Montreal Canadiens Sign Cole Caufield To Entry-Level Contract
Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has stayed true to his word and has signed top prospect Cole Caufield as quickly as could be considered possible. After the top-seed University of Wisconsin was unceremoniously upset in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament by Bemidji State University on Friday, Caufield’s collegiate career came to an end. Just over 24 hours later, he is officially under contract. The Canadiens have announced that the 2019 15th overall pick has signed a three-year entry-level contract, which begins this year. Signing as a 20-year-old, the first year of Caufield’s ELC will be burned this season.
While Caufield is expected to report to the AHL’s Laval Rocket once his mandatory quarantine is complete, his entry-level deal is priced affordably to help Montreal out as soon as possible. Rather than a maximum $925K AAV on his ELC, Caufield will make just $700K in salary this first year and $832.5K in each of the next two years. Combined with signing bonus payments of $92.5K each year and additional performance bonuses, Caufield’s cap hit comes out to $880.8K. While only marginally less than the maximum ELC hit, it could still indicate that the Habs have plans to sneak him under the cap and onto the NHL roster this season.
Even if Caufield doesn’t play in Montreal down the stretch or is only used sparingly, he will certainly be a key player for them over the next two seasons and long after. One of the best prospect goal-scorers in recent memory, Caufield was a record-breaking sniper for the U.S. National Team Development Program. His immense offensive ability helped keep Caufield’s draft stock afloat despite concerns about his meager, 5’7″, 165-lb. frame. Caufield has put those durability worries to rest over the past two seasons in the NCAA too, showing that he is more than capable of holding his own against older and bigger opponents. After a point-per-game freshman campaign, Caufield opted to return to Wisconsin this season and in doing so became the most dominant player in college hockey. The Big Ten Player of the Year and a Hobey Baker Award finalist, Caufield recorded 30 goals and 52 points in 31 games for the Badgers, leading the NCAA in both categories on both a total and per-game level. Even if only a fraction of that scoring ability translates to the NHL, Caufield will still be a dangerous weapon.
Los Angeles Kings Acquire Brendan Lemieux
In a trade that few likely saw coming, the Los Angeles Kings have established themselves as buyers at this trade deadline with the acquisition of New York Rangers forward Brendan Lemieux. The Rangers announced that they have dealt the 25-year-old grinder to L.A. in exchange for a 2021 fourth-round draft pick. Lemieux’s contact carries a $1.55MM AAV and expires after the 2021-22 season, at which time he will be a restricted free agent.
From the Rangers’ perspective, maybe this trade should not have been a surprise. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes, New York is dealing with a difficult roster crunch right now and he believes that they have been looking to swap a contract for a draft pick for some time. Lemieux has also seemingly hit a wall in his offensive development as well, appearing to be no more than a 25-point player at best, and as such has been relegated to a fourth-line role with the Rangers where his physicality and energy can be best implemented. Lemieux serves the role well, but he is more valuable to a contender than to a team like the Rangers that needs to focus on evaluating their young talent and putting together a playoff-caliber core. With that said, New York is not the most aggressive team and will need to look elsewhere for that spark with Lemieux now gone.
The more intriguing aspect of this deal is the team on the other side. The Kings have been one of the NHL’s positive surprises thus far, still very much in the conversation for a playoff spot in the West Division albeit more so before their current cold streak. It’s not so much L.A.’s impressive pipeline turning the team around either as it is their veterans leading the charge. Bringing in a relatively older player who is seemingly locked into a fourth-line role, especially one with term remaining on his contract, would have been a very strange move for the rebuilding Kings prior to this season, but given their recent success it could help them both get into the postseason and handle the increased pace and physicality of playoff hockey. Lemieux also adds the aggression element that L.A. too often lacks; the team averages about 18 hits per game (7th-worst in the NHL) and has just six fighting majors on the year (tied for 9th-fewest).
One repercussion of this move that may not immediately jump to mind but could become important down the road is the Expansion Draft impact. For the Kings, Lemieux is an additional term forward that the team will need to decide whether or not to protect, although his addition does guarantee that they should meet exposure requirements at forward one way or another. The Rangers are not in as lucky a situation following Lemieux’s departure. Although New York needed to move a player to create roster space, moving a regular starter signed beyond this season could put them in a difficult spot. As of right now, the team only has two players who meet the requirements for the two-forward exposure quota – Ryan Strome and Kevin Rooney – and Strome is likely to be protected. The only other player who can meet the requirements this season is Colin Blackwell, who needs to play in five more games. If Blackwell does not reach the games played requirement due to injury or trade or if the Rangers instead choose to protect the current top-six scoring forward, they will be one body short of the quota – a spot that Lemieux was expected to fill – and will have to make an addition before the draft.
Injury Notes: Kunin, Dal Colle, Fix-Wolansky
After missing nearly the entire month of March with an upper-body injury, Luke Kunin is finally healthy and has been activated from the Injured Reserve. In his first season with the Nashville Predators, Kunin got off to a slow start with just five points in his first 17 game – almost half of his scoring pace from last season with the Minnesota Wild – and has since been sidelined for the past 13 games. He hopes to return to the lineup and make an impact for a team that desperately needs it. After all, Kunin’s five points is still a top-12 mark among Predators forwards even after missing close to half the season so far. Nashville needs the 23-year-old to be at his best and to help those around him improve as well if they want any hope of climbing into a playoff spot in the Central Division.
- The New York Islanders have had to make a split decision today in order to accommodate an injury. Earlier this morning, head coach Barry Trotz stated that forward Michael Dal Colle had suffered a lower-body injury and would be unable to suit up for the team’s next two games against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Trotz did not indicate that Dal Colle would need any more time than that though. However, due to a roster crunch, Dal Colle will have to sit longer than that. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple reported this evening that Dal Colle has been placed on injured reserve so that the team could recall a replacement in young Kieffer Bellows. This means Dal Colle will be out of commission for at least ten days, beyond just the original two-game timeline.
- One player who will really be out long-term is Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Trey Fix-Wolansky. The club has announced that the 2017 draft pick suffered an ACL injury in his right knee in an AHL game earlier this month and has undergone surgery to repair the damage. The estimated timeline for his recovery is six months, but ACL tears have been known to sideline hockey players for longer than expected. Fix-Wolansky, an undersized winger, has shown some impressive offensive upside in his young pro career, but this injury could be a setback in his pursuit of an NHL role.
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 03/27/21
Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the official complete list for today:
Anaheim – Alexander Volkov
Boston – Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly, Brad Marchand*
Minnesota – Zach Parise
Montreal – Joel Armia, Jesperi Kotkaniemi
NY Rangers – Brett Howden
Pittsburgh – Mark Jankowski*, Brandon Tanev*
Vancouver – Travis Boyd
As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:
(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol
Players removed today: None
The NHL took another step in the wrong direction today, with Boston Bruins leading scorer Marchand hitting the list prior to their matinee game this afternoon, and Pittsburgh’s Tanev and Jankowski appearing on the published list. Bruins assistant coach Kevin Dean was also unavailable to the team today per NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin, as he was placed in the protocol due to a close contact.
Fortunately, there was one positive note and that is the New York Rangers’ coaching staff finally returning to full health. The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello notes that head coach David Quinn has finally cleared the protocol and will be back behind the bench on Sunday. However, Howden does still remain on the CPRA list.
*denotes new addition
Hurricanes Open To Moving A Goaltender
With Alex Nedeljkovic thriving in recent weeks and Petr Mrazek set to return soon from his thumb injury, Carolina is nearing a goalie logjam on their hands with James Reimer also in the mix. Speaking with Sara Civian of The Athletic (subscription link), GM Don Waddell indicated that they’re comfortable carrying three goalies on the active roster for the rest of the season but also suggested that he’d be open to moving one by April 12th as well:
If we’re gonna do something at the trade deadline, maybe one of the chips is one of our goalies. I can’t say which one. It depends.
Nedeljkovic has been on quite the run in March, posting a .939 SV% in seven starts and has once again become waiver-eligible in the process. While he cleared back in January, it’s safe to say that he won’t pass through unclaimed if they were to try it again, especially with the frequency that goaltenders have been getting claimed since the start of the regular season.
As for Reimer, he is having a decent season with a 2.68 GAA and a .909 SV% in 17 appearances, numbers that are right around his career averages. He isn’t a starting goalie at this stage of his career but he’d represent an upgrade for several teams at the backup position.
It would be difficult to envision Mrazek being moved at this point. He has been limited to just four games this season due to the thumb injury and went into the year as their presumptive starter (or 1A to Reimer’s 1B, at least). While Nedeljkovic is on a nice run right now, it probably hasn’t been enough to make their most proven goaltender expendable at this point.
It’s worth noting that Carolina has a bit of cap flexibility with the ability to add more than $6MM in full-season salary, per CapFriendly. While none of their goalies makes much (Reimer leads the way at $3.4MM, Mrazek is at $3.15MM, and Nedeljkovic is at just under $738K), the Hurricanes certainly aren’t in a situation where the cap is going to dictate what happens; they can easily afford to carry all three the rest of the way. Both Reimer and Mrazek are pending unrestricted free agents as well.
As for what Waddell would like to add, be it with one of his goalies or something else? He told Civian that a right-shot defender would be ideal as they only have two on the roster in Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce so adding another one to balance out their third pairing would make some sense. Depth defenders are pieces that often move around this time but it shouldn’t take one of their goaltenders to move one unless they’re setting their sights a bit higher. We’ll see what direction Waddell ultimately goes in the coming weeks.
West Notes: Grubauer, Calvert, Schmaltz, Simek
With Jordan Binnington signing an extension and taking himself off the UFA market, Avalanche netminder Philipp Grubauer may be the top goalie that is set to hit free agency this summer. With the season he’s having, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post suggests that the 29-year-old could be in a position to double his current $3.33MM AAV over the offseason, a price tag that Colorado may not be able to afford. With a 1.69 GAA and a .931 SV% in 27 games this season, he’s first in the league in GAA and second in SV% so even in this market, doubling his price tag isn’t unreasonable. For his part, Grubauer isn’t worried about his contract status:
We are so busy and my main focus lays on Vegas and stopping the puck. Everything else is going to take care of itself. If it’s now or in a week or a couple months or like after the season — I don’t think there is any rush to do that right now.
Grubauer is one of several key Avalanche players in need of a new contract for next season, joining wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad (UFA) plus defenseman Cale Makar (RFA). With more than $56MM in commitments for next season already per CapFriendly, they won’t be able to afford to keep them all.
More from the West:
- Still with the Avalanche, winger Matt Calvert is now listed as week-to-week, relays Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 31-year-old missed Thursday’s victory over Vegas with an undisclosed injury, the latest issue in a season that has seen him miss time to two separate upper-body issues. Another pending UFA, Calvert has just three assists in 18 games this season and won’t be able to command anywhere near his current $2.85MM AAV on the open market.
- The Department of Player Safety announced that Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz has been fined the maximum $5,000 for a boarding incident partway through the third period on Sharks defenseman Radim Simek. Meanwhile, Simek is questionable to play in tonight’s rematch as a result of the hit, notes Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News.
Trade Candidate: Dmitry Kulikov
With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we continue our closer look at some of the players who have a good chance of being on the move between now and April 12th.
For the past few years, Dmitry Kulikov’s contract made it a foregone conclusion that he wouldn’t be going anywhere at the trade deadline as teams didn’t want a depth defenseman making more than $4MM. But the 30-year-old isn’t on that contract now and is now carrying a much more reasonable price tag. Between that and the fact that the Devils are well out of the playoff picture, Kulikov the veteran blueliner could certainly be on the move in the coming weeks.
Contract
Kulikov is on a one-year, $1.15MM contract. The deal does not contain any form of trade protection.
2020-21
While it hasn’t been a great year for New Jersey, Kulikov has had a decent season overall. He sits fourth on New Jersey in ice time by defensemen and has split time between the second and third pairings. He also has played heavy minutes on the penalty kill, anchoring their top unit.
From an offensive perspective, Kulikov hasn’t done much. While he has never been a top-notch point producer (his career high is 28), this has been his worst season in terms of points per game as he sits at just 0.06 (two assists in 31 contests). While offense has never been his calling card, teams typically are expecting a bit more than that from even their stay-at-home options.
One element that may be intriguing to some teams is Kulikov’s possession numbers which are the best of his career and one of the best on the Devils. With half of a shortened season under his belt, it is a bit of a small sample size but as front offices become more analytically inclined, that’s something that will work in his favor as a lot of depth defensive blueliners aren’t typically on the positive side of possession.
Season Stats
31 GP, 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, -2 rating, 22 PIMS, 34 shots, 19:25 TOI, 54.0 CF%
Potential Suitors
While Kulikov has spent time on the second pairing with New Jersey, prospective buyers and playoff teams will likely view him as a more of a depth option, one that can play closer to 16 minutes per game.
In the East, the Islanders have some cap room with Anders Lee on LTIR and done for the year. Clearly, their focus will be on adding a forward but assuming they don’t spend all of their flexibility on that upgrade, GM Lou Lamoriello – a fan of extra defensive depth – could turn his focus to someone like Kulikov. The Rangers and Flyers – teams tied in points but heading in opposite directions at the moment – could also stand to add some depth on the back end if they’re still in the race closer to April 12th.
As for the Central, Chicago is another team with plenty of LTIR room. While they’re not necessarily in a spot where they’d be wise to spend big on rentals at the deadline, adding a capable veteran or two for a low price to give them some extra depth would be wise and Kulikov certainly fits that type of idea.
In the North Division, Winnipeg could stand to add more depth and has some familiarity with Kulikov from his time there so that can’t entirely be ruled out. Montreal is in a money-in, money-out situation but with Ben Chiarot out and Victor Mete struggling this season, there is a definite need for a short-term boost. Calgary could use a boost on their third pairing with Nikita Nesterov scuffling offensively and they have enough cap flexibility that they may not need a salary offset.
St. Louis makes sense from the West Division with Carl Gunnarsson out for the year; Kulikov would, in theory, replace him. The Blues will lose some of their LTIR flexibility once Colton Parayko returns although Oskar Sundqvist (ACL surgery) can be transferred there at any time. Colorado is currently using Jacob MacDonald on an emergency loan, a role that Kulikov could certainly upgrade on.
Likelihood Of A Trade
With the Devils well outside of the playoff picture, there isn’t much of a need to keep someone like Kulikov around, as much of a decent fit as he has been. There are always teams looking for defensive depth for the stretch run and as one of the more affordable ones out there in terms of cap hit and salary, that works in New Jersey’s favor. As a result, there’s a very good chance he moves with a mid-round pick coming the other way sometime in the next few weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Central Notes: Hurricanes, Ryan, Lehtonen
As Carolina looks to stay in the hunt for the top spot in the Central, they are starting to make their list of who to consider adding before next month’s trade deadline. Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer reports that one player that garnered consideration was former Kings defenseman Slava Voynov. The 31-year-old last played in the NHL in 2014 after being arrested on domestic violence charges that he pled no contest to. Voynov has played in the KHL since then and has looked to return to the NHL in the past but GM Don Waddell indicated that while the blueliner was considered, the Hurricanes won’t be signing him.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Everyone knows the Red Wings will be selling between now and the April 12th trade deadline and Bobby Ryan is certainly in that group. He told MLive’s Ansar Khan that he knows that he will likely be on the move by then and that it’s the first time in his career that he’s approaching the deadline with that feeling. Ryan’s first season in Detroit hasn’t been overly productive but he has still managed seven goals and seven assists in 31 games. With just a $1MM cap hit and salary, he’s certainly affordable for cap-strapped teams and while he won’t yield much of a return, Detroit would be wise to pick up any future asset they can get for him.
- Blue Jackets defenseman Mikko Lehtonen has finally been able to join the team after clearing up his immigration issue, notes Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (Twitter link). Columbus acquired the 27-year-old from Toronto just over two weeks ago in exchange for goaltender Veini Vehvilainen and he should give them some extra depth should they decide to sell by next month’s trade deadline. After being off for this long, however, he will probably need a few days of practice time before he’s ready to suit up.
Brad Marchand Added To COVID Protocol
The Bruins will be without their leading scorer for today’s game against Buffalo as the team announced (Twitter link) that winger Brad Marchand has been added to the NHL’s COVID-Protocol Related Absences list. He joins Jake DeBrusk and Sean Kuraly as Boston forwards that are currently unavailable.
The 32-year-old has had a strong first half to his season, notching 34 points in 29 games, marking the fifth straight year that he has produced over a point-per-game rate while giving him an eight-point lead on David Pastrnak for the team lead. Marchand was only one of five players who had played in every game this season as Boston has been hit hard by injuries and COVID.
Jack Studnicka is expected to be recalled from the taxi squad to play in Marchand’s absence. While he has been shuffled back and forth frequently this year, he still has played in 16 games for the Bruins, picking up a goal and two assists.
It’s always important to note in these situations that just because Marchand is on the CPRA list, it doesn’t mean that he has contracted the virus. Subsequent testing over the next couple of days will determine whether he will be on the list for a while or if it’s a case of a false positive which would allow him to return soon.
Anton Stralman Clears Waivers
Saturday: As expected, Stralman has cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.
Friday: The Florida Panthers are in a position to compete for the Stanley Cup, and now may be trying to clear a little cap room for the stretch run. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the team has placed Anton Stralman on waivers today. The veteran defenseman carries a $5.5MM cap hit through the 2021-22 season, $1.075MM of which can be buried if placed on the taxi squad.
Because of that contract, exposing Stralman to the rest of the league comes with virtually no risk. There aren’t any teams out there looking to bring in that much money for a veteran nearing the end of his career, even if Stralman does have plenty of playoff experience. In fact, even the Panthers aren’t playing him every night, and when they do he is receiving fewer and fewer minutes. After averaging more than 20 minutes in each of the last six seasons, Stralman has only cracked 18 once since the start of March. Last night in a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, he played just 14:18.
The simple fact is that the Panthers have better options than the 34-year-old at this point and could even be potentially looking to bring more in at the deadline. The team recently sent Noah Juulsen to the AHL on a conditioning loan, meaning he is nearly back from injury, and there are other names more deserving of the nightly ice time.
Still, waiving Stralman doesn’t mean they’re cutting him. Once he clears, the team will be able to move him back and forth from the taxi squad between games to bank additional cap space while still using him whenever necessary. There’s also the chance another team could be interested if the Panthers retain salary, especially should he clear waivers.
It’s been a great career for the veteran defenseman, even if it is approaching the end. The 216th-overall pick in 2005 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Stralman proved everyone wrong when he reached the NHL as a regular just a few years later. Now, after 847 regular season games and 108 more postseason contests, he may be shifting to a part-time role with the contending Panthers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images