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Archives for November 2020

Liam O’Brien Signs In AHL

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The squeeze is on for the unrestricted free agents still without contracts. Today, Liam O’Brien accepted an AHL contract from the Colorado Eagles for the upcoming season, after reaching Group VI unrestricted free agency this fall.

The 26-year-old was not re-signed by the Washington Capitals and will now be playing under a minor league contract for the first time. O’Brien first signed with the Capitals in 2014 after going undrafted and has been under an NHL deal in each of the last six years. Though mostly limited to minor league play, he did get into 17 NHL contests with the Capitals over the years, recording two points.

While O’Brien hasn’t played for the Capitals in several years and was unlikely to this season even if he did re-sign with the team, the fact that he had to accept an AHL deal shows how reluctant teams are this offseason. There are dozens of players just like him that could be staring at AHL-only deals as NHL teams try to trim the financial burden any way they can.

Antti Saarela Out 2-4 Weeks

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Chicago Blackhawks draft pick Antti Saarela was a likely candidate to represent Finland at the upcoming World Juniors, returning to the tournament after taking part last year. That has been thrown into question today as Brandon Cain of NHL.com reports that Saarela will be out two to four weeks with an undisclosed injury.

The 19-year-old forward was selected 123rd overall by the Blackhawks in 2019 but managed to secure a full-time spot on Ilves last season, scoring 12 points in 40 games. He returned to the Finnish club this year and had ten points in his first 17 games, looking more dangerous every time the puck touched his stick while maintaining his excellent skating abilities.

After going scoreless in seven games at the World Juniors last year, this year’s tournament would have been a chance for Saarela to exact some revenge and raise his international profile. Given that the tournament is almost exactly four weeks away he could potentially recover in time, but it obviously isn’t a guarantee.

Saarela isn’t yet under contract with the Blackhawks, but the team has until 2023 to sign him. If the big development step he has taken this year is any indication, a future in the NHL is waiting for him down the road.

Minor Transactions: 11/27/20

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The NHL offseason lurches forward with little progress, but things are starting to ramp up in the low minors where ECHL training camps are opening. As usual, we’ll keep track of the notable minor moves:

  • The Indy Fuel have signed Antoine Waked to an ECHL contract for 2020-21 after he failed to receive a qualifying offer from the Montreal Canadiens. Waked, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Canadiens in 2017 after his junior breakout, but he failed to ever produce much at the AHL level. In 32 games with the Laval Rocket last season, he recorded just five points.
  • The Jacksonville Icemen have signed Mike Szmatula, bringing in the offensive weapon after another strong ECHL season. Szmatula, 28, scored 49 points in 56 games for the Adirondack Thunder last year and is a proven difference-maker at that level. Adirondack was one of the teams that opted out of the upcoming season.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Arizona Coyotes

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It’s Thanksgiving this week in the United States and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.

What are the Coyotes most thankful for? 

New management.

2020 has not been good to the Coyotes. The team was docked draft picks for improper prospect testing, had their general manager leave the team right before the postseason began, and then watched Taylor Hall—who cost three prospects and two high draft picks—leave in free agency only to sign a one-year deal in Buffalo, a team that has had even less on-ice success in recent years. Then what was left of their scouting department, running the draft without input from their new GM, selected a player that was immediately in the middle of a public relations firestorm, with the team eventually renouncing his rights. The Coyotes would end up with just four players from the 2020 draft, none selected higher than 142nd.

It was just blow after blow to an organization that seemed to be headed in the right direction after securing new, stable ownership last year.

Now, thankful for Bill Armstrong finally taking the reins of the front office, the Coyotes have a long way back. Armstrong has already made an important move, even if it did fly somewhat under the radar in NHL circles. The Coyotes secured the employment of Darryl Plandowski, who had served as assistant director of amateur scouting in Tampa Bay. Plandowski is very well-respected across the industry as a leading scouting mind and hopefully will be able to turn around a department that had caused catastrophic penalties for the organization, not to mention the fact that out of the last four Coyotes drafts (not including 2020), only Jakob Chychrun, Clayton Keller, and Barrett Hayton have actually made it to the NHL. Armstrong and Plandowski have a ton of work to do.

Who are the Coyotes most thankful for?

Jakob Chychrun.

It seems clear now that Keller isn’t going to become the franchise-leading, game-changing offensive presence that the Coyotes hoped they were going to get when they selected him seventh overall in 2016. It’s not that Keller is a bad player, far from it. But since scoring 65 points in his rookie year and finishing third in Calder voting, he hasn’t taken any real developmental steps—even seeing his scoring totals go down in each following season. Keller is only just beginning an eight-year extension signed last September, which will carry a $7.15MM cap hit through the 2027-28 season. Even if he does get back on track and improve his offensive totals, that deal doesn’t leave a lot of chance for excess value.

But all is not lost. The Coyotes had another first-round pick in 2016, this time 16th overall. That’s where they selected Chychrun, who, despite dealing with injury, has developed into a legitimate force on the blueline. Now four years into his NHL career, Chychrun looks like he will be a horse for the Coyotes as an all-situations defender that can log huge minutes. He averaged more than 22 minutes a night in 2019-20, reaching a new career-high in goals with 12 and points with 26 despite playing in just 63 games. Unlike Keller, Chychrun’s long-term deal, this time signed in 2018, looks like a steal for the Coyotes moving forward. Not only does he carry just a $4.6MM cap hit through 2024-25, but the deal is also heavily back-loaded, meaning Chychrun will only actually earn $3.3MM in salary this season. With the financial environment so uncertain, value like that is hard to come by in the NHL.

What would the Coyotes be even more thankful for?

A seller’s market at the trade deadline.

The Coyotes made the postseason this year and have their sights set on it again, but it’s plain to see that this iteration of the team will have a hard time actually contending for a Stanley Cup. However, they may be able to build a new wing for their prospect cupboard if they decide to sell off some assets at the deadline. Derek Stepan, Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Antti Raanta are all pending unrestricted free agents, and though many of them have big cap hits, the actual salary owed by deadline time will be relatively low. If Armstrong plays his cards right, he could potentially add a massive wave of draft picks and prospects to the organization, provided there is a market for this group of veterans (and he’s willing to sell).

What should be on the Coyotes’ holiday wish list?

Draft picks.

There are good prospects in the Arizona system, make no mistake. Hayton is already ready for primetime and Victor Soderstrom is among the handful of best defensive prospects in the league. But you can’t just punt on an entire draft class unless you’re already one of the elite teams in the league. Not only did Arizona come away from this draft without any sure-fire NHL prospects, but they don’t have their first or third for the 2021 draft either. There’s no way the organization will be able to climb the NHL ladder with that kind of gap in development, meaning they need to find a way to add picks this season. Whether that’s through selling off expiring deals or even potentially trading their captain, it’s imperative for Arizona to get back into the early rounds.

Last year’s Thankful series can be found here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jean-Luc Foudy To Play In Sweden

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For many junior prospects, it has now been the better part of a year since they played any competitive hockey. That’s unacceptable for many trying to continue their development, so seeking out opportunities overseas is priority number one. For Jean-Luc Foudy, it has resulted in a loan to Morrums GolS IK in Sweden’s third-tier Hockeyettan.

Foudy, 18, was just selected 75th overall by the Colorado Avalanche last month, but currently doesn’t have a place to play. He is a member of the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, who haven’t yet started their season (or released a concrete schedule) and was not invited to Canada’s World Junior selection camp. For now, he’s going to suit up in Sweden, playing there until the OHL starts back up. If it doesn’t, his agreement lasts for the entire Hockeyettan season.

It’s important for prospects to get playing time, especially ones like Foudy who have a standout skill but lack polish in other areas. Foudy, brother of Columbus Blue Jackets Liam Foudy, is an incredibly fast skater, perhaps the quickest in the entire 2020 draft class. Unfortunately, he lacks some of the other skills that made his brother a first-round pick and notably has just 23 goals in 126 OHL games.

It’s important to remember that even once a player is drafted, he isn’t actually signed to a professional contract and thus not guaranteed a pro career. Foudy has not yet signed his entry-level deal with the Avalanche, and though in his specific case that is still a likelihood, some prospects that miss out on development time will never even get an offer. There are not endless jobs for young players out there, nor will all of them wish to travel overseas when they are still just teenagers. But with junior leagues still so uncertain—the QMJHL, which is playing, has been a complicated mess of scheduling and travel thanks to COVID-19 outbreaks—the bold ones will seek out opportunity elsewhere.

Brandon Halverson Heading Back To ECHL

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ECHL rosters are being finalized as training camps open, with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits making some notable additions yesterday. Today’s news is brought by the Wheeling Nailers, who have released their own roster and it includes quite a few interesting names.

Brandon Halverson, who was once a top goaltending prospect selected in the second round by the New York Rangers, will start the year with the Nailers. The 24-year-old was not issued a qualifying offer in 2019 and became an unrestricted free agent, eventually spending most of the 2019-20 season with the Norfolk Admirals. Halverson does actually have an NHL appearance, though his minor league career hasn’t quite gone to plan. The netminder is still young though and could potentially work his way up the ladder with more good performances at the ECHL level.

Brady Tomlak, who played for the Air Force Falcons, and Nick Rivera, Minnesota State’s captain, have both turned pro after four-year college careers. They’ll both play out the next chapter in their hockey lives with Wheeling.

One interesting name to keep an eye on is Vladislav Mikhalchuk, a Belarusian winger that has spent most of the last three seasons in the WHL. Mikhalchuk did actually play in a KHL game last season and is still just 21, but wasn’t drafted while eligible. The 6’4″ forward scored 32 points in 40 games for Prince George last season.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Edmonton Oilers

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Edmonton Oilers

Current Cap Hit: $82,529,158 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Kailer Yamamoto (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Yamamoto: $230K

Yamamoto’s first two NHL stints didn’t go too well but that changed last year.  Upon being recalled back in late December, he immediately stepped into a top-six role and was productive, hovering near a point per game along the way.  If that continues into next season, he should have enough of a track record to command a sizable raise next year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

D Tyson Barrie ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Alex Chiasson ($2.15MM, UFA)
F Tyler Ennis ($1MM, UFA)
F Gaetan Haas ($915K, UFA)
F Dominik Kahun ($975K, RFA)
F Jujhar Khaira ($1.2MM, RFA)
D Adam Larsson ($4.167MM, UFA)
F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($6MM, UFA)
F Joakim Nygard ($875K, UFA)
G Mike Smith ($1.5MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses

Smith: $500K

Nugent-Hopkins is the most notable player on this list by far and exploratory talks on an extension have taken place.  The 27-year-old has spent most of his career down the middle but has seen a lot more time on the left wing in recent years and his production has taken off as a result.  Either as a top-scoring winger or a capable pivot, he should be able to get a small raise on his current deal as well as a long-term pact.  Chiasson’s second season didn’t go as well as his first and if he produces at a similar rate next season, he will be taking a cut in Edmonton or somewhere else.  Khaira is a fourth liner most nights and that price tag would be hard to justify in this era so he looks like a non-tender candidate at this time while Nygard and Haas are role players who could be retained or replaced with similar-priced players a year from now.

Ennis and Kahun have the potential to be two of the better bargain signings this offseason (Kahun could wind up as the best bargain depending on what else happens).  Ennis showed that he still has some production in him with Ottawa and certainly held his own after being moved to Edmonton at the deadline and it won’t take much to justify that price tag.  Kahun was a surprising non-tender by Buffalo and figures to play in their middle six.  There’s still some upside in his game and he should be counted on as a reliable secondary scorer for a team that has been lacking in that department at times.

Barrie spurned higher-priced offers to try to rebuild his value and he’ll certainly fit in as the anchor on the back end on the power play.  The rest of his game isn’t the strongest but he has never been known as a staunch defender; point production is what will make or break his hopes of cashing in a year from now.  Larsson is naturally best known for being the single asset coming to the Oilers from the Taylor Hall trade but while he hasn’t been able to reach the top pairing status that his draft selection would suggest, he is an effective top-four option.  He’s not looking at a big raise a year from now but something around what he’s making now is certainly doable.

Smith didn’t have a great year last season but the team opted to bring him back.  At 38, he’s going year-to-year at this point and will need to improve in his second go-round to have a shot at even a modest raise next offseason.

Two Years Remaining

F Josh Archibald ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Caleb Jones ($850K, RFA)
G Mikko Koskinen ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Darnell Nurse ($5.6MM, UFA)
F Jesse Puljujarvi ($1.175MM, RFA)
D Kris Russell ($4MM in 2020-21, $1.25MM in 2021-22, UFA)
F Kyle Turris ($1.65MM, UFA)

Turris was brought in to give the Oilers another proven option down the middle, a move that further cements Nugent-Hopkins’ short-term future on the wing.  Yes, he struggled in Nashville under the weight of his old contract but with a clearly-defined role and a reasonable price tag, he should fare much better with the Oilers.  Archibald has quietly put up a dozen goals over each of the last two seasons which earned him a bit of security but he’ll need to better those numbers if he wants a bigger contract two years from now.  Puljujarvi is going to be one of the more interesting players to follow next season.  He didn’t get his trade and while he played well in Finland, there are still plenty of question marks.  There’s an opportunity for him and if he grabs it, he could be in line for a big raise down the road.  If he doesn’t, he’s someone that could find himself without a qualifying offer as well.

Nurse opted to take a deal that brought him straight to UFA eligibility back in February.  It’s something that’s riskier now than it was back then but as we saw this offseason, impact blueliners still got paid.  Accordingly, even if the cap crunch remains in 2022, it shouldn’t hurt his fortunes too much.  Russell had to take a significant pay cut but was able to leverage next year’s expansion into an early extension, one that’s more in line with the role he plays.  Jones is now waiver-eligible so he’s a safe bet to be on the roster but will likely have a limited role next season.

Koskinen’s extension two years ago was baffling and appeared to be the final straw that pushed out former GM Peter Chiarelli.  It’s not that he has been particularly bad by any stretch but he is still rather unproven at the age of 32 and hasn’t shown that he can handle a full number one workload.  At this point, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to land a big raise on the open market but GM Ken Holland will certainly have to budget a higher amount for a more proven starter that offseason.  If Koskinen is ultimately retained at a similar rate, then more money will need to be invested into the backup position and with Nurse being the only big-ticket expiring deal (and they’ll want to retain him), freeing up more goalie money could be tricky.

Three Years Remaining

D Oscar Klefbom ($4.167MM, UFA)
F James Neal ($5.75MM, UFA)

Neal had a bit of a resurgence last season, jumping from seven goals the year before to 19 despite the pandemic cutting things short.  That’s still not a great return on that price tag by any stretch but it’s still an improvement.  Despite that, this is a contract that could be bought out by the time it’s set to expire.

Klefbom is set to miss potentially the entire season due to shoulder troubles which freed up the money to sign Barrie (as Klefbom will head to LTIR, allowing Edmonton to exceed the cap).  He has turned into a legitimate top-pairing player and assuming he’s able to come back in 2021-22 and pick up where he left off, he’s looking at a significant raise on his next deal.

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Snapshots: Lightning, Morin, Lafreniere

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It’s well-known that Tampa Bay has to clear up some cap space and Wednesday’s re-signing of Mikhail Sergachev only further cemented that as it put them over the $81.5MM Upper Limit with two restricted free agents (center Anthony Cirelli and defenseman Erik Cernak) still to sign.  Speaking with reporters, including Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription link), GM Julien BriseBois indicated that some progress has been made in trying to accomplish that:

There’s a lot of progress being made. We’re working on a bunch of different fronts, there’s a lot of balls up in the air. Nothing has materialized yet.

Even if Cirelli and Cernak take short-term contracts to keep the AAV down (which is the likeliest scenario at this point), it’s doubtful that moving out one player will be enough to get them back into compliance.  Tyler Johnson is known to be available but he passed through waivers unclaimed earlier this offseason.  With few teams having the ability to take on pricey contracts, BriseBois and the Lightning still have a lot of work to do.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Flyers defenseman Samuel Morin has fully recovered from his second ACL surgery, notes Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 25-year-old has been limited to just 11 games combined over the past two seasons with Philadelphia and AHL Lehigh Valley and as a result, head coach Alain Vigneault believes that Morin will have to at least start next season with the Phantoms (assuming he clears waivers).  He’s entering the final year of his contract and will have a lot of work to do to prove himself worth of a qualifying offer next offseason.
  • Despite Canada’s World Junior team having to shut things down for two weeks for quarantining purposes, they haven’t ruled out the possibility of Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere joining them, Hockey Canada’s Scott Salmond told reporters, including TSN’s Mark Masters (Twitter link). Discussions remain ongoing with New York about the top pick being made available.  At this point, the uncertain status of the start of next season is likely holding things up but if it’s pushed back in the near future, it would become more palatable for Lafreniere to be made available.

Florida Panthers Draft Picks Heading To ECHL

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The Greenville Swamp Rabbits recently agreed to a partnership with the Florida Panthers, keeping them aligned with the nearby Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. Today, the Swamp Rabbits received some of the benefits that come along with an NHL affiliation, as two draft picks were added to the roster.

Along with several other additions (including Jacob Ingham, a Los Angeles Kings prospect), the Swamp Rabbits gained Ben Finkelstein and Karch Bachman today. Both players were originally drafted by the Panthers but became unrestricted free agents when they failed to sign entry-level contracts this summer.

Finkelstein, 23, was selected 195th in 2016 before playing four years in college. Two years for St. Lawrence University followed by another two at Boston College will lead the undersized defenseman to a professional career that starts in the ECHL.

Bachman, 23, was actually drafted a year earlier, selected 132nd in 2015. He spent four years at Miami University (Ohio), scoring 31 points in 34 games as a senior and earned NCHC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors. He’ll be joining the Swamp Rabbits to start his pro career, but is still a name to keep an eye on as a potential AHL option down the road.

One other notable name among the Greenville additions is Adam Samuelsson, the 6’6″ son of former NHL defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, who recently joined the Panthers as an assistant coach. The 20-year-old defenseman has bounced all over the place the last few seasons, spending time at Boston College, playing for Sioux City of the USHL, and suiting up 43 times for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL this season.

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Anaheim Ducks

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It’s Thanksgiving in the United States and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.

What are the Ducks most thankful for? 

Extended training camp and European leagues.

This isn’t a contending year for the Ducks, who should be more focused on the development of their young prospects than anything else. Teams in that situation are probably incredibly frustrated with the status of junior leagues across North America, with young players like sixth-overall pick Jamie Drysdale unable to play in the OHL so far. Drysdale will get a chance to play at the World Juniors (after his quarantine) but many other youngsters are still waiting on their first competitive action since March.

The Ducks, as one of the teams that did not take part in the summer’s postseason bubble, are expected to receive an extra week of training camp when things finally get going. That will be quality development time for their young players, just like the time they’ve spent overseas in the interim. Lukas Dostal, who is now returning to North America, played 11 games for Ilves in Finland this fall, posting an incredible 10-1 record and .960 save percentage. While other prospects are just begging for ice time, he’s been refining his game against professionals.

Who are the Ducks most thankful for?

Ryan Getzlaf.

As we head into what will be a shortened season, Ducks fans can’t help but think about the fact that Getzlaf is in the final season of that massive eight-year, $66MM deal he signed in 2013. Now 35 and already missing Corey Perry, his partner in crime for more than a decade, the time for Getzlaf in Anaheim is winding down. But everyone that has cheered for the big centerman over the years is thankful for what he’s done for the franchise, constantly providing an anchor in the middle of the lineup and elevating his teammates on a nightly basis.

Though Getzlaf isn’t the 91-point superstar that once was or even the uber-confident youngster that helped the Ducks to a Stanley Cup championship, he’s still a strong leader and easy player to cheer for. While the organization grooms their next wave of leaders, give a thought to Getzlaf who will one day be the focus of a heated Hall of Fame argument (even if he might eventually miss the call).

What would the Ducks be even more thankful for?

A breakout performance.

While the team has a ton of young high draft picks in the system, they’re still waiting for a real breakout from someone. Like when Getzlaf jumped directly into the league with 39 points in 57 games as a rookie, the Ducks need someone to show they’ll be the next superstar in Anaheim. Troy Terry, Max Jones, Sam Steel, Isac Lundestrom, Trevor Zegras, Benoit-Olivier Groulx, Max Comtois, and on and on, someone needs to step up and become the next face of the franchise.

What should be on the Ducks’ holiday wish list?

Minor league and junior seasons.

If the opportunity isn’t there at the NHL level right away, the Ducks are going to have to hope that the AHL and Canadian junior leagues are able to hold seasons. Remember it’s not just Drysdale that the Ducks drafted in the first round this year, but Jacob Perreault, who is currently waiting on his OHL season to begin. The 27th-overall pick has already signed after scoring 39 goals and 70 points in 57 games last year, but wasn’t invited to Canada’s WJC camp and is too young for the AHL.

If it’s a development year, there need to be development leagues playing.

Last year’s Thankful series can be found here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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