Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for August 2021

Bruins Begin Extension Talks With Patrice Bergeron

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Patrice Bergeron has been a fixture in Boston’s lineup for the past 17 seasons and if they have their way, that stint will be extended beyond the upcoming 18th year in 2021-22.  Speaking with reporters including NHL.com’s Tracey Myers, Bruins GM Don Sweeney indicated that discussions regarding a contract extension for Bergeron have been started:

Patrice and Kent Hughes, his representative, and I have had discussions about where Patrice is at. We’ll keep those private as we do all the others and let him decide what path he wants to take. Obviously, it’s a completely open door for how long Patrice wants to play the game for us, and we’ll leave it at that.

The 36-year-old sits third in franchise history in games played and fourth in points and remains one of the premier two-way players in the league.  He’s a four-time Selke Trophy winner for the top defensive forward in the NHL and has been a top-three finalist for that award in ten straight years.  Over that stretch, he has averaged at least 0.76 points per game and over the past four seasons combined, he has been a bit better than a point per game player.  That has made him an extremely valuable part of their core and after Zdeno Chara left last fall, Bergeron became their captain.

Considering that Bergeron hasn’t really slowed down much over the last few years, it’s more than understandable that Boston would love to keep him around.  It’s also a situation where they almost have to keep him.  David Krejci opted to go back home to the Czech Republic (though Sweeney wouldn’t rule out a return down the road) which took away the other half of their long-standing center duo.  Internally, they’ll rely on Charlie Coyle to shift back down the middle and there is no top-line center prospect in the pipeline.  Basically, there isn’t anyone ready to take Bergeron’s place, emphasizing the need to keep him around.

Bergeron is entering the final year of his contract that carries a $6.875MM AAV and assuming he has a similar season to 2020-21, he could get more money on the open market if he wanted to go somewhere else.  However, the likelier scenario is that he would leave some money on the table and would sign for something close to what he’s making now.  With talks underway and a mutual desire to get something done, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before Bergeron’s stay with the Bruins is extended even further.

Free Agent Profile: Tyler Bozak

at CDT | by 11 Comments

It wasn’t a particularly strong free agent market down the middle this summer and most of the notable ones signed within the first couple of days of the market opening up.  One of the exceptions is Tyler Bozak and as a result, he finds himself in good shape in terms of trying to find his next home.

The 35-year-old has seen his production dip over the past few years as he has gone from someone logging more than 20 minutes per night with Toronto to playing more of a third line role which is where he best fits at this stage of his career.  He’s also now coming off a season that saw him miss 21 games due to a concussion which certainly doesn’t help his value.

But what does help his value is his two-way ability.  He can log a regular shift on the penalty kill and consistently is well above average at the faceoff dot which is always appealing to coaches.  On the offensive front, he has averaged at least 0.4 points per game in each season throughout his career and actually is coming off his best year in that stat since 2016-17 although with him playing the fewest games in a single season of his career, it’s a bit of a small sample size.

Nevertheless, Bozak can still be counted on to contribute a bit offensively, kill penalties, and take some key situational faceoffs.  That’s not a $5MM profile anymore like his last contract was but there is definitely a role for him to still fill.

Stats

2020-21: 31 GP, 5-12-17, -3 rating, 10 PIMS, 35 shots, 42.8 CF%, 14:55 ATOI, 56.8% faceoffs

Career: 764 GP, 167-282-449, -84 rating, 222 PIMS, 1,268 shots, 48.9 CF%, 17:47 ATOI, 53.8% faceoffs

Potential Suitors

Teams looking for an upgrade on the third line or a veteran to insulate some younger options should have some interest in Bozak.  That’s a relatively specific role to fill but one that makes sense for prospective contenders as well as rebuilding teams that could use him for a few months and then flip him to a contender closer to the trade deadline.

In the East, Montreal lost Phillip Danault to Los Angeles in free agency, their two top centers are currently 21 years old, and their likely third line pivot in Jake Evans has less than a full year of NHL games under his belt including playoffs.  Bozak would fit as some veteran insurance for the youngsters while replacing Danault’s situational faceoff role.  Boston hasn’t replaced David Krejci down the middle and while Bozak wouldn’t be a direct replacement, he’d give them some depth but making it work on the salary cap would be a challenge.  The Rangers could opt to put Filip Chytil back on the wing which would open up a spot on the third line for Bozak and a one-year term fits with the pricey contracts that are on the horizon a year from now.  Florida makes some sense as well with Bozak filling the role vacated by Alexander Wennberg but they need to get Sam Reinhart re-signed first to see what money they have left.

Out West, St. Louis still makes plenty of sense for Bozak aside from their cap situation.  If they can find a taker for Vladimir Tarasenko, the move would likely free up enough space to bring back Bozak to fill the same role on the depth chart he had last season.  If Colorado is opening to spending right to the Upper Limit in the offseason, Bozak would certainly fit on their third line although there’s definitely risk to being capped out that early.  Just ask Vegas about that; they could use Bozak and have LTIR room to add him into although getting back into compliance when Alex Tuch is ready to return would put them right back where they were last season in terms of dancing around the cap.  Nashville certainly has the cap space and an opening to add Bozak but if they’re heading towards something resembling a rebuild, it may not be the best fit.

Projected Contract

Bozak ranked 35th on our Top 50 UFA list with a projected one-year deal with a base salary of $2.5MM and $1MM in performance bonuses.  (As Bozak is 35, he’s eligible for a contract with incentives as long as it’s a one-year agreement.)  There are enough spots for him to command that price tag but if he wants to go to a contender, he may have to take a lesser deal or at least push more of the guaranteed money into incentives to give the signing team the flexibility to get a deal done.  At this point in free agency, Bozak is the best option left among middlemen and unless he plans to wait out the Tarasenko situation, he should sign his next contract fairly soon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Oilers Sign Brendan Perlini

at CDT | by 8 Comments

The Oilers have added some forward depth, announcing that they have signed winger Brendan Perlini to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay the NHL minimum of $750K while the AHL salary was not released.

It has been a bit of an odd journey for the 25-year-old so far.  Drafted 12th overall by Arizona in 2014, Perlini showed some offensive upside early in his career, notching 14 goals in his rookie season and 17 in his sophomore campaign.  A sluggish start in 2018-19 resulted in a trade to Chicago where he picked up a dozen more tallies in 46 games.

He was never really able to lock down a spot though and early in 2019-20, he was flipped to Detroit where the production dried up entirely as Perlini had just one goal and three helpers in 39 games, numbers that led to a non-tender last fall.  Rather than accept a two-way deal, Perlini went overseas and signed with Ambri-Piotta in Switzerland where he had a decent campaign with nine goals and seven assists in 21 games, good enough for seventh in team scoring despite missing more than half the season.

Perlini is an interesting fit for Edmonton.  The Oilers are a team that will need to fill out their roster with some cheaper contracts while having more on hand in the minors for recalls.  There’s definitely enough a track record to suggest that Perlini could rebound offensively and be a serviceable contributor in the bottom six but with how things went in Detroit, it’s possible he rarely sees the ice for him.  Still, there is rarely a bad two-way contract and this one certainly will carry a little bit of upside for Edmonton.

Central Notes: Copp, Pleau, Fiala

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Jets are a team that projects to be quite tight to the Upper Limit of the salary cap.  Per CapFriendly, they have just over $6MM in cap room which amounts to roughly $11.35MM once Bryan Little’s LTIR is factored in but they still have to re-sign defenseman Neal Pionk and center Andrew Copp as well, both of whom have arbitration hearings later this month.  Accordingly, Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun suggests that with the strong platform season Copp had – one that saw him notch career highs in goals (15), assists (24), and points (39) – could wind up pushing him out of town.  GM Kevin Cheveldayoff spent nearly $10MM last month to shore up their back end with the acquisitions of Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon but if Pionk and Copp wind up getting more than they anticipated, it certainly could force their hand into trading someone and selling high on Copp would certainly make some sense for Winnipeg.

More from the Central:

  • The Coyotes have added some experience to their front office as they announced the hiring of Larry Pleau as Senior Advisor to the General Manager. The 74-year-old spent the last 23 years with St. Louis with the first 12 of those being as their GM and the last 11 in an advisory role similar to the one he will have with Arizona.  GM Bill Armstrong certainly has a long-standing connection with Pleau having worked under him for 16 seasons with the Blues before coming to the desert last year.
  • The Wild’s decision to elect salary arbitration for winger Kevin Fiala earlier this week raised some eyebrows as it’s a move that’s rarely made. Michael Russo of The Athletic posits (subscription link) that the team wants to ensure Fiala is at training camp at the start which wasn’t the case two years ago when talks dragged out longer than either side would have liked.  While a deal will be done within the next two weeks – his hearing is August 17th – there is certainly some risk that Minnesota is taking as Fiala could simply elect for a two-year award to take him to UFA eligibility in 2023, a move that certainly would hurt his trade value as well if it gets to that point.

Minor Transactions: 08/07/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

While there have been plenty of players accepting their qualifying offers lately, there has been some activity on the AHL front as well.  We’ll keep tabs on those and other small moves of note here.

  • The Stars are reuniting with Curtis McKenzie as their AHL affiliate in Texas announced a two-year deal for the winger. The 30-year-old played in 99 games with Dallas over parts of four different seasons but spent last season on a two-way deal with St. Louis, posting 13 points in 26 games with AHL Utica.
  • The Sabres have added some AHL depth as AHL Rochester announced the signings of forward Mason Jobst and defenseman Josh Teves to one-year deals. Jobst, 27, split last season between the farm teams for the Islanders and Devils after being included in the Kyle Palmieri trade and notched 10 points in 19 games between the two teams.  As for Teves, the 26-year-old was a sought-after blueliner out of college and made his NHL debut soon after signing with Vancouver in 2019.  However, he didn’t progress much and after spending most of his first full pro campaign in the ECHL, he had just four points in 23 games with Utica last season.
  • Golden Knights prospect Jesper Vikman has decided to come to North America and has committed to play with Vancouver of the WHL next season. The 19-year-old goaltender was a fifth-round pick of Vegas (125th overall) back in 2020 and spent 2020-21 at three different levels in Sweden, getting as high as the Allsvenskan level.  As he was picked out of Sweden, Vikman remains on the four-year timeline in terms of needing an entry-level contract so Vegas holds his rights through June 1, 2024.

Sam Steel, Isac Lundestrom Re-Sign With Anaheim Ducks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Another group of players has accepted their qualifying offer today, as Sam Steel and Isac Lundestrom will stay with the Anaheim Ducks organization for at least one more season. CapFriendly reports the one-year, two-way deals are both worth $874,125 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the minor league level.

Steel’s had trouble converting on his potential at the NHL level so far in his young career. Still 23 years old, Steel’s scored exactly six goals in each of his three NHL seasons. 45 points in 129 career games aren’t exactly concerning, but Steel’s really struggled defensively at times, especially this past season. Those defensive struggles led to the lowest usage of his career this season, as he was playing just 14:32 per game. There’s still plenty of track left for the 2016 30th overall pick, though, and he’ll attempt to push for an elevated role with the Ducks next season.

Lundestrom is in a similar situation, except he’s younger and has less NHL experience. The lack of a true breakout from either player is likely a contributing factor to the matching deals. Lundestrom’s tallied just 15 points in 71 career games, though, including his first career NHL goal this season. Drafted 23rd overall in 2018, Lundestrom’s still shown flashes of potential and reliability at the NHL level. He’ll likely push for a spot in Anaheim’s top-six forward group next season and develop further into the two-way forward the team expects him to be.

Seattle Kraken Sign Kole Lind

at CDT | by 12 Comments

The Seattle Kraken continue to make moves today, now signing expansion draft selection Kole Lind. CapFriendly reports that Lind accepted his qualifying offer, giving him a one-year two-way deal worth $874,125 at the NHL level and $70,000 at the minor league level.

Lind, a 2017 second-round selection by the Vancouver Canucks, will continue his development with the Kraken organization after they selected him in the expansion draft. Lind got his first taste of NHL action this season, going pointless in a seven-game stint with Vancouver. But what those numbers don’t show is his quick scoring development at the minor league level. Lind had somewhat of a breakout season for the Utica Comets in 2019-20, his second professional season, posting 44 points (14 goals) in 61 games. And while Lind didn’t play much this year as he served a decent portion of the season on Vancouver’s taxi squad, he did score eight points in just eight AHL contests.

Due to Seattle’s deep forward group, a return to the AHL (now with the Charlotte Checkers) is likely for Lind, especially with the team’s signing of Marcus Johansson today. However, Lind’s development over the past few seasons shows extreme promise, and he could be a long-term middle-six piece as the Kraken continue to take shape.

New York Rangers Sign Ty Ronning

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The New York Rangers announced three contracts today, two of which had already been reported. The one-year deals for Tim Gettinger and Adam Huska are now official; joining them is Ty Ronning who has also agreed to terms on a one-year contract. Ronning was a restricted free agent and not eligible for arbitration. Ronning’s deal is worth the league-minimum $750,000 with $75,000 in minor-league pay, per CapFriendly.

Originally a seventh-round pick in 2016, likely more to do with his name–he’s the son of long-time NHL forward Cliff Ronning–than his play, the 23-year-old forward has developed into a legitimate scoring threat in the minor leagues. Ronning had 10 goals and 18 points in 18 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack this season, continuing what has been a pattern to this point. In the 2017-18 season he scored 61 goals for the Vancouver Giants, and then for two seasons was nearly a point-per-game player in the ECHL.

None of the three should be impact players on the Rangers this year, but do offer real value to the AHL club. The undersized Ronning has always found a way to contribute offensively and he should find no trouble in that task for Hartford.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Conor Timmins

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After acquiring him last month in a deal for Darcy Kuemper, the Arizona Coyotes have signed Conor Timmins to a two-year contract. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the deal will carry an average annual value of $850K. CapFriendly reports that Timmins will make $750,000 in 2021-22 and $950,000 in 2022-23.

Timmins, 22, was the 32nd overall pick in 2017 and looked like he was on the fast track to the NHL after dominating the OHL and the World Juniors through the early part of the 2017-18 season. Unfortunately, he ran into concussion issues that kept him out the entire 2018-19 season, slowing his development in its tracks.

Healthy now and contributing, Timmins played in 31 games for the Colorado Avalanche this year, registering seven assists. He even suited up for 10 playoff games, showing he’d made the jump comfortably to the NHL level. The Avalanche were in desperate need of a goaltender after Philipp Grubauer surprisingly signed with the Seattle Kraken, and Timmins was a price they could reasonably pay given how many other young defensemen they have in the system.

For Arizona though, he represents a brand new kind of asset and a potential long-term partner for Jakob Chychrun. The team has been using veteran defensemen for years, failing to really develop any of their own other than Chychrun and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Timmins comes in at an early enough time in his career that he still represents huge amounts of excess value, if they can coax the best of him out in Arizona. When on his game, Timmins has an elite defensive stick and can move the puck quickly up to his forwards, contributing offensively at times.

At just $850K, he is the perfect mix for a team like Arizona–cheap and young. The team has slashed their payroll dramatically while taking on cap hits that bring them to the lower limit, and need players like Timmins to log big minutes in the rebuild. For the young defenseman, a two-year deal gives him some security while also likely providing him with a chance to play a lot for the Coyotes, setting up a potential payday in arbitration two years from now.

Oskar Olausson Signs Entry-Level Contract

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Another first-round pick has signed, as Oskar Olausson inks his entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche. The young forward was selected 28th overall in this year’s draft. CapFriendly reports the deal carries $832,500 in base salary every season with a $92,500 signing bonus, meaning a cap hit and average annual value of $925,000

Olausson, 18, made his SHL debut this season, suiting up at the highest level in Sweden for 16 games. He recorded three goals and four points in those matches, but filled the scoresheet at the junior level, adding 14 goals and 27 points in 16 games for HV71’s U20 squad. A talented skater, the 6’2″ forward can drive wide with speed or cleanly enter the offensive zone under control, shifting gears quickly to shake defenders. His overall game still needs polish, but that can be said about almost any player selected in the back half of the first round.

As a first-round pick, the Avalanche could send Olausson to the minor leagues or return him to Sweden for more development but did not reveal their plans in the press release. No matter where he plays, he’ll be a top option for Sweden at the World Junior tournament, given he took part in it last year as well. His role on that team should increase, as should his playing time in the SHL if that’s where he spends this season.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top