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Archives for July 2020

July 1st Retrospective: 2018

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July 1st is typically filled with hundreds of millions committed to contracts signed in the early hours of free agency.  However, this is no ordinary year and as a result, the UFA market is on hold for a while yet with the Stanley Cup on pace to be awarded sometime in October with the official offseason beginning after that.  So instead of there being plenty of new deals to talk about, let’s take a look back at the free agent frenzy from recent years.  Next up is 2018 while 2019 will run on Friday.  Click here for the 2017 retrospective.

Once again, the biggest deals of the day were contract extensions with the majority of the UFA market being three years or lower.  However, there were a handful of longer-term deals handed out with the results being somewhat of a mixed bag.

For the purpose of this exercise, we’re limiting our scope to the deals handed out on July 1st itself which means players like James Neal and Calvin de Haan who were in the top-10 of our UFA list but signed later are not considered here.

Key Re-Signings

Drew Doughty (LA) – 8 years, $88MM – Doughty’s signing had been speculated for a few days prior to this but July 1st was when it was made official, making him the highest-paid defenseman in NHL history at the time.  Doughty had plenty of leverage as he was going to be one of the top UFAs a year later and was coming off a career year but the early returns haven’t been great.  His production dipped in 2018-19 and again this season to his lowest point per game average since 2013-14 while struggling a bit more than usual at the defensive end.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI) – 8 years, $66MM – This was another move that had been rumored for quite a while but the Coyotes had to wait until this time to extend their captain to the richest deal in team history.  Like Doughty, there was no denying that he was one of the top players that could have potentially hit the open market a year later and while it’s a bit on the expensive side, losing him would have been disastrous.  Ekman-Larsson is coming off of a bit of a down year but he’s young enough that there are still several strong years left in him.

Logan Couture (SJ) – 8 year, $64MM – Yet another deal that was reported a few days beforehand but couldn’t be made official until the turning of the NHL calendar, Couture’s contract seemed a bit pricey at the time but it has held up well so far.  He was coming off of one of his better offensive years at the time and since then, he had a career season in 2018-19 before injuries derailed his 2019-20 campaign.  However, with six years left on the deal, he may very well slow down towards the end of it.

Ryan McDonagh (TB) – 7 years, $47.25MM – Several Tampa Bay players have taken a bit less than market value to stick around and McDonagh continued that trend as a $6.75MM AAV for someone that was a top-pairing defender at the time was cheaper than expected.  However, the seven-year term came as a surprise and could present some problems before too long as the 31-year-old had his worst offensive year since his rookie campaign while his ATOI has dropped nearly four minutes a night from three years ago.

Top AAV Free Agent Signings

(Players changing teams)

John Tavares (TOR) – 7 years, $77MM – This one came as a bit of a surprise given what Toronto had on the horizon for signing their top young stars but they still managed to find a way to bring him in.  At an $11MM AAV, the contract was never going to be a bargain at any stage but he has averaged over a point per game over his two years with the team while taking over as team captain.  He’s providing them with what they expected – a legitimate top center – but with the cap crunch coming as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this deal along with those handed to their top youngsters could soon paint the Maple Leafs into a bit of a corner when it comes to trying to keep the core together; Morgan Rielly and Frederik Andersen aren’t that far away from being UFA-eligible themselves.

James van Riemsdyk (PHI) – 5 years, $35MM – Who says you can’t go back to a former team?  He did just that by signing with Philadelphia who initially drafted him second overall back in 2007.  He gave up a bit of term to take a bit higher of a salary relative to expectation and while he hasn’t quite produced at a $7MM level, he has been reasonably productive, tallying 46 goals over his first two years despite a dip in ice time compared to his average over his time with Toronto.  One area of some concern is van Riemsdyk’s drop in power play production – he had 39 points (17-22-39) with the man advantage over his last two seasons with Toronto but just 22 (12-10-22) with the Flyers.

Paul Stastny (VGK) – 3 years, $19.5MM – A late effort by Winnipeg to free up money to sign Stastny proved unfruitful as he moved on to Vegas where his production has taken a dip.  Injuries limited him to just 50 games over his first season while this year, he had the lowest point per game average of his career (0.54) over his 71 games.  The shorter term is certainly beneficial though; as much as the $6.5MM AAV isn’t an ideal price tag, they’ll be out of the contract a year from now while he still provides them with some quality depth down the middle.

Ones To Forget

Ilya Kovalchuk (LA) – 3 years, $18.75MM – Kovalchuk’s return to the NHL from Russia cost more than expected, especially for someone on a 35-plus contract.  The early returns were good too as he had 14 points over his first 14 games with the Kings before things went completely off the rails.  His ice time dropped quickly and he was told late in the year that he could skate with the team if he wanted to but wouldn’t play.  It didn’t get any better this year and he was eventually sent home to await a contract termination once a signing bonus instalment was paid.  Kovalchuk wound up with Montreal before he was shipped to Washington near the trade deadline while Los Angeles now has $6.25MM in dead cap space for next season because of the 35-plus distinction.

Jack Johnson (PIT) – 5 years, $16.25MM – Handing a 32-year old player that many viewed as a third pairing option a five-year deal raised a lot of eyebrows.  Johnson’s no longer the top pairing player he was in his prime but he’s still decent in a limited role.  However, for a team that’s cap-strapped as often as Pittsburgh is, having a player costing $3.25MM against the cap that is down to that type of role isn’t ideal.  It’s not a massive price tag but with the salary cap now flattening out, this could cause some problems in the near future.

John Moore (BOS) – 5 years, $13.75MM – The $2.75MM isn’t a terrible price tag on its own but the five-year term didn’t make much sense then and less now.  Yes, injuries cost him 30 games this season but he was still scratched on several occasions while his ice time dipped to 16:33 per night.  It’s fair to suggest he’s not a part of their top six now and with some youngsters on the cusp of making it, Moore may not make back into that group either.

Jay Beagle (VAN) – 4 years, $12MM – For years, Beagle has filled a specific role and done it well – he wins faceoffs and logs a lot of ice time shorthanded.  That role carries some value on a lot of teams but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a fourth liner.  Giving a fourth liner $3MM per year carries some risk, especially for four years and even more so knowing that he was 33 in his first season with the Canucks.  Beagle still wins draws and kills penalties but he struggled considerably outside of those situations and two more years of that deal on the books isn’t ideal.

Leo Komarov (NYI) – 4 years, $12MM – Komarov’s at his best in a limited role where his physicality can make a difference.  The Islanders had several of those players when they signed him – they still do – and his effectiveness has waned over the first two years to the point where he was in the press box as a scratch on multiple occasions.  At $1MM, he would provide some value still but at three times that, it may become a problem deal over the next couple of years.

Bargains

David Perron (STL) – 4 years, $16MM – Going back to a former team isn’t rare but it’s still relatively uncommon.  Going back for a third stint with the same team is much rarer but that’s what happened here.  Perron had a career year in Vegas with 66 points so this was somewhat of a below-market deal and he has played quite well on it.  While his point per game average with Vegas was the best of his career, these last two seasons were his second and third highest.  $4MM doesn’t always get you a lot on the open market but a capable top-six forward is certainly better than most.

Jonathan Bernier (DET) – 3 years, $9MM – This begins the run on goalies as basically every other bargain deal was signed by a netminder.  Bernier essentially took over as the starter for the Red Wings this season while faring okay in the first year while in a platoon role.  The overall numbers don’t look great but considering how much Detroit has struggled, they weren’t going to be great.  If he winds up being the starter again this season, the value will go up even more.

Jaroslav Halak (BOS) – 2 years, $5.5MM – Getting someone who had started as much as Halak had for this price was impressive enough.  But the value he has given Boston is more than that as they have been able to lighten Tuukka Rask’s workload and the benefits have been significant as they’ve been among the top goaltending tandems in the league since then.  Halak has embraced the role and already has signed an extension for next season.

Anton Khudobin (DAL) – 2 years, $5MM – Rask’s old partner with Boston moved on to the Stars and the results were similar to Halak with the Bruins.  He picked up a significant share of the workload which helped keep Ben Bishop rested and both netminders responded with strong performances.  With more teams starting to see the value of a platoon, Khudobin should be well-positioned to earn a raise on the open market this summer even with it not being a great time to hit free agency.  Dallas will certainly make an effort to keep him as well.

Petr Mrazek (CAR) – 1 year, $1.5MM – After a rough 2017-18 campaign, Mrazek’s market was minimal so he joined the Hurricanes with the hopes of bouncing back.  He did exactly that, posting a 2.39 GAA with a .914 SV% during the regular season which helped propel the Hurricanes to a surprising Eastern Conference Final appearance.  At a time where the good backups were signing for a fair bit more than $1.5MM, they got someone who basically did just as well for a fraction of the price.  Mrazek was able to parlay that strong performance into some job security as he landed a two-year, $6.25MM deal last July.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Period Expected To Open In November

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While we’re still waiting for official word on a CBA Memorandum of Understanding and the final Return to Play protocols, we now at least have an idea of when the free agency period will begin.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link) that the agreement to extend expiring contracts runs through October 31st which means that the league is targeting November 1st as the beginning of the 2020-21 calendar which would also serve as the opening day of free agency.

This also means that contract extensions will need to be put on hold as well.  Those deals can’t officially be signed until the player enters the final year of his contract which will now be in November.  Of course, teams can still hold informal discussions between now and then and with a better picture of what the salary cap is going to be for the foreseeable future (no change for the next two years and a $1MM boost to $82.5MM in 2022-23 if the CBA extension is finalized and ratified), those negotiations might be a bit easier with one key variable off the table.

As for players that have an eye on heading overseas for next season where the leagues start up in September, there is some relief on the horizon.  Mollie Walker of the New York Post notes that players that aren’t going to be participating in the playoffs will be allowed to sign deals in other leagues later this month.  That would allow players to catch on with new teams with enough time to be at training camp instead of having to wait and join midway through the season.  With that in mind, we may see a small uptick in player movement once the Return to Play rosters are set.

Snapshots: Training Camp Start Date, Rask Free Agency, 2020 Young Stars Classic, Lindblom Recovery

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Phase 2 of the NHL’s return to play initiative is well underway, but the rest of the timeline is still being finalized. Phase 3, originally planned for July 10, is being pushed back a couple of days to July 13th, per Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Teams already are looking into cutting the number of exhibition games from 2 to 1 given the shortened timetable and increased risk with each passing day, per Louis Jean of TVA Sports. Phase 3 marks the official start to training camp for the 24-team playoff that will determine the Stanley Cup winner for the 2019-2020 season. Team facilities have largely opened up as players have begun to arrive early to get into game shape. But that’s not all that’s happening in the NHL…

  • The Boston Bruins and goaltender Tuukka Rask are close to embarking on a classic game of free agent chicken. Both Rask and his partner between the pipes Jaroslav Halak will be free agents at the end of the 2020-2021 season. We chronicled earlier today the deal that brought Task to Boston fourteen years ago, but if the Bruins are going to lock up their 33-year-old goalie, it’s likely going to cost – Rask’s current $7MM price tag makes him the fifth highest-paid goaltender this season, behind Carey Price, Sergei Bobrovsky, Henrik Lundqvist, and Marc-Andre Fleury, writes Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports. Rask has a legitimate shot at winning his second Vezina Trophy, and the tandem of Rask and Halak already secured the Jennings Trophy for the year. On the other hand, depending on how next season goes, Rask could take a pay cut, given that he’ll be entering his age-35 season.
  • The 2020 Young Stars Classic has officially been postponed because of coronavirus, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers. The four-team, round-robin tournament would have featured prospects from four of the NHL’s Canadian franchises: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. The tournament had been scheduled for mid-September, but it’s now officially postponed. There’s no telling at this stage if the tournament will ultimately be canceled or just pushed back.
  • In a bit of good news: Philadelphia Flyers’ winger Oskar Lindblom recently underwent radiation treatments to treat Ewing’s sarcoma, per Dan Gelston of The Associated Press. The rare form of bone cancer ended Lindblom’s season early and put his life in danger, but the treatments went as planned and he appears to be on the road to recovery. Not only that, but he’s already targeting a return to the NHL, tweets The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. Lindblom, 23, looked to build on his strong rookie season when he posted 33 points with 13:45 ATOI for the Flyers in 2018-2019. He potted 11 goals with 7 assists in just 30 games before his life-threatening diagnosis. There is zero chance that Lindblom returns this season, but that he’s already eyeing a return to the ice at all is a big win for Lindblom and the Flyers. 

Blackhawks Notes: Mitchell, Dach, De Haan, Crawford

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Sooner or later, Ian Mitchell will join the Chicago Blackhawks. Whether he’ll suit up for the Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Edmonton Oilers remains to be seen. Until coronavirus ended the college season, Mitchell had banked 32 points in his junior year with the University of Denver, and his availability for the tail end of the NHL season was largely going to be dictated by how far of a run Denver could make in their own playoffs. Though the details of the proposed return-to-play plan between the NHL and NHLPA aren’t finalized, it’s assumed that players in Mitchell’s situation – those who have signed their entry-level deals but haven’t debuted – won’t be allowed to join their clubs for the playoff, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Regardless, Mitchell isn’t likely to join the defensive rotation this season, not with Duncan Keith and Adam Boqvist, Calvin de Haan and Connor Murphy, and Olli Maatta and Slater Koekkoek likely making up the top three line pairings, writes The Athletic’s Scott Powers If Mitchell isn’t able to sign with the Blackhawks this season, that probably suits Chicago just fine, as they could gain an extra year of cost control for Mitchell. If he is allowed to sign, not only might Chicago burn a year of Mitchell’s entry-level deal, but it’d also align his first year of restricted free agency with Boqvist and Kirby Dach. The Hawks know all too well how difficult it can be to build a contender when a team’s best young players become expensive at the same time.

  • Speaking of Dach, the Blackhawks’ rookie center isn’t quite as gung-ho to return to the ice as NHL players are “supposed” to be, but that shouldn’t be a knock on the young center’s character, writes The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. On the contrary, Dach displayed remarkable self-awareness and maturity in his comments about returning to play: “As a young guy in my first year, I feel like I’ve got a lot of potential to grow and learn in this league, and to become the player I want to be. I know I’m a few steps away from that. At the same time, this could be a health risk for many young guys’ careers. We’re high-intensity athletes, where our hearts and lungs are pumping extremely fast, and (COVID-19) could be damaging to us, even past our careers. That’s something you’ve got to take into consideration when you go back.” Dach, 19, showed enough in his first season to excite the Chicago faithful, scoring 23 points in 14:16 ATOI. Despite his concerns, Dach plans on joining his teammates for their Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Edmonton Oilers, which, if nothing else, will provide Dach an early brush with playoff-adjacent hockey. 
  • Calvin de Haan, meanwhile, is back on the ice as of today, per Carter Baum of NHL.com. In his first season with the Blackhawks, the former Islanders and Hurricanes blueliner appeared in 29 games before right shoulder surgery knocked him out for the year – or so we thought. When healthy, de Haan was a penalty killer for Chicago, and he’ll likely slot back into the second pair or defenseman with Connor Murphy if he’s fully back up to speed. Baum provides this quote from Coach Jeremy Colliton: “Obviously we’ve got to get him on the ice and go through camp and hopefully everything continues to progress as far as his health.” 
  • The Blackhawks have an uphill climb ahead of them if they hope to survive the Stanley Cup Qualifier. Taking on the star-studded Edmonton Oilers on their home ice (without fans) presents a challenge for the Hawks, but it’s still a better deal than they were likely to get had the season finished on time. Chicago wasn’t likely to scratch their way back into the playoff hunt, but now youngsters like Dach, Boqvist, and Alex DeBrincat can garner some experience playing games of consequence against some of the best players in the game. The Blackhawks have the experience to upset Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the Oilers, but to do so will likely require goaltender Corey Crawford to quickly get on top of his game, per Tracey Myers of NHL.com. After trading Robin Lehner to the Golden Knights, Chicago has no viable Plan B should the 35-year-old Crawford struggle to hit his stride. Not to pile on in the stakes department, but Crawford is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Snapshots: Amnesty, Lucic, Game Audio, Hajek

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Despite the hopes and dreams of fans around the NHL, the agreed-upon return-to-play conditions and extended CBA is not likely to include any kind of amnesty clause, per TSN’s Bob McKenzie. The assumption that the salary cap will hold at $81.5MM for the next two seasons gave rise to some speculation that the stagnant cap would be augmented by an amnesty provision, but it appears teams will be stuck with the contracts they’ve got on the books. For the Calgary Flames, that means Milan Lucic, writes Todd Cordell of Hockey Buzz. Lucic has three more years on his deal worth $5.25MM per season. The 32-year-old Lucic hardly set the world on fire in his first season in Calgary, notching just 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists) across 68 games. The Flames acquired Lucic and a conditional 3rd round pick for winger James Neal after one disappointing season in Calgary produced just seven goals. The money owed Lucic isn’t exorbitant, but it’s not an ideal price tag for an aging winger entering his mid-thirties. Lucic still played a role on the Flames’ third line, but his days as a 40-60 point scorer appear behind him. Additionally, it’s unclear right now if the Flames will actually receive the third-round pick. To get the pick in this year’s draft, Neal had to score at least 21 goals and record 10 more goals than Lucic. The second condition was qualified, but Neal scored just 19 goals – in a shortened season. Common sense would look at those numbers and say Neal was going to qualify both conditions, but it’s not entirely clear.

  • When the NHL returns to television, the game may look the same – except for the leagues of empty seats in the background – but the audio experience may provide an even more jarring change, per Kevin McGran of The Star. Without access to players, the play-by-play commentators are likely to call games from a studio instead of the arena, and in terms of sideline reporting, well, there won’t be any. Studios are still working on the best way to pump in ambient sound, whether that’s highlighting sounds from the ice or using some kind of fan track. The most entertaining option would almost certainly be to mic the players, but that would require players to curb their vulgarity, which, in the heat of the moment, might be too great an ask.
  • Libor Hajek of the New York Rangers has hired Octagon as his representation, tweets agent Allan Walsh. The young blueliner appeared in 28 games for the Rangers this season, recording five assists but no goals. Walsh also represents NHL players like Marc-Andre Fleury and Brock Boeser.

One Trade The Maple Leafs Would Like To Have Back

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In the summer of 2006, the Toronto Maple Leafs decided not to pick up a contract option on 41-year-old Ed Belfour. Totaling three seasons as resident netminder in Toronto, Belfour spent much of his final season in Toronto hampered by a balky back. He was limited to 49 games in 2005-2006 and a substandard .892 save percentage. GM-at-the-time John Ferguson Jr. probably made the right call moving on from Belfour (though Belfour would bounceback somewhat in his one and only season with the Florida Panthers before retiring) – where Ferguson and the Maple Leafs erred was in choosing Belfour’s successor.

Looking ahead, the Maple Leafs had two goalie prospects to dream on: Tuukka Rask and Justin Pogge. Unfortunately, neither Rask, 19, nor Pogge, 20, were ready to step between the pipes. Thus, Ferguson Jr. moved to deal from a position of future depth to secure a near-term solution. Toronto traded Rask to the Boston Bruins in a straight-up swap for 26-year-old goaltender Andrew Raycroft.

On its face, the deal made some sense for both sides: Rask had been a recent first-round pick, #21 overall of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, while Raycroft came to Toronto decorated as the 2003-2004 Calder Trophy winner as the league’s top rookie. The Bruins were run at the time by interim General Manager Jeff Gorton (now the GM of the New York Rangers), who said this of the deal: “We had an opportunity, with three good, solid goaltenders who are all number one goalies in the NHL, and they couldn’t all play for us. Andrew had some value and we were able to move him for a player we really like, who is along the lines of Hannu Toivonen.” 

Of course, Toivonen would be traded to St. Louis the following season for Carl Soderberg. He’d start 17 games for the Blues in 2007-2008 and never again appear in the NHL. So while the comparison wasn’t as apt as Gorton intended, his point was clear. Nevermind that it’s a little curious for Gorton to trade for a player in Rask whom he would describe as being, essentially, “similar to the other guy we already have,” so it’s possible Gorton knew more about the organization’s future intentions than he let on at the time.

More to the point, perhaps, was that the Bruins had made their choice about their starting goalie. A month before the Rask/Raycroft swap, Boston extended Tim Thomas with a three-year deal. The late-blossoming Thomas was primed to take over after 38 games and 2.77 GAA in 2005-2006.

Thomas was the Bruins’ chosen goalie moving forward, and he would take the heft of the timeshare as Rask came of age through the 2011-2012 season. Thomas was a four-time All-Star and two-time Vezina Trophy winner, including in 2011, when he took two-thirds of the timeshare en route to a Stanley Cup. Rask played a key role in getting that Bruins team through the regular season, but it was Thomas who steered the ship to the Cup. He took home the Conny Smythe Trophy as the oldest player ever to win the playoff MVP award. Unfortunately, his political views became a distraction in the following seasons – but Gorton’s trade with the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2006 provided Thomas’ heir apparent.

Rask took over as the primary goalie in 2013-2014, leading the league in shutouts and winning the Vezina Trophy. He’s been one of the top goaltenders in the league ever since. Fourteen years later, Rask and Jaroslav Halak will share the Jennings Trophy this year, combining to allow just 2.24 GAA for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins. Rask has been a huge part of the Bruins’ success over the years in keeping Boston competitive. He put up a .934 save percentage in the postseason last year, helping the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final. Rask has twice gotten the Bruins to the Stanley Cup since taking over as the primary goaltender, losing to the Blackhawks in 2013 and the Blues in 2019.

Back in Toronto, it’s been a long and winding road to current netminder Frederik Andersen. Andersen has settled in for Toronto, making his first all-star team in 2019-2020, his fourth season in Toronto. But even Andersen came at a cost: a 1st and 2nd round pick to Anaheim in the summer of 2016.

Raycroft, meanwhile, served up a league-high 205 goals in the 2006-2007 season for the Maple Leafs. His numbers would only get worse the year after, 3.92 GAA and a .876 save percentage. He left Toronto after a season and a half with a .890 save percentage and a 39-34-14 record. Pogge never developed to take the throne either. Six starts during the 2007-2008 season make up the entirety of his NHL career. He’d bounce around the AHL for a couple of seasons but never make it back to the NHL.

In the interim between Belfour and Andersen, the Leafs cycled through a number of unspectacular puck-stoppers: Jonas Gustavsson, Raycroft, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Vesa Toskala, Garret Sparks, and Ben Scrivens each took a turn, but James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier had the most successful runs. Bernier made 140 mostly forgettable starts with a .915 save percentage from 2013 to 2016, and Reimer – who helped end Toronto’s playoff drought in 2012-2013 – took his office hours in the Toronto net for 196 starts and a .914 save percentage from 2011 to 2016.

But none quite rises to the level of Rask, who has stabilized the Boston goal for an entire era of Bruins’ hockey. For the Bruins, dealing for Rask was one of their better deals of the last twenty years. For the Maple Leafs, they’d probably like to have this one back.

That said, John Ferguson Jr., the GM who made the deal for Toronto, has probably made his peace with the deal: he’s currently the Executive Director of Player Personnel for – you guessed it – the Boston Bruins.

Snapshots: Berglund, Rangers’ Goalie Battle

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Brynäs IF of the Swedish Hockey League has offered a contract to free agent Patrik Berglund, per Uffe Bodin of hockeysverige.se. Berglund, last seen in the NHL as a member of the 2018-2019 Buffalo Sabres, had his contract terminated after failing to report. Mental health issues led Berglund to forfeit the $10MM contract and return to Europe where he eventually signed a deal with Djurgardens in the SHL. It appears as if Berglund, 32, will stay in the Swedish Hockey League for the foreseeable future, putting an end to any speculation that he might return stateside. Berglund initially joined the Sabres to help match salary as part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade.

  • The New York Rangers are in the enviable position of having not one, not two, but three viable options at goaltender once play resumes, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. Henrik Lundqvist (.905 save percentage in 26 starts) could be grandfathered into the starting role, but Igor Shesterkin (.932 save percentage in 12 starts)and Alexandar Georgiev (.910 save percentage in 32 starts) each made their case with solid play during the year. As with many of the roster decisions coming out of the long layoff, this may come down to conditioning and readiness. However he decides, coach David Quinn is sure to be second-guessed if their five-game Stanley Cup Qualifier against the Carolina Hurricanes goes poorly. On his thinking, Quinn said this: “You can make a case for all three guys. There’s a lot of reasons to take ’Shesty,’ there’s a lot of reasons to start Hank (Lundqvist), and there’s reasons to start ’Georgie.’ This is such an uncertain time that that will play out over the course of the two and a half weeks that we’re going to have before we drop the puck.”
  • Looking ahead, the Rangers decision could speak to their likely direction this offseason when they’ll need to decide again how to manage the futures of Lundqvist, 38, Shesterkin, 24, and Georgiev, 24. Lundqvist is owed $8.5MM for the 2020-2021 season while Shesterkin has another year at $925K. “Georgie” could be the odd man out, as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season. That said, the Rangers’ remain in control of all three, and they’ll likely explore trade avenues to extract value from the deep positional group.

Next Steps To Finalizing Toronto and Edmonton As Hub Cities

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It’s been a long and arduous journey, and there’s plenty more road left to clear, but it appears as if the NHL and NHLPA have a framework in place to settle all their outstanding issues, writes TSN’s Frank Seravalli. The deal has yet to be finalized, but when it is, it’s expected to include an extension of the current CBA, some of which we went over here, as well as the final details of the return-to-play initiative. Plus, of course, there’s the final announcement about the hub cities.

Multiple sources at the Athletic, however, confirm Bob McKenzie of TSN’s initial report that marked Toronto and Edmonton as the NHL’s chosen locations for hub play, per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The 12 participating teams from the Western Conference would play in Edmonton, with the 12 Eastern Conference clubs headed to Toronto. Of course, that means that both the Maple Leafs and Oilers will have the “advantage” of playing in their home city. The NHL doesn’t view this as much of an advantage, however, given that fans won’t be in attendance. Besides, there’s at least a chance that neither the Oilers nor the Maple Leafs would advance past the Qualifier round.

Not to mention, there remain obstacles to finalizing the plan as currently constituted. Seravalli kindly laid out the next steps: “Once a deal is finalized, it will require ratification votes from both the NHLPA’s full membership and the NHL’s Board of Governors, which could come as soon as this weekend. A simple majority vote is needed from the NHLPA; a two-thirds vote is required from the BOG.”

Still, after hemming and hawing for weeks to finalize these details, it does appear as if the NHL and NHLPA are close to pulling off the monumental task of coming to an accord in just a manner of days.

Snapshots: Boudreau, Pilut, Ducks, Graber

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While former Minnesota head coach Bruce Boudreau was planning on his coaching stint with the Wild being his last, he’s still hoping to coach again, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required).  As things stand, there isn’t a real vacancy in the league as several interim coaches remain at the helm (including in New Jersey despite their being a search ongoing, one that Boudreau is not a part of) so the 65-year-old may have to wait for a little while yet for another opportunity to come up.  He sits 22nd on the NHL’s All-Time wins list with 587 while his regular season points percentage (.635) puts him fifth among coaches with at least 200 games of NHL coaching experience.  For a team that’s looking to turn things around quickly, Boudreau should garner some consideration as other vacancies become available.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Lawrence Pilut surprised many when he opted to sign a two-year deal in the KHL over re-signing with the Sabres. It turns out the main issue wasn’t his role with the team but rather the money as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that the team wasn’t willing to offer him a one-way contract until after the deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk was agreed upon.  Pilut only played 13 games with Buffalo this season after suiting up 33 times with the big club during his rookie campaign which is likely why their preference was to give him another two-way pact.  Buffalo will retain his NHL rights by tendering him a qualifying offer this offseason.
  • The Ducks announced that they have signed a multi-year affiliation with Tulsa of the ECHL. The term of the deal was not disclosed.  Anaheim has been without an affiliate at that level for the last two seasons.  Meanwhile, the move means that the Blues, who had previously been affiliated with Tulsa, will be looking for a new partner for next season.
  • The Capitals have signed Will Graber to a minor league contract, their AHL affiliate in Hershey announced.  The 24-year-old recently wrapped up what was a strong career at Dartmouth and ranged between 25 and 27 points in each of his final three seasons with the team.  While his primary position is on defense, he did spend time up front with the Big Green as well and if he’s able to do that successfully in the pros, his value will certainly go up.

July 1st Retrospective: 2017

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It’s July 1st which means today should be filled with hundreds of millions committed to contracts signed in the early hours of free agency.  However, this is no ordinary year and as a result, the UFA market is on hold for a while yet with the Stanley Cup on pace to be awarded sometime in October with the official offseason beginning after that.  So instead of there being plenty of new deals to talk about, let’s take a look back at the frenzy from recent years.  We begin with 2017; 2018 will appear on Thursday and 2019 on Friday.

This group of free agents wasn’t the strongest overall and teams were showing a bit more restraint after a dreadful 2016 UFA market that saw quite a few brutal contracts handed out.  Nevertheless, there were still some notable deals handed out including several that haven’t worked out as well as intended.

For the purpose of this exercise, we’re limiting our scope to the deals handed out on July 1st itself which means players like Alexander Radulov and Patrick Marleau who signed soon after are not considered here.

Key Re-Signings

Cam Fowler (ANA) – 8 years, $52MM – Fowler signed this extension coming off of what was his best offensive showing since his rookie season while logging nearly 25 minutes a night.  A $6.5MM cap hit for a potential top pairing defenseman was reasonable and while injuries have hit him every year since then, it’s still not a bad deal for someone that has settled in as their second or third defender most nights.  All in all, the deal has held up pretty well.

Justin Schultz (PIT) – 3 years, $16.5MM – Schultz’s first full season with the Penguins was the best of his career as he looked as if he had finally lived up to his potential as a highly-touted blueliner.  The deal represented a reasonable price tag for a capable top-four defender with some offensive upside while allowing him another opportunity to hit the open market while still somewhat in his prime.  Instead, injuries have been an issue each year and while he had 51 points in 2016-17, he was only able to muster up that many points combined on this contract.

Sharks – San Jose gets their own section here.  Marc-Edouard Vlasic (8 years, $56MM) inked an extension that looked pricey at the time and even worse now.  He has slowed down considerably over the last couple of years and still has six seasons left on his deal.  Martin Jones’ (6 years, $34.5MM) extension hasn’t looked great either.  He has posted .896 save percentages in each of the two years of the contract, numbers that are below average for a backup let alone a starter.  Both of those contracts are hurting their salary structure and will be tough to get out from under.  Meanwhile, Joe Thornton agreed to another one-year extension worth $6.5MM.  Injuries limited him to just 47 games that year but he still managed 36 points.

Top AAV Free Agent Signings

(Players changing teams)

Kevin Shattenkirk (NYR) – 4 years, $26.6MM – Shattenkirk was the top prize to get to the open market.  It was known that he wanted to go to the Rangers and there were bigger deals that he left on the table to sign with New York.  At the time, it seemed like a fortunate turn of events for the Rangers.  It wasn’t.  He struggled considerably in his two seasons with the team before being bought out where they will incur a $6.083MM cap charge next season for having done so.

Karl Alzner (MTL) – 5 years, $23.125MM – This was the longest contract handed out to a free agent changing teams on day one of free agency in 2017.  It looked questionable at the time and worse now.  After holding down a regular role with the Canadiens in his first year with them, he has spent the majority of his time since then in the minors.  If he’s not bought out this offseason, he’ll likely be back there next season as well.

Justin Williams (CAR) – 2 years, $9MM – While he was 36 in his first season back with the team, the multi-year pact was a good one for both sides.  Williams had 51 and 53 points over his two seasons on that deal and served as their captain in 2018-19.  That performance wasn’t a huge bargain but as far as comparing it to the other notable deals signed on this day three years ago, it was one of the better contracts signed.

Ones To Forget

Martin Hanzal (DAL) – 3 years, $14.25MM – On the surface, this seemed a little pricey but not too much.  At the time, Hanzal was a capable third line center that could move up when injuries arose and overpaying for that was understandable.  Unfortunately, back issues have basically made the last two years a write-off (seven games last year, zero this season) while he missed more than half of 2017-18 as well.  In the end, they got six goals and six assists out of him for their money.

Dmitry Kulikov (WPG) – 3 years, $13MM – Kulikov’s 2016-17 season was a disaster, to put it gently.  Despite that, the Jets went off of his reputation from his time in Florida and handed him a three-year deal that didn’t make any sense from the moment it was signed.  Injuries were an issue in the first two years while being in a sheltered role when he did play.  Injuries were also a problem this season but he was better, logging 20 minutes a night for the first time with them.  The deal ends on a better note than it started but it was still a bad one.

Sam Gagner (VAN) – 3 years, $9.45MM – Gagner had a career year with Columbus heading into free agency with 50 points so from an AAV perspective, this didn’t seem excessive.  He was passable in his first year with the Canucks but then spent most of the second season of the deal in the minors.  He was dealt to Edmonton during that second season and hung around on the NHL roster for most of it this year but the output was minimal; all told, he had a combined 26 points over the final two seasons which is far from a good return.

Steve Mason (WPG) – 2 years, $8.2MM – He was brought in to mentor/push youngster Connor Hellebuyck but only played in 13 games in the first season of the contract and didn’t fare all that well.  With the Jets in a cap crunch the following summer, they had to part with Joel Armia to offload Mason’s contract on Montreal (and they immediately bought him out).  The deal worked out well for Mason as he made nearly $7MM to play those 13 games but it’s one to forget for Winnipeg.

Bargains

Evgenii Dadonov (FLA) – 3 years, $12MM – This deal carried plenty of risk since Dadonov’s first tour through the NHL (with the Panthers, no less) wasn’t good.  But he lit up the KHL to earn a second chance and has made the most of it, posting 81 goals and 101 assists over the life of the deal in 225 games.  He’s shaping up to be one of the more coveted wingers in the upcoming free agent class and even in a weaker market, he’s looking at a nice raise.

There really isn’t another big bargain out of this class as a lot of the signings early on were short-term deals for veterans or role players/minor leaguers signing quickly to get some certainty for the upcoming year.  Here are a couple of the veteran deals that panned out relatively well at least.

Ron Hainsey (TOR) – 2 years, $6MM – He wore down towards the end of the contract but he gave the Maple Leafs a little more than 21 minutes a night over the two years while chipping in with a respectable 46 points.  The team also praised the impact of his leadership at several times throughout his stint as well.  Paying $3MM a year for someone that spent a lot of time on the top pairing is a pretty good return even if he struggled by the end of it.

Ryan Miller (ANA) – 2 years, $4MM – Brought in to be an insurance policy for John Gibson, Miller wound up finishing fifth in the NHL in save percentage (.928) in his first season while posting a Goals Saved Above Average rate of 11.86 in just 28 games, his best mark in nearly a decade.  Miller’s performance was more average in his second season but with the backup goalie market going up considerably in price over the last few years, he still gave Anaheim some extra value overall.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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