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2020 Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists Announced

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The second round of voting has closed, and the Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalists have been announced. 78 players were nominated for the award this year, and a fan vote was added to the opinions of NCAA head coaches to determine the final ten names, which has now been reduced to just three.

The trophy is given to the top NCAA player in the country and has an impressive line of winners over the past few years. In 2013-14, Johnny Gaudreau took home the award as a junior for Boston College, followed by Jack Eichel in his only year for Boston University in 2015-16. Jimmy Vesey, Will Butcher and Adam Gaudette don’t bring quite the same impact but are still NHL regulars after winning between 2016-18.

Last year’s winner was UMass defenseman Cale Makar, who has gone on to be one of the most impressive rookies in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche. Makar leaves big shoes to fill by this year’s finalists.

The award also has several top NHL alumni in its small fraternity, including Neal Broten, Tom Kurvers, Paul Kariya, Chris Drury, Ryan Miller and Brendan Morrison. With that group behind them, this year’s winner is certainly not someone to take lightly.

The finalists are as follows:

Jordan Kawaguchi – University of North Dakota (undrafted)

Kawaguchi, 22, was a phenomenal offensive player for UND this season, recording 45 points in 33 games. That total put him second in the country behind only Jack Dugan of Providence College—who is noticeably absent from this group—and ahead of some of the more experienced senior forwards around the NCAA. Undrafted out of the BCHL despite some eye-popping offensive numbers, the 5’9″ forward will be returning for a fourth year at North Dakota before starting his professional career.

Scott Perunovich – University of Minnesota-Duluth (agreed to terms, St. Louis Blues)

Perunovich, 21, ended the season with the second-most points among any defenseman in the country, scoring 40 in just 34 games. Through three seasons at UMD Perunovich has absolutely dominated the college landscape, driving play every time he touches the ice. He has already decided to leave before his senior season, agreeing to two different contracts with the Blues–one that starts if the 2019-20 season ever resumes, and one that will start in 2020-21.

Jeremy Swayman – University of Maine (signed, Boston Bruins)

Swayman, 21, is perhaps the surprising finalist only because as a goaltender he doesn’t get the opportunity to compare offensive numbers to the other candidates. Well, perhaps we should be looking a little closer at his jaw-dropping numbers in net after he posted a .939 save percentage in 34 starts for Maine. Swayman has been an excellent goaltender since entering the program in 2017, but after dropping his goals-against average to just 2.07 this season he has taken a huge step forward. Even as a fourth-round pick, he will enter the Bruins’ system as one of the most interesting goaltending prospects to keep an eye on.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Tim Berni

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have added another prospect to the cupboard, signing Swiss defenseman Tim Berni to a three-year entry-level contract. Berni recently finished his second full season with Zurich in the NLA and has attended Blue Jackets’ development camp in the past.

Those fans who watched the World Juniors closely the last few years will remember seeing Berni, as he competed in three-straight tournaments for Switzerland between 2018 and 2020. The undersized by agile defenseman captained the squad at the most recent event and was named a top-3 player on the team.

Selected 159th overall in 2018, there was nowhere to go but up for Berni in terms of prospect status, and he has done just that. Earning an entry-level deal is just the first step on what should be an interesting professional journey in North America. The 20-year old left-handed defenseman recorded just 11 points in 45 games for Zurich this season but has shown solid progress on the defensive side of the puck.

Potential Compliance Buyout Candidates: Part I

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As the current Coronavirus crisis wears on, it seems more and more likely that the NHL will not return to action soon and when play resumes, it will almost certainly not be the full remaining regular season schedule. That lost revenue is expected to impact the 2020-21 salary cap, perhaps even keeping the current $81.5MM upper limit in place. Given that teams expected an increase, initially projected to be between $84-88.2MM, this stagnation could have a harsh impact on a number of clubs’ cap situations. As such, many expect that compliance buyouts will return in some form or fashion to ease that pain. These buyouts, which do not count against the salary cap, would allow for teams to open up space that they otherwise expected from a cap increase.

Here is a rundown of the top compliance buyout candidates for the first third of NHL teams:

Anaheim Ducks: Adam Henrique

– The first team on the list is a tough call. Henrique has had a good season and the Ducks are not in significant cap trouble. However, with a long list of promising forward prospects and a defense that needs work, the team could opt to move on from the veteran forward and to create roster space and cap flexibility. Henrique, 30, is signed for four more years at $5.825MM.

Arizona Coyotes: Phil Kessel

– The Coyotes are in one of the worst positions in the league in terms of cap space, so the team would have to use a compliance buyout if the opportunity is offered to them. Kessel has been a relative bust in his first season with the ‘Yotes and is signed for two more years at $6.8MM. He has the potential to improve in year two, but Arizona may not have the luxury of taking the chance. The added cap space would be a major relief for the team.

Boston Bruins: John Moore

– Given the Bruins’ depth on defense in both veteran assets and budding prospects as well as Moore’s relegation to a backup role on the Boston blue line, he has become an expendable asset, especially if both Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug are back next season. Moore is signed longer than any current Bruins defenseman with three years and $8.25MM remaining, but the team’s commitment to him seems less than any of his fellow blue liners.

Buffalo Sabres: Kyle Okposo

– Unfortunately for the Sabres, the Okposo signing in 2016 has never panned out. His production dropped from 64 points with the New York Islanders in 2015-16 to just 45 points in his first year in Buffalo and that total has gone down in every year since. Okposo was on pace for just 24 points this year and may not even reach that mark. The Sabres would be quick to part ways with Okposo, who has three years at $6MM annually left on his contract, taking up valuable cap space that the team needs to use to improve the rest of their roster.

Calgary Flames: Milan Lucic

– Even with the salary being retained by the Edmonton Oilers on Lucic’s contract, his $5.25MM cap hit is still a pain for the Flames. The veteran power forward is not going to score 20+ goals or 50+ points in a season ever again and Calgary could do more with the added cap space over the next three years.

Carolina Hurricanes: Jake Gardiner

– For whatever reason, the Gardiner signing simply has not worked out as the Hurricanes had hoped. Gardiner, who was signed late last summer at a relative discount, has been a fine addition, but hasn’t been the point producer and power play ace that Carolina had hoped for. Following the deadline addition of Brady Skjei to arguably the deepest blue line in the NHL already, Gardiner and his remaining three years and $12.15MM are expendable.

Chicago Blackhawks: Brent Seabrook

– One of the more obvious choices on this list, Seabrook’s contract may the worst in the NHL right now. The 34-year-old has four years left at $6.875MM AAV on an eight-year, $55MM deal signed back in 2015. Over the term of the contract, Seabrook has declined rapidly and is a shell of his former self, regardless of health. The cap-strapped Blackhawks would not think twice about moving on.

Colorado Avalanche: Erik Johnson

– Johnson is a well-liked and well-respected long-time member of the Avalanche. However, as time has gone on the team has surrounded him with better, younger, and more affordable blue line options. As valuable as Johnson’s experience and leadership may be, he is an expendable piece without a clear future role. Signed through 2022-23 at a $6MM cap hit, Johnson is an expensive piece to keep around just for the intangibles and the Avs could look to use this opportunity to clear some space for some anticipated big game hunting this off-season.

Columbus Blue Jackets: Alexander Wennberg

– Blue Jackets fans have been calling for Wennberg’s head for years now and may finally get their wish. The once-promising young forward turned a 59-point 2016-17 season into a six-year, $29.4MM contract and then proceeded to regress immensely over the past few seasons instead of continuing to improve as expected. With another three years left at $4.9MM per, Wennberg doesn’t seem likely to get back to a level of play that would warrant his current cap hit and Columbus could move on, even from a 25-year-old homegrown product.

Dallas Stars: Andrew Cogliano

– The Stars are a team with numerous big names and long contracts, but their most inefficient name might just be Cogliano. Rather than using a buyout to move a heavy cap hit, Dallas could opt to trim the fat by removing a player that hasn’t been a good fit. Cogliano has showed that his six points in 32 games last season with the Stars following a trade from Anaheim was not a fluke; he followed it up with 14 points through 68 games this year. Expecting Cogliano to get back to 30+ point form in 2020-21 in his final year at $3.25MM seems hopeful at best and Dallas could use that space elsewhere with some lineup holes to fill this summer.

Stay tuned for Part II coming soon.

Alexander Kadeykin Expected To Sign With Red Wings

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Alexander Kadeykin is trying to prove that it is never too late for a draft pick to pan out. An overage prospect in 2014, Kadeykin was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the seventh round. Now 26, he has decided that it is finally time to make the jump to the NHL. Russian news source Business Online reports that Kadeykin has informed his KHL squad that he intends to sign with the Red Wings.

Kadeykin is a well-traveled KHL veteran, spending the past two seasons with Salavat Yulaev Ufa and previously suiting up for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, SKA St. Petersburg, and Atlant Mytishchi. Formerly a role player, the 6’5”, 218-lb. center has grown into more of a power forward and scoring threat. He set new career highs across the board this season with 11 goals, 29 points, and a +20 rating in 59 games. Kadeykin also looked primed for a strong postseason with three points in six games before the KHL playoffs were canceled.

Given his size and aggressive style as well as seemingly average offensive abilities, Kadeykin seems likely to slot into a checking role for Detroit. He may also begin his North American career in the AHL and work his way up. However, there should be ample opportunity with the last-place Red Wings for Kadeykin to win a spot.

PHR Panel: Offer Sheet Candidates

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We’re now several weeks into an NHL postponement and there is still no clear timeline on when professional hockey will return. While fans of the sport have received small tidbits of news over that time, including college signings and contract extensions, the thirst for discussion has rarely been quenched.

With that in mind, we’re happy to continue our new feature: The PHR Panel. Three times a week, our writing staff will give our individual takes on a question many hockey fans have been wondering about. If you’d ever like to submit a subject for us to discuss, be sure to put it in the comments. This series will run each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Last week we touched on potential playoff formats the league could use if the season resumes later this summer, and took a look at how the shortened scouting period affects draft prospects.

Today, we’ll each give our thoughts on potential offer sheet fireworks.

Q: Which players could be offer sheet candidates this offseason?

Brian La Rose: 

Islanders center Mathew Barzal would have been at or near the top of the list but GM Lou Lamoriello tried his best to put an end to that last month when he stated they would match any offer.

I’ve long thought that it’s the lower-priced players that make sense as offer sheet targets rather than the ones for top talent and perhaps this will be the year where that happens considering the potentially lower salary cap.

The Rangers are a team that could be hit hard by that which leaves someone like Anthony DeAngelo at risk.  He’s having a breakout year offensively but with Alexandar Georgiev and Ryan Strome needing new deals plus Kevin Shattenkirk’s buyout cost jumping, they may have a hard time keeping him which makes him a potential piece.  At the lower end, Brendan Lemieux could be an option as New York will want him to take a cheaper short-term deal which leaves them vulnerable to a longer-term offer.

Chicago could be vulnerable on the cap, especially if their currently injured veterans are cleared to come back.  In particular, they probably can’t afford to give Dylan Strome a long-term offer and can use his ineligibility for arbitration to try to force that direction.  But if he wants a long-term deal, he may have to take an offer sheet to get it.

There’s no guarantee that there will be one this offseason but the pending cap situation makes it more of a realistic option than it usually is.

Holger Stolzenberg: 

I feel like many people are talking about teams making big offers to the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal, but I can’t really see that as an option for teams. While there was one offer sheet last year that went to Carolina’s Sebastian Aho, I really can’t see teams allowing their franchise player to leave for any reason. Even if Montreal had made a bigger offer, it seems hard to believe that the Hurricanes would have let Aho go. The same would go for Barzal. After losing John Tavares to free agency, there is no way Lou Lamoriello would allow Barzal to leave.

The only way that a team would be able to pull off a successful offer sheet would be to attack a team right up against the cap with a mid-level player with a big offer. Teams need to focus on a team like the Boston Bruins and give an offer sheet to someone like Jake Debrusk, who with a solid offer, might outprice himself on a team full of expensive veterans. The question is whether a player like Debrusk is worthy of a solid offer that might overwhelm the cap of the Bruins as he isn’t necessarily looked upon as a franchise player. However there is a much better chance of success than going after a franchise face.

Zach Leach: 

I have always felt that an offer sheet is a tool of opportunity. It is not necessarily best-used to try to outbid a competitor for one of the best RFA’s on the market, but instead to take advantage of a team struggling against the cap or an internal budget. Should the 2020-21 salary cap come in below the estimation, a number of teams will be in that situation this year. For those lucky enough not to be left scrambling by an uncertain offseason, they could go hunting for valuable RFA’s on troubled teams.

No team is more at risk than the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa is lacking space heading into the off-season with a trio of prize RFA’s in need of new deals. I feel one of these three – Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak – is the most likely to sign an offer sheet. Not only can the Bolts not afford to overpay for these players without dismantling their veteran core, but each player also knows that they stand a better chance at playing a bigger role almost anywhere other than with the uber-deep Lightning. It’s also hard to imagine any rival clubs feeling sorry about weakening Tampa, arguably the strongest lineup on paper in the NHL.

Two other situations that bear watching belong to the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs, who each have impressive, older rookies heading toward RFA status. 24-year-old Dominik Kubalik has been a revelation for the ’Hawks this season and is likely to be a Calder Trophy candidate. Now that he has proven himself, a competitor could feel comfortable extending a high-salary, long-term deal that Chicago cannot match. If the Blackhawks do match or are proactive with a substantial extension, it would require a shake-up in the roster or could potentially leave Dylan Strome susceptible to an offer sheet himself. Meanwhile, Ilya Mikheyev got off to a hot start in Toronto prior to a season-ending injury but showed in that short time that he is a legitimate NHL talent. The Leafs cannot stretch their young, but expensive roster any further and would have to choose between Mikheyev and another young star if pressed by a sizable offer sheet.

Gavin Lee:

If I’m looking for a target to sign to an offer sheet, I’d never be going after a team’s best player. Those deals will almost certainly be matched, if they even sign it in the first place. No, I’m looking for that underlying group of talented players that may have not yet broken out or received the right opportunity. Obviously if a team is in a cap crunch it can be even more effective, but remember that the player has to be the one to sign it—as in, it has to be worth their while and you’re likely going to have to overpay.

One name that comes immediately to mind in that situation is Kevin Labanc of the San Jose Sharks. After an impressive 17-goal, 56-point 2018-19, Labanc bet on his own talent and agreed to a shocking one-year, $1MM deal with the Sharks. He’s now arbitration-eligible and an RFA once again, perhaps looking to make back some of the money he left on the table.

Now Labanc isn’t a sure thing. His production dropped this season to just 33 points in 70 games, but if you believe he can be a difference-maker on your powerplay and strengthen your middle-six, perhaps he’s the right one to target. The Sharks aren’t in a perfect cap situation because of their expensive, aging core, and are even down several draft picks after going deadline shopping the last few years. Maybe they would have to let Labanc go if he signed a substantial long-term offer sheet.

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Filip Kral, Kristians Rubins

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have completed some paperwork today, signing two young prospects. Filip Kral has signed a three-year entry-level contract, while Kristians Rubins has signed a two-year entry-level contract. Kral had been playing with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL when the season was canceled, while Rubins has been part of the Toronto organization for the past two seasons playing on a minor league deal.

Kral, 20, was selected 149th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2018, after his first season in the WHL. The Czech defenseman had just recorded 35 points in 54 games as a rookie but had also represented his country many times on the international stage. Kral was part of the Czech Republic team that took home gold at the 2016 Hlinka-Gretzky tournament—a first for the country—and attended the World Juniors in both 2018 and 2019. This year, the savvy defenseman scored 49 points in 53 games and continued to show off his quick-thinking, deceptive game. Though not exceptionally talented in any one area, Kral seems to often be ahead of his opponents through sheer hockey awareness.

Rubins meanwhile is a much different story. The 22-year old Latvian defenseman went undrafted out of the WHL but is another example of the Maple Leafs deep player development program. He originally signed an ECHL contract with the Newfoundland Growlers, only to earn an AHL deal this season with the Marlies. After impressing in 47 AHL games this year, he’s now the proud owner of an NHL contract and a shot to continue climbing the Toronto organization.

With a Kelly Cup championship in his back pocket along with experience at the IIHF World Championship playing against NHL competition, Rubins will try to continue his development path all the way to the top. A left-handed defenseman that stands 6’4″ 220-lbs he may not look like many other Toronto defenders—which perhaps will give him a leg up on the competition.

Micheal Ferland Experiencing No Concussion Symptoms

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Though players all around the league would obviously like to get back on the ice and start competing for the Stanley Cup once again, there is one silver lining in this current season suspension. Injured players, like Micheal Ferland of the Vancouver Canucks, have received even more time to rest and recuperate from their ailments. Ferland, who has suffered multiple concussions and was limited to just 14 games this season, is back home according to his agent who told Rick Dhaliwal of TSN that the power forward is experiencing “zero symptoms.”

The 27-year old Ferland signed a four-year, $14MM deal with the Canucks last summer to be part of their new identity as a fast, physical team. Joining other power forwards like J.T. Miller, Jake Virtanen and Antoine Roussell upfront, Ferland gave the Canucks a reliable 40-point winger who could move up and down the lineup depending on the situation. Unfortunately, his health has been completely unreliable for the team, after suffering the third (known) concussion of his career in early November. He would return just over a month later but lasted all of 13 minutes over two games before he was taken out with symptoms again. Another try at the AHL level in February would last just a single period before the symptoms came back, with concern growing for his future at every turn.

At this point, all anyone can do is hope that Ferland’s day-to-day life can return to normal. It’s not clear how the rest of his hockey-playing career will go, but there is still three years and $9.5MM left on his contract.

Ottawa Senators Announce More COVID-19 Cases

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The Ottawa Senators have announced that four more members of their organization, including three players, have tested positive for COVID-19. That takes the total for the Senators organization up to six, and means that seven NHL players have now tested positive; five Senators and two members of the Colorado Avalanche.

The Senators also announced that “all test results have now been received, and all those who tested positive have recovered.” Hailey Salvian of The Athletic confirms that color analyst Gord Wilson, who disclosed last week that he had tested positive, was not one of those included in the announcement today.

Of note, the Senators and Avalanche played in San Jose on consecutive nights after the county of Santa Clara recommended against large gatherings. The Senators also played in the Staples Center two nights before the Brooklyn Nets—who had multiple players test positive—and were followed by the Avalanche. Obviously there is no way of telling exactly how or when the virus was transmitted to the Senators players at this point.

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