington (Blues), Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres)

Full Voting Results

Lady Byng Trophy – Most Gentlemanly Player

Winner: Aleksander Barkov (Panthers)
Runners-Up: Ryan O’Reilly (Blues), Sean Monahan (Flames)

Full Voting Results

General Manager Of The Year

Winner: Don Sweeney (Bruins)
Runners-Up: Doug Armstrong (Blues), Don Waddell (Hurricanes)

Full Voting Results

King Clancy Trophy – Humanitarian

Winner: Jason Zucker (Wild)
Runners-Up: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Coyotes), Henrik Lundqvist (Rangers)

Ted Lindsay Award – Most Outstanding Player (as voted by the players)

Winner: Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)
Runners-Up: Connor McDavid (Oilers), Patrick Kane (Blackhawks)

Norris Trophy – Top Defenseman

Winner: Mark Giordano (Flames)
Runners-Up: Brent Burns (Sharks), Victor Hedman (Lightning)

Full Voting Results

Bill Masterton Award – Perseverance, Sportsmanship, and Dedication

Winner: Robin Lehner (Islanders)
Runners-Up: Nick Foligno (Blue Jackets), Joe Thornton (Sharks)

Selke Trophy – Best Defensive Forward

Winner: Ryan O’Reilly (Blues)
Runners-Up: Mark Stone (Golden Knights), Patrice Bergeron (Bruins)

Full Voting Results

Jack Adams Award – Coach Of The Year

Winner: Barry Trotz (Islanders)
Runners-Up: Jon Cooper (Lightning), Craig Berube (Blues)

Full Voting Results

Vezina Trophy – Goaltender Of The Year

Winner: Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning)
Runners-Up: Ben Bishop (Stars), Robin Lehner (Islanders)

Full Voting Results

Messier Leadership Award

Winner: Wayne Simmonds (Predators)
Runners-Up: Mark Giordano (Flames), Justin Williams (Hurricanes)

Hart Trophy – Most Valuable Player

Winner: Nikita Kucherov (Lightning)
Runners-Up: Sidney Crosby (Penguins), Connor McDavid (Oilers)

Full Voting Results

East Notes: Kreider, Boedker, Harpur, Viveiros

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The Rangers have had brief discussions regarding a possible contract extension for Chris Kreider, GM Jeff Gorton told reporters, including Larry Brooks of the New York Post.  The winger has been fairly consistent offensively over the past three seasons, averaging between 0.64 and 0.71 points per game in that span.  That type of consistency is hard to find among power forwards which will put him on track for a sizable raise on his current $4.625MM AAV; Brooks suggests Kreider’s next contract will check in at $6.5MM per year or more.  If that’s a price tag that New York doesn’t want to pay, it’s possible that his name will come up in trade discussions in the coming days.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Senators are hoping to trade winger Mikkel Boedker, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, who notes that there is mild interest from some teams. The 29-year-old picked up 35 points in 71 games in his first season with Ottawa but as a team that’s clearly in the middle of a rebuild, he’s someone that’s not going to be in their long-term plans so if the opportunity arises to move him for younger assets, it’s one that GM Pierre Dorion will likely look to make.  Boedker carries a $4MM cap hit through 2019-20 but his salary checks in lower at $3MM.  Garrioch adds that defenseman Ben Harpur could be a trade candidate in the coming days with his spot on the roster potentially looking tenuous for next season.
  • Still with the Senators, former Oilers assistant coach Manny Viveiros is in the running for a spot on Ottawa’s coaching staff, notes Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. 2018-19 was his first season in the NHL after previous stints with Swift Current (WHL), Germany, and Austria.

Latest On Jesse Puljujarvi

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If Jesse Puljujarvi has his way, he has played his last game with Edmonton.  His agent Markus Lehto told reporters, including Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, that if the winger is not traded, he will play overseas next season.

Things have not gone well for the 21-year-old, who was the fourth overall pick back in 2016.  While the hope was that he could be a future winger for Connor McDavid on their top line, he has been anything but.  Puljujarvi has struggled offensively and his overall game hasn’t really improved too much from his rookie season.  He had just nine points in 46 games with the Oilers in 2018-19, hardly the type of output they were expecting from him in his third season.

There’s a case to be made that Puljujarvi should stick it out with Edmonton.  Not only are there multiple vacancies on the right wing, it’s a new situation with GM Ken Holland and head coach Dave Tippett joining the team this offseason.  Their presence presents an opportunity for a fresh start without necessarily needing to go anywhere.  According to Lehto, multiple teams have already shown interest while Spector adds that Jokerit (KHL) or Karpat (SM-liiga) would be preferred landing spots.

However, it appears that in Puljujarvi’s eyes, that won’t be enough and a move out of Edmonton is preferred.  Unfortunately for him, his trade value isn’t particularly high right now; a report earlier today stated that they were seeking a third-line winger for his services.  Holland was asked to comment on the trade request and certainly didn’t want to guarantee that Puljujarvi will be suiting up with another NHL team next season:

At the end of the day, if you can do a deal that makes sense for the Edmonton Oilers, you do it.  If you can’t, you go over (to Europe) and watch him play, and hopefully he scores a lot of goals over there.

As a restricted free agent this summer, Edmonton can simply issue a qualifying offer to Puljujarvi to retain his negotiating rights and Holland essentially confirmed they’ll do so with the above comment.  With the draft just days away, the Oilers could change course and look for a draft pick if someone they like starts to fall down the board which would open up some other trade opportunities but even at that, it’s a situation where they’ll sell low.  Just how low Holland is willing to go will ultimately determine if Puljujarvi gets his wish.

Free Agent Focus: Washington Capitals

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Free agency is now just a couple of weeks away 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.  The Capitals already put pen to paper with one of their free agents of note but they still have several players in need of new deals.  Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Notable Restricted Free Agents: F Jakub Vrana – After a relatively quiet sophomore season, Vrana was much-improved in 2018-19 and took several strides towards locking down a spot in Washington’s top six on a more permanent basis.  GM Brian MacLellan has indicated that he’s open to signing the 23-year-old to a long-term contract but that may be a tricky one to navigate between their salary cap situation and a lack of track record as a scorer in the NHL.  A bridge deal of two or three years would ease their cap burden a little bit and give them more time to evaluate Vrana’s long-term fit with the franchise.

F Andre Burakovsky – A few years ago, he looked like a future top-six piece (not unlike Vrana’s situation now).  However, his development and production have plateaued and he actually took a step back this past season and found himself on the fourth line quite frequently in the second half.  At 24, there’s still some cause for optimism that Burakovsky could turn things around but his qualifying offer of $3.25MM makes that a risky proposition due to their limited cap space.  All options are on the table at this point but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Capitals try to convince him to sign below his qualifier or try to find a team that’s willing to pay him that and deal his rights around the draft.

Other RFAs: F Mathias Bau-Hansen, F Dmitrij Jaskin, D Christian Djoos, F Hampus Gustavsson, F Mason Mitchell, F Chandler Stephenson, G Vitek Vanecek, D Colby Williams

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents: F Brett Connolly – After showing flashes of his potential over the first several years of his career, the 27-year-old started to put everything together with more consistency this past season.  He blew past his previous career high in points (27) by picking up 22 goals and 24 assists on the year and most importantly, he did so almost exclusively at even strength; just two of his 46 points were on special teams.  It’s also worth noting that he averaged just 13:20 of ice time per night which is low for someone with that type of production.  Secondary scoring is always something teams try to find in free agency and the fact that Connolly just showed that he can produce at five-on-five with limited minutes is going to make him a popular target next month.

D Brooks Orpik – His second go-around with the team came just after his first one ended after Washington dealt him to Colorado.  The Avalanche bought him out and Orpik returned to the Caps.  His role was a lot different in 2018-19, however.  Instead of being a fixture in their top four most nights, Orpik was relegated to more of a depth role.  He’ll turn 39 next month so, at this stage of his career, he’s going to be going year to year on his contracts.  It doesn’t seem likely that he’ll be back in Washington but a team looking for veteran depth could come calling as the summer goes along.

Other UFAs: F Riley Barber, F Jayson Megna, D Aaron Ness, F Michael Sgarbossa, F Devante Smith-Pelly, F Nathan Walker

Projected Cap Space: Right now, Washington has a little over $72.2MM tied up in 17 players for next season, per CapFriendly.  With the Upper Limit now being projected to be a little lower than anticipated, that’s going to leave MacLellan with less than $10MM to round out the roster.  Vrana’s going to take up a fair-sized chunk of that even on a short-term deal while if Burakovsky sticks around, their cap room will drop quite a bit again.  Accordingly, expect them to be shopping for bargains in free agency, players that are willing to take a bit less to play on what they believe can still be a Cup-contending team.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Daniel Walcott

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed Daniel Walcott to a one-year, two-way contract. Walcott was scheduled to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent after missing nearly the entire 2018-19 season with a shoulder injury.

Now 25, Walcott played just five games for the Syracuse Crunch last season after establishing himself as something of a utility man following a trade in 2015. Originally selected by the New York Rangers in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, Walcott was flipped to Tampa Bay in exchange for a seventh-round pick a year later. He ended up playing both defense and forward for the Crunch, though didn’t produce much offense at either position. His aggressive play style nevertheless endeared him to the coaching staff, and has now done enough to earn him another NHL contract.

Given that he hasn’t played in the NHL yet and doesn’t seem to have a lot of upside left, it is unlikely that Walcott will make a real impact on the Lightning next season. More likely he’ll be ticketed for the AHL once again to prove he is healthy enough to contribute on a full-time basis.

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