Looking At The August 15 Free Agents
The middle of August is typically quiet in the hockey world, especially on a transactions front. Most of the heavy lifting of team building is done and while there are some NHL free agents remaining, many of them will be waiting until closer to training camp for their next contracts.
But we’ll soon see a new group of players hit the free agent market as some teams will be losing the rights to some of their college prospects. These are players that have played out their NCAA eligibility (or at least have gone four years since being drafted) but have not signed an NHL contract. Those teams hold their exclusive rights up to and including August 15th. Here’s a listing of those players as well as when they were drafted (round/overall, year).
Arizona
D Michael Karow (5/126, 2017)
Boston
F Jack Becker (7/195/2015)
Calgary
F Mitchell Mattson (5/126/2016)
Carolina
D Tyler Inamoto (5/133, 2017)
Chicago
D Stanislav Demin (4/99, 2018)*
D Josh Ess (7/215, 2017) – signed in France
Colorado
F Tyler Weiss (4/109, 2018)*
Columbus
G Peter Thome (6,155, 2016)
Montreal
F Brett Stapley (7/190, 2018)*
NY Islanders
F Logan Cockerill (7/201, 2017) – signed in Sweden
D Ben Mirageas (3/77, 2017)
Philadelphia
D Jack St. Ivany (4/112, 2018)*
Pittsburgh
D Clayton Phillips (3/93, 2017)
San Jose
G Mike Robinson (3/86, 2015)
Tampa Bay
F Cole Guttman (6/180, 2017)*
F Samuel Walker (7/200, 2017)*
Vegas
F Nicolas Campoli (6/158, 2017)*
F Brandon Kruse (5/135, 2018)
Washington
D Benton Maass (6/182, 2017) – signed with Washington’s farm team
*-The player is eligible to return for a bonus fifth season due to the pandemic. Some of those decisions aren’t made public so some of these players might wind up playing another year and remain property of their respective NHL clubs.
Some years, there are some August 15 free agents that generate a lot of interest – Jimmy Vesey and Alexander Kerfoot are somewhat recent examples – but this class doesn’t have anyone like that. However, there are some players that will be intriguing.
Guttman and Stapley are both coming off strong years with Denver that saw them post better than a point per game for the champion Pioneers. Weiss was just shy of the point per game mark with Omaha-Nebraska while Walker had 27 points with Minnesota. As for Karow, he got into 13 games with Dallas’ farm team down the stretch and didn’t look out of place. Those are at least a handful of players that should be receiving some phone calls once they officially hit the open market.
Sharks Seeking Second-Round Pick For James Reimer
The annual goalie carousel at the beginning of free agency has come and gone but there still could be some trade activity involving netminders. San Jose still has three NHL goalies and while they’ve said they’d be comfortable keeping all three to start the season, that’s usually not an ideal scenario.
That hasn’t stopped GM Mike Grier from placing a high asking price for James Reimer, however, as Sheng Peng reports in his latest column for NBC Sports Bay Area that the Sharks are asking for a second-round pick to move the veteran. If Reimer was the one to go, that would then have San Jose enter next season with a tandem of Kaapo Kahkonen and Adin Hill who has been cleared for training camp after missing most of the last three months of 2021-22.
In a vacuum, a second-round pick for a capable backup like Reimer isn’t crazy. The 34-year-old is coming off a year that saw him post a .911 SV% in 48 games, a mark that was above the NHL average despite the fact he was on a team that came up well short of making the playoffs. He’d represent an upgrade for several teams and with a $2.25MM AAV, he’s one of the cheaper veteran backups compared to deals that have been handed out over the past year or so.
But with most goalie situations settled, Grier will be hard-pressed to get that type of value for Reimer. Sure, Vegas could use a goalie with Robin Lehner out but if they do look to make a move, it stands to reason that they’d look for more of a proven starter and Reimer isn’t that type of player. The Flyers could need a backup with Ivan Fedotov’s uncertain short-term future but fitting him in on the cap would be tricky. Arizona needs a second-stringer but with them not really focused on winning, their preference might be to look on waivers for a cheaper option over trading a good draft pick for a player they’d ultimately look to flip a few months later at the trade deadline.
With that in mind, it’s difficult to see Grier being able to find a taker for Reimer at that asking price. The safer play for the new GM might be to see how things go in training camp and see if an injury or two shakes up the landscape a little bit. Again, it’s rarely ideal for a team to enter a season with three capable netminders but in this case, it might be the right call for the Sharks if they can’t get their desired trade return for Reimer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Oilers Have Held Talks With Sam Gagner
Earlier this month, Oilers GM Ken Holland mentioned that he’d like to add more depth to his roster although, for the time being, he doesn’t have the cap space to do so once he re-signs RFA Ryan McLeod. But that hasn’t stopped him from having discussions with free agents and Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal reports that one of the players they’ve spoken with is veteran winger Sam Gagner.
The 33-year-old is no stranger to Edmonton having played for them on a couple of occasions in the past. He spent seven years with them after being drafted by them sixth overall back in 2007 before returning in 2019 for parts of two more seasons. With 317 points in 542 games with them, he sits 21st on their all-time scoring list.
Gagner hasn’t done a lot of scoring in recent years, however, with just one season of more than ten goals since 2016-17. Fortunately for him, the one time he did that since then was last season with Detroit when he put up 13 goals and 18 assists in 81 games, all but two of those coming at even strength. That type of depth scoring should be appealing to some teams but right now, it’s not a desirable market for veteran role players with so many teams at or near the cap ceiling.
Gagner is 33 games shy of reaching the 1,000 games played mark. At this point, it’s likely that he’ll have to settle for a minimum contract if he wants to have a chance of getting to that mark in 2022-23. A return to where it all began certainly makes some sense for the Oilers but only if they can find a way to free up enough cap space to bring him back for a third stint with the team.
Snapshots: Eller, Golden Knights, DeBrincat
With Washington’s top two centers being Evgeny Kuznetsov and newcomer Dylan Strome (with Nicklas Backstrom injured) and Connor McMichael in the mix as well, some have wondered if the Capitals should look into moving veteran middleman Lars Eller. However, Sammi Silber of Washington Hockey Now cautions against that approach, noting that having a bit of a logjam down the middle is never a bad thing while Eller can certainly help on the defensive side of things, an area that McMichael isn’t ready to take on just yet. With one year left at $3.5MM, Washington would have some interest if they were to shop the 33-year-old around but his best value might come later in the season compared to now when the trade market is not yielding top returns for veteran players.
More from around the hockey world:
- While the season-ending injury to Robin Lehner has many thinking that the Golden Knights need to acquire a goaltender, Vegas’ Ken Boehlke argues that the best move they could make is to make no move at all. That will allow them to evaluate whether the core of this roster is truly good enough to contend and assess the readiness of Logan Thompson to be a full-time NHL goaltender. If they’re in the playoff picture midseason, that approach would also give them a bit of cap flexibility to try to add thanks to LTIR as they won’t have spent Lehner’s $5MM at that point. Vegas hasn’t shown much patience in their brief NHL tenure but there’s definitely a case to be made for them to have some now.
- In his latest mailbag column (subscription link), Scott Powers of The Athletic reports that Alex DeBrincat didn’t show interest in signing a long-term deal with the Blackhawks before his trade to Ottawa last month. The 24-year-old was only eligible to sign an extension at the start of the new league year on July 13th (a few days after the swap) and is owed a qualifying offer of $9MM next summer. That amount will likely be the starting point for extension negotiations with the Senators as he’s coming off his second 41-goal campaign over the last four years.
Atlantic Notes: Zacha, Sabres, Edmonds
Although the Bruins weren’t able to get Pavel Zacha signed to a multi-year deal, GM Don Sweeney recently told reporters in a press conference (video link) that they did try to get one done before ultimately settling on a one-year, $3.5MM agreement, one that will walk the 25-year-old to the open market next summer. Sweeney indicated that they have already stated their intention to Zacha’s camp to work out an extension on the contract that they just signed. However, they’ll have to wait until January before they’ll be permitted to do so. Zacha will be entering his first year with Boston after being acquired from New Jersey last month and is projected to center their third line behind Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- While the Sabres were hoping that prospect defenseman Ryan Johnson would turn pro after development camp, Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that the blueliner has informed Buffalo that he’ll go back to college for his senior season. The 21-year-old was the 31st pick in 2019 and had 19 points in 39 games for the Minnesota Golden Gophers last season. If he doesn’t sign with Buffalo and becomes a free agent next August, the Sabres would receive the 31st pick of the second round in the 2024 draft as compensation.
- Also from Lysowski’s article, he relays that the immigration issue that prevented prospect Alexander Kisakov from participating in development camp has been resolved, paving the way for him to attend training camp next month. Kisakov had 62 goals over the past two years in Russia’s junior league and is expected to play with AHL Rochester next season.
- The Lightning attempted to sign prospect winger Lucas Edmonds as a free agent last season but they weren’t allowed to as Central Scouting ruled he had to go through the draft, notes Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription link). Instead, Tampa Bay traded up on the second day of the draft to select the 21-year-old in the third round (86th overall). Edmonds led the OHL in assists with 79 last season and finished third in points with 113 and the team has already since signed him to his entry-level deal.
Free Agent Profile: Sam Steel
The flattened trajectory of the Upper Limit in the NHL in recent years has resulted in teams increasingly opting to non-tender players to avoid the risk of a salary arbitration award coming in higher than what they were willing to pay or could afford. Some of those players signed quickly while others remained unsigned exactly one month into the opening of the market.
Sam Steel fits in the latter of the categories in an outcome that few could have predicted just a couple of years ago. A first-round pick back in 2016 (30th overall), Steel was quite impressive in the minors in his rookie campaign in 2018-19, earning himself a 22-game stint with Anaheim. He did quite well with the Ducks, recording 11 points while seemingly entrenching himself as a staple of their future center plans.
Unfortunately for both him and Anaheim, things have largely gone downhill for Steel since then. While he has played exclusively in the NHL since then, he hasn’t come close to producing at the per-game levels of his first professional campaign. As a result, his playing time and role diminished over the last couple of seasons to the point where he was a healthy scratch a handful of times last season.
Still, young centers are hard to come by and often get extra looks with the organization that drafted them. But Anaheim wasn’t worried about being able to afford his cap hit; they simply wanted to part ways with the 24-year-old. The perceived upside from a few years ago and the fact he plays a premium position makes Steel one of the more intriguing players still available on the open market.
Stats
2021-22: 68 GP, 6-14-20, -17 rating, 16 PIMS, 66 shots, 46.0 CF%, 49.3 FO%, 12:19 ATOI
Career: 197 GP, 24-41-65, -35 rating, 52 PIMS, 226 shots, 47.5 CF%, 50.5 FO%, 14:09 ATOI
Potential Suitors
While some veteran players are likely hoping to catch on with a team with a chance of a long playoff run, Steel should be looking in the complete opposite direction. A squad that will give him a chance at earning a 13th or 14th spot on the roster is an opportunity for another season of NHL money but then what? Another year with limited minutes and production doesn’t bode well for him for the 2023 offseason. For Steel, finding a landing spot with a team that will give him a chance at seeing somewhat regular playing time is crucial. That could have him gravitating towards a rebuilding team over a veteran-laden squad with postseason expectations.
In the East, Ottawa is one team that might be a happy medium in terms of playoff hopes with a shot at playing time. The Sens have cycled through depth centers in recent years and have some younger players that have mostly been minor leaguers to this point that are going to push for playing time plus Dylan Gambrell who was on the fringes when it came to playing time a year ago. Steel could potentially supplant one of those players and see somewhat regular minutes on a team that should make a postseason push. The Hurricanes lost both Vincent Trocheck and Derek Stepan this summer. Stepan’s spot, in particular, could be a spot for Steel. If Montreal clears out some of its forward surplus in the coming weeks, they could wind up being a bit thin down the middle, creating an opportunity there as well.
Out West, Arizona has several young centers already but two of them – Jack McBain and Nathan Smith – haven’t played in the AHL yet. If the Coyotes prefer to give one of them top minutes in the minors, that could create a spot for him on a team that could justify playing him heavy minutes in a rebuilding year. The Jets need to add some forwards to fill out their roster and no established centers have been added yet to replace Andrew Copp (moved at the trade deadline) and Paul Stastny (currently a UFA). If Minnesota would prefer Marco Rossi to get more time in the minors, a spot on the middle of their fourth line might be a fit as well.
As a player that will likely have a limited role to start wherever he winds up, Steel might be better off waiting until partway through training camp to sign when preseason injuries could open up playing time opportunities that aren’t presently there although that approach certainly carries some risk.
Projected Contract
At this point, with the year that Steel had and the fact he remains unsigned at this point, it’s hard to imagine him receiving more than the league minimum. He has two years of team control remaining through arbitration but, again, that can work against players that are lower on the depth chart. If a team wanted a two-year commitment to avoid that arbitration risk next summer, Steel might be able to get a bit more than the minimum but otherwise, he’s likely to sign for $750K wherever he winds up in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Nikolai Knyzhov Undergoes Surgery, Out For Six Months
Sharks defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov has had nothing but bad luck on the injury front lately. He missed all of last season due to a core muscle injury and now the start of 2022-23 will be delayed as well as the team announced that the blueliner tore his right Achilles tendon in offseason training and underwent surgery on Wednesday. The procedure carries an estimated recovery time of six months.
Back in 2020-21, the 24-year-old established himself as a full-timer on San Jose’s back end as he played in all 56 games, picking up 10 points while logging a little under 17 minutes of playing time. Those numbers aren’t eye-popping by any stretch but for a team that was tight to the salary cap, having a regular player under contract for less than $800K was ideal from a cap management perspective.
The Sharks signed Knyzhov to a one-year, $850K one-way deal back in April with the hopes that he’d be able to reclaim his spot on the third pairing. Clearly, that won’t be the case now as he’ll be out for at least the first half of the season and probably longer. San Jose will be able to put Knyzhov on LTIR which will give them a little bit of extra cap flexibility, especially with the team already carrying some extra depth in goal, up front, and on the back end,
Nolan Patrick Likely To Be On LTIR Next Season
Vegas already has plenty of their payroll earmarked for LTIR next season. Robin Lehner and his $5MM will be there after his hip surgery while they added Shea Weber’s $7.857MM AAV in a trade with Montreal this summer with the veteran’s playing days already over. Those two might not be the only ones on there, however, as Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Sun relays that it’s widely expected that forward Nolan Patrick will also be on LTIR in 2022-23 as he continues to deal with an upper-body injury that dates back to last season.
The 23-year-old has basically had nothing but bad luck since being selected second overall in 2017. He has missed considerable time with migraines and after getting a fresh start with the Golden Knights, Patrick missed 55 games to various injuries. In the end, he played in just 25 games, recording only two goals and five assists. On a related note, the player he was initially traded for in the three-way swap – defenseman Ryan Ellis – only played in four games himself last season with lingering questions continuing about his availability for next season as well.
If Patrick isn’t able to play, his $1.2MM would be added to Vegas’ already sizable LTIR pool which would give them a little bit more flexibility to work with this summer albeit with another roster spot to try to fill as well. On top of that, it would likely call his playing career into question. Things aren’t quite at that point just yet but if Patrick can’t suit up at all next season, it will certainly be fair to wonder if what once looked like a promising career will be coming to a very premature end.
Metropolitan Notes: Gardiner, Fedotov, Backstrom
Carolina’s second buyout window opened up yesterday but while some wondered if they might take advantage of that to buy out the final year of Jake Gardiner’s deal, Hurricanes GM Don Waddell told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that they won’t do so. Gardiner missed all of last season due to hip and back surgeries and cleared waivers the year before that so the opportunity to clear a big chunk of his $4.05MM AAV off their books had to be considered. However, with Max Pacioretty set to miss at least the first half of the season due to a torn Achilles, the need to free up short-term cap space isn’t as high so Gardiner will now try to earn a spot at the back of Carolina’s roster next month in training camp.
More from the Metropolitan:
- Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov’s hearing in Russia has been pushed to September 20th, relays Sam Carchidi of Philadelphia Hockey Now. He was arrested last month on suspicion of evading military service. The 25-year-old signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia back in May with the expectation that he’d become their second goaltender following a dominant playoff performance with CSKA Moscow of the KHL but now, they won’t have him when training camp gets underway next month.
- There’s no firm timeline for when (or if) Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom might return next season after undergoing hip resurfacing surgery but Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic feels (subscription link) that the team is planning to be without the 34-year-old for the entire regular season with a small hope that he could be ready in the playoffs. Backstrom has three years left on his deal with a $9.2MM AAV and will clearly be eligible to go on LTIR. However, if the Caps feel that he won’t return at all during the season, that would give them more flexibility to add to their roster as they wouldn’t have to have enough freed up to accommodate his return. Speculatively, this feels like a situation where they’ll want to wait until closer to midseason and then reassess things heading towards the trade deadline.
Max Pacioretty To Undergo Surgery
Max Pacioretty‘s debut with the Hurricanes is going to have to wait a while. The team announced today that the veteran winger is set to undergo surgery to repair a torn Achilles on Wednesday and will be out for six months.
The 33-year-old was acquired from Vegas last month along with defenseman Dylan Coghlan in exchange for future considerations in a trade that was solely done to free up cap space. Pacioretty is coming off an injury-plagued year that saw him miss time due to four separate injuries but when he was in the lineup, he was quite productive, notching 19 goals and 18 assists in just 37 games.
His addition was expected to help offset some of their losses up front with Vincent Trocheck going to the Rangers in free agency while Nino Niederreiter landed with the Predators. Instead, Carolina won’t have Pacioretty in their lineup until sometime in February which is close to the trade deadline. He would have been a capable veteran to help youngsters Seth Jarvis, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, and Martin Necas but now, those three will have a little more pressure to produce on their shoulders as things stand.
In the short term, this news eliminates Carolina’s cap problems for most of the season. When Necas signed earlier today, that put them more than $1MM over the $82.5MM Upper Limit of the salary cap and with defenseman Jake Gardiner cleared to return, they weren’t going to have the ability to put him on LTIR. Now, Pacioretty will go there, allowing the Hurricanes to spend up to his $7MM AAV over the cap. The fact that he’ll return later in the season will make it difficult for them to go out and acquire a replacement but at a minimum, they won’t have any compliance issues for the first few months and will be able to carry a full-sized roster without any concerns.
Of course, that’s only a small consolation as they’d much rather have Pacioretty, a player who has produced at nearly a point per game pace over the past three seasons with 154 points in 158 games. But now, they’ll have to wait more than half of the season before their top offseason acquisition up front will be able to make his debut. And with Pacioretty entering a contract year, missing 50 games or more won’t help his market value next summer when he goes in search of his next deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.