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Archives for August 2021

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals

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

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2021-22 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Washington Capitals

Current Cap Hit: $80,831,260 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Connor McMichael ($863K through 2023-24)

McMichael was able to get his feet wet in the pros a year early with the OHL not playing and he made the most of it with a strong showing with AHL Hershey.  He may have to wait until injuries strike to have a shot at playing but he has enough offensive upside to make an impact when he gets his opportunity next season.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Nic Dowd ($750K, UFA)
D Matt Irwin ($750K, UFA)
D Michal Kempny ($2.5MM, UFA)
G Ilya Samsonov ($2MM, RFA)
D Justin Schultz ($4MM, UFA)
F Daniel Sprong ($725K, RFA)
G Vitek Vanecek ($717K, RFA)

Sprong has been inconsistent throughout his career but his AAV being below the cap ceiling creates some excess value for Washington to the point where he was protected in expansion.  He has reached double digits in goals in two of the last three seasons and a repeat showing next season could push him towards doubling his AAV or more which could ultimately price him out of their plans.  Dowd has done a nice job as their fourth line center but while he’s deserving of a raise, the Caps will need to keep that position at that price point to be able to afford their other contracts.

Schultz’s contract with Washington was somewhat of a surprise last fall but he had a nice bounce-back season.  A big raise next summer likely isn’t in the cards but if he can pick up the points at a similar level, he could land a similarly-priced deal.  Kempny had a year to forget, tearing his Achilles’ tendon and just as he was working his way towards a return in the minors, he was struck by an ice shoveler during a break in play, ending his season in the process.  He was providing pretty good value on his contract before that and will need to get back to a similar level and show he’s healthy in order to command interest next summer.  Irwin appears to be a candidate to bounce around as the seventh defenseman and the minors (pending him clearing waivers) as a way to bank a bit of extra room as the season progresses.

Samsonov had a tough sophomore year and with their salary cap situation, Washington was forced to go with a one-year bridge contract.  He will be eligible for arbitration next summer and a strong season could allow him to double his AAV or more.  Vanecek was re-acquired from Seattle and returns as arguably the biggest value contract for goaltenders in the league as he established himself as their starter last season at a price that is the lowest in the league in terms of AAV.  Also arbitration-eligible, he’s already heading for a significant raise and it’s quite unlikely that Washington will be able to keep both netminders beyond this coming season.

Two Years Remaining

F Lars Eller ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Carl Hagelin ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Garnet Hathaway ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Nick Jensen ($2.5MM, UFA)
D Dmitry Orlov ($5.1MM, UFA)
F Conor Sheary ($1.5MM, UFA)
D Trevor van Riemsdyk ($950K, UFA)

Eller has been a key part of Washington’s forward group for the past five seasons, splitting time between the second line and third line depending on their injury situation.  He’s a bit pricey on the third line but it’s a justifiable premium to pay and with the way the UFA market has been for centers, he can land a similar amount two years from now.  Hagelin has underwhelmed a little bit on this deal; he’s still an effective defensive player and a strong skater but his price tag is a bit much for someone in a limited role.  Hathaway’s physicality makes him a quality fourth liner and while he’s a bit expensive for that role, he has provided good value so far.  Sheary’s first season with Washington went well enough to land this two-year deal as a secondary scorer.  If he scores at a 20-goal pace again, this will be a nice bargain for them.

Orlov had a bit of a tough season but is still a fixture in their top four.  He’ll be 32 when his next deal kicks in and it wouldn’t be surprising if he is looking for a final contract at that time.  With the big commitments they already have on the books (more on them shortly), that may be difficult for Washington to do unless Orlov will take a discount to make that happen.  Jensen hasn’t been able to make the type of impact the Capitals hoped when they handed him this four-year deal and he’s someone they’d likely be willing to part with for cap flexibility purposes.  As for van Riemsdyk, he spent a lot of last season in the press box but is a capable depth piece at a low price tag which helped him get protected from Seattle.

Three Years Remaining

F Anthony Mantha ($5.7MM, UFA)
F Tom Wilson ($5.166MM, UFA)

Mantha was a bit of a surprising acquisition at the trade deadline with Washington paying a fairly high price to get him from Detroit (and clear out the rest of Richard Panik’s contract).  He made a good first impression but has been inconsistent for most of his career.  He will need to improve on that front if he wants a shot at a bigger contract in free agency.  When it comes to Wilson, his price tag looked excessive early on but with the way the market for power forwards has been (in part because of this deal), it holds up better now, especially since he’s frequently deployed in the top six.  But with his frequent near-misses with the Department of Player Safety, there will always be some risk when it comes to him potentially crossing the line and landing a hefty suspension that wouldn’t allow the Capitals to bring up a replacement with how tight they are to the Upper Limit.

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Matt Calvert Joins Brandon Wheat Kings Coaching Staff

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Earlier this offseason, Matt Calvert announced his retirement after injuries cut his playing career short, but that doesn’t mean he’s leaving the game of hockey. The veteran forward has been hired by the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL as a development coach. Doug Gasper, Wheat Kings GM, released a short statement:

Matt is someone that we want in our organization. He was a model Wheat King and more importantly he is a great person from a great family. It was an easy decision to have him working with our players and staff.

As you might have guessed, Calvert is from Brandon and played his minor and junior hockey careers for the Wheat Kings organization. After dominating the U18 AAA level with 83 points in 30 games, he made the jump to major junior and immediately became a difference-maker for the CHL squad. By 2008 he was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fifth round, but that was drastically underestimating his ceiling.

Quickly, Calvert became the best player for the Wheat Kings and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact at the NHL level. Over 566 regular season games, he recorded 203 points.

Now he’ll start the next chapter of his hockey journey as a coach with his hometown team, but it will be interesting to see if Calvert pursues a career behind the bench at a higher level. Only 31, he is getting a quick start on his coaching tenure just a few months after playing in the NHL.

Dylan Guenther Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The Arizona Coyotes have signed Dylan Guenther to his three-year, entry-level contract. Guenther was selected ninth overall earlier this summer. Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong released a short statement on the signing:

We are very pleased to welcome Dylan to the Coyotes organization. Dylan is an extremely skilled and smart player with a great work ethic. We are confident that he will become a very good NHL player and look forward to watching his development this season.

CapFriendly reports that the deal will carry an AAV of $925K plus an additional $850K in Class ’A’ performance bonuses each season.

Guenther, 18, played just 12 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings this season, but actually led the league in points-per-game. His 24 points were an impressive total for a player that had just 59 in 58 games in 2019-20, and led to his continued rise up draft boards.

Of course, the Coyotes didn’t have a first-round pick in this year’s draft when the season ended. The team had been stripped of that selection thanks to scouting violations by the previous management team, a brutal punishment for a team that was struggling to find much success on the ice. The pick that Guenther was picked with came from the Vancouver Canucks in the Oliver Ekman-Larsson deal, and represents a very important selection for the Coyotes.

The young Guenther is likely headed back to the WHL for this season, meaning the first year of his entry-level deal will not be burned. The contract will instead slide forward–unless he manages to make the NHL team–meaning he’s locked up at least through 2024-25.

Nashville Predators Sign Eeli Tolvanen

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The Nashville Predators have signed Eeli Tolvanen to a three-year contract worth $4.35MM. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.45MM. Tolvanen was a restricted free agent and not eligible for arbitration.

Now 22, Tolvanen finally established himself as a full-time NHL player this season, playing in 40 games for the Predators. The 2017 first-round pick scored 11 goals and 22 points, but was held scoreless in the team’s short playoff run. He’ll have a good chance to increase those totals this season as he steps into a bigger role after the Predators said farewell to names like Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrok, and Erik Haula.

These kinds of deals are the other edge of the David Poile sword. Though there have been several times his long-term contract extensions for veterans have been mistakes, he also has routinely locked up young players for a reasonable amount before a potential breakout. That’s exactly what could happen with Tolvanen, who has the potential to be a big offensive producer. If that happens in either of the next two seasons, there’s still time for this contract to be a big win.

For Tolvanen though, this is also a contract that likely guarantees him a roster spot. With just 47 regular season games to this point, he didn’t have a lot of leverage in contract talks and wouldn’t have been eligible for arbitration until next offseason.

With him signed, the Predators have now locked up all of their restricted free agents for the offseason.

Griffin Reinhart Signs In EIHL

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The Belfast Giants have landed quite a free agent, signing Griffin Reinhart for the upcoming season. The team has also signed J.J. Piccinich, making it quite the day for the EIHL team.

Reinhart, 27, was the fourth overall pick in 2012, selected by the New York Islanders just ahead of Morgan Rielly. While his professional career certainly didn’t go as planned, he still played 37 games at the NHL level and more than 300 in the AHL. The last two years have seen him lace up his skates in China with Kunlun Red Star of the KHL and then the Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL.

It’s quite the get for Belfast, who are actually the reigning league champions, though that came back in 2019. The last two seasons haven’t been played in full, with a four-team “Elite Series” taking place earlier this year instead.

Piccinich, 25, is also an NHL draft pick, selected in the fourth round by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2014. He spent last season with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, scoring 29 points in 65 games.

Bruins Add Matt Thomas To AHL Coaching Staff

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The Boston Bruins have added an interesting coaching prospect to the organization, hiring Matt Thomas as an assistant for the Providence Bruins of the AHL. Thomas will join the staff of new head coach Ryan Mougenel, who released the following statement:

We are all thrilled to have Matt joining our staff in Providence. Matt possesses a unique combination of high energy, innovation, and a proven eye for the game. He understands today’s athlete and his focus on communication, teaching, and forming positive relationships speaks volumes about his values as a coach. Matt is a tremendous fit for our group and understands the Bruins’ philosophy and vision that Trent and I are growing. We are eager to work together and look forward to a seamless transition as we plan our collective approach for the upcoming season.

Thomas, 45, has been a head coach since 2004, when he took over the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies of the ECHL. He has also coached the Fresno Falcons, Stockton Thunder, and most recently the Cincinnati Cyclones in that league, winning the ECHL Coach of the Year award in 2019. He holds the league record for most playoff games ever coached with 108. For five seasons between 2013 and 2018, he was the head coach of the University of Alaska-Anchorage program.

A move to an assistant job with Providence is the next step toward the NHL, but this isn’t a fast track. Thomas began his coaching career in 1998 at the age of 22, just after finishing his senior season at R.I.T where he captained the team. This first AHL opportunity has been a long time coming, even though he’s still relatively young for the coaching world.

Minor Transactions: 08/30/21

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As the hockey world prepares to flip the calendar to September and ramp up training camps, minor league talents are still finding jobs wherever they can. As always, we’ll keep track of all the notable minor moves right here.

  • Tyler Gaudet, who played 20 games in the NHL for the Arizona Coyotes, has signed with Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the German DEL. Gaudet spent the last two seasons with the Toronto Marlies, scoring 23 points in 34 games this year.
  • The Iowa Wild have signed Bryce Gervais to a one-year, AHL contract. The 29-year old last played in the AHL during the 2017-18 season with the Chicago Wolves, before spending three seasons overseas. In 47 games with the Heilbronn Falcons of the German second tier, he had 22 goals and 46 points.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Five Key Stories: 8/23/21 – 8/29/21

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Even though arbitration-bound cases have all been settled, there were still some signings of note around the NHL over the past seven days which are highlighted in the key stories of the week.

Hayes Passes Away: Unfortunately, the week got off to a tragic start with former NHL winger Jimmy Hayes passing away at the age of 31.  The cause of death is still unknown after an autopsy was performed later in the week.  Hayes spent parts of seven years in the NHL, suiting up in 334 games between Chicago, Florida, Boston, and New Jersey; he last suited up in the NHL during the 2017-18 season.  PHR extends its condolences to Hayes’ family.

Eichel Changes Agents: It hasn’t been a fun summer for Jack Eichel.  It’s more than clear at this point that he wants out of Buffalo and the ability to have the procedure that he wants done to repair his neck injury than the one the team wants.  Public pressure from his agents last month didn’t help facilitate a trade so Eichel is trying a new tactic as he has switched agents.  Pat Brisson of CAA Sports will now take over from Peter Fish and Peter Donatelli of Global Hockey Consultants.  Brisson has the richest portfolio of existing player contracts at over $1 billion, per PuckPedia, and will now be tasked with helping to find a way for Eichel to be moved and get the surgery he’s looking for.

Svechnikov Signs: One of the more prominent restricted free agents is now under contract as the Hurricanes and winger Andrei Svechnikov agreed on an eight-year, $62MM contract.  The deal contains a 10-team no-trade clause in the final four years of the deal, the only ones that are allowed to have any form of trade protection.  Svechnikov, the second-overall pick in 2018, has quickly become a capable top winger for Carolina and this type of commitment from the team – it’s the largest contract in terms of total money spent in franchise history – certainly demonstrates that they envision him being a long-term cornerstone and that they think he has another level he can still reach.

Offer Sheet For Kotkaniemi: With Svechnikov signed, Carolina had a more concrete idea of how much they had left to spend.  They decided to try to either add some extra depth down the middle or to exact some revenge on Montreal for their offer sheet of Sebastian Aho two years ago as they tendered RFA center Jesperi Kotkaniemi to a one-year offer sheet worth just over $6.1MM.  The 21-year-old was the third-overall pick in 2018 but hasn’t made as quick of an impact as some others from his draft class have and is coming off a season that saw him notch just 20 points in 56 games.  He’s clearly not yet worth that high of a price tag so the Canadiens now need to decide to pay the above-market contract or accept first and third-round picks in 2022 as compensation.

Signing Centers: The Flyers were busy in terms of some activity down the middle.  First, they inked veteran Derick Brassard to a one-year, $825K deal, giving them a veteran center on a low-cost deal.  The bigger news came just hours after Svechnikov signed his deal as Philadelphia revealed that center Sean Couturier signed for the same money the Carolina winger did, inking an eight-year, $62MM extension that keeps him under contract through 2029-30.  The deal also contains a full no-move clause in the first seven seasons.  It took a few years for Couturier to find his offensive footing but in recent years, he has been a strong offensive producer while continuing to be one of the stronger defensive pivots in the league.  With the deal, the Flyers now have a franchise cornerstone locked up long term.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Olympics, Outdoor Game, Eichel

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Fresh off the field for next year’s Olympic tournament being set, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports (Twitter link) that an official decision on NHL participation is expected at some point this week.  Octagon Hockey player agent Allan Walsh adds (Twitter link) that the decision will be that the league does allow their players to participate with an announcement being imminent.

While an allowance was made in the CBA for Olympic participation, it wasn’t set in stone that NHL players would be permitted to play but rather that an attempt would be made.  Talks have gone well beyond the original window but it appears that barring a last-minute change of direction, the league will indeed shut down for the bulk of February.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • The Maple Leafs and Sabres are expected to play in an outdoor game in Hamilton, Ontario in March, reports Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. The two teams were supposed to be playing an game in Buffalo in mid–March but that contest was absent from the season ticket packages from last week.  Instead, the Sabres would be the home team in what technically would be a neutral site game but with Hamilton close to Toronto geographically, the ‘visitors’ for the Heritage Classic event would likely receive the majority of the fan support.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 31 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that representatives from the Sabres, the NHL, the NHLPA, plus Jack Eichel and his now-former agents had a meeting around the middle of this month to try and come to an understanding on Eichel’s pending neck surgery. The team wants a more traditional fusion surgery which carries a longer recovery time and a fairly high chance of another procedure being needed down the road while Eichel prefers artificial disc replacement which hasn’t been done on an NHL player before.  There was clearly no resolution on the matter and the wait for a trade continues.

Notes From The Jesperi Kotkaniemi Offer Sheet

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Offer sheets in the NHL are few and far between which makes it notable any time one is signed.  Rarer still is one that has a player signing for as much above market value as Jesperi Kotkaniemi did when he signed his one-year, $6,100,015 tender from the Hurricanes on Saturday.  Here are some notes from around the hockey world on the move.

  • Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic mentions (Twitter link) that Carolina and Montreal did have trade talks regarding Kotkaniemi although clearly, they weren’t able to come to an agreement.
  • Sportsnet’s Eric Engels writes that Montreal’s decision is a lot harder than the one the Hurricanes had two years ago when the Canadiens tendered an offer sheet to Sebastian Aho. He suggests Arizona’s Christian Dvorak as someone they’d be wise to have discussions about over the one-week matching period to see if some of the draft capital they’d get by not matching could be flipped for him.
  • Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports relays (Twitter links) that league executives pegged Kotkaniemi’s actual value on a one-year deal no higher than $2.2MM, providing some perspective on how much of a perceived overpayment this contract is. He adds that the idea to tender Kotkaniemi the offer sheet came from Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon, not GM Don Waddell.
  • Arpon Basu of The Athletic writes (subscription link) that Montreal’s bigger concern should be that Kotkaniemi, who had spoken about wanting to stay with the Canadiens for the long haul in the past, was willing to go along with the offer sheet. He feels Montreal is in a no-win situation by either needing to pay Kotkaniemi well above market value and potentially messing up their salary structure or losing someone they hoped would be a franchise cornerstone for somewhat of an underwhelming return.
  • Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 31 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Montreal wasn’t close on a contract with Kotkaniemi’s camp and was focused on a bridge contract which is something the 21-year-old wasn’t interested in. He also believes that Carolina had discussions with Kotkaniemi on the framework of a long-term extension that could be signed once eligible that would come with a price tag below this one.  Of course, Kotkaniemi wouldn’t have to agree to that knowing that he’ll need to be qualified at $6.1MM next summer.
  • While Carolina would technically be over the salary cap if the Canadiens don’t match, Sara Civian of The Athletic suggests (subscription link) that it may not be too difficult for them to get back under by clearing out the remaining two years at $4MM on defenseman Jake Gardiner’s contract. Considering he has cleared waivers before, they’d likely need to provide some retention on that contract to make a trade work.

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