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Archives for April 2021

Snapshots: Ullmark, Beaulieu, Reaves, DeAngelo

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While the Sabres aren’t expected to get a contract extension in place with Linus Ullmark today, they don’t intend to move him by today’s trade deadline, reports John Wawrow of the Associated Press (Twitter link).  Instead, the team remains hopeful that they’ll be able to work out a new deal with the netminder before free agency opens up this summer.  Ullmark has had a pretty successful year with Buffalo despite all of their struggles, posting a 2.64 GAA along with a .917 SV% in 19 starts this season.  That has him positioned to land a nice increase on his current $2.6MM salary either from the Sabres or elsewhere this summer.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Jets have transferred Nathan Beaulieu to LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The defenseman had been ruled out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this month so it was a move that could have been done at any time.  The placement adds another $1.15MM to Winnipeg’s LTIR pool, giving them just under $4.8MM in full-season cap hit that can be brought in.  That said, that number could drop a bit if they recall Kristian Vesalainen back up from the taxi squad later today; that would push Winnipeg’s spending room to a little under $4MM.
  • Golden Knights winger Ryan Reaves won’t face any supplementary discipline for his hit on Coyotes defenseman Jordan Gross yesterday, reports David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The ruling appears to be that while there was definitely contact to the head, it was not the principal point of contact.
  • The Rangers aren’t expected to find a late trade partner for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, tweets Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The blueliner hasn’t played since clearing waivers and being dismissed from the team in early February.  With another year left on his deal with a $4.8MM AAV (and a $5.3MM salary), he’s pretty much a lock to be bought out this summer.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 04/12/21

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There has been plenty of roster movement between NHL teams and the taxi squad on a daily basis this season and with players needing to be on an AHL roster or NHL taxi squad once the trade deadline passes, there may even be more than usual today. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of that shuffle news each day:

North Division

  • The Maple Leafs announced that they have recalled Nick Robertson and Timothy Liljegren from Toronto of the AHL to the taxi squad. Liljegren has been up and down this season but hasn’t seen any NHL action while getting into 11 minor league contests.  Robertson was injured in his regular season debut with the Leafs and has ten points in 14 games with the Marlies after being cleared to return.
  • The Senators announced the recall of Alex Formenton from the taxi squad, an expected move after sending him down yesterday. Formenton was initially brought up late last month and has three goals in eight games this season.  Ottawa has also activated Colin White from injured reserve.

Central Division

West Division

  • The Los Angeles Kings have activated Olli Maata from the injured reserve. To create space on the blue line, they have reassigned fellow defenseman Austin Strand to the taxi squad.
  • Tomas Jurco is on his way back to the NHL, recalled directly from the AHL to the active roster of the Vegas Golden Knights. Jurco has only played in one game up with Vegas so far this year, but has seven points in 17 games with the Henderson Silver Knights.

East Division

 

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Morning Notes: Dunn, Gudbranson, Garland

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For most of the season, Blues defenseman Vince Dunn has been available and despite their hot stretch as of late, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that St. Louis has kept him on the block.  Carolina had interest in him earlier in the season and it doesn’t appear as if that has changed according to Rutherford.  The 24-year-old has had a bit of a bounce-back season with five goals and 12 assists in 39 games which will certainly bolster his case heading into restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility for the first time.  Depending on whether or not they intend to protect Justin Faulk in expansion, Dunn could be the odd one out at that time so if they get the right trade fit now, it may make sense to move him on despite being in the playoff hunt.

Other notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • There is strong interest in Senators defenseman Erik Gudbranson, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has just three points in 36 games this season but can still bring some physicality and shot blocking to a third pairing.  One possible issue is his $4MM AAV which is on the pricey side for a depth defender although Ottawa can retain up to half of that and will likely need to do so.  Gudbranson will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
  • Teams are calling about Coyotes winger Conor Garland, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). The 25-year-old is second on Arizona in scoring with 10 goals and 21 assists in 41 games but last month, it was reported that they were open to the idea of moving him.  Garland only makes $775K this season but will be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility this summer and is poised to land a significant raise.

Boston Bruins Acquire Taylor Hall

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7:00 AM: The Bruins have officially announced the trade.

10:59 PM: The most talked-about rental this season has finally found a home, as the Boston Bruins turned around from their 8-1 loss this evening and will acquire Taylor Hall from the Buffalo Sabres according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. John Buccigross of ESPN was the first to suggest a deal was coming on Twitter (in quite entertaining fashion). Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the deal will be Hall and injured forward Curtis Lazar for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick. According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the Sabres have retained 50% of Hall’s $8MM cap hit through the end of this season.

Hall had full control of this process, given he held a no-movement clause and could block a trade to any team in the league. He decided to waive that clause to go to Boston. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period notes that the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals were also in the running earlier today. The fact that the Sabres were unable to secure a first-round pick for Hall will be the takeaway for Buffalo fans, but Hall is in the midst of a brutal season. While you can’t forget that he was the league MVP in 2018, you also can’t ignore the fact that he scored just two goals in 37 games for the Sabres this year.

Still, giving up just a second and Bjork, who has just two goals of his own this season, is a no-brainer for the Bruins, with their eyes set on postseason contention. If Hall can find any semblance of his past self in Boston he can be a difference-maker on the second line, giving the team some secondary scoring that they’ve been lacking for so long.

Bjork has established himself as an NHL player with good defensive abilities but will turn 25 later this summer and has just 39 points in 138 career regular season games. One important factor here is that he’s under contract through the 2022-23 season at a reasonable $1.6MM, but it’s not like he is going to provide a huge impact for the rebuilding Sabres. In fact, one could argue that Lazar can provide about the same value when healthy and is under contract through next season for just $800K. Moving Bjork at tomorrow’s deadline doesn’t seem out of the question if the Sabres can find an interested party.

The Bruins are also taking on $4MM in cap, which is much higher than some of the other names that have been moved around recently. The fact that they can absorb that hit is why Hall’s price is so low, as they did not need to involve another team, which would have meant giving up another asset. Even without going into long-term injured reserve, the Bruins should have just enough room to fit Hall in after sending Bjork the other way.

At the end of the day, this deal will mean nothing for Boston if Hall can’t find his form. The team has taken swings on high profile wingers before and had them struggle down the stretch, but Hall will certainly be surrounded by more talent in his new locker room. In all likelihood, the 29-year-old winger will get just his third chance at the postseason this year, though it isn’t even a guarantee at this point. Boston is now just four points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers for fourth place in the East Division (though they do have two games in hand), meaning Hall will need to start contributing right away if he wants to get another taste of the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Jeff Carter

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6:55 am: Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic provides details on the conditional third-rounder.  It can be upgraded to a second-round selection if the Penguins made the Stanley Cup Final and Carter plays in at least half of their games.

12:45 am: The trade has been made official. The Kings will receive a conditional 2022 third-round pick and a conditional 2023 fourth-round pick, while retaining 50% of Carter’s remaining contract. The conditions on the draft picks have not yet been announced.

While two draft picks are nice to get, part of the win here for the Kings is getting out from at least part of Carter’s contract. The team desperately wants to get younger and provide roster spots for some of their up-and-coming talent, so clearing Carter off the books—even if it doesn’t scrub his contract completely and comes with some recapture risk—was something of a necessity. The veteran forward’s career in Los Angeles comes to an end after 580 games and two Stanley Cup championships.

9:35 pm: The Penguins and Kings have held discussions regarding a trade that would send center Jeff Carter to Pittsburgh, reports TSN’s Bob McKenzie (Twitter link).  In follow-up tweets, McKenzie reported that Los Angeles players were saying their goodbyes to the veteran with the Kings expected to receive a couple of conditional draft picks from Pittsburgh while retaining some salary.

When the trade call goes through as planned, the Penguins will be receiving a player that new GM Ron Hextall is very familiar with. Not only was Hextall the Philadelphia Flyers’ director of player personnel when Carter was selected in 2003 and made his NHL debut during the 2005-06 season, but Hextall was the assistant general manager of the Kings when they traded for the center in 2012.

The player the Kings acquired back then was a big-bodied center that could routinely put up 25-30 goals while playing strong defense. The one they’re getting today isn’t quite at that level, but certainly adds a lot of experience to the position. Now 36, Carter has over 1,000 regular season games played in the NHL, 120 more in the postseason, two Stanley Cup championships, and an Olympic gold medal. He just so happened to be teammates with Sidney Crosby on that gold medal-winning 2014 Olympic squad, an international duo that goes back to the 2005 World Junior squad that is considered one of the best of all time.

Now, Carter will get to slide in behind Crosby on the depth chart and give the Penguins another talented forward to challenge for the Stanley Cup once again. After winning again tonight, the Penguins are now 27-13-2 on the season and sit just two points behind the tied Washington Capitals and New York Islanders for the division lead. An 8-2 run in their last two has proven that the Penguins deserved a little boost at the trade deadline, and the veteran Carter is just that.

Still, it’s important to remember that Carter has just nine goals and 19 points this season and is still under contract through 2021-22. His current cap hit is $5.27MM, but depending on how much the Kings have retained, that number could come down to something much more palatable. In actual salary, Carter is owed just $2MM this season and next.

That discrepancy between salary and cap hit is exactly why trading Carter has been so tricky in the past. As PuckPedia points out, if the veteran forward decided to retire after this season, both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Kings would be hit with a recapture penalty. If Los Angeles retained 50% in this trade and Carter decides to hang up his skates after this season, the Kings would face a $3.1MM recapture penalty in 2021-22 (the Blue Jackets would have a $551K penalty regardless of the retention in this deal).

Interestingly, that route would actually give the Penguins a cap bonus for next season ($381K if 50% retained), meaning they have no risk in that regard. The idea behind recapture is that in the early years of the 11- year contract (which is no longer allowed under the new CBA), Carter was earning much more salary than his cap hit represented. In the case of early retirement, the recapture process is meant to even out that early reward by penalizing the team(s) that received it.

More to follow.

Islanders Acquire Braydon Coburn

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The Islanders have brought in another veteran for the stretch run, acquiring defenseman Braydon Coburn from the Senators in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round draft pick.  Both teams have confirmed the move.

The 36-year-old was moved to Ottawa just before the season started in a trade from Tampa Bay that was designed to maximize their LTIR potential with the Sens picking up Cedric Paquette (who was dealt to Carolina soon after) plus a second-round pick for their troubles.  However, as a veteran on his last legs, Coburn wasn’t a great fit for the Senators who waived him in early February but couldn’t find a taker at that time.  On that front, getting a pick, even a late one, two months later is a worthwhile move.

Despite spending a lot of time on the taxi squad, Coburn has gotten into 16 games this season while logging 16:26 per night.  Having said that, he should get used to being back in a reserve role as the Islanders aren’t bringing him in to be a regular player as he slots in no higher than seventh on the depth chart.  However, as someone with plenty of postseason experience – he has 137 career playoff contests under his belt – Coburn gives them someone that has been there before and can step in if injuries strike.  He won his first career Stanley Cup last year with the Lightning although he only got into three games along the way.

Coburn is in the final season of a two-year, $3.4MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that there is no salary retention in the deal.  As a result, the Isles now have $1.55MM remaining in their LTIR pool, per CapFriendly, an amount they can spend if needed with both Anders Lee and Johnny Boychuk out for the season.

Maple Leafs Acquire David Rittich

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have added some goaltending depth to the fold, acquiring David Rittich from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick. Both teams have confirmed the move. The Flames will be retaining 50% of what remains on Rittich’s $2.75MM cap hit.

Toronto already swung a deal for Nick Foligno earlier today, meaning it’s quite the active Sunday for GM Kyle Dubas. He’s now bolstered his forward depth (the team also acquired injured center Riley Nash recently) and has added a goaltender to help out what has become an unclear situation in the Maple Leafs crease.

Frederik Andersen, who started the season as the team’s no-doubt starter has struggled all season and is now dealing with a mysterious injury. He hasn’t played since March 19 and in his absence, Jack Campbell has put his name forward as the team’s better option. The 29-year-old Campbell is 11-0 so far on the season and has posted a .934 save percentage, giving the Maple Leafs steller goaltending on a nightly basis. With his injury history though, Toronto was in a precarious spot that could have forced Michael Hutchinson back into the crease.

With Rittich, the team is bringing in an experienced veteran, but one that has had a rocky season of his own. The 28-year-old goaltender is sitting on a .904 save percentage with the Flames so far, which actually isn’t all that much worse than the .907 he put up last season. Perhaps Dubas is hoping for the goaltender who he has seen dominate in person, as Rittich holds a .929 in seven career appearances against the Maple Leafs.

While Rittich doesn’t have much of a chance to unseat Campbell at this point, he does offer some extra depth for a Toronto team that is hoping to go on a long postseason run. What this means for Andersen’s health isn’t clear, but the team seems to be using up the extra cap space provided by moving him to long-term injured reserve. That would suggest he won’t’ be back before the end of the regular season, but at this point, nothing has been announced.

For the Flames, adding a third-round pick for the expiring contract of Rittich is a pretty substantial win, even if they did need to retain salary to do it. The team has their starter in Jacob Markstrom locked up and a capable backup already in Louis Domingue who has been recalled from the taxi squad with Artyom Zaigidulin being promoted to the taxi squad from AHL Stockton. Though they’re not exactly out of the playoff race, the idea of this Flames team competing for the Stanley Cup is a distant one.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Bruins Acquire Mike Reilly

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The Bruins have added some depth to their back end as they’ve acquired Mike Reilly from Ottawa in exchange for a 2022 third-round draft pick.  Both teams have announced the trade.

Reilly was highly coveted coming out of college after opting to not sign with Columbus who drafted him back in the fourth round in 2011.  However, he never really established himself as a regular with Minnesota who signed him in free agency and things didn’t change after he was flipped to Montreal in 2018.  That resulted in Ottawa picking him up for a fifth-rounder last season and while he still isn’t quite established yet as a key piece, he has taken some steps towards that.

This season, the 27-year-old has played in 40 games and while he has yet to score a goal, he has a career-best 19 assists, one behind Thomas Chabot for the team lead while the 19 points are also a career high.  That performance was enough to get Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion to try to work out a short-term contract extension this weekend, per Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, but those talks clearly didn’t result in a new deal although they were able to get a two-round upgrade on what they paid to get him a year ago which is still nice.

As for Boston, they have been hit hard by the injury bug this season with Charlie McAvoy, John Moore, Brandon Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk all currently out of the lineup with Kevan Miller requiring some rest after missing all of last season so there was a clear need for depth.  They also didn’t replace Torey Krug when he left for St. Louis in free agency so Reilly’s playmaking will certainly be beneficial.  A good showing with Boston would certainly bolster his value heading into the open market but could also create an opportunity for him to stick around.

Reilly is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $1.5MM salary and cap hit which still leaves GM Don Sweeney some space to work with before Monday’s trade deadline.  They could still stand to add defensive depth in light of the injuries but they could also turn to try to add up front and add some secondary scoring, an element they’ve frequently coveted in recent deadlines.

Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette was the first to report the trade.

Five Key Stories: 04/05/21 – 04/11/21

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The days leading up to the trade deadline have, as usual, produced some notable trades.  As those were the biggest stories around the league over the past seven days, let’s take a look back at the biggest swaps over that span.

Islanders Strike First: With Anders Lee’s injury being a season-ending one, he was able to be placed on LTIR to give the Islanders a chance to spend to add a replacement.  They did just that as GM Lou Lamoriello once again turned to his former team in New Jersey, acquiring Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the Devils in exchange for a 2021 first-round pick, a conditional 2022 fourth-rounder, plus two minor leaguers to match contracts.  New Jersey retained half of Palmieri and Zajac’s contracts to facilitate the move.  Palmieri gives New York a top-six winger to take Lee’s spot while Zajac will give them some more skill in the bottom six and waived his no-move clause to join the Isles after declining to do so a year ago.

Colorado Gets A Goalie: For the second time this season, Avalanche GM Joe Sakic felt it was necessary to trade for a goalie.  This time, he brought in Devan Dubnyk from San Jose in exchange for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a 2021 fifth-round pick.  There was no retention in this swap but Pateryn’s presence in the deal effectively offset the salary side of the ledger.  Dubnyk is having a tough season but still represents an upgrade on Jonas Johansson and Hunter Miska who were filling in for Pavel Francouz who has missed the entire season due to a lower-body injury and has been ruled out through the end of the regular season.

Foligno To Toronto: Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas didn’t hide that his desire was to add a key rental forward and he did just that, acquiring Nick Foligno from Columbus (plus Stefan Noesen from San Jose) in a three-team swap.  The Sharks were involved in the deal to retain extra money; with them retaining 25% and the Blue Jackets 50%, Toronto was able to add the veteran winger without sending anyone out though it cost them a first rounder and a pair of fourths to do so.  Thanks to the addition of Riley Nash to create an expanded LTIR pool, they were able to get enough flexibility to do this move and still be able to activate Frederik Andersen off LTIR when he’s ready to come back and get a strong complementary piece in Foligno.

Montour To Florida: The Panthers were on the lookout for a defenseman to try to fill some of the void from Aaron Ekblad’s season-ending injury and picked up an intriguing rearguard in Brandon Montour.  Montour didn’t fit in well with Buffalo but now will have an opportunity to join a surprising contender to rebuild some value heading into free agency.  With Florida not needing the Sabres to retain salary, they only had to part with a 2021 third-round pick to get him.  Considering they already had cap room and cleared out Brett Connolly’s contract to Chicago earlier in the week, they have plenty of cap space to try to add another piece or two by Monday’s deadline.

Savard To Tampa Bay: The Lightning weren’t expected to do much of anything by the deadline but instead, they managed to land one of the top rentals on the market in Blue Jackets defenseman David Savard.  The deal involved double retention again with Columbus holding 50% and Detroit another 25% which made the price tag – picks in the first, third, and fourth round – a bit higher but Tampa Bay now adds a capable top-four defender to an already strong group.  Considering they’re expected to get Nikita Kucherov back for the playoffs as well, they have to be viewed as a strong contender to try to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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