Oilers Still Hoping To Add Extra Depth
It has been a busy offseason for the Oilers. Jack Campbell is their new starting goalie while they parted ways with Duncan Keith (retirement) and Zack Kassian (trade). They were able to re-sign Evander Kane, got new deals done with RFAs Jesse Puljujarvi and Kailer Yamamoto, and had enough left over to add Mattias Janmark.
All in all, not a bad summer for GM Ken Holland. However, he told TSN 1260 (audio link) that he might not be done with his offseason work just yet:
There are some players out there that I’m still kind of looking at for the bottom part of the roster. Maybe would like to add someone on a one-year deal that is sort of undervalued because they didn’t get swept up over the first couple weeks of free agency.
Looking for late-summer bargains is becoming more of a common practice around the league especially as players continue to feel the squeeze of a leveled-out salary cap. There should be some quality players that have to settle for PTOs or low-cost one-year deals next month and Edmonton should be an appealing place for several of them.
However, how Holland plans to fit in another addition remains to be seen. Per CapFriendly, Edmonton is roughly $6MM over the Upper Limit right now while their two LTIR-bound players – Mike Smith and Oscar Klefbom – combine for $6.367MM. That only leaves a few hundred thousand to work with when the league minimum is $750K. For that matter, RFA Ryan McLeod is also in need of a new contract and after a 21-point season, he’ll almost certainly cost more than the minimum.
Accordingly, if Holland wants to make another addition – he specified his preference would be someone in their mid-to-late-20s – a trade will need to be made first. He has seen firsthand how difficult it is to move money this offseason after parting with a pair of draft picks (and sliding down in the first round) to move Kassian and with numerous teams in spots where they either have to clear money or want to clear money, he’s going to be hard-pressed to get fair value in any sort of cost-clearing swap.
Tyson Barrie had been speculated as a possible trade possibility earlier this offseason although the departure of Keith (even though they play different sides) could push Holland towards keeping the veteran around. Puljujarvi has been in trade speculation for months as well while Warren Foegele is another player who makes more than most bottom-six players do which could put him at risk of being moved.
If Holland has his way, there will be another newcomer on Edmonton’s roster in the fall. But to get there, someone else is going to need to be on the way out first.
Hurricanes Re-Sign Maxime Lajoie
The Hurricanes have reached an agreement with their final arbitration-eligible player as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed defenseman Maxime Lajoie to a one-year, two-way deal. The contract will pay $750K in the NHL, $125K in the AHL, and has a total guarantee of $200K.
The 24-year-old saw plenty of NHL action with Ottawa back in 2018-19 but has predominantly been in the minors since then. Last season, Lajoie played in 60 games with AHL Chicago, scoring four goals along with 29 assists. He also got into five games with Carolina where he was held off the scoresheet while averaging 12:32 per contest.
Looking ahead to next season, it’s likely that Lajoie will have a similar role with Carolina, one that sees him start in the minors (as long as he clears waivers in training camp) and then is recalled when injuries arise. He will need to play in 13 NHL games in 2022-23 for the Hurricanes to retain his RFA rights; if he plays fewer games than that, he’ll be eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency.
Once Carolina officially announces the deal, the clock will begin to tick on their second buyout window which will open up three days after the deal is made official and last for 48 hours. The Hurricanes have roughly $1.8MM in cap space per CapFriendly and still need to re-sign Martin Necas who didn’t file for arbitration last month. Necas will undoubtedly make more than that which will create a bit of a cap crunch for the team so that window could be of interest to them. A player needs to make $4MM and have been in the organization at the trade deadline to be eligible to be bought out this route. Worth noting, defenseman Jake Gardiner – who missed all of last season with back and hip issues – makes $4.05MM and has been medically cleared to return for next season. On the surface, he could be a potential candidate to be bought out of the final year of his deal once the buyout window reopens for them.
Metropolitan Notes: Hurricanes, Zucker, Jiricek
Hurricanes GM Don Waddell indicated to Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that he expects to reach a settlement with defenseman Maxime Lajoie in advance of Tuesday’s arbitration hearing. The 24-year-old spent most of the season in the minors so a new agreement shouldn’t be hard to come to. What’s notable is that once that new deal is reached, Carolina will get their second buyout window soon after and Waddell didn’t rule out the possibility of using it but noted that they could make things work without going that route. A player must make $4MM to be eligible to be bought out in this window and blueliner Jake Gardiner – who missed all of last season with back and hip issues – makes $4.05MM. He has been cleared to return which does make him eligible to be bought out. Once Lajoie’s deal is signed, the buyout window will open up three days later and lasts 48 hours.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Penguins winger Jason Zucker has recovered from the series of lower-body injuries that plagued him in the second half of last season, notes NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. It has been a tough go for the 30-year-old who has recorded just 47 points in 94 games since being acquired by Pittsburgh just before the 2020 trade deadline. Next season will be a contract year for Zucker and unless he can get back to the form he had with Minnesota, he’ll be looking at a considerably cheaper deal next summer compared to his current $5.5MM AAV.
- Blue Jackets prospect David Jiricek has been cleared to join the Czechs for the upcoming World Juniors, their hockey federation announced (Twitter link). The 18-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 late last month and wasn’t able to travel with the rest of the team to begin tournament preparations. Jiricek, the sixth-overall pick last month, will be Czechia’s top defenseman in this event and a strong performance could help get him in the mix for a roster spot with Columbus for the upcoming season.
Rangers Linked To Jimmy Vesey
Jimmy Vesey spent the first three seasons of his career as a member of the Rangers before bouncing around in recent years. However, it appears a return to New York is on the horizon as Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the unrestricted free agent is expected to sign with the Rangers.
After opting not to sign with Nashville and later Buffalo, Vesey became one of the more prominent mid-August college free agents in recent memory. He eventually agreed to join the Rangers and was a serviceable depth scorer, notching 50 goals and 40 assists in 240 games over three seasons.
Things haven’t gone as well since then as the 29-year-old has moved around frequently. In the last three seasons, he has only put up half of the points that he did with New York while playing for four different teams – Buffalo, Toronto, Vancouver, and New Jersey. Vesey spent last season with the Devils, collecting eight goals and seven assists in 68 games while averaging 14:25 per night.
Brooks suggests that Vesey’s contract should check in at or around the league minimum of $750K, making it a low-risk proposition. If he’s able to secure a spot at the end of their roster, he’ll give them some low-cost depth. If he’s unable to do so, the Rangers can clear his entire contract off the books by waiving him and sending him to AHL Hartford.
After starting his career with plenty of fanfare, Vesey has seen his stock drop quickly as of late. With that in mind, a return to the one team that he had some success with makes a lot of sense as he looks to get back on track and extend his NHL career.
Oilers Re-Sign Tyler Benson
The Oilers have agreed to terms with one of their remaining restricted free agents, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed winger Tyler Benson to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay $750K at the NHL level while PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that Benson will receive $275K in the minors. The contract has a total guarantee of $350K.
The 24-year-old spent most of last season with Edmonton but had a limited role. Benson suited up in 29 games with the Oilers but managed just one goal and one assist while averaging 8:33 per game. With the team needing to free up some cap and roster space to facilitate their eventual trade deadline acquisitions, Benson was placed on waivers in mid-March and passed through, allowing him to be assigned to AHL Bakersfield. Benson was much more productive with the Condors as he had a dozen points in 18 contests, allowing him to finish up the season on somewhat of a better note.
Benson opted not to file for salary arbitration last month and with a one-year, two-way deal being the eventual outcome, the decision to not go that route isn’t particularly surprising. He’ll get a chance to earn a roster spot again with Edmonton in training camp where having a cap hit of the league minimum will certainly work in his favor. However, with how he performed last season, the Oilers will be less hesitant to put him on waivers this time around so he will need to impress in the preseason to avoid being on waivers in early October.
Coyotes, Lawson Crouse Exchange Arbitration Figures
With their scheduled arbitration hearing now 48 hours away, the Coyotes and winger Lawson Crouse have exchanged their requested awards. The gap, as it almost always is, is sizable, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Arizona has submitted a $2.5MM figure and Crouse has come in with a $4MM request.
The 25-year-old is coming off of a career season, one that saw him post 20 goals and 14 assists despite missing 17 games mostly due to a hand injury. Crouse also received a sizable jump in playing time for his efforts as head coach Andre Tourigny increased his ice time by more than three minutes a game compared to 2020-21 as he logged 17:26 per game. It’s also worth noting that Crouse led the Coyotes in hits for the fourth straight season with 181.
Power forwards with some offensive ability are hard to find in the NHL and often get more than expected on their contracts as a result. Those types of deals are often done closer to the player becoming UFA-eligible and Crouse is still a couple of years away from that threshold so the timing for such a move isn’t quite right. To that end, it’s notable that both sides asked for a one-year award, fully knowing the big negotiation is probably a year away.
No matter what happens with this negotiation (or hearing if it makes it that far), Crouse will be in line for a considerable raise after playing on a bridge deal that carried a $1.533MM AAV for each of the last three seasons. The two sides will have until the start of the hearing on Monday to negotiate a settlement but once that hearing starts, the arbitrator will have the final say on what Crouse’s salary for next season will be.
Jets Re-Sign Leon Gawanke
August 2: Today, the Jets officially announced Gawanke’s contract extension.
August 1: The Jets have taken care of one of their remaining restricted free agents as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed defenseman Leon Gawanke to a one-year, two-way deal. The contract will pay $750K in the NHL, $125K in the minors, and has a guarantee of $150K.
The 23-year-old, who was a fifth-round pick of Winnipeg back in 2017 (136th overall), recently finished up his entry-level contract. He has yet to play at the NHL level and spent last season with AHL Manitoba where he had 10 goals and 26 assists in 65 games, earning him an invitation to play for Germany at the World Championship where he got into four games.
Gawanke is now waiver-eligible so it won’t be as easy for Winnipeg to send him down next season. At this point, it’s unlikely that he will break camp with the Jets unless there are injuries or trades so he will have to be exposed to waivers to return to the Moose. Even without any NHL experience, that could be risky as young right-shot blueliners are often in demand. If he makes it back to Manitoba, Gawanke will once again be an all-situations player and should have a chance to get his first NHL opportunity in 2022-23.
Rangers Sign C.J. Smith
August 2: The New York Rangers have made the signing of Smith official.
August 1: The Rangers have added some forward depth as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve inked C.J. Smith to a one-year, two-way deal. The contract is worth $750K in the NHL, $275K in the minors, and contains a total guarantee of $300K.
The 27-year-old has 15 career NHL contests under his belt over parts of four seasons where he has two goals and an assist. One of those appearances came in 2021-22 with Carolina. Smith has spent most of his professional career in the minors where he has been much more productive. Last season, he played in 60 games with AHL Chicago, notching 24 goals and 34 assists, good for third on the Wolves in scoring. He also collected nine points in 16 playoff contests to help Chicago win the Calder Cup.
While Smith will undoubtedly see some action with New York in the preseason, it’s safe to say that their intention with this signing is to have him start with AHL Hartford where he’ll help replace Anthony Greco, last year’s leading scorer who remains unsigned and Nick Merkley, who went to the KHL earlier today. The Rangers are now up to 48 NHL contracts with this signing out of the limit of 50 although they have a couple of junior-aged players who will come off the books if they’re sent back to that level.
Blackhawks Sign Jalen Luypen
August 2nd: The Blackhawks have now made the signing of Luypen official.
August 1st: The Blackhawks have agreed to terms with one of their prospects as John Matisz of The Score reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed forward Jalen Luypen to a three-year, entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports (via Twitter) that the deal will carry an AAV of $925K including signing and performance bonuses.
The 20-year-old was a seventh-round pick by Chicago (216th overall) in 2021 following a pandemic-shortened season that saw him put up more than a point per game with WHL Edmonton. While he didn’t quite get back to that level in 2021-22, Luypen collected 29 goals and 35 assists in 66 games with the Oil Kings, the WHL champions; his 64 points ranked fourth on the team.
Chicago will now have a decision to make with Luypen. He’s eligible to return to Edmonton for his overage season where he’d stand to play a bigger role in the lineup with two of the three scorers that were ahead of him last year now moving on; he’d still burn the first year of his contract if that happened. However, he can also go to the minors with AHL Rockford where he’d have a limited role but could begin making adjustments to adapt to the professional game. Either way, he has an NHL contract under his belt which is a good outcome for someone who originally went undrafted in his first year of eligibility before being snagged by the Blackhawks a year later.
Petteri Lindbohm Signs In SHL
August 2: Lindbohm’s choice to head back to Europe is now official. Frolunda HC has signed Lindbohm, per a team announcement.
August 1: Petteri Lindbohm’s return to the NHL appears as if it will be a short-lived one. SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson reports that the 28-year-old has been fielding interest from teams overseas and is believed to have a verbal agreement in place to sign with Frolunda of the SHL.
Lindbohm started last season with Jokerit of the KHL and did well enough to join Finland at the Olympics back in February. When Jokerit ceased operations, he was let out of his contract and signed with Florida for the rest of the season, giving the Panthers some extra defensive depth down the stretch.
Lindbohm got into nine games with Florida, picking up an assist while averaging a little over 14 minutes per game. However, he was a healthy scratch in all ten of their playoff contests and it appears as if there wasn’t enough of a market for him in free agency to secure another one-way contract. Instead, he’ll head overseas where he’ll have a chance to play a big role and perhaps play his way into a third NHL opportunity down the road.