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Archives for July 2021

Edmonton Oilers To Buy Out James Neal

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The Edmonton Oilers have placed James Neal on unconditional waivers today for the purpose of a buyout. He joins Martin Jones and Braden Holtby as three players bought out just as the first window expires. The Oilers will be on the hook for four seasons of cap penalties after the buyout is executed. The cap hits will be as follows:

  • 2021-22: $1,916,667
  • 2022-23: $1,916,667
  • 2023-24: $1,916,667
  • 2024-25: $1,916,667

Neal, 33, was once one of the most consistent goal-scorers in the NHL, recording ten straight seasons of at least 21 goals to start his career. He even reached 19 during the 2019-20 season with Edmonton, though 12 of them were on the powerplay and 14 came in the first 26 games of the season. Neal managed just five goals and ten points in 29 games this year for the Oilers, essentially losing his roster spot to other, cheaper forwards. The buyout today only confirms that, as the team moves in another direction.

Edmonton decided not to buy out Mikko Koskinen, but the Neal transaction will open up nearly $4MM in cap space that they can use moving forward. With Adam Larsson on to Seattle, the team is in dire need of a right-shot defenseman to play in the top-four, along with several forwards to help take some of the pressure off Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Neal was no longer going to be able to fill that role, meaning he had to go one way or another.

Still, it’s going to be tough looking down at a $1.9MM cap hit three years from now, when the cap still might not have increased at all and the Oilers are nearing the end of the contracts with their two stars. It was a necessary move to compete in the short-term, but having Neal on the books for four years is going to be painful.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

San Jose Sharks To Buy Out Martin Jones

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The goaltending carousel continues today, as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Martin Jones will be bought out by the San Jose Sharks. The veteran goaltender will be placed on unconditional waivers today as the first buyout window comes to a close. With three years left on his current deal, San Jose will now be forced to carry a buyout penalty through the 2026-27 season. Those penalties will be:

  • 2021-22: $1,916,667
  • 2022-23: $2,416,667
  • 2023-24: $2,916,667
  • 2024-25: $1,666,667
  • 2025-26: $1,666,667
  • 2026-27: $1,666,667

Jones, 31, has been one of the worst starting goaltenders in the league over the last three seasons, posting an .896 save percentage in each campaign. Despite that poor performance, he’s still received 135 starts from the Sharks and incredibly has a winning record at 68-53-11. Even this season, despite the Sharks finishing seven games below .500, Jones still went 15-13-4. It’s entirely reasonable to suggest that the team wouldn’t be in the troubling situation they are with better goaltending, and they’ll finally get to test that theory by moving on from Jones.

The Sharks brought in Adin Hill just before the expansion draft and could hand him the reins, though bringing in another veteran goaltender to share the load is likely. Hill also needs to be signed, as he currently is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. The 25-year-old netminder has just 49 games of NHL experience under his belt, though has posted a .915 save percentage over the last two seasons, a significant upgrade from the performance that Jones was providing.

What Jones’ market in free agency will look like is anyone’s guess, given how poorly he has played for the last three seasons. With so much money still being paid out by the Sharks, a short-term low-cost contract as a tandem or backup could be his best scenario to prove he can still play at the NHL level.

Chicago Blackhawks Acquire Marc-Andre Fleury

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The Vegas Golden Knights are trading the first icon in franchise history. Marc-Andre Fleury, who has been the face of the Golden Knights since the expansion draft is on his way to the Chicago Blackhawks, according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN. Kaplan adds that the Golden Knights are not retaining any salary and that the Blackhawks will send just Mikael Hakkarainen in return. On a press conference later in the day, Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon confirmed that though they will own the contract of Hakkarainen, he will stay with the Rockford IceHogs.

Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that Chicago was not on Fleury’s no-trade list, and the goaltender did not want to play anywhere but Vegas. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that there are “rumblings” the veteran goaltender might even choose to retire due to family reasons. Jesse Granger of The Athletic adds that Fleury learned of the trade via Twitter.

Though there had been speculation about Fleury’s future in Vegas ever since Robin Lehner arrived and signed an extension with the club, this is still a stunning move just weeks after he was awarded the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender. The team has cleared his entire $7MM cap hit, giving them room to make additional moves this summer, but it’s still a hard way for the organization’s first-ever superstar to leave town.

From the moment he was selected, Fleury became the center of the Golden Knights marketing strategy given his Stanley Cup resume and outgoing personality, but he soon became much more than that. The backbone of the roster for four seasons, Fleury actually experienced his own late-career renaissance, posting stronger numbers in Vegas than he had ever registered in Pittsburgh. He finished fifth in the Vezina voting during the 2017-18 season, while leading the team to the Stanley Cup Finals in year one.

Now, at age-36, no one would blame Fleury for hanging up his pads. He sits third all-time on the NHL wins list, tenth in games played, and has now taken home the top individual and team trophies available. Going to Chicago, where there is certainly no guarantee of Stanley Cup contention, would be an odd footnote on the end of a career spent exclusively in two cities. He would however be walking away from the $6MM he is still owed, quite the complicating factor in any decision.

For Vegas, opening up this amount of cap space will lead to wild speculation about their offseason plans. The team now has more than $12MM in cap space with only Nolan Patrick to sign as a restricted free agent. Never afraid to go after the big fish, they now have enough money to pursue the top free agents or trade targets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vancouver Canucks Expected To Buy Out Braden Holtby

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Another goaltender is set to hit the free agent market, as Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV reports that the Vancouver Canucks will buy out Braden Holtby today. Today is the last day a player could be placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout during this first window. Holtby has one year remaining on his contract and carries a $4.3MM cap hit. With a buyout, the Canucks would clear $3.8MM of that cap this season, and incur penalties of the following:

  • 2021-22: $500K
  • 2022-23: $1.9MM

Holtby, 31, never did find his groove in Vancouver, posting a 7-11-3 record and .889 save percentage in 21 appearances. It’s obvious that the Canucks want to move even further toward Thatcher Demko as their full-time starter, and clearing some cap off the books this year will help fit in new contracts for Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson. It’s been two straight seasons of sub-.900 save percentage for Holtby, who will now be on the open market once again looking for work.

There had been some reported interest in the veteran goaltender recently, but the Canucks were obviously unable to find a trade partner before today’s buyout deadline. He now becomes a potential value add as a free agent, if a contending team is willing to bet on a bounce back. Given he’s losing just $1.9MM of the $5.7MM that was owed to him this year, it would seem logical that a team could get him around that price.

The question now is whether Holtby can get back to the level he was at a few years ago. In 2016, he won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goaltender, posting an incredible 48-9-7 record with the Washington Capitals. The following season he led the league again with 42 wins and nine shutouts, taking home the Jennings Trophy as the goaltender for the team with the lowest goals-against average. He finished second in the Vezina voting that year, but has not received a single vote for the award since.

It’s hard to overlook his recent struggles, but also difficult to forget how dominant Holtby was at one point in his career. Even after these two brutal years, he still has a .915 save percentage for his 489-game career. In the playoffs, he’s been even better, posting a .926 in 97 appearances, winning the Stanley Cup in 2018 with the Capitals.

Minnesota Signs Kyle Rau, Andrew Hammond To Extensions

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July 27: Rau’s deal has been officially announced by the Wild, confirming the terms reported yesterday.

July 26: The Athletic’s Michael Russo is reporting that the Minnesota Wild have re-signed forward Kyle Rau to a one-year, two-way contract extension. The deal carries the league minimum average annual value of $750,000 and will pay him $300,000 per year at the minor-league level with $350,000 in guaranteed money. CapFriendly is also reporting that they’ve re-signed netminder Andrew Hammond to a one-year/two-way deal, paying the ’Hamburglar’ $200,000 at the minor-league level with $250,000 in guaranteed money.

Rau’s been the definition of “good solider” ever since joining the Wild organization ahead of the 2017-18 campaign. After being drafted 91st overall by the Florida Panthers in 2011, Rau signed with the Wild in free agency after not being issued a qualifying offer by the Panthers. A former captain at the University of Minnesota, Rau’s been one of the best players for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild. With depth stretched thin this past season, though, Rau spent the entirety of the year up with the Wild, either in the lineup or on the team’s taxi squad. He mustered just two assists in 14 contests, however, and will likely return to a scoring role in Iowa next season.

For Hammond, this contract extension gives him a chance to play his first game as a member of the Minnesota Wild organization. He was signed prior to 2020-21 to serve as the team’s taxi squad netminder after Alex Stalock was placed on LTIR. After Kaapo Kahkonen cemented himself in the NHL and Stalock became healthy, Stalock was claimed on waivers by the Edmonton Oilers, meaning that Hammond would stay on the taxi squad without getting the chance to play in Iowa. And since Kahkonen and Cam Talbot maintained their health throughout the season, Hammond never got game action with the big club, either. While the days of him stealing games at the NHL level are long gone, Hammond still remains as a viable starting option in the AHL with the option for some fringe starts in case of injury with Minnesota next year.

Detroit Red Wings Agree To Terms With Kyle Criscuolo

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The Detroit Red Wings have come to terms with one of their unrestricted free agent forwards, coming to a two-year contract extension with Kyle Criscuolo. The minor league veteran will avoid the open market and return to the organization he has spent a good chunk of his professional career with. The financial details have not yet been released.

Criscuolo, 29, wore an “A” as an alternate captain this season for the Grand Rapids Griffins, scoring 11 goals and 19 points in 29 games. The former Harvard standout has spent the majority of his career to this point in the minor leagues, getting just a nine-game taste of the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres in 2017-18. His best years have come with the Griffins, including a Calder Cup-winning season in 2016-17 when he had 41 points in 76 games. That kind of experience and success will only help the other young prospects in the Detroit pipeline as they come through the AHL locker room.

Though he will require waivers to return to the minor leagues, that shouldn’t be an issue for Criscuolo or the Red Wings. He’ll serve as organizational depth this season, while being eligible for call-up in an emergency situation.

Brenden Dillon Dealt To Winnipeg Jets

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TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting that the Washington Capitals have dealt defenseman Brenden Dillon to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for second-round picks in 2022 and 2023.

Dillon enters the Jets lineup immediately as one of their better and most experienced defensemen. A veteran of over 650 NHL contests, Dillon arrives in Winnipeg via Washington, who signed him to a deal with a $3.9MM cap hit at two years remaining.  With this trade, it appears that Winnipeg may finally be getting Josh Morrissey some relief on the back-end. Dillon has experience playing 19 to 20 minutes a night and could play on either the top or second pairing in Manitoba. If it’s any help to Morrissey, it’ll be appreciated. Since Morrissey’s been entrusted with added responsibility after the departure of Dustin Byfuglien, his defensive play has really struggled. Some additional defensive help and some easier matchups may make Morrissey a more effective asset. Regardless of that, they’re still getting an excellent defensive defenseman in Dillon, who’s done well against good, but not great competition over the past few seasons.

It does raise one question, as there’s now just one spot remaining on Winnipeg’s left side. Which one of Ville Heinola or Logan Stanley won’t be cracking next year’s lineup, and could there be an additional deal that moves one of them out? It’s a good problem to have for the Jets, who now look in much better shape defensively than last season.

For Washington, the clearing of Dillon’s $3.9MM cap hit is crucial to their success this offseason. With captain Alex Ovechkin likely commanding a double-digit deal, questions about Washington’s ability to continue to build a contender have loomed large due to the flat salary cap. With Dillon’s departure, it opens the door for Michal Kempny to reclaim a spot in the lineup after he missed the entirety of 2020-21 with injury. If Kempny is at 100%, he’s shown the ability to be a capable top-four defenseman in the past and could be the perfect in-house replacement for Dillon.

All salary cap figures courtesy of CapFriendly

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Paul Stastny

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the Winnipeg Jets have re-signed forward Paul Stastny. It’s a one-year deal that carries a $3.75MM cap hit.

Stastny, now 35 years of age, will look to spend his second-straight full season in a Winnipeg uniform with a bit more offensive success. The four-time 60-point scorer has had a rougher go of it in recent years with injury catching up to him and has seen his ice time reduced as well. He’s posted back-to-back seasons under 40 points for the first time in his career, but he’s still a capable top-six talent who brings veteran leadership.

It’s certainly an efficient gamble on a one-year deal for the Jets and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. While Stastny’s finishing ability isn’t what it used to be, he’s still one of the best offensive chance generators in the league. He could do well playing with a talent like Blake Wheeler or Pierre-Luc Dubois, both big-name players who struggled offensively in Winnipeg last season. Stastny also still brings one of the better complete games in the league, maintaining his role as an above-average defensive center with penalty-killing capabilities.

It remains to be seen whether this one-year pact could be Stastny’s last go of it in the league, but what’s for certain is that he’s taking a team-friendly deal. Taking a pay cut of almost $3MM to stay with the team, they’ll likely use the added space to make an addition to the defense corps in front of goalie Connor Hellebuyck. A more well-rounded team could bring great success to the Jets this season as they still look to capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Boston Bruins Re-Sign Nick Wolff

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The Boston Bruins have re-signed defenseman Nick Wolff to a one-year, two-way deal, CapFriendly reports. The contract pays him $750,000 at the NHL level and $75,000 at the AHL level.

An undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Wolff got his first taste of professional hockey in interesting fashion this season. After finishing out his senior year in 2019-20 as the captain of the team, Wolff started the 2020-21 campaign on loan to DVTK Jegesmedvek in the Slovakian Extraliga. Wolff did end up getting his shot in North America this season after games started back up, though. He got into 24 games with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, tallying two points. A defensive defenseman first and foremost, Wolff at least proved this season that he could stay afloat in a professional lineup.

At age 25 now, however, Wolff’s upside is rather limited. It’s unlikely he gets a shot with Boston’s blueline next season, as Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen are both young Boston defenders ready for the spotlight. Wolff will likely sit with limited minutes again in Providence, as he hopes to hone his defensive game enough for a shot at some NHL action.

Ben Harpur, Jeremy Davies Re-Sign In Nashville

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CapFriendly reports that defenseman Ben Harpur has re-signed with the Nashville Predators on a one-year deal. The contract is one-way in nature and carries an $800,000 cap hit. CapFriendly is also reporting a one-year deal for defender Jeremy Davies – it’s a two-way deal with a $750,000 cap hit, paying him $125,000 at the minor-league level.

Harpur remains an option probably best suited to bounce between the AHL and NHL, but the one-way contract detail would make it seem like the Predators intend to have him up with the big club all year. It’s even more puzzling when you look at the fact that the Predators already have seven NHL-caliber defenders under contract for next season, a situation that likely leaves Matt Benning spending some games in the press box. It is worth noting that Harpur spent the entire season with the Predators last year after injuries took a hit on their blueline, scoring seven points in 34 games. Nashville will still have him in their back pocket next year if injuries strike again.

Davies, a prospect acquired by the team as part of the return for P.K. Subban, saw his first NHL action this season, scoring just one point in 16 games. A seventh-round pick of the Devils in 2016, it does seem like Davies may be able to carve out a pro career for himself. While Davies likely won’t see NHL opportunity again this season unless there are multiple absences on the Nashville blueline, he does have some upside as evidenced by his nine points in nine games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves last season. If he can continue to hone his offensive instincts in the minors for one more season, Davies may emerge as a legitimate NHL option over the coming years.

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