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Snapshots: NHLPA, Copp, Jagr

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The NHLPA has strongly encouraged its players to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and warned of the potential for loss of pay for those who don’t do so, reports Michael Russo and Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription link).  The main scenario where this could happen is flying into Canada where border travel is facing heightened restrictions; commercial travelers will require proof of vaccination by the end of October and while NHL teams fly charter, they could be subjected to that same policy and not allowed into the country.  In that situation, teams could have the ability to withhold salaries for the players not allowed in.  Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly noted that over 85% of NHL players have been fully vaccinated already so this wouldn’t necessarily affect many players but it’s a scenario the NHLPA wants to prepare its membership for.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Jets forward Andrew Copp acknowledged to reporters, including Postmedia’s Paul Friesen, that his preference was to sign a long-term deal. However, Winnipeg’s cap situation after some of their additions on the back end basically forced their hand and the two sides settled on a one-year, $3.64MM pact that will walk the 27-year-old to unrestricted free agency next summer.  With roughly $63.5MM tied up in a dozen players for 2022-23 per CapFriendly (excluding Bryan Little’s LTIR-bound contract), a strong showing next season could result in Copp playing his way out of Winnipeg entirely.
  • Veteran winger Jaromir Jagr will turn 50 late in the 2021-22 season and the future Hall of Famer will spend it playing with his hometown team in Kladno in the Czech Extraliga. The overwhelming majority of players hang up their skates by that age but in an interview with Pavel Barta of The Hockey News, the veteran indicated that he’s continuing to play out of obligation more than anything else.  Jagr happens to be the owner of the team and is worried about a loss of sponsorship that could put the team in jeopardy if he decided to call it a career.  While he isn’t the top scorer he once was, Jagr had a dozen points in 19 games last season to help lead Kladno back to the top level.

Islanders Sign Aatu Raty

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The Islanders may be holding off on announcing most of their free agent contracts but they aren’t delaying signing their prospects as they announced the signing of Aatu Raty to a three-year, entry-level deal.  Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The 18-year-old was once viewed as a top prospect for the 2021 NHL Entry Draft but his stock slipped throughout the season, allowing New York to grab him with the 51st overall selection.  Raty spent the majority of last season with Karpat of the SM-liiga, notching three goals and three assists in 35 games while averaging 11:38 per contest.  He was more productive against his age group as he picked up eight points in seven contests in Finland’s junior level.

Raty is under contract with Karpat for next season already and while the Isles could bring him over and give him a chance at making the NHL roster (he won’t be eligible for the AHL because of his existing contract) but the likelier scenario is that he remains in Finland and takes aim at a bigger role with Karpat.  If that happens, his deal will slide and will have three years remaining on it next summer.

Flyers Sign Samu Tuomaala

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The Flyers have signed one of their picks from the 2021 draft class, announcing that they’ve inked winger Samu Tuomaala to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 18-year-old was the 46th-overall pick last month and is the first player from Philadelphia’s draft class to sign.  Tuomaala spent most of last season in Karpat’s junior league, notching 15 goals and 16 assists in 30 games although he did get into five games at the top level as well.  He also boosted his draft stock with a strong showing at the Under-18s, leading Finland in scoring with five goals and six assists in seven games, good for a tie for fifth in tournament scoring.

Tuomaala is already signed in Finland for next season and since he wasn’t a first-round selection, Philadelphia will have to either keep him on their NHL roster or send him back.  Where that will be remains to be seen as he could go to Karpat or to OHL Sudbury who drafted him in the CHL Import Draft.  The loan is almost certain to happen in which case his entry-level deal will slide a year meaning that Tuomaala will still have three years left on his contract this time next year.

PHR Mailbag: Devils, Kraken, Bruins Centers, Standings, Kuznetsov, Predictions, Chinakhov

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Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag including New Jersey’s summer movement, Seattle’s possible opening night lineup, Boston’s center situation, picking playoff teams, Evgeny Kuznetsov’s future with Washington, player predictions, and inserting the most surprising pick from the 2020 draft into the 2021 draft.  If your question doesn’t appear here, check back for it in last weekend’s mailbag.

SpeakOfTheDevil: Did the Devils do enough this offseason to actually end this rebuild? Do you see them doing anything else this offseason?

Just so it’s mentioned, not long after this question was asked, New Jersey went out and added Tomas Tatar which is another notable move.  More on him shortly.

What’s the definition of ending the rebuild?  If it’s making the playoffs, the answer is no.  For me, this is the summer that starts the end of the rebuild.  Dougie Hamilton instantly gives them the high-impact defenseman they’ve lacked for a long time.  That’s a long-term building block in place that isn’t under the age of 23.  Ryan Graves is an effective blueliner that’s young enough to be part of the long-term core if things go well.  Tatar is a great fit for them; he’ll provide some veteran insulation for one of Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier and should raise the floor of that line.  His defensive skills are also understated given how effective of a two-way line he was on with Montreal.  He isn’t a long-term piece but he should elevate one of those two pivots which helps to end the rebuild.  Jonathan Bernier is a good fit to be the veteran mentor for Mackenzie Blackwood in the role that Corey Crawford was supposed to fill last year.  They won’t have elite goaltending but there shouldn’t be many off nights either.

I think they’re pretty much done this summer.  They still want to keep plenty of lineup spots for their younger players to give them more time to develop, another sign that the rebuild isn’t done just yet.  Once they can determine which ones will be part of the core and which are expendable, then it’ll be time for another round of veteran additions to further raise the floor.  That will be the signal that the intention will shift from the future to the present.

YzerPlan19: What does the Kraken opening night roster look like? Do they make any surprise additions before then? Who is the next William Karlsson breakout candidate?

I wouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t another move or two by the start of the season but I’m thinking more in terms of moving a surplus defenseman and maybe taking on an expensive expiring contract but it wouldn’t be a player that would have a big role.  So with the roster as it currently stands, my attempt at an opening night lineup:

Jaden Schwartz – Alexander Wennberg – Jordan Eberle
Marcus Johansson – Jared McCann – Joonas Donskoi
Brandon Tanev – Calle Jarnkrok – Mason Appleton
Colin Blackwell – Morgan Geekie – Nathan Bastian

Yanni Gourde won’t be ready to start the year after recent shoulder surgery which creates a hole down the middle.  It has been a few years since Jarnkrok played regularly down the middle but I like him on that ‘checking’ line more than someone like Johansson (who struggles at center) or Geekie (not yet ready for that role).  I also expect Matthew Beniers to play in college next season.

Mark Giordano – Adam Larsson
Vince Dunn – Jamie Oleksiak
Carson Soucy – Jeremy Lauzon

Philipp Grubauer
Chris Driedger

In terms of a breakout candidate, McCann feels like the only one that fits.  He has shown flashes of living up to his offensive upside in the past but a bigger and more consistent role could be the key to him showing that skill level more consistently.

sovietcanuckistanian: Not 100% surprised by Krejci uprooting for his home, but it does sting. My query is; as much as I’d love to see an internal candidate pick up his mantle or one of the signings made by the front office pan out in that regard… I’m not going to hold my breath. What/who are realistic options to now plug a rather large hole in the lineup? In the event of a trade, besides DeBrusk going the other way, who would also be prime pickings to be dealt – should a decent trade option present itself?

VonBrewski: Sweeney’s comments of “2nd line center by committee” are absolutely shocking to me. He let Krejci paint him into a corner. I appreciate what Krejci did for the club but doesn’t it seem that with Krejci’s timing and Sweeney not having a backup plan that they both screwed the Bruins? Sweeney does not impress me as a GM at all.

Let’s combine the Krejci questions together.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here but I don’t see much in the way of viable options for a top-six center to take David Krejci’s position on the roster.  There weren’t many in free agency and in terms of ones they can afford on the cap (in other words, not Jack Eichel or Evgeny Kuznetsov), pickings are pretty slim.  They’ve been speculatively linked to Arizona’s Christian Dvorak which certainly makes sense.  I just don’t think they have the pieces to make it work for the Coyotes.  With the 25-year-old carrying a $4.45MM AAV for four more years, the asking price is going to be high.  Speculatively, I’d expect something in the equivalent of two first-rounders – one pick and one prospect worth that.  They’d want more than that to take on Jake DeBrusk coming off the year he had and his salary too.  I think someone like Fabian Lysell would be a prospect that would fit one hole but with Boston being a team that’s expected to contend for a top-three seed, their projected 2022 first-rounder may be worse than what other teams are offering.  Dvorak would be a great fit but I’m not sure a trade lines up.  If Calgary winds up adding a center via trade, someone like Sean Monahan would make some sense as well although matching money would be a bit tougher.

Beyond that, I’m going to take Sweeney at his word and say it will be filled internally by committee.  Charlie Coyle is going to get the first chance and is the logical choice.  I think Nick Foligno will be an option at some point; he played down the middle frequently with Columbus when there were injuries.  I really liked the Erik Haula signing; he works well as a third center but at times, he has played well enough to be in the top six.  I’m not saying it won’t be an issue but as far as internal options go, they’re not particularly bad.

That’s not absolving GM Don Sweeney entirely, however.  This is something that they haven’t really planned for well over the past few years other than the Coyle acquisition since he had played down the middle with Minnesota at times.  But it’s not all his fault either.  When you’re picking at the back of the first round (or not at all in the first round having traded picks for win-now help), this is what happens.  There’s a reason that impact centers – even second-liners – are hard to come by.  Alexander Wennberg just got $4.5MM per season less than a calendar year after Columbus bought him out.  At best, he’s a second-liner.  Impact centers are the hardest piece to acquire and for a long time, Boston had two of them.  Yes, Sweeney failed in terms of not having a proven backup plan but that’s hardly a problem unique to the Bruins; many teams are or have been in the same situation.

As for Krejci, he earned the right to make the decision when he did and it sounds like he had at least informed Boston that he was leaning in that direction.  I don’t think there’s much blame for him in this.  And Sweeney certainly hasn’t closed the door on him returning at some point either although that’s easier said than done in terms of making it work on the salary cap.

mikedickinson: Major wave of free agency done… Give me your top eight in the East and top eight in the West after the additions and subtractions of players.

Subject to change as I don’t think all of the notable moves on the trade front are all done just yet, here’s a quick guess at the playoff teams as things stand (in no particular order).

Atlantic: Tampa Bay, Boston, Florida
Metropolitan: Carolina, Washington, NY Islanders
East Wild Cards: Toronto, Philadelphia

Central: Colorado, Winnipeg, St. Louis
Pacific: Vegas, Edmonton, Vancouver
West Wild Cards: Dallas, Chicago

2012orioles: Capitals have taken back the idea of trading Kuznetsov. Is this just a tactic to get a better return? Or will he truly be a Capital opening night?

I don’t think it’s a tactic.  As much as there is some negativity surrounding Evgeny Kuznetsov, he’s still a legitimate top-six center and when he’s on, he’s still a top-liner.  They can’t afford to give away that type of talent at a steep discount with an aging Nicklas Backstrom and Lars Eller (who is much better on the third line than the second) in the wings; Connor McMichael isn’t ready yet.

On the flip side, other teams aren’t going to want to pay top dollar with how last year went, especially with a $7.8MM price tag for four more years which looks like above-market value at this point.  There’s definitely a market for Kuznetsov but it’s more a swap of big contracts in the hopes that the change of scenery gets them going.  Is that the type of deal that they should really be doing?  I don’t think so.

They’ve found a way to get cap compliant for next season so they’re not in a spot where they have to move him.  If they don’t get fair value, they can simply hold on to him.  I don’t think he’d fetch fair value in a trade so I don’t think this is a tactic by any stretch.  I expect Kuznetsov will be in a Washington uniform for their opener.

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Atlantic Notes: Campbell, Foligno, Walleye

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Toronto goaltender Jack Campbell is now in the final year of his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer but James Mirtle of The Athletic cautions (subscription link) that an extension at this point is unlikely.  Despite taking over as the starter for the Maple Leafs down the stretch and in the playoffs, the 29-year-old still has less than 100 career NHL appearances under his belt (including the postseason) which makes finding the right price tag a little more difficult than usual.  Instead, the smarter play for both sides may be to wait until closer to midseason to see if he’s able to beat out newcomer Petr Mrazek for the 1A role to get a better sense of whether his strong play late last season is a sign of things to come or not.  Even if he doesn’t accomplish that, he’s still in line for a decent-sized raise on his current $1.65MM AAV.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • Still with the Maple Leafs, they showed interest in re-signing winger Nick Foligno this summer but in a much more limited role than he wanted, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. Toronto viewed Foligno as a veteran mentor with an emphasis on helping off the ice while the Bruins, who ultimately signed the 33-year-old, had a bigger role in mind for him.  Foligno is coming off a quiet year with just 20 points in 49 games but had three straight years of more than 30 points before that and if he lands a top-six role, he could get back to that level of production.
  • The Red Wings are keeping their ECHL affiliate with Toledo as the Walleye recently announced that they’ve extended their affiliation agreement for three more seasons. The two organizations have partnered up for the last 11 years with 19 players moving on from there to play in at least one NHL game.  Ten of those saw action with Detroit at some point over the years including Petr Mrazek, Luke Glendening, and Nick Jensen.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Janis Moser

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Saturday: The Coyotes have officially announced the signing of Moser.  The financial terms were not revealed.

Friday: The Arizona Coyotes have worked quickly to get a recent overage draft choice under contract and ready to transition to the North American game. Swiss defenseman Janis Moser has signed a three-year entry-level contract with the ’Yotes, according to his most recent club, the NLA’s EHC Biel-Bienne. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Moser, 21, was selected in the second round last month in his final year of NHL Draft Eligibility. Having already aged out of junior eligibility and with his prior pro experience removing him from NCAA consideration, the next step in Moser’s development was either to remain in Switzerland or instead try his hand in the AHL. The two sides seemingly have chosen the latter, as not only did Biel-Bienne announce Moser’s signing, but also wished him luck “in the NHL” and announced that they will begin looking for his replacement. Moser appears headed for the Tuscon Roadrunners next season, at least to begin the year.

Though still a very young player, Moser was actually the captain for Biel-Bienne last season. A native of the city, Moser has played his entire hockey career in the Biel-Bienne system to this point, including previous stints as captain of their U-17 and U-20 junior teams. In 2020-21, already his third full season at the top pro level in Switzerland, Moser was given the honor of captaining his hometown team. Not only that, he also led the team in assists and plus/minus and led all club defensemen in scoring, which included former NHLers Petteri Lindbohm and Yannick Rathgeb. Moser is a mature, well-rounded player with the intangibles that are often underestimated. He could surprise people with his NHL upside, especially given his quick entry into the league.

Jets Interested In Evgeny Svechnikov

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The Jets will need to add some low-cost depth to their system in the hopes of giving themselves a little bit of salary cap flexibility by carrying some minimum-salary players and it appears that one of the players they’re eyeing is winger Evgeny Svechnikov.  Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe is among those to report (Twitter link) that there is mutual interest between Winnipeg and the 24-year-old though no agreement is in place yet.

Svechnikov was the 19th-overall pick by Detroit back in 2015 but has seen his stock drop steadily since his rookie professional season where he had 51 points in 74 games.  He missed all of 2018-19 due to a knee injury and has had trouble staying in the lineup since then as well.

Last season, Svechnikov cleared waivers in training camp but wound up only playing in four games with AHL Grand Rapids where he had a goal and an assist.  Instead, he split the season between the Red Wings and their taxi squad, getting into 21 NHL contests where he had a respectable five goals and three assists despite averaging less than 12 minutes a game in ice time.  However, Detroit declined to tender him a qualifying offer last month, making him an unrestricted free agent.

With Winnipeg currently being very tight to the salary cap (even with Bryan Little’s LTIR room), the Jets will need to have some cheaper players to call upon in case of injury.  Svechnikov would certainly fit the bill and with the flashes of upside he has periodically shown with Detroit, he’s someone that likely would get a long look in training camp if they can get an agreement in place.

Pacific Notes: Canucks, Koekkoek, Edler

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While many teams have dealt with most of their restricted free agents already, that can’t be said for Vancouver who still has center Elias Pettersson and defenseman Quinn Hughes among their unsigned youngsters.  Speaking with Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston, Pat Brisson – who represents both players – noted that there’s no holdup in talks between him and the Canucks.  Part of the delay is that both short-term and long-term deals are being pondered for both players although it’s unlikely they will be able to afford to give each of them a contract that would buy out some UFA eligibility.  It wouldn’t be surprising if talks pick up once they get a deal done with RFA center Jason Dickinson whose arbitration hearing is set for Friday.  Once that’s in place, they’ll have a better idea of how much they’ll be able to spend on their two young stars.

More from the Pacific:

  • David Staples of the Edmonton Journal examined the recent two-year deal that the Oilers handed to defenseman Slater Koekkoek. While his numbers were underwhelming last season – one goal in 18 games while averaging just 13:10 per contest – he was better than several Edmonton blueliners in terms of frequency of allowing scoring chances.  Koekkoek’s numbers usually wouldn’t be good enough to yield a multi-year contract so there’s a good chance that the team was intrigued by that particular stat as well.
  • Defenseman Alex Edler told Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider that part of the reason that he signed with the Kings was how much interest they showed in him early along with the fit he’d have with the team. He added that he did field interest from other teams which likely helped push his price tag up to $3.5MM for next season, a somewhat high price tag for a player who had just eight assists in 52 games while logging his lowest ice time since 2007-08.  The 35-year-old should have a prominent role with Los Angeles next season and could be used in a shutdown capacity similar to the role he had at times in Vancouver.

Auston Matthews Undergoes Wrist Surgery

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There’s nothing quite like unexpected, late-offseason surgery to make fans nervous. The Toronto Maple Leafs announced late on Friday evening that star center Auston Matthews has undergone successful wrist surgery. The minimum recovery time is expected to be six weeks.

This is the same wrist injury that plagued Matthews last season, but to this point had only been treated with rest and rehab. According to the team, Matthews began increasing his on-ice training this past week and was noticing some discomfort in his wrist. After receiving medical consultation, both inside and outside the Maple Leafs organization, the decision was made to proceed with surgery.

It is hard to imagine that this injury will not at least impact Matthews’ training camp and cost him some preseason games. If Toronto sticks to their timeline and does not re-evaluate Matthews’ wrist for six weeks to the day – assuming the surgery occurred today – that would be September 24. The Maple Leafs begin training camp the week prior and make their preseason debut the following day, Saturday September 25. Even more concerning is the word “minimum”. Toronto will not want to rush their MVP candidate back from surgery too quickly, but with the Leafs’ season set to begin on October 13, exactly two months away, even a two-week extension in Matthews’ recovery period will mean that the team begins the year without their best player.

Beyond that, there is also the question of whether the surgery impacts Matthews’ shooting ability moving forward. Head coach Sheldon Keefe mentioned multiple times last season that Matthews’ wrist was affecting his shot, yet the skilled center still won the Rocket Richard Trophy. However, that was before surgical intervention into the issue. How Matthews looks when he does eventually return to action will be critical to the Maple Leafs’ success this season as they return to the uber-competitive Atlantic Division.

Minor Transactions: 08/13/21

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The NHL free agent market may seem like it slowing down, but the list of unsigned UFA’s remains impressive and there are still plenty of RFA’s in need of new deals as well. With only so many roster spots to go around, there will continue to be frequent minor moves made as NHL hopefuls shift their sights to the AHL and Europe. Keep up with those transactions right here:

  • Defenseman Ashton Sautner is back with the Vancouver Canucks, sort of. The 27-year-old is staying in the organization, signing one-year deal with Vancouver’s new AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks. Sautner has been with the organization his whole career, initially signing as an undrafted free agent in 2015. While he has played 23 NHL games in his career, Sautner has not done enough at either level to show that he has the upside to be a regular at the top level. That doesn’t mean that he won’t one day get back on an NHL contract, but for the coming season he will stick with Abbotsford as a veteran leader in their inaugural season.
  • Another player heading from Vancouver to Abbotsford is forward Tristen Nielsen, except this signing comes from the WHL’s Vancouver Giants. The Giants’ leading goal scorer this past season, Neilsen has signed a two-year deal, Abbotsford announced. The junior product is just 21 and has shown recent signs of offensive growth. The Canucks hope that a short-term minor league investment will turn into an NHL prospect down the road.
  • Completing the Abbotsford trifecta is forward Jarid Lukosevicius, who the team announced has signed a one-year contract. Lukosevicious joins the Canucks after spending the past two seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins to begin his pro career. A college standout at the University of Denver, Lukosevicius is a hard-working, two-way forward who is still looking to establish a scoring touch in the pros.
  • Once considered an up-and-coming NHL goalie prospect, Ryan Bednard will spend this season on an AHL deal as he tries to get his career back on track. The Hershey Bears have announced a one-year pact with the 24-year-old netminder. A seventh-round flier of the Florida Panthers in 2015, Bednard left college early after posting stunning numbers at Bowling Green State University. He entered the pros with high expectations in 2019, but immediately ran into trouble in the AHL. Two years later, Bednard has mostly played in the ECHL in his young pro career with good-not-great numbers. While he has shown improvement, it wasn’t enough for Florida to extend him a qualifying offer this summer. He joins the Washington Capitals organization looking for a fresh start.
  • A highly-regard draft pick and the centerpiece of the Jeff Skinner trade return, much was expected of Cliff Pu’s pro career. After three abysmal seasons split between the AHL and ECHL, it doesn’t seem like that will come to fruition for Pu. After playing for five different teams over three years with results at any level, Pu will make the jump to Europe next season in search of a new opportunity. The Vienna Capitals of the IceHL have announced a one-year deal with Pu, who despite his struggles will be an exciting addition for the team. Perhaps the 23-year-old can rediscover his scoring touch as a centerpiece player in Austria and work his way back to North America in the future.

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