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Arbitration

Colorado Avalanche Sign Ryan Graves

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The Colorado Avalanche have avoided arbitration with Ryan Graves, signing the restricted free agent to a one-year contract. Graves filed for player-elected salary arbitration last week, but won’t have to go through the sometimes tough process. Instead he’ll be back with the Avalanche in 2019-20, but actually could end up a Group VI unrestricted free agent next summer if he fails to play in at least 54 NHL games this season. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports that the contract is a two-way deal worth $735K in the NHL.

Graves, 24, made quite an impact in Colorado last season, suiting up in 26 games and recording three goals and five points. The 6’5″ defenseman had come over from the New York Rangers in a deal for Chris Bigras, but didn’t have any prior NHL experience. He’ll now have to battle for a chance to remain with the Avalanche past training camp, something that is far from certain at this point.

Colorado is facing injuries to both Ian Cole and Erik Johnson that should keep them out at the start of the season, but even after the trade of Tyson Barrie the Avalanche blue line is quite crowded. Kevin Connauton, Cale Makar, Bowen Byram, Calle Rosen and potentially even Conor Timmins all represent newcomers that weren’t available at the start of last year, and will complicate the decisions for head coach Jared Bednar and GM Joe Sakic. Graves still represents some great depth, but will have to clear waivers in order to play for the Colorado Eagles of the AHL this season.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Francis Perron

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After acquiring his rights at the draft from the San Jose Sharks, Francis Perron has signed with the Vancouver Canucks. The prospect has inked a one-year two-way contract with the Canucks. Perron was a restricted free agent but not eligible for salary arbitration.

Perron, 23, was originally selected in the seventh round by the Ottawa Senators five years ago, but ended up shipped out to the Sharks in the Erik Karlsson deal. While at that point he may have just seemed like an underperforming minor league forward that was included as a contract dump, he broke out last season for the San Jose Barracuda and earned himself another NHL deal. Perron had 18 goals and 47 points in 63 games for the Barracuda, good enough for second on the team.

The former QMJHL star will fight for an NHL role on the Canucks in training camp, but will more likely find himself on waivers to start the year. That will give other teams a chance to grab him, but if he clears he can head to the Utica Comets and try to replicate his excellent 2018-19 season. At the very worst, the Canucks have secured another shifty minor league scorer for their AHL club.

Boston Bruins Sign Peter Cehlarik To One-Year Deal

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Monday: The team has officially announced the contract, confirming CapFriendly’s details.

Saturday: The Boston Bruins came to terms with forward Peter Cehlarik to a one-year, two-way contract, according to CapFriendly. The 23-year-old did not file for arbitration on Friday, which suggested that he might have been close to deal. The deal will pay him $700K if he’s on the NHL roster or $125K in the AHL.

Cehlarik, a third-round pick back in 2013, came over three  years ago and has been working his way through the Bruins’ system, developing a stronger two-way game. He finished this season with 12 goals and 26 assists in 53 games with the Providence Bruins in the AHL. While he’s always gotten some time with Boston as well, he got into 20 games this year with the Bruins, posting four goals and six points.

The winger will have an uphill battle, however, if he hopes to break camp with Boston. He will likely have to beat out six or seven players to get a regular spot this fall, but he has shown some skill in his limited time with Boston. He also served as a black ace for the Bruins on their extended playoff run.

Central Notes: Kulikov, Jets Defense, Rask, Timmins

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The Winnipeg Jets have already lost quite a bit of their talent on their blueline as the team has already lost Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba and Ben Chiarot this offseason with little in return other than Neal Pionk. However, because Pionk filed for arbitration (along with Andrew Copp) on Friday, the Jets could lose another defenseman off their roster.

The Athletic’s Murat Ates (subscription required) points out that Pionk and Copp filing for arbitration opens up a second buyout window for Winnipeg in three weeks, which might suggest that the Jets could consider buying out defenseman Dmitry Kulikov when that happens. The 28-year-old defenseman, who has one year remaining on his deal at $4.33MM, has not worked out like the team had hoped and there are questions whether he could fulfill the role of a top-four defenseman now that the team has holes to fill.

Kulikov has played just 119 games over two seasons, often sitting as a healthy scratch and has just three goals and 17 points in those two seasons. The team may want to consider letting Kulikov, which would save the team $2.89MM in cap savings for this year, something that could be used towards acquiring another defenseman. Of course, the Jets could just as easily decide that he can play in their top four and keep him, but it’s a legitimate option Winnipeg can consider over the next three weeks.

  • Staying with the Jets, the Winnipeg Sun’s Paul Friesen writes that the losses Brandon Tanev (to Pittsburgh) and Chiarot (to Montreal) are more critical losses than people think. Those two players were ranked first and second, respectively on the Jets’ squad last year in hits. Tanev led the team with 278 hits, while Chiarot finished with 171. That’s a significant amount of physicality the team lost. Blocked shots aren’t any better as the team’s top two leaders in that category were lost as well, including Trouba (to New York Rangers) who had 171 blocks, while Chiarot was second on the team with 139. That could be a bad sign for the team’s overall defense.
  • The Athletic’s Tony Abbott (subscription required) projects the Minnesota Wild’s early depth chart after the Wild went out and signed forwards Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman. The team possesses quite a bit of depth and the one player that could find himself without a job is Victor Rask. The 26-year-old forward, who was acquired in the unpopular trade involving Nino Niederreiter with Carolina, could find himself outside the team’s top 12 next season and he will be making $4MM next season. Rask struggled mightily when he got to Minnesota, posting just two goals and three points in 23 games.
  • The Colorado Avalanche had high expectations for prospect Connor Timmins at the start of the season. Unfortunately, the team lost him to a concussion for the entire season. While he’s shown some signs of practicing with the team during the playoffs in a non-contact jersey, The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark (subscription required) reports that Timmins was a full participant at the team’s development camp recently and was, in fact, was one of the standouts there. The next step is to see how he performs in the preseason. Timmins, the team’s 2017 second-round pick, will likely play a full season in with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL next season.

Nikita Zadorov Signs With Colorado Avalanche

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The Colorado Avalanche have come to an agreement with restricted free agent Nikita Zadorov, signing him to a one-year contract according to agent Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey. Zadorov was eligible to file for arbitration before today’s deadline, but instead will re-up with the organization for one more year. A.J. Haefele of BSN Denver reports the deal will be for $3.2MM.

Zadorov, 24, was a huge part of the package that sent Ryan O’Reilly to the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, and has suited up for 225 games with the Avalanche since. An incredibly imposing figure on the ice, the 6’5″ 230-lbs defenseman is one of the most feared open ice hitters in the league and doesn’t hold back when he sees a chance. In those 225 games, Zadorov has totaled 712 hits for the Avalanche while adding 46 points.

It’s that offense that many hoped would come around when Buffalo selected Zadorov 16th overall in 2013, but he has never been able to add that side of his game. While he does have a good shot, his skill in breaking the puck out of his own zone is still lacking and he doesn’t have the playmaking upside to be involved on the powerplay. With the Avalanche adding top prospects Cale Makar and Bowen Byram in recent years, it will be imperative for Zadorov to improve his all-around play if he wants to remain a big part of the Colorado blue line. Already the team shipped Tyson Barrie out of town because of their strength on the back end, and still has at least eight capable NHL defenders on the roster.

Zadorov though now represents the third-highest paid defenseman on the team, and will be an important part early on in the season. Ian Cole and Erik Johnson are both doubtful to be ready for the start of the season due to injury, meaning that the big left-handed defender may get more ice time to show just how much of an impact he can make.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Zemgus Girgensons

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The Buffalo Sabres have avoided arbitration with one of their veteran forwards, inking Zemgus Girgensons to a one-year contract worth $1.6MM. Despite being only 25 Girgensons will become an unrestricted free agent next summer thanks to his six years of NHL experience already. $1.6MM was the qualifying offer that Buffalo issued him recently, the same salary he has earned the last two seasons.

Girgensons is one of the longest-tenured Sabre at this point, a regular in the lineup since 2013 when he was just a young forward one year removed from playing in the USHL. He scored eight goals and 22 points that season as a rookie, but more importantly proved that he could hang in the big leagues and contribute defensively. In fact, he recorded the highest plus/minus of any regular that season and caused some big expectations. After all, he was a 14th-overall pick.

Unfortunately, the offense has never materialized for Girgensons and he has even been moved out of the center position in recent seasons. In 72 games last year he recorded just five goals and 18 points, leading to some question over whether the Sabres would even qualify him. Obviously the team is fine with bringing him back for another season, but given that he hasn’t cracked the 20-point threshold in four seasons you can bet he won’t be asked to be an impact player for them next season. He does however provide a physical presence in the bottom-six and is still a key penalty killer for the team.

The Sabres still haven’t made many real changes to the roster for this season, only bringing in Jimmy Vesey as a new option at forward. Though the re-signing of Jeff Skinner and a full season from Brandon Montour should help, it’s surprising to see a team be so relatively quiet after going 33-39-10 last season. After Girgensons, they now have five restricted free agents left to sign in Johan Larsson, Evan Rodrigues, Linus Ullmark, Remi Elie and Jake McCabe.

Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Cedric Paquette, Carter Verhaeghe

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have avoided arbitration with another one of their restricted free agents, as Joe Smith of The Athletic reports the team has agreed to a two-year contract with Cedric Paquette. The deal will carry a $1.65MM average annual value, and take him to unrestricted free agency in 2021. The team has also announced a one-year, two-way contract for Carter Verhaeghe, keeping the minor league star in the organization and avoiding arbitration.

Paquette, 25, was an underrated part of the Tampa Bay machine last season, scoring 13 goals while suiting up for a career-high 80 games. Though he only added four assists and averaged just 12 minutes of ice time, he locked down the team’s fourth-line center position, was a key penalty killer and easily led the club in hits with 269. There’s no reason to think he’ll ever be an offensive dynamo in the NHL, but the Lightning will be happy if he can continue to win faceoffs and provide his physical play during limited minutes. With J.T. Miller and Ryan Callahan gone this season, that type of grinding game will be appreciated even more.

Verhaeghe meanwhile is still trying to crack the NHL squad, but had about as good a minor league season as anyone last year. The 23-year old put up 34 goals and 82 points in 76 games to lead the AHL in both categories (tying his teammate Alex Barre-Boulet in goals) and should compete for a spot on the roster this fall. The former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect is eligible for waivers and could be claimed if the Lightning try to send him back to the Syracuse Crunch once again.

Vancouver Canucks Sign Josh Leivo

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The Vancouver Canucks have come to an agreement with another one of their restricted free agents, signing forward Josh Leivo to a one-year contract worth $1.5MM. Leivo was eligible for salary arbitration, and will be an unrestricted free agent when this contract expires. GM Jim Benning explained what he likes about Leivo’s game:

Josh made a positive addition to our roster last year. He has a versatile game, is a strong two-way player and generates offence throughout our lineup. We’re excited to have Josh sign as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.

Ending up in Vancouver was the chance of a lifetime for Leivo, who had been previously stuck in a difficult situation with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite showing strong offensive numbers whenever he got the chance to play, Leivo was strapped to a press box seat on a nightly basis. He ended up playing just 34 games at any level over a two-year span between 2016-18, wasting two key years of his prime.

Now with the Canucks, he’s trying to make up for that lost time. After a trade from the Maple Leafs mid-season took him to the west coast, he was given the opportunity to play with some of the team’s best players and quickly started producing. While that rate didn’t continue for the whole year, he did finish with 18 points in 49 games for the Canucks. Add that to his 27 games in a Toronto sweater to start the year and Leivo more than doubled his NHL experience in one season. With a new one-year deal in his back pocket he’ll try to contribute even more and set himself up for a multi-year contract next summer.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Michael Bunting

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In addition to officially announcing the contract for Hudson Fasching, the Arizona Coyotes have released details on another signing. The team has inked restricted free agent Michael Bunting to a two-year, two-way contract. Bunting was eligible for salary arbitration, but will avoid it with his new contract.

Bunting, 23, was selected in the fourth round by the Coyotes five years ago, but only just made his NHL debut. The former OHL standout has had several successful seasons in the AHL, including 19 goals and 41 points in 52 games during the 2018-19 campaign. That was good enough for second on the team in both categories, while he easily led the club in penalty minutes with 84. A pesky forward that can both contribute offensively and get under an opponent’s skin, Bunting actually may have a future ahead of him in the Arizona bottom-six.

The question will be whether he can carve out that role this season, since he is no longer waiver-exempt. He cleared twice last season, once just as the season began and again later in February before the trade deadline, and will have to do so again to be sent to Tucson this season. The two-year term on his deal may actually help him clear again with teams hesitant to take on that commitment. He and Fasching both have work to do in order to contend for a spot this fall.

Snapshots: Panarin, McGinn, Greening

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It was hard to miss Artemi Panarin’s free agency decision on Monday, as an all-world player landed in the largest market in North America. However, what wasn’t clear right away was how Panarin’s new seven-year, $81.5MM contract with the New York Rangers was structured. CapFriendly has cleared that up, revealing the terms of the monster deal. To no surprise, the details continue to favor the star forward. While Panarin’s contract carries an $11.643MM cap hit, he will in fact make a salary of just $1MM each year. What this means is that Panarin’s deal includes nearly $75MM in signing bonuses, making the contract virtually buyout-proof. The bonuses role out in descending order, beginning with a $13MM bonus this season down to a $7MM bonus in 2025-26. Also unsurprisingly, Panarin’s deal includes a full No-Movement Clause. The investment in the 27-year-old Panarin, who has topped 70 points in each of his four NHL seasons, is pretty safe, which is lucky for the Rangers since is contract is all but immovable.

  • The deadline to file for salary arbitration is coming up, and the first name to file has been revealed. Speaking with media, including the Raleigh News & Observer’s Chip Alexander, Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell noted that forward Brock McGinn has filed for arbitration. McGinn, 25, has emerged as a regular contributor for the ’Canes over the past two years, missing only two games and posting back-to-back seasons of 25+ points. He additionally contributed six points in 15 playoff games during the run to the Eastern Conference Final this year. McGinn is also one of Carolina’s most physical forwards and plays a role on the penalty kill. Yet, his ice time is still somewhat limited, particularly playing sheltered minutes to do some turnover tendencies. The Hurricanes will try to support their filing number by pointing out McGinn’s relatively minor role and lack of overall career results, while the player side will emphasize the recent climb in scoring and ice time and his platform year being arguably his best season to date and coinciding in a return to the postseason for Carolina. Waddell, who recently joked that the Sebastian Aho offer sheet had freed up his summer due to a lack of contract negotiations, is not out of the woods yet, with McGinn filing, Trevor Carrick, Anton Forsberg, and Saku Maenalanen eligible to file, and several other restricted free agents in need of extensions.
  • Veteran forward Colin Greening has called it a career reports Toronto Marlies reporter Jacob Stoller. Although Greening has played solely for the Marlies over the past three seasons, he logged close to 300 NHL games with the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, including a 37-point season in 2011-12. Greening’s NHL production certainly declined as his career went on, but as he transitioned to a minor league leadership role, Greening ended up being both a reliable source of scoring and a key locker room presence. Greening will likely be remembered most for captaining the Marlies to the 2018 Calder Cup, as well as his dominant college career at Cornell University.

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