Free Agent Profile: Tyler Motte
For the second year in a row, Tyler Motte finds himself unsigned more than a month into unrestricted free agency. This is the case despite the fact that he fills a role that many contending teams often covet – someone who can play defensive minutes, kill penalties, and play with an edge (without getting into much penalty trouble) while chipping in a bit offensively.
Last summer, despite playing a regular role for the Rangers in the playoffs, it took until just before training camp for the 28-year-old to catch on somewhere when he inked a one-year, $1.35MM deal with Ottawa in mid-September. The contract garnered him a small raise compared to his previous AAV.
Unfortunately for both Motte and the Senators, things didn’t go too well. Missing 15 games with a broken finger midseason didn’t help but when he was in the lineup, he wasn’t able to bring each of the elements he typically does to the table. Specifically, the offense wasn’t there as he managed just three goals in 38 games as part of a bottom-six group that underachieved.
That changed when the Rangers reacquired him prior to the deadline. Already familiar with the way they play, Motte was able to get some of his scoring touch back, chipping in with five goals and five assists in 24 games down the stretch despite logging just 11 minutes a game. He wasn’t able to hit the scoresheet in the playoffs but still filled that checking role.
At this point in his career, Motte is a well-known commodity; it isn’t as if there is much left in the way of hidden upside. But what he provides is something that should result in interest from teams at some point over the coming weeks.
Stats
2022-23: 62 GP, 8-11-19, +3 rating, 6 PIMS, 109 shots, 118 hits, 45.7% CF, 12:34 ATOI
Career: 331 GP, 43-38-81, -19 rating, 82 PIMS, 512 shots, 773 hits, 44.0% CF, 12:52 ATOI
Potential Suitors
For a player like Motte, there are two different types of teams that make sense. The first is a squad with playoff hopes that is looking to shore up their fourth line or 13th forward spot, aiming to find a small improvement within the margins. The other is a team that wants one of their younger players to spend more time in the minors and wants that extra bit of depth to act as a buffer.
In the East, Toronto has looked to add some grit this offseason and Motte would continue down that path. It would need to be a contract for the minimum to work but he’d fill the void that was opened up by them not re-signing Zach Aston-Reese. His old team in New York could also use him back but with them needing as much cap space as possible to re-sign RFA Alexis Lafreniere, it would need to be a minimum-salary agreement as well. Boston has rebuilt a good chunk of their bottom six and could stand to add more depth although they’re at a spot where they need to focus on trying to open up some flexibility first. He’d also fit in on Washington’s fourth line but, you guessed it, they will be restricted to basically the minimum $775K offer as well.
Out West, Motte would give a boost to Nashville’s fourth line and they have enough cap space remaining that they won’t be restricted to just a minimum-salary offer. Edmonton is expected to try to bring in some low-cost upgrades although they, too, will be restricted to offers for the minimum. Colorado has a bit more wiggle room to work with from Gabriel Landeskog’s LTIR placement and after their fourth line struggled throughout last season, Motte would give them some reliability on that front.
Projected Contract
At this point of the summer, the bulk of the contracts handed out are going to be at or very close to the league minimum. Motte hasn’t been in that situation the last few years and it wouldn’t be surprising if he’s holding out hope that a seven-figure deal could still be out there. Assuming that doesn’t materialize within the next few weeks, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Motte sign for $775K or close to it. If that happens, whoever gets him will be getting a small bargain.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Dumba, Svechnikov, Halak
It took more than a month for Matt Dumba to find a new home before inking a one-year, $3.9MM deal with Arizona. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan relays an interesting wrinkle in the contract – the $1.15MM signing bonus he received is actually payable on April 15th, not right away. It has already been speculated that Dumba could be a trade candidate if the Coyotes aren’t in the playoff picture by then. The structure of this agreement means that whoever gets him at the deadline in that scenario would actually be the one responsible for paying out the $1.15MM bonus. There wouldn’t be any additional cap charge for the acquiring team but the cash outlay to acquire Dumba as a midseason rental will be considerably more than it might have seemed at first glance.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- In a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link), Hurricanes GM Don Waddell indicated that winger Andrei Svechnikov is on schedule if not slightly ahead as he works his way back from ACL surgery. The 23-year-old had surgery back in mid-March, a procedure that typically carries a recovery time of six-to-seven months. Despite the positive news, Waddell stopped short of confirming that Svechnikov will be available on opening night but if that’s not the case, he shouldn’t be out much longer which will give Carolina a big boost after missing one of their top wingers down the stretch and in the playoffs.
- Earlier this week, Martin Jones signed with Toronto to play what’s likely to be a third-string role. Jaroslav Halak doesn’t appear to be interested in that, telling Tomas Prokop of Dennik Sport that it’s a role he isn’t looking to fill and is focused on trying to land a contract with a team that would give him the backup spot. The 38-year-old put up a 2.72 GAA with a .903 SV% in 25 games with the Rangers last season but sits five wins shy of 300 for his career, a milestone Halak acknowledged that he’d like to reach in 2023-24.
PHR Mailbag: Bruins, Sharks, Flames, Fedotov, Blue Jackets
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include what’s next for Boston, the state of San Jose’s rebuild, and more. As we’ve done with the last few mailbag submissions, we’ll break it up into three separate columns so if your question doesn’t appear here, check back for it in one of the next two.
SkidRowe: How will the Bruins fare this year? The reigning Presidents Trophy winners are returning with virtually the same defense and goaltending as last year but lost almost a third of their offense due to the departures of Bergeron, Krejci, Hall, Bertuzzi, etc.
I’ll qualify this by saying that I’m not convinced the roster they have today in mid-August is the one we’ll see when the puck drops in October. I think they have a move coming to help up front. Not a high-end one with a big-name player but I expect them to upgrade their secondary scoring at some point. If they do more than I think they will, this prediction could change as a result.
But for now, I have them just missing. (Which is where I had them last year and look how accurate that prediction turned out…) Offensively, they’ve taken a couple of steps back which could put them back closer to the middle of the pack. Not that they needed to outscore a lot of problems last season but a more average attack will take some wins off the board.
Without as much puck control, I’m also a bit concerned about their goaltending. It would be unrealistic to expect both Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman to have career years again in general but without an offense as dominant, that will also put more pressure on the netminders. I expect them to still be above average but nowhere near the extent they were last season. That will take some more wins off the board unless they find a way to play at the same level.
Boston’s roster is still decent, all things considered. But with Toronto, Florida, and Tampa Bay in the picture, decent isn’t good enough to leapfrog those teams. I think this could be the year Buffalo puts it together long enough to squeak in and with the depth in the Metropolitan Division, the Atlantic isn’t getting both Wild Card spots. It wouldn’t shock me if the Bruins found a way to get in but right now, I have them just on the outside looking in.
PyramidHeadcrab: What do you think of the Sharks’ roster after the Karlsson trade, and their future roadmap now that his salary is (mostly) clear?
In terms of what their roster looks like now, my thought is that it’s a roster designed with the intention to try to bottom out. There’s no way a team is going to improve after losing Brent Burns, Timo Meier, and Erik Karlsson in the span of 13 months. The fact they opted to move the two veterans in a marketplace that wasn’t exactly favorable for high-priced contracts only cemented the fact that they weren’t looking for a short-term turnaround.
They’re going to struggle to score even with some of the additions they’ve made up front; I think Mikael Granlund could rebound relatively well there but this is still a group that should be at the bottom of the pack offensively. Defensively, they’re in big trouble as a few of the options on their projected roster are either fringe pieces or overpaid veterans struggling to hang onto a spot. It wouldn’t surprise me to see the speculated trade with Vancouver happen closer to training camp which would add Tyler Myers but that still wouldn’t move the needle much. There are questions with both goaltenders as well (although there is also some possible upside) and the end result is a forecast for a painful season.
In terms of a future roadmap, however, it’s relatively clean. They only have three contracts above $5MM left and around 40% of their roster is on an expiring contract next summer. That will give GM Mike Grier some flexibility to perhaps get involved as a third-party facilitator in the future to try to restock the prospect cupboards more quickly while flipping some of those expiring deals in the meantime. The next few years are going to be rough but it’s pretty clear what the plan is. Getting to this point is the easy part, however. Building it back up will take some patience and skill to get and develop the right pieces.
Jasen: I am curious about the Flames this year… My gut feeling is that both Lindholm and Backlund will re-sign. My other gut feeling is that Hanifin will be traded. I am thinking a one-for-one for Carolina’s Pesce. Thoughts?
I am also not sold on a bounce-back season from Markstrom. Sure, his stats do demonstrate that he did come back from a bad season before, but I’m still not sold. Markstrom, so I’d ship him to WPG for Hellebuyck. Problem is that we are light on 1st rounders. So Markstrom, 2025 2nd & prospect Zary for Hellebuyck. Thoughts?
I’m with you on Elias Lindholm eventually re-signing. Mikael Backlund is more of a maybe but I expect an in-season decision on that front. I also agree that it looks unlikely that Noah Hanifin will be back.
That said, I’m not sure I agree with the proposed trade. Carolina has a bit of a surplus on the back end so they may not want to take a defender back for whichever one they moved (Brett Pesce or Brady Skjei). Meanwhile, the impetus for moving Hanifin now would be the contract situation; GM Craig Conroy has said he doesn’t want to run the risk of letting a player go for nothing. Trading for Pesce doesn’t fix that since he’s on an expiring deal too. Now, if Pesce comes with a new contract, then sure, this makes more sense for Calgary. But otherwise, it feels like they need to get an asset back that’s likely to still be there a year from now.
The same concern comes up for your Connor Hellebuyck proposal. If he isn’t willing to sign an extension, you’ve now moved a quality goalie and a first-round prospect in Connor Zary for a short-term rental. Perhaps more importantly, you’ve moved those pieces for a rental that might not be enough of a difference-maker to get Calgary back into the playoffs. What you’ve proposed might be enough on Winnipeg’s end (especially since they’re hoping to avoid a full-scale rebuild) I don’t think the value is there for the Flames. Sure, there’s an eventual pathway to Dustin Wolf getting a full-time job but there are better ways to accomplish that than this.
I’m more confident than you seem to be about Markstrom bouncing back. The track record is there and this is a team that still has a pretty good back end as things stand. If they decide to move him down the road to make room for Wolf, that’s an easier move to make next summer off an improved showing than it is now.
Black Ace57: With the whole ordeal with Ivan Fedotov I was wondering what powers the IIHF has in this dispute and any future disputes between the NHL and KHL until an agreement between the leagues is made again.
I have to admit, I’m a bit unsure about this one as we’re wading in uncharted waters here. The IIHF is a neutral third party here and since they’re the governing body for most leagues internationally, I suspect there’s some sort of dispute resolution rights within their charter that gives them the authority to do this.
I’m more intrigued to see what happens if the ruling goes in Philadelphia’s favor. Considering that Russia hasn’t been granted the right to return to international competition, some are already calling for the federation to withdraw from the IIHF. An unfavorable ruling here could only cement that mindset. If that happens and the KHL tries to operate independently of everything, let’s just say that could be really interesting to follow.
While we’re on the Fedotov matter, I’m at least a little surprised the Flyers are doing this. Fedotov is going straight to unrestricted free agency when his tolled deal is played out. At this point, it seems reasonable to think his intention is to stay in the KHL which would make him a one-and-done player. Wouldn’t they be better off with his one-and-done cost-controlled year coming when they’re trying to be more competitive?
They already have Carter Hart in place. The extension they gave to Samuel Ersson (which seemed a bit pricey and a bit too early) suggests they have NHL plans for him next season. If Fedotov winds up with Philadelphia, now he’s backing up Hart and Ersson is in the minors, putting him on an above-market bridge deal the next year. There’s sticking up for the principle of the matter but from a team value perspective, they might be better off with a ruling that says he has to play out the KHL deal first and then must fulfill the NHL agreement.
Yzerplan19: Thoughts on what impact Babcock can have on the Blue Jackets? They have a new D group, and some talented players, with a good system could they be in the Wild Card conversation this year? Or next?
I covered Columbus and Babcock a bit in a recent mailbag so I’ll piggyback off those thoughts. They’ll be better but I don’t see them being in the playoff mix next season. The Metropolitan is pretty deep as it is and I have a hard time seeing them get around 35 more points than last season.
I’m even a bit iffy on their fortunes for 2024-25. There is a good young nucleus in place but they’re not near their primes just yet. I think 2025-26 is the year for them to really turn it around. By then, that young core will be more established and will have gone through enough of the early growing pains that many young teams face which will have them well-positioned to make a push.
I actually don’t mind the Mike Babcock hire. Last season was ugly and they need some structure. Yes, his last few seasons behind an NHL bench weren’t great but he was widely considered a top coach in the past. A good system, and perhaps more importantly, good structure, should aid in the development of some of their core youngsters. That should help them improve in the standings and give GM Jarmo Kekalainen a better assessment of what they have and what they still need which is quite important. But even with the pickups they made on the back end, I don’t see that getting them to the postseason.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pacific Notes: Zegras, Sharks, Poolman
Ducks center Trevor Zegras is the most prominent of the 13 remaining restricted free agents. The 22-year-old is coming off his second straight season of 60-plus points after putting up 23 goals and 42 assists in 81 games and has a track record that could help land him a long-term agreement. However, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli suggests (audio link) that the likelier outcome at this point is that the two sides work out a bridge agreement. The market for a long-term deal is somewhat well-defined at this point with some recent comparables (including Nick Suzuki and Joshua Norris) checking in around the $8MM mark. If that number doesn’t work for one or both sides, a short-term agreement would likely come in closer to $5MM while giving Zegras arbitration eligibility after it expires.
More from the Pacific:
- The Sharks had shown interest in defenseman Erik Gustafsson at the beginning in free agency, reports Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. Had San Jose been able to complete an early Erik Karlsson trade, they likely would have turned to Gustafsson to help replace some of the lost production. However, the delay in getting the trade done on July 1st resulted in Gustafsson not taking any chances as he instead signed a one-year deal with the Rangers. San Jose could certainly benefit from adding a blueliner with some offensive ability but at this stage of free agency, those options are quite limited.
- While it looks like the Canucks will have Tanner Pearson available for training camp, the same can’t be said for defenseman Tucker Poolman. CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reported in a recent appearance on Sekeres and Price (Twitter link) that Poolman isn’t cleared to return yet as he continues to deal with concussion symptoms. The blueliner doesn’t want to retire and has sought out several medical opinions but after playing in just three games last season and the fact the symptoms continue, it’s hard to see him coming back in the near future. As a result, Poolman and his $2.5MM AAV will remain LTIR-eligible in October when Vancouver has to submit their cap-compliant roster.
No Extension Talks Yet Between Canadiens And Samuel Montembeault
After last season, Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault and GM Kent Hughes both expressed interest in trying to work out a contract extension. However, the netminder recently told Simon-Olivier Lorange of La Presse that there have been no discussions on that front at this time.
The 26-year-old is coming off his best NHL performance so far, getting into a career-best 40 games last season while posting a 3.42 GAA and a .901 SV% (also a career-high). On the surface, those numbers don’t stand out but Montreal used a very young and inexperienced back end last season and his save percentage was ten points better than veteran Jake Allen.
Montembeault’s performance helped to earn him a spot on Canada’s entry at the Worlds back in May. He quickly locked down the number one and made seven starts, putting up an impressive 1.42 GAA with a .939 SV% to help take home a gold medal.
At the moment, there is a bit of a logjam between the pipes in Montreal with Montembeault and Allen being joined by recent trade acquisition Casey DeSmith. Prospect Cayden Primeau is also waiver-eligible for the first time as well and could conceivably also be in the mix. However, it won’t be Montembeault getting moved to make room as Hughes reached out to the netminder’s agent to confirm as much.
Montembeault is entering the final year of his contract which carries an AAV of $1MM. With a total of just 103 NHL appearances under his belt so far, he likely doesn’t have enough of a track record to command top-level backup money but something in the high-$2MM range or low $3MM range could be doable if he puts together a similar showing in 2023-24. But with Montreal’s current priority seeming to be trying to flip DeSmith and Jeff Petry (also acquired last weekend), it might be a little while yet before talks on a new deal for Montembeault begin.
Atlantic Notes: Gostisbehere, Robertson, Davies
The Red Wings added defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere early in free agency to help replace some of the production they lost when they moved Filip Hronek to Vancouver last season. Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News notes that the blueliner didn’t have a ton of interest on the open market despite recording 92 points in the last two seasons which resulted in him picking the team that he thought gave him the best chance of securing a multi-year agreement next summer, either with Detroit (who gave him a $4.125MM deal) or elsewhere. That approach worked for Olli Maatta who signed a one-year deal last summer and then inked a two-year extension back in February and it’s one that the 30-year-old Gostisbehere will be looking to follow.
More from the Atlantic:
- Toronto winger Nick Robertson told TSN’s Mark Masters (video link) that he has fully recovered from his season-ending shoulder surgery in January and will be ready to participate in training camp next month. It has been a rough go for the 21-year-old who has battled injury trouble in each of the last three seasons. He played in just 17 games last season between the NHL and AHL with 15 of those coming with the Maple Leafs where he had a respectable five points. This is the final year of Robertson’s entry-level deal and with cap space expected to be limited, his cap hit of less than $800K will certainly help his chances of seeing NHL action in 2023-24.
- Panthers prospect Josh Davies is on the move in junior as WHL Portland announced that they’ve acquired the forward from Swift Current. The 19-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Florida in 2022 (186th overall) after a 36-point, 119-PIM season. However, Davies wasn’t able to build on those numbers in 2022-23, recording 20 goals and 14 assists along with 131 penalty minutes. He’ll be hoping that a fresh start could help him find another gear offensively to try to land an entry-level deal from Florida by the June 1st deadline.
Submit Your Questions For The #PHRMailbag
It has been a busy offseason so far for many NHL teams, punctuated by one of the bigger trades we’ve seen in a while which occurred over the weekend. Meanwhile, there are a handful of notable names still unsigned so there’s some hope that there could be more activity to come before training camps get underway in about six weeks.
With that in mind, it’s a good time to run our next mailbag. Our last one ran in three parts. The first segment looked back at the draft, what should be expected from the Flyers next season, and the Kings’ aggression in recent years. The second discussed Boston’s center situation, Robby Fabbri’s future with Detroit, and expectations for Columbus in 2023-24. Meanwhile, the third one examined the recent inactivity from Calgary and Winnipeg with some of their veterans, Ty Smith’s first season with Pittsburgh, and big names that could be on the move next.
You can submit a question by using #PHRMailbag on Twitter or by leaving a comment down below. The mailbag will run on the weekend.
Snapshots: Swayman, Lindholm, Couture, Pisani
Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman met the media yesterday (video link) to discuss his new one-year, $3.475MM deal that came from an arbitrator. He indicated that while he’s grateful for having gone through the process, he has no desire to do so in the future. Swayman is coming off a breakout campaign that saw him post a 2.27 GAA with a .920 SV% and four shutouts in 37 games last season, helping to form the best tandem in the NHL. It’s quite possible that he could go through this process again, however, as he has two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining; he isn’t able to hit unrestricted free agency until 2026.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- Earlier this offseason, it appeared as if Flames center Elias Lindholm wasn’t willing to sign a contract extension. That doesn’t appear to be the case anymore as David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported in a recent appearance on the NHL Network (video link) that the two sides appear to be well into discussions on an eight-year extension. The 28-year-old has been one of the more impressive two-way middlemen over the last few years, making his $4.85MM AAV a nice bargain. However, to get him to put pen on a new deal, that price tag could push closer to the $9MM range.
- Don’t expect Sharks center Logan Couture to be following Erik Karlsson out of San Jose. The veteran told NHL.com’s Jon Lane that he wants to help turn things around with the only NHL franchise he has ever suited up for. Couture is coming off a solid season, picking up 27 goals and 40 assists in 82 games to lead all Sharks forwards in scoring. The 34-year-old has four years left on his contract with an AAV of $8MM.
- The Canadiens have hired former NHL winger Fernando Pisani as an amateur scout, per their Hockey Operations page. He spent eight seasons playing at the top level, getting into 462 games between Edmonton and Chicago. Since then, Pisani has spent the last nine seasons working as either an assistant coach or a development coach primarily at the CIS and WHL levels. This will be his first foray into scouting.
Evgeny Svechnikov Signs In KHL
August 11th: The KHL and Ak Bars Kazan have confirmed the signing of Svechnikov to a two-year deal this morning.
August 9th: Over the last couple of offseasons, it has taken free agent winger Evgeny Svechnikov a while to find a contract. Considering he hasn’t signed within the first five-plus weeks of NHL free agency, it appeared as if things were heading in that direction again. Instead, it appears he has chosen a different path as a report from Shaiba in Kazakhstan suggests that Svechnikov is expected to sign with Ak Bars Kazan of the KHL.
Last season, the 26-year-old played in 59 games with San Jose, recording eight goals and six assists while logging just 10:45 per game. It continued a trend from the year before in Winnipeg where he produced at a similar rate (19 points in 72 games) while again logging 10:45 per contest. Those performances were a step up from his time with Detroit, however, as he spent the bulk of his four years in the minors.
Svechnikov would have been a candidate for a PTO agreement that could have been converted into what likely would have been a two-way deal. Instead, the 2015 15th-overall pick will try a different path, one that will allow him to play closer to home and likely will give him an opportunity to have a more significant role offensively. If that does happen, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Svechnikov could get himself back on the NHL radar with a good showing next season.
Minor Transactions: 08/09/23
There were a few small moves around the NHL today and that was also the case around the hockey world. Here’s a rundown of some of the latest minor transactions.
- Boston’s farm team in Providence announced the signing of forward Jimmy Lambert to a one-year deal. The 26-year-old wrapped his college career at Michigan in 2021-22 and spent last season on an AHL deal with the Islanders’ affiliate. Lambert had seven points in 33 games with AHL Bridgeport but was much more productive with Worcester of the ECHL, collecting 24 points in just 27 contests.
- Seattle’s AHL affiliate in Coachella Valley announced that they’ve re-signed defenseman Jake McLaughlin to a one-year contract. The 27-year-old spent the bulk of last season in the ECHL, notching 19 points in 32 games with Kansas City but did get into two games with the Firebirds. McLaughlin has seen AHL action in each of his four professional seasons after going undrafted out of UMass.
- Former NHL center Eric O’Dell is extending his stay overseas as he inked a one-year extension with Dynamo Moskva, per a team release. The 33-year-old has 41 career NHL appearances under his belt with Winnipeg along with six seasons of AHL experience, spanning nearly 250 games. However, O’Dell has been in the KHL since 2016-17 and has been fairly productive, notching 178 points in 295 games. Last season, the middleman had 16 goals and 15 assists in 33 appearances.