Injury Updates: Martinez, Murray, Wild, Oshie
It appears that the Golden Knights will soon be getting a key defenseman back in their lineup. In an interview with SinBin.Vegas (audio link), owner Bill Foley indicated that Alec Martinez was nearing a return had it not been for the veteran contracting COVID-19. Martinez has been out since mid-November with an upper-body injury and is expected to miss at least ten days due to his protocol placement, meaning it’s not an asymptomatic case so he won’t return until the middle of next week at the earliest. Martinez and his $5.25MM AAV are currently on LTIR and Vegas will likely need to transfer winger Max Pacioretty onto LTIR in order to activate the blueliner back onto the active roster.
Other injury news from around the league:
- Avalanche defenseman Ryan Murray left Friday’s victory over Arizona with an upper-body injury, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The oft-injured 28-year-old has struggled with Colorado this season, averaging just over 14 minutes per game in 21 contests. The expectation is that Kurtis MacDermid, who had been playing on the wing recently, will now go back to his natural position on the back end to take Murray’s place.
- The Wild could get defenseman Jared Spurgeon and goaltender Cam Talbot back in the lineup for their upcoming home-and-home set against Chicago, suggests Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). Those games are slated for Friday and Saturday of next week. Spurgeon has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury while Talbot has missed nearly two weeks with a lower-body issue of his own.
- The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger T.J. Oshie sustained an upper-body injury in today’s game against the Islanders. It has been a tough season for the veteran from a health perspective as he has already missed time due to three separate injuries while missing a game in COVID protocol. In between all of those, the 35-year-old has been fairly productive with 13 points in 17 games.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Calgary Flames
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 2021-22 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.
Calgary Flames
Current Cap Hit: $79,991,525 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
No regulars in Calgary’s lineup are on entry-level deals.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Johnny Gaudreau ($6.75MM, UFA)
D Erik Gudbranson ($1.95MM, UFA)
F Trevor Lewis ($800K, UFA)
D Oliver Kylington ($750K, RFA)
F Andrew Mangiapane ($2.325MM, RFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Brad Richardson ($800K, UFA)
F Brett Ritchie ($900K, UFA)
D Michael Stone ($750K, UFA)
F Matthew Tkachuk ($7MM, RFA)
D Nikita Zadorov ($3.75MM, UFA)
Gaudreau is obviously the UFA to watch for here. After a couple of quieter years, he has bounced back somewhat this season and is averaging just over a point per game, a mark he has only reached twice in his career. That will certainly give his value a boost at the right time. There are two big questions here – what is he worth and is it worth it for Calgary to pay that? He’ll be 29 to start next season so a max-term contract isn’t out of the question (eight years for the Flames, seven for everyone else) with the last couple being a little cheaper in salary to lower the AAV. Still, it’s quite possible that Gaudreau pushes past the $8MM range and since he is part of a core group that has largely underachieved, should Calgary willingly pay a fair bit more to keep it together? If Gaudreau wants top dollar, I’m not sure it comes from the Flames.
The other big one to watch for obviously is Tkachuk. He’s subject to the old qualifying offer rule which means a $9MM offer needs to be tendered to retain his rights. It’s hard to see him willingly taking a long-term deal at that price point so GM Brad Treliving will need to go higher than that to stop the 24-year-old from taking the offer and heading straight to UFA eligibility in 2023. Another RFA in line for a significant raise is Mangiapane, their top goal-getter this season. With arbitration eligibility and potentially a 30-goal year under his belt (he’s more than halfway there at 18), it’s not unrealistic to think he has a shot at doubling his current price tag. If Calgary pays all three of those, they could be looking at adding $7MM or more just to retain their current forwards let alone add to the group.
As for the other forwards, Pitlick hasn’t had a good season and has struggled since coming over from Seattle. He’ll likely have to settle for something closer to the $1MM range next year as a result. Ritchie, Lewis, and Richardson have all recently gone through the UFA market and deals at just above the minimum were all they were able to get. None have done enough to drastically improve their fortunes much beyond what they’re making now.
On the back end, Zadorov hasn’t quite fit in as well as Calgary hoped as he has been scratched at times and on the third pairing for most of the year. That’s only going to hurt his value instead of the change of scenery from Chicago helping it. His value is tough to peg as someone in his role should be making less than half of what he currently is but it still wouldn’t be surprising if he wound up with a deal in the $2.75MM or more range in the summer. Gudbranson continues to be a physical player on the third pairing and after taking a cut last summer, another small dip is likely. Kylington will be in a much different situation as he has been one of Calgary’s best offensive blueliners this season and will have arbitration eligibility this time around. Some sheltered minutes could play a factor in a hearing but him landing something around $2MM is probably doable. Stone is a depth player and has been for a few years now and he’ll either re-sign for the minimum or they’ll find another depth player willing to play for that salary.
Two Years Remaining
F Milan Lucic ($5.25MM, UFA)*
D Connor Mackey ($913K, RFA)
F Sean Monahan ($6.375MM, UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($1.55MM, RFA)
G Daniel Vladar ($750K, RFA)
*-Edmonton is retaining another $750K on Lucic’s deal
Monahan has seen his value dip in recent years and this season hasn’t gone particularly well either. He’s not the number one center they hoped he’d be but lately, he hasn’t even been a second-line pivot. If Monahan can get back to that level, a contract that’s only a bit below his current AAV is still manageable. However, if his current trend continues, something in the $3.5MM to $4MM range becomes more realistic. Lucic is nowhere near the player he once was and is now more of a role player (although with eight goals this season, he’s still contributing a bit offensively). If he gets another contract beyond this one, it will be more commensurate with a fourth liner.
Valimaki’s bridge deal seemed reasonable at the time but after hardly playing in the first two months of the year, he’s in the minors. Waivers will take that option off the table next season but if he’s still barely playing at that time, his $1.86MM qualifying offer could be an issue. Mackey is on a one-way deal which warrants at least a mention here although he has been in AHL Stockton all season. Again, that won’t be an option next year without waivers which could earn him a spot and if he can do that, he could be kept around the $1MM mark.
Vladar has impressed in his first full-time NHL role, albeit in sporadic minutes as the backup goaltender. With how head coach Darryl Sutter is using Vladar, it’s going to be hard for him to command high-end backup money two years from now although something beyond the $2MM mark is certainly a possibility.
Three Years Remaining
F Mikael Backlund ($5.35MM, UFA)
F Dillon Dube ($2.3MM, RFA)
D Noah Hanifin ($4.95MM, UFA)
F Elias Lindholm ($4.85MM, UFA)
D Chris Tanev ($4.5MM, UFA)
Backlund has been a reliable secondary scorer for Calgary while being a key piece defensively for most of the contract. The scoring part hasn’t been there this season, however, and with Monahan and Lindholm also in the fold, he looks like a possible candidate to be moved if Treliving wants to shake things up. Given the demand for centers, there will still be a good market for him. Lindholm has become quite the bargain since coming over from Carolina as he has become the consistent scoring threat that he wasn’t able to be with the Hurricanes while transitioning to playing back down the middle full-time. Assuming he can continue on that trajectory for the next few years, he could land a few extra million per year in 2024. Dube had gradually taken some steps forward over the last couple of seasons, convincing Calgary to give him this three-year deal last offseason. The early returns haven’t been great as he has been more of an energy player than a secondary producer but there’s still time for him to turn it around.
Hanifin isn’t a top-pairing defender as his draft stock suggested he would be when he went fifth overall in 2015 but he’s a quality top-four player who can log some heavy minutes. He’ll hit the open market at 27 in the prime of his career and should be able to command close to a max-term contract with a fairly significant bump in pay at that time. Tanev, on the other hand, is in the back end of his career. While he remains a quality defender, his injury history and a lack of production make this a contract that might not age well over the last few seasons.
COVID Notes: Halak, Sabres, Connolly, Sheary, Oilers, Stutzle, Sillinger
The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Jaroslav Halak has been placed into COVID protocol. The veteran was set to get the start for today’s game against Carolina but instead, that will go to Thatcher Demko with Spencer Martin coming up from the taxi squad. Halak has made just eight appearances this season and has a $1.25MM bonus pending when he gets to his tenth. He’ll now have to wait a little longer to get that bonus, one that has recently landed himself in trade speculation as well.
More COVID news from around the NHL:
- Sabres winger Tage Thompson and center Peyton Krebs have both cleared COVID protocol, notes Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. Thompson will suit up tonight in Detroit while they will take it a little slower with Krebs and re-assess his status on Sunday.
- Blackhawks winger Brett Connolly has entered COVID protocol, relays John Dietz of the Daily Herald (Twitter link). The veteran has only played in four games with Chicago this season and has spent most of the year in the minors. Defenseman Ian Mitchell was recalled from AHL Rockford just a day after being sent down.
- The Capitals announced (Twitter link) that winger Conor Sheary has been placed in COVID protocol. The 29-year-old has impressed in his second season in Washington, notching ten goals and nine assists in 31 games, good for third on the team in goals.
- The Oilers have taken wingers Warren Foegele and Tyler Benson plus defenseman Slater Koekkoek out of COVID protocol, mentions Sportsnet’s Jack Michaels (Twitter link). With those activations, Edmonton – who last played on January 5th – will be able to dress 18 skaters against Ottawa tonight.
- The Senators announced (Twitter link) that they have removed winger Tim Stutzle from COVID protocol. The just-turned 20-year-old has had a bit of a quieter sophomore season than expected, collecting five goals and ten assists in 29 games.
- The Blue Jackets have placed center Cole Sillinger in COVID protocol, per a team release. The rookie has held down a regular spot in the lineup with Columbus this season, notching 13 points in 35 games. Liam Foudy has been recalled from the taxi squad to take Sillinger’s place on the roster.
Rangers Have Shown Interest In Artturi Lehkonen
The Rangers have been looking to add to their bottom six group for several weeks now following the season-ending injury to Sammy Blais. It appears that one of the players that they’re interested in is Canadiens winger Artturi Lehkonen as Arthur Staple of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that GM Chris Drury has reached out to Canadiens Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton to discuss Lehkonen’s availability with those discussions being termed as preliminary.
The 26-year-old hasn’t been able to repeat the 18-goal performance he had in his rookie season but has become a reliable defensive forward for Montreal over his six-year NHL career. Like many Canadiens this season, he has struggled offensively, notching just four goals and eight assists in 33 games but also leads all Montreal forwards in penalty killing time.
He would likely have a similar role if he was to be acquired by the Rangers, one that would see him primarily in their bottom six while playing a significant role on their penalty kill, giving them another above-average forward on that front along with newcomer Barclay Goodrow.
While Lehkonen is on an expiring contract, he still has one year left of arbitration eligibility with a qualifying offer of $2.3MM, matching his current cap hit and salary. To that end, this isn’t a situation where it’s a guarantee that he’ll be moved by the March 21st trade deadline. Accordingly, the asking price may be higher than it would be for someone in a similar role that’s set to hit the open market in July.
With ample salary cap space (nearly $10MM per CapFriendly), the Rangers have the opportunity to try to add multiple players over the next couple of months but with pricey extensions already in place for Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad for next season, their cap flexibility will be short-lived. As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Drury also on the lookout for some pending unrestricted free agents in the weeks to come.
West Notes: Byram, Oilers, Milano
There is no timeline for Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram to return from his leave of absence, notes Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. The blueliner was a late scratch on Tuesday and Peter Baugh of The Athletic recently reported (Twitter link) that Byram doesn’t have another concussion but is dealing with symptoms that are likely related to the previous ones he has suffered that have gotten to the point where he didn’t feel he could play. The 21-year-old has been a key part of Colorado’s lineup when he has been healthy, logging just shy of 20 minutes a game while chipping in with 11 points in 18 contests. However, given his concussion history, it’s quite possible that Byram will be out for a while.
More from the West:
- The Oilers are hoping that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins can resume skating next week, relays Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link). The center has been out since the start of the month with an undisclosed injury, a tough blow for an Edmonton team that has largely struggled for any consistent secondary scoring behind their two superstars. Meanwhile, defenseman Kris Russell isn’t expected to return against Saturday against Ottawa; the veteran has been out for more than a month with an upper-body injury.
- Ducks winger Sonny Milano left tonight’s game against Minnesota due to an upper-body injury, mentions Eric Stephens of The Athletic (Twitter link). He took an elbow to the face from Wild defenseman Jon Merrill and did not return. The 25-year-old recently set a new career high in points and is up to 25 this season in 35 games.
2021 Year In Review: September
2021 was certainly another eventful year, both on and off the rink. Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. Next up is a look at September, another busy month on the NHL calendar last year when training camps got underway.
Successful Offer Sheet: It turns out the one-year, $6.1MM offer sheet that Carolina tendered to RFA center Jesperi Kotkaniemi was too much for Montreal’s comfort as they declined to match, sending the 21-year-old to the Hurricanes with the Canadiens in exchange for a pair of 2022 draft picks (first and third-rounders). They didn’t hold onto the first rounder for long, however, as about an hour later, they sent that pick along with a 2024 second-round selection to Arizona in exchange for Christian Dvorak who they hoped would help fill the vacancy from Kotkaniemi’s departure plus Phillip Danault leaving in free agency. The early return hasn’t been great as Dvorak has just a dozen points in 29 games this season, four fewer than Kotkaniemi.
Extensions Abound: While the window for contract extensions for players on expiring contracts opened up in July, many of those deals were instead signed in the days leading up to training camp. In goal, Elvis Merzlikins (five years, $27MM) ensured he’ll be the starter in Columbus for the foreseeable future while Calvin Petersen (three years, $15MM) intended to do the same with Los Angeles (although with Jonathan Quick turning back the clock this season, that hasn’t happened just yet). On the back end, Colton Parayko (eight years, $52MM) decided not to test free agency and could instead play his entire career with the Blues.
There were plenty more extensions as well. A pair of young wingers in Philadelphia’s Joel Farabee (six years, $30MM) and Ottawa’s Drake Batherson (six years, $29.85MM) bought out the rest of their RFA years and giving them a shot at hitting the open market still in their 20’s while giving their respective teams some extra control. Even some general managers got in on the fun as Ottawa’s Pierre Dorion and Tampa Bay’s Julien BriseBois inked extensions while Toronto GM Kyle Dubas handed head coach Sheldon Keefe a two-year extension.
Kaprizov Signs: It wasn’t four years of waiting like it was for Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov to finally come to North America but it felt like his contract talks had dragged on for quite a while. Eventually, the two sides were able to come to terms, agreeing to a five-year, $45MM contract. It was quite the payday for Kaprizov considering his NHL experience to that point was limited to the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign where he took home the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year. The deal – which carries a no-move clause for the final two seasons – buys Minnesota two extra years of team control while allowing Kaprizov to get to unrestricted free agency at 29 when another long-term deal could still be feasible.
Bridge For Dahlin: After an up-and-down start to his NHL career, it was going to be interesting to see if Buffalo tried to work out a long-term contract with restricted free agent defenseman Rasmus Dahlin or opt for a bridge deal. They chose the latter, signing the 2018 top pick to a three-year, $18MM deal. The 21-year-old will still have one season of RFA eligibility remaining at that time and will be owed a qualifying offer of $7.2MM. That gives both sides time to see if the blueliner can fill the lofty expectations he had when he first came into the league.
Olympic Participation: September was also a promising month when it came to Olympic participation with the NHL and NHLPA reaching an agreement to send NHL players to the games in China. It was set to be the first best-on-best action since the 2016 World Cup. There was an option for the league to withdraw if the COVID situation around the league became an issue. Of course, that’s exactly what happened. In the span of three months, things completely turned around on that front.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Atlantic Notes: Kuzmenko, Boucher, Bruins, Allen
Free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko appears to have narrowed his list of teams he’s considering signing with for next season and the Senators are on that list, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion indicated recently they were interested in the 25-year-old who sits second in KHL scoring this season with 20 goals and 33 assists in 45 games. Kuzmenko is expected to wait until after the season to sign, ensuring he’ll be capped at a one-year, entry-level pact while allowing him to be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the 2023 offseason.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Still with Ottawa, Dorion mentioned in an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link) that winger Tyler Boucher won’t be playing right away with OHL Ottawa. The Senators recently signed the 2021 first-round pick, ending his college eligibility but he is dealing with a lingering injury that will take a week or two to recover.
- The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Derek Forbort has cleared COVID protocol, missing only the minimum five days. His return will be a welcome one with John Moore being injured against Montreal on Wednesday and Matt Grzelcyk recently entering COVID protocol himself. Meanwhile, forward Trent Frederic isn’t ready to return yet from his upper-body injury while winger Nick Foligno has resumed skating as he works his way back from his lower-body issue.
- The Canadiens announced that goaltender Jake Allen has returned to Montreal to undergo further evaluation on an upper-body injury sustained on Wednesday in Boston. Allen was placed on injured reserve yesterday and will miss at least a week while the team won’t return back home until January 27th when their 10-game road trip (due to scheduling changes) comes to an end.
Canucks Open To Moving Jaroslav Halak
Jaroslav Halak has played well in limited action for Vancouver this season. However, in his latest column for the Toronto Star, Chris Johnston reports that the Canucks are open to moving the veteran netminder.
Through his first eight appearances this season, the 36-year-old has posted a 2.59 GAA along with a .915 SV%, numbers that are better than the league average in both categories. But if you’re thinking that his games played total is awfully low for someone with those numbers – he hasn’t been injured – there’s a reason for that.
It’s that reason that seemingly has him on the trade block. As part of his contract for this season, Halak is owed a $1.25MM bonus when he reaches his tenth game plus another $250K for maintaining a save percentage of .905 or higher which he’s clearly above at the moment. Placing those incentives in there helped the $1.5MM AAV of Halak’s deal become more affordable for them on the salary cap this season. However, with Vancouver deep into LTIR with Micheal Ferland’s contract, they won’t have any unused cap space to offset those bonuses against, meaning that they’d face a $1.5MM overage for Halak when his incentives are met which would come off their 2022-23 cap room.
Under new management, it appears as if that’s a price they’d prefer not to pay, both in money spent and the corresponding cap penalty. On the other hand, that type of upcoming payment could also scare off potentially interested teams as they’d be on the hook for the full bonus amount plus the remaining balance of Halak’s salary.
It’s a little early for the trade market for a backup goaltender to really materialize with the deadline still more than two months away but Halak’s games played total acts as a shorter-term pressure point. He has placed just twice in the last six weeks which has allowed them to stretch this out for the time being but Thatcher Demko can’t play basically every game in the second half of the season. At some point, Halak will have to play if he isn’t traded. As a result, his situation will be one to watch over the next couple of weeks.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: St. Louis Blues
In the spirit of the holiday season, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season approaches the midway mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the St. Louis Blues.
What are the Blues thankful for?
The return to form from Vladimir Tarasenko.
His trade request has been well-publicized but after he struggled upon returning last season, there was next to no trade market for him while Seattle took a pass on picking him up in expansion. As a result, St. Louis wasn’t able to honor that request. They’re certainly glad about that now. The 30-year-old is having a resurgent season, averaging a point per game through 34 games. That’s the best point per game average of his career.
While it still seems like Tarasenko wouldn’t mind moving on, the Blues – and GM Doug Armstrong, in particular – have to be quite pleased that the veteran has helped on the ice this season (including a team-high four game-winners) and off the ice as his trade value has only gone up. Whether it’s later on this season or in the summer, St. Louis will be better-positioned and will have considerably more leverage in any Tarasenko trade discussions.
Who are the Blues thankful for?
After a strong showing last season that saw him pick up 35 points in 55 games, the hope was that he had turned the corner and could become a consistent top-six scorer. It’s fair to say he did that and even more. So far this season, the 23-year-old leads St. Louis in scoring, averaging more than a point per game and sits tied for 12th in points among all NHL players heading into Tuesday’s action. All of a sudden, he’s a key cog in their offensive attack and with him under team control for at least the next three seasons after this one, he’s someone that can be built around for a while.
What would the Blues be even more thankful for?
Jordan Binnington getting back to his old form. This is only the third season since his improbable stretch that helped lead the Blues to the Stanley Cup but his numbers have ticked down each season since then. This year, while he has held the .910 SV% he had from last season, his GAA has gone up by 35 points to 2.90 which is below average for a starter. With Ville Husso still relatively unproven in the NHL (just 23 career starts), it would be hard for them to lean on him too heavily in the second half and considering this is the first of a six-year commitment to Binnington, they need him to improve his performance. They’re already one of the highest-scoring teams in the NHL this season and if Binnington can pick up his play, St. Louis could become a contender really quick.
What should be on the Blues’ wish list?
With minimal cap space, any sort of move is going to be difficult to make. But if Armstrong can find a way to bring someone in, an upgrade on the back end would certainly go a long way. Robert Bortuzzo is more of a depth player at this point, Marco Scandella has had a quiet season, and youngsters Jake Walman, Niko Mikkola, and Scott Perunovich are unproven and have had varying degrees of success this season. In a perfect world, someone that could step into their top four would be ideal but again, their cap situation would make that tricky. If they can’t do that, then an upgrade on the third pairing would still be one worth pursuing.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Golden Knights Place Three In COVID Protocol
Add Vegas to the list of teams that are now missing players due to COVID protocol as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Shea Theodore and centers Nicolas Roy and Nolan Patrick have all entered COVID protocol. Assuming these are for confirmed positive tests, they’ll be out for at least the next five days.
Theodore has been a key part of the back end for the Golden Knights this season and is off to a strong start offensively with 25 points in 35 games. Roy is also off to a career-best start with 19 points in 35 contests, already surpassing his previous high in points which is a great start to his contract year. As for Patrick, he only recently returned from an upper-body injury that cost him 29 games and while this is only a short-term setback, he has unfortunately had a lot of setbacks in recent years.
Taking their spots on the active roster for the time being are blueliner Daniil Miromanov, center Jake Leschyshyn, and winger Jonas Rondbjerg. All three have spent time with Vegas – Leschyshyn playing the most having suited up in 19 games – and will now be called upon for tonight’s game against Toronto. While Adam Brooks was eligible to be recalled from his conditioning stint in Henderson, they’ve elected to leave him there a little longer.