Offseason Checklist: Edmonton Oilers
The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league missing the playoffs and several more having since been eliminated. It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Edmonton.
Things were looking up for the Oilers during the regular season. Their offensive stars were carrying the load offensively, the defense was holding up despite missing Oscar Klefbom, and Mike Smith had his best season in nearly a decade. Unfortunately for Edmonton, that all meant nothing in the playoffs as they were swept by Winnipeg. Now GM Ken Holland enters the summer with plenty to accomplish as he looks to retain some key players and add some much-needed improvements to his roster.
Upgrade The Bottom Six
By the time Holland takes care of re-signing or replacing his notable free agents (more on them shortly), there won’t be much in the way of cap space to work with so adding a significant piece to the core is unlikely. However, Edmonton’s bottom-six depth has been poor in recent years, largely consisting of overpaid veterans, underachieving role players, or international flyers that didn’t really pan out.
Last fall, the market showed that there were some bargains to be had in terms of adding capable veterans for close to the league minimum. With the market basically the same as it was a year ago with many teams having limited wiggle room, those players will be in demand again so it’s a good thing the Oilers can dangle the opportunity of playing on the same team as Connor McDavid; that has to count for something. While retaining some of the existing depth makes sense (such as the recent re-signing of Devin Shore), Holland would be wise to keep some cap and roster room available to upgrade their forward depth.
Address The Goaltending
After a strong season that hardly anyone saw coming, Smith is set to return to the UFA market in a much better situation. Back in the fall, he was effectively Edmonton’s fallback plan with his return coming after other avenues were tried first. Given his age (39), that certainly could happen again as Holland needs to look for a longer-term fit. Their prospects aren’t ready to step into the number one role and probably won’t be a year from now. Is it justifiable to bring him back knowing that they’d only be delaying addressing a problem that has been around for a while? It all depends on whether or not recent history repeats itself. If they can’t find a longer-term option on the free agent or trade markets, Smith’s return would go over better than it did in October but considering he has the second-best save percentage among UFA goalies, it might cost more than a $1.5MM base salary and $500K in bonuses to get something done.
In the meantime, Mikko Koskinen still has one year at $4.5MM remaining on his contract that is probably going to be best remembered for former GM Peter Chiarelli being fired two days after agreeing to that deal. He’s coming off a tough year and while he shows flashes of being a capable goaltender, he has also been wildly inconsistent to the point where it will be difficult to rely on him. Alex Stalock is a much more affordable backup but he didn’t play this season after developing a heart issue following a bout with COVID-19. Can he be counted on to play at an NHL level after being off for so long?
There are several questions that need to be answered here from the starter to the backup but that’s basically par for the course in recent years.
Re-Sign Or Replace Key Veterans
Part of the reason that Edmonton has a little more than $20MM in cap space is that they have several key players that are set to hit the open market. Those players will either need to be re-signed or replaced.
At the top of the list is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The 28-year-old has spent the past 10 seasons with Edmonton and while he never turned into a star player that his first-overall draft status would suggest, he has been an important player for the Oilers throughout his tenure. Nugent-Hopkins spent most of his career down the middle although he has spent more time on the wing in recent years in an effort to give him more playing time and he responded with career years in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Contract talks broke off a little while back but have since resumed. Even in this marketplace, it seems likely that Nugent-Hopkins will wind up with a price tag that is similar to the $6MM AAV he has had for the past seven years.
Meanwhile, a pair of notable blueliners are set to hit the open market as well. Tyson Barrie’s decision to take a bit less to go to Edmonton certainly paid off as he led all NHL rearguards in scoring with 48 points in 56 games which was a nice rebound from a tough year in Toronto in 2019-20. However, he was signed with Oscar Klefbom’s money knowing that he was out for the season. That determination hasn’t been made yet for Klefbom for next season so if they enter free agency thinking that he will be on the books, they will be hard-pressed to afford Barrie at what should be a decent-sized raise from his $3.75MM salary this season.
The other defenseman of note is Adam Larsson. While he never emerged as the top-pairing player Edmonton was hoping for when they moved Taylor Hall for him, the 28-year-old nonetheless has become a strong stay-at-home defender who can comfortably play on the second pairing. His limited offense will cap his earnings upside and he may not be able to reach the $4.166MM AAV he had on this deal but it should be somewhat close. Discussions on that front are set to resume soon.
Re-signing these three (or even two of them if they think Klefbom could return) will take up most of their remaining cap room and if they don’t return, Holland will have to act quickly to find replacements.
Buyout Decisions
If Edmonton wants to free up some extra wiggle room this summer, they have a pair of players who could be plausible buyout candidates. Koskinen is one of them and doing so would save them $3MM in cap space for next season (while adding $1.5MM to the books for 2022-23).
The other option is winger James Neal. The veteran had just five goals and five assists in 29 games which is hardly an optimal return on a $5.75MM cap hit. With two years left on his contract, buying him out would have the 33-year-old on the books for four more years at $1.917MM but in the short term, it’d save them more than $3.8MM for the next two years. They can find a replacement for considerably less than that, giving them some extra flexibility this summer.
While it would add more money to the books down the road, they also have just seven players signed beyond 2021-22 and four past 2022-23. That can be worked around and the short-term benefits of the move will certainly be tempting for Holland. The window to go this route starts after the Stanley Cup Final although, with expansion also on the horizon, a lot of the buyouts may come after Seattle picks their team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Patrice Bergeron Wins The 2020-21 Mark Messier Leadership Award
The revealing of some of the end-of-season award winners continued today as the league announced that Bruins center Patrice Bergeron is the winner of the 2020-21 Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. The award is given “to the player who exemplifies great leadership qualities to his team, on and off the ice, during the regular season and who plays a leading role in his community growing the game of hockey”.
Unlike most of the other awards which are voted on by members of the media, this process is a little different. Messier solicits suggestions from teams and NHL personnel to come up with a shortlist and then selects the winner. Messier, a 2007 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, is viewed as one of the more prominent leaders in league history with the NHL creating this award just three years after his retirement in 2004.
Bergeron was named captain of the Bruins for this season after long-time captain Zdeno Chara (the 2011 winner of this award) wasn’t re-signed. The 35-year-old has been a fixture in their lineup for the past 17 years, becoming a premier two-way center while earning four Selke Trophies in the process. Bergeron has also won the NHL Foundation Player Award (2013-14) and King Clancy Memorial Trophy (2012-13).
A total of 15 players have won the award – a full list of winners can be found here.
Free Agent Focus: Anaheim Ducks
Free agency is now just a little more than a month 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 late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Several pieces of Anaheim’s young forward group need new deals as does a franchise icon.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Maxime Comtois – Very quietly, Comtois led the Ducks in scoring this season. That wasn’t expected at all heading into the year considering he had all of 39 career games played but he secured a spot in the top six and became a quality power forward. In the end, the 22-year-old wound up with 15 goals and 18 assists in 55 games, a more than respectable total on a team that struggled mightily at the offensive end. While it won’t affect his contract talks, his strong play carried over to the Worlds where he picked up six more points there. Comtois doesn’t have arbitration eligibility and with only 94 NHL games under his belt, he doesn’t have the track record to command a long-term deal. A bridge contract around the $2.5MM to $2.75MM mark feels like the expected outcome here allowing both sides to see what his long-term offensive upside will be.
F Danton Heinen – His fall from grace has been quick. After looking like a good fit as a secondary scorer in Boston for the first couple of years of his career, his offense tapered off last season and went even lower this year as he had just seven goals and seven assists in 43 games. The 25-year-old is eligible for arbitration and owed a qualifying offer of $2.775MM. It’s hard to see him getting that so either a cheaper deal is worked out or he’ll be an interesting addition to the UFA market.
F Alexander Volkov – There are quite a few young Anaheim RFAs in similar situations but Volkov is a bit different in that he has arbitration eligibility. The 23-year-old requested a trade from Tampa Bay to go somewhere where he had a better chance to play and the Ducks gave him that. His ice time went up by more than four minutes per game and with four goals and four assists in 18 games, so too did his production. This isn’t a situation where the team should be leery of his ability to request a hearing but it will be interesting to see how much his short time in Anaheim will impact those discussions.
Other RFAs: F Max Jones, F Isac Lundestrom, D Josh Mahura, F Sam Steel
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Ryan Getzlaf – It’s clear that Getzlaf’s best days are behind him and at this stage of his career, he should be on the third or fourth line most nights and not a fixture in the top-six as he was for the better part of his 16 years with the Ducks. But he’s still a useful player and in a free agent market where there isn’t any star power down the middle (the same can’t be said for the trade market), there should be a fair bit of interest if he’s willing to move on from Anaheim. That’s the big question as he had made it clear before he’d invoke his no-move clause to be dealt. That wasn’t the case at this trade deadline but his $8.25MM price tag made that next to impossible anyway. His next contract should come somewhere between a quarter and a third of that AAV.
F Carter Rowney – This season was basically a write-off as a torn meniscus ended his season back in February. However, in his three years with the Ducks, he showed that he was capable of playing a bigger role than he had at the beginning of his career with Pittsburgh. Now 32 and in a market that isn’t kind to role players, Rowney probably won’t be able to match the $1.133MM AAV he had on this deal but as far as physical depth players go, he will be one of the better ones out there.
F Andrew Poturalski – This is a name that many won’t be familiar with as his NHL track record is extremely limited (two games in 2017). However, the 27-year-old has been a top scorer in the AHL when healthy. He led the league in scoring this season with 43 points in 44 games and back in 2018-19 (he was injured for most of 2019-20), he was fifth in the league in scoring with Charlotte (70 points in 72 games) and first in playoff scoring (23 points in 18 contests). It will be interesting to see if teams are more hesitant to hand out a one-way deal to top AHL talent as a cost-cutting measure but if some are, Poturalski should be the recipient of such a contract.
Other UFAs: F Andrew Agozzino, F David Backes, F Sam Carrick, D Trevor Carrick, F Chase De Leo, F Vinni Lettieri, D Andy Welinski
Projected Cap Space
Anaheim has been fairly tight to the cap for a while now but that will change with Getzlaf and Backes’ deals coming off the books and Corey Perry’s buyout cost dropping from $6.625MM to a more manageable $2MM. All of a sudden, they have ample room to work with just under $59MM on the books.
Having said that, they have seven or eight spots to fill as well and of their pending free agents, Comtois should be the most expensive but still at a reasonable rate. That should allow them to be an impact buyer over the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Offseason Checklist: Washington Capitals
The offseason has arrived with roughly half of the league missing the playoffs and several more having since been eliminated. It’s time to examine what those teams need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Washington.
The Capitals tied for first in the East Division this season, extending their streak of consecutive first-place finishes to six years in a row. However, they extended another streak this year as they were eliminated in the first round for the third straight season. The core is mostly signed for 2021-22 and flexibility will be minimal. Accordingly, it could be a quiet offseason for Washington although GM Brian MacLellan will have a few things on his to-do list.
Re-Sign Ovechkin
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way first. The 13-year, $124MM contract for Alex Ovechkin that seemed outlandish at the time has come to an end and both sides did well with it. The Caps got an elite scorer for pretty much the entirety of the contract and Ovechkin is now the third-highest paid player in NHL history. It’s time for him to move higher on the list.
The 35-year-old is eligible to hit the open market for the first time of his career next month although no one expects it to get that far. There is mutual interest in getting a contract done while Ovechkin will be acting as his own agent in the process. Talks were put on hold during the season and playoffs but if they haven’t got going underway already, they should soon.
The big question is how much the next deal is going to cost. A TSN report from Frank Seravalli back in January suggested that Ovechkin was initially hoping to match Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV although that was before the pandemic hit and the financial landscape is much different now than it was projected to be back then. He’s also coming off a quiet year by his standards; while he was still productive with 24 goals and 18 assists in 45 games, it was his lowest goal and point-per-game numbers since 2011-12. At his age, there is bound to be a decline. Was this a blip or the start of that drop?
That makes this contract an intriguing one despite the extreme unlikelihood that he actually gets to free agency. How many years do they want to do? It’s worth noting that he’s 164 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record and it will take four or five healthy seasons to get there. But Ovechkin has indicated that he wants to finish his career back in the KHL so does he want to play long enough to have a shot at Gretzky’s record? And if Washington feels that the drop off has started, do they want to commit to something that long? Would they prefer a two or three-year deal with the idea of another shorter-term contract after that at a lower rate? Doing so would yield a higher AAV now but take away some risk.
There are definitely some questions to answer in this case and while Ovechkin has made it clear that he wants to stay in Washington, it’s a situation that MacLellan should want to resolve sooner than later with the domino effect that will follow once it’s done.
Clear Cap Space
That domino effect is the salary cap casualty that will be required to accommodate Ovechkin’s new contract. They have just over $72MM in commitments for next season already and Ilya Samsonov is also looking at a raise in his first trip through restricted free agency. The cap isn’t going up and $9.5MM in cap space isn’t going to be enough to re-sign them and fill out the roster. It’s fair to wonder if that will be enough to keep Ovechkin alone.
Some trimming needs to be done over the coming weeks but it won’t be easy. MacLellan will understandably want to keep his core players around (and moving big-ticket deals will be difficult in this market) so the savings may need to come from the depth. Carl Hagelin ($2.75MM), Nick Jensen ($2.5MM), and Garnet Hathaway ($1.5MM) are all still serviceable players but they are a bit pricey for the roles they fill. Moving a couple of those for cheaper players would give them some much-needed flexibility. But even that will be easier said than done in a market where many teams will want to free up money. Expansion could help if they lose one there but MacLellan will have his work cut out for him here.
Protect The Goalies
Speaking of expansion, the Capitals are a team that looks like they will need to make a side deal with the Kraken. Both Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek are eligible for selection and there is no protection scheme that allows a team to protect more than one goalie. One of them will have to be exposed.
Samsonov is coming off a tough sophomore year but is still their goalie of the future (and present) while Vanecek had a nice rookie season and perhaps more importantly, is signed for less than the league minimum for 2021-22. For a team that is going to be at or over the cap when Ovechkin re-signs, that’s a luxury they need to try to keep.
A side deal could push one of the pricier role players to Seattle as well which would help their cap situation as an extra benefit. But early indications are that those agreements will carry a hefty price tag, more than what a lot of teams are willing to pay right now. For Washington, however, this roster composition only works with a very cheap goalie tandem so even if it seems costly, it’s a price they may very well have to pay.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Expansion Primer: Philadelphia Flyers
Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.
Philadelphia was able to get through Vegas’ expansion fairly lightly with the Golden Knights selecting Pierre-Edouard Bellemare from them back in 2017. But between their current roster composition and salary cap situation, there’s a chance a more notable player heads to Seattle next month.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Connor Bunnaman, Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux (NMC), Kevin Hayes (NMC), David Kase, Travis Konecny, Pascal Laberge, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Nolan Patrick, German Rubtsov, Carsen Twarynski, James van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek, Mikhail Vorobyev
Defense:
Justin Braun, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg, Philippe Myers, Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim
Goalies:
Carter Hart, Felix Sandstrom
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents
Andy Andreoff, Brian Elliott, Samuel Morin
Notable Exemptions
F Wade Allison, F Jackson Cates, F Joel Farabee, F Tyson Foerster, F Morgan Frost, F Tanner Laczynski, D Cameron York
Key Decisions
There aren’t many tough decisions for the Flyers to make. In goal, it’s Hart. Yes, he had a bad season but Sandstrom hasn’t played in the NHL and Hart had two strong years before this one. On the back end, they have three protection slots and three core defenders aged 25 or younger. The math is pretty simple there. But up front, there are some more intriguing decisions to make.
Typically, finishing tied for first in team scoring would generally make it a safe bet that the player who did that would be protected. However, given Philadelphia’s cap situation, it’s far from a slam dunk for two of the three players that had 43 points this season (Giroux being a guaranteed protectee with his no-move clause).
Voracek has been a fixture in Philadelphia’s lineup for a decade with 604 points to his name in that span. He still is a big part of their top-six. However, his numbers have started to dip and he has only been a point per game player once in his 13-year career (the first three were in Columbus). The 31-year-old also has three years left on his contract at a cap hit of $8.25MM. That’s a particularly pricey contract in this marketplace, especially with the declining production. His contract could be deemed too expensive to entice Kraken GM Ron Francis or, if he was selected, Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher would all of a sudden have ample cap space to try to bring in a replacement.
The third player that tied for the team lead in points is van Riemsdyk. He actually had a bit of a bounce-back season while his point per game average (0.77) was the highest of his career. There are similar arguments to Voracek though in that he’s overpriced in this current market at $7MM through 2022-23. The 32-year-old also benefitted from the power play as 10 of his 17 goals came with the man advantage. That’s a lot of money for a power play specialist, funds that could be redeployed to fill other areas on the roster.
Before digging into the other decisions, let’s quickly get through the other likely protectees up front. Hayes is safe with his no-move clause while Couturier and Konecny are locks as well. When Fletcher discussed Laughton’s contract extension before the trade deadline, he indicated the center would be protected. Add Giroux to this group and that’s five of seven slots. The remaining two could go to the pricey veterans or to some younger players.
Among their younger pieces, Patrick’s case is particularly intriguing. The good news is that he was able to play this season after missing all of 2019-20 due to a migraine disorder. The bad news is that he didn’t play particularly well, notching just four goals and five assists in 52 games while his -30 rating was tied for the second-worst in the league. That’s not ideal production from any forward let alone one that’s four years removed from being the second-overall pick in the draft. Patrick switched agents this year with his new representation believed to be tasked with evaluating if a change of scenery may be best for both sides. All of this would suggest that the pending restricted free agent should be left available but he’s still just 22 and it’s hard to part with the potential upside for nothing. It’s unlikely Seattle would pass him up.
Lindblom, who won the Masterton Trophy earlier this week, is also coming off of a down season, his first full year back after recovering from Ewing’s sarcoma. Eight goals and six assists in 50 games isn’t a great return on a $3MM price tag, it’s also hard to evaluate him given how long he was off. To expect him to return to the form he showed the previous two years would have entirely been unrealistic. Does the benefit of the doubt get him protected?
Four players for two protection slots with cases to protect or unprotect all of them. That is basically what Fletcher’s decision-making will need to be when it comes to Seattle.
Projected Protection List
F Sean Couturier
F Claude Giroux (NMC)
F Kevin Hayes (NMC)
F Travis Konecny
F Scott Laughton
F Oskar Lindblom
F Nolan Patrick
D Philippe Myers
D Ivan Provorov
D Travis Sanheim
Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist
When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.
Forwards (3): Nicolas Aube-Kubel, James van Riemsdyk, Jakub Voracek
Defensemen (3): Justin Braun, Shayne Gostisbehere, Robert Hagg
Seattle has to take a minimum of 60% of the Upper Limit of the salary cap (which works out to $48.9MM) in existing contracts so there are bound to be some pricey players selected and it could very well be one of Philadelphia’s high-priced forwards. Both van Riemsdyk and Voracek would give them a capable top-six piece without an excessively long commitment while becoming a nice foundational piece to work with.
If they opt for a cheaper player, Braun would seemingly become the favorite to be picked with an eye on flipping the final year (at $1.8MM) of his deal either before the season or at the trade deadline. Vegas picked and dealt a handful of defenders in their draft and the Kraken may very well following a similar blueprint next month.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Blackhawks Have Shown Interest In Jack Eichel
There are quite a few teams already that are interested in Jack Eichel and it appears that Chicago can be added to the mix. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the Blackhawks have now communicated their interest in the 24-year-old to Buffalo.
The fit is definitely an interesting one. While the hope is that Jonathan Toews will be able to return for next season, the fact he missed all of this year means they can’t definitively count on him for 2021-22. And while players like Pius Suter and Philipp Kurashev stepped up at times, neither of them are ideal fits in a top-line role, nor is Kirby Dach who missed most of the year after suffering a wrist injury in a pre-tournament game for the World Juniors. Dylan Strome has shown flashes of upside but wound up a healthy scratch down the stretch so he can’t be relied on in a top role either.
If Toews is able to return, however, fitting three contracts of $10MM or more (Eichel is at $10MM through 2025-26, Toews and Patrick Kane at $10.5MM through 2022-23) may be challenging. Per CapFriendly, they only have $6.2MM in cap room for next year though that can be extended with placing Brent Seabrook and Andrew Shaw ($10.775MM combined) on LTIR. Even so, they do have a couple of notable restricted free agents to re-sign in Suter and defenseman Nikita Zadorov and both players have arbitration eligibility; their new deals will cut into that cap space.
As for Buffalo, there are a couple of intriguing potential trade chips from Chicago. They’ve been believed to be seeking a high draft pick and the Blackhawks have the 11th-overall pick in next month’s draft. That would likely need to be included in there. It’s also reasonable to think that the Sabres will want a young center in return and Dach, the third-overall selection in 2019, fits the bill. Put those two pieces together and that’s a pretty strong package to work with; some cap ballast to balance the books would likely be needed as well.
In a recent appearance on WGR 550 (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted that Buffalo’s preference would be to move the disgruntled center (who is still wanting a new surgery on his neck that team doctors won’t sign off on) to the Western Conference as the league returns to its more traditional alignment for next season. That would seemingly push Chicago ahead of some suitors from the East and if Dach and the 11th pick are made available, the Blackhawks should definitely be in the mix. While there is some risk in acquiring Eichel with his neck situation and the uncertainty surrounding Toews, the potential for reward is definitely high as well if both are good to go for 2021-22.
In the meantime, this report comes off the heels of one earlier in the week that had Chicago looking into blueliners Dougie Hamilton and Seth Jones. It certainly appears as if GM Stan Bowman is going big-game hunting this summer.
West Notes: Stephenson, Bunting, Dahlen
There has been very little information regarding the absence of Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson who has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. SinBin.Vegas reports (Twitter link) that Stephenson is dealing with concussion-like symptoms from a hit from Ben Chiarot in the first game of the series and that he is not with the team in Montreal. The 27-year-old had a career year this season with 35 points in 51 games (plus six assists in 14 playoff contests) and while they did get Tomas Nosek back on Friday, Stephenson’s absence will be a tough one to fill. As is the case with any type of concussion symptoms, it appears as if there’s no timetable for his return.
Elsewhere in the West:
- While Coyotes winger Michael Bunting will have an opportunity to test the open market as a Group Six unrestricted free agent, he told Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic that his preference is to remain with Arizona. The 25-year-old cleared waivers in January and was in the minors until late March but after being recalled, he potted an impressive 10 goals in 21 games down the stretch, earning a spot on Canada’s entry at the World Championships in the process. That should give him a decent market if he gets to free agency but while he’s unsure if talks with the Coyotes have started yet, he’s hoping he won’t have to shop around his services.
- While the Sharks gave Jonathan Dahlen a one-way contract to bring him back, San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng feels that the deal doesn’t pencil him into a lineup spot in San Jose next season. The 23-year-old dominated in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan the last two years but that’s at a level that’s well below the NHL. Peng cites concerns from several scouts about Dahlen’s ability to adapt to the NHL game. Nevertheless, they’ll get a much better look at him with the one-way deal than watching him from afar in Sweden.
PHR Mailbag: Tocchet, Expansion, Jones, Eichel, Buffalo’s Coaching Search, Maple Leafs, Ristolainen, Blue Jackets, Flames, Bruins
There were plenty of questions to get to in this edition of the PHR Mailbag. Topics include Rick Tocchet’s coaching candidacy, expansion rules, a possible fit for Philadelphia’s back end, Jack Eichel’s future, the coaching search in Buffalo, Toronto’s past GM move, the recent Rasmus Ristolainen to New Jersey rumor, the offseason ahead for Columbus and Calgary, and a Boston free agent scenario. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in next weekend’s mailbag.
pitmanrich: What has Rick Tocchet done in his head coaching career to warrant the interviews he’s had so far? (Rangers, Columbus, and Seattle.) His teams regularly miss the playoffs, he’s got an overall losing record, am I missing something? Surely there are more deserving coaches out there.
I am a little surprised that Tocchet has had the interest he has since parting ways with Arizona. As you note, his track record wasn’t great with Tampa Bay or Arizona; a 178-200-60 record over six seasons with one bubble playoff appearance isn’t inspiring on the surface.
However, his reputation is that of being a good communicator and that is something that teams are showing more and more interest in. The days of one approach fits all are dwindling fast and in both of his head coaching stints, Tocchet was lauded for how he can relate to players. The same was said for his time as an assistant which helped him get that opportunity with the Coyotes.
It’s also worth noting that he’s coming from an environment that has leaned heavy on analytics. Seattle appears to be a team that’s highly investing on that front so someone like Tocchet that is familiar with some of those concepts would be a bit more appealing. And considering he has now had three interviews with them per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link), he has to be considered as a legitimate contender for that position.
If you’re a team that’s looking for experience but don’t want one of the ‘old school’ veterans like Mike Babcock, Claude Julien, John Tortorella, or Bruce Boudreau (to name a few), Tocchet is in that next range. He has a different reputation than those bench bosses but still has a fair bit of experience – six years as a head coach and six more as an assistant. That’s typically enough to garner some interviews. If he doesn’t wind up with one of the remaining vacancies, he will undoubtedly come up as a strong candidate to take over a team midseason or next summer as a result.
mz90gu: How many games does an RFA have to play to be ineligible to be picked by the Kraken?
Free agency status doesn’t actually have an impact here. Any unsigned draft pick or players with two years or less on an NHL contract are exempt while everyone else is eligible. If you’re thinking about the games played criterion we’ve been citing in our Expansion Primer series, at least two signed forwards and one signed defenseman must have played either 27 games this season or 54 over the past two years combined.
However, players that have been signed for more than two years that haven’t played that many games are still eligible for selection; it doesn’t exempt them. Teams merely have to expose that many players under contract. As long as they’ve been under contract for longer than two seasons, restricted free agents are eligible to be picked by the Kraken.
Black Ace57: Is there any way to make a Seth Jones to the Flyers trade work?
It depends on how hesitant Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen is on trading a core player within the division. If he doesn’t want to send a top defender to a division rival, that’s pretty much the end of that idea. But that’s not very fun for a mailbag answer, is it?
On the surface, Jones isn’t a great fit considering that the Flyers have pretty good depth on the left side. But it stands to reason that some of that depth would probably need to go the other way. I don’t see Ivan Provorov being available in this scenario but Travis Sanheim is the type of player that should be of some interest to the Blue Jackets, a young defender with a couple of years of team control left. That’d be an interesting piece.
I also wonder if they’d be open to moving Morgan Frost who hasn’t pushed his way into a regular role just yet. A lot depends on if they can get extensions done for Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier; if they got them done early, Frost would potentially be expendable. With the Blue Jackets’ situation down the middle, Frost would be of some interest.
Is that enough to get a trade done? Perhaps not but that should be a reasonable starting point. I suspect that they’re not looking for long-term future talent and instead would prefer guys that are ready now or close to being ready. A rebuild is on the horizon but I don’t think they plan to go deep enough into one where a first-rounder that’s four or five years away fits the timeline.
We saw Carolina give Dougie Hamilton permission to talk to teams early about a sign-and-trade. Jones is in a bit of a different situation in that he has one more year left at $5.4MM but since he doesn’t want to entertain an extension, he’s heading for an eventual exit. If an extended Jones brought a better return, it would be prudent for Kekalainen to at least explore that option.
Busta607: Malkin and a 1st round pick for Eichel?
jeffh: What are the chances of the Ducks landing Eichel? I feel like they have the assets, but will them not being willing to move Zegras or Drysdale remove the possibility?
Also, who do you think the Ducks go for if they don’t land Eichel?
Let’s combine the Eichel questions together. For the Pittsburgh proposal, there are a couple of hiccups. The first is that is that they don’t have a first-round pick this year, particularly an early one which seems to be the expectation. The second is that Evgeni Malkin has a no-move clause and there’s no reason for him to waive it to go to a bottom-feeder in the Eastern Conference.
On top of that, Malkin is only a year away from free agency and turns 35 next month. Is that what a rebuilding team should be trading their franchise forward for? Pittsburgh isn’t a great fit for Eichel; he’ll be heading somewhere else.
As for Anaheim, they definitely seem to be in the mix and have the high first-round pick (third overall) that gives them an edge on other potential suitors. It will be difficult to do it with Jamie Drysdale or Trevor Zegras but that first rounder should yield a similar caliber of player if they’re willing to part with it. If not, I don’t think they have much of a chance. There are some other young pieces that should still have some value as a secondary element (Sam Steel, Isac Lundestrom, and Max Jones come to mind) and then some cap ballast (someone like Adam Henrique at $5.825MM). If that third pick is in play, they have to be considered one of the contenders for Eichel.
As for who else they might go after? It’s a pretty broad list – basically anyone that can score. Anaheim needs several top-six upgrades and they’re not in a position to be too selective. If a top-six player is available, they’ll be inquiring.
sabres3277: At this point, the Sabres coaching search seems to be centered on keeping Don Granato or hiring former Ranger coach David Quinn. Any thoughts on what direction they should take?? It is desperation time in Buffalo.
I don’t think either would necessarily be a bad choice given their situation. Let’s face it, the Sabres aren’t looking for someone who is magically going to turn things around. At least, they shouldn’t be. They’re no closer to becoming contenders than they were years ago. There are pieces in place but one of them looks like he’s about to be moved and it’s unlikely they’ll want win-now players in return. What they need is someone that can raise the floor for the group and work on individual skill development. A few years from now when they’re ready to contend (if all goes well), they’d probably be looking for that win-now coach at the same time.
Granato did a nice job down the stretch but it has to come with the caveat that it came at the end of the year when the games were meaningless. Quinn, meanwhile, had some good moments with the Rangers but it’s telling that several of their youngsters didn’t progress as much as they would have hoped which is part of the reason they missed the playoffs and he’s on the look for another job. That might be a bit of a red flag but he had success in college developing young players so that has to be kept in mind as well. I’d lean towards Granato but I think Quinn would certainly help their program as well.
KAR 120C: When comparing Lou Lamoriello to Kyle Dubas, was it a mistake for Toronto to try new analytics versus old experience? Considering where the Islanders are and the Leafs are not.
I can’t say it was a huge mistake based on analytics. Not every team can be built the same way and who knows, a couple of years from now, the tide could have shifted drastically towards skill and they’ll be sitting pretty while the Isles are languishing a bit.
For me, the biggest difference would have been salary cap management. I can’t see Lamoriello giving any of Toronto’s top-four forwards the contracts they have now, ones that are viewed as more player-friendly. I think John Tavares wouldn’t have been signed and the savings between that and cheaper short-term contracts for the other three would have given them the cap flexibility to bolster their back end and lengthen out their forward corps. In hindsight, that might have given them a better shot at playoff success than what they’ve had since then. To me, that’s a bigger issue than the usage of analytics.
Having said that, it’s also important to keep in mind that other teams were sniffing around Dubas; he wasn’t going to stay an assistant GM for much longer. Lamoriello’s GM contract was up and he was 75 at the time. Dubas was 32. Mark Hunter was also in the mix as well at the time. From an asset management standpoint, the safer play was to keep the up-and-coming executive which is what they did.
Canadiens Re-Sign Lukas Vejdemo
On their off-day between Games 3 and 4 in their Stanley Cup semifinal, the Canadiens have taken care of one of their pending free agents, announcing the re-signing of center Lukas Vejdemo to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth the NHL league minimum salary of $750K with a $175K AHL salary and a total guarantee of $215K.
The 25-year-old was a third-round pick of Montreal back in 2015 (85th overall) and has been a depth option for them in recent years. While he played in seven NHL games in 2019-20 (scoring once), he didn’t see any action with the Canadiens this season. He started off the year on loan to Sodertalje in Sweden’s Allsvenskan before returning for training camp. Vejdemo played in 27 games with AHL Laval this season, notching seven goals and six assists and was among Montreal’s list of Black Ace recalls heading into training camp.
Vejdemo was eligible to test the open market this summer as a Group Six unrestricted free agent but instead will likely play a similar role for the Canadiens next season as a depth option to recall if injuries strike. He will be eligible for waivers for the first time next season but with his limited NHL experience, it seems likely that he will pass through unclaimed in training camp.
North Notes: Hamonic, Maple Leafs, Gustavsson
Going back to his time with the Islanders, Canucks defenseman Travis Hamonic has wanted to play in Western Canada. At the trade deadline this year, it’s believed that he vetoed a trade as he wanted to stay close to home. However, as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link), the 30-year-old is willing to consider all options around the league this time around as he heads for unrestricted free agency again next month. Hamonic isn’t going to put up many points (he last surpassed the 20-point plateau in 2015-16) but he has a reputation as a sound stay-at-home defender that can play top-four minutes. His location limitations hurt his market last fall which resulted in a one-year, $1.25MM pact but with him being open to more teams now, he may be able to beat that this time around.
More from the North Division:
- With Toronto facing significant cap challenges with their four high-paid forwards, it would stand to reason that they shouldn’t be going after a high-priced free agent. However, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox posits that the Maple Leafs should at least consider taking a run at Carolina blueliner Dougie Hamilton, who has permission to speak to other teams about a contract. Such a move would require at least one significant contract coming off the books – perhaps Morgan Rielly – but Fox notes that they kicked the tires on Alex Pietrangelo last fall which suggests that GM Kyle Dubas may be willing to ponder a big swing again.
- The Senators appear to be leaning towards protecting Filip Gustavsson over Joey Daccord for their protected goaltender from Seattle in expansion, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. While the 23-year-old doesn’t have great AHL numbers (a 3.20 GAA with a .894 SV% in 75 games), the pending restricted free agent certainly impressed in a late-season run with Ottawa with a 2.16 GAA and a .933 SV% in nine appearances. Daccord, meanwhile, has better career numbers in the minors but hasn’t had much NHL success and posted a 3.27 GAA and a .897 SV% in eight games this season. He has one year left on his deal at the league-minimum $750K.