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LeBrun’s Latest: Lindholm, Fowler, Murray, Fleury, Condon

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Earlier today we referenced an item regarding the status of the Jacob Trouba trade discussions in Pierre LeBrun’s recent Rumblings column on ESPN.com. As it turns out, LeBrun covered a number of other worthwhile topics in his piece, which should naturally be read in its entirety. But in the meantime, we’ve got several of the highlights for your reading pleasure.

  • There’s been a lot of talk of late regarding the potential availability of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, in large part due to the team’s need to re-sign RFA Hampus Lindholm and Anaheim’s precarious salary cap situation. As it stands, the Ducks have less than $400K in space according to Cap Friendly. With Lindholm expected to receive in excess of $5MM annually on a new deal the team certainly has their work cut out for them. Dealing Fowler would clear $4MM in cap space, assuming of course they don’t take an NHL contract back in any trade. Anaheim also has Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore, both of whom appear to be NHL-ready, or close to it, and that could step into the vacancy should the club move Fowler – or any other defenseman for that matter. LeBrun, however, doesn’t believe trading Fowler is a “front-burner issue” and believes the club could keep Fowler. He suggests Anaheim could create some salary cap space and buy more time by placing Simon Despres on LTIR. Despres has been out since leaving the team’s first game with what is believed to be a concussion. Despres accounts for $3.7MM against the cap so the Ducks would likely have to make at least one more move to create enough space once Lindholm is re-signed.
  • Speaking of Lindholm’s contract talks, LeBrun believes the two sides continue to move closer on a new pact, with the defenseman likely using the recent extensions inked by Seth Jones and Rasmus Ristolainen – six years, $5.4MM AAV – as a comparable and the Ducks possibly countering with Morgan Rielly – six years, $5MM AAV. A six-year deal would buy out two of Lindholm’s potential free agent seasons, whereas the Jones and Ristolainen contracts only bought out one. That likely serves as justification for Lindholm’s pursuit of something more than $5.4MM annually.
  • Matt Murray’s recent extension with Pittsburgh shines the light on the decision the team will have to make ahead of next June’s expansion draft. LeBrun notes the team believes Marc-Andre Fleury’s NMC will force the Penguins to protect him, assuming he’s still on the roster. Assuming the Penguins decide Murray is their long-term answer between the pipes, the team would still have several options, as LeBrun writes. In addition to the NMC, Fleury’s contract contains a modified no-trade clause which allows him to list 18 teams to which he would accept a trade. The Penguins could attempt to move him to one of those clubs to whom the goalie would agree to go to. Or the Penguins could buy out Fleury’s contract after the season. Pittsburgh also might try to work out a separate deal with the Las Vegas franchise ensuring they don’t select Murray if the team is required to protect Fleury. The scribe did say he doesn’t believe the team has decided on a course of action as of yet. Whatever they decide, however, LeBrun believes the team will make sure Fleury is on board as they “greatly respect” their longtime #1 netminder.
  • Once Murray returns from injury, the team is likely to waive goalie Mike Condon with the intent of sending him down to the AHL. LeBrun believes he could be claimed and one interested party could be the Kings. With Jonathan Quick out for up to three months, Los Angeles may eventually look for a short-term upgrade between the pipes and they might conclude Condon fits the bill. Condon’s contract expires at the end of the season and currently makes just $575K. LeBrun suggests that Pittsburgh could call up the Kings and offer Condon in a trade with the idea that adding a late round draft pick would be better than losing the young goalie for nothing on waivers.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Maple Leafs, Babcock, Andersen, MacArthur, Howard

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have won just one of their first three contests but by virtue of two overtime/shootout defeats, the team has accumulated four of a possible six points. As Mark Masters of TSN writes, Leafs bench boss Mike Babcock is “relatively pleased” with where his team sits in the standings.

“We’ve had an opportunity, I believe, to be 3-0. We’ve got four out of six points, which if you told me that before this started I would’ve said, ‘That’s fine,’ but we could’ve had more and I’m a bit greedy and so are the guys.”

Toronto is one of the youngest teams in the league, with six rookies – Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Zach Hyman, Connor Brown, Mitch Marner and Nikita Zaitsev – skating regular shifts for the Leafs. With that much youth it’s likely the team will understandably have plenty of ups and downs during the season. Babcock noted that the team’s top line, for example, which consists of Matthews, Nylander and Hyman, has some room to grow based on Wednesday’s performance against the Jets:

“I thought it was really dangerous offensively and not very good defensively.”

Toronto may or may not be ready to challenge for a playoff berth this season, but the arrow is certainly pointing up for a Leafs team that boasts a ton of young, high-end skill and talent.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • Also from the Masters piece, goaltender Frederik Andersen has struggled out of the gate as the Leafs new #1 goalie, posting a 3.61 GAA and a Save % of just 87.6% in three starts, but Andersen is not yet worried. “If you just look at stats it doesn’t look pretty, but I thought I played pretty well. Obviously, some small things I got to clean up and me and Stevey (goalie coach Steve Briere) got to work today in practice so small fixes. I’m not too worried.” The Leafs paid a steep price to land Andersen from the Ducks – a 2016 first-round pick and a 2017 second-round pick – then rewarded the Danish netminder with a five-year, $25MM contract with the belief he would solve the team’s longstanding issues in goal. It’s a small sample size of course, but so far Andersen has not lived up to expectations in Toronto.
  • Veteran forward Clarke MacArthur, concussed during Ottawa’s initial intrasquad practice in training camp, is expected to join the Senators on their three-game, Western Canadian road trip beginning this weekend, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen. MacArthur is still not close to playing and may have only recently started skating but the news is still encouraging. This is the fourth documented concussion within the last 18 months for the 31-year-old winger. The hope for the Senators, according to head coach Guy Boucher, is that just having MacArthur around the team on the trip will be good for him: “Obviously, he’s not going to play. We’re talking about being with the guys, being part of the routine. It would be good for him mentally, but we still haven’t 100% decided that.”
  • For six seasons, Jimmy Howard was the #1 goalie for the Detroit Red Wings before losing the job to Petr Mrazek last season. Howard struggled in the backup role in 2015-16 but coming into the season knowing Mrazek would again be the starter has helped the veteran netminder adapt, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Said Howard: “I think I know how to handle the situation a lot better now. Last year I didn’t quite understand how to be the backup, never had been it before. So I fully understand the role now and how to stay mentally sharp in between starts.” Howard qualifies as an expensive backup with a contract that runs through the 2018-19 season and that calls for a cap hit of nearly $5.3MM per. Detroit was rumored to be looking to trade the 32-year-old goalie this summer and could do so again this offseason, assuming he isn’t claimed in the expansion draft by Las Vegas.

 

Rangers Reportedly Scouting The Ducks

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According to Arthur Staple of Newsday, New York Rangers assistant general manager Chris Drury and Gordie Clark, the team’s director of player personnel, were both on hand for Anaheim’s tilt in New Jersey Sunday. This of course led to speculation that a deal could be in the works between the two trades.

That speculation was further fueled by the appearance of four Rangers “scouts” at Tuesday night’s game between the Ducks and the Devils, as noted by Andrew Gross of The Record. Gross reported seeing Clark and Drury specifically in attendance.

The Ducks are off to a slow start (0 – 3 – 1) and have scored just seven goals in four games. They are also still working on re-signing RFA defenseman Hampus Lindholm and it has been rumored previously that the club would have to shed salary in order to make that happen. Recent reports have indicated the two sides are making progress on a deal, though some work remains. As of today, the Ducks are virtually capped out after agreeing to terms with Rickard Rakell on a new contract.

With top prospects Brandon Montour and Shea Theodore starting the season with Anaheim’s AHL affiliate in San Diego, the team has the necessary depth to deal from their blue line once Lindholm is under contract. In addition to salary cap relief, the Ducks likely would want a young scoring-line winger to boost the team’s lackluster offense. This lines up with earlier reports this summer that the team was interested in adding a high-impact LW.

The Rangers have a plethora of NHL-quality forwards in the organization and could be willing to cash in on that depth in order to upgrade the team’s blue line. Kevin Klein and Dan Girardi have both missed time at the start of the season due to injury though it appears as if both blue liners will be back in the lineup relatively soon.

Hypothetically, a deal of Cam Fowler-for-J.T. Miller could work for both teams, though this is just my speculation. Miller and Fowler each have two seasons remaining on their current contracts, though the Ducks defenseman will be an unrestricted free agent upon the expiration of his deal while Miller will remain under team control. In this scenario the Ducks would save $1.25MM on their salary cap, not an unsubstantial amount but likely not enough on its own to re-sign Lindholm without additional moves.

It should also be noted that Miller has played mostly RW and C for the Rangers and wouldn’t address the Ducks previously stated desire for an impact LW. But at 23-years-old and coming off a 22-goal season in 201-16, Miller could certainly add some punch to Anaheim’s offense.

Of course just because the Rangers had several of their top evaluators on hand at a couple of games may simply be a coincidence. It’s possible they took advantage of the fact they were already in the New York area at the same time the Ducks just happened to be in town to play the Islanders and Devils, though the presence of such a heavy contingent would seem to indicate otherwise.

Friedman’s Latest: Lindholm, Blackhawks, Babcock, Hurricanes

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman covers a wide gamut of hockey news today, starting with the situation regarding Hampus Lindholm and the Ducks’ negotiations. Though the rumored $700K chasm has decreased, the term of the deal remains the sticking point. Anaheim is seeking a five-year deal while the Lindholm camp seeks six years. Friedman emphasizes that neither side will rush, but indicates that the Ducks need Lindholm “badly” as they’ve gotten off to a slow start. (As a side note, Bob McKenzie tweeted something very similar about the terms being the sticking point).

Other tidbits from Friedman

  • The Blackhawks are hunting for a forward and are apparently willing to part with defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, who was purportedly dangled for Nail Yakupov. Yakupov eventually went to St. Louis, and Friedman indicates that the Hawks will have to “sweeten the pot” to get the forward they seek should they include van Riemsdyk in a deal. Further, he indicates that Blues general manager Doug Armstrong will try to add a veteran presence to the lineup at some point.
  • Mike Babcock loves to check in on his players and current Maple Leaf Morgan Rielly says that the bench boss is true to his word. Friedman writes this:

“He’s in contact with you in the summer a lot more than you’d think,” Rielly answered. “Not all of it is hockey. Yes, he’s asking if you’re doing what he wants you to do, but he’s also asking what else you’re up to.” He then laughed a little and said, “I like hearing from him. But my family was surprised at how much he reached out.”

  • The Hurricanes are betting a lot on forward Teuvo Teravainen and defenseman Noah Hanifin. Both have been featured on the powerplay and Freidman writes that despite some mistakes, the ’Canes expect the young players to be a part of the core for years to come. The challenging experiences will occur and it’s part of the learning process.

RFA Focus: Hampus Lindholm

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With the season now underway, the pressure for teams to come to terms with their remaining restricted free agents really starts to increase.  Anaheim’s Hampus Lindholm is one of two remaining RFA defensemen left on the market.  Here is a closer look at his situation.

2015-16

Lindholm continued his progression from the first two years of his career, slotting in once again as Anaheim’s top overall defenseman.  He set a career high in goals and ice time per game while also making a sizable improvement in his advanced statistics.  On a blueline filled with either offensive-minded players or stay-at-home options, Lindholm’s ability to provide above average play at either end of the rink gave the Ducks a much-needed two-way option on their defense corps.

Statistics

2015-16: 80 GP, 10 goals, 18 assists, 28 points, +7 rating, 40 PIMS, 149 shots on goal, 22:00 ATOI
Career: 236 GP, 23 goals, 69 assists, 92 points, +61 rating, 108 PIMS, 372 shots on goal, 21:04 ATOI

The Market

The term of the contract doesn’t appear to be an issue right now as both sides are interested in getting a long-term deal done.  In late September, agent Claude Lemieux sent the following update to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register:

“We are working on a long-term agreement for Hampus. We have been negotiating for a while and have exchanged multiple proposals. I will say that we, both the team and ourselves, are working on getting this resolved ASAP.”

At this point, money is the key sticking point.  One of the complicating factors is that Lindholm has yet to have a breakout offensive season; his career high in points is 34.  In contracts such as these, teams are forced to project and pay for future performance and Lindholm’s offensive production has yet to show that he has another element to that part of his game.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that Lindholm is seeking upwards of $6.5MM per season, an amount that would appear to factor in the expectation of a big increase in his point production down the road.  Meanwhile, the Ducks are believed to be coming in at least $1MM per year below that amount.

Comparable Contracts

Dougie Hamilton (Calgary) – Six years, $34.5MM – Hamilton signed this deal shortly after being traded to the Flames by Boston in the 2015 offseason.  The previous campaign was the best year of his career (42 points in 72 games) while he also played a career high in ice time at just shy of 22 minutes per game.  The perception of Hamilton at that time (a two-way defender on the rise) is quite similar to where Lindholm’s currently is although Hamilton’s platform season was stronger offensively.

Seth Jones (Columbus)/Rasmus Ristolainen (Sabres) – Six years, $32.4MM – Both players saw their roles significantly increase in 2015-16, becoming number one defensemen in the process.  While Ristolainen has taken more strides on his offensive game, it’s expected that Jones will break out at that end in the next year or two and become a top flight two-way defender, much like Lindholm.

Morgan Rielly (Toronto) – Six years, $30MM – The Leafs signed the 22 year old to this deal late last season, one where he outpointed Lindholm for the first time.  Rielly is a strong skater like Lindholm and is viewed as one of the more promising up-and-coming two-way defenders in the NHL making him a comparable that the Ducks have surely brought up in negotiations.  However, Lindholm has had a bigger role with the Ducks than Rielly’s with Toronto so his new deal should come in above this.

Projected Contract

The comparables are all players coming off their entry-level deals which is where Lindholm currently is now.  While their cap hits all start with a five, it’s also worth noting that these were all six year deals and both Lindholm and the Ducks are seeking a longer term.  If that does happen, more UFA years would get bought out and those are always more expensive than RFA years which would increase the cap hit.

Projection: Six years, $33.6MM – It’s plausible to expect Lindholm to come close to all of these comparables.

But very few defenders have made more than $6MM coming off their first contract and the ones that have (such as Drew Doughty of Los Angeles and Alex Pietrangelo of St. Louis) have had better track records than Lindholm has at this point in his career so it’s hard to project him exceeding that amount here.  Aaron Ekblad’s $7.5MM per year pact signed this summer is a new benchmark but that was signed after just two years of his first contract while he also has the clout of being the number one overall pick.  As a result, Lindholm shouldn’t come in anywhere near that high, even if he was to get an eight year deal.

Mason Raymond On Waivers

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Oct. 18: Raymond has cleared waivers.  Eric Stephens notes via Twitter that remains with the big club for the time being.

Oct. 17: The Anaheim Ducks have place veteran winger Mason Raymond on waivers, according to TVA Sports reporter Renaud Lavoie.

Raymond was brought in to Anaheim on a one-year, two-way contract worth $675K. He made the team out of training camp, but was held pointless in three games with a -2 rating. The Ducks are 0-2-1 so far this season.

The speedy Raymond played six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks before signing with Toronto in 2013. He had a successful 45-point season with the Maple Leafs, which earned him a three-year, $9.45MM contract from the Calgary Flames in 2014. He’s scored 28 points in 89 games since then.

Raymond was bought out of the final year of his contract by the Flames in June.

Speaking of the Flames, newly-signed depth goaltender Tom McCollum has cleared waivers and has been assigned to the Stockton Heat of the AHL.

Snapshots: Rask, Yakupov, Despres

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Veteran goalie Tuukka Rask of the Boston Bruins didn’t enjoy his best season in 2015-16, finishing with a 91.5% Save % and a GAA of 2.56. Both those rates constituted the worst of Rask’s career to date but as Joe Haggerty writes, the Finnish goalie is using that experience as a learning tool to prepare for the ups-and-downs likely to come in 2016-17.

With the Bruins in the midst of a transition, Rask is likely going to face more adversity this season but he feels the experiences of a year ago have made him “mentally tougher,” and less likely to let a soft or fluke goal affect his game. Rask has already demonstrated this new approach in the Bruins first regular season contest. As Haggerty notes, the Columbus Blue Jackets scored the game’s first goal, a floater from just inside the blue line, and would tally again later in the opening period, but Rask rebounded by stopping 21 of the final 22 shots he faced to earn the victory. Last season the outcome might have been different, but the work Rask put in on the mental aspect of the game paid off for one night at least.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

  • While things didn’t end well in Edmonton for Nail Yakupov, the talented winger is off to a great start with St. Louis and he’s impressing his new head coach and teammates, according to Norm Sanders of the Belleville News-Democrat. Following a two-point performance in the Blues’ 3 – 2 win over Minnesota, Ken Hitchcock had this to say about his newest player: “Much better defensively than I thought. He’s got great outside speed. What I liked more than anything was his conscience. His conscience was there. We’re not trying to overwhelm him by having him do a bunch of things. We’re just going to keep it five on five for the first week to 10 days and see how much he can absorb there.” Veteran scoring forward Alex Steen has been impressed with Yakupov’s decision-making in the early going: “Smart decisions with the puck (and) he’s obviously individually very skilled and makes plays in tight areas. We’re happy to have him.” Yakupov has a ways to go to alter the negative reputation he earned as a member of the Oilers but so far he has done everything the Blues have asked for and may finally be on his way to fulfilling his vast potential.
  • The Ducks, already without blue line stalwart Hampus Lindholm, who remains unsigned as a RFA, could be without fellow defenseman Simon Despres as well. Despres left Thursday’s game against the Stars with what is being called an “upper-body-injury,” and his status is unclear, as noted by Eric Stephens of The Orange County Register. Ducks GM Bob Murray said this about Despres: “He was not feeling good last night. We’re trying to figure out what’s going on with him. … Something’s wrong here and we’re going to get to bottom of it here.” Stephens relays that Murray also referenced Despres’ past issues with head injuries, which seems to hint that the Ducks are concerned this may in fact be another concussion.

Snapshots: Russell, Lucic, Ducks, Pardy, Rangers

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Following yet another disappointing campaign for Edmonton in 2015-16, GM Peter Chiarelli orchestrated several changes to his team’s roster this offseason in an effort to build a playoff contender. Chiarelli dealt away two former first overall draft picks, Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov (receiving Adam Larsson, a marginal prospect and a conditional draft choice in return), while signing free agents Milan Lucic and Kris Russell in free agency. Many in the hockey community at large weren’t particularly fond of Chiarelli’s moves and while it’s far too early to make any definitive judgement, through two games Lucic and Russell have done exactly what the Oilers and Chiarelli hoped for, as David Staples of the Edmonton Journal writes.

Staples has been tracking scoring chances for and against for every Oilers skater through two games. His research shows that Connor McDavid, who has simply been phenomenal already with six points on the young season, has been Edmonton’s best player by far, helping to generate better than six more scoring chances for than against, per 15 minutes of ice time. Lucic is second in that category with a differential of 4.82. Russell leads the defense corps with a 2.34 differential per 15 minutes of ice time. Incredibly, Russell has yet to make a single error leading to an opposition scoring chance through two games, based on Staples’ tracking.

Again, it’s too early to conclude anything for certain but the early returns on Lucic and Russell have to be encouraging for Chiarelli and Co. Obviously this team will only go as far as their superstar captain McDavid will lead, but should his two prized free agent acquisitions continue to perform at this level, Edmonton might yet prove the pundits wrong and compete for a playoff spot in 2016-17.

Elsewhere in the NHL:

  • Could the Anaheim Ducks soon find themselves at a crossroads with a roster core too old to compete for a Stanley Cup? Eric Stepens, who covers the team, asks that question in a post that appears in the Los Angeles Daily News. Stephens notes that the team’s three best forwards, Ryan Getzlaf (31), Corey Perry (31) and Ryan Kesler (32) are all on the wrong side of 30. At the same time, many of the league’s top stars – Johnny Gaudreau (23), McDavid (19), Auston Matthews (19) – are in their early-20’s or even younger. Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler also account for $23.75MM, or nearly one-third of this year’s salary cap, now that Kesler’s massive extension kicked in. These commitments leaves less space for the Ducks to flesh out the rest of their roster with quality talent as evidenced by their struggles to reach agreements with restricted free agents Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm.
  • After being released from his PTO with Florida, Adam Pardy has agreed to sign an AHL deal with the Panthers organization, tweets Harvey Fialkov. Pardy will report to Springfield and provide an experienced blue line depth option for Florida. He has appeared in 338 NHL games over parts of eight seasons. Pardy previously has seen action in the league with Calgary, Buffalo, Edmonton, Dallas and Winnipeg.
  • New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault was quite specific in how he put his forward lines together to start the 2016-17 campaign. By design, the team would ice three lines capable of scoring while the fourth line was to be comprised of “penalty killers and defensive specialists.” But after introducing rookies Pavel Buchnevich and Jimmy Vesey to the lineup, a couple of skilled veterans slid down the depth chart and onto the team’s fourth line. As Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post writes, the presence of Brandon Pirri and Michael Grabner at the bottom of the Rangers lineup has already paid dividends for the Blue Shirts. Grabner, a once tallied 34 goals as a member of the Islanders, netted the first marker of the season for the Rangers. Pirri, meanwhile, assisted on Grabner’s goal and potted his first as a New York Ranger on the power play. As long as the duo remain defensively-responsible, their ability to put the puck in the net will be welcome on the teams fourth line.

Ducks Sign Rickard Rakell To A Six Year Deal

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The Ducks have come to terms with one of their two remaining restricted free agents, announcing that they have re-signed center Rickard Rakell to a six year deal.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds that the deal will carry a cap hit of $3.8MM (Twitter link).

Rakell had been named to Sweden’s roster for the World Cup of Hockey but had to withdraw due to complications arising from an appendectomy he had back in March. While he was able to play in pre-tournament action last month, he was hospitalized shortly thereafter. He has since received the green light to resume training.

Last season was Rakell’s second full NHL campaign and he improved on his freshman numbers.  In 72 games last year, he potted 20 goals and added 23 assists while averaging 16:04 in ice time.  He also played in all seven postseason games, picking up another goal and an assist.

Once Rakell is able to return to the lineup (which will be at least a couple of weeks away, Eric Stephens of the OC Register reports via Twitter), it’s likely that he will play as the Ducks’ second line center behind Ryan Getzlaf.

[Related: Ducks Depth Chart]

Anaheim still has one remaining RFA to deal with in defenseman Hampus Lindholm.  Cap space is at a premium for the team, as they have less than $400K in room to work with per Cap Friendly (though that amount will increase slightly when they remove someone from the roster to open up a spot for Rakell).  Still, it seems likely that they will need to make a trade when they do come to terms with their young blueliner.

Successful Waiver Wire Pickups

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As teams frantically worked to trim their rosters to the league-mandated, 23-man limit this week, several interesting players were exposed to waivers, eligible to be picked up by new teams for nothing more than assuming the remaining term of the player’s contract. Occasionally the claiming team lands a talented young player who simply didn’t have an opportunity to crack the lineup of his former employer due to the presence of experienced veterans. Other times it doesn’t work out, but it’s still a worthwhile gamble for clubs that may not have better options already on their roster.

In the last few days, Emerson Etem (Vancouver to Anaheim), P.A. Parenteau (New York Islanders to New Jersey), Teemu Pulkkinen (Detroit to Minnesota) and Martin Frk (Detroit to Carolina) changed clubs via waivers. All, with the exception of Parenteau, are younger players still looking to establish themselves as regular NHL contributors. Obviously, their new teams are hoping their faith in these players will be rewarded. Here are a few examples of younger players who have changed teams via waivers and have gone on to carve solid NHL careers for themselves.

Chris Kunitz – Originally signed in 2003 as an undrafted free agent by Anaheim, Kunitz would appear in 21 games with the Mighty Ducks, as they were known then, during the 2003-04 campaign. Following the lockout which wiped out the entire 2004-05 schedule and just before the 2005-06 season began, Kunitz was picked up by the then Atlanta Thrashers on waivers. He would last just two weeks in Atlanta, seeing action in two games before being placed on waivers again and being claimed by Anaheim.

Kunitz would go on to tally 192 points in 313 regular season games over parts of the next four seasons with the Might Ducks/Ducks as he firmly established himself as a quality middle-six winger. He was later dealt to Pittsburgh where he really blossomed as a top-six scorer. Kunitz has potted 20+plus goals in four of his seven full seasons with the Penguins and has netted 359 points in 498 games during that time.

I once had occasion to speak with a high-ranking member of the Ducks front office who told me that of all the acquisitions he personally had a hand in, both the original signing of Kunitz and bringing him back via waivers qualified as two of his proudest achievements.

Kyle Quincey – Quincey was Detroit’s fourth-round selection in the 2003 draft and would suit up for 13 contests over parts of three seasons. He would be placed on waivers in October of 2008 and was claimed by the L.A. Kings. In his first season in Southern California, Quincey scored 38 points which is still the 11-year veteran’s career best total. In 495 career NHL games, Quincey has tallied 30 goals and 140 points, while averaging better than 20 minutes of ice time.

David Schlemko – While not a household name and maybe not young by today’s standards, Schlemko has proven himself to be at least a quality third-pair defender since the start of the 2015-16 season. An undrafted free agent signing by the Arizona/Phoenix franchise back in 2007, Schlemko would spend parts of seven seasons with the Coyotes before being placed on waivers during the 2014-15 season. The Stars would grab Schlemko and he would spend five games in Dallas before hitting the waiver wire again, with the Calgary Flames winning the claim. He would finish without a point in 19 games with Calgary and became an unrestricted free agent following the season, ultimately joining the Devils on a one-year deal. Schlemko would finish with career-highs in games played, goals, assists and points with the Devils and would parlay that steady play into a four-year deal with San Jose this past summer.

Andrej Nestrasil – Nestrasil was chosen by Detroit in the third-round of the 2009 draft and spent most of his time in the organization playing in the minors with Grand Rapids in the AHL and Toledo in the ECHL. His best minor league campaign came in 2013-14 with Grand Rapids, scoring 36 points in 70 games. He debuted in the NHL with Detroit during the 2014-15 campaign but was placed on waivers after appearing in 13 games and claimed by Carolina. Finally given a regular role, Nestrasil has responded for the Hurricanes, totaling 41 points in 96 games for Carolina. He’s also been an excellent puck possession driver, recording a 55.0% Corsi For % since joining the Hurricanes.

Of course with the possible exception of Kunitz, none of the above mentioned players can be considered stars, either today or at any point in their respective careers. But they’ve each developed into quality NHL players who can fill a regular role and that has value in today’s NHL. Any of the teams who claimed a player this week would be happy if their new acquisition developed into a quality regular.

 

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