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Adam Fox Signs Seven-Year Extension

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The New York Rangers have locked up the reigning Norris Trophy winner, signing Adam Fox to a seven-year extension. Fox was scheduled to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. The deal will carry an average annual value of $9.5MM, according to Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today. The breakdown of the contract is as follows, per CapFriendly:

2022-23: $11.0MM salary
2023-24: $12.0MM salary
2024-25: $12.0MM salary
2025-26: $9.5MM salary (NMC)
2026-27: $1.0MM salary + $6.5MM SB (NMC)
2027-28: $1.0MM salary + $6.25MM SB (16-team no-trade list)
2028-29: $2.5MM salary + $4.75MM SB (16-team no-trade list)

Fox, 23, is one of just two players in NHL history to win the Norris Trophy in one of his first two seasons, joining Bobby Orr who also won it in his sophomore year. He’s also just the fourth American defenseman to win the award, and has quickly become one of the faces of the NHL. Originally selected by the Calgary Flames in 2016, Fox was traded twice before ever signing his entry-level contract, which he eventually inked in 2019 after three years at Harvard.

With his ELC coming to an end, it was obvious that a mega-deal was awaiting the young defenseman. This contract though, which buys out four years of unrestricted free agency, could actually be considered something of a discount for the Rangers. Fox will now be tied for the fourth-highest paid defenseman in the league in 2022-23, matching the extensions signed by Seth Jones and Charlie McAvoy earlier this summer. Zach Werenski, whose extension is for only six years but of which five are UFA seasons, slots in just ahead of that group with a $9.58MM cap hit moving forward. All of those are well behind Erik Karlsson ($11.5MM AAV) and Drew Doughty ($11MM AAV), who each signed their massive contracts ahead of full UFA status.

Even though this will become the largest contract ever given to a defenseman coming out of his entry-level deal, it’s the seven-year length that is so important for the Rangers. Fox likely could have squeezed out more total salary by going with a shorter term, though obviously, that comes with the risk of injury or a decline in performance. Locking in at a very healthy number while also committing long-term to the franchise he always dreamed of playing for is the best option for both parties, though it still does leave some risk on the team side.

As with any deal of this length, there is a chance that Fox’s play declines, but there’s also the fact that New York has now committed a huge amount of their cap to just a handful of players. Artemi Panarin ($11.64MM AAV), Mika Zibanejad ($8.5MM AAV), and Jacob Trouba ($8.0MM AAV) are already signed to massive deals, meaning with Fox, a huge chunk of the payroll is already accounted for. In fact, the Rangers now have more than $70MM committed to next season already with a roster of just 15 players.

In a league with a salary cap, surplus value is king, and even with Fox’s tremendous ability that has now been greatly reduced for the Rangers. They’ll be paying him near what he’s worth on the open market after this season, without being able to take advantage of any of his inexpensive seasons. That is of course unless they go on a deep run this year, something that isn’t out of the question as they sit second in the Metropolitan Division.

Despite all the implications moving forward, getting a deal done now with Fox will certainly cause many Rangers fans to breathe a sigh of relief. He’ll now be a part of the team for the best years of his career, pushing for more Norris Trophy votes and potentially even more team success.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Max Domi Placed In COVID Protocol

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It’s been a tumultuous start to the season for Max Domi, and he now finds himself on the sidelines once again. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward has been placed in the COVID protocol and is out indefinitely. The team has recalled Kevin Stenlund to take his place on the roster.

According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, Domi tested positive on Sunday and will be out at least ten days. He is currently in New York City, while the team traveled to Denver after last night’s game.

Domi already missed four games earlier this season with a fractured rib, but made his return a few days ago. In four games on the season he has four points, with his only goal coming in his season debut last month. The 26-year-old forward is averaging just over 13 minutes a night, by far the lowest ice time of his career to this point.

Stenlund meanwhile has yet to play a game for the team this season after suiting up 32 times in 2020-21. The 25-year-old center cleared waivers just before the start of the season and has three points in seven games for the Cleveland Monsters.

William Karlsson Out With Broken Foot

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If you had to choose a single player that the Vegas Golden Knights could ill afford to lose from the lineup, it would likely be center William Karlsson. The Golden Knights are already dealing with injuries to Alex Tuch, Max Pacioretty, Nolan Patrick, and Mark Stone, but were likely weakest overall at the center ice position. Now Karlsson, after playing more than 19 minutes in his last game, will miss roughly six weeks with a broken foot according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Granger suggests that it will be Nicolas Roy that moves up to play between Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault, but notes how much pressure this will put on Chandler Stephenson, the team’s de facto first-line center. Even up until the last little while Stephenson’s success in Vegas was regarded as a product of his linemates, though he has played so well with Stone and Pacioretty on the sidelines that many have changed their minds.

The problem is, it’s not only the even-strength lineup that’s affected, given how much Karlsson plays on both special teams. In 2020-21, no Golden Knights forward saw more short-handed ice time than Karlsson, and only Stone and Pacioretty averaged more with the man advantage. He takes a huge number of the team’s draws as their best option in the faceoff dot, and drives play between two other “original” Golden Knights–those selected in the 2017 expansion draft.

Karlsson likely has been the biggest success story from that process, as he went from a career-high of nine goals to scoring 43 in his first season with the Golden Knights. Over 291 regular season games with Vegas, he has 222 points.

Now without him for six weeks, the Golden Knights must find another way to fill out the middle of the ice and continue their charge up the Pacific Division standings. The team has won their past three contests, evening their record at 4-4 and climbing to fifth in the divisional race.

Cedric Paquette Suspended Two Games

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The Department of Player Safety has come down with a decision regarding Cedric Paquette’s hit on Trevor Zegras last night, and the Montreal Canadiens forward will be suspended for the next two games. As the accompanying video explains:

It is important to note that while Zegras does pivot slightly while making a play with the puck, this is not a case of a player turning his back immediately prior to contact in a way that turns a legal hit into an illegal one. When Zegras collects the puck in the corner, Paquette is at the bottom of the faceoff circle. From that time, until the moment he delivers the check, Paquette sees nothing but Zegras’ numbers. The onus is on Paquette to deliver this hit in a legal fashion, minimize the force of the contact or avoid the hit entirely. Instead, he hits forcefully into Zegras’ back, driving him dangerously into the boards.

The fact that Paquette has been suspended previously and fined previously was taken into account in the decision, as was the fact that Zegras did not suffer a serious injury on the play. On the ice, Paquette received a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct but will miss an additional two contests while he serves his suspension.

Not only that, but this new incident will now also be taken into account in the future for the Canadiens’ center. Two suspensions on his record mean that all of his play will be examined more closely, with increasing penalties for any further plays that require supplementary discipline.

Several San Jose Sharks Placed In COVID Protocol

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Nov 1: The Sharks have updated the situation. Dahlen, Karlsson, Middleton, Nieto, Simek, Vlasic, and Boughner remain in the protocol, while Kevin Labanc has been added to it. Cogliano has been removed.

Oct 30: Several members of the San Jose Sharks organization have been placed in the COVID protocol according to Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News, including five players. Head coach Bob Boughner is also out tonight, leaving the team to assistant John MacLean in his absence. Seven players have been put in the protocol; Andrew Cogliano, Jonathan Dahlen, Erik Karlsson, Jacob Middleton, Matthew Nieto, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic will all not play tonight. Additionally, San Jose Barracuda player Noah Gregor has also been placed in the protocol.

In the meantime, the team has recalled Nicolas Meloche, Ryan Merkley, Nicholas Merkley, John Leonard, and Jaycob Megna to fill out the roster for this evening. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweets that there are ongoing discussions with the league, but for now the game is still scheduled to proceed. The game has been delayed 30 minutes, however, to allow for the completion and analysis of further test results.

MacLean, while mostly serving as an assistant throughout his coaching career, does have some experience running a bench. In 2009-10 he was the head coach of the Lowell Devils, and then took over the New Jersey Devils for the 2010-11 season. Unfortunately, his time as head coach of that club didn’t last long, as, after a 9-22-2 start, he was fired during his rookie season with the Devils bringing Jacques Lemaire right back out of retirement to finish the season. It appears he’ll get another (albeit short) chance as a head coach tonight.

As a reminder, being placed in the protocol does not necessarily mean that these players have tested positive for coronavirus. They will not play tonight, but the team has not clarified how long they will be unavailable. Logan Couture, who will also miss the game with an illness, is not in the protocol according to Kurz.

Travis Hamonic Recalled By Vancouver Canucks

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After just one game in the AHL, Travis Hamonic is back with the Vancouver Canucks. The veteran defenseman has been recalled to the NHL, with Jack Rathbone loaned back to the Abbotsford Canucks to make room.

Hamonic, 31, had previously taken an unpaid leave of absence from the team, cleared waivers and recently reported to Abbotsford. While in the AHL part of his $3MM cap hit had been buried, but now that he’s back with the NHL team the full thing will be carried by the Canucks. That pushes the team right up against the salary cap ceiling and in a tricky situation should anyone else face an injury that does not require placement on long-term injured reserve.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson happened to be missing from practice today, while Hamonic was working in on the second pairing alongside Kyle Burroughs, trading rushes with Luke Schenn. It’s unclear whether he will be inserted directly into the lineup for tomorrow night’s game against the New York Rangers, but he is obviously an important part of the Canucks when healthy.

In 38 games last season, Hamonic averaged more than 19 minutes a night with the vast majority of those coming next to Quinn Hughes. With the team struggling–Vancouver has just three wins in their first nine games–Hamonic will likely be a welcome addition whenever he is added to the lineup sheet.

Kris Letang Removed From COVID Protocol

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The Pittsburgh Penguins received some good news today as Kris Letang has exited the COVID protocol and will rejoin the club on Wednesday. It’s not all roses though, as both Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson have confirmed positive cases and have now entered the protocol. While Ruhwedel is asymptomatic, Pettersson is experiencing symptoms meaning he will miss at least ten days.

It’s not clear when Letang will jump back into the Penguins lineup, but the fact that he’s out of the protocol and ready to return to practice is a welcome one for Pittsburgh. The team was doing well to keep themselves above water through the early part of the season, but after consecutive losses, things were starting to trend down. With Sidney Crosby returning over the weekend and now Letang on track to join him soon, the team will look a lot more like they expected before long.

Still, losing two others certainly hurts, and head coach Mike Sullivan had the line blender out at practice today to deal with it. Juuso Riikola, who cleared waivers a few weeks ago, was quarterbacking the first powerplay unit (likely with the plan of Letang taking his spot soon enough) while Kasperi Kapanen was skating on the second unit and fourth line. Despite having eight points in the standings, the Penguins are in last place in the tough Metropolitan Division and can’t afford to fall much further behind if they have their eyes on a playoff spot.

Cole Caufield Sent To AHL

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The Montreal Canadiens have decided that Cole Caufield needs some more seasoning, sending the high-flying winger to the minor leagues after a tough start to his season. Mathieu Perreault has been moved to injured reserve, while Michael Pezzetta has been recalled to take Caufield’s place on the active roster.

Caufield, 20, came into the season as one of the presumptive favorites for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, after his outstanding performance in the 2021 playoffs. The undersized winger had four goals and 12 points for the Canadiens on their Stanley Cup Finals run, showing blazing speed and huge offensive upside. That offensive performance has been nowhere to be found this season, however, as Caufield has recorded just a single assist and no goals through the first ten games of the season.

Still, it’s hard to ignore the fact that at least some of that is due to poor luck through the first month of the season. Caufield is still tied for the second-most shots on the team and it’s not like anyone is really lighting up the score sheet in Montreal. Free agent signing Mike Hoffman leads the team in goals with four, while Perreault’s hat trick from earlier this season puts him in second place at three. Usually, reliable offensive players like Tyler Toffoli, Brendan Gallagher, Nick Suzuki, and Jeff Petry have all been unable to break through, making Caufield’s struggles at least a little bit easier to swallow.

The fact is though, if the Canadiens are going to struggle so badly to create offense at the NHL level, why not let Caufield show what he can do with big minutes in the minor leagues. The 2019 first-round pick basically skipped the AHL, playing just two games there last season after his time at the University of Wisconsin ended. He’ll now go back to work on his game and get his confidence back, while the Canadiens give Pezzetta a chance at the NHL level.

AHL Shuffle: 11/01/21

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Just three games are on the NHL schedule as the calendar turns to November, but that doesn’t mean front offices are on holiday. There will still be several moves made throughout the league and as always, we’ll keep track of them right here.

Atlantic Division

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have recalled Gabriel Dumont from the AHL, sending Fredrik Claesson back in his stead. With Cal Foote back and ready to return to action for the Lightning, they didn’t need the extra defenseman. Dumont meanwhile is off to another strong start in the minors, scoring five points in his first seven games for Syracuse.
  • After calling them up yesterday on a paper transaction, Joey Anderson and Kirill Semyonov are back down in the minors for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Timothy Liljegren, who was sent down temporarily to make room, is back with the big club.

Metropolitan Division

  • Aliaksei Protas could become the latest rookie to make his debut for the Washington Capitals this season after being recalled from the AHL. The team has placed Nic Dowd on injured reserve after he suffered an injury at practice last week, opening up room for the 6’6″ Protas to join the group. The 20-year-old forward has four points in six games for the Hershey Bears this season.

Central Division

  • The Dallas Stars have recalled Thomas Harley from the AHL. Harley has one assist in six games for the Texas Stars this season after starring as a rookie for them in 2020-21. The 20-year-old first-round pick is a big part of the Stars future on defense but has only suited up once for them to this point–a playoff game in 2020.
  • It’s Joel Hofer who has been recalled by the St. Louis Blues to fill in for Ville Husso while the backup netminder sits in the COVID protocol. Hofer, 21, hasn’t played in the NHL yet but does have a .936 save percentage through his first four AHL appearances this season.

Pacific Division

  • Austin Strand has been loaned back to the AHL by the Los Angeles Kings, leaving them with six defensemen on the active roster for the time being. With the Kings off until Wednesday, this is likely just a paper transaction to accrue some additional cap space between games.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Cedric Paquette To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has some more work to do, as Montreal Canadiens forward Cedric Paquette will have a hearing today for his hit yesterday on Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks.

Partway through the first period, Zegras was collecting a puck in his own end and was hit from behind by Paquette. The Montreal forward was given a five-minute boarding penalty, a two-minute roughing penalty and a game misconduct for the hit and the scrum that came afterward. Those 17 minutes in penalties won’t be the only discipline he receives though, as the hearing today suggests a suspension is coming.

Zegras ended up returning to the game, which should help Paquette’s case, but it still appears as though the Canadiens will have to go without their fourth-line center for at least tomorrow’s match against the Detroit Red Wings. Montreal is trying to find any way to salvage the early part of the season after losing their eighth game, and are about to start a five-game homestand.

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