The Contract Each Team Would Most Like To Trade: Part II
Nearly every team has one of those players: a top talent they were excited to sign and never thought could do anything but help them. In hindsight, history shows that more often than not, expensive, long-term free agent contracts don’t work out. It may look good at first (or it may look bad right away to the outside observer), but players struggle to make their value last throughout a lengthy contract. Those contracts come back to bite teams and are hard to get rid of. As teams begin to finalize their rosters at this point in the off-season, many are struggling to make everyone fit under the salary cap and are regretting these past signings that exasperate a cap crunch that can be tough for even a mistake-free club. We already took a look at the first third of the league; here are the contracts that each team would most like to trade, from Detroit to Ottawa:
Detroit Red Wings: Frans Nielsen – four years, $21MM remaining
As speculated by some readers in the comments section, it was no mistake that Part I ended with Dallas. Detroit deserved both some extra consideration and to lead off an article about poor contracts. There is an argument to be made that almost every single player age 28 and over on the Red Wings roster is signed to a bad contract for one reason or another. Detroit is a team that ranks towards the bottom of the standings and towards the top of the salary cap and that is not just bad luck. However, some are much worse than others and they are so bad that it is tough to choose between them. Take this scenario: Player A scored 35 points in 75 games last season. It was 14 points more than the season prior, including six more goals, and Player A also led the team in hits. He is 31 years old and signed for five more years at $4.25MM per. Player B scored 33 points in 79 games last season. It was eight points less than the season prior, and Player B also had the worst face-off percentage among the team’s centers. He is 34 years old and signed for four more years at $5.25MM per. Still undecided about which contract the team would rather trade? Player A is a Michigan native and career Red Wing and Player B is entering only his third year after signing a lucrative free agent contract. Player A of course is perennial whipping boy Justin Abdelkader. Yes, the Abdelkader contract is terrible. At no point in his career has he been worth his current contract value. Yet, he improved last season, is younger and brings a defensive element to his game, and is also loyal to the current administration – the call of the question after all is which contract the team would most like to trade. That would instead be Player B, Frans Nielsen, who at 34 is predictably declining and last year made more than Abdelkader for less production and there is no reason to believe that trend won’t continue. The team rewarded Adbelkader for years of service, whereas they took a gamble on Nielsen that hasn’t paid off. One of those moves is far more regrettable. Nielsen is the guy, but he only narrowly edged out Abdelkader and defenseman Danny DeKeyser, who also has relative age and Detroit roots to his advantage.
Edmonton Oilers: Milan Lucic – five years, $30MM remaining
The Oilers can refute trade rumors surrounding Milan Lucic all they want. The truth of the matter is that GM Peter Chiarelli signed Lucic hoping that he could both produce with and protect Connor McDavid in Edmonton as he did for David Krejci in Boston. The only problem is that the 30-year-old power forward can no longer keep up with a player of McDavid’s caliber. Lucic managed to score 34 points last season, tied for fourth on the team, but that is nowhere near what is expected of a $6MM player, especially when he scored 50 in year one with the Oilers and topped that mark many times with the Bruins. Edmonton still may be holding out hope that Lucic can turn it around and be just as much of a scoring threat as he is a physical threat, but make no mistake that the team would be quick to get rid of his contract if the right deal came along. In contrast, the team would be far more hesitant to move a hefty contract like defenseman Andrej Sekera who has been good and injury-prone, rather than healthy and underwhelming.
Florida Panthers: Roberto Luongo – four years, $18.13MM remaining
Florida is a tough one. Dale Tallon has done a good job of locking up his core long-term and, despite being right up against the cap, there are few egregious contracts on the roster right now. Give it a few years and maybe Michael Matheson will hold this title, but for now it goes to Roberto Luongo by default. Of course, Luongo is beloved in Florida and the team doesn’t even have to carry the whole of his cap hit, with the Vancouver Canucks retaining $800K each year. However, the reality is that Luongo will turn 40 this season and it will be only the first of four years left on his deal. The Panthers have almost $8MM committed to two goalies for the next few years and the other, James Reimer, is younger and outplayed Luongo in 2016-17 and in more games to boot. While they both fought injuries this past season, it was Luongo back on top performance-wise, but the impressive numbers he did post came in just 35 appearances versus Reimer’s 44. Florida paying over $4.5MM per year to a backup goalie in his forties just doesn’t make sense and the team would be better off moving forward with just Reimer and Michael Hutchinson if they could find a way to trade Luongo. Another reason this contract is bad: both the Panthers and Canucks will be hit with cap recapture penalties if Luongo retires prior to 2022.
Los Angeles Kings: Dustin Brown – four years, $23.5MM remaining
For the first time in years, Kings fans are feeling good about Dustin Brown. That is why now is the perfect time to trade him. Brown had been the bane of L.A.’s existence for four years, registering no more than 36 points each year while eating up $5.875MM in cap space, when he finally broke out of his funk in 2017-18 with a massive 61-point season and one of the league’s best plus/minus ratings. The question now is whether the past four years were an aberration with this season setting a new baseline or will Brown regress back to his bottom-six production. With a cap-strapped roster full of expensive contracts for older players, L.A. can’t take the risk of keeping Brown around if the right opportunity presents itself. They would be forced to trade the career King if a taker came forward rather than hold out hope that he doesn’t revert back to his old ways of being drastically overpaid.
Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise – seven years, $52.77MM remaining
When the Wild signed 28-year-old’s Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to matching 13-year contracts worth almost $100MM apiece, they knew that those deals would have dark days at some point in the future. However, they never could have imagined that Parise’s decline would come so soon. Parise remains one of the most popular players on the team, but injuries have kept him off the ice and affected his play when on the ice over the ice and his stock is falling quickly. Parise has never been able to reach the peaks he enjoyed in New Jersey, but he still produced at a high level over his first four seasons with the team. The past two years have been a different story and Parise appears to be trending in the wrong direction. Now 33, Parise isn’t totally beyond help and could turn it around. If back at 100%, Parise has enough natural ability and enough talent around him to still be a $7.5MM player. However, it would be nearly impossible for Minnesota to ever move the behemoth that is his contract so, if somehow they received an offer, they would take it without a second thought. Fan favorite or not, there is too much risk associated with Parise moving forward.
Montreal Canadiens: Shea Weber – seven years, $55MM remaining
I know what you’re thinking and yes, the Carey Price contract doesn’t look great right now. However, an extension of any length and value for any player coming off an injury-riddled season would bring a skewed perception. Price has been one of the best goalies in the league for years and one bad season doesn’t change that. Will he lose that title in the next eight years? For sure, but it would be a shock to see the Canadiens move their poster boy any time soon. Their #1 defenseman is another question though. When Montreal acquired Shea Weber for P.K. Subban, they never could have anticipated that his body would break down so soon after. Injuries cost Weber all but 26 games last season and he will miss the beginning of 2018-19 as well. Weber doesn’t seem like the type of player who will retire early, but there is no guarantee that these injuries won’t slow him down significantly for the remainder of his contract. In fact, the only guarantee is that he will slow down over the next seven years. At $7.86MM, the Canadiens need Weber to be his dynamic two-way self. The team already has one overpaid stay-at-home defenseman in Karl Alzner and can’t afford another. If they could move Weber, they would.
Nashville Predators: None
GM David Poile flat out doesn’t sign bad contracts. Criticize the deals for Ryan Johansen and Kyle Turris if you like, but the bargain contracts throughout the rest of the lineup have allowed Poile to overpay for reliable centers and that is a team-building model that anyone can get behind.
New Jersey Devils: Corey Schneider – four years, $24MM remaining
The easy answer is that the Devils don’t feel any pressure to trade anyone on the roster. They currently have the lowest payroll in the league with nearly every player signed to a fair deal. Those who are overpriced – Travis Zajac and Andy Greene – play important leadership role and the only player signed to a substantially long-term deal is electric young blue liner Damon Severson. The one and only player that sticks out as a potential long-term cap problem is starting goaltender Corey Schneider. This may surprises some; after all Schneider trails only Tuukka Rask among active save percentage leaders. Schneider had been elite since arriving in New Jersey, but something started to change in 2016-17. His SV% fell to .908 and his GAA inflated to 2.82 and then things only got worse last season with a SV% of .907 and a GAA of 2.93. He was also limited to just 40 appearances this year and was outplayed by journeyman Keith Kinkaid. The Devils can’t count on Kinkaid to repeat his 2017-18 performance moving forward and if Schneider’s back-to-back bad years are more than a fluke, they can’t depend on him for four more years either. He’s not going to be a $6MM backup either. New Jersey will give Schneider the time he needs to return to form, but they may not hesitate if the right trade comes their way as well.
New York Islanders: Andrew Ladd – five years, $27.5MM remaining
The Islanders without John Tavares are a totally different animal. A six-year, $30MM extension for Josh Bailey now looks bad. A $5.75MM cap hit this season for free agents Leo Komarov and Valtteri Filppula signed to make up for Tavares’ lost production looks bad. The likes of Cal Clutterbuck, Casey Cizikas, and Matt Martin now look worse on a team that needs more offense and less grit. However, the one contract that looked miserable well before Tavares bolted to Toronto is Andrew Ladd and it is only going to get much worse. The veteran forward was intended to find chemistry with Tavares when he was signed to a seven-year, $38.5MM contract two years ago. Instead, Ladd has just 60 points over the past two seasons combined and has by all accounts been relegated to a bottom-six role. The 32-year-old will now be asked to take a bigger role in Tavares’ stead and that is a scary proposition. The Islanders aren’t in any cap trouble, but the team should be thinking rebuild and would likely take any offer at all to rid themselves of Ladd.
New York Rangers: Brendan Smith – three years, $13.05MM remaining
Has any free agent contract in recent memory soured as quickly as Brendan Smith’s? Smith signed a four-year deal with the Rangers last June and was expected to play a top-four role for the team for years to come. By February, he had been placed on waivers and buried in the AHL. Smith played in only 44 games with New York and saw less and less ice time as the season wore on and he continued to turn the puck over at an alarming rate and cost his team goals. Now what? One would assume that Smith will be given a second chance this season, but the relationship between he and the team may be beyond repair. There is no doubt that the Rangers would take a re-do on that deal and would move him if possible. Marc Staal is another player that New York wouldn’t mind moving, but as a player who can eat minutes and provide solid play most of the time, his $5.7MM contract seems like nothing next to Smith’s $4.35MM deal.
Ottawa Senators: Bobby Ryan – four years, $29MM remaining
No contract in the league has become as notorious for being labeled a “bad deal” that the team is desperate to trade like Bobby Ryan’s. The Senators are so determined to move on from Ryan that they are trying to force Erik Karlsson trade suitors to take the overpaid forward as well. At one point in time, $7.25MM per year for Ryan seemed like a fair deal. At 23 years old he was a 71-point player with the Anaheim Ducks and even after moving to Ottawa, Ryan started his tenure with three straight seasons in the 50-point range. However, the last two years have been very different. Ryan has only suited up for 62 games in each campaign and has looked like a different player on offense. At his best, he looks disinterested and lucky to be in the right place at the right time and at his worst he costs his team goals. Ryan has managed to register only 58 points combined over the past two years; he had 56 alone in 2015-16. Ryan may just need a change of scenery to jump start what used to be dynamic goal-scoring game, but the Senators don’t care about that. All he is to them is a waste of cap space and of owner Eugene Melnyk‘s dwindling wealth. They want him gone at any cost.
Look out for Part III of this three-part series early next week…
Petteri Lindbohm Signs In Switzerland
The St. Louis Blues have done a miraculous job of both adding talent – bringing in Ryan O’Reilly, David Perron, Tyler Bozak, and Patrick Maroon to name a few – and retaining their own restricted free agent assets this off-season. The team has already signed Joel Edmundson, Dmitrij Jaskin, Robby Fabbri, and Oskar Sundqvist to reasonable extensions and had just two RFA’s left to sign. However, one of those players has decided to go elsewhere to continue his hockey career. Defenseman Petteri Lindbohm will not re-up in St. Louis, but instead sign with Lausanne of the Swiss NLA. The team announced the transaction today, making the one-year contract official. The Blues will retain Lindbohm’s NHL rights.
Lindbohm, 24, will likely be missed by some in the Blues organization but not by others. Although the 2012 sixth-round pick out of Helsinki, Finland showed promise, he never could quite put it all together. Both injuries and inconsistency impacted the development of a player some saw as a future top-four defenseman. When healthy, Lindbohm showed a well-rounded two-way game at the AHL level, but never stayed at the minor league level long enough to impress for a whole season. In the NHL, Lindbohm simply struggled to produce when given an opportunity and too often found himself on the wrong side of goals. This past season, Lindbohm did not make an appearance with the Blues for the first time since coming over to North America in 2014, yet he also suited up for only 23 games with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and posted only three points. He was ruled out for the remainder of the season in early January with a shoulder injury.
The Blues may have been willing to offer Lindbohm a minimum salary two-way deal, or maybe just an AHL contract with the San Antonio Rampage, just to see if Lindbohm could ever string together a whole season of healthy, high-end play, but it seems unlikely that they would have matched the salary and certainly not the type of role that Lindbohm will get with Lausanne. The Swiss club struggled in 2017-18, having to fight off relegation, and will likely throw Lindbohm into a top pair position right away in hopes that his talent can help to jump start the new campaign, especially with the risk that he could be struck by injury at any time. Playing alongside other NHL transplants like Dustin Jeffrey and Joel Vermin, Lindbohm will look not only to improve his own stock, but also prove that he can lead a team to the postseason.
With Lindbohm departing, St. Louis has just defenseman Jordan Schmaltz to sign before they their restricted free agents are all tied up. The Blues are bankrupt for cap space, looking at just a $285K margin right now per CapFriendly, but the team won’t carry 15 forwards as projected and the demotion of a Jordan Nolan or Chris Thorburn should be enough to fit Schmaltz in under the cap for the coming season.
Pacific Notes: Canucks, Campbell, Hathaway
The situation in Vancouver surrounding the sudden resignation of President Trevor Linden continues to be murky at best. Francesco Aquilini and the ownership continue to avoid prying questions, while GM Jim Benning and coach Travis Green continue to be on the hot seat instead. Many would like to know what led to the departure of a young executive with deep loyalties to the organization, but answers have been few and far in between. Mike Johnson of Sportsnet talked to Benning and Green, but found out little. Benning spoke highly of Linden, but said “I don’t know all the reasons why (he resigned) and it’s not my place to comment on it.” Johnson suggests, as many have, that Linden’s departure may not have been as independent as it appears and that he may have been forced out due to conflicts with the ownership. For his part, Benning says that he never noticed any discourse and says that nothing has changed about the team’s vision and direction. Green added that he thought the best of Linden, but that his departure won’t change the organizations game plan. However, that could change and so could the dynamic of the team’s front office. Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre reports that Benning has been told that the Canucks are not searching for a replacement for Linden, implying that Benning would absorb some of the responsibilities that he has been given already in Linden’s absence. However, that directly contradicts another report that former Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi has already been connected to the vacancy. It seems that there is still a lot to be revealed about both the past and future conditions of Vancouver’s leadership.
- The Athletic’s Lisa Dillman wonders if Los Angeles Kings backup goalie Jack Campbell will be the second coming of Martin Jones for the team. Campbell, who endured a bust label for years as a Dallas Stars first-round pick in 2011 who struggled to find success early on as a pro, finally looked like a legitimate NHL goaltender in five appearances with the Kings last season in his second year since being traded away by Dallas. Campbell started four games and made one relief appearance, posting a save percentage of .924 and a goal against average of 2.48 and also played well in the AHL. Dillman reports that this performance has L.A. expecting Campbell to be the primary backup to Jonathan Quick next season, despite the presence of veteran Peter Budaj and promising prospect Cal Petersen. The Kings hope that by committing to the young keeper that they could end up with another reliable asset like Jones. Jones also struggled to stick out in his early pro seasons, albeit as an undrafted free agent, before putting up stunning numbers as Quick’s backup for two seasons once he was given a real shot. The Kings have Campbell locked up for two more years – and Quick for five – so they would love to get a repeat performance of Jones, with Campbell providing elite play as the backup until the point that they can trade him away. This time they just hope that he won’t get flipped back into the division like the Boston Bruins did with Jones, who now frustrates the Kings on a regular basis as the starter for the San Jose Sharks.
- The Calgary Flames received the salary arbitration award for defenseman Brett Kulak on Wednesday and also agreed to terms on extensions with forward Mark Jankowski and goalie David Rittich in the past 48 hours, avoiding arbitration, yet they still aren’t done. The next scheduled arbitration hearing is none other than another Flame: forward Garnet Hathaway. Hathaway and his side are set to sit down with Calgary and an arbitrator on Monday if nothing can be agreed upon by then. With the Flames preoccupied working out three other contracts over the past two days, it would be no surprise if the two sides at least exchange briefs and filing numbers over the next day or two which could perhaps speed up negotiations. Hathaway played in only 59 games with Calgary last season and has less than 100 NHL games total to date, so it would be a surprise to see the fourth liner actually go through the arbitration process without a deal. However, most would have made a similar argument about Kulak, whose case was actually farther apart in terms of perceived value than many would have thought given his somewhat minor role. Garnet could be the same way, as their has been little talk of an agreement, and the Flames could be destined for yet another hearing.
Are There More Moves Coming In Minnesota?
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Wild did what many thought wasn’t possible when they locked up high-scoring forward Jason Zucker on a long-term deal without putting themselves in an impossible situation with the salary cap. The team somehow managed to re-sign two young stars, both Zucker and Mathew Dumba, to a combined $11.5MM cap hit as well as add free agents Greg Pateryn, Eric Fehr, Matt Hendricks, J.T. Brown, Matt Bartkowksi, and Andrew Hammond all while maintaining some semblance of cap space. The team is projected to enter the season with $1.77MM in cap space and a roster that added talent while only losing the likes of Daniel Winnik and Matt Cullen.
The question now is: is it enough? While it never hurts to return the majority of a roster from a playoff team, there is some question as to whether the Wild are keeping up in the Western Conference arms race. The team has been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of the past three seasons and has still won just four playoff series in its 18-year history. Fans are clamoring for more than just regular season success and Minnesota – and new GM Paul Fenton – have instead opted to return the same team so far in an off-season where major changes were expected. Although the new contracts for Zucker and Dumba were more than fair and the team addressed needs for more physicality on the blue line with Pateryn and another option in net with Hammond, as well as adding veteran depth pieces, there will be some who are critical of an otherwise quiet summer.
With so little cap space, the Wild may find it difficult to make many additions in-season as well. As the projected 23-man roster currently stands, Minnesota does not seem to be facing many holes and will get an injection of youth in the form of full seasons for Jordan Greenway and Nick Seeler. However, after getting a glimpse of other prospects like Luke Kunin, Louis Belpedio, and Carson Soucy last season, the team will undoubtedly want to avoid leaving them in the AHL all year. The trio all carry $925K cap hits that exceed the salaries of those on the roster they are most likely to supplant and the result will be even more cap space eaten up. Without moving out some salary, Minnesota will be left hoping their young talent can make a major impact as they will otherwise struggle to add veteran difference-makers over the course of the year.
While observers will always point to the massive contracts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise as the contracts that Minnesota could most benefit from moving (although Suter is still one of the most reliable defensemen in the league), the team has also entertained offers for Jonas Brodin and Nino Niederreiter in the past and could do so again. While Eric Staal has been a revelation for the team, they could also look to move the pending free agent if they get off to a slow start and can land a younger asset in exchange. At the end of the season, it could be that this same Wild lineup plus some free agent additions and young players is enough to reverse their postseason fortunes. However, if they fall short again or, even worse, miss the playoffs, the team will finally have to make some major changes. It’s possible that the team gets ahead of that possibility by making some moves this off-season instead.
Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Tristan Jarry
The Pittsburgh Penguins have their final restricted free agent wrapped up. The team has announced a two-year contract extension with backup goalie Tristan Jarry that carries a cap hit of only $675K: a $650K salary in 2018-19 and a $700K salary in 2019-20. On top of a friendly salary, the deal is also of a two-way nature this season before transitioning to a one-way contract next year.
It is unlikely that Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford could have done any better with this contract. The Penguins are perhaps in worse shape going up against the salary cap ceiling next season than any other team in the league. Pittsburgh currently has all but $1MM of their available cap space committed to a projected 23-man roster than looks unlikely to change much. The team already had to make a salary cap dump earlier this off-season, trading capable winger Conor Sheary to the Buffalo Sabres in order to also offload underacheiving defenseman Matt Hunwick. There have been some questioning how the team could re-sign one of the most well-regarded goalie prospects in the pros and not have to make another similar move. Yet somehow Rutherford was able to convince Jarry to sign a) for close to a minimum salary, b) for multiple years, and c) on a two-way deal in the upcoming year. For a 23-year-old former second round pick who has incredible AHL numbers and had a solid first NHL season in 2017-18 behind an injury-prone starter, that seemed impossible. If Jarry again appears in 26 or so games and posts a .908 save percentage and 2.77 GAA or better in either of the next two years, this contract will be an amazing value for the Penguins.
The Penguins may still not be off the hook, however. Jarry’s two-way contract and waiver exemption will make it easy for the Penguins to move him up and down through the organization to relieve starter Matt Murray and slated backup Casey DeSmith when necessary – and recent history has shown that Murray is likely to miss time at some point. Yet, call-up’s for Jarry, as well as players like Zach Aston-Reese, Jimmy Hayes, and Zach Trotman, will eat away at what little cap space the Penguins have. It may be possible for them to get through the season as currently structured, but if Rutherford wants some more flexibility to maneuver his roster, don’t be surprised if another cap-relieving trade is still completed at some point. Until then though, Rutherford deserves some credit for locking up all of his restricted free agents and putting together a well-rounded roster given his uncomfortable cap scenario.
David Rittich Re-Signs With Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have avoided arbitration with another restricted free agent, this time signing David Rittich to a one-year $800K contract. Rittich was scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 28th, but has settled on a one-way contract with the Flames that could potentially take him to Group VI unrestricted free agent status next summer. The 25-year old goaltender is heading into his third professional season in North America, and would need to play in at least 13 games (for 30 minutes or more) to become ineligible for Group VI status.
There’s no guarantee Rittich gets that many games, as he’ll be battling Jon Gillies for the right to backup starter Mike Smith. Still, he should have an inside track in that fight given Gillies’ waiver-exempt status and two-way contract. If Rittich does get the NHL backup role, he’ll be trying to improve on the .904 save percentage he posted last season and show that he belongs in this league for the next chunk of his career. The undrafted goaltender signed with the Flames out of the Czech Republic in 2016, but hasn’t found much consistency at the NHL or AHL levels.
The Flames still have three restricted free agents to sign, but are down to just Garnet Hathaway as an arbitration-eligible player. His hearing is scheduled for Monday July 30th, after which the team can focus on extending Noah Hanifin. Getting Rittich, Hathaway, Brett Kulak and Mark Jankowski out of the way has taken a good chunk of the offseason, but the team still has plenty of time to find common ground on a long-term deal with Hanifin.
Snapshots: Iginla, Kirk, Greco
The Calgary Flames announced today that Jarome Iginla will officially retire from professional hockey on Monday, though he hasn’t been an active player for a full season. Iginla, 41, did attend some AHL practices this past season and was a potential candidate for the Canadian Olympic team, but failed to actually play in any games. Monday will mark the end of a more than two decade long playing career that is sure to put him into the Hall of Fame without much delay.
Iginla ended up with 1,554 career regular season games in which he scored exactly 1,300 points. He never did raise the Stanley Cup—though Flames fans will still tell you how they deserved to win in 2004—but will still go down as one of the game’s all-time power forwards. With 625 career goals he ranks 15th on the career leaderboard, tied with Olympic teammate Joe Sakic. Iginla did win two gold medals at that tournament, and was the player who sent an incredible pass to Sidney Crosby for the “Golden Goal” in Vancouver in 2010. We’ll have more on Iginla’s retirement when it becomes official on Monday.
- Liam Kirk, the first English born and trained player to ever be drafted into the NHL, has signed on to play with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL this season. Kirk was selected 189th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in June, and will have to compete at a brand new level next season. Playing for the Sheffield Steelers last season in the EIHL, Kirk recorded just 16 points in 52 games. He’ll be asked to do more than that this season for the Petes, but will have the luxury of playing against players his own age.
- The New York Islanders have struggled for quite some time to find above-average starting goaltending, and they’ll try a different approach this season. The team has hired Piero Greco to replace Fred Brathwaite as their goaltending coach, taking him from the Toronto Maple Leafs organization where he has worked with their minor league affiliate for the past few seasons. Greco is credited for developing Maple Leafs goaltender Garret Sparks from a seventh-round afterthought into the AHL Goaltender of the Year, and will now try to turn around the careers of Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss. Both goaltenders have shown high-level ability in the NHL, but will find some consistency if the Islanders are to compete in the Metropolitan Division this season.
Ottawa Senators Sign Adam Tambellini
The Ottawa Senators have signed some forward depth, adding Adam Tambellini on a one-year two-way contract. The deal will pay Tambellini $650K at the NHL level and just $85K in the AHL. Tambellini was not issued a qualifying offer from the New York Rangers and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
It was a surprise when Tambellini, 23, didn’t receive a qualifying offer this summer, since he’d been a solid player in the Rangers organization for the past three seasons. Scoring at least 13 goals and 32 points in each of his professional seasons, the third-round pick could have been given another two-way contract in 2018-19. He is no longer waiver-exempt, but it seems unlikely that any team would claim him at this point in his career. For the Senators he’ll have to go through the same process, but without any NHL experience to speak of he’ll likely clear with no problem.
For Ottawa, he’ll join a Belleville Senators team that is looking for offense after scoring just 194 goals last season. That put them near the very bottom of the league, something they’ll need to change if they are to compete for the Calder Cup playoffs. Tambellini can certainly help the AHL squad, but there isn’t much reason to think he’ll play a big role for Ottawa this season.
Coaching Notes: Kowalsky, Grier, Warsofsky
The New Jersey Devils have hired Rick Kowalsky as an assistant coach, adding him to John Hynes‘ staff for the upcoming season. Kowalsky had been the head coach of the Binghamton (and Albany) Devils, winning Coach of the Year in the AHL for the 2015-16 season. Hynes had this to say about the addition:
Rick will be a great addition to our team and this is well-deserved. He and I have had a strong relationship over the past three seasons and he’s done an excellent job in developing our young players. Rick is a high-energy, hard-working coach, great communicator and a tactician who has a great mind for the game.
The hiring leaves the AHL Devils without a head coach for the time being, but adds a knowledgeable voice to the NHL group and one with plenty of first-hand experience with some of their young players. New Jersey didn’t add much this offseason, which should give some of their minor league standouts a chance to crack the NHL roster in training camp. Kowalsky will be a big part of making that transition a smooth one, and helping New Jersey remain deep enough to compete in the Metropolitan Division.
- It won’t just be Kowalsky though, as the Devils also announced that Mike Grier has been hired as an assistant coach with the NHL club. Grier, a long-time NHL player with over 1,000 regular season games under his belt, has been working as a pro scout for the Chicago Blackhawks but will now get his first professional coaching experience. The 43-year old was actually teammates with Hynes back at Boston University in the mid-’90s, which likely led to this opportunity with the Devils.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have given an up-and-coming coaching prospect his next opportunity, hiring Ryan Warsofsky as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. Warsofsky is only 30 years old, but was the successful head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL the past two seasons. He took that team to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2017, and posted an 88-44-12 record during his time behind the bench. Expected to quickly climb the hockey coaching ladder, Warsofsky actually may have to coach against his brother David Warsofsky who is in the Colorado Avalanche organization and expected to spend the majority of the year in the AHL.
Minor Transactions: 07/23/18
While we wait for word from Brett Kulak‘s arbitration hearing today, there are other minor moves happening all around the league. We’ll keep track of them right here:
- The San Diego Gulls have signed Corey Tropp to a one-year AHL contract, bringing the veteran AHL forward back for another season. Tropp scored 43 points in 50 games for the Gulls last season and actually has quite a bit of NHL experience. In 149 career games for the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets, Tropp has registered 27 points and 133 penalty minutes. The 28-year old could easily lead San Diego in scoring this season and should be a good offensive complement to players like Sam Steel and Max Jones should they end up in the minor leagues.
- Ask any Toronto Marlies player about Rich Clune‘s impact on their recent Calder Cup championship and they’ll speak highly of the veteran forward. That’s despite him not playing a single game in the AHL playoffs last season, but explains why the team has re-signed him to a two-year contract. The 31-year old has never been a big scoring threat at the professional level but is a key part of the leadership group for the Marlies and will be back to help them continue to develop young talent. His NHL days are likely behind him—meaning the 22 points in 139 career games should be what he retires with—but he’s not done with professional hockey just yet.