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Snapshots: Kunlun Red Star, Las Vegas, Scrivens On Hall

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The KHL’s Chinese expansion team, Kunlun Red Star, won their first game on Saturday. Kunlun had previously played and lost their first three games against Traktor, Spartak, and Amur by a combined score of 9-3. They didn’t score until the final pre-season game.

Now, they have moved from playing in mostly empty arenas in Finland to Kazakhstan for the President of Kazakhstan’s Cup. Kunlun opened the pre-tournament action against KHL team Barys Astana in Astana. The game was reportedly very intense, as China and Kazakhstan are rivals in other sports. This game was no different; the teams combined for 196 PIM in a 3-1 Kunlun victory. The two teams meet again on Monday.

More notes from around the hockey world:

  • According to a report in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the NHL’s expansion team has narrowed it down to four potential team nicknames. However, the new franchise is having trademark issues: the OHL’s London Knights own the trademark for the name in Canada. Owner Bill Foley told the Review-Journal that acquiring the name Knights is “not economically feasible”. Foley hopes to have the name and merchandise ready for late September or early October.
  • Finally, former Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens chimed in on Oscar Klefbom’s negative comments about former teammate Taylor Hall in late July. In a yet-to-be-posted interview with Russian hockey writer Igor Eronko, Scrivens said Klefbom “would know pretty well, he played with him for a while, and I can’t say he’s wrong”. Scrivens and Hall were teammates in Edmonton for a season and a half, during which the Oilers had a record of 38-59-18.

Salary Cap Report: Central Division

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As the hockey world takes its collective breath before the World Cup, training camps, and the regular season, most teams have checked off their boxes and marked their ledgers. Some teams are not finished building their rosters, with RFAs still to sign and trades to explore. Some teams have plenty of space to maneuver with; other teams will need to get creative to stay under the cap.

We’ll complete our Salary Cap Reports by taking a look at the Central Division. Of note:

  • The Central Division has the two highest paid players in the NHL in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. The Blackhawks captain and leading scorer signed matching eight-year, $84MM extensions in the summer of 2014.
  • After June’s blockbuster trade, the NHL’s highest paid defenseman is now in the Central: P.K. Subban and his $9MM cap hit are now members of the Nashville Predators. The Predators also have the highest paid goalie in the division, with Pekka Rinne making $7MM per season.
  • With Dallas captain Jamie Benn signed to a long-term extension already, there aren’t any superstar pending-UFAs in the Central, but veteran scoring wingers Patrick Sharp and Alex Steen are both up at the end of this season. Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin and Ryan Johansen headline next summer’s RFAs.

By the numbers:

Also in the Salary Cap Report series: Atlantic Division, Metropolitan Division, and Pacific Division.

Salary Cap Report: Pacific Division

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As the hockey world takes its collective breath before the World Cup, training camps, and the regular season, most teams have checked off their boxes and marked their ledgers. Some teams are not finished building their rosters, with RFAs still to sign and trades to explore. Some teams have plenty of space to maneuver with; other teams will need to get creative to stay under the cap.

We’ll continue our Salary Cap Reports by taking a look at the Pacific Division. Of note:

By the numbers:

Also in the Salary Cap Report series: Metropolitan Division and Atlantic Division.

Snapshots: Unsigned Restricted Free Agents, Trouba, Hudler

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The list of Restricted Free Agents has some serious star power on it, despite the calendar turning to August. Between Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Hampus Lindholm, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nikita Kucherov, and Jacob Trouba, there are a handful of elite franchise building blocks without a contract. If you’re keeping count at home, that’s two legit number one defenseman, a possible number one in Trouba, and three high-end first line forwards. Quality players like Ryan Strome and Cody Ceci are also waiting to get contracts, having passed on their qualifying offers.

Here are some other snapshots from around the hockey world:

  • On That’s Hockey, TSN’s Gary Lawless reported that things are very quiet between Trouba and the Winnipeg Jets, saying the two sides are far apart on “everything… they’re apart on term, they’re apart on money, they’re apart on usage”. Trouba finds himself behind Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers on the right side, and according to Lawless he feels he should be playing with one of the team’s top defenders. A trade involving Trouba is unlikely according to Lawless.
  • Also on TSN, Travis Yost made a strong case for UFA winger Jiri Hudler, arguing that while he’s past his prime scoring days, Hudler still has a very positive effect on his teammates. Hudler raises his team’s shooting percentage by 2.44 per cent when he’s on the ice. That ranks fourth in the NHL since 2010, behind superstars Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, and the now-retired Martin St. Louis. We ranked Hudler 18th on our Top 50 Free Agents list back in June, and estimated a four-year, $16MM contract. Look for him to sign a much less expensive one-year pact with a goal-hungry team to prove he’s still got it.

Oilers Shuffle Front Office

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The Edmonton Oilers officially announced a handful of changes to their front office on Tuesday. Headlining the announcement was the hiring of Keith Gretzky as Assistant General Manager. Gretzky had previously been a part of the Boston Bruins scouting staff, and most recently held the title of Director of Amateur Scouting. While many have criticized his uneven draft record, he was responsible for several solid picks like David Pastrnak. He will also have Bob Green, the Oilers Director of Player Personnel, to help manage the draft; Green has helped the Oilers with some great picks outside the first round, like Ethan Bear, Caleb Jones, and Ziyat Paigin.

Gretzky replaces Bill Scott as AGM, while Scott moves to the role of Cap Manager. This was part of his previous job description, so he’ll have a smaller role than before.

Former pro scout Duane Sutter was promoted to Vice President of Player Personnel. Sutter was part of the team that advised Chiarelli on additions like Cam Talbot, Patrick Maroon, and Zack Kassian. Kelly Buchberger, the former Oilers captain, assistant coach, and manager of player personnel was also promoted to VP of Player Development.

The team also brought a handful of new scouts on board, including Frank Jay, who worked with Chiarelli in Ottawa and drafted Jason Spezza among other notables; and P.J. Fenton, who is new to the scouting world. The 30-year-old was a 5th round pick of the Sharks in 2005 and played in Europe from 2009-16.

Meanwhile, Scott Howson, the former Senior Vice President of Player Personnel, has “moved on to explore other opportunities”. Howson served as the Oilers AGM from 2001-07 before leaving to manage Columbus. He returned to the organization in 2013 and spent his first two seasons as the Oilers’ Vice President of Hockey Operations; he was shuffled down the hierarchy when Peter Chiarelli was hired after the team won the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery.

The Oilers also confirmed they will not renew the contract of analytics guru Tyler Dellow. We previously reported about Dellow’s release in July, when it was confirmed by Sportsnet’s Mark Spector.

The Latest In The Jimmy Vesey Saga

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The story of highly-sought-after pending UFA Jimmy Vesey has taken a few twists and turns in the last few months: Vesey allegedly told the Predators he would sign with them, then didn’t and denied ever saying he would. He was traded to Buffalo, where he would have the chance to play with good friend Jack Eichel. Despite the opportunity in Buffalo, Vesey has remained firm about getting to free agency on August 15.

It’s believed the Bruins, Maple Leafs, and Sabres are among the frontrunners to land Vesey; he played in Harvard, his dad and brother are currently in Toronto as a scout and draft pick respectively, and the Sabres have his friend Eichel and paid a third round pick to acquire him. However, Vesey’s agent Peter Donatelli told Powers his camp won’t “pigeonhole” themselves by making a decision before speaking to teams. Now it appears that a new team has entered the sweepstakes: the powerhouse Chicago Blackhawks.

Donatelli told The Athletic’s Scott Powers that Chicago “will be a team we want to talk to on August 15”.

On the surface, there appears to be a great fit with Chicago on the top line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. The pairing played with several different players last season after Brandon Saad was traded to Columbus last summer. The Blackhawks can offer him a big chance to play with two of the best players in the game and a chance to win now, whereas the other teams believed to be on the list are all in various states of rebuilding or re-tooling. Vesey would also give the Blackhawks a cheap young talent to help offset the recent losses of Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw.

With the power squarely in Vesey’s hands to choose his destination, Donatelli said it will be up to each team to sell their program to Vesey.

Snapshots: Predators Defense, Elliott, Yakimov

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The Nashville Predators bolstered their already-impressive defense on Wednesday with the Matt Carle signing. While Carle is no longer the top-four defenseman he once was, he remains a decent bottom-pairing option. His time in Tampa Bay came to an end after he was passed by younger and cheaper players. Carle said he’s excited by the chance to play under coach Peter Laviolette, with whom Carle enjoyed his best seasons in Philadelphia. He’ll play with younger pros like Petter Granberg on the third pairing of what very well could be the best defense in hockey:

Roman Josi – P.K. Subban
Mattias Ekholm – Ryan Ellis
Carle – Petter Granberg/ Yannick Weber

The top pairing consists of a Norris Trophy-winner and Josi, who has been as good or better than former partner Shea Weber for the last couple seasons. Dynamic offensive defenseman Ellis and the two-way Ekholm form a dependable and competent second pairing, and now the veteran Carle will anchor a third pairing.

In other news from around pro hockey:

  • The Calgary Flames introduced new starting goalie Brian Elliott today. Elliott said he’s looking forward to getting settled and playing in front of a young and skilled Flames team on the rise. He went 23-8-2 in 41 appearances with St. Louis last season, posting a 0.930 save percentage and a 2.07 GAA. Elliott will wear number one in Calgary.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have loaned prospect Bogdan Yakimov to HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the KHL. The monster center (6’5, 203 lbs) appeared in one NHL game (October 2014 versus Los Angeles) in two pro seasons in North America. He posted 43 points in 93 AHL games in that time, which included an 11-game stint in with Nizhnekamsk last season before returning to the AHL. Yakimov has one year remaining on his entry-level contract. It’s not yet known what the Oilers will do with Yakimov; in the past they retained the rights to KHL-bound Roman Horak and Philip Larsen, but terminated Toni Rajala’s contract for wanting to play in Europe.

Snapshots: Larsson, Zborovskiy, Davidge

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The Oilers prized new defenseman Adam Larsson was in his new home city for the first time on Monday, meeting teammates and taking part in a charity golf tournament. Larsson said he’s excited about his new city and teammates, specifically fellow Swede and potential defensive partner Oscar Klefbom, saying “it’s going to be fun playing with him”.

When asked about filling the departed Taylor Hall’s shoes, Larsson said it’s different because he’s a defenseman while Hall is a winger, but that New Jersey got a “really good player”.

The Oilers also announced Larsson will wear number six.

Here are some other items from around the hockey world:

  • The New York Rangers have signed 2015 third-round pick Sergey Zborovskiy to his entry-level contract, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Zborovskiy will make $633K per season, and will pocket a $278K signing bonus. He was the 79th pick in last year’s draft. He posted 44 points in 135 games over two seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats.
  • Bill Davidge, the Columbus Blue Jackets color analyst for Fox Sports, took to Twitter to announce he is cancer free. Davidge was diagnosed with myeloma in 2014. He joined the Blue Jackets as a scout in 1999 before joining the broadcast crew for their inaugural season in 2000-01.

Blackhawks Cut Ties With Rundblad, Free Up Cap Space

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The Chicago Blackhawks have freed up an additional $100K for next season after agreeing to a mutual termination of defenseman David Rundblad’s contract, according to salary cap tracking website General Fanager. Rundblad cleared waivers on July 1 but was never bought out. A buyout of his contract would have counted against the Blackhawks’ cap to the tune of $133,333K for 2016-17 and $183,333K in 2017-18. At the time Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman told CSN Chicago he wanted to “let him find a spot where he knows he’ll be a regular player every day”.

Rundblad had one season remaining on his contract at $1.05M. Had he decided to go back to play in Europe, the Blackhawks would have been hit with a $100K cap hit. The $100K is the difference between Rundblad’s salary and $950K, the maximum amount of cap relief per buried player.

Rundblad split the 2015-16 campaign between Chicago, their AHL affiliate Rockford Ice Hogs, and Zurich SC in the Swiss-A league. He left for Switzerland shortly after being assigned to the AHL, but returned in time to appear in three playoff games, going pointless as the Blackhawks were eliminated by St. Louis.

Once a highly-touted prospect, Rundblad played a total of 63 games with Chicago over three seasons after being acquired at the 2014 trade deadline from the then-Phoenix Coyotes for a second round pick. Runblad was originally picked 17th overall by the St. Louis Blues in 2009, but never played a game for them. At the 2010 draft, the Blues traded him to Ottawa for the 16th overall pick, which was used to select Vladimir Tarasenko. He lasted just 24 games with the Senators before being traded to Phoenix alongside a second round pick for disgruntled center Kyle Turris. Rundblad has scored 4 goals and 25 points in 113 NHL games over five seasons. Because Rundblad is right-handed and has shown offensive ability in the past (he has a 50-point campaign in Sweden and a 39-point one in the AHL), he would likely be a candidate for a training camp tryout this fall if he doesn’t return to Europe.

The Blackhawks now have $2.54MM in cap space for next season.

Week In Review: 7/18/16 – 7/24/16

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With the excitement of free agency mostly over, NHL teams are now taking care of housekeeping items like avoiding arbitration hearings with their remaining RFAs. Here’s a look back at the week that was.

Trades

July 18 – New York Rangers acquire C Mika Zibanejad and a 2018 2nd round pick from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for C Derick Brassard and a 2018 7th round pick.

Notable Signings

Marcus Johansson (Capitals) – avoided arbitration with a three-year, $13.75MM contract.
Mikhail Grigorenko (Avalanche) – the RFA forward signed a one-year contract worth $1.3MM before his arbitration hearing.
Chris Kreider (Rangers) – agreed to a four-year, $18.5MM contract, avoiding arbitration.
Kevin Hayes (Rangers) – avoided arbitration by signing a two-year contract worth $5.2MM.
Connor Carrick (Maple Leafs) – unlike many of the weeks signings, Carrick was not eligible for arbitration. He signed a two-year, $1.5MM contract.
Luke Schenn (Coyotes) – signed a two-year, $2.5MM contract in Arizona after splitting last season between the Flyers and Kings. Schenn was ranked 30th on our Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents List.

Waivers

Jordan Schroeder (Wild) – cleared waivers, then settled on a new one-year, $650K contract prior to his arbitration hearing.
Peter Holland (Maple Leafs) – Holland is not expected to be back with the Maple Leafs next season after clearing waivers ahead of his upcoming arbitration hearing.

Notable Prospect Signings

Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs) – three-year entry-level deal
Jack Roslovic (Jets) – three-year entry-level deal

Retirements

Brad Richards (Red Wings) – The veteran center announced his retirement on July 20. Richards scored 932 points in 1126 NHL games with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Richards won two Stanley Cups: 2004 with the Lightning and 2015 with the Blackhawks. Richards was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner in 2004.

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