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Tampa Bay Signs Pat Maroon To One-Year Deal

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have added a key depth piece to their roster as they announced they have signed forward Pat Maroon to a one-year, $900K deal. Maroon, who helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup Championship last season was a big part of the team’s playoff run as he scored a pair of critical game-winning goals last season, including the double overtime goal in Game 7 against the Dallas Stars in the Conference Finals.

“We’re very pleased to add Pat to our organization today,” Tampa Bay general manager Julien BriseBois said. “He brings size and physicality to our group as well as significant playoff experience. We expect Pat’s to be a great addition to the roster.”

The 31-year-old signed a one-year deal with St. Louis last offseason as he was willing to take less so he could be closer to his family, signing a one-year, $1.75MM deal. While it looked early on that the deal might not be working out after Maroon struggled, he turned it around once the team brought in interim coach Craig Berube and proved to be a valuable piece for the team. He scored 10 goals, 28 points and 64 penalty minutes in 74 games last season with St. Louis, and added three goals and seven points in 26 playoff games. However, with a lineup full of long-term deals and top prospects such as Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou and Sammy Blais emerging, there seemed to be little room for the team to keep Maroon despite his heroics. The St. Louis native has played 449 career games with 88 goals and 206 points.

For the Lightning, the team may have gotten a steal in the 6-foot-3 power forward. Tampa Bay is loaded with some high-end forwards, but could use some more depth at the bottom of the lineup and Maroon should fit the bill. Maroon also provides some insurance if restricted free-agent Brayden Point holds out. Regardless, with the loaded lineup in Tampa Bay, Maroon would have a good chance to win two consecutive Stanley Cups. Assuming the team buries goaltender Mike Condon, the team should have $8.1MM in cap room remaining.

Maroon also has a history with Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper as Maroon played for him between 2005-07 in the NAHL junior league, playing for the Texarkana and St. Louis Bandits.

 

Atlantic Notes: Point, Senators Prospects, Olofsson

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With the Tampa Bay Lightning preparing for another run to challenge for a Stanley Cup, one of the team’s top players remains unsigned in Brayden Point, who continues to sit out with a number of top restricted free agent forwards, including Toronto’s Mitch Marner, Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen, Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk, Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Several defensemen, including Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Columbus’ Zach Werenski.

However, there has been no end in sight for any of these players and there remains no timeline as all of these players are waiting for the first one to sign and set the market, according to Tampa Bay Times’ Diana Nearhos. Most expect that the first domino to fall will be Marner with everyone signing contracts just underneath him. However, that could change if one of the others opts to sign first. Point’s deal will be an interesting one on a team that already has quite a few top-paid players, but Point, who tallied 41 goals and 92 points.

“It’s a unique marketplace,” said agent Gerry Johannson, who counts Point among his clients. “Everyone is waiting for some clarity.”

So far only two key restricted free agents have signed, both in peculiar circumstances. Jacob Trouba forced a trade to the New York Rangers before finally signing, while Carolina matched Montreal’s offer sheet to Sebastian Aho in early July. In the meantime, the wait continues.

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Tenth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)
7th Overall: Ryan McDonagh, Columbus Blue Jackets (12)
8th Overall: James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins (2)
9th Overall: Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks (61)

Simmonds represents the second-biggest jump in our redraft so far and is already the third selection that didn’t come from the first round.  Interestingly enough, Simmonds was a pick of the Kings who took Couture (the actual pick of the Sharks in 2007) with the fourth spot in our redraft.

While it’s fair to suggest that San Jose is happy with Couture, Simmonds wouldn’t have been a bad consolation prize by any stretch.  He wasn’t a big point producer in junior which is part of the reason he slipped to the back of the second round but it was clear that at the very least, he could hold his own as a bottom-six winger which would still be decent value at this stage of the draft.

The Kings wasted little time putting him in their lineup as he was a full-time player for them just one year after being picked and he didn’t look out of place.  His sophomore year is what really got him on the radar though as he picked up 40 points and 116 penalty minutes, showing that his offensive game could play up at the NHL level.

That got the attention of many teams, including Philadelphia who traded for him (along with Brayden Schenn) in 2011 as part of the Mike Richards trade, a move that worked out a whole lot better for the Flyers than it did for the Kings as Los Angeles will be carrying salary cap recapture on their books for terminating Richards’ deal until 2032.

Simmonds had a career year in his first season with Philadelphia and earned himself a six-year, $23.85MM extension that wound up becoming one of the top bargains in the league.  He continued his upward ascension, scoring at least 28 goals and picking up at least 50 points over a four-season stretch between 2013-14 and 2016-17.  At that time, he was one of the premier power forwards in the league.

However, as is often the case with players who play his style of game, it starts to take its toll.  He struggled at times with the Flyers last season and was ultimately dealt to Nashville at the trade deadline where he had a marginal impact at best.  Nonetheless, the Devils saw fit to give him a one-year, $5MM deal last month in the hopes that he can give them a boost on the wing.

That takes us to the number ten pick which was held by Florida.  With stay-at-home physical defenders still in vogue, the Panthers opted for hulking blueliner Keaton Ellerby who had established himself as a physical force in the WHL.  Unfortunately, the rest of his game was lacking and that was an issue as he turned pro.

Ellerby spent parts of five seasons with Florida split between the Panthers and AHL Rochester before flipping him to Los Angeles for a fifth-round pick.  He didn’t last too long with them as less than a year later, he was claimed off waivers by Winnipeg in 2013-14.  He spent two seasons in their organization before embarking on an intriguing international journey that saw him play in five countries in four years: Kazakhstan and Switzerland in 2015-16, Finland in 2016-17, Sweden in 2017-18, and Germany last year.  He is currently unsigned for the upcoming season.

Clearly, Florida will get better value with this selection than they did with Ellerby.

With the tenth pick of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Florida Panthers select?  Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL. He has not been included in this vote.

West Notes: Coyotes, Boudreau, Schuldt

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With there being so many notable restricted free agents despite training camps being only a few weeks away, it will be worth watching to see if teams adjust their approaches towards trying to lock up their young players earlier.  With that in mind, Coyotes GM John Chayka acknowledged to Craig Morgan of The Athletic (subscription required) that the team has already started talks with their three potential RFA forwards next summer in wingers in Clayton Keller, Vinnie Hinostroza, and Christian Fischer but was quick to add that none of the talks should be considered as advanced.  Arizona hasn’t hesitated to lock up players early in recent years but considering that they could be facing a bit of a cap crunch in the near future, they may opt to tread lightly with these talks for now.

Elsewhere out West:

  • While new general managers often like to handpick their head coach, don’t expect that to be the case in Minnesota. New Wild GM Bill Guerin told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that he has “full confidence” in head coach Bruce Boudreau so there is no coaching change on the horizon.  The veteran bench boss could reach the 1,000 games coached mark this season but the team has won just two postseason contests over his first four seasons with the team.
  • Jimmy Schuldt’s presence on the Golden Knights’ entry into their upcoming rookie tournament raised some eyebrows as the defenseman remains unsigned. His agent told SinBin.Vegas (Twitter link) that both sides are preparing as if a deal will be done by the time the tournament gets underway on September 7th.  However, Jesse Granger of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that while he could play on a tryout deal as many undrafted players do in these events, his sense is that it’s unlikely that Schuldt would participate.  Many teams pursued the 24-year-old in college free agency last season but he was only eligible for a one-year, entry-level deal which is why he’s now unsigned after playing just one game with the team.

Free Agent Profile: Riley Sheahan

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It wasn’t all that long ago that Riley Sheahan was considered to be part of the next wave of young forwards in Detroit.  However, since the Red Wings salary cap concerns forced them to trade the center two seasons ago, his value around the league has dipped considerably.  Nonetheless, he could still be an intriguing option for teams looking for depth down the middle this summer.

The 27-year-old was only briefly a UFA last summer as although Pittsburgh opted to non-tender him to avoid the risk of salary arbitration but quickly re-signed him to a one-year, $2.1MM deal.  Unfortunately for Sheahan and the Penguins, he didn’t exactly live up to it.

After a rough start that saw him record just nine points in 49 games, the Pens dealt him to Florida as part of a four-player swap designed to shake up their roster.  The change of scenery did Sheahan some good as his ice time jumped by two minutes per game and his offense also ticked up as he picked up 10 points in 33 games down the stretch.  That’s still not a great return on that contract but it was at least a small step in the right direction.

However, it hasn’t been enough to get him a contract so far this summer.  While he’s slightly above average at the faceoff dot, Sheahan isn’t the best penalty killer around which limits his effectiveness in a bottom-six role.  That likely has played a big factor in his limited market through the first five weeks of free agency.

Potential Suitors

There are two types of teams that should have some interest in Sheahan.  Teams that need more depth down the middle could view him as an affordable option.  Also, rebuilding teams that believe their prospects need more development time in the minors could look at him as a capable stopgap option with an eye on trying to move him to a team looking for depth at the trade deadline.

In terms of teams looking for depth down the middle, the Oilers could have a spot for him depending on what the plans are for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl.  If one of them plays on Connor McDavid’s wing, they’d be looking at depth pieces to fill the last two spots.  Sheahan would provide them with an offensive complement to the more defensive-minded players that currently project to fill those roles.  Winnipeg could have an opening if they opt to keep Jack Roslovic on the wing and they will need to add some players on the cheap to round out their roster once they re-sign their restricted free agents.

As for the second group, the Kings have largely been quiet this summer.  Adding Sheahan would allow them to give someone like Blake Lizotte some extra development time while he should be able to beat out Mario Kempe for a spot.  Minnesota likes what they have in Nico Sturm but he could certainly benefit from some time in the minors to start which would open up at least a short-term role for Sheahan.

Projected Contract

At this point, it’s hard to imagine Sheahan getting more than half of his previous deal and a one-year, $1MM pact wouldn’t be too surprising.  Considering he’s still fairly young, there’s some potential for a deal like this to be a bit of a bargain as well.  If he can’t get that, he’s a safe bet to land somewhere on a training camp PTO but that would be quite the fall from grace for someone that looked to be part of Detroit’s young core just a few years ago.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Morning Notes: Ristolainen, Goldobin, Eller

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While Rasmus Ristolainen has been a productive defenseman at the offensive end over the past four seasons, it doesn’t appear to be enough to move the needle on his trade value.  Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News notes that the market for Ristolainen’s services doesn’t appear to be particularly large.  While his name has been in trade speculation dating back to last season (and the 24-year-old certainly appears to be open to a move), the Sabres indicated at a fan event earlier this summer that they’re not against giving him another opportunity with new head coach Ralph Krueger now running the bench.  Ristolainen has three years left on his deal with a $5.4MM cap hit and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Other early notes from around the league:

  • While it may take a bit of time for the Canucks to get a deal done with winger Brock Boeser, GM Jim Benning told Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma that he’s “hoping to get something figured out in short order” with RFA winger Nikolay Goldobin. The 23-year-old quietly finished seventh on the team in scoring last season despite missing 19 games.  However, a lot of those games missed were as healthy scratches as the team has concerns about his all-around game.  27 points should be enough to get him more than his qualifying offer but given that Vancouver is probably going to be over the Upper Limit when a Boeser deal gets done, it’s likely that they’ll push for a one-year pact with Goldobin to keep the AAV as low as possible.
  • Lars Eller’s lower-body injury that took him out of the World Championships early in the tournament won’t prevent him from being ready for training camp. The Capitals center told NBC Sports Washington’s J.J. Regan that he has now fully recovered following a long rest period.  He also denied a report that was floating around at the time of the Worlds that said he was only going to play three games no matter what; he clarified that the injury (one that he hoped would only take a couple of weeks to rehab so that he could play for Denmark) was what took him out of the tournament prematurely.

College Notes: Niagara, Simmons-Fischer, Cheremeta

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Niagara University officially announced their 2019 recruiting class today, including three notable NCAA transfers. The most well-known name is likely former UMass-Lowell defenseman Croix Evingson. A 2017 seventh-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets, Evingson was the NAHL’s Defenseman of the Year in his draft year and his size and scoring ability made him an intriguing prospect. However, after two seasons of limited usage and production at Lowell, Evingson opted for a change of scenery and is now set to join Niagara. The big, offensive defenseman will look to re-establish his pro value this season and next in hopes of landing with the Jets down the road. Joining Evingson are Merrimack College graduate transfer defenseman Ryan Cook and former Air Force Academy forward Walker Sommer.

  • Braidan Simmons-Fischer, son of former NHL defenseman and current Detroit Red Wings Director of Player Personnel Jiri Fischer, has committed to nearby Western Michigan University, according to MIHockey. Entering his draft year, Simmons-Fischer remains somewhat of an unknown commodity. Splitting his early years of hockey between several pedestrian seasons of bantam-level play in Michigan and a dominant season at the junior level in Austria, Simmons-Fischer has had one of the stranger developmental paths of any prospect to this point. However, there is enough to his size – similar to his father’s frame but even more menacing as a forward – and hockey bloodlines that a strong program like WMU is willing to bet on his progression. More will surely be known about Simmons-Fischer’s potential after this upcoming season, which he will spend with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers in his first true test against top competition.
  • Mark Cheremeta has left Boston University, marking yet another loss for the storied program. Since the end of last season, BU has seen Jake Oettinger, Joel Farabee, Chad Krys, Bobo Carpenter, Dante Fabbro, and Shane Bowers leave for the NHL, as well as a couple of players transfer to another school, and now young role player Cheremeta is headed to the USHL. The Dubuque Fighting Saints announced Cheremeta as a member of their training camp roster after selecting him in the third round of the USHL Entry Draft this year, marking his departure from BU after just one year. What Cheremeta will do next with his developmental path remains a mystery. Ironically though, he is set to play alongside Terriers commit and L.A. Kings prospect Braden Doyle with Dubuque this season.

Canucks Sign Goaltender Arturs Silovs

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From NHL Draft pick to an NHL contract faster than anyone might have imagined, 2019 sixth-round pick Arturs Silovs has signed his entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, the team announced.  PuckPedia reports that the deal will carry a $925K cap hit, including his signing bonus.

The Latvian goaltender was selected 156th overall, a late stage in the draft in which some selections never even receive NHL offers, but seemingly has impressed enough to earn a shot right away and is likely on his way to North America.

Silovs, 18, was under contract with the KHL’s Dinamo Riga, based in his hometown and Latvia’s capital city, but did not see any action. Instead, Silovs played seven games with Dinamo’s affiliate in the minor league MHL and another 20 games with HS Riga of the Latvian pro league. Silovs fared much better against similar-aged competition in the MHL, posting a .920 save percentage and 2.45 GAA. He got another shot at that level of play at the U-18 World Junior Championships as well, in which he recorded a .918 save percentage and 3.32 GAA in five games for Team Latvia.

Silovs largely flew under the radar during the pre-draft process, but there is a lot to like about his performance against equal competition, as well as his impressive (and still growing) 6’4”, 200+ lb. frame. While the Canucks were able to wait until the sixth round to grab him, Silovs’ stock was much higher in the subsequent CHL Import Draft. Silovs was selected 11th overall by the OHL’s Barrie Colts and could very well be headed to the club next season. However, Silovs is also eligible to jump immediately into the AHL/ECHL, as has become a more popular move of late with young European goaltenders. Yet, Silovs is now the seventh goalie under contract for the Canucks, making giving him play time even in the ECHL a major challenge. Odds are that the teen keeper will head to the junior level to begin a long development process under Vancouver’s watchful eye.

Atlantic Notes: Senators, Dahlin, Alzner

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The Ottawa Senators are very much a brand new team entering the 2019-20 season. Gone are the likes of Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Cody Ceci, and Zack Smith. New to the team are names like Artem Anisimov, Nikita Zaitsev, Ron Hainsey, and Connor Brown, while prospects like Erik Brannstrom, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, and Max Veronneau are set to push for regular roles. On top of all of the roster turnover, the team also has a new head coach in D.J. Smith. Given these considerable changes, Smith’s comments to Sportsnet’s Wayne Scanlan comes as little surprise. First and foremost, Smith tells Scanlan that the Senators will not name a captain in the coming season. The team did not have a captain last season following the departure of Erik Karlsson and now has even fewer tenured veterans. He did say that there will be veteran members, old and new, who he will rely on to play leadership roles in the locker room, but simply feels that the team must wait for a captain to naturally emerge. It also may not necessarily be one of the established veterans, as Smith notes that he will make a “conscious effort” to share ice time and responsibility evenly between the older players and many young players pushing for an opportunity. More than anything, Smith states that he hopes to change the culture in Ottawa, instilling a sense of belief and confidence in the new additions, young players, and perhaps even some of those long-time Senators who have survived a couple of difficult seasons. Based on Smith’s comments, it seems that the Senators will be a very new team indeed in many ways this coming season.

  • A young leader is developing for one of the Senators’ divisional rivals, the Buffalo Sabres. Phenom Rasmus Dahlin, the No. 1 overall pick in 2018 and a Calder Trophy finalist last season, is not afraid to speak his mind and knew what he was doing when he made some bold predictions to the Associated Press’ John Wawrow. “We’re going to be a winning team and be in the playoffs,” Dahlin told Wawrow, “I’m putting more pressure on myself… I think everyone is putting more pressure on ourselves now, and we’re ready to go… I feel more prepared. I feel more mature. Like that one year of experience, I know what’s coming this season. I feel more comfortable in my position… we’re going to get something good going on here.” It’s a strong statement from Dahlin and one that will surprise many. The Sabres have not made the playoffs since 2011 and finished 13th in the Eastern Conference this past season after a late-season collapse. The team arguably plays in the toughest division in the game as well, as Atlantic powerhouses Tampa Bay, Boston, and Toronto will almost certainly claim the top three seeds in the division, leaving Buffalo to fight for one of two wild card spots. Yet, the Sabres have to be happy that their 18-year-old centerpiece is bold enough to put those playoff expectations on his shoulders and will look to follow him back to postseason glory this season, no matter how tough the road may be.
  • Montreal Canadiens defenseman Karl Alzner would like to be part of his team’s playoff push next season as well. Unfortunately, Alzner’s poor play left him relegated to the AHL for all but nine games last season. After spending the summer working out with teammates Carey Price and Shea Weber, Alzner tells TVA’s Louis-André Larivière that he feels he is ready to once again be a regular contributor and hopes he is given a fair shot to compete for such a role in the team’s upcoming training camp. While Alzner stated that he does not want to waste years of his career, whether or not he has an NHL role is ultimately up to him. His own play and taxing $4.625MM cap hit are why he spent last season with the Laval Rocket and he must prove that he is worth keeping on the roster. Alzner revealed that he did not formally request a trade last season, but that he will likely do so if he is cut from Canadiens camp this fall. However, there may not be much of a market for his services and likely even less interest in promising him a regular role at the NHL level.

Florida Panthers Acquire Gustav Bouramman

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The Florida Panthers have acquired minor league defenseman Gustav Bouramman from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for future considerations, marking another move by new Wild GM Bill Guerin. The 22-year old has one-year remaining on his entry-level contract and played last season for the Iowa Wild.

Bouramman was selected 201st overall back in 2015 after an excellent OHL debut and continued to move the puck and contribute offensively for the Soo Greyhounds through the end of the 2016-17 season. In his first season of professional hockey, the Swedish defenseman recorded 28 points in 54 games for the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL and impressed enough to be included as part of the Iowa blueline. He’ll now join the Florida organization and likely get a chance to play again in the AHL this season.

Trading a player for future considerations is normally to either clear a contract slot or is followed closely by a deal including a player on an AHL contract. For Minnesota this is likely about the former. The team was at 47/50 contracts before the move (though Alexander Khovanov will come off that total), but still have Kevin Fiala and Louis Belpedio sitting as restricted free agents. A move like this clears some space for additional signings or adds some flexibility for waiver pickups at the end of training camp. With Guerin taking control of the team and wanting to make his own stamp, it makes a lot of sense to give himself wiggle room to operate.

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