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Archives for July 2021

Ryan Suter Drawing Interest From Islanders, Bruins

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There was no doubt that veteran defenseman Ryan Suter was going to be a hot commodity on the free agent market after being bought out by the Minnesota Wild. While fair for the Wild to be hesitant about paying the 36-year-old over $7.5MM for four more seasons, especially with cap and Expansion Draft concerns compounding the issue, Suter’s buyout is not an indictment on his play. Suter showed some decline this season, seeing a 13-year low in time on ice and points per game. However, those marks were still impressive at 22:11 per night and an 82-game pace of 28 points. Add in his invaluable experience and leadership and Suter is one of the more valuable names available on the open market.

Two teams who just recently battled in the postseason, the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders, are back at it off the ice, as The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports that the clubs are competing for Suter’s services. Boston has been looking for a competent top-pair defenseman who can skate with Charlie McAvoy for several years and that weakness was further exposed this season with the departure of Zdeno Chara. The Islanders just traded away the veteran leader of their defense and a top-four left-hander as well in Nick Leddy. Both contenders could use Suter in a major way and each seem like attractive landing spots for the veteran.

Surprisingly, both teams can engage in a bidding war for Suter as well. The Bruins were under the salary cap this season right up until acquiring Taylor Hall at the trade deadline. Even after re-signing Hall, the Bruins still have their two largest contracts – that of David Krejci and Tuukka Rask – coming off the books this summer. Both could re-sign, but neither at the full amount, leaving more than enough space to add Suter at his asking price. Meanwhile, the Islanders have gone from cap crisis to comfortable flexibility in no time, with Leddy, Andrew Ladd, and Jordan Eberle all out the door, leaving behind newfound space.

While New York and Boston may be in the lead in the race for Suter, Shinzawa notes that they are not alone. The Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars are also considered to be contenders for the veteran, each looking to replace a recent departure on the left side, Ryan Graves and Jamie Oleksiak respectively. There are certainly other team in the mix as well. Where Suter ultimately lands could be a domino that impact the rest of the free agent blue line market.

Vancouver Canucks Acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland

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The Vancouver Canucks have landed their big fish, acquiring Oliver Ekman-Larsson from the Arizona Coyotes. The team will also land restricted free agent forward Conor Garland, according to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports. The Coyotes are expected to receive Vancouver’s first-round pick this year (9th overall), a 2022 second-round pick and forwards Antoine Roussel, Loui Eriksson and Jay Beagle, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who also notes that the Coyotes will be retaining 12 percent of Ekman-Larsson’s salary. CapFriendly adds that a 2023 seventh-round pick will also be going to the Coyotes.

This is a huge deal in terms of salary, as the Canucks clear three bad contracts off the books to make room for Ekman-Larsson. The 30-year-old defenseman carries a cap hit of $8.25MM through the 2026-27 season, but is owed $10.5MM in actual salary each of the next three years. Even after the Coyotes retained a portion of it ($990K/season), Vancouver is taking on a huge risk that the veteran defenseman will be able to not only maintain his current level of play, but rebound to the levels that landed him that deal in the first place.

In 2018 when he signed the eight-year, $66MM extension, Ekman-Larsson was coming off a 14-goal, 42-point campaign with the Coyotes. He had previously received votes for the Norris Trophy on four occasions and had just posted his fifth consecutive season with double-digit goal totals. The risky part, even then, was that it was a true extension, signed with a full year still left on his previous deal. While that final year at $5.5MM was also very productive, this new contract hasn’t brought much success for the Swedish defender.

In 2019-20, he scored just nine goals and 30 points in 66 games, while seeing his possession numbers drop across the board. Despite still seeing prime powerplay time, his effectiveness with the man-advantage dropped, resulting in just seven powerplay points. This season, he scored just three times in 46 games, logging his lowest point total since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. That came after a 2020 offseason filled with trade talks, with Vancouver and Boston the two teams he told Arizona he’d be willing to go to.

To make room for him in Vancouver, the team is moving out three contracts that total $12MM in cap room this season, but will actually require just $8.1MM in actual salary (minus some of the bonus payments that were likely already made by the Canucks) from the Coyotes. The most crucial part for Arizona is that each of Roussel, Beagle and Eriksson will become unrestricted free agents next season, meaning this is very little commitment from the Coyotes. A high first-round pick to swap Ekman-Larsson’s expensive deal for ones that will only affect the team this season is a steal, though there is of course that other player heading to Vancouver.

Garland, 25, has come on as the Coyotes most impressive forward in recent years, scoring 39 points in each of the last two seasons. His 47 goals in 164 games since entering the NHL will be a welcome addition to the Canucks lineup, though how much it will cost is still uncertain. Garland is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent with quite a case, after his previous two-year, $1.55MM (total) deal expires.

In all, this is a risk from the Canucks standpoint. Betting on Ekman-Larsson to rediscover his top-end form in a flat-cap era is one that could cost them good, young players in the future, especially given the other negotiations that the Canucks have coming up this summer. Sure, they moved out some bad money for this year, but this deal has financial ramifications that far outreach the 2021-22 season.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Boston Bruins Sign Taylor Hall

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In a move that seemed inevitable, the Boston Bruins have officially re-signed Taylor Hall. The former MVP has inked a four-year deal worth $24MM, meaning he’ll carry a $6MM cap hit for the Bruins moving forward. It’s a step down from the $8MM he made in 2020-21, but comes with the security of a multi-year contract. Per CapFriendly, the breakdown is as follows:

2021-22: $4.5MM, NMC
2022-23: $6.0MM base, $1.0MM SB, NMC + M-NTC (16 team no trade list)
2023-24: $6.25MM base, $1.0MM SB, NMC + M-NTC (10 team no trade list)
2024-25: $5.25MM base, NMC + M-NTC (10 team no trade list)

Hall, 29, had a dreadful start to his 2020-21 season, scoring just two goals in 37 games with the Buffalo Sabres. Looking disinterested and frustrated, he was unable to create offense at the level he was accustomed to, though part of that was simply bad luck. Hall had just a 2.3% shooting percentage in Buffalo, finding the back of the net just twice on 88 shots. That number was begging for some regression to his career number of 10.2% and in Boston, surrounded by better linemates, Hall found it.

After being acquired by the Bruins at the deadline, Hall scored eight goals and 14 points in 16 games (with a 16.7% shooting percentage), immediately finding chemistry with veteran center David Krejci. While his playoff performance wasn’t quite as good, it quickly became apparent how well Hall fit as a secondary scoring option behind Boston’s big line and an extension seemed likely. When both sides expressed a desire for a contract, it was all but a certainty that Hall would be back after the expansion draft.

That’s not to say this deal comes without risk. Hall has faced injury troubles throughout his career, playing more than 76 games just once in his 11 seasons, and has been one of the most inconsistent offensive performers in the league since winning the Hart Trophy in 2018. That season he scored 39 goals in 76 games for the New Jersey Devils, but has just 37 in the 151 games since. His possession numbers and shot creation have stayed excellent throughout, but it is still not a guarantee that Hall lives up to this new contract in Boston.

One of the biggest questions? His lack of playoff experience. For a team like Boston that has its sights set on the Stanley Cup every year, Hall’s 25 career postseason games are a risk. It’s hard to know exactly how he will perform when the checking is tighter and the games more physical, though he does have 17 points in those 25 appearances so far.

It’s obviously a bet that Bruins GM Don Sweeney is willing to make, and it comes at a reasonable cost. Hall will slide in just behind Brad Marchand as the team’s fourth-highest paid forward.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

 

Carey Price Undergoes Knee Surgery, Will Be Ready For Next Season

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The Montreal Canadiens tweeted today that goaltender Carey Price had successful knee surgery and will be ready for the start of the 2021-22 season.

The news comes after much had been made over Price’s health the past week. After being shockingly left unprotected for the Seattle Expansion Draft, it was quickly revealed that Price had issues with both his knee and hip and may miss significant time. However, clarity came today for both the team and player and Price should be on the ice for Montreal’s October 13th opener on the road in Toronto.

While Price’s admirable run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final isn’t to be forgotten anytime soon, he’ll hope to recover enough to have a bounce-back 2021-22 season. Price has struggled in recent years, putting up save percentages below .910 in consecutive seasons for the first time in his 14-year NHL career. But a tandem of him and Jake Allen seemed to do Montreal wonders last season, providing Price with his first real safety net in almost a decade. But with defenseman Shea Weber missing the entirety of next season, Price and Allen’s jobs may get a bit tougher next year if they can’t find a suitable replacement for Weber’s minutes this offseason.

St. Louis Blues Acquire Pavel Buchnevich

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The St. Louis Blues have acquired forward Pavel Buchnevich from the New York Rangers in exchange for Sammy Blais and a 2022 second-round pick.

Buchnevich, 26, is a restricted free agent just one year away from UFA status, meaning any long-term deal he’ll be signing with the Blues would come at a cost. It certainly could be worth it though after his outstanding 2020-21 campaign, in which he scored 20 goals and 48 points in 54 games, establishing himself as a true top-six difference-maker. Buchnevich averaged nearly 19 minutes a night for the Rangers last season, playing mostly with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.

The key in Buchnevich’s performance that makes him so appealing is that just eight of his points came with the man-advantage. A dangerous player when penalty-killing and an even-strength positive, the 6’3″ Buchnevich can help replace some of the offense that St. Louis is losing this summer. Jaden Schwartz, Tyler Bozak and Mike Hoffman are all pending unrestricted free agents, while the relationship with Vladimir Tarasenko has deteriorated to the point where a trade is still expected.

In Blais, the team is giving up another member of their 2018-19 Stanley Cup roster, but one that still hasn’t changed much from the player he was then. The 25-year-old forward certainly fits into New York’s new identity of “tough to play against” as he brings plenty of physicality to the table, but has just 35 points in 119 career regular season games.

The key here is the cap room for the Rangers, who were looking at a potential arbitration award above $5MM for Buchnevich after two excellent seasons. If they weren’t going to sign him to a multi-year contract as a core piece up front, it made sense to walk away now. Still, the return is somewhat underwhelming for a player that was so successful this year, even if Blais does come signed at a reasonable $1.5MM cap hit.

With young wingers like Alexis Lafreniere, Vitali Kravtsov and Kaapo Kakko already in place, the Rangers didn’t have a ton of room for Buchnevich moving forward. It’s the exact opposite in St. Louis, where he could very well slide in on the top line next season, depending on how things shake out for the rest of the offseason.

Darren Dreger of TSN was first to report Buchnevich was traded, while Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported the return. 

Philadelphia Flyers Acquire Rasmus Ristolainen

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The Philadelphia Flyers moved out some cap space by trading Shayne Gostisbehere yesterday, but didn’t wait long to use it up. The team has acquired defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Robert Hagg, a first-round pick in this year’s draft (14th overall) and a second-round pick in 2023.

Ristolainen, 26, has just one year remaining on his contract and carries a $5.4MM cap hit. Though he brings the mix of size–Ristolainen stands 6’4″–and offensive upside that teams covet, he has also been routinely derided by more analytical measures. Even in some of the traditional stats like +/-, Ristolainen’s overall impact on the game has been poor, registering a whopping -163 over his 542-game NHL career. That entire career has been spent in Buffalo, where things haven’t gone well since he made his debut 2013, but at least part of that failure has to fall at the feet of Ristolainen, who has averaged nearly 24 minutes a night throughout his career.

Perhaps with a more reasonable role and strong partner those numbers can improve, but it is still a staggering price for the Flyers to pay after jettisoning Gostisbehere yesterday. The Flyers have now completely made over their defense corps in short order, acquiring Ryan Ellis and Ristolainen while shipping out Hagg, Gostisbehere, and Philippe Myers. The two newcomers now join Ivan Provorov, Justin Braun, RFA Travis Sanheim and prospect Cameron York as the likely top-six in Philadelphia next season, pending any additional moves.

For Buffalo, getting a pick in the first half of this year’s first-round is a successful haul for a player that was nearing the end of his time in a Sabres uniform. It wouldn’t have made much sense to re-sign Ristolainen as an unrestricted free agent next summer, and his comments in the past suggest he may not have even been open to it. With Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart also reportedly on the market, the Sabres could quickly amass quite the collection of draft picks and future pieces to build around.

It also confirms that it was the correct decision to protect Ristolainen in the expansion draft, even if it did end up costing them young defenseman William Borgen. The return for Ristolainen, which includes a player in Hagg that is a legitimate NHL option, is obviously much more important.

In Hagg, who has one year left on his own contract before unrestricted free agency and holds a $1.6MM cap hit, the Sabres potentially have another piece they can flip at some point. The 26-year-old has played 236 games at the NHL level including 34 this year for the Flyers, mostly in a depth role. He recorded just five points, but was still a physical presence on the back end, tallying 100 hits in those 34 contests.

After paying that price to get him, the question now becomes whether the Flyers will extend Ristolainen and at what cost. The team is already locked in long-term with Ellis and Provorov, who combine for $13MM through at least 2024-25. With so many other multi-year commitments already on the books at forward, the Flyers will need to be careful how they dole out any money this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Carolina Hurricanes Negotiating With Petr Mrazek, Jonathan Bernier

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The Carolina Hurricanes traded away Alex Nedeljkovic yesterday, meaning they had no NHL goaltenders left under contract for the upcoming season. They do however have the exclusive negotiating rights to three veteran netminders and it looks like two of them could be in Carolina next season. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Hurricanes are in talks with Jonathan Bernier and Petr Mrazek, hoping to sign both.

Bernier, 32, was part of the return from Detroit yesterday and could very well represent an upgrade over the inexperienced Nedeljkovic. A veteran of nearly 400 regular season games, he posted a .914 save percentage in 24 appearances with Detroit last season, keeping his goals against average below 3.00 even behind one of the worst teams in the league. While those numbers certainly don’t hold up to the performance that Nedeljkovic put up in his short stint as the Carolina starter, Bernier has been rather consistent throughout his long career, never posting a save percentage under .904 in a full season.

Mrazek, on the other hand, has been a little less consistent over his 277-game career, though was excellent when healthy this year. In 12 appearances with the Hurricanes during the regular season, he posted an outstanding .923 save percentage and three shutouts.

The team did decide to go with Nedeljkovic over Mrazek in the playoffs though, which means bringing him back will not help the questions Carolina fans have been screaming since the trade was announced. At the very least, this will be a tandem with plenty of NHL experience, even if it does seem a bit underwhelming.

James Reimer, meanwhile, the other free agent goaltender in Carolina, is expected to go to market according to LeBrun. The 33-year-old had a .906 in 22 games with the Hurricanes this year, and has been a consistent performer–albeit usually in a tandem role–throughout his career.

Blues Re-Sign Nolan Stevens

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July 23: St. Louis has officially announced the contract, confirming the details reported by CapFriendly yesterday.

July 22: The Blues have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed winger Nolan Stevens to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay $750K in the NHL and $100K in the minors.

The 25-year-old has spent the past three seasons in the minors after being a fifth-round pick of St. Louis back in 2016.  This past season, he was loaned to Vancouver’s AHL affiliate as Springfield (the new affiliate of the Blues) was one of three teams to decide not to play.  The change of scenery seemed to work well for Stevens as he picked up 18 points in 27 games with the Comets, finishing tied for third in team scoring as a result.

It’s likely that Stevens will once again be AHL-bound next season but if he can build off that performance and start out strong for the Thunderbirds, he could play his way into a recall at some point.  He’ll need to play a regular role in St. Louis for 2021-22 for them to retain his RFA rights as if that doesn’t happen, he’ll be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency next summer.

Tampa Bay Lightning Re-Sign Gemel Smith

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July 23: The Lightning have officially announced Smith’s two-year, two-way deal.

July 22: The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Gemel Smith to a two-year, two-way contract extension, according to CapFriendly. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $750K, an AHL salary of $250K and a minor league guarantee of $350K in both seasons. Smith would have become an unrestricted free agent next week.

Smith, 27, laid five games for the Lightning this season, recording three assists in limited ice time. While he only has 88 career NHL games under his belt, Tampa Bay may need more and more to rely on these fringe roster players as they deal with the flat cap. Players like Ross Colton and Alex Barre-Boulet are both restricted free agents with arbitration rights, while other bottom-six bargains like Barclay Goodrow have moved on to greener pastures.

At the very least, Smith can continue to provide top-end scoring in the AHL, where he has 86 points over his past 100 games. Originally a fourth-round pick by the Dallas Stars, he now represents valuable depth for an organization that prioritizes it at all levels.

Offseason Checklist: Vegas Golden Knights

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The offseason is in full flight with the draft and free agency fast approaching.  We continue our series which examines what each team needs to accomplish over the coming weeks and months.  Next up is a look at Vegas.

It was another deep playoff run for the Golden Knights as they made their way to the third round before falling to Montreal.  With most of the core already under contract, GM Kelly McCrimmon will have some work to do if he wants to shake up his group and add some missing pieces.

Free Up Cap Space

With over $76MM in commitments for next season already and a prominent unrestricted free agent (who will be addressed later), there isn’t much in the way of financial wiggle room for Vegas.  It’s not necessarily a situation where they have to exactly match money but if they want to add a significant piece, they probably will need to send a notable contract the other way.  Even if they don’t make any big moves, keeping some wiggle room so that they don’t have to dress less than 18 skaters for multiple games would be worthwhile.

Add Impact Center

Vegas has done well putting together a capable group of centers despite not really adding one in their expansion draft or in free agency.  It’s not the best group in the league by any stretch but it has been effective so far.  William Karlsson hasn’t quite been able to repeat his numbers from his first season with the Golden Knights but at the very least, he’s a capable second option.  Chandler Stephenson has gone from a role player with Washington to a strong two-way presence with Vegas.  Again, he’s not a top option but he’s a solid piece.  That’s a decent core.

But is decent good enough?  A legitimate number one center would put those two in more optimal spots and really deepen the lineup.  That’s a tough ask considering there really is only one available in Jack Eichel and bringing in someone with a $10MM cap hit would be difficult to fit in.  But another second liner would certainly bolster their fortunes.  With Cody Glass not working out on the third line, the production from that trio suffered.  If they effectively had three second line centers, they’d be closer to where they were when Paul Stastny was on the team.  That would be a more realistic goal for McCrimmon to aim for.

Vegas made a pair of moves before the transaction freeze to add a pair of players who they hope could become useful pieces in Nolan Patrick and Brett Howden.  Both have draft pick pedigree having been first-round picks (Patrick 2nd, Howden 26th) but haven’t panned out yet.  In a perfect world, Patrick becomes that impact pivot but the way the last two years have gone, it’s hard to see that happening.  Howden could help in a limited role but it’s doubtful he’ll be an impact scorer.  Those pieces could help from a depth perspective but McCrimmon would be wise to add someone with a better track record offensively.

Re-Sign Or Replace Martinez

With their limited cap room, it’s going to be hard for Vegas to keep pending UFA defenseman Alec Martinez but they’re certainly going to try to keep him in the fold.  Earlier today, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported (Twitter link) that the 33-year-old is mulling over an offer from the Golden Knights although he’d likely be leaving some money on the table to stick around compared to what he’d be able to get on the open market.

The decision to bring Martinez in back before the 2020 trade deadline proved to be a good one as he made an immediate impact before the shutdown for the pandemic and played quite well for them in the bubble.  That carried over to 2020-21 where he logged over 22 minutes per game while picking up 32 points in 53 games, the best point per game average over his career.  His production tapered off a bit in the playoffs but to be fair, he was also playing with a broken foot.  With how he has performed the last few years, there will be no shortage of interest if he gets to the open market.

If Vegas can’t agree on a contract with Martinez, they’ll need to find a way to replace him.  Nic Hague played well this season but is he ready to step into a top-four spot on the left side?  That would be a big jump for someone that has been limited to 16 minutes a night in his first two years and was healthy scratched at times in the playoffs.  He may be able to get there eventually but for now, finding a short-term stopgap option to hold down that role for a year or two would be a wise course of action.  It’ll be tough to do with their cap structure but with them having an offer out to Martinez, it would appear they have a plan to try to free up some money to make it happen.

Goaltending Decision

That money-saving plan may very well have to come between the pipes.  Having both Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner was a nice luxury for Vegas this past season but given their cap-related adventures during the year, that luxury helped create some of their problems when they were forced to go with a short roster.  While having starter-level goaltending each night would be great to have, can they afford to have both of them on the roster again?

If the answer is no, which one goes?  Fleury’s market is certainly better than it was in the fall when teams were seeking retention plus an incentive to take on his contract.  Now, he only has one year left (though still at $7MM) and is coming off a Vezina Trophy.   As for Lehner, his track record with the Islanders and Blackhawks earned him a reasonable $5MM AAV and while he didn’t play much in 2020-21 due to injuries and Fleury’s success, he played quite well most nights.

Fleury turns 37 in November so he doesn’t have many years left in him while Lehner turns 30 this weekend so he’d be the safer long-term play but also probably has the better trade value.

Two decisions need to be made here – can they afford to keep both goalies and if not, which one goes?  The Olympic break has led to a compression of games that’s similar to what this year was so having a top tandem would give them a big leg up.  But with everything else Vegas has and needs, this may not be a luxury they can afford anymore.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

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