Lightning Recall Alex Barre-Boulet, Place Tyler Motte On IR
Alex Barre-Boulet’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the Lightning announced that they’ve recalled the winger from AHL Syracuse. To make room for him on the roster, winger Tyler Motte was placed on injured reserve, a move that will keep him out of the lineup for the next week.
Barre-Boulet cleared waivers just yesterday after starting the year on Tampa Bay’s roster for cap-related purposes, allowing the Lightning to maximize their LTIR pool. The 26-year-old is coming off a career year in the minors, notching 84 points in 69 games with the Crunch last season, good for second in the league in points while he led the league in assists with 60.
As for Motte, he suffered a hand injury in Tuesday’s season opener against Nashville. The 28-year-old was a late signee with the Lightning, only getting a one-year, $800K contract after Josh Archibald decided against playing this season. Austin Watson will likely take Motte’s place in the lineup on the fourth line after his PTO was converted to a one-year contract earlier this week.
Five Key Stories: 10/2/23 – 10/8/23
With the start of the regular season now just days away, activity across the NHL picked up over the past few days. Here’s a rundown of the biggest news of the past week.
Ducks Sign Two: There won’t be any in-season holdouts in Anaheim this year as the Ducks agreed to bridge deals with their two remaining restricted free agents. First, they inked center Trevor Zegras to a three-year pact which carries a cap hit of $5.75MM. He’s coming off a career-best year offensively with 65 points and is one of the young pillars up front for the Ducks. Both sides get more time to evaluate with this deal to see if Zegras can become a top-end producer. They took a similar approach with defenseman Jamie Drysdale, giving him a three-year deal with a $2.3MM AAV. Drysdale missed most of last season after suffering a torn labrum but showed plenty of promise before that, making a part of their very strong young blueline corps. Notably, the salary structure for both contracts is uniform, making it that their qualifying offers in 2026 will be the same as their cap hits.
Stepan Hangs Them Up: Veteran middleman Derek Stepan has decided to call it a career, announcing his retirement at the age of 33. In his prime, he was a capable second center who also brought some defensive value to the table. He had at least 44 points in each of his first eight NHL seasons, surpassing the 50-point mark in six of those. That helped Stepan play in over NHL games between the regular season and the playoffs, the bulk of which came with the Rangers who drafted him in the second round back in 2008.
Three For Hartman: After inking Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno to extensions last week, the Wild took care of their other prominent pending unrestricted free agent, signing forward Ryan Hartman to a three-year, $12MM extension. The 29-year-old is entering his fifth season with Minnesota and has gone from more of a depth piece to a core part of their top six after putting up 65 points in 2021-22 and 37 more last year despite missing 23 games due to injuries. Along the way, he has shown himself to be capable of playing down the middle, helping to fill a big need on the depth chart. As long as he can produce at a second-line rate, this is a deal that should work out well for both sides.
Four For Kaliyev: Kings winger Arthur Kaliyev received a four-game suspension from the Department of Player Safety for his kneeing incident on Ducks forward Chase De Leo. The ban covered the final two games of the preseason and the first two games of the regular season, meaning that the 22-year-old won’t be eligible to suit up for Los Angeles until October 17th. Kaliyev was an effective secondary scorer last season, notching 28 points in 56 games. Meanwhile, De Leo will miss roughly the next eight weeks with a knee injury and will begin the year on season-opening injured reserve.
One More Year: Still with Los Angeles, Kings head coach Todd McLellan was heading into the final year of his contract. Teams don’t typically like to have their bench bosses in their ‘lame duck’ season so they worked out a one-year extension that keeps him under contract through 2024-25. The veteran has been behind the bench for 290 games with Los Angeles with his team posting a 141-115-34 record. However, the team hasn’t won a playoff series with him at the helm. This extension allows for any possible distraction to go away but it stands to reason that with the summer they had, simply making the postseason is no longer the bare minimum so even with a new deal in hand, the pressure will be on McLellan this year.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Tampa Bay Lightning
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Current Cap Hit: $90,448,333 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
None that are projected to make the roster or play a prominent role this season.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Alex Barre-Boulet ($758K, UFA)
D Zach Bogosian ($850K, UFA)
F Logan Brown ($775K, RFA)
D Calvin de Haan ($775K, UFA)
D Haydn Fleury ($762.5K, UFA)
F Tyler Motte ($800K, UFA)
D Philippe Myers ($1.4MM, UFA)
D Brent Seabrook ($6.875MM, UFA)
F Steven Stamkos ($8.5MM, UFA)
Considering the number of times that Tampa Bay has extended its core players as soon as possible under GM Julien BriseBois, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the same thing would happen to Stamkos. Surprisingly, it hasn’t, an outcome that the captain himself isn’t too pleased about. While his output slowed last season, he still put up 34 goals and averaged more than a point per game. At this price point, that’s still pretty good value. Stamkos will be 34 next summer and in a position to earn another multi-year agreement, likely with a market value around what he’s making now unless he slows down considerably this year. BriseBois is taking a wait-and-see approach to see if Stamkos still fits on the team moving forward, a question that might not be able to be answered until we know the actual Upper Limit for 2024-25.
Motte was a late-summer signing after Josh Archibald decided to not play this year. This is the second straight summer where his camp has misread the market, resulting in a lower-than-expected contract. Assuming he has a similar showing this year as he has had lately, a small raise should be achievable as long as he doesn’t set his sights too high again early in free agency. Brown comes in after being non-tendered by St. Louis and if he can earn a spot in the lineup when he returns from an injury that will keep him out at the start of the season, he could get a small raise or at least more guaranteed money next year. Barre-Boulet is listed here as he’s tied for the lowest cap hit in the league which gives him a shot at a spot on the fourth line. Primarily a minor leaguer the last two years, he’s likely to stay around the minimum salary next year.
Among the blueliners, Seabrook’s career has been over since late 2019. He’ll be on LTIR for one more season and then the Lightning can try to work back to being a non-LTIR team, ideally giving them a chance to back a bit of in-season flexibility. Meanwhile, Myers isn’t even on the roster now as a decision to extend him around this time last year didn’t pan out as he’s already cleared waivers. However, they’ll still carry a $250K charge even with him in the minors. Considering what they’re currently over their LTIR ceiling by, that small amount is notable. Myers will likely wind up with a deal close to the minimum next summer.
Bogosian’s days of being an every-game player are done but he can still hold his own on a third pairing. With his usage the last few years though, it’s hard to see him getting more than this on the open market next year. Tampa Bay brought in de Haan this summer and it’s possible he winds up platooning with Bogosian in that part-time role. Barring him having a bounce-back year, this is the range he’ll be in price-wise moving forward. Fleury is another player on a sub-minimum contract which gives him some value from a depth perspective. He has had a very limited role the past couple of years and at this point, he might be heading for a two-way deal next summer.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Michael Eyssimont ($800K, UFA)
F Luke Glendening ($800K, UFA)
D Victor Hedman ($7.875MM, UFA)
F Tanner Jeannot ($2.665MM, UFA)
G Jonas Johansson ($775K, UFA)
D Nick Perbix ($1.125MM, UFA)
The Lightning paid a high price at the trade deadline to land Jeannot and they weren’t exactly rewarded for their investment. He’s poised to have an important role this season and if he can get close to his 2021-22 performance, he could be in line for a decent-sized raise with the premium power forwards typically get. Eyssimont opted to take some job security over testing the open market in the summer, understandable considering he was a waiver claim last year. If he can secure a full-time spot with Tampa Bay, he could set himself up for a small bump, even if he stays on the fourth line. Glendening is basically a faceoff specialist who can kill penalties at this point of his career. He might have left some money on the table to sign with Tampa Bay but his value is going to be limited moving forward.
The same can’t be said for Hedman. While he couldn’t match his career-best 85 points from 2021-22, he still produced at better than a 50-point pace while averaging nearly 24 minutes a night. While he’ll be 34 when his next contract starts (turning 35 early the following season), he should still be capable of covering 20 minutes a night while playing in all situations. A small pay cut might be needed but he’ll have plenty of interest if he gets to the open market. Perbix had a nice rookie season after being a college free agent signing. He’ll be tasked with covering a regular role on the third pairing and if he can hold that down for two years, he’ll hit the market in his prime (at 27) which could allow him to possibly double this AAV at that time.
Johansson was a bit of a curious signing to be Tampa Bay’s backup given his lack of NHL success but keeping the cost as low as possible (in this case, it couldn’t be lower) was a priority. Now that he’ll be thrust into the number one role for a couple of months, this will be his chance to show the league that he’s a capable netminder at the top level. A good showing in this stretch – even though it’s not his free agent year – might be enough to allow him to push for a seven-figure AAV next time out.
Signed Through 2025-26
D Darren Raddysh ($762.5K in 2023-24, $975K in 2024-25 and 2025-26)
F Conor Sheary ($2MM, UFA)
Sheary comes over from Washington after two consecutive seasons of being a capable secondary scorer. The risk here is relatively low for the Lightning as if he even produces 30-35 points, they should get a good return on this deal.
Raddysh didn’t play a lot during the regular season but logged more than 25 minutes a game in the playoffs, giving him enough leverage to get a two-year, one-way extension back in June, a pretty good outcome for someone who has cleared waivers in each of the last two training camps. That shouldn’t be the case this time around and as a capable producer in the minors, this could be a team-friendly deal if he’s able to become a secondary point provider from the back end.
Players Still On Training Camp Tryouts
While there have been many players who had been in training camps on tryout deals cut over the past week or so, there are quite a few whose fates have not yet been determined. Here’s a rundown of players who are still on PTO agreements with their respective teams.
Boston Bruins
Edmonton Oilers
F Adam Erne
F Sam Gagner
Gagner did not play in the preseason as he works his way back from hip surgery.
Florida Panthers
New York Islanders
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Libor Hajek
D Mark Pysyk
F Austin Wagner
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vegas Golden Knights
Some of these players will likely receive an NHL contract but cap-strapped teams will wait until it’s absolutely necessary to convert them to a guaranteed deal, either to optimize their LTIR pool or to try to save a day or two worth of cap space. Meanwhile, other teams could also come calling if a waiver target doesn’t make it to them. One way or the other, their fates will likely be decided soon.
2009 NHL Draft Take Two: Fifteenth Overall
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now. Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?
The results of our redraft so far are as follows, with their original draft position in parentheses:
1st Overall: Victor Hedman, New York Islanders (2)
2nd Overall: John Tavares, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
3rd Overall: Ryan O’Reilly, Colorado Avalanche (33)
4th Overall: Matt Duchene, Atlanta Thrashers (3)
5th Overall: Chris Kreider, Los Angeles Kings (19)
6th Overall: Nazem Kadri, Phoenix Coyotes (7)
7th Overall: Mattias Ekholm, Toronto Maple Leafs (102)
8th Overall: Evander Kane, Dallas Stars (4)
9th Overall: Brayden Schenn, Ottawa Senators (5)
10th Overall: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Edmonton Oilers (6)
11th Overall: Ryan Ellis, Nashville Predators (11)
12th Overall: Dmitry Orlov, New York Islanders (55)
13th Overall: Anders Lee, Buffalo Sabres (152)
14th Overall: Tyson Barrie, Florida Panthers (64)
After being an early third-rounder originally, Barrie fares much better this time around, going in the final lottery spot. It was a narrow margin of victory as he checked in with just 18.5% of the votes, barely 2% ahead of the next-highest player.
Barrie was, unsurprisingly, a high-end point producer from the back end in junior. After putting up 52 points in his draft-eligible year, he followed it up with back-to-back seasons with greater than a point-per-game average.
While he spent a good chunk of his first two professional campaigns in the minors, Barrie did see action with Colorado and by the midway mark of that second year, he was a regular with the Avs. Before long, he was one of the more consistent offensive blueliners, putting up a double-digit goal total in five of six years, notching at least 49 points in four of those.
In 2019, the Avs decided to trade for an impact center, acquiring Kadri from Toronto (who went sixth in this redraft) as part of a four-player, two-pick swap. The Maple Leafs were hoping Barrie would be a big boost to their top power play but it didn’t go as planned as he had just five goals and went to Edmonton via free agency the next summer on a three-year deal with a $4.5MM AAV, one that expires at the end of the upcoming season.
Barrie did have some success with the Oilers in that power play specialist role but last season, his contract was needed for cap matching purposes when they picked up Mattias Ekholm from Nashville. A speculative trade candidate over the summer, a move didn’t come to fruition but if the Predators are out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline, he could be on the move again.
Very quietly, Barrie sits eighth in scoring among all players from this draft class, second to only Hedman amongst blueliners. All in all, he has had a pretty impressive career for a third-round pick, one that likely will still have a few years left in it after this coming season.
Now, we shift our focus to pick number fifteen, held by the Anaheim Ducks. They opted to look for help down the middle with their original selection, selecting Peter Holland out of OHL Guelph. Holland had a somewhat successful tryout with Colorado this training camp, eventually earning himself a longer look with their AHL affiliate but there are certainly better options for Anaheim in this redraft. Who should they take? Make your selection by voting in our poll below.
If you can’t access the poll above, click here to vote.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Norris, Bennett, Red Wings
It was expected that Senators center Josh Norris would be fully ready for the start of the season after recovering from shoulder surgery that cost him most of last year. However, he hasn’t seen any preseason action and won’t play tonight against Montreal in their final tune-up. Now, head coach D.J. Smith told reporters including TSN’s Claire Hanna (Twitter link) that it now looks as if the 24-year-old won’t be ready to start the season. Now, the focus will shift to him either starting on IR or LTIR. If it’s the latter, he’d have to miss at least 10 regular season games and 24 days but the placement would at least open up enough temporary cap space to sign RFA Shane Pinto, giving GM Pierre Dorion more time to try to find a way to clear up cap room and give the Sens a capable center to cover for Norris in the short term.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Panthers head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Jordan MacPherson of the Miami Herald that center Sam Bennett is doubtful for Florida’s season opener next week against Tampa Bay. Bennett was spotted in a walking boot prior to practice earlier today. While Maurice termed Bennett’s timeline as longer than day-to-day, he added that the hope is that the forward won’t miss more than a couple of weeks. Eetu Luostarinen is likely to move from the wing back to the middle in Bennett’s absence.
- The Red Wings appear to be leaning toward carrying three goalies to start the season, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Detroit signed James Reimer to be the backup with fellow newcomer Alex Lyon presumptively being the ideal third option with AHL Grand Rapids. However, with how well Lyon finished last season and some teams believed to be looking to add goalie depth, it appears that they’re not willing to risk losing Lyon on waivers at this time. Detroit sits well below the cap ceiling so they can easily afford to go this route with their roster if they choose to do so.
Training Camp Cuts: 10/7/23
While teams have considerably whittled down their rosters compared to where they were just a weekend ago, there are still plenty more cuts to be made in the coming days. Here are today’s roster trimmings excluding earlier waiver placements.
Buffalo Sabres (via team Twitter)
D Ryan Johnson (to Rochester, AHL)
F Lukas Rousek (to Rochester, AHL)
Calgary Flames (via team release)
D Nick DeSimone (to Calgary, AHL)
F Mathias Emilio Pettersen (to Calgary, AHL)
F Martin Pospisil (to Calgary, AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)
G Yaniv Perets (to Norfolk, ECHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
D Marcus Bjork (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Jake Christiansen (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Joshua Dunne (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Brendan Gaunce (to Cleveland, AHL)
F Carson Meyer (to Cleveland, AHL)
D Billy Sweezey (to Cleveland, AHL)
Dallas Stars (via team Twitter)
D Alexander Petrovic (to Texas, AHL)
Detroit Red Wings (via team Twitter)
F Austin Czarnik (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Timothy Gettinger (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Taro Hirose (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
G John Lethemon (to Toledo, ECHL)
D Jared McIsaac (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Wyatt Newpower (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
D Brogan Rafferty (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
F Nolan Stevens (to Grand Rapids, AHL)
Nashville Predators (per ESPN’s John Buccigross)
D Marc Del Gaizo (to Milwaukee, AHL)
New Jersey Devils (via team Twitter)
D Santeri Hatakka (to Utica, AHL)
G Isaac Poulter (to Utica, AHL)
New York Rangers (per team Twitter)
F Jonny Brodzinski (to Hartford, AHL)
D Ben Harpur (to Hartford, AHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (via team Twitter)
F Wade Allison (to Lehigh Valley, AHL)
San Jose Sharks (via team Twitter)
F Ryan Carpenter (to San Jose, AHL)
F Oskar Lindblom (to San Jose, AHL)
F Quentin Musty (to Sudbury, OHL)
F Jacob Peterson (to San Jose, AHL)
Seattle Kraken (per team Twitter)
D Ryker Evans (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
F Shane Wright (to Coachella Valley, AHL)
Washington Capitals (per team Twitter)
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel (to Hershey, AHL)
G Mitchell Gibson (to Hershey, AHL)
F Alex Limoges (to Hershey, AHL)
D Dylan McIlrath (to Hershey, AHL)
F Joe Snively (to Hershey, AHL)
F Michael Sgarbossa (to Hershey, AHL)
G Hunter Shepard (to Hershey, AHL)
This post will be updated throughout the day.
Devils Sign Max Willman To A One-Year Deal
Call it a successful PTO for winger Max Willman. While he finds himself on waivers today, it’s for a good reason. The Devils announced (Twitter link) that he has signed a one-year, two-way contract. New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols relays (via Twitter) that the contract pays $775K in the NHL, $135K in the minors, and has a total guarantee of $150K.
The 28-year-old spent the last four years in Philadelphia’s system, primarily playing at the AHL level. However, he got into 41 games with the Flyers back in 2021-22 where he picked up six points. Last season, however, his time in the NHL was limited to just nine appearances. However, he did chip in with 23 points in 54 games with AHL Lehigh Valley.
Willman became an unrestricted free agent this summer and wasn’t able to land a guaranteed contract, resulting in him being one of many to go the PTO route. He becomes one of the few to be converted to an NHL deal and assuming he clears waivers (a likely outcome since he couldn’t get a full deal in free agency), he’ll be assigned to AHL Utica where he’ll look to play his way into a recall when injuries strike.
Waivers: 10/7/23
The final day of the preseason is today so pretty soon, teams will be finalizing their season-opening rosters which means there will be plenty of players on waivers this weekend. Here is today’s group, via TSN’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link).
Boston Bruins
F Jesper Boqvist
F Oskar Steen
D Jakub Zboril
Buffalo Sabres
F Brandon Biro
D Kale Clague
D Riley Stillman
Colorado Avalanche
D Jack Ahcan
D Brad Hunt
Columbus Blue Jackets
Edmonton Oilers
D Cam Dineen
D Philip Kemp
F Brad Malone
G Calvin Pickard
Los Angeles Kings
Nashville Predators
F Denis Gurianov
F Jachym Kondelik (unconditional for the purposes of release, per CapFriendly)
New Jersey Devils
F Shane Bowers
F Justin Dowling
F Tyce Thompson
F Maxwell Willman
Seattle Kraken
G Chris Driedger
D Cale Fleury
F John Hayden
As expected at this point in training camp, the majority of these players have some form of NHL experience.
Boston’s trio is certainly intriguing. Boqvist is coming off a 21-point season (10 goals, 11 assists) with the Devils but was non-tendered this summer due to arbitration eligibility, resulting in him signing a one-year deal for the minimum with the Bruins. Still just 24, a rebuilding team might be inclined to give him a shot. Steen played in 20 games with Boston back in 2021-22 and looked like a potential fourth-line center of the future at the time. He cleared waivers last season but teams looking for depth down in the middle could consider him. As for Zboril, he was limited to just 22 games last season but has 76 appearances at the top level under his belt. A first-round pick back in 2015 (13th overall), he has a bit of a higher cap hit ($1.1375MM) which could scare teams off but he could be a fit on the third pairing of some rebuilding squads.
Among the other forwards on the wire today, Gurianov stands out. He put up 20 goals with Dallas back in 2019-20, following that up with 30 points in just 55 games one year later. However, he has struggled considerably since then and notched just seven goals between Dallas and Montreal last season. Still, with an $800K price tag, he’s a player who could be claimed. Madden was viewed as a quality prospect not long ago but has yet to see NHL action. However, he’s only 23 and is signed for the minimum this season which makes him a possible claim candidate as well.
On the back end, Fleury was up with Seattle all of last season but was limited to just a dozen games. He impressed in 2021-22 while playing with AHL Charlotte and as a right-shot defender – the side that many teams covet – he could garner some consideration. Stillman was acquired from Vancouver last season and played in 50 games between the two teams, albeit in a number six role. While he has a fair bit of experience (158 games in total), his contract could hurt his chances of being claimed as a $1.35MM price is more than a lot of teams can afford.
In goal, Driedger is the headliner here but at $3.5MM, there’s very little chance he’ll be picked up. He missed most of last season due to an injury sustained at the 2022 Worlds. Pickard didn’t see any NHL action last season for the first time since 2013-14. The 31-year-old put up a 2.70 GAA with a .912 SV% in Bakersfield last season and has 116 NHL games under his belt. Notably, he’s signed for the minimum which gives him a small chance of being picked up at least.
These players will be on waivers until 1 PM CT on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sunday will be the last day for teams to place players on waivers and have them clear prior to Monday’s season-opening roster submission so expect plenty of waiver activity tomorrow.
More to follow.
Golden Knights Claim Grigori Denisenko Off Waivers From Panthers
The Golden Knights dipped into the waiver pool as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed winger Grigori Denisenko off waivers from Florida. Everyone else from Friday’s group cleared.
The 23-year-old was formerly viewed as one of the top prospects for the Panthers after they picked him 15th overall back in 2018 following a good season in the MHL in Russia. He spent two more seasons playing at home, working his way up to the KHL level, before coming to North America in 2020 when he signed his entry-level contract.
Denisenko saw NHL action in each of his three years on that first deal, spanning 26 contests. However, while he has seven assists in those appearances, he’s still looking for his first goal. Meanwhile, he has had some success in the minors and is coming off a year that saw him put up a dozen goals with 24 assists in 56 games with AHL Charlotte.
He opted to take less than his qualifying offer this summer in exchange for a two-year, one-way deal worth the NHL minimum of $775K in the hopes that doing so could help him earn a spot at the end of Florida’s roster. Clearly, that didn’t happen with his placement yesterday but now, he’ll look to stick with the Golden Knights. While Denisenko isn’t a prototypical fourth-liner, he could add some offensive upside to that line or alternatively, bide his time as a low-cost reserve forward. Either way, it’s a low-cost pickup for Vegas that will have a chance to give them a nice reward if Denisenko is able to reach his offensive potential with them.