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Archives for July 2019

Calgary Flames Sign Sam Bennett

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The Calgary Flames have avoided arbitration with Sam Bennett, inking the young forward to a two-year deal. The contract will carry an average annual value of $2.55MM. Bennett had an arbitration hearing scheduled for Saturday. He will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal.

Already four full seasons into his NHL career, the 23-year old Bennett still hasn’t become quite the offensive player the Flames had hoped for when they selected him fourth overall. That doesn’t mean he’s not a valuable part of the organization though as a two-way player with a physical edge. He has routinely been one of the team’s best players in the postseason, including a point-per-game performance in 2019. It also doesn’t mean he won’t find a breakout season at some point down the road still, given his youth and raw tools.

Even without that breakout though, a $2.55MM contract is more than reasonable for the role Bennett plays. It represents just a $600K increase over his last deal and could have even more positive ramifications for the Flames. The team was in a tough financial situation this summer with several restricted free agents to sign. The most important of those names is obviously Matthew Tkachuk, who could be looking for a huge contract after his 77-point breakout season. If Bennett had reached arbitration it’s very possible he could have secured a bigger deal, further tightening the salary situation for the team.

As it stands, the team has locked up a key part of their forward group for the next two seasons at a good price and can now turn their attention to opening enough room for Tkachuk. They have another arbitration hearing set for July 29 with David Rittich, after which will come a short buyout window that they could potentially take advantage of. There is still work to do in Calgary, but getting Bennett signed is a nice step in the right direction.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Poll: Which Teams Would Be On Your No-Trade List?

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Every year more than 100 NHL players submit no-trade lists of one kind or another. Whether it is a list of teams they would be willing to go to, or a list that they very much would not, many of the league’s best players get a chance to have some say in where they end up. Sometimes a no-trade list will include teams that would be the most likely to be interested, giving the player final say. But other times it is just a personal preference of markets or organizations that they would or wouldn’t want to be a part of.

Former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Nikita Zaitsev for instance holds a 10-team no-trade list now that he is into his unrestricted free agent seasons, and had to waive it in order to accept a trade to the Ottawa Senators earlier this offseason. Zaitsev spoke with Igor Eronko of Sport-Express, explaining that his list included the Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and “two more.” Obviously that includes every other Canadian team, though it’s not clear if that is because of the culture or just the situations each team is in.

Moving from a non-traditional hockey market to a place like Toronto or Montreal might be jarring for many players, but those same places might be quite appealing to others. New York and Los Angeles are hot destinations in many industries, but also may not interest people not so many years removed from small town living. State tax rates might come into account for the financially savvy, while team success could be the deciding factor for others. There are countless reasons to how no-trade lists are formed.

So what teams would be on your list? We’ll run this experiment with the same 10-team no-trade list that Zaitsev has. Choose the teams you would block a move to and make sure to explain your decisions in the comments.

[Mobile users click here to vote!]

Matt Moulson Signs AHL Contract With Hershey Bears

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Former NHL forward Matt Moulson has decided on a new destination to continue his playing career, this time signing a one-year AHL contract with the Hershey Bears. The 35-year old has spent the last two seasons with the Ontario Reign where he has still proven to be an elite offensive force at the AHL level.

Moulson ended up back in the AHL after the Buffalo Sabres decided to waive him in the 2017-18 season after he failed to record a single point in 14 games. He never did suit up for the Sabres’ affiliate though, as he was instead loaned to the Kings’ minor league team where he and his wife could be closer to family—he and Jonathan Quick married the daughters of former NHL player Mike Backman. In Ontario, Moulson showed just why he was once considered one of the better scoring wingers in the NHL, as he recorded 108 points in 117 regular season games.

Now for Hershey, Moulson can once again provide some experience and scoring touch to an organization that expects to compete. The Bears went 43-25-8 last season and were led by Michael Sgarbossa and Riley Barber offensively, the latter having already moved on to the Montreal organization this summer. Moulson can’t be recalled by the Washington Capitals without signing an NHL contract and passing through waivers, meaning he will likely be in the AHL all year. That’s a pretty big pay cut, as Moulson made $8MM over the last two seasons despite playing only 14 games for the Sabres.

The veteran winger scored 369 points in 650 NHL games, including three straight seasons of at least 30 goals while playing with the New York Islanders.

Vinni Lettieri Agrees To Terms With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Vinni Lettieri on a one-year contract, leaving them with just three restricted free agents to sign this offseason. Lettieri decided not to file for arbitration despite being eligible, and will still be an RFA when this contract expires.

The 24-year old Lettieri was one of the top college free agent signings in 2017, but still hasn’t quite found his offensive touch at the NHL level. Despite scoring 85 points in 112 minor league contests, the former University of Minnesota standout has just eight in 46 games with the Rangers. That and the increased talent up front from a busy offseason will make it extremely difficult for the young forward to land an NHL spot out of camp, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see him as one of the very first call-ups if the team runs into injury trouble.

Luckily for the Rangers, Lettieri is still waiver-exempt for the time being and can be sent down without trouble. That will give the team some flexibility over choosing their opening day roster, a group that is still unclear at the moment. Brendan Lemieux and Pavel Buchnevich would both figure into that lineup but are without contracts currently—Buchnevich has an arbitration hearing scheduled for next Monday—while the future of players like Chris Kreider and Vladislav Namestnikov is still unclear after both have been included in trade rumors over the summer.

At the very worst, Lettieri will serve as a top offensive option for the Hartford Wolf Pack as they try to turn around their fortunes. The team went 29-36-11 last season and finished in 28th place.

Christian Djoos Receives Arbitration Decision

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Another player has been awarded an arbitration decision, as Christian Djoos was given a one-year, $1.25MM contract today. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reports that the team had filed for $800K and Djoos filed for $1.9MM. An award of this amount will put the Washington Capitals in a tricky cap situation as they prepare for next season. The defenseman will be a restricted free agent again next summer.

With another arbitration hearing scheduled for August 1st with Chandler Stephenson, the Capitals have some work to do before the start of the season to become cap compliant. They currently sit just over the $81.5MM cap ceiling with a projected roster of 22, though that includes Jonas Siegenthaler who can be sent down to open the year. The team has dealt with this kind of situation in each of the last several years, using paper transactions on off days to try and bank cap space throughout the season. Unfortunately, in order to do that the team will have to risk waivers with some of their depth players unless another move is made before October.

The $1.25MM represents quite a substantial raise for Djoos, who made just $650K last season on his first one-way deal. The 24-year old defenseman ended up playing in 48 total games for the Capitals and now has 133 under his belt at the NHL level. For a seventh-round pick that may already seem like a success, but the young Djoos could have an even bigger impact moving forward given the success he has experienced at the minor league level.

In 2016-17 Djoos broke out offensively, recording 58 points in 66 games for the Hershey Bears. In his limited NHL experience he has actually been quite productive, recording 24 points in 108 regular season contests despite averaging fewer than 14 minutes a night and seeing no powerplay time. The question now becomes whether he is worth keeping around at $1.25MM given Siegenthaler’s emergence last season. The younger defenseman basically leapfrogged Djoos on the depth chart and gives the team more flexibility because of his waiver-exempt status. They obviously would like to carry seven (or eight) defensemen if possible, but at least early in the season could use some extra cap room.

With this decision already two players have been awarded contracts through arbitration, and Evan Rodrigues has already had his hearing. Just four cases made it to arbitration hearings last year, and zero the year before that.

St. Louis Blues Hire Marc Savard

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The St. Louis Blues have decided to give Marc Savard his first shot in the NHL coaching ring, hiring him as an assistant for Craig Berube. Savard had been working as an analyst for Toronto Maple Leafs broadcasts and has a relationship with Berube going back to their playing days. The Blues’ bench boss released a short statement on the hire:

I was fortunate to play with Marc during my career and I’m very familiar with his passion and acumen for the game. He was a tremendous player and possesses an elite offensive mind. His addition to our staff will be a great benefit to our players and the organization.

There’s no doubting how effective Savard was during his playing career. Originally selected in the fourth round—likely because of his size, given he had just scored 139 points in 66 OHL games—he quickly forced his way into the NHL and never looked back. The 5’10” center was an incredible playmaker, creating space for himself before finding an open teammate. In 807 career regular season contests Savard recorded 706 points, including back-to-back years of 97 and 96 during his prime. His 69 assists in 2005-06 was the franchise record for the Atlanta Thrashers/Winnipeg Jets until last season when Blake Wheeler recorded 71.

Unfortunately, Savard’s career was cut short by multiple concussions sustained in 2010 and 2011. When the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, Savard’s name was included despite not having played in the postseason after the team petitioned the league to include it. He wouldn’t play again, though his contract would run through the 2016-17 season.

Savard joins Steve Ott and Mike Van Ryn as assistants for Berube as the Blues attempt to defend their Stanley Cup championship in 2019-20. He is expected to take on a role with skills development and contribute to the powerplay.

Toronto Maple Leafs Announce Bevy Of Signings

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have officially announced contracts for several players:

There had been previous reporting about several of these deals, but the contracts were likely being held back because of the situation with Mitch Marner. The Maple Leafs needed to protect themselves against a potential offer sheet, something they can still now do following yesterday’s acquisition of David Clarkson. The Clarkson and Nathan Horton contracts that are headed for long-term injured reserve at some point give the team some added flexibility, but also require certain conditions to be met. In order to take full effect of the LTIR provision a team needs to be as close to the cap as possible, something the Maple Leafs will do with paper transactions involving players like this.

In fact, none of these seven may end up on the NHL roster to start the year. Any of them certainly could carve out a role for themselves in training camp and impress the coaching staff, but the Maple Leafs already had enough players to fill out a roster before announcing any of these deals. In reality they will serve as valuable depth for a team that expects to contend for the Stanley Cup, something head coach Mike Babcock was critical of a few months ago, explaining that other teams had done a better job of insulating the roster from injury.

Aberg, one of the players that had not been previously linked to the Maple Leafs, is also one of the more interesting additions. The 25-year old was selected 37th overall in 2012 by the Nashville Predators and at one point looked like an up-and-coming option for them. After scoring 31 goals in 56 games in the AHL during the 2016-17 season, Aberg was an impact player during the Predators’ playoff run, scoring a Bobby Orr-esque game-winner against the Anaheim Ducks in the Conference Finals. Unfortunately things didn’t continue on that upward swing and he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 2018 only to find himself suit up for two other teams in the period since.

Gaudet too is an interesting name to see come across the wire, if only because of his connection with Toronto GM Kyle Dubas. Gaudet played two years for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL while Dubas was the GM there, before ultimately starting his professional career with the Portland Pirates. Dubas would be intimately familiar with Gaudet’s strengths and weaknesses, as would Toronto Marlies head coach Sheldon Keefe who was also with the Greyhounds at the time.

The final name that hadn’t been previously reported is Kossila, who spent most of the 2018-19 season with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. The undrafted forward out of St. Cloud State has 19 NHL games under his belt but has been an excellent offensive player at the minor league level. At very worst he will give the Marlies some more punch up front.

All seven players will require waivers in order to be assigned to the minor leagues, though after inking so many of them the risk of losing some depth at that point is minimal. The Maple Leafs are once again flexing their financial might in many of these cases, offering one-way contracts to players who may have not otherwise received them.

Minor Transactions: 07/24/19

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As July marches on and we get into arbitration hearings and contract holdouts, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league. We’ll keep updating as more come in:

  • The Rochester Americans have signed Shaw Boomhower and Frank Hora to one-year AHL contracts. Both players spent the majority of their 2018-19 season in the ECHL, and could be ticketed for that league once again. Boomhower, 20, recorded 94 penalty minutes in 30 games for the Cincinatti Cyclones while scoring just seven points.
  • Alex Dubeau has signed a one-year two-way AHL contract with the Belleville Senators after spending the last four years at the University of New Brunswick. After finishing his senior season, Dubeau suited up six times for the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL and actually posted a .921 save percentage. The 25-year old goaltender will be used as depth in the low minors.
  • Minor league defenseman Chris Summers is taking his talents to the DEL, signing a two-year contract in Germany. Summers has actually played 70 NHL games over a long professional career, but spent the last two seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The 31-year old was a first-round pick in 2006, but failed to ever establish himself as a full-time NHL defender.
  • Shane Hanna won’t be back with the Texas Stars this season, as the 25-year old defenseman has signed in Denmark for one year. Hanna suited up 58 times for the Stars last season and recorded 10 points, but will try things overseas to continue his professional career.
  • Cavan Fitzgerald has signed a one-year AHL contract with the Charlotte Checkers after failing to receive a qualifying offer from the San Jose Sharks earlier this offseason. The 22-year old Fitzgerald played 66 games for the San Jose Barracuda last season, recording 20 points and 42 penalty minutes.
  • The Utica Comets have signed Zach Frye to an AHL contract, another Barracuda defenseman who will find a new home in 2019-20. The 25-year old played most of last season with the Orlando Solar Bears however, posting 16 points in 25 games. Known for his willingness to engage physically, Frye once recorded 214 penalty minutes in just 38 games for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL.

Free Agent Profile: Derick Brassard

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It wasn’t that long ago that Derick Brassard was viewed as a legitimate top-six center.  In fact, you only have to go back about one season for him to be in that category.  However, the last year and a bit have really hurt his value which has led to a slow market so far in free agency.

To say the 31-year-old has bounced around lately would be an understatement as he has spent time in four different organizations over the past two seasons.  Pittsburgh brought him in at the 2018 trade deadline in an effort to give them a third scoring line.  Unfortunately for them, he struggled with his reduced role to the point where they considered shifting him to the wing to give him a chance to play a more offensive role.

That never really materialized and as a result, Brassard’s struggles continued into last season before the Penguins eventually cut bait with him, sending him to Florida in a four-player swap as basically a salary offset for the addition of Nick Bjugstad.  He got off to a decent start with the Panthers before cooling off but his time was short-lived with the team out of playoff contention by then.

His rough season led to a reduced trade market for him with Colorado ultimately stepping up to acquire him along with a conditional 2020 sixth-round pick for a 2020 third-rounder.  (Unless the Avs re-sign Brassard, they will receive that conditional selection.)  Things didn’t go much better for him with the Avalanche as he had just four goals in 20 regular season games before seeing his ice time slashed considerably in the playoffs to just over ten minutes a night.  Some players have big performances in contract seasons but this was anything but which has made his market much smaller than anticipated.

Potential Suitors

Brassard’s market will be determined by a couple of factors.  Is he willing to sign a short-term deal?  Is he willing to play the wing?  If the answer to both is yes, he should have several suitors as the offseason progresses.

In the East, the Devils have plenty of cap space and have already used that to their advantage to sign winger Wayne Simmonds to a one-year deal.  However, they’re set down the middle so Brassard would have to agree to shift to the wing for that to work.  A return to where it all began in Columbus also makes some sense after their depth was depleted in free agency.  He also has a little bit of experience playing under head coach John Tortorella.  The Islanders lost Valtteri Filppula to Detroit in free agency and Brassard could certainly slot in his vacated spot in the lineup as well.

Finding fits in the West is a little more challenging.  The Kings have some cap space and roster room but as a team that’s sort of sitting in the middle of no man’s land, the only way a signing makes sense is if it’s done with the intention of dealing him midseason.  Considering his dull market back in February, there’s no guarantee that the market at that time will be particularly robust.  If the Ducks want some more development time for their prospects, adding Brassard on a one-year deal (Corey Perry’s increased buyout cost would make a second year unrealistic) would be a reasonable idea.  He’d be a fit in Dallas but to get him, they’d have to dip into offseason LTIR (for Martin Hanzal) which carries some risk.

Projected Contract

Brassard was ranked 25th in our Top 50 UFA Rankings with a projected two-year, $6MM deal with Columbus.  While it’s still possible that he could land a multi-year pact, he may be better off at this point taking a one-year contract in the hopes of restoring some value for another run at the open market a year from now.  It’s still possible that he could land close to the $3MM of our initial projection given his ability to play down the middle and previous track record of offensive success.  While he has struggled lately, there would still be some upside signing Brassard so his market shouldn’t collapse completely.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Maroon, Connor, Condon

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While Pat Maroon has indicated that he would like to remain in St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes that both sides would be better off if the winger didn’t re-sign with the Blues.  The 31-year-old had an up-and-down season in 2018-19 but did provide a level of physicality that not many others in their bottom six group could.  However, they have plenty of winger depth in the mix already so it’s not as if there’s a glaring vacancy for the St. Louis native to fill.  At this point, Maroon is seeking a multi-year deal which is something that the Blues clearly won’t be giving him.  But if a one-year pact is all he can get, there are other teams that can offer a more prominent opportunity than he’d get by staying with his hometown team.  We’ll see in the coming weeks how important playing close to home will be for the veteran.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • There were talks regarding a potential offer sheet for Jets winger Kyle Connor during the RFA interview period and Sportsnet’s Sean Reynolds reports that those talks have continued. The 22-year-old had a strong 2018-19 campaign, recording 34 goals and 32 assists, career bests in both categories while logging over 19 minutes a night.  That has put him in line for a massive raise from his $925K entry-level salary.  Winnipeg has roughly $17.5MM in cap room (per CapFriendly) to re-sign Connor, fellow RFA winger Patrik Laine, and a few other depth players to round out their roster.
  • While Mike Condon is coming off a particularly rough season in Ottawa, Jonathan Willis of The Athletic suggests (subscription required) that the netminder could be an interesting trade chip. He’s clearly not in the plans of the Senators for next season but possesses a contract that could be of interest to some cap-strapped teams.  He carries a $2.4MM cap hit but a $3MM salary; it’s possible that a team against the Upper Limit could move a back-diving contract (higher cap hit, lower salary) for him, allowing them to save some cap space while the Sens would gain an asset and potentially save a bit of actual money.  Condon battled hip issues last season but is expected to be ready for training camp.

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