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Arbitration

Garnet Hathaway Avoids Arbitration

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Garnet Hathaway and the Calgary Flames were scheduled to hold an arbitration hearing today in Toronto, but will avoid the process and sign a one-year contract worth $850K. Hathaway had filed for $975K, while the team had countered with a league minimum $650K.

Hathaway, 26, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this contract and finds himself in another battle for an NHL spot this fall. Undrafted, the big winger has played 99 regular season games for Calgary over the past three seasons and contributed 13 points in 2017-18. Now after the team has added players like Elias Lindholm, James Neal, Austin Czarnik and Derek Ryan, there may be even less opportunity for depth players like Hathaway to really make an impact at the highest level. If he does find himself on the NHL roster out of camp, it will likely be battling with someone like Curtis Lazar for playing time on the fourth line.

The Flames have now resolved all of their arbitration cases for this offseason, meaning a second buyout window will open for them later this week. The team still does have restricted free agent Noah Hanifin (and minor league player Hunter Shinkaruk) to re-sign, and only around $4.5MM in cap space. Should the team want to free up any with a buyout, really only Troy Brouwer would be a potential candidate though the team still seems to value his experience and physical presence.

Calgary is desperate to get back to the playoffs after an extremely disappointing 2017-18 season, and players like Hathaway will have to step up if the team faces injury this season. With other younger options like Dillon Dube and Spencer Foo pushing hard for a chance at the NHL level, it may be the last chance for Hathaway to show what he can do for the organization.

New York Rangers, Kevin Hayes Far Apart In Negotiations

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Given the number of unsigned restricted free agents that the New York Rangers had on their plate to begin the off-season, it’s impressive that they have already locked up the bulk of those young players without much issue. However, Ryan Spooner and Kevin Hayes still remain without an extension and are slated for a salary arbitration hearings later this week. It seems at least one of those cases is likely to make it through to the arbitrator’s decision, as the New York Post’s Larry Brooks reports that Hayes and the Rangers are not close to a long-term extension.

According to Brooks, little progress has been made between the two sides in recent weeks and with Hayes’ hearing scheduled for Thursday, August 2nd, it seems the best case scenario now is a one- or two-year deal negotiated post hearing, while the more likely result is simply accepting the one-year award. Hayes is believed to be seeking between $5.5MM and $6MM per year on a long-term contract, which Brooks believes he could get on the open market. However, the Rangers don’t seem likely to make a commitment of that magnitude for Hayes and that might be a good call. The 26-year-old is a well-rounded center, but the Rangers are deep down the middle – for now – and Hayes has yet to crack 50 points in a season through four NHL campaigns and could regress from many of the career-high marks he set last season.

However, this still adds a new obstacle to the Rangers’ rebuild. A one-year contract for Hayes would make him an unrestricted free agent at the end of next season and thus a major trade deadline piece should New York struggle again in 2018-19. He would join Mats Zuccarello and possibly Spooner as impending free agents next summer who would be likely trade bait. The only problem is that trio could also be among the Rangers’ top scorers next season and could set the rebuild back even further if they end up making progress during the campaign, only to be dealt for picks and prospects. The Rangers rebuild was never going to be neat and tidy given their current composition, but after a smooth off-season to this point, Hayes is the first obstacle that signals some difficult choices coming up for New York.

Flames, Garnet Hathaway Exchange Arbitration Filings

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With their salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Monday morning, the Flames and RFA winger Garnet Hathaway have exchanged their filing figures.  Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports (Twitter link) that Calgary has offered a one-year deal at the league minimum $650K salary while Hathaway is seeking $975K.  Both offers are one-way contracts.

The 26-year-old split last season between the Flames and their AHL affiliate in Stockton.  He was quite productive at the minor league level, collecting 11 goals and eight assists in just 18 games.  However, that production wasn’t carried over to Calgary.  While Hathaway got into a career-high 59 NHL contests, he collected just four goals and nine helpers while logging 11:32 per night.

Hathaway spent most of last season in the bottom six and will likely reprise that role once again in 2018-19, especially with some of the additions they made to shore up their existing bottom six in center Derek Ryan and winger Austin Czarnik.

While the $325K difference may seem relatively inconsequential, Calgary projects to be fairly tight to the salary cap next season.  They currently sit with just shy of $5.4MM in cap room per CapFriendly but still have RFA defenseman Noah Hanifin to lock up.  He will take up the bulk of that remaining cap space so the Flames will be trying to save whatever they can with Hathaway in an effort to leave themselves with a little bit of flexibility heading into the year.

Gemel Smith Clears Waivers

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The Dallas Stars have taken a play out of the Calgary Flames book, having placed Gemel Smith on waivers prior to his arbitration hearing on Wednesday August 1st. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Smith actually cleared waivers today, though there had been no report yesterday of his assignment. The Flames used the same tactic earlier this month with Brett Kulak, in order to show the player’s relative value around the league. Smith is definitely an interesting player, but any acquiring team would have needed to quickly prepare for the arbitration hearing without the ability to reschedule it.

Smith, 24, played in 46 games for the Stars last season and scored 11 points, but was given very little opportunity to play consistent minutes. Averaging fewer than 10 minutes per game, the fourth-round pick was limited to being just an energy player for a team that struggled to find much secondary scoring. Dallas was extremely top heavy, playing their big three forwards—Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov—20 minutes or more each night while giving few chances to those lower in the lineup. That may change with new head coach Jim Montgomery, but it doesn’t necessarily mean a bigger opportunity for Smith.

After adding Blake Comeau and Valeri Nichushkin this summer, Smith will have to battle younger players like Jason Dickinson and Roope Hintz for a roster spot let alone regular minutes on the ice. The team is deeper on the wing this season and has to ride whichever hand is hottest in a must-win season. Dallas missed the playoffs again last season and can’t keep struggling in the middle of the Western Conference pack during the peak years of Benn, Seguin and John Klingberg. Smith should get a chance to impress at some point given his upcoming arbitration award and lack of waiver-exempt status, but he’s going to have to battle for it.

The fact that the rest of the league passed on Smith already should give Dallas renewed belief that they could sneak him through again in the season and send him to the minor leagues, but that’s not necessarily the case. Roster situations can change drastically over the next two months, and depending on the arbitration award (or settlement) teams could think he’s worth the risk.

Pacific Notes: Canucks, Campbell, Hathaway

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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.

Remaining Restricted Free Agents

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We’re getting closer to turning the calendar over to August, and there is still a lot of work to do for teams around the NHL. 10 arbitration cases remain unsettled, including for star players like William Karlsson and Mark Stone. Both will be extremely interesting to follow, as their respective teams have tough decisions on their hands.

For the Vegas Golden Knights, do you hand out a long-term expensive contract to a player that is still relatively unproven. Though Karlsson scored 43 goals this season he had just 18 career tallies beforehand, and finished this season with an impossible 23.4% shooting percentage. There is almost no chance that he can maintain that rate going forward, meaning his huge 2017-18 season may be a career-high. On the other side of that coin though is the increased opportunity he was given after switching teams, which could provide a realistic chance for him to be a 30-goal, 65-point player going forward. Signing him now would likely get you a bit of a discount on that type of scoring threat, though Vegas would assume almost all of the risk.

In Ottawa, there’s no clear direction on how the team will deal with Stone’s impending unrestricted free agency. Obviously one of the team’s most talented players, an arbitration award of one year would stop the Senators from negotiating with Stone’s camp until January on any potential extension and could make him a prime trade candidate. The 26-year old posted his fourth consecutive 20-goal season in 2017-18 despite playing in just 58 games. With all the turmoil in Ottawa it could be difficult to convince him to stick around long-term.

Beyond the arbitration cases though there is an incredible amount of talent left on the RFA board. Dylan Larkin, William Nylander, Sam Reinhart, Shea Theodore, Josh Morrissey and many others remain unsigned and could all be looking at expensive long-term deals with their respective clubs. These players are already excellent players in the NHL before they’ve even become eligible for arbitration and could really grind the offseason to a halt if they decide to hold out. There’s no indication that anyone is planning a long negotiation, but we’re now almost a month into the signing period without any deals.

Below is the full list of unsigned restricted free agents:

Ondrej Kase (ANA)
Nick Ritchie (ANA)
Marek Langhamer (ARZ)
Sam Reinhart (BUF)
Noah Hanifin (CGY)
Garnet Hathaway (CGY) – Scheduled for arbitration, July 30
Hunter Shinkaruk (CGY)
Patrik Nemeth (COL) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 4
Gemel Smith (DAL) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 1
Dylan Larkin (DET)
Matt Puempel (DET)
Darnell Nurse (EDM)
Michael McCarron (MTL)
Kerby Rychel (MTL)
Miikka Salomaki (NSH) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 2
Kevin Rooney (NJD)
Steven Santini (NJD)
Miles Wood (NJD)
Kevin Hayes (NYR) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 2
Ryan Spooner (NYR) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 4
Cody Ceci (OTT) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 1
Mark Stone (OTT) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 3
Robert Hagg (PHI)
Jordan Schmaltz (STL)
William Nylander (TOR)
William Karlsson (VGK) – Scheduled for arbitration, August 4
Shea Theodore (VGK)
Eric Comrie (WPG)
Nicolas Kerdiles (WPG)
J.C. Lipon (WPG)
Josh Morrissey (WPG)
Nic Petan (WPG)

David Rittich Re-Signs With Calgary Flames

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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.

Florida Panthers Avoid Arbitration With MacKenzie Weegar

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Another arbitration hearing can be cancelled, after the Florida Panthers announced they’ve come to terms with MacKenzie Weegar on a one-year contract. Weegar was scheduled for a hearing on July 30th, but will instead re-sign on a one-way contract worth $900K.

Weegar, 24, ended up with basically a full-time role with the Panthers in 2017-18 after the team traded away Jason Demers last September. In 60 games, the young defenseman recorded eight points and actually ranked second among Florida defenders in hits. That’s despite playing just over 14 minutes a night, which included virtually no time on the powerplay or penalty kill. If the team can avoid injury this year it’s not guaranteed that Weegar plays that many games again, though he certainly provides them with a strong depth option should they decide to insert him into the lineup.

With good skating skills and a habit of making quick, low-risk plays Weegar ended up with solid possession statistics and one of the best +/- ratings on the team at +5. Only Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle had better ratings among Florida defenders, while some of his direct competition for playing time struggled to post their previous solid play. There is a group of defensemen in Florida that will all be fighting for playing time this season, and there’s no doubt that Weegar will be right in the mix. If he doesn’t get at least 17 games he would qualify as a Group VI unrestricted free agent next season, and be allowed to sign wherever he wants.

Weegar was the final RFA left to sign for the Panthers, meaning their $2MM in cap space is free to spend on another player if they so choose. That number also includes several forwards who are unlikely to make the team out of camp, giving the team plenty of cap room to make a move in-season if they so choose. Florida will be trying to compete in a tough Atlantic Division where the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs are early favorites for the playoffs. Still, there are many things to be excited about when looking at a Panthers team that has just two regular skaters over the age of 30.

Jason Zucker Agrees To Terms On Five-Year Contract With Minnesota Wild

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The Minnesota Wild and Jason Zucker have finally found some common ground, agreeing to terms on a five-year contract worth $27.5MM. Zucker was scheduled for arbitration on July 28th, but instead will be locked up at a $5.5MM cap hit for the next five seasons. The year-by-year breakdown is as follows:

  • 2018-19: $5.0MM
  • 2019-20: $6.25MM
  • 2020-21: $4.8MM
  • 2021-22: $6.25MM
  • 2022-23: $5.2MM

Zucker, 26, experienced a breakout season at exactly the right time in his career to maximize his earning potential. After three strong but not outstanding campaigns, Zucker exploded for 33 goals and 64 points in 2017-18 while playing in all 82 games for the Minnesota Wild. Though some of that had to do with the success he found on the powerplay, Zucker still scored 25 goals at even-strength which tied him for 14th in the entire league alongside players like Tyler Seguin, Taylor Hall and Claude Giroux. With just one year remaining as a restricted free agent, the Wild needed to pay up to keep Zucker around or face a one-year arbitration decision and potentially losing him next summer to unrestricted free agency.

What they’ve accomplished by keeping Zucker’s cap hit to $5.5MM is potentially quite a bargain for the Wild, who could have one of the better even-strength producers in the league for a discounted price should he continue to play as well as he did last year. The five years at $5.5MM per season compares well with contracts like the ones given to Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller and even teammate Nino Niederreiter, none of whom have cracked 30 goals or 60 points in any season of their careers. While obviously each brings other talents to the table, Zucker should be able to easily produce enough to make the contract palatable as long as he doesn’t take a huge step backwards in the next few seasons.

That’s unlikely to really happen at any point in the contract given that the Wild have mostly locked up his late-twenties instead of early-thirties, giving them a chance to get out of the contract when a decline should be expected to start. Though they have other examples right in front of them like the continued brilliance of Eric Staal, the Wild haven’t taken on a ton of risk in this contract for Zucker, other than the fact they’re handing it out after a career season.

Still, there are some who might struggle to accept the offseason as a whole for Minnesota. After bringing in a new front office and GM with Paul Fenton, the team was expected to make some big changes to the core in order to try and go further in the playoffs and finally really compete for the Stanley Cup. Instead, they’ve handed out long-term contracts to Zucker and Mathew Dumba while failing to sign any real impact free agents outside of Greg Pateryn. With two big, long contracts still on the books with Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, the Wild will need some exceptional performances from some of their younger players while relying on repeat performances from Zucker and others.

Brett Kulak Receives Arbitration Award

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The decision is in for the Calgary Flames and defenseman Brett Kulak. An arbitrator has awarded a one-year, $900K contract for the restricted free agent, which is below the walk-away threshold and therefore already official. Kulak had filed for $1.15MM, while the Flames had filed for a $650K two-way deal.

The 24-year old Kulak played in 71 games for the Flames in 2017-18, and seemed to be in line for a full-time role next season. That may have changed with the Dougie Hamilton for Noah Hanifin swap, since the Flames now have an extra left-handed defenseman, but still Kulak should be part of the NHL team in some capacity. The Flames though showed how precarious that situation was by waiving him prior to his arbitration hearing, only to see him go unclaimed by the rest of the league. That showed just how he was valued by the league, and likely helped in keeping his salary under $1MM.

Now that he has been through waivers once, the team could potentially try to slip him through again at some point this season. While that may carry more risk of a claim, since there won’t be an arbitration hearing hanging over his head, Kulak hasn’t shown quite enough to be a prime target for other teams. His 71 games were fine, but he averaged fewer than 13 minutes a night and didn’t have to take on any of the toughest matchups. This season should be more of the same even if he does play a full-time role, leaving little room to prove that he deserves a bigger deal next summer.

Kulak will still be a restricted free agent next year, though the increased salary now puts his future in Calgary at risk. A qualifying offer next offseason would need to be for $945K, something that the Flames may feel is too expensive given his role on the team.

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