Wild Elect Salary Arbitration For Kevin Fiala
Minnesota and winger Kevin Fiala will be heading to salary arbitration after all. While he wasn’t among the players to file for a hearing yesterday, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that they have elected to take Fiala to a hearing.
The 25-year-old is coming off a strong season that saw him notch 20 goals and 20 assists in 50 games, good for second on the team in scoring behind fellow RFA winger Kirill Kaprizov. It was a strong follow up to his first full season with Minnesota in 2019-20 where he had 23 goals and 31 helpers in 64 games which has certainly bolstered Fiala’s value heading into these contract talks. He was qualified at $3.5MM but stands to earn considerably more on his next contract.
There are a handful of different rules in place for club-elected versus player-elected arbitration. The first is that no matter what the ruling is, Minnesota can’t walk away. As Fiala was filed on, he gets to determine the term of the contract. That’s certainly notable as he’s two years away from UFA eligibility and as a result of this decision from the Wild, he could simply opt to go to a hearing and elect the two-year term that would take him to the open market in 2023. Not that it would happen here but Minnesota cannot offer less than Fiala’s salary from last season; teams that are filed on can go slightly lower.
Fiala will now be added to the list of players that will have an arbitration hearing scheduled from August 11th through the 26th.
Rangers Making Progress On Igor Shesterkin Contract
When Sunday’s arbitration-filing deadline came and went without Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin being on that list, it caught some by surprise. However, it appears there was a reason for that as USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano reports that the two sides are making progress on an agreement in the $5.75MM to $6MM per season range. Evidently, those discussions have gone well enough without needing to put the pressure point of a hearing in place.
The 25-year-old was drafted in the fourth round by the Rangers back in 2014 but they had to wait a long time to sign him; Shesterkin only came to North America two years ago. After spending most of his rookie campaign in the minors, Shesterkin was New York’s starter last season, posting a 16-14-3 record along with a 2.62 GAA and a .919 SV%, numbers that were both better than the league average. At this point, he’s clearly their starter of the present and future which is why Alexandar Georgiev has been in trade speculation for more than a year now.
One of the challenges in finding a viable deal that works for both sides is Shesterkin’s lack of experience as he has just 48 career appearances under his belt (including one playoff game in the bubble in 2020). There aren’t many comparables to work with which would have made an arbitration hearing particularly interesting. Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko was one of those reasonable comparable options but it appears his five-year, $25MM will represent more of the floor than the ceiling.
The Rangers have ample cap space to work with to fit Shesterkin’s eventual contract in as they have more than $13MM in cap room per CapFriendly with only the netminder and blueliner Libor Hajek to re-sign. Getting this deal done sooner than later would give GM Chris Drury a better idea of what he’s able to spend this summer and between this report and the fact his camp didn’t file for arbitration suggests they’re getting close to having an agreement in place.
Atlantic Notes: Eichel, Foligno, Witkowski
The Rangers and Golden Knights are among the teams that are still interested in Sabres center Jack Eichel, notes Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Brooks suggests that Buffalo retaining salary might be enough to get New York to part with a top young asset like Kaapo Kakko in a deal although with five years left on that contract, retaining would be a sizable cost for Buffalo which may not be something they want to do. Meanwhile, Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon mentioned earlier in the week that he expected that the team they have now is what they’ll go into training camp with but as we’ve seen in the past, they’re willing to make big moves and move players around to make the salary cap fit work.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Still regarding Eichel, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News posits that the statement his agents released on Friday isn’t going to help the trade process along as GM Kevyn Adams won’t want to acquiesce now and create any appearances that the statement forced his hand. While the clock is ticking for him to have the artificial disk replacement surgery that he’s seeking and be ready for training camp, Sabres doctors won’t sign off on that and are pushing for standard fusion surgery which carries a longer recovery time. We’ll find out soon enough if there’s a team that’s willing to meet Buffalo’s price tag or if this process will drag out longer.
- Bruins winger Nick Foligno told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has fully recovered from the back injury that limited him to just four of Toronto’s seven playoff games and that he’ll be ready for training camp in September. Boston signed the 33-year-old winger to a two-year, $7.8MM deal on the opening day of free agency and informed Foligno that they may use him on his off-wing with Brad Marchand and Taylor Hall serving as the top two left wingers on the depth chart.
- The Red Wings will use veteran Luke Witkowski on both the wing and on defense with AHL Grand Rapids, GM Steve Yzerman told reporters (video link). The veteran, who primarily plays on the back end, has played both positions over the last few seasons and had a sparing role with AHL Syracuse in 2020-21 but should be called upon to play more regularly next season.
Free Agent Profile: Tomas Tatar
As things start to settle down after a whirlwind first few days of free agency, teams around the league will be taking stock of who is still out there and looking at where those players could possibly fit in. One of the players that several teams will certainly be considering is Tomas Tatar.
His case has been a strange one to follow over the years. Go back to 2018 and his stock was on the rise. He was coming off four straight years of 19 goals or more and was the big addition by Vegas at the trade deadline. The hope was that Tatar would give their offense a boost as they went on a long playoff run. They had the long run but Tatar did so little that he was a healthy scratch for more than half of it. Months later, his stock much lower, he was included as salary ballast in a trade to Montreal with Vegas paying down a small portion of his contract.
With the Canadiens, Tatar rebounded, putting up 25 and 22 goals in his first two seasons with the team and his stock was on the rise again. Again, however, that changed fairly quickly. His numbers dipped last season to just 10 goals and 20 assists in 50 games, still decent but he spent a good chunk of the year on their top line while posting strong possession numbers. By the end of it, he was back in the press box periodically and in the playoffs, he suited up in just five of 22 games.
How should Tatar be viewed? It’s one of those glass half-full or half-empty situations. On the one hand, here’s a player that coming into 2020-21 had seven straight years of 19 or more goals which is legitimate consistent top-six production on a lot of teams. On the other hand, two teams now have seen fit to bench him for extended periods of time during a run to the Stanley Cup Final. Those true but vastly diverse points make him a particularly intriguing free agent.
Stats
2020-21: 50 GP, 10-20-30, even rating, 8 PIMS, 82 shots, 58.9 CF%, 14:59 ATOI
Career: 625 GP, 176-201-377, +23 rating, 224 PIMS, 1,351 shots, 56.9 CF%, 15:36 ATOI
Potential Suitors
Who has a vacancy on the left wing in their top six and some cap space at their disposal? Even with the recent poor playoff performances, Tatar should have enough of a regular season track record to generate interest from several teams.
In the East, New Jersey has the green light to spend and already made a big splash on the back end in Dougie Hamilton. But they haven’t been able to do much of anything up front and Tatar would certainly give them a boost on the wing to work with one of their young centers in Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier. Tatar would fill a hole in Buffalo although the Sabres aren’t a team that appears to be trying to win much next season but on a short-term trade, he could be a sign and flip option. There is plenty of secrecy around the Islanders who have been linked to Kyle Palmieri and Zach Parise but if one of those falls through, Tatar fits as a fallback option. Carolina is typically a strong possession team where Tatar could fit in but they’d need to have a good sense of what Andrei Svechnikov’s next deal would cost to see if they can afford him or not.
Out West, no team needs scoring more than Anaheim whose only addition up front this summer has been Buddy Robinson on a two-way deal. Tatar could immediately step into an impact role for them. Nashville has yet to fill the vacancy created by the Viktor Arvidsson trade and Tatar would be able to replace him from an offensive standpoint. Seattle could still stand to add to their forward group but with the Kraken appearing to be emphasizing cap flexibility, Tatar may appeal to them only on a short-term contract. Arizona is another team that doesn’t appear to be overly concerned with next season but Tatar would certainly improve their fortunes and could be an option as a sign and flip there as well. If Tatar is willing to take a one-year deal, Colorado may have enough wiggle room on the cap to make it work if he takes a bit less than what his market value should be.
Projected Contract
Tatar ranked 15th in our Top 50 UFA list with a projected three-year, $12MM contract. There are definitely concerns with what has happened lately in the playoffs but with his regular season performances, Tatar should still have a sizable list of teams that have cap space interested in him so he could still command close to that $4MM AAV on a multi-year contract as one of the top free agents remaining. If he goes a few weeks without signing, however, a one-year deal could become a more feasible option with an eye on rebuilding his value to improve his free agent fortunes a year from now.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Stars Re-Sign Jerad Rosburg
While Dallas saw one of their restricted free agents head overseas this morning, they’ve taken care of another one as the Stars announced the re-signing of defenseman Jerad Rosburg to a two-year, two-way contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 25-year-old signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent back in March of 2020 after four seasons at Michigan State. Rosburg spent last season with AHL Texas, notching a goal and six assists in 36 games along with a team-high 34 PIMS. He was never a big offensive threat at the college level either with his career-best in points with the Spartans being 17 so the low output in his freshman professional season doesn’t come as much of a surprise.
Despite his age, Rosburg is actually waiver-exempt for one more season so Dallas will be able to send him back to Texas in the fall where he can continue to develop. This deal will take him to UFA eligibility in the summer of 2023 so if he isn’t able to establish himself with Dallas by then, he’ll have an opportunity to try to catch on elsewhere at that time.
The Stars now have just one restricted free agent remaining in AHL blueliner Joseph Cecconi who elected not to file for salary arbitration by yesterday’s deadline.
Devils UFA Ben Street Signs In Germany
Having only played in three NHL games over the last two seasons, Ben Street has opted to try his hand overseas as EHC Munchen in Germany announced that they’ve inked the veteran center to a one-year contract.
The 34-year-old spent the last two seasons with the Devils on sizable two-way contracts that paid $425K to play in the minors. Street spent last season split between AHL Binghamton where he had 14 points in 14 games with a handful of stints on the taxi squad as well but he made no NHL appearances for only the second time since 2011-12.
Considering his age, it’s unlikely that Street will be making a return to push for another NHL opportunity next season as at this point, he has been more of a high-end AHLer and a trip overseas won’t change that perception. But knowing his fate is basically that of a minor leaguer from this point on, Street is opting for a new experience and should have an opportunity to play a prominent role with Munchen next season.
Stars RFA Adam Mascherin Signs In Sweden
After three years in the minors, Stars RFA Adam Mascherin has decided that it’s time for a change as Skelleftea of the SHL announced that they’ve signed the winger to a one-year contract. Dallas will still retain his rights having tendered him a qualifying offer last month.
The 23-year-old has taken a bit of a unique route so far in his career. Originally drafted in the second round by Florida (38th overall) back in 2016, Mascherin elected not to sign with them and chose to re-enter the draft in the hopes of finding a better opportunity. Dallas then took him in the fourth round in 2018 (100th overall) and quickly signed him to an entry-level deal.
However, there has yet to be an NHL opportunity for Mascherin with Dallas despite two strong seasons with AHL Texas. He had 44 points in 75 games in his rookie season in 2018-19 and, after a tough sophomore year, rebounded nicely with 18 goals and 16 assists in 37 games with Texas last season, good for second on the team in points and third in the league in goals. That still wasn’t enough to even earn him a stint with the taxi squad let alone a recall.
Instead of trying to earn a spot in camp with the Stars, Mascherin will try his hand overseas where a strong showing could give him some more leverage in contract talks with Dallas a year from now or boost his stock to the point where another team could trade for his rights and give him an opportunity.
Five Key Stories: 7/26/21 – 8/1/21
To call this past week a busy one would be a significant understatement. On top of a frantic first day of free agency (the full recap of which is here while some moves will also be covered below), there were plenty of significant signings and trades. The biggest ones are recapped here in the key stories of the week.
Avoiding The Market: While it may have taken a little longer than anyone really expected, two captains managed to avoid making it to free agency. First, Alex Ovechkin re-signed with Washington, inking a five-year, $47.5MM contract, ensuring he remains with the team that he has spent the past 16 years with. He’ll now take aim at Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record as he sits 165 away from setting the new standard. Meanwhile, Gabriel Landeskog had to wait until mere minutes before the deadline for eight-year deals but in the end, he was able to secure a max-term eight-year, $56MM deal to stick around in Colorado. He has been with the Avs for the past 10 years and while he won’t be able to set the franchise record for games played (Joe Sakic holds that title), Landeskog should have second place comfortably locked down by the time this deal ends.
Fleury To Chicago: The Marc-Andre Fleury era in Vegas came to a rather abrupt end as he was traded to Chicago in a cap dumping move with only minor leaguer Mikael Hakkarainen coming back in return. Fleury was the first face of the franchise for the Golden Knights and he saved his best performance for last, posting a 1.98 GAA with a .928 SV% on his way to winning the Vezina Trophy for Goalie of the Year. However, his $7MM cap hit was deemed too expensive for them to carry. Fleury took some time to ponder his future but ultimately will report while Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon didn’t waste much time spending the freed-up cap space. First, he added winger Evgenii Dadonov from Ottawa for defenseman Nick Holden and a third-round pick to try to bolster their attack and then brought in goaltender Laurent Brossoit on a two-year, $4.65MM deal to serve as Robin Lehner’s new backup.
Hamilton Gets Paid: When Carolina gave Dougie Hamilton permission to speak with other teams and basically test the market early, they were hoping that Hamilton wouldn’t be able to command the money he was hoping to get which could have paved the way towards him re-signing. That didn’t happen. Instead, the top player to hit the open market was able to land a bigger contract than some expected, inking a seven-year, $63MM contract with New Jersey. The 28-year-old is now tied with Cale Makar and teammate P.K. Subban for the fourth-highest cap hit among all NHL defensemen and gives the Devils the top-pairing defender they’ve been trying to acquire for several years. New Jersey has had cap room to spend in the past but hadn’t been able to land a big fish on the open market. They have now.
Seattle Splashes: Considering that the Kraken spent closer to the minimum amount than the cap ceiling in expansion, they had plenty of money at their disposal heading into free agency and opted to use a big chunk of it on a trio of players. They added the top goalie on the market in Philipp Grubauer on a six-year, $35.4MM contract (that was originally rejected) plus one of the top wingers in Jaden Schwartz on a five-year, $27.5MM pact. They also brought in center Alexander Wennberg on a three-year, $13.5MM contract, a nice reward for a strong season in Florida after being bought out by Columbus last fall. Going back to Grubauer, his surprise signing sparked a pair of goalie trades. Seattle flipped Vitek Vanecek back to Washington for a 2023 second-round pick while Colorado paid a steep price to acquire Darcy Kuemper (with $1MM of his $4.5MM price tag retained), sending defenseman Conor Timmins, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2024 conditional third-rounder to the Coyotes to bring in the 31-year-old who is in the final year of his contract.
Jets Add Defensemen: The back end was a big issue for Winnipeg over the past two seasons and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff knew that needed to be addressed. He didn’t wait for what wound up being a fairly light free agent market in terms of impact blueliners so he turned to the trade market instead. First, he sent second-round picks in 2022 and 2023 to Washington for defenseman Brenden Dillon, then added Nate Schmidt from Vancouver for a third-round selection after Schmidt eventually agreed to waive his trade protection to facilitate the move. With the moves, Winnipeg has added nearly $10MM to the cost of their back end but the two veterans are significant additions to a blueline core that also consists of Josh Morrissey and Neal Pionk.
Big Extension For Point: With too many things to cover in just five stories, we’ll add an extra one. Tampa Bay was relatively quiet in terms of impact free agent signings due to salary cap reasons but they still had the biggest contract on the first day of free agency. That went to Brayden Point who was eligible to sign as soon as the calendar flipped to the new league year and he did just that, inking an eight-year, $76MM extension that matches the recent ones handed out to Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy when they were eligible to sign them. More cap challenges lie ahead for Tampa Bay following this deal – they have over $80MM in commitments for 2022-23 already per CapFriendly – but their star center will now be in the fold for the long haul.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Coyotes Re-Sign Cam Dineen
The Coyotes have agreed to terms with one of their remaining free agents as PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed defenseman Cam Dineen to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay $750K in the NHL and $90K in the minors.
The 23-year-old was a third-round pick of Arizona back in 2016 (68th overall) but has yet to see any NHL action through his first three professional campaigns. Last season, Dineen played in 22 games with AHL Tucson, notching 10 points in 22 games, just four points shy of his previous career-high in 2019-20 when he played in 57 contests.
Dineen will now be waiver-eligible next season so he’ll have to pass through unclaimed to make it back to the Roadrunners. That seems like a reasonable expectation but with Arizona’s back end undergoing a major makeover this summer, it’s possible that he could earn himself his first recall at some point in 2021-22. Dineen will once again be a restricted free agent next offseason.
NHL Central Registry Rejects Philipp Grubauer’s Contract
With the sheer volume of contracts that were filed with NHL Central Registry at the start of free agency, it has taken them some time to review them all to ensure they’re in compliance with all of the CBA rules. Once in a while, deals are rejected because an element doesn’t meet the criteria and CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that this is the case with the Kraken’s deal for goaltender Philipp Grubauer. CapFriendly has the full details of the deal here.
Since more than half of the salary is paid out in the first three years of the contract ($18.5MM out of $35.4MM or 52.25%), it qualifies as a front-loaded contract which has some stricter rules than non-front-loaded deals and those rules changed when the new CBA was agreed on last year.
One of the rules for front-loaded contracts is that any salary variance from one year to the next cannot exceed 25% of the salary in the first year. Grubauer’s salary in 2021-22 was set to be $5MM and 25% of that is $1.25MM. Accordingly, any year-over-year variance cannot be greater than $1.25MM. However, Grubauer’s original 2022-23 salary was $6MM and his 2023-24 salary was $7.5MM, a difference of $1.5MM. This is what caused the contract to be rejected.
This shouldn’t be any cause for concern for the Kraken. They just have to fiddle with the salary numbers to come up with a new agreement. Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times reports (Twitter link) that a revised contract has already been filed that moves $250K in salary from 2023-24 to 2022-23, keeping the cap hit the same. Technically, Grubauer is now a free agent once again but that shouldn’t last long once that revised contract is approved by the league.