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Central Notes: Garland, Shalunov, Oleksiak

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Last month, Conor Garland’s agent indicated there had been no progress in contract discussions between the Coyotes and the pending restricted free agent.  It appears nothing has changed on that front as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period relays (Twitter link) that there still have been no contract talks between the two sides and that Arizona appears to be trying to move him.  The 25-year-old is coming off a career year that saw him collect 12 goals and 27 assists in 49 games but is arbitration-eligible for the first time.  On the surface, it would appear as if the Coyotes are concerned about what contract he could be awarded in a hearing which makes him a name to watch for heading into Saturday’s transactions freeze.

Elsewhere in the Central Division:

  • The Blackhawks have given the agent for forward Maxim Shalunov permission to speak to other NHL teams about finding a trade for his rights, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link). Whether or not the 28-year-old will come back to North America (he played in the minors in 2013-14) has seemingly been an annual tradition for the last several years but with Chicago’s forward depth, there really isn’t a spot for him even if they wanted to sign him.  Shalunov had 18 goals and 17 assists in 52 games with CSKA Moscow in the KHL this season and could be an intriguing acquisition for someone; Powers suggests that the asking price from Chicago wouldn’t be too high in order to give him a chance to try the NHL if they don’t have a spot for him.
  • One player whose stock may have been boosted by the playoffs is Stars blueliner Jamie Oleksiak. Between that and recent contracts handed out to similar players, Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News posits that the 28-year-old pending unrestricted free agent should be able to land a contract of $3.5MM or more on the open market.  That may be more than Dallas can afford knowing that Miro Heiskanen is up for a big-ticket contract in his first trip through restricted free agency this summer.  Oleksiak told DeFranks that things have been quiet so in terms of discussions on a new deal.

Red Wings Acquire Nick Leddy

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The Red Wings have added to their back end in advance of tomorrow’s transactions freeze, acquiring defenseman Nick Leddy from the Islanders in exchange for winger Richard Panik and the 52nd overall pick in this month’s draft.  Detroit is also retaining 50% of Panik’s contract, using their first of three salary retention slots in the process.  Both teams have announced the trade.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Leddy was being shopped to avoid the potential of losing him to Seattle in the upcoming expansion draft.  The 30-year-old had logged steady minutes over his seven years with the Islanders, averaging more than 21 minutes per game for each of the last six seasons.  Leddy even had a bounce-back year offensively this past season, tallying 31 points in 56 games.  However, with the Islanders having over $77MM in commitments for next season with several key players in need of new contracts, some money needed to be moved and Leddy’s $5.5MM price tag became the casualty.

Panik was acquired as salary ballast from Washington back at the trade deadline as part of the Anthony Mantha deal and is on the move again as salary ballast in this trade.  He has two years left on his deal with a $2.75MM AAV so with Detroit retaining half of that price tag, New York frees up $4.125MM in cap room with the move.  They also get a fairly high draft pick and Panik at a $1.375MM cost is serviceable for someone who is best served as a role player at this stage of his career after seeing his offensive numbers drop for four straight seasons to just 13 in 48 games in 2020-21.

Meanwhile, Leddy immediately becomes one of Detroit’s top defensemen but with his age and contract which expires next summer, it certainly doesn’t feel as if he’ll be a long-term fixture on their back end, especially since they’re still in rebuilding mode.  Instead, he’s someone that appears to be a strong candidate to be flipped closer to the trade deadline, perhaps with some salary retention as well to make it easier for a contender to add him later in the season where they may be able to recoup the second-rounder they’ve given up here.

As for New York’s expansion situation, this ensures they won’t lose Leddy for free but still poses some questions.  Each team must leave at least one signed defenseman unprotected that has played in at least 54 games over the past two years (or played in 27 games this season).  The Islanders only have three of those in Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield.  Presumably, those are the three they want to keep so they will now need to acquire or sign a defenseman to serve as the mandatory unprotected player before the lists are submitted on Saturday.  Veterans Braydon Coburn and Andy Greene meet the games played requirement so a one-year contract for them would satisfy the requirement.

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

Canucks Notes: Cap Space, Virtanen, Holtby

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With a little over $15MM in cap space per CapFriendly, it might appear that the Canucks have ample cap space but once you factor in the new deals for pending RFAs Quinn Hughes and Elias Pettersson, that cushion goes away quickly.  Accordingly, GM Jim Benning acknowledged today to Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province that he is “trying to move some money”.  If Vancouver hopes to add an impact player to their roster, clearing away a contract will be necessary to do so.  Defenseman Nate Schmidt has been speculated as a trade candidate for the past several weeks and carries a $5.95MM cap hit for four more years and certainly appears as if he’d be someone that they’d be dangling to free up cap room after a tough first season with the team.

More from Vancouver:

  • In a separate interview, this time with Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre, Benning indicated that they aren’t ruling out a buyout of winger Jake Virtanen, saying it’s “too early to say”. The window to buy someone out before expansion has closed but waivers will be permitted on the 22nd, allowing for enough time to go through that process before the first window closes on the 27th; there is a second window that could open up as well based on arbitration filings.  Virtanen had a tough year on the ice with just five goals in 38 games, hardly the type of return that’s worthy of a $2.55MM AAV.  Buying out Virtanen would only carry a $50K cap charge next season which would give Benning some cap flexibility to work with.
  • Some teams are showing interest in goaltender Braden Holtby, report Thomas Drance and Rick Dhaliwal of The Athletic (subscription link). The veteran had a disappointing first season in Vancouver, posting a career-worst 3.69 GAA along with a .889 SV% in 21 games this past season so teams would undoubtedly be viewing him as a bounce-back candidate for a low acquisition price.  Holtby has one year left on his deal with a $4.3MM AAV but a $5.7MM salary so some form of retention will likely be required to facilitate a trade.

Latest On Ryan Suter’s Free Agency

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When the Minnesota Wild initiated a buyout earlier this week, not many were surprised to see Zach Parise on his way out. Ryan Suter’s inclusion however came as a shock, and could very well have changed the offseason plans for several teams around the league. The 36-year-old defenseman is still capable of top-four minutes in the NHL and is suddenly looking for a new home.

According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, there’s already interest from across the league. Russo spoke to Suter’s agent Neil Sheehy, who called it a “new sweepstake” and explained that “not a single team in the league…ever thought that Ryan Suter would be available.” Russo examines several of the expected contenders for Suter’s services, though the list is already long and likely not even exhaustive at this early stage.

From the 2009-10 season to the 2018-19 season, Suter received votes for the Norris Trophy as one of the league’s best. He was a finalist in 2013, finishing as the runner-up to P.K. Subban in the shortened season. For several years he averaged closed to 30 minutes a night for the Wild, hopping over the board every other shift. Though his Norris-contending days may be over, Suter still averaged more than 22 minutes a night for the Wild this season and once again posted strong possession numbers.

There was, however, a striking decline in his offensive production, as Suter managed just 19 points in 56 games. He hadn’t posted fewer than 31 points since his sophomore season in 2006-07, with his best per-game rate actually coming as recently as 2019-20. He had 48 points in 69 games that season, including 18 on the powerplay. That suggests Suter could even experience an offensive bounce-back if given the right role, though the contenders that will be vying for his services likely already have their powerplay quarterbacks in place.

Even if the level he showed this season is the new norm for Suter, there’s still plenty of hockey left in the veteran defenseman. After 656 regular season games with the Wild, he’ll be looking for a new home–and he won’t have to look long.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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Free agency is now just a few weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. It’s been nothing but pain in San Jose the last few years as they try and navigate huge contracts to aging stars.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Ryan Donato – Donato has failed to live up to expectations for three different NHL teams now, following his first year in San Jose. The Harvard product that set the hockey world on fire in 2018, scoring three points in his first game and nine in his first twelve now has just 77 in 180 career matches. In 50 games with the Sharks this season he scored six times and registered 20 points despite ample powerplay time and relatively easy deployment. He’s clearly an NHL talent, but it doesn’t look like Donato is ever going to be the consistent top-six contributor that many expected coming out of college. An arbitration-eligible free agent coming off a $1.9MM cap hit, there’s actually a chance he doesn’t even get qualified by the Sharks.

F Rudolfs Balcers – Balcers on the other hand will, even after registering just eight goals and 17 points in 41 games. The key part of Balcers game is his ability to contribute defensively as well as in the offensive zone, and he was rewarded with increased playing time down the stretch. In fact, Balcers had all but replaced other more recognizable names like Kevin Labanc by the end of the year, even moving ahead of Timo Meier on some nights. It seems likely that the Sharks will explore a multi-year deal with the young forward, if only to lock him in at a low number before giving him a bigger role on the team. If not, he is also arbitration-eligible but doesn’t have the counting stats to earn a huge raise through that process.

Other RFAs: F Noah Gregor, F Joachim Blichfeld, F Alexander True, D Christian Jaros

Key Unrestricted Free Agents:

F Kurtis Gabriel – You might look at the five career points that Gabriel has and wonder why he would be included in a free agent list, but from all accounts, the physical winger has a market waiting for him. Gabriel was given permission to talk to other teams already according to a report from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet last month, meaning he could go quick on day one of the frenzy if the Sharks aren’t going to retain him. Now 28, the 6’4″ enforcer racked up 55 penalty minutes in 11 games this season, including 19 in his final game of the year.

F Patrick Marleau – The ageless wonder is an unrestricted free agent once again and suggested at the end of the season that he would like to play again in 2021-22. Marleau passed Gordie Howe for first place on the all-time games played list, though some still point out that he doesn’t have the true record. Though the 41-year-old Marleau has now played the most regular season games in history, he’s still 18 games behind Mark Messier for the most NHL appearances including playoffs. With a full season, Marleau could become the first person to ever play in more than 2,000 combined NHL games, as he currently sits at 1,974. He doesn’t add much these days, but having Marleau break that record in any other sweater certainly wouldn’t feel right.

Other UFAs: F Marcus Sorensen, F Maxim Letunov, D Greg Pateryn

Projected Cap Space

The team has struggled, they only have 16 players under contact and yet San Jose still has just over $9.2MM in cap space to spend this summer. The money owed to the quintet of Erik Karlsson ($11.5MM AAV), Brent Burns ($8MM), Logan Couture ($8MM), Evander Kane ($7MM), and Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($7MM) cripples any chance of making significant changes, and none of those contracts will be off the books until at least 2025. It’s hard to see the Sharks making a big splash on the open market unless they find a way to rid themselves of at least one of those veteran players.

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

Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Morgan Geekie

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The Carolina Hurricanes have re-signed restricted free agent forward Morgan Geekie to a one-year contract. The two-way deal will pay Geekie $750K at the NHL level and $75K at the AHL level, but does come with a $125K minor league guarantee. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell released a short statement about the young forward:

Morgan played well in his first full NHL season this year. We’re excited for him to take the next steps in his development.

Geekie, 22, played 36 games in the NHL this season, and though he received an average of fewer than ten minutes a night, still registered nine points. That follows his debut in 2019-20 when he tallied four points in just two games, which had Carolina fans extremely excited about his future down the middle of the lineup. While that excitement may have waned a bit, Geekie still represents solid depth for the team’s bottom-six next season.

Not to be forgotten at this time of year is the expansion draft, which Geekie could play an important role in. The Hurricanes, like every other team, need to expose at least two forwards that are under contract through the 2021-22 season and have played at least 27 games last season or 54 in the last two. With a new contract, Geekie now meets that threshold, giving the team some more flexibility when it comes to choosing which forwards to protect this weekend.

If left exposed, he represents. a potential target for former Carolina and current Seattle GM Ron Francis, though there could be several more attractive options left unprotected by the Hurricanes. No matter where he ends up, Geekie will have to battle for a full-time roster spot again next season and prove that he’s worth more than just a two-way deal the next time he hits restricted free agency.

Nashville Predators Discussing Contract With Erik Haula

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When it came time for Erik Haula to test free agency last year, he entered the market as an interesting test case for the flat cap world. A 29-goal scorer in 2017-18, he had experienced two down years but was still arguably one of the top centers available. Like so many others, he felt the squeeze of an uncertain hockey landscape and ended up taking a one-year, $1.75MM deal with the Nashville Predators, a significant pay cut from the $2.75MM he had earned each of the three previous seasons.

Now, as free agency approaches once again, Haula may not even test the market at all. Adam Vingan of The Athletic reports that the 30-year-old center is discussing a new contract with the Predators.

In 2020-21, Haula settled into a depth role, averaging just over 12 minutes of even-strength ice time but contributing on both special teams. He scored nine goals and 21 points in 51 games, but did win 55% of his faceoffs and was a versatile enough middle-six option for the Predators. Re-signing with the team at a reasonable price would provide him with some security heading into another uncertain offseason, though the deal would likely have to wait a few days.

Tomorrow, a transaction freeze will be put in place after teams submit their protection lists for the upcoming expansion draft. Even with the Predators moving out Viktor Arvidsson, it still seems unlikely that they would want to protect Haula after signing him to a new deal, given they will currently have to go the eight-skater route in order to protect their top-four defensemen. There are always ways around those protection issues, but signing Haula early would only complicate things.

The veteran center knows all about expansion draft dealings. He was Vegas’ choice from the Minnesota Wild in 2017, signing a three-year deal with the Golden Knights on expansion day. The Wild lost not only Haula but also Alex Tuch to make sure the Golden Knights didn’t select Matt Dumba, a deal that certainly worked out for Vegas. Haula scored 29 goals and 55 points in that inaugural expansion season, numbers that he hasn’t approached before or after. Though that production may never come again, it does add to his value knowing that he could step into a more offensive role in a pinch.

Nashville does have a good amount of cap space this summer, but with new deals owed to restricted free agents like Juuse Saros, Dante Fabbro, and Eeli Tolvanen, it could disappear quickly. If they’re bringing back Haula, it’s because they believe he represents a better value than some of the other options that will become free agents later this month.

Alexander Edler Expected To Test Free Agency

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The Vancouver Canucks could soon part ways with one of their franchise icons. Alexander Edler will test the free agent market, his agent Mark Stowe told Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV. Edler has played his entire 925-game career in Vancouver.

While this could just be a negotiating tactic from Edler’s representatives, the two sides may also just be ready to move on. Now 35, Edler’s role with the Canucks this season was diminished, receiving almost no powerplay work as Quinn Hughes and Nate Schmidt quarterbacked the two units. His even-strength ice time ranked fifth among Canucks defensemen, though his short-handed role was still necessary.

Stowe explained that this is likely the last time Edler really has the chance to test the market given his age, hinting that he perhaps is looking for a multi-year deal to finish his career. There may still be a spot for him around the league, but with age has come a drastic decline in effectiveness for Edler as well.

At one point, the smooth-skating defenseman could glide around the ice effortlessly, shutting down rushes and jumping into the offense whenever needed. He formed quite a dynamic triangle with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin whenever on the ice together, leading to 13 straight seasons of at least 20 points. That skating stride has slowed, however, and Edler was exposed at times this season to some of the speed and skill in the league. While perhaps not as bad as his tough defensive deployment made him look this year, there’s certainly no guarantee he can handle top-four minutes at this point in his career.

For the Canucks, it was never likely that they could bring Edler back on anything close to the $6MM he has earned in each of the last two seasons. The team needs that cap space for Elias Pettersson and Hughes extensions as both young stars reach restricted free agency. If Edler wants one last payday, it likely wasn’t going to come in Vancouver.

Minnesota Wild Not Expected To Qualify Dmitry Sokolov

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The Minnesota Wild are going to say goodbye to a prospect that never could quite reach the next level. Dmitry Sokolov will not be tendered a qualifying offer from the Wild according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, meaning he will become an unrestricted free agent. The young forward has already signed a contract in the VHL, meaning he wasn’t going to return to the Iowa Wild anyway, but with this, the Wild will also forfeit his rights.

Sokolov, 23, was a seventh-round pick by the Wild in 2016, who always came with plenty of question marks. His conditioning and skating were both inconsistent, and though he showed an excellent scoring ability, could not impact the rest of the game in a positive way. Despite those issues, the Wild still gave him a chance, signing him to a three-year entry-level contract in 2018, hoping to fix some of the problems and create an NHL player.

In 2018-19, his first year of AHL hockey, there were some promising signs. He scored 16 goals and 30 points in 60 games, seemingly committed to his development in the minor league level. Unfortunately, that development has stalled in the years since, with Sokolov recording just three goals and four points in 14 games this season for the Wild.

Russo also mentions Alexander Khovanov, who the Wild hope to bring back to North America after spending this year in Russia. Khovanov, 21, was the team’s third-round pick in 2018 and scored 99 points in 51 games for the Moncton Wildcats in 2019-20. Russo tweets that it “sounds like” the young center will return, meaning he’ll be in line for some AHL time under his entry-level contract.

New York Rangers Agree To Terms With Julien Gauthier

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The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with restricted free agent Julien Gauthier. The young forward will sign a one-year deal with the team. PuckPedia reports that the deal is a two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL.

Gauthier, 23, is coming up on a “prove it” season for his career. The 21st overall pick in the 2016 draft, he was acquired by the Rangers in a trade for Joey Keane last year. To this point, he has registered just 11 points in 47 NHL games, spending half of the 2020-21 season on the taxi squad. Gauthier has never received many opportunities under the previous coaching staff, averaging fewer than ten minutes a night during his Rangers career, and is now getting to the “too-old-to-be-a-prospect” stage.

That said, the raw package is still very intriguing. Gauthier stands 6’4″, has an above-average skating ability, and has shown in the past that he can be a lethal finisher on the powerplay. Whether the huge winger will actually get a chance to show what he can do in an offensive role remains to be seen.

Of course, with any contract these days, the expansion draft must be considered. It seems unlikely that the Rangers will protect Gauthier from selection given how many other key forwards they have, but perhaps the new staff and front office have bigger plans for him. If they do leave him unprotected, perhaps Seattle believes he could be a difference-maker if given more minutes on an expansion roster.

At any rate, he won’t be distracted by a contract negotiation any longer after agreeing to the one-year deal, and can now focus on the upcoming season. Turning 24 in October, he needs to grab whatever opportunity is given to him this year—be it New York or Seattle—and establish himself as a full-time NHLer.

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