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Archives for June 2019

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Andre Burakovsky

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The Colorado Avalanche have added some more skill and youth to their team, acquiring Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick, a 2020 third-round pick (previously acquired from Arizona in the Carl Soderberg deal) and minor league forward Scott Kosmachuk. Burakovsky is set to become a restricted free agent, and Kosmachuk is actually set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent in a few days.

Burakovsky could potentially accept his $3.25MM qualifying offer as well, given that his development hasn’t quite gone the way the Capitals hoped the last few seasons. In fact, the 24-year old forward has now posted two 25-point years in a row, a far cry from the 17-goal 38-point sophomore season that looked like his coming out party. Armed with plenty of speed and skill, Burakovsky was the 23rd-overall pick in the 2013 draft and quickly made his way to the NHL.

In Colorado, he will likely receive a bigger offensive role on the left wing where the Avalanche needed some more depth. A change of scenery may be the key to unlocking his full potential, something the Avalanche will hope for after giving up a not-insignificant package for him. Those two draft picks plus the potential $3.25MM salary is a fair amount of assets for a 25-point player, so he will have pressure on him to perform with his new team.

For Washington, trading Burakovsky was basically inevitable after extending the qualifying offer. The team didn’t have enough cap space to afford him this season and he just wasn’t providing the necessary offense for their championship goals. With a new contract due for Jakub Vrana and potential extensions on the horizon with Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby, moving Burakovsky was an obvious choice. Getting two relatively high draft picks out of the move is a win, though GM Brian MacLellan had tried to secure another young player during the most recent season and wasn’t able to.

At the very least, Washington now has some more ammunition for a potential trade deadline acquisition. Depending on where Vrana falls they could also potentially circle back to 20-goal forward Brett Connolly, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Monday and was previously too expensive for the team to retain.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jay O’Brien Petitions To Play At Boston University This Season

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Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jay O’Brien has filed a petition with the NCAA to allow him to play at Boston University this season according to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. O’Brien had previously decided to leave Providence College after just one year, entered the transfer portal and committed to playing in the BCHL with the Penticton Vees while serving a year of NCAA ineligibility. While it’s not clear exactly what O’Brien has filed, there is a way to avoid the transfer year with a one-time exception but it would require Providence to agree.

O’Brien, 19, was selected 19th overall in 2018 but didn’t find much success with the Providence Friars, scoring just five points in 25 games for them last season. Add that to a scoreless effort through seven games at the World Juniors and it certainly hasn’t been the most rewarding year for the young forward. O’Brien is at development camp with the Flyers, but has not yet signed his entry-level contract.

Whether he plays in the BCHL or NCAA, he’ll have to find a way to get back on the score sheet and show the Flyers exactly why they used such a high pick on him. It would be foolish to make any assumption on his future after one frustrating season, but with more exciting prospects entering the Philadelphia pipeline he’ll have to find a way back onto his previous development track to remain among the top names.

Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Kapanen, Johnsson

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially announced the contract extensions for both Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. Kapanen’s deal is a three-year contract that will carry a $3.2MM average annual value, while Johnsson has signed a four-year deal with a $3.4MM average annual value. Both players were restricted free agents that had been issued qualifying offers earlier this week.

Kapanen, 22, broke out this season with the Maple Leafs, recording 20 goals and 44 points in his first full NHL season. The blisteringly-fast forward used his skating ability to routinely blow by defenders and get in tight on goaltenders, resulting in glorious scoring chances on a regular basis. Playing alongside Auston Matthews for much of the season, Kapanen was able to play an offensive game at even-strength which resulted in some excellent production. Even better perhaps was his contribution on the penalty kill though, where he has developed into a reliable option for head coach Mike Babcock. That kind of versatility makes him an extremely valuable piece for the team, and a bargain on this three-year deal that will leave him as a restricted free agent in 2022.

Johnsson, 24, also produced a 20-goal season in his rookie year with the Maple Leafs, but came about it a little differently. More elusive than fast, the Swedish forward scored most of his goals from in tight off cycle chances he or his linemates created, and did so in relatively limited playing time. Johnsson averaged just under 14 minutes of ice time per game for the season, but still managed to put up 43 points in 73 games. In fact, he registered 40 points in his last 55 games after a slow start, something the Maple Leafs will hope he can continue moving forward. The four-year deal buys out one year of unrestricted free agency for Johnsson, making him a UFA in the summer of 2023.

The inevitable question now is what will happen to the Maple Leafs other key restricted free agent, as Mitch Marner is still unsigned and the team now has just $6.9MM in cap space. They can exceed the $81.5MM ceiling by $8.15MM in the offseason and have Nathan Horton’s $5.3MM deal to put on long-term injured reserve, but will still have to clear some more room if they want to add anywhere else on the roster. Defense is obviously the easy place to make an improvement, as the team only has seven defensemen in the whole organization with any NHL experience and three of those—Justin Holl, Calle Rosen and Andreas Borgman—have played a total of just 69 NHL contests.

Alex Nedeljkovic Re-Signs With Carolina Hurricanes

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The Carolina Hurricanes may not have new deals in place with Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney, but that doesn’t mean they’re without goaltending altogether. Alex Nedeljkovic, fresh off a Calder Cup and AHL Most Outstanding Goaltender award, has re-signed with the team for the next two seasons. The deal is a two-way contract in 2019-20 worth $725K at the NHL level, and a one-way contract in 2020-21 that carries a $750K salary. GM Don Waddell released a statement on the young goaltender:

Alex had an outstanding season in Charlotte last year and was a major part of the Checkers’ success. We expect him to contend for a roster spot with the Hurricanes in training camp.

If it started right now, Nedeljkovic wouldn’t have much to contend with at training camp. The Hurricanes currently have just three other goaltenders in the organization and the only one with NHL experience is likely going to be bought out. That lack of depth will likely be dealt with in free agency next week, but there are obviously no guarantees when it comes to signing players on the open market.

That’s why the 23-year old Nedeljkovic is so important to the Carolina organization, and why he will likely get every chance in the coming years to prove he can be an NHL starting goaltender. In 100 regular season appearances with the Charlotte Checkers the last two seasons he has recorded a 65-26-3 record including nine shutouts, and was a huge part in taking home the first Calder Cup in franchise history earlier this month. His development since the team selected him 37th overall in 2014 has been exceptional, though it seems unlikely that the team is ready to hand the keys over completely for the 2019-20 season.

Still, getting him on a two-year contract at this point sets the Hurricanes up for success. Even if he doesn’t establish himself as an NHL starter by then he will still be a restricted free agent when the deal expires, unless of course he fails to play in 26 more NHL games and becomes a Group VI unrestricted free agent. That seems quite unlikely, but will depend on what the Hurricanes do on Monday in free agency.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Dylan Sikura, John Quenneville

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The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms Dylan Sikura and John Quenneville to two-year contract extensions, taking them through the 2020-21 season. The matching deals are two-way contracts in 2019-20 that will pay $700K in the NHL and one-way contracts in 2020-21 worth $800K. That gives both players a $750 cap hit and makes them inexpensive depth options for the Blackhawks.

Sikura, 24, was originally a sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks back in 2014 but developed into one of the best players in the country at the NCAA level and was twice a nominee for the Hobey Baker award. After scoring 111 points in his final 73 games for Northeastern University, Sikura jumped to the NHL level and added three assists in five games for the Blackhawks at the end of the 2017-18 season. Unfortunately he is still looking for that elusive first NHL goal, as through 33 games this season the young forward registered just eight assists. That scoring drought certainly wasn’t present at the AHL level however, and Sikura should be in a competition for a roster spot with the Blackhawks out of camp. Perhaps unfortunately for him however, Sikura will still be waiver exempt at the start of the year and could be sent down if the team faces a roster crunch.

Quenneville meanwhile came to the Blackhawks through a much different path. Originally a first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2014, the 23-year old forward’s progress has seemed to stall over the last few years. Though he has continued to dominate offensively in the AHL, Quenneville received just 33 NHL games with the Devils and contributed just five points. During Saturday’s draft, the Devils decided to trade Quenneville to the Blackhawks in exchange for John Hayden, giving both players a fresh start. Unlike Sikura he is not waiver exempt, which may give him a leg up on making the Chicago roster out of training camp.

Cam Talbot Linked To Calgary Flames

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The Calgary Flames have had interest in Cam Talbot going back to his days with the New York Rangers, and they may be finally getting their man. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweeted this morning that the Flames and Talbot are still both looking at all of their options, but there is a “decent possibility” of a deal when free agency opens next week. Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest went even further than that, reporting that the veteran goaltender will be signing a one-year deal with the Flames. Though they often do, players and teams aren’t supposed to exchange contract figures during the current interview period and no deal can be made official until Monday, July 1.

Talbot, 31, may seem like he has passed his prime given the poor performances he has posted the last two seasons, but he’ll try to prove his doubters wrong this year. After finishing fourth in Vezina Trophy voting in 2017 he has posted just a .902 save percentage and eventually relinquished the Edmonton Oilers starting gig. If he does end up in Calgary, it likely would be as a partner—or even backup—for David Rittich, who still needs a new contract of his own after receiving a qualifying offer earlier this week. Rittich went 27-9-5 with the Flames this season but watched Mike Smith play all five games in the team’s first round postseason loss.

Calgary is loaded with talent up front and on the blue line, but haven’t been able to find a consistent starting goaltender for years now. Smith and before him Brian Elliott were prone to wild swings in effectiveness, making it tough to find any sustained or postseason success. If Talbot can reclaim some of the stability he showed in that 2016-17 season with the Oilers and help lift up Rittich as an NHL starting goaltender, perhaps the team will be able to reach new heights and contend for the Stanley Cup once again.

Offseason Keys: Carolina Hurricanes

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With the postseason and draft now finished, the activity is really about to pick up with free agency now just days away.  What storylines lie ahead around the league in what is shaping up to be a busy NHL offseason?  Next up in our Offseason Keys series is a look at the Carolina Hurricanes.

Expectations couldn’t have been much lower in Carolina heading into 2018-19.  They had missed the playoffs for the ninth straight season and dealt away Jeff Skinner for an underwhelming return over the summer.  However, new head coach Rod Brind’Amour implemented a more aggressive style and the Hurricanes responded right away while the new goaltending duo of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney helped take advantage of their strong back end to give them a strong performance between the pipes.  The end result was a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Final.  Now, GM Don Waddell must figure out how to add to his roster to try to get them to take that next step.

Reassemble Their Goaltending

Mrazek and McElhinney provided Carolina with strong goaltending in 2018-19 for the combined cost of what a typical backup makes on the open market ($2.35MM).  There’s no chance of that happening a second time; both goalies will be seeking more than that combined amount in free agency.  By all accounts, at least one of them will be on the move.

The recent Calvin de Haan trade yielded them an option for the backup position in Anton Forsberg but he’s not going to be contending for the starting role anytime soon.  Scott Darling is a strong buyout candidate and isn’t expected to be in the mix either.

Over the next few days in all likelihood, Waddell will need to bring another starting goalie in.  There isn’t too much available on the trade market so it’s expected that a free agent signing will be on the horizon.  Expect what’s left of what they saved in the de Haan deal to help go towards filling this spot.

New Deal For Aho

The top priority for the Hurricanes is getting a contract done with pending restricted free agent Sebastian Aho.  He’s coming off of a career year that saw him eclipse the point-per-game mark for the first time while leading the team in scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs.  On top of that, he did so while also transitioning to being a full-time center, something that only boosts his negotiating leverage.

Unfortunately, there appears to be a sizable gap that needs to be bridged.  Sportsnet’s John Shannon reported in an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link) earlier this week that Carolina’s initial offer was for a max-term eight-year contract with a $6MM AAV.  Meanwhile, TSN’s Frank Seravalli adds that Aho’s first request was a five-year deal with a cap hit of $9.5MM.  As is always the case, opening salvos are always skewed to the extreme but that’s still a large difference.

The term of the deal is going to be interesting.  While it would have been realistically assumed a few months ago that a long-term contract (seven or eight years) would be likely for Aho and many of the others in this bumper crop of restricted free agents, there seems to be a recent shift towards taking a few less years and getting to unrestricted free agency earlier and in the prime of their careers.  If the money winds up being too much for Carolina’s liking, they’ll likely wind up reducing the term of the deal.  In the meantime, Aho is free to discuss contracts with other teams as the RFA interview window has now opened up.

Re-Sign Or Replace Secondary Scoring

While Aho and Teuvo Teravainen rightfully drew most of the attention, their next top two scorers are both slated to hit free agency next week.  One of those isn’t believed to be too much of a flight risk as captain Justin Williams is believed to be in a situation where he’ll either re-sign or retire.  The other, Micheal Ferland, is far from a guarantee to return and he has garnered considerable interest on the open market already.

Re-signing those two would go a long way towards keeping their attack intact from last season, one that finished right in the middle of the pack in goals scored.  While there is hope that players like Andrei Svechnikov can produce more in his second year and that midseason acquisition Nino Niederreiter can continue his second-half pace from 2018-19, expecting that to happen without adding some insurance would be risky.

Fortunately for the Hurricanes, secondary scoring on the wing is the strong spot on the open market as there are quite a few top-six wingers available on top of Carolina’s pair.  That means that if one of Ferland or Williams opts not to re-sign, they should have ample opportunity to find a replacement in free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Maple Leafs Re-Sign Michael Hutchinson

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The Maple Leafs have kept some goaltending depth in the fold as CapFriendly reports that they have signed Michael Hutchinson to a one-year contract.  The pact is a one-way deal worth the league-minimum $700K salary.

Hutchinson was brought in from Florida in a midseason trade to give them some insurance between the pipes, especially with injuries to Frederik Andersen and Garret Sparks.  He did fairly well in five appearances with Toronto before having to be returned to the AHL to avoid needing to run him through waivers.  He was back with the big club in the playoffs though and served as Andersen’s backup with Sparks practising away from the Maple Leafs at the time.

The contract represents a considerable pay cut from the $1.3MM he earned in 2018-19 but in taking a cheaper deal, he increased his odds of spending more time with the big club next season.  The Maple Leafs are open to moving Sparks but if they don’t find a taker, he and Hutchinson will battle for the number two role next season with virtually identical cap hits.  That would make it a battle based on merit and not salary cap considerations which could work well in Hutchinson’s favor based on how he played in the second half last season.

UFA Notes: Lehner, Zuccarello, Vanek

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While Robin Lehner wasn’t expecting to speak with other teams during this week’s interview window, he may be changing those plans before too long.  Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that there is too substantial of a gap in what the Islanders are offering and what the netminder is seeking which means it’s quite likely that the 27-year-old will be playing elsewhere next season.  Lehner is coming off of a career year that saw him post a 2.13 GAA with a .930 SV% but is only a year removed from a rough season with Buffalo.  Staple notes that GM Lou Lamoriello is offering a deal around $5MM per year, something that’s a non-starter for Lehner’s camp and presumably, it’s the lack of a track record as a high-end starter that is leading to a lesser offer than a goalie coming off of that type of season would typically get.

Other news and notes from free agency:

  • Winger Mats Zuccarello is believed to be seeking a five-year deal, notes Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link) who adds that the 31-year-old is on the radar of the Blue Jackets. Zuccarello posted the highest point-per-game average of his career in an injury-shortened 2018-19 campaign and before that, averaged 56 points per season in the past five years.   After playing on a team-friendly $4.5MM contract, he’s expected to get a fair bit more than that on the open market.
  • Thomas Vanek’s camp has been informed that there isn’t going to be a fit between him and the Red Wings for next season, reports Max Bultman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The veteran had a decent 2018-19, picking up 36 points in 64 games which isn’t bad for someone that barely averaged 14 minutes per game.  However, his lack of speed has limited his suitors on the trade market in recent years although, with no acquisition cost beyond a contract, he could attract some interest once some of the top players sign.

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