Pacific Notes: Hoglander, Nutivaara, Holloway
The Canucks have received some interest in winger Nils Hoglander including from the Hurricanes in possible trade talks for Ethan Bear, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal reports (Twitter link). However, Vancouver is making it known that they have no desire to part with the 21-year-old. Hoglander is off to a slow start this season with just one assist in five games, continuing his trend from last season where his production and role decreased. It’s understandable that teams are seeing him as a possible buy-low candidate but Vancouver certainly isn’t in a position to trade a cost-controllable young player unless they’re getting a similarly-priced young asset back. While they like Bear, he’s not in that price range at $2.2MM. Dhaliwal notes that he’s heard that Carolina is making some progress on moving the blueliner so if it’s not going to be Hoglander, Canucks GM Patrik Allvin will need to find another option that Carolina likes if they want to land him.
More from the Pacific:
- It doesn’t appear that the Sharks will be getting Markus Nutivaara back anytime soon as Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports (Twitter link) that he has yet to resume skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. That injury is related to the hip one that sidelined him for all but one game last season. The 28-year-old inked a one-year, $1.5MM deal with San Jose at the beginning of free agency but it’s safe to say he’ll be waiting to make his debut for a little while longer.
- Oilers forward Dylan Holloway told reporters including Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun that he is good to go after suffering an upper-body injury last week against Buffalo. The rookie had a very limited role in his first few games and while Edmonton only has 12 forwards on the active roster at the moment (including Holloway), he’s not expected to be in the lineup tonight against St. Louis.
Five Key Stories: 10/17/22 – 10/23/22
The regular season is in full flight and while things have predictably been quiet on the trade front, there has still been plenty of news of note around the NHL which is recapped in our key stories.
Potential For Early Cap Increase? The expectation has long been that there will be at least one more season after this one where the salary cap increase would be limited to $1MM as the players continue to pay off the COVID-related escrow to bring the split back to 50/50. However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman expressed some optimism that the balance could be paid off this season, allowing for an increase that could be closer to $4MM for next season. With 13 teams already needing LTIR to be cap-compliant and six others with less than $1MM in cap space at the moment, that extra bump would be welcome news for them.
Early Extension: Flames backup goaltender Daniel Vladar had a good first season with Calgary and would have been eligible for salary arbitration this summer. Instead, he took a pass on that, instead agreeing to a two-year, $4.4MM contract extension. The 25-year-old played his first full season in 2021-22, serving as Jacob Markstrom’s backup while getting into 23 games. Head coach Darryl Sutter has indicated a desire to have Vladar play once a week which could have boosted his value had the Flames decided to wait until the summer to work this deal out. However, Vladar will be eligible for unrestricted free agency when this deal expires in 2025.
Knee Surgery For Landeskog: It was known back in training camp that Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog wouldn’t be ready for the start of the season. However, he was expected to start skating about a week and a half ago, providing some optimism that he’d be back soon. That idea was kiboshed quickly as the team revealed that the winger underwent knee surgery that will keep him out for roughly the next 12 weeks. It’s certainly a big loss for Colorado as the 29-year-old has been a key part of their attack for more than a decade and was coming off his best season in terms of points per game. Now, what looked like a short-term injury to start the year will now keep Landeskog out for at least the first half of the season.
More Key Injuries: The Panthers don’t have the deepest of back ends and their depth will be further tested for a little while as the team placed Aaron Ekblad on LTIR with a lower-body injury. Fortunately for Florida, it appears their top defender will be out somewhere from four-to-seven weeks although they’ll certainly miss him in the short term. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will be without winger Tyler Bertuzzi for four-to-six weeks due to an upper-body injury. Missing a top liner is hardly ideal for Detroit nor is it ideal for the 27-year-old who is eligible to reach unrestricted free agency next summer for the first time. On top of those, the Coyotes will be without one of their top scorers from last season as center Nick Schmaltz will miss six-to-eight weeks with an upper-body injury of his own. Arizona isn’t exactly a deep offensive team as they look to bottom out in the standings and now they’re without a top threat until sometime in December.
Vrana Enters Player Assistance Program: Bertuzzi isn’t the only key winger that the Red Wings are without as the league announced that Jakub Vrana has entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. No further details were provided and there is no set timeline for when the 26-year-old might be able to return. Vrana is in his third season with Detroit after being acquired back at the 2020 trade deadline but due to injuries, had only played in 39 games with them before this announcement.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Colorado Avalanche
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 for the 2022-23 season and beyond. 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.
Colorado Avalanche
Current Cap Hit: $80,628,637 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Bowen Byram (one year, $894K)
F Martin Kaut (one year, $863K)
F Alex Newhook (one year, $908K)
Potential Bonuses
Byram: $2.5MM
Kaut: $425K
Newhook: $850K
Total: $3.775MM
The departure of Nazem Kadri has created an opportunity for Newhook to push for that spot on the second line. If he can grab it, it’s possible that Colorado could look to give him a longer-term deal in the $4MM range, one that’s above market value now but below it down the road. Otherwise, a two-year bridge contract in the $2MM range is likely where he winds up. He’ll need to produce in their top six to have a chance at some of his ‘A’ bonuses. Kaut cleared waivers to start the season but might be up for a little while due to some injuries up front. That said, he will have a very limited role based on how little they deploy their fourth line so he’s a candidate to take less than his qualifying offer in exchange for a higher two-way salary or perhaps a one-way deal at the minimum.
Byram, when healthy, was an impactful player last year and is off to a good start this season. He’s the type of young core player that a team would typically like to lock up close to the maximum term. That’s harder to predict here due to Byram’s concussion history. He has missed a lot of time with that particular issue already so there might be some hesitance to commit that type of deal to him at this time. A bridge contract could still run Colorado past $4MM per year based on some recent comparables so they’ll have to leave some room for that. If Byram stays healthy, he’s a strong bet to reach the $850K in ‘A’ bonuses in his deal so that will need to be accounted for either this season or next.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
F Andrew Cogliano ($1.25MM, UFA)
F J.T. Compher ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Darren Helm ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Dryden Hunt ($763K, UFA)
D Erik Johnson ($6MM, UFA)
F Jayson Megna ($750K, UFA)
F Evan Rodrigues ($2MM, UFA)
Compher avoided arbitration with this contract back in 2019, one that he’d become more productive during the contract. That hasn’t happened as instead, he has basically produced at a similar point-per-game level since then. He’ll be 28 next summer and as a center, he should have a fairly strong market but unless he can lock down Kadri’s old role, it’s hard to see him getting much more than this. Rodrigues was a late signee after misreading the market early in free agency. If he can produce at a similar level as a year ago, he should be able to get a bit more than this on the open market next year as he’ll have shown that 2021-22 wasn’t an outlier.
Cogliano had a nice playoff run which earned him this one-year deal back in July. Now in his age-35 season, he’ll almost certainly be going year to year and with his production being at the level of a fourth liner in recent seasons, his price tag should dip a bit more next summer. Helm is in a very similar situation although he has been a bit more productive than Cogliano lately and can play center which, in theory, should give him a bit of a stronger market. Even so, his role has been decreasing and he’s better off as a fourth liner so Helm’s next contract should be similar to this one. Hunt and Megna haven’t established themselves as regulars yet and accordingly, unless something changes, they’ll be signed for close to the minimum next year. Colorado can’t afford to go much higher than that for their end-of-roster spots either.
Johnson was a core defender for a long time although his role and efficiency have dipped in recent seasons. He’ll be 35 next summer and while he is doing well enough to land a contract somewhere, it’s likely that it will check in at least 50% lower than his current deal.
Signed Through 2023-24
G Pavel Francouz ($2MM, UFA)
D/F Kurtis MacDermid ($988K, UFA)
D/F Jacob MacDonald ($763K, UFA)
D Devon Toews ($4.1MM, UFA)
GM Joe Sakic took advantage of the Islanders needing to clear cap space, allowing them to acquire Toews for a couple of second-round picks and then signed him to this contract which has become team-friendly in a hurry. His offensive game has taken off with Colorado and he’s coming off a 57-point campaign. Toews will be 30 when his next contract will begin and he’s already on his way to a considerable raise. If he stays around the 50-point mark these next two seasons though, he could be doubling his price tag and then some on a max-term deal. This is the next big-ticket contract that Sakic will need to work out although he’ll have to wait until next July to work on it.
MacDermid has moved between defense and the wing somewhat regularly and has held his own in both limited roles. Of course, he’s best known for his physicality and the positional versatility helps. But with minimal production, it’s unlikely that MacDermid will be able to do much better than this on his next deal. MacDonald has largely been in the minors in his career and will need to establish himself as a regular if he wants to get much more than the minimum two years from now.
Francouz has battled injury issues but when he is healthy, he has done well as evidenced by a career .921 SV% heading into the season. But with the injuries and a limited track record (57 NHL appearances heading into the year), he opted for stability and took this extension last season. If he can stay healthy and play at a similar level, he could be in line for something in the $3MM range on the open market in 2024.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Logan O’Connor ($1.05MM, UFA)
G Alexandar Georgiev ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Mikko Rantanen ($9.25MM, UFA)
Rantanen has been a legitimate top-line star for several seasons now and is coming off a year that saw him set new career highs in goals, assists, and points. While this is already his eighth season with some NHL action under his belt, he’s still only 25 and will hit the open market at 28. The cap is expected to be a fair bit higher then than it is now and he’ll still be in his prime. Accordingly, Rantanen could be a candidate to best Artemi Panarin’s $11.643MM AAV in free agency if he gets there. O’Connor has just one full NHL campaign under his belt (last season) but was a valuable bottom-six role player and the Avs opted for the early team-friendly extension. As long as he continues to be a regular and produces around 20-25 points, he’ll be in position to make a few hundred thousand more on his next deal.
Georgiev was acquired from the Rangers this past summer once Colorado realized that they wouldn’t be able to bring back Darcy Kuemper. He had some good and bad moments with New York and that allowed Colorado to sign him for a rate that is close to what veteran backups that can make 30 starts get on the open market. If Georgiev can play like a legitimate starter with the Avalanche, it will be a very team-friendly contract while the netminder could command closer to $5.5MM on his next deal.
Chicago Blackhawks Place Petr Mrazek On Injured Reserve
10/23/22: The Blackhawks have announced that Mrazek has been placed on injured reserve, retroactive to October 21st. Per the announcement, Mrazek’s injury is a groin strain. Mrazek is unfortunately no stranger to groin injuries, and he has missed time due to similar ailments in the past. Given the relative lack of goaltending depth in Chicago, the team is no doubt hoping that Mrazek’s current groin injury is a minor one.
10/22/22: Staying healthy has been a challenge for Petr Mrazek throughout his 11-year NHL career. The injury bug crept up again last night as head coach Luke Richardson told reporters including NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis that the veteran went to him after the second period and indicated he felt he had a small injury that warranted his removal from the game. Alex Stalock came on in relief and the Blackhawks picked up the overtime victory.
However, with Chicago set to play their next game on Sunday, they needed to get a second healthy goalie on the roster so the team has announced that they’ve recalled goaltender Arvid Soderblom from AHL Rockford. Mrazek hasn’t been placed on IR yet so the team needed to clear a roster spot for the youngster so defenseman Alec Regula was sent to the IceHogs. NHL.com’s Tracey Myers relays (Twitter link) that Mrazek has a groin injury; he missed 20 games with that issue last season.
Soderblom is in his second season in North America and made three NHL appearances last year while having a strong season in Rockford, posting a .919 SV% in 38 games. The 23-year-old has suited up twice in the minors this year. As for Regula, he suited up in one of Chicago’s first four games this season and had 26 points in 41 games with Rockford last season.
Michal Kempny Signs In Czechia
When Seattle ran defenseman Michal Kempny through unconditional waivers to terminate his contract, it seemed reasonable to think that the veteran had his next destination figured out already. That is indeed the case as Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga announced that they’ve signed Kempny to a two-year deal plus an option.
The 32-year-old split last season between Washington and their AHL affiliate in Hershey. He got into 15 games with the Capitals where he picked up a goal and an assist but logged less than 16 minutes a night, his lowest ATOI since his rookie year back in 2016-27. Kempny was a bit more productive in 24 minor league contests, recording seven assists.
A veteran of 247 career NHL regular season games, that was enough to help Kempny land a one-way deal from the Kraken this past summer, albeit at the league minimum. However, he suffered a concussion in his season preseason game and cleared waivers at the end of training camp which saw him then sent to Coachella Valley.
Instead of sticking around there in the hopes of getting recalled at some point, Kempny has instead decided to head home. The term of this contract makes it unlikely that he’ll return to the NHL down the road but if it is the end of the line for him at the top level, he still had a pretty successful career, playing in five NHL seasons which isn’t too bad for an undrafted player.
Kraken Recall Joey Daccord
With Philipp Grubauer being injured late in Friday’s victory over Colorado, it was only a matter of time before Seattle needed to call up a second goaltender. That move has now been made as the team announced (Twitter link) that Joey Daccord has been recalled from Coachella Valley of the AHL.
Grubauer struggled considerably last season, his first with the Kraken after surprisingly turning down an offer from Colorado to ink a six-year, $35.4MM deal with Seattle in 2021. Things haven’t gone any better in the early going this year as the 30-year-old has a 3.77 GAA along with a save percentage of just .860 through his first four appearances. Head coach Dave Hakstol didn’t speak with the media today so there is no information on how long Grubauer might be out for.
Daccord, meanwhile, cleared waivers at the end of training camp and made three starts in the minors for the Firebirds in the early going this season. He has seen NHL action in three of his first four professional seasons but has made just 14 appearances over that stretch, posting a 3.77 GAA and a save percentage of just .878. He will serve as the backup to Martin Jones who now takes over as the starter with Grubauer injured and Chris Driedger still months away from returning.
Worth noting is that Daccord was the only NHL-contracted goalie that Seattle had in the minors (Magnus Hellberg was scooped off waivers by Ottawa when Seattle tried to send him down) so if another netminder gets hurt before Grubauer is able to return, the Kraken will need to make a quick move to sign another goalie.
Canucks Assign Nils Hoglander To The Minors
For the last two seasons, Nils Hoglander was a useful secondary scorer for the Canucks. However, some added depth has pushed him down the depth chart and, for the time being at least, he’s off the roster altogether as the team announced (Twitter link) that the winger has been sent to AHL Abbotsford. Defenseman Noah Juulsen has been recalled in a corresponding move.
Hoglander had an impressive rookie campaign in 2020-21, playing in all 56 games while collecting 13 goals and 14 assists; his 27 points put him tied for fourth among all first-year players which helped him finish eighth in Calder Trophy voting. Last season, his numbers dipped a bit to ten goals and eight helpers in 60 games while also missing 21 contests due to a groin injury. Notably, his ATOI also dropped by 2:22 per contest to 13:05 per night as the 23-year-old spent a lot of time in the bottom six.
That usage continued in the early going this season as Hoglander has played in four of five games, once again logging around 13 minutes a night of ice time. Speaking with reporters including Thomas Drance of The Athletic (Twitter link), Bruce Boudreau indicated that this is a paper transaction and that they expect Hoglander back up soon with his waiver exemption making him the logical choice to shuffle down. It’s worth noting that he is 23 games away from being waiver-eligible so this won’t be an option for them for much longer.
As for Juulsen, it’s the second time in the last seven days that he has been recalled with his first stint lasting just two days although he did suit up for Vancouver in that stretch. With Quinn Hughes playing through a minor injury and Tucker Poolman not available at the moment due to injury, Juulsen gives the Canucks a bit of insurance on the back end. The 2015 first-rounder has played in 57 career NHL contests over parts of five seasons so far.
West Notes: Poile, Kraken, Ehlers
Today’s game is a milestone one for Predators GM David Poile as NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika notes that their contest against Philadelphia will be Poile’s 3,000th as an NHL general manager. He is the first to ever get to that milestone. The 72-year-old has been at the helm in Nashville since 1997, joining the team a year before their inaugural season in 1998-99. Poile acknowledged that he has been going year-to-year on contracts for more than a decade now and isn’t sure how much longer he’ll be staying in his current role. Whenever he does step aside, he’s going to be the record-holder in games managed for a very long time.
More from the West:
- While the Kraken parted ways with veteran defenseman Michal Kempny after he cleared unconditional waivers yesterday, GM Ron Francis told Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times that it’s not a priority to bring in another veteran defender to fill Kempny’s spot on the depth chart. Kempny played in two games this season with Coachella Valley of the AHL and was viewed as one of their first recall options if injuries arise. Seattle only has four non-NHL defensemen under contract at the moment so it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone added at some point even if it isn’t a top priority for Francis.
- Although the Jets placed Nikolaj Ehlers on IR yesterday, the news is pretty good when it comes to the winger. Head coach Rick Bowness (who has returned from COVID protocol) told reporters, including Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun (Twitter link), that Ehlers is expected to miss somewhere between seven and ten days. An IR placement is a minimum of seven days and it appears the 26-year-old won’t miss much more time than that. He has three assists in two games so far this season.
Minnesota Places Jordan Greenway On IR, Activates Jon Merrill
It’s good news and bad news on the injury front for the Wild. The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated defenseman Jon Merrill off injured reserve which is the good news. However, the bad news is that winger Jordan Greenway has been placed on IR to make room for Merrill’s return.
Merrill suffered an arm injury while playing for the United States at the World Championship, undergoing surgery soon after. He missed the entire preseason and while he was cleared for contact a little more than a week ago, Minnesota was cautious in bringing him back. The 30-year-old had a career year last season, notching 20 points in 69 games while logging over 17 minutes per night which helped him earn a three-year extension back in January.
As for Greenway, his return to the lineup was short-lived. He was activated off IR back on Thursday but lasted just six shifts before suffering an upper-body injury that evidently will keep him out for at least the next week. The 25-year-old is an important secondary scorer for the Wild that contributes plenty of hits as well but he’ll be waiting a little while before he gets a shot at his second game of the season; Michael Russo of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the team is still waiting to get an idea of how much time Greenway will miss.
Maple Leafs Recall Kyle Clifford
While there is some risk with only carrying six defensemen on a long road trip, that’s what the Maple Leafs have decided to do as they announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled winger Kyle Clifford from AHL Toronto and he will be in the lineup tonight against Winnipeg. To make room for him on the active roster, blueliner Filip Kral has been sent back to the Marlies.
Clifford is in his second stint with the Maple Leafs after being acquired from St. Louis last season. He signed a two-year, one-way deal worth the NHL minimum in both seasons but cleared waivers at the beginning of training camp and has played in two AHL contests so far this season. His addition to the active roster gives Toronto 15 forwards up with the big club.
As for Kral, his NHL debut will have to wait a little longer. He was recalled back on Wednesday to serve as the extra defenseman following Jake Muzzin‘s injury but didn’t see any game action. The 23-year-old had 18 points in 51 games with the Marlies last season.
Toronto begins a five-game Western road trip tonight with Muzzin, Timothy Liljegren, and Jordie Benn all on the injured list (the latter two on LTIR). With teams generally wanting to have some positional insurance when playing on the opposite coast, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Kral or another defender brought back up within the next game or two.