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Archives for April 2021

Panthers Acquire Brandon Montour

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The Panthers have had a big hole on their back end since Aaron Ekblad suffered a season-ending leg injury last month.  They’ve taken a step towards shoring up their depth and have taken one of the more notable rentals off the board with the acquisition of Brandon Montour from Buffalo in exchange for a third-round pick in 2021.  Both teams have confirmed the trade.  Florida GM Bill Zito released the following statement about his new rearguard:

Brandon is a capable and talented right-shot defenseman who will have an immediate impact on our club. His two-way acumen and ability to play important minutes make him an exciting addition to the Panthers.

The 26-year-old is only a few years removed from being someone viewed as a long-term top-four piece going back to his time with Anaheim.  Buffalo was convinced that he’d be that for them and flipped a first-round pick along with Brendan Guhle, a fairly well-regarded prospect at the time, to acquire Montour just two years ago.  However, things haven’t gone anywhere near as well as expected with the Sabres.

His offensive output has dipped since putting up two straight seasons of over 30 points in 2017-18 and 2018-19.  Last season, he managed just five goals and 13 assists in 54 games while seeing his ATOI dip below the 2o-minute mark.  As a result, Montour profiled as a possible non-tender candidate last offseason although the two sides were able to agree to a one-year, $3.85MM contract just before the free agent market opened up.  The results have only been mildly better from an offensive standpoint as he’s up to 14 points (5-9-14) in 38 games so far this season but he, like many other Sabres, have struggled considerably at times in the defensive zone.

At 26, Montour still is young enough to turn things around and a change of scenery will certainly be beneficial to him as he looks to restore some value before hitting the UFA market for the first time in July.  From Florida’s perspective, the fact that Montour can log 20-plus minutes a night – something most of the blueliners that will be moved in the next two days can’t do – is a big benefit as it allows him to slide into their top four if needed or give a big boost to their third pairing.  Considering the state of the right side of their back end with Ekblad out, it’s probable that he begins in a more prominent role, sliding in behind MacKenzie Weegar to bolster their second pair.

Unlike many playoff contenders, cap space isn’t an issue for Florida, especially after they cleared the rest of Brett Connolly’s contract to Chicago earlier this week.  They entered today with more than $14MM in cap room, per CapFriendly, so it was something they didn’t require in order for this move to happen; TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that there was no salary retention on Buffalo’s end, leaving them with two remaining retention slots.

Former NHL defenseman Shane O’Brien was the first to report that Montour was going to Florida while Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network first reported the third-round pick going to Buffalo.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Several Players Clear Waivers

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Saturday: All four players passed through waivers unclaimed, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.

Friday: The Ottawa Senators have placed Clark Bishop on waivers in order to be able to place him on the taxi squad once again. He’s not the only one on the wire, as the Edmonton Oilers have placed veteran forward Kyle Turris and the Montreal Canadiens have placed Paul Byron on waivers. The New York Islanders have also signed Kenneth Appleby to an NHL contract, meaning he has to clear waivers to remain in the AHL.

For Bishop and the Senators, this is a simple move to regain the roster flexibility they have had for most of the season. After clearing waivers before the season began, Bishop was able to move freely between the active roster and taxi squad depending on need, saving the Senators some cash on off days. His exempt status expired earlier this month, meaning he needed to clear again to be assigned to the taxi squad. With just three points in 12 games, Bishop is likely to clear again.

Byron too should be used to this by now, given he has cleared waivers twice this season and is part of a near-daily rotation through the taxi squad. The 31-year-old forward was once an important part of the Canadiens attack but is limited to mostly fourth-line duties these days. Given his contract carries a $3.4MM cap hit through the end of the 2022-23 season, he will clear again.

Turris hasn’t cleared this season, but it won’t be a surprise if he does. The 31-year-old forward is a shadow of the player that once scored 64 points for the Ottawa Senators and is overpaid even at $1.65MM this season. Turris signed a two-year deal with the Oilers in the offseason that the team is probably already regretting after he registered just five points in his first 25 games this season. Moving his deal to the taxi squad could bury $1.075MM of it, giving the Oilers some added flexibility.

Appleby, the biggest unknown of the bunch, is a 25-year-old minor league goaltender that would need an NHL deal in order to serve as the taxi squad netminder. In two appearances with Bridgeport this season he has an .896 save percentage and there is no suggestion that he’ll ever see time in the Islanders net.  CapFriendly reports that Appleby receives a two-year contract, making him eligible to be exposed to Seattle in the upcoming expansion draft.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nikita Gusev Clears Unconditional Waivers

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Saturday: As expected, Gusev has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, paving the way for his deal to be terminated.

Friday: The New Jersey Devils have placed Nikita Gusev on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Notably, having his contract terminated tomorrow would give him time to sign a new deal (likely at a much lower salary) with another NHL team and be eligible for the playoffs. When the termination goes through, he will be an unrestricted free agent.

This may come as a surprise, given Gusev is forfeiting the $1MM remaining on his contract, but things had taken a terrible turn in New Jersey. The 28-year-old winger hasn’t played in a game for the Devils since March 20 and has just five points on the season. Made a healthy scratch many times by head coach Lindy Ruff, the two sides were heading to an obvious breakup in the offseason.

This move will expedite that estrangement but also gives Gusev a chance to land on his feet in a better situation. We saw almost the exact same scenario play out last season when Zach Bogosian terminated his contract with the Buffalo Sabres, only to sign a new deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning and win a Stanley Cup. While that is certainly a best-case scenario and not at all guaranteed in Gusev’s case, he could now sign a league-minimum deal with a contender to add some depth for a postseason run, while showcasing himself ahead of free agency.

After a long career in the KHL, Gusev finally came to North America at the end of the 2018-19 season, signing his entry-level deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. He never actually suited up for Vegas though, as an offseason trade took him to New Jersey with a new two-year, $9MM deal. As a rookie that looked like a steal; Gusev recorded 44 points in 66 games, finishing just one point behind team leader Kyle Palmieri. It hasn’t continued and now a $4.5MM average annual value looks like an impossibility on his next deal.

Still, for those teams looking at adding forwards before Monday, Gusev now becomes one of the most low-risk options available.

Blackhawks To Scratch Mattias Janmark

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The weekend before the trade deadline is when it becomes time to keep a close eye out for surprising scratches as those often signal a possible trade is on the horizon.  That is what has happened with Blackhawks winger Mattias Janmark as head coach Jeremy Colliton told reporters, including NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis (Twitter link) that the forward is being held out of the lineup for tonight’s game versus Columbus due to an “organizational decision”, a phrase that seems like a professional way of saying that they’re not risking an injury with the deadline just over 48 hours away.

The 28-year-old is in his first season with Chicago after signing a one-year, $2.25MM deal with them at the beginning of free agency last summer following a strong showing with Dallas in the bubble.  While his possession numbers have been ugly, he has been one of their better secondary scorers as he has notched ten goals and nine assists in 41 games to put him fourth in team scoring while averaging a career-best 16:49 per night.  1:50 of that has come on the penalty kill which will definitely intrigue teams that are buying.

Playoff-bound teams would likely be eyeing Janmark as a bottom-six addition and with it shaping up as a buyers’ market so far, GM Stan Bowman likely won’t be able to get a significant return and will probably need to retain on the contract (or take a player back) to help facilitate a move.  However, with Chicago starting to fall further out of the Central playoff picture (they’re now four points behind Nashville while Dallas can pass them if they win some of their games in hand), the apparent decision to part with the pending UFA certainly makes sense.

Blues Believed To Have Shown Interest In Taylor Hall

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A few days ago, it looked as if St. Louis was looking towards selling but things may have changed.  They sit one point out of the final playoff spot in the West Division and are coming off a 9-1 thrashing of Minnesota on Friday night.  With that in mind, TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Blues have inquired about one of the top rentals available in Buffalo winger Taylor Hall.

Hall’s struggles this season have been well-documented as the 29-year-old has just two goals along with 17 assists, hardly the type of production that he or the Sabres were expecting this season.  It’s also nowhere near close to justifying his $8MM price tag which is why Buffalo is expected to retain as much as the maximum 50% to facilitate a trade between now and Monday’s trade deadline.  Hall is also willing to entertain extension talks as well, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported on Thursday (Twitter link).

St. Louis doesn’t have the cap space to take on a $4MM deal after retention but they do have a winger who appears to be on the outs in Mike Hoffman.  He has also struggled with his new team, notching nine goals with a dozen assists in 36 games, well below the 36 and 29 goals he tallied in each of the last two years when he was with Florida.  If they were to include him in a trade for Hall and Buffalo retained half, there would be no cap change on either side.

Of course, the question would then become what other asset(s) would be added by St. Louis to make such a move palatable for the Sabres.  While it’s possible (if not probable) that Buffalo would turn around and flip Hoffman in this particular scenario, they’d still be looking for other picks or prospects.

GM Kevyn Adams has been seeking a first-round pick for Hall but so far, there haven’t been any takers.  If that doesn’t change over the next couple of days, a move like this that would yield another piece or two plus whatever they can get by flipping Hoffman could become more of a legitimate possibility while St. Louis could become a very intriguing team in the playoff chase in the process.

Trade Deadline Primer: Vegas Golden Knights

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We are now just days away from the NHL Trade Deadline and a few moves have already been made with more to come. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Vegas was expected to be a contender this season and despite some key players missing time due to injury and salary cap constraints forcing them to play below the minimum number of skaters on multiple occasions, they’ve done just that.  They will also be tap-dancing around the salary cap for the rest of the season so while GM Kelly McCrimmon would certainly like to try to add to his roster, they will be hard-pressed to try to do so.  Nevertheless, here is a closer look at their situation.

Record

25-11-2, 2nd in West Division

Deadline Status

Buyer (if they can create the cap space to do so)

Deadline Cap Space

$160K in regular cap space, $184K on deadline day, 1/3 retention slots used, 47/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: VGK 1st, NJ 2nd, VGK 2nd, WPG 4th, CAR 5th, VGK 6th, VGK 7th
2022: VGK 1st, VGK 2nd, VAN 3rd, VGK 3rd, WPG 4th, BUF 5th, VGK 5th, VGK 6th, VGK 7th

Trade Chips

McCrimmon likely doesn’t want to deal away from the core of his roster but Tomas Nosek is a player whose role can be filled by a lower-price player if they need to add some space.  His $1.25MM price tag is hardly overly expensive for his role as their fourth-line pivot but filling his spot with someone making the league minimum could then free up enough room to bring in another league-minimum veteran.  That’s hardly exciting but for a team whose depth is being tested, there is some value in simply having an extra option available.  There’s also definitely some risk to moving a veteran center from a team that doesn’t have a ton of depth down the middle already but if they want to open up a little bit of wiggle room, that’s certainly a route they can go.

Defenseman Nick Holden cleared waivers last week in a move that was designed to give Vegas a bit of short-term cap flexibility by moving him on and off the roster.  He’s also someone that could be replaced by a cheaper player or could serve as a salary offset in a move to bring in another defenseman, one that could be counted on to play more than the 15:47 per night that he has logged so far this season.  Holden has another left on his deal after this one with a $1.7MM price tag.

In terms of some minor leaguers that may draw interest, Jimmy Schuldt is a name some may be familiar with.  It was just two years ago that the defenseman was viewed as the top college free agent available, drawing plenty of suitors.  While the 25-year-old made his NHL debut that season, he hasn’t seen any action at the top level since then and is heading for unrestricted free agency again this summer.  If a team wants to get a closer look at him before then, he could draw some interest.  Jack Dugan, the top scorer in college hockey last season, is having a nice first season with AHL Henderson and will be someone that selling teams will ask about.  It’s unlikely that McCrimmon will want to move him but if there is a low-cost player that can make an impact beyond this season on the table, the asking price will be high and the 23-year-old will be coveted.

Others to Watch For: F Mason Primeau (unsigned, draft rights expire June 1), F Dylan Sikura ($750K, UFA)

Team Needs

1) Depth Defenseman – Which contending team isn’t looking for extra depth on the back end.  Their cap situation has forced them to go with five at times this year and they’re going to be dancing around the Upper Limit the rest of the way as well.  A league-minimum option – preferably one that can play the right side – would be a useful acquisition.

2) Depth Center – Basically, it’s the same idea as above.  The departure of Paul Stastny has left them thin down the middle and center depth is something that all contending squads covet.  Again, having someone at the league-minimum salary of $700K (or less, if the trading team retains money) would be a wise pickup for McCrimmon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Islanders Expected To Sign Collin Adams

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Islanders prospect Collin Adams is expected to forego a shot at free agency and will instead sign with New York, reports Arthur Staple of The Athletic (Twitter link).  Having wrapped up his college career, he could have hit the open market on August 16th.

The 22-year-old was a sixth-round pick of the Isles (170th overall) back in 2016 and has certainly seen his stock improve considerably over the last two years.  After managing just 15 points over his first two seasons combined at the University of North Dakota, Adams saw his output jump to 28 points in his junior year.  Despite a season that was shortened a bit further this year, he was even better, notching 14 goals and 20 assists in just 29 games to finish second on the Fighting Hawks in scoring.

With Adams expected to sign, it will be interesting to see if GM Lou Lamoriello agrees to burn the first year of his entry-level deal this season, a move that many NHL teams have done with their college signings in recent weeks.  That would allow him to reach restricted free agency in the summer of 2022 as he is limited to signing a two-year entry-level deal regardless of when it begins.

Patrik Nemeth Traded To Colorado

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The Avalanche have added to their back end as they have acquired Patrik Nemeth from the Red Wings in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2022.  Both teams have announced the trade.

The 29-year-old is certainly familiar with Colorado as he spent two seasons with them in 2017-18 and 2018-19.  It was there that he had the best years of his career offensively (15 and 10 points, respectively) while he emerged as more of a physical presence in his second season, notching 137 hits.  That helped land him earn a two-year, $6MM deal with Detroit in the summer of 2019 with an eye on helping to stabilize their back end.  Colorado won’t be assuming that full price tag, however, as Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Red Wings are retaining the maximum 50% (or $1.5MM) of Nemeth’s deal.

In his first season with Detroit, Nemeth logged just over 22 minutes a night but his playing time has dipped notably this season down to 18:24 per night while notching two goals and six assists in 39 games.  However, he’s still a physical player with an ability to kill penalties and block shots, elements the Avs haven’t had as much of this season with Erik Johnson’s lingering injury troubles and the early-season trade of Ian Cole to Minnesota.

It’s likely that Nemeth will have even more of a limited role with the Avs as he figures to slot in on their third pairing.  But with him already familiar with the system, he should have more of a seamless transition into their lineup than most acquisitions would although he won’t debut for a few more days as he’s currently out with a hand injury.  As for Detroit, this is the first of their three allowable retained salary transactions, a number that may very well increase between now and Monday’s trade deadline and they earn themselves a mid-round pick for doing so; they now have three fourth-round selections already in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jets Sign Cole Kehler

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The Jets have added some goaltending depth to their system as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve inked Cole Kehler to a deal for the remainder of the season.  The deal is worth $700K in the NHL and $70K in the minors.

The 23-year-old has made just one appearance this season which came yesterday as he played the final two periods with AHL Manitoba, making eight of ten stops while picking up the victory over Belleville.  Kehler had spent the previous two seasons in Los Angeles’ farm system, spending the majority of his time in the ECHL.

With Winnipeg recently losing Anton Forsberg to Ottawa on waivers, they were down to just one recallable goalie in Mikhail Berdin (with Eric Comrie available on the taxi squad if needed).  On top of that, the backup for most of the season in Manitoba was Canucks goalie Arturs Silovs who was recently recalled to Vancouver in the wake of their COVID-19 outbreak.  As a result, there was a need for another netminder in their system and Kehler has earned his first NHL deal to fill that void.

Cole Caufield Wins 2021 Hobey Baker Memorial Award

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As expected, Montreal Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield has been named the 2021 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner. The 20-year-old forward beat out Shane Pinto and Dryden McKay, the other two Hat Trick Finalists that were announced earlier this month.

Though the other finalists had outstanding seasons, this was always going to be Caufield’s year after leading the nation in goals and points. The diminutive forward recorded 30 goals and 52 points as a sophomore for the University of Wisconsin, while also helping lead the U.S. World Junior team to gold. It was an incredible performance for the 15th overall selection from 2019, one which has now put him in a small fraternity of Hobey Baker winners.

Caufield quickly signed his entry-level contract with the Canadiens after Wisconsin was eliminated from the NCAA tournament–in a game where he recorded 13 shots, scoring two goals and registering an assist in a losing effort—and is expected to make his professional debut for the Laval Rocket tonight.

It’s difficult to have a better two post-draft years than Caufield has, and Canadiens fans are anxiously awaiting his time in Montreal. Though he stands just 5’7″ he is the first player in Big Ten hockey history to win consecutive scoring titles and is an offensive machine from anywhere in the attacking zone. He has broken records at the U.S. National Team Development Program, tied some of Alex Ovechkin’s U18 international records, and now added the Hobey Baker to his growing resume.

If you want to bet against Caufield because of his size, you’re probably going to lose your money.

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