Snapshots: Chychrun, DeAngelo, Sharks
After being at the forefront of trade speculation for most of last season, Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun hasn’t been mentioned in trade talk as much in recent weeks. At this point, it doesn’t seem as if he’ll be on the move as GM Bill Armstrong told Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports that there hasn’t been much movement on the trade front when it comes to the 24-year-old. Arizona’s asking price before the trade deadline was reported to be in the range of three first-round picks (or equivalent assets) or slightly more than that and evidently, no one came in with a big enough offer to get him. Chychrun, who has three years left on his deal with a team-friendly $4.6MM, is coming off a bit of a down year and while the Coyotes will certainly listen to offers at the draft, they may be better off seeing if he has a strong start in 2022-23 to try to bolster his value.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Ethan Bear isn’t the only pending Hurricanes RFA blueliner that is being allowed to speak to other teams in the league as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that defenseman Anthony DeAngelo has been granted permission to shop his services. The 26-year-old was one of the biggest bargains in the league in 2021-22, picking up 51 points in 64 games with just a $1MM AAV. DeAngelo is arbitration-eligible this summer and with Carolina having a lot of key players to re-sign, there may be a price point that’s too rich for them to agree to. Allowing DeAngelo to speak to other teams will give everyone a better understanding of what his market could be this summer.
- ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that former Montreal assistant GM Scott Mellanby no longer appears to be in the running for the GM position with the Sharks. Interim GM Joe Will indicated on Friday that the plan is for the team to hold three to five in-person interviews with the hope of making their choice soon after. Rangers’ Hockey Operations Coordinator Mike Grier and Ray Whitney (who currently works for the Department of Player Safety) are believed to still be in the mix for the position.
Winnipeg Jets Hire Rick Bowness
July 3: The Winnipeg Jets have made it official via a release and Twitter announcement, naming Rick Bowness the eighth coach in Winnipeg Jets history and third since the team relocated from Atlanta. According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the contract is for two seasons at $2.5MM per season (link).
July 1: While one coaching vacancy was suddenly created today when San Jose parted ways with Bob Boughner, it appears another is about to close. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the Jets are in the process of finalizing an agreement with Rick Bowness to become their next head coach.
It will be a return to where it all began for the 67-year-old as his first NHL coaching job actually came with the original Jets franchise (now the Coyotes) all the way back in 1988-89 when he took over midseason. Since then, Bowness has a long track record of coaching, both as a head coach and an assistant and Dreger notes that his experience was a big factor in Winnipeg’s choice. Of course, they were previously linked to Barry Trotz, an experienced bench boss who ultimately declined their offer to take over so GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was clearly looking for someone that has run an NHL bench in the past.
Bowness most recently was head coach of Dallas where he spent parts of three seasons at the helm. This past season, the Stars posted a 46-30-6 record, good for a points percentage of .598, their best since the 2015-16 campaign. That was enough to get them into the playoffs as the top Wild Card seed in the Western Conference where they made it to the seventh game against Calgary in the opening round. Despite that, the team saw fit to make a change behind the bench, ultimately installing Peter DeBoer as their new head coach after Bowness and the team mutually agreed to part ways.
Over his career, Bowness has a 212-351-76 record as an NHL head coach with stints with the Jets, Bruins, Senators, Islanders, Coyotes, and Stars. It’s worth noting that his four seasons with the then-expansion Sens played a considerable role in making that mark as poor as it looks as Ottawa only won 39 of 235 games under his tutelage.
Assuming the contract does get finalized, Bowness will be taking over a Winnipeg team that was among the biggest underachievers in the league last season. There is a strong forward core in place but Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, and Pierre-Luc Dubois have all been in trade speculation in recent weeks with the expectation that Cheveldayoff is looking to shake up his core. Meanwhile, Connor Hellebuyck is coming off a tough year but is still only two years removed from winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie. By going for an experienced head coach, it’s clear that there will be win-now expectations for Bowness and the Jets, no matter what winds up happening with their roster over the coming months.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Matt Tennyson Clears Unconditional Waivers
July 3: Per TSN’s Chris Johnston, Tennyson has cleared unconditional waivers and will have his contract terminated.
July 2: The Predators will be parting ways with one of their defensive depth pieces as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve placed defenseman Matt Tennyson on unconditional waivers for the purposes of terminating his contract.
The 32-year-old was set to enter the second and final season of a two-year, two-way contract that pays the NHL minimum of $750K in the NHL and $325K in the minors. Tennyson got into eight games with the Predators this past season, recording three assists while averaging nearly 13 minutes a night. He spent most of the year with AHL Milwaukee, recording 14 points in 53 games along with 44 penalty minutes.
PuckPedia clarifies (Twitter link) that Tennyson’s placement is for termination purposes, not a buyout. That certainly makes sense as going that route won’t result in any salary cap charges for next season whereas a buyout would have put $250K on Nashville’s salary cap for each of the next two seasons and cost more in salary dollars than the $325K he’d be owed in the minors. In the meantime, with Tennyson requesting a contract termination, it will be interesting to see what opportunity he has lined up elsewhere assuming he passes through waivers unclaimed on Sunday.
Minor Transactions: 7/2/22
As the signings around the NHL start to pick up with free agency fast approaching, there have been some other minor moves around the hockey world as well. Here is a rundown of some of the recent ones.
- Flames prospect Cole Huckins was traded from Acadie-Bathurst to Sherbrooke in exchange for a second-round pick as the QMJHL trade window opened up on Saturday. The 19-year-old was a third-round pick by Calgary last year (77th overall) and had a dozen goals and 14 assists in 41 games with the Titan this past season while adding four points in eight playoff contests. Huckins has yet to sign his entry-level deal and will need a big season with the Phoenix in 2022-23 to help secure his first contract.
- Pending Red Wings RFA goaltender Filip Larsson is staying in Sweden as Kristianstad of the second-tier Allsvenskan announced that they’ve signed the netminder to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old spent the majority of his three-year, entry-level contract playing overseas as he wound up suiting up just seven times for Detroit’s AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids back in 2019-20. Larsson split this past season between Frederikshavn in Denmark and Almtuna in Sweden.
- Former NHL winger Luke Adam has decided to stay overseas as Straubing of the DEL in Germany announced they’ve signed the 32-year-old. Adam previously played in 90 NHL games over parts of five seasons and his journey in Germany will continue next year as Straubing will be his fifth different team in as many years.
West Notes: DeBrincat, Dickinson, Oilers
If the Blackhawks are going to move Alex DeBrincat this summer, it’s going to take a sizable haul to get him. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that Chicago is believed to have recently turned down a package that would have yielded a high first-round pick in next week’s draft, another first-round selection, and a prospect for the 24-year-old but GM Kyle Davidson felt it wasn’t enough. DeBrincat is coming off a 41-goal, 78-point season and has one year left on his current deal with a $6.4MM AAV but will be owed a $9MM qualifying offer next summer which is something that acquiring teams will need to budget around. Meanwhile, with the Blackhawks squarely in a rebuild now, the time might be right to sell high on their star winger and they have justifiably set a high asking price for his services.
Elsewhere out West:
- The Canucks are unlikely to pursue a buyout with center Jason Dickinson this month, notes Thomas Drance of The Athletic (subscription link). Vancouver acquired the 26-year-old last summer with the hope that he could be a quality third-line center, signing him to a three-year deal that carries a $2.65MM cap hit. However, Dickinson managed to put up just five goals and six assists in 62 games this past season, numbers that aren’t close to justifying that cap hit. But since a buyout cost wouldn’t yield considerably higher savings than waiving and demoting him, the Canucks may be better off keeping him around or flipping him for another player that’s similarly underachieving.
- The Oilers have extended the decision deadlines for defenseman Duncan Keith and goalie Mike Smith, reports Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (subscription link). Originally, Edmonton was looking for clarity on their futures by July 1st but that has now been pushed to July 10th. At this point, Keith appears to be likely to return although there has been recent speculation that Smith, who played through multiple injuries this past season, could be placed on LTIR for the final year of his contract which would have the Oilers on the lookout for another goalie in the coming weeks.
Blue Jackets Re-Sign Carson Meyer
Columbus has been active in recent days as they look to re-sign their pending restricted free agents. Winger Carson Meyer is the next one to receive a new deal as the Blue Jackets announced that they’ve agreed on a one-year, two-way deal with the 24-year-old. PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the contract pays $750K in the NHL, $125K in the AHL, and has a guarantee of $175K.
Meyer made his NHL debut this past season, getting into 13 games with Columbus in April as the team was playing out the stretch. He picked up a goal and two assists along with 27 hits in those appearances while averaging a little more than eight minutes a night on the fourth line. Prior to that, Meyer played in 57 games with AHL Cleveland, tallying 16 goals along with 11 assists.
While it’s possible that Meyer could try to push for a spot on the fourth line in training camp, the likelier scenario is that he returns to the Monsters as he is waiver-exempt through next season. But after a decent showing in the final month of the season, Meyer is someone that could be considered for an early-season recall when injuries arise in Columbus.
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic was the first to report that Meyer was close to re-signing.
Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings
Free agency is now less than two weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Next up is a look at the Detroit Red Wings.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Filip Zadina – Once viewed as a possible top-three pick in the 2018 draft, Zadina’s stock fell a bit back then and it has still fallen since then. His first full NHL season saw him show flashes of the upside that was enough for Detroit to pick him sixth in the draft but there were plenty of concerns about his play away from the puck and his overall consistency. Coming off a platform year of 10 goals and 14 assists, Zadina certainly hasn’t put himself in a territory where he can command a long-term deal, nor should he want one. At this point, what’s clear is that he’ll be receiving a bridge deal. What isn’t as clear is whether it will be the Red Wings giving it to him or another team altogether.
D Jake Walman – With St. Louis, Walman had a very limited role when he was able to get into the lineup but that changed following his trade to Detroit at the deadline. After that, he became a regular on the third pairing, seeing his ATOI jump from under 12 minutes a game to over 17, giving him his first consistent stretch of NHL action and he certainly held his own in that role. Coming off a platform season with 10 points in 51 games and just 82 career appearances under his belt, Walman won’t be able to command much of a raise but he is a year away from UFA eligibility. If GM Steve Yzerman thinks there is still some upside with Walman, a two-year deal that buys an extra year of team control is doable that could see the AAV closer to the $1MM mark after making the minimum the last two seasons.
F Mitchell Stephens – The 25-year-old was brought over from Tampa Bay with the hopes that he’d be able to grab onto a full-time role on the fourth line. However, Stephens wound up missing 55 games with a lower-body injury and while he played in the 27 remaining games, there remain some questions as to whether or not he’s going to be a long-term option for Detroit. He’s owed a qualifying offer of just under $814K and it shouldn’t take much more than that to give him a one-year contract and another opportunity to try to stake his claim to a full-time spot in the lineup.
Other RFAs: G Kaden Fulcher, D Olli Juolevi, D Chase Pearson
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Marc Staal – The 35-year-old isn’t the high-end shutdown defender that he was in the prime of his career but he still has some value as a third-pairing player that can kill penalties. Detroit saw that last summer and brought him back to play that exact role in 2021-22 where he did a decent job. It’s possible that the Red Wings keep him around as an insurance policy if they aren’t able to bring in a more impactful veteran on the left side of their back end. If not, Staal should have some suitors on contending teams looking for a proven defender but in that situation, he will likely need to take less than the $2MM he received from the Red Wings this past season.
G Thomas Greiss – In his first year with the Red Wings, Greiss did well with his GAA and SV% basically matching his career averages. In terms of a short-term stopgap, he looked like a good pickup. However, the 36-year-old struggled mightily in 2021-22, posting a 3.66 GAA with a SV% of just .881, both career-worsts. Was it a sign that his best days are behind him or will there be a team or two that thinks in a more stable defensive environment, Greiss could still provide a performance around the league average? It’s possible that there is limited interest this summer but it’s also quite possible that his poor performance has resulted in his 13-year NHL career coming to an end.
D Danny DeKeyser – DeKeyser’s stock has dropped considerably in the last couple of years and he has cleared waivers on multiple occasions. That said, his $5MM AAV made it a near-lock that he was going to pass through unclaimed so there was no risk in going that route. The 32-year-old could still fit on the third pairing for some teams next season at a price tag that’s considerably lower and is more commensurate for that role. However, it would be surprising to see him return to his hometown team.
F Sam Gagner – Gagner is quietly coming off a serviceable season as a depth scorer for the Red Wings, picking up 13 goals and 18 assists in 81 games while playing under 14 minutes a night with 29 of those points coming at even strength. For a bargain price of $850K, he was one of Detroit’s better bargains in 2021-22. Now 32, the 15-year veteran has his limitations but as an affordable depth scorer, Gagner should have a decent market waiting for him in free agency.
Other UFAs: F Riley Barber, F Turner Elson, G Magnus Hellberg, G Calvin Pickard, D Dan Renouf, F Carter Rowney
Projected Cap Space
As far as cap space goes, Detroit has plenty as they have more than $35MM at their disposal. Their restricted free agents won’t take much off of that number which means that Yzerman has the ability to go after the top unrestricted free agents if he wants or if he feels the team led by new head coach Derek Lalonde isn’t ready to push for a playoff spot yet, the Red Wings could be a team to watch in terms of adding some assets for taking on undesirable contracts. There will be several new faces in Hockeytown as a result next season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Amir Miftakhov Clears Unconditional Waivers
Sunday: Miftakhov has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.
Saturday: Today is the first day that players can be placed on unconditional waivers for the purposes of buying out a contract. There is a player on unconditional waivers today, albeit for another reason, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that the Lightning have placed goaltender Amir Miftakhov on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract.
The 22-year-old was a sixth-round pick of Tampa Bay back in 2020 (186th overall) after some promising performances in the VHL, a second-tier league in Russia. After spending 2020-21 between the KHL and VHL, the Lightning had seen enough to give Miftakhov a three-year, entry-level deal with an eye on trying to develop him as a goalie of the future.
However, things didn’t go well in Miftakhov’s first season in North America. He split his time between AHL Syracuse and ECHL Orlando and while he had a decent showing in five games with the Solar Bears, the same couldn’t be said for how he performed with the Crunch. He posted a save percentage of just .891 along with a GAA of 3.03 in 22 games and was relegated to third-string status in the playoffs behind veteran Maxime Lagace and prospect Hugo Alnefelt. That appears to be enough for the two sides to agree that parting ways is the best approach.
Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Saturday if they want to place a claim on Miftakhov if they believe he’s worthy of some development in the minors. Assuming the goalie clears, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and at this point, returning to play back home in Russia is a likely scenario. If his deal is terminated, Alnefelt will be the only Tampa Bay goalie signed for next season beyond their NHL tandem of Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott.
Central Notes: Forsberg, Leddy, King
Predators winger Filip Forsberg is one of the most prominent pending unrestricted free agents with the opening of the market now less than two weeks away. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relays in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that teams believe there’s a path for the 27-year-old to stay in Nashville on a max-term eight-year deal with an $8.5MM AAV. Such a deal would represent a $2.5MM raise on his last contract, one that would be well-deserved after a 42-goal, 84-point season. Worth noting is that Nashville’s tax situation is a favorable one so if other teams think an AAV of $8.5MM would get a deal done with the Predators, teams that aren’t in an ideal tax environment would need to go considerably higher to match the net money Forsberg would receive.
More from the Central:
- While Nick Leddy isn’t the top-pairing player he once was, NHL.com’s Lou Korac suggests in his latest blog that the blueliner could still command a four or five-year contract on the open market later this month. The 31-year-old picked up 24 points in 75 games between Detroit and St. Louis during the regular season while averaging over 21 minutes a night while chipping in with five points in nine playoff contests. While the Blues would certainly like to keep him around, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to free up the type of money it will cost to sign Leddy to that long of a contract.
- While Derek King is no longer Chicago’s head coach following the hiring of Luke Richardson, GM Kyle Davidson told reporters, including Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, that the Blackhawks are looking to retain King in a yet-to-be-determined role. It’s possible that King goes back to AHL Rockford which is where he was before he was called on to replace Jeremy Colliton while he also could become an assistant on Richardson’s staff or transition into a role in their front office.
Offseason Checklist: Calgary Flames
With the offseason in full swing, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Flames.
After missing the playoffs in 2020-21, Calgary had a bounce-back season as they finished first in the Pacific Division and got past Dallas in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to Edmonton. The Flames were among the top-scoring teams in the league and allowed the third-fewest goals which is a great spot to be in but GM Brad Treliving has some work to do to keep the core intact.
Re-Sign Gaudreau
Let’s start with a big one. Johnny Gaudreau has been a cornerstone player for Calgary for the past eight seasons. After a bit of a quieter showing in 2020-21, he rebounded in a big way, posting career highs across the board while finishing tied for second in league scoring with 115 points; only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid had more. If you put any stock into plus/minus, Gaudreau led the league in that category with a whopping +64 mark; for context, he was only +21 for his career heading into the year. All of this has resulted in the 28-year-old being set to be the top free agent on the open market later this month.
That is, unless Calgary is able to stop him from getting there. But to do so, it’s going to cost a pretty penny. You can be sure that Gaudreau’s camp is going to point to the contract that Artemi Panarin signed with the Rangers (seven years, $11.643MM) as a valid comparable. Considering Gaudreau has the longer track record and a more impressive platform season, it’s certainly an understandable target to strive for although he is a little older than Panarin was at the time. Clearly, that’s not a price the Flames have been willing to meet since an extension isn’t in place yet.
At some point, Treliving will have to focus on a Plan B as having this get to July 13th without a resolution would certainly be risky. If a new deal can’t be done by the draft, the Flames may have to entertain the possibility of flipping Gaudreau’s rights and begin shopping around for a replacement. There’s still some time to work out an agreement but it’s something that they will need to accomplish sooner rather than later.
Re-Sign RFAs
On top of needing to re-sign Gaudreau, fellow winger Brady Tkachuk is also in need of a new contract and it’s also going to be an expensive one. The 24-year-old is a year away from UFA eligibility, has salary arbitration rights, and is owed a qualifying offer of $9MM. Tkachuk is also coming off of a career year, one that saw him surpass the 40-goal and 100-point marks for the first time. That gives him plenty of leverage in discussions as if he doesn’t like what Calgary is offering, he can simply accept the qualifying offer or try his hand in arbitration to try to get a bit more than his qualifier.
Of course, a lot of what the Flames can do here is dependent on what happens with Gaudreau. Both players could be in line for $10MM or so on their next contracts and while they have a little over $26MM in cap space at the moment, they also have to sign six or seven forwards and three defensemen with that money. If those two take up that much of the pie, that doesn’t leave much room for anyone else.
Speaking of anyone else, the Flames have another winger that’s in line for a sizable raise in Andrew Mangiapane. He’s also coming off a career year of his own as he put up 35 goals and 20 assists in 82 games. Prior to that showing, his previous benchmark for points was 32. Like Tkachuk, the 26-year-old is also arbitration-eligible and a year away from UFA eligibility. Mangiapane is owed a $2.45MM qualifying offer but could make a case to double that in a hearing. While he’s someone that they’d certainly like to keep around, he also might be someone they have to move if the price tag gets too high.
The other RFA of note this summer is blueliner Oliver Kylington. He doesn’t have the track record to command the type of money that the others on this list do but after being a depth player for the first few years of his career, the 25-year-old was a regular, collecting 33 points in 71 games while averaging over 18 minutes a night. Those are elements that look good in an arbitration filing so he will be in line for a sizable raise after making the league minimum in 2021-22; three or four times that amount could certainly be doable, further adding stress to their cap situation.
Add Defensive Depth
Right now, Calgary has just three regular defensemen under contract for next season with Kylington’s eventual signing bringing them to four. Juuso Valimaki is signed for $1.55MM but spent the majority of the season in the minors so it’s fair to question whether he’s part of their plans for next season. It’s quite possible that he’s shopped around to try to free up a little more salary cap space.
Meanwhile, veterans Nikita Zadorov, Erik Gudbranson, and Michael Stone are all set to hit the open market later this month with it seeming quite unlikely that Zadorov will return. Gudbranson could be an option depending on what happens with their other free agents while Stone could return at or near the league minimum once again. Even if he does, Treliving is going to need to add some defensive depth.
Connor Mackey is a candidate to at least be on the roster on a full-time basis so that’s one spot but the Flames are going to need to add at least one external blueliner that’s capable of playing on the third pairing and if they don’t have plans to use Valimaki as a regular next season, they’re going to need to look for two of them. Quality role players on the back end can generate strong markets but Treliving is going to have to try to find some bargains.
Add Center Insurance
For several years, Sean Monahan was a fixture at the top of the lineup for Calgary. However, his play has steadily declined over the last couple of seasons with injuries starting to take their toll. He underwent hip surgery for the second straight year back in April which puts his availability for the start of next season in question. Even if he can return, it will be difficult for the Flames to count on much production from him. On top of that, the injury will make it next to impossible to buy out the final year of his deal, one that carries a $6.375MM AAV as he’d need to be medically cleared. That doesn’t seem likely to happen by the close of the first buyout window next week.
Meanwhile, the extra depth players that Treliving brought in last season are all set to test unrestricted free agency in trade deadline acquisitions Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan Carpenter while Trevor Lewis is also set to walk. Between that and the injury to Monahan, what was once a positional strength now has some questions aside from Elias Lindholm and Mikael Backlund.
Internally, Dillon Dube can play down the middle but he has been used predominantly on the wing in his career and at this point, he probably isn’t a full-time option. Adam Ruzicka played in 28 games last season but is he ready for a full-time spot in the lineup and if so, can he play on the third line or is he better suited for the fourth?
As a result, the Flames could stand to add a pair of middlemen, one that can play on the third line behind Lindholm and Backlund and a depth center that can kill penalties in the mold of Lewis, Carpenter, or Brad Richardson (who was with the team for most of the year before finishing up with Vancouver). The latter won’t be too hard to find but the third-line option will be trickier, especially if there’s an expectation that Monahan will be able to return at some point. Assuming that’s the case, they won’t be able to rely on him being on LTIR and spend his cap hit on a replacement.
There’s a sequence of events that needs to happen for Calgary in the coming weeks and each of these ties back to a central theme, the salary cap. Treliving will need to get creative to keep as much of his core together as possible while still managing to fill the holes that will need to be addressed this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.