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Archives for October 2020

Calgary Flames Sign Josh Leivo

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Calgary is certainly stoking the flames of rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks this off-season. The Canucks reiterated all season long that re-signing starting goaltender Jacob Markstrom and defensive mainstay Chris Tanev were two of their biggest priorities this off-season. Instead, both players signed with none other than the division rival Flames. Now you can add another name to that list. After it was reported on Thursday that Vancouver was still actively pursuing a new contract with forward Josh Leivo, the Flames have come out today and signed him, as first reported by Nick Kypreos of Line Movement. It is a one-year, $875K deal, as confirmed by the team’s press release.

Leivo, 27, has not played since before Christmas after suffering a fractured kneecap in December. Had he not been sidelined by that injury, Leivo likely would have had a career year and would have had much more free agent attention resulting in a larger contract, rather than settling for a one-year deal and salary decrease. In 36 games to open the season, the skilled winger recorded 19 points. This put him just five points back of his career best but in 40 fewer games. A player who usually opted for shots over passes still managed to showcase some newfound playmaking ability, setting a career high with 12 assists prior to his injury. The Canucks suited up for 69 games before the NHL was put on pause. Had Leivo been healthy through the whole season, he would have finished with 36 points on the year. This would have placed him sixth among free agent forwards in points.

The Flames hope that this move is more than just a shot at the Canucks. If Leivo can return to the level of play he displayed prior to his injury, they could be paying less than $1MM for a player with 40-point upside. However, even if Leivo’s recovery is not complete by the time the season begins or if he doesn’t quite work his way back to full strength this season, Calgary is still getting a talented bottom-six forward who can chip in on offense. It’s hard to see this contract being anything less than a worthwhile gamble for a team who needed to add another offensive asset to their forward corps.

NHL Facing Major Challenges In Planning 2020-21 Season

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The 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the “bubble playoffs”, were nothing short of an immense success for the NHL. The venture may have cost the league upwards of $90MM to put on and there were a few complaints after the fact about living conditions and scheduling, but the postseason was an incredible accomplishment for the league and players’ association. In the midst of a global pandemic, the NHL hosted 24 teams in two cities over two months, fielded a workable playoff structure and competitive match-ups that yielded a fair champion, all while receiving zero positive COVID-19 results out of more than 33,000 tests. It was as close to perfect execution as anyone could have expected.

Yet, the issues faced in planning the postseason are exponentially more difficult to tackle in mapping out how the 2020-21 regular season may proceed. As Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly tells The Athletic’s Michael Russo, “it’s going to be a challenge”:

It’s a totally different challenge and requires a whole bunch of different considerations that I think probably, in some respects, are more challenging than the (postseason) return to play plans. You need to gather as much information as you can, you need to take as much time as you can, and you need to make the best decisions you can… We’re in a situation where things are evolving every day. You’re monitoring the evolution of the virus and the searches for answers on the virus. You’re monitoring travel restrictions and how we can move clubs around, if we can move clubs around. And we’re monitoring local restrictions with respect to spectators and fans. You’ve got to stay on top of everything and understand things, and they become a very relevant context for the ultimate decisions you make.

While the league is sticking with their expected start date of on or around January 1st, there are still several hurdles to beginning play and they may still be in place by that point in time. The league undoubtedly hoped and believed that the Coronavirus would have subsided somewhat by this point, but the numbers in North America are still not close to ideal. This all but rules out fans in the stands from the get-go, a tough pill to swallow for a league that relies on gate revenue, and even makes travel a struggle. The U.S.-Canada border is the largest travel issue of all, with no resolution to that closure in sight. The league can’t possibly support all 31 teams playing in just two bubbles again, but there is some thought that there could be several hubs, including one that contains all seven Canadian clubs. However, is even this format feasible for a full season or will the NHL have to shorten another year?

There are many questions the league still has to answer and Daly believes that they have the full support of the owners in figuring out some resolution to make sure the 2020-21 season happens and is as close to normal as possible. Of course, this is not a binary decision for the league though, as Daly acknowledges:

We have to work with the Players’ Association over what a return to play plan looks like for next year. And anything considered, talked about, discussed in the context of that ultimately has to be signed off on by both sides. Everybody has an interest in us having a season and awarding a Cup next year. And everybody will be pulling in the same direction in terms of getting there… The players’ perspective and the Players’ Association’s perspective and their input on whatever plan we ultimately come up with is critical to our ability to be successful.

With so many moving parts, questions without clear answers, and an ever-changing pandemic landscape, there is still nothing firm as to what next season could look like. Planning a full professional sports season right now is a daunting task – the MLB and NFL have had their fair share of issues even without fans in most cases and limited travel – so the NHL will take their time, consult their partners and stakeholders, and try to come up with some format that works. Daly believes they will find a solution, but admits that they are still far from that point:

I’m being honest when I say that there is no likely scenario. In other words, I couldn’t pick one. I could identify 10 to 12 scenarios for you right now and I wouldn’t be able to pick a likely scenario. While we have to make these decisions in a matter of weeks, I couldn’t tell you that we’re leaning any one over any other. It really is going to be a product of a whole bunch of considerations that have yet to materialize.

The Thinned-Out Free Agent Goalie Market

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This has been one of the more interesting free agent classes in recent years.  We’re two weeks in and several notable forwards and quality defensemen are still available.  That’s not normal in a typical free agent year where most of the top players are gobbled up within the first 72 hours.

That hasn’t been the case when it comes to goaltenders, however.  Most of the movement there has typically been done in the first couple of days and this year was no exception as Jacob Markstrom, Braden Holtby, Cam Talbot, Corey Crawford, and Thomas Greiss were among those to find new homes while Anton Khudobin and Mike Smith stayed put.  All of a sudden, the market looks pretty thin.  Here is an overview of what’s left at that position among goalies with at least 10 NHL appearances last season.

Craig Anderson – The 39-year-old last had above-average numbers back in 2016-17 and since then, he has posted a .901 SV% with a 3.37 GAA.  While there is some cause for optimism that those numbers could improve in front of a better team than what Ottawa had, there is still some uncertainly in what he has left on the table.

Jimmy Howard – He’s only a year removed from being a starter but what a dreadful year it was in 2019-20.  He won just two of his 27 starts with a dreadful .882 SV% and a 4.20 GAA.  Yes, Detroit had a brutal season but Jonathan Bernier managed to perform a lot better behind the same team.  The 36-year-old said last month that he intends to keep playing but there hasn’t been much interest so far.  Even if he could rebound to the numbers from his previous two seasons though, Howard could provide a bit of upside as a backup.

Michael Hutchinson – He made 11 mostly forgettable starts for Toronto before being farmed out but a late-season trade to Colorado certainly boosted his stock.  Hutchinson wound up making four playoff appearances (including three starts) while Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz went down due to injuries and did well enough to help force a seventh game against eventual conference champion Dallas.  The 30-year-old may not land a number two spot but as an insurance third-stringer (like Aaron Dell in Toronto), there should be a good fit for him.

Ryan Miller – With a .907 SV% last year, Miller’s performance was still decent as far as backup goalies go but at 40, there are going to be questions about how much longer he can keep playing.  Assuming Anaheim decides they’re okay with having him back up John Gibson for another year, there’s a landing spot for Miller for next season but otherwise, he may have some challenges finding a contract.

(Cory Schneider is on this list as well and remains unsigned but is believed to be finalizing a deal with the Islanders.)

Garret Sparks is the only other UFA goalie to make at least one NHL appearance last season but he isn’t going to contend for an NHL backup position and will likely have to settle for a number three role once again.

While there clearly aren’t many options left, there aren’t a lot of vacancies left to fill either.  Let’s look at some of the openings.

NHL Backup

Anaheim: As long as Miller’s spot hasn’t been filled, this is one team where one of the above netminders should land.  Anthony Stolarz is in the system but he is better off as a third-string option.

Chicago: Publicly, the team has committed to using two of Malcolm Subban, Collin Delia, or Kevin Lankinen to comprise their goalie tandem.  If an opportunity presented itself for improvement though, they could change course but none of the remaining free agents necessarily constitute an upgrade.

Pittsburgh: With them considering Marc-Andre Fleury (with some heavy salary retention) at one point before Vegas pledged to keep him, GM Jim Rutherford is at least open to the idea of upgrading on Casey DeSmith.  But again, there isn’t a free agent that’s head and shoulders above what DeSmith can provide.

St. Louis: They could go in either this category or the one below it as GM Doug Armstrong has suggested that they’ll bring in a veteran to serve as some insurance for rookie Ville Husso who is expected to be Jordan Binnington’s backup next season.

AHL Openings

Buffalo: The Sabres have Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen who should be in line for more AHL action next season but if they want both him and Jonas Johansson starting, adding another netminder to the mix would make some sense.

Vancouver: Michael DiPietro should receive the bulk of the work but the Canucks may want a veteran to play behind him that could be recalled if one of Holtby or Thatcher Demko is injured so as to ensure DiPietro’s development doesn’t get stalled.

(Carolina would have been in this mix but they took themselves out of the market with their recent signing of Antoine Bibeau.)

A handful of other teams may opt to make a move for insurance purposes and when training camp rolls around and there are some inevitable injuries, there could be some other moves made at that time as well.

It’s often suggested that free agent goaltending is a lot like musical chairs.  Two weeks into the market, the chairs are almost all gone and the music is seemingly about to stop.

Senators Eyeing More Forward Help

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The Senators have already added to their forward group this offseason with the signing of Evgenii Dadonov and the acquisition of Austin Watson but they may not be done adding up front just yet.  Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that the belief is that Ottawa may be interested in adding one more forward to the mix.

From a roster composition standpoint, the Sens have several players on entry-level contracts that are likely to break camp with the team so adding another veteran wouldn’t put them in a roster crunch of any kind.  Adding another veteran would certainly insulate them against injuries and would allow them to shuffle some of those youngsters back and forth between them and AHL Belleville which is something they did last season.

Cap space won’t be an issue either as even after they re-sign arbitration-eligible center Chris Tierney, they’ll have plenty of it but there are questions as to how much they’ll be willing to spend next season, especially since they’re not quite ready to emerge from their rebuild just yet.  As things stand, they have a little less than $18MM in room, per CapFriendly.

It’s unclear what type of forward they’d have a preference for acquiring though as they have needs basically in every area.  But with their young core set to get more expensive over the next few years as entry-level deals expire, adding someone on a long-term deal could have repercussions down the road.  With that in mind, adding someone with a year or two left would probably be more beneficial for Ottawa.

There are quite a few teams looking to free up some cap room and if GM Pierre Dorion is indeed willing to add another forward, this could be an opportunity to bring someone in for a low price or if they’re open to taking on a pricier contract, perhaps add some more draft pick and/or prospect capital as well.

PHR Mailbag: Sabres, Sweeney, TV, Blue Jackets, Hoffman, Predators

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Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Buffalo defensemen, Don Sweeney’s tenure in Boston, the new voice of NBC hockey, the relative inactivity in Columbus after freeing up cap room, Mike Hoffman’s fit with a rebuilding team, and Nashville’s need for forward help.  If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in next weekend’s edition.

LarryJ4: What is the holdup for Buffalo moving Ristolainen or Miller? Gotta think this is what is delaying a move for a more capable goalie (Varlamov, Korpisalo, Kuemper) to pair up with Ullmark.

I have to admit, I don’t see a goalie move for them coming this offseason.  There’s definitely a need to upgrade on the Linus Ullmark–Carter Hutton tandem but I believe they still think that Ullmark has some untapped upside yet.  The challenge is that Hutton and his $2.75MM cap hit need to go in any trade.  If Arizona wanted to move Darcy Kuemper, part of the impetus for doing so would be considerable cap savings.  They can’t get that by taking Hutton back.  That takes a trade with Columbus out of the equation as well and it’s doubtful that the Islanders would move Semyon Varlamov until they see if Ilya Sorokin is indeed ready to be a starter in the NHL.  He hasn’t played a second in this league yet though so the time isn’t right to trade him.

Let’s look at the defensemen now, beginning with Miller.  His name has been in trade speculation dating back to last year when it was clear he wasn’t a great fit with Buffalo.  They didn’t find a taker then when teams believed they had more flexibility than they do now.  Perhaps there’s a lateral swap for another defenseman but I’d put better odds on him finding his bearings in his season year with the Sabres than landing a considerable upgrade.  At the very least, a third-pairing defenseman isn’t going to be a centerpiece of a trade for a starting goalie.

Ristolainen’s a bit more interesting in that he is such a polarizing player.  He has unquestionable offensive skill but while his play in his own end was better last year under Ralph Krueger, it still wasn’t great.  I suspect they believe he’ll improve in his second season with Krueger behind the bench so I don’t think they want to move him even though there may be some teams that look at Ristolainen and think they can ‘fix’ his defensive issues.  But again, that would be more of a lateral swap than a move for a goalie.

Long story short, I expect Buffalo to give Ullmark a bigger portion of the workload next season and decide if he’s part of their long-term plans or if they have to change things up for 2021-22 where they may want to try their hand at the free agent market to fill that spot.

FireDonny: How is it possible for a GM to strike out on SO many high first-round picks, late 1st reaches (unskilled Trent Frederic) and not be fired? Not to mention his genius plan to sign bottom roster filler at the start of free agency while others sign stars. I’m sick of Dommy Moore’s, McKegg’s, the ghost of Kevan Miller, etc. Smith signing not enough.

Do you think Sweeney needs to make a real move to save his job? Or did Jacobs taking a bath on some property handcuff him? They can all go but Don can’t draft or trade.

VonBrewski: Is Don Sweeney the worst GM in Hockey? They supposedly have a lot more cap space than most teams. Neely says after they are eliminated that they need to get tougher and they need more scoring. They were ready to change the roster to compete for a cup.

Free agency comes and (sorry Smith, I like you as a player) *POOF* no one traded, re-signing most players, Krug gone (knew it and was ok with it) But where is the change? Where is the infusion? I have been a Bruins fan since the ’70s and I swear we are back to the Harry Sinden/Mike O’Connell days….suck, suck, suck!!!

It hasn’t been a particularly fun offseason for Boston, to say the least.  I like the addition of Craig Smith – he’s a capable middle-six forward and $3.1MM is a nice price tag.  But it goes downhill after that with nothing being done to replace Torey Krug on the left side of their back end while Zdeno Chara is unsigned as well (though he could return).  And then there are the questions regarding the availability of Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak to start next season after their recent surgeries.  I think they have a move of note left in them (not a huge splash but an impact player being added) and they’ll need to go short-term with Jake DeBrusk to make that happen and stay cap-compliant.  They’ll be near the Upper Limit when all is said and done.

I haven’t been a big fan of their draft strategy either going back to their three straight first-round picks in 2015.  DeBrusk is a decent player but they needed to hit on two of those at least.  And to be fair, they’ve only had one first-round pick in the last three years while being short on picks in general which has contributed to a weakening farm system.  I can’t lay all of that on Sweeney as while general managers select the scouting staff, it’s usually the scouts that call the shots on the draft picks or at least have heavy influence.  And avoiding the CHL altogether in four of their last five drafts is a bit of a strange strategy although it does afford more time to get a better feel for who to sign and who to let go.

I wouldn’t call Sweeney the worst GM in hockey but I do think it’s fair to suggest that he should be feeling a little pressure.  The cap levelling out sealed their fate with Krug but this is a core that’s built to win now.  Once their window closes and the focus shifts to the next group of players to build around, is Sweeney the one to be calling the shots on that?  He’ll need some better success in player development over the next couple of years to help make his case.  In the meantime, he needs to find a notable player to add to their roster and I think he’ll accomplish that.

PensJacksCanes: The biggest free agent who is the best at his position is still unsigned. With Mike Emrick retiring will UFA John Forslund become the voice of the NHL?

First off, a tip of the hat to Emrick who had an outstanding career and as a writer, I appreciate how he incorporated so many different synonyms into his calls.  I know his phraseology for calling routine plays with some variety wasn’t for everyone but between that, his overall game-calling skills, and his energy, he was one of a kind and his shoes will be tough to fill.

My first thought upon hearing the news was that Forslund makes sense.  He already had a notable role on national broadcasts and he’s no longer the voice of the Hurricanes which still feels odd typing.  He’s a contender if nothing else although it wouldn’t shock me either if there wasn’t an immediate full-time replacement.  They have a good stable of broadcasters to draw from and it’s possible that they just go with those without naming a successor.

Maybe it’s just me trying to think outside of the box but I don’t think it’s just NBC that will have a say in this.  The national TV deal in the United States is up soon and there will be more contenders for those rights than in past negotiations given the value of live sports content.  If the NHL has a certain preference for someone in the number one spot, I could see NBC going with whoever that is in the hopes of currying favor in talks for those national TV rights.

Baji Kimran: I’m a Blue Jackets fan and I can’t see them acquiring Patrik Laine. They are in a position where they must take care of Pierre-Luc Dubois first and signing him may take a while. They must make sure that if any club extends Dubois an offer sheet that they are in a position to match it. Save for maybe signing Mikael Granlund if he’s still available, I think they’re done for the time being. I think once the Jackets are in a position to address Laine, he will be long gone. Does my assessment seem reasonable to you?

I think you’re on the right track.  I know that GM Jarmo Kekalainen has suggested that part of the impetus for clearing up cap room with their recent moves was to hedge against an offer sheet for Dubois but I think that threat has come and gone.  How many teams have enough cap space left to make a real push?  Of those, how many have the budget to do so?  Do they have their own picks and a deep enough prospect pool to justify going that route?  There was a time where the possibility of an offer sheet for Dubois was plausible but I think that time has passed.  If anyone is eyeing one now, the focus should be squarely on Tampa Bay.

Depending on what Vladislav Gavrikov gets as he’s also unsigned, I agree that they’re basically done other than maybe one more cheap depth upgrade.  By the time Dubois and Gavrikov are signed, most of the $12.9MM in projected cap space they’ll have left (per CapFriendly) will be gone.  Accordingly, I’m not sure they’ll have the space to bring Granlund in without moving someone else out first which is something that’s a lot easier said than done in this marketplace.

Laine with the Blue Jackets would be interesting.  He’d certainly give them a boost offensively but he and John Tortorella could be a risky match.  However, I don’t think Laine is fit for them from a financial perspective.  I expect Kekalainen to try to set Dubois’ deal as the ceiling for Columbus forwards.  Laine, a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer, is almost certainly going to come in higher than what Dubois will get.  It’s hard to make that case to Dubois with Laine in the fold and if they were to acquire him after getting that contract done, it’d be a bit of an insult to their top center.  Having said all that, I’m still not certain that Laine winds up moving; I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s still with Winnipeg next season.

tigers22: Would the Red Wings be better off giving Mike Hoffman a one-year, $6MM deal and see what they can get at the deadline rather than trading for Tyler Johnson and a pick?

It’d be much better from Detroit’s perspective.  They’d get a better half-season contribution from Hoffman than they would from Johnson and if they were willing to retain on the deal at the deadline, getting him at $3MM would be very appealing, especially when a lot of contenders will have minimal cap space.  They could land a pretty good return in that scenario.

The question, for me, is if Hoffman would be willing to sign somewhere where he knows he’s going to be dealt a few months later.  He’s certainly willing to take a one-year contract but I think his preference would be to sign with a team that will keep him around all year.  Hoffman would certainly get a chance to put up some good numbers in a big role with the Red Wings which might help his case a year from now but a sign and eventual trade scenario is probably not one he wants to take unless talks with other teams stall out.

Johnson’s a nice player but with Tampa Bay needing a team to assume the four years remaining on his deal with a $5MM AAV in full, it would require quite the inducement to do so.  Give me the better player on a short-term deal anytime in that scenario.

@bwiz77: The Preds need a proven top-six winger to play with Duchene. Do you think that is coming via a UFA signing or trade?

I agree that there’s a need but unless it’s Hoffman, I’m not convinced that there’s an upgrade move coming.  The other free agent forward options aren’t exactly proven other than Granlund who has been ruled out of returning already.  GM David Poile has said that he wants to give his prospects a chance and I think their best-case scenario is that Eeli Tolvanen eventually steps into that role, even if there are some growing pains along the way.

Assuming Nashville is able and willing to use their full remaining cap space, the trade market may be the better way to go.  While teams looking to shed money would prefer not to move impact players to do so, that could change as we get closer to the start of next season, whenever that winds up being.  Deadlines force activity and GMs often want to wait until the last minute before pulling the trigger.

If the Predators can land Hoffman, that would fill the void, albeit for the short term since it doesn’t sound like a lucrative long-term deal is on the horizon for him.  But if he goes elsewhere, patience may be key here in terms of either waiting out the trade market or hoping that a prospect steps up during the season and fills that spot from within.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Dallas Stars Re-Sign Landon Bow

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Saturday: The Stars have made Bow’s deal official.

Friday: Anton Khudobin isn’t the only goaltender sticking with the Stars. Dallas has re-signed free agent keeper Landon Bow, according to both CapFriendly and PuckPedia. Bow had lost RFA status when the Stars declined to extend him a qualifying offer, but the young goalie has opted to stay in Dallas nevertheless. He has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth the minimum $700K at the NHL level and $90K in the AHL. Bow will be an RFA once again at the conclusion of this contract (if he receives a qualifying offer that is).

Though his limited NHL numbers suggest otherwise, Bow is not exactly considered a current asset for Dallas and may never be. Those he was stellar in a pair of emergency appearances for the Stars in 2018-19, Bow’s AHL numbers are pedestrian. He is buried behind an elite NHL tandem and superior prospects in Jake Oettinger and Colton Point, making him no more than the fifth option in net for Dallas. In fact, though Point spent much of this past season in the ECHL, it would not be a surprise if he leapfrogs Bow this year, making the former WHL standout the third-string option for AHL Texas.

Of course, it never hurts to have depth in net and Dallas could do far worse than the 6’5″ Bow. With a goalie pipeline that is almost entirely bare beyond the pro level, Bow’s experience with the organization and willingness to play a depth role contributed to Stars’ decision to bring him back. Now the 25-year-old just needs to reward the organization’s loyalty by finally putting together a complete season in the minors and re-asserting himself into the prospect battle for NHL opportunities.

Sabres, Linus Ullmark Exchange Arbitration Figures

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With their scheduled arbitration hearing now 48 hours away, the Sabres and goaltender Linus Ullmark have exchanged their requested awards.  The gap, as usual, is fairly substantial, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Buffalo has submitted a $1.8MM figure and Ullmark’s side has come in at $4.1MM.

Of course, the standard caveat applies that the arbitrator doesn’t have to pick one of the two figures and instead, will almost certainly pick something between the two.  New this year in arbitration cases is that once a hearing begins, it has to go to an award and settlement discussions are no longer permitted at that point.  As Ullmark’s asking price comes in below the walkaway threshold of $4,538,938, that won’t be an option if Buffalo is unhappy with the award.

The 27-year-old is in his final year of RFA eligibility so the submissions could only be for one year.  Statistically speaking, he was considerably better than veteran Carter Hutton but the two basically split the starts last season (34 for Ullmark, 30 for Hutton).  Overall, Ullmark had a relatively strong platform year, posting a 2.69 GAA and a .915 SV% which was a considerable improvement on his numbers in 2018-19 (3.11, .905).

Although he has seen NHL action in five straight seasons, Ullmark doesn’t have a particularly long NHL track record as he has only made 97 career appearances.  That certainly won’t help his case if it goes to a hearing and it may be what Buffalo is banking on with their offer which is on the low end for backup goaltenders.

A one-year deal would put both Ullmark and Hutton on track to reach unrestricted free agency in 2021.  If new GM Kevyn Adams doesn’t want to be faced with the prospect of having no established goalies under contract a year or so from now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a last-ditch effort to get Ullmark signed for a little longer before Monday’s hearing arrives.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Devils Loan Fabian Zetterlund To Sweden

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Even though most international leagues have started up and are in full flight, there are still roster spots being created for NHL-contracted players.  One of those is with AIK of the Allsvenskan in Sweden as the team announced that they’ve added winger Fabian Zetterlund on loan from the Devils.  The press release states that the agreement is in place until further notice, suggesting that it will be until NHL training camps resume.

The roster spot was created by the injury to Islanders prospect Oliver Wahlstrom.  He suffered an upper-body injury on Wednesday and there is no word on how much time he’ll miss.

Zetterlund was a third-round pick of New Jersey back in 2017 (63rd overall) and made his debut in North America last season, playing in 46 games with AHL Binghamton.  The 21-year-old acquitted himself relatively well, picking up eight goals and 11 assists but didn’t earn a recall to New Jersey last season.

It’s likely that Zetterlund will be back in the minors for next year but at the very least, this loan agreement will give him a chance to get into game action after last suiting up on March 11th with Binghamton.  This will be his first time in AIK’s organization after coming up from Farjestad’s system initially; as they’re an SHL team (and not taking players on loan), Zetterlund had to dip down a level to get a chance to play close to home.

NHL General Managers Discussing Draft Lottery Changes

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While Friday’s NHL GM meeting was supposed to center around plans to return to play, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that “a good chunk” of the discussion instead was spent on proposed changes to the NHL Draft Lottery system. Specifically, the Detroit Red Wings are leading the charge to get the lottery odds of the league’s worst teams boosted and Friedman believes they have considerable support.

The lottery structure is far from untouchable. The design has shifted several times since its inception and odds have been tweaked regularly. When the lottery began in 1995, there was only one winner selected and that team would only move up four spots. That structure changed in 2013, when the four spot limit was eliminated and every non-playoff team had a shot at the No. 1 overall pick, as they do now. In 2015, things got even more difficult for the league’s worst teams, as the odds shifted to the benefit of those teams closer to playoff contention in an effort to deter “tanking”. Finally, in 2016 things got even worse for those bottom dwellers, as all three of the top picks became lottery selections and the league’s worst team could fall all the way to fourth. And that is exactly what has happened in three of the past four years. In fact, the last-place finisher in the regular season standings has only retained the top pick twice since the structure shifted in 2013.

With teams like the 2017 Colorado Avalanche and now the 2020 Detroit Red Wings enduring historically bad seasons – without obvious tanking tactics at that – only to drop out of the top three picks entirely, it seems many of the league’s clubs have decided a change is in order. The current odds of the 31st-place team winning the lottery is 18.5%. This is 5% more than the team in second place, but still relatively low compared to the pre-2015 odds of 25%. The league has asked for specific proposals for a new alignment, which will also have to account for an incoming 32nd team in 2021-22, but given the recent history of deeply needy teams striking out in the lottery, it would not be surprise to see the odds for the last-place team bump back over 20% at least with bottom-three in the regular season standings all receiving a boost in their likelihood of sticking in the top three slots.

Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Gustav Forsling

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The Carolina Hurricanes have avoided arbitration with defenseman Gustav Forsling. PuckPedia and CapFriendly are both reporting that the two sides have come to terms on a one-year, two-way contract. The deal carries the minimum $700K NHL salary and a $250K AHL salary. Forsling had been scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing on November 7th.

If Forsling’s case had reached a hearing, it would have been a fascinating argument – at least from the player side. The most critical part of any arbitration case is the platform season, and Forsling did not play a single game in 2019-20. The 24-year-old defenseman was fully healthy, but simply not good enough to crack the Hurricanes’ lineup. He saw NHL action with the Chicago Blackhawks in each of the three years prior to being traded last summer, but has never played more than 43 games in any season. It would have had to have been quite the argument to convince an arbitrator that Forsling was worth more than a minimum salary. Instead, Forsling’s camp likely filed for arbitration with the primary intention of arguing that he was at least worth a one-way contract. Even that case might have been a stretch, so he has agreed to a two-way deal with a sizeable AHL salary.

Forsling’s odds of improving his case before next off-season, when he will again be an RFA with arbitration rights, seem slim. The Hurricanes currently have five established veteran defenseman on the NHL roster, other RFA’s still to sign in Haydn Fleury and Roland McKeown, a prospect pushing for time in Jake Bean, and just added a superior depth option in Joakim Ryan. Forsling would need several things to go his way to see NHL action this coming season.

Forsling’s arbitration case was the least of the Hurricanes’ worries. The team still has Fleury and forward Warren Foegele slated for hearings and there is much more on the line with that pair. CapFriendly projects Carolina to have just under $4.5MM in cap space with a current roster of 20, so the ’Canes may need to get creative (or make a move) to add Fleury, Foegele, and one more body to the roster without going over the cap. If the teams deals from their depth on the blue line, they may be able to move considerable salary. Forsling would stand to benefit from such a move as well.

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