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West Notes: Saad, Schmidt, Turris

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The Colorado Avalanche bolstered their offense during the offseason by trading for veteran winger Brandon Saad. The 28-year-old has done nothing but score goals over the last seven years, having scored 169 goals over his career and he should be a perfect fit with the Avalanche. Of course, Saad has just one year remaining on his contract, but has expressed interest in signing a long-term extension in Colorado.

However, what are the chances that the Avalanche bring him back?

NBC Sports’ Adam Gretz writes that there are quite a few factors that determine whether Saad comes back. However, while his numbers are solid, they don’t stand out either. However, Saad brings other aspects to his game, which Colorado might appreciate. He is a possession driver and really excels when around better players, which the Avalanche has a lot of.

However, while the Avalanche have done quite well with managing their cap space over the years, those days will soon be past. The team has already inked Mikko Rantanen to a six-year, $55.5MM deal (with five years still on it). Colorado also will have forward Gabriel Landeskog hitting free agency next season, while defenseman Cale Makar will be a restricted free agent. Those two deals are likely going to cost Colorado quite a bit.

Of course, how he performs in his one year in Colorado will have a huge impact, but unless he takes less to stay in Colorado, the team will likely have too many other contracts to deal with in the next season to bring Saad back.

  • Much credit has been given to Vancouver for being able to acquire defenseman Nate Schmidt from the cap-strapped Vegas Golden Knights for just a third-round pick. The team had just lost Chris Tanev, so bringing in Schmidt is a solid if not significant upgrade to the defense. However, The Athletic’s Harman Dayal (subscription required) writes that the real question is will it be an upgrade defensively. Schmidt is mostly known for his puck-moving skills and his ability to move the puck up the ice quickly, not necessarily for his defensive prowess, while Tanev was basically the opposite — a ruthless defensive player. Dayal looks at Schmidt’s underrated defensive game, although he also notes that Schmidt’s defensive numbers took a significant decline this past season. Was it just a down season or is his game slipping in his late 20s. While it looks like Schmidt is a solid top-four acquisition, the scribe wonders if the team needs to acquire a defensive-first blueliner to fill in the unit’s current deficiencies.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have emphasized the need for a solid third-line center for a number of years and feel good about the recent acquisition of Kyle Turris, who should fill that role. Of course, Turris, who has struggled for the past two years with the Nashville Predators and was bought out, could still struggle. If Turris can’t handle the Oilers’ No. 3 center position, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes the team would then only have one option for that spot, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, a player they really want in their top-six. The lack of depth centers could end up being a significant issue if Turris fails.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Arizona Coyotes

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert 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 heading into the 2020-21 season.  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.

Arizona Coyotes

Current Cap Hit: $84,270,284 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Barrett Hayton (two years, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Hayton: $1.75MM

Once considered a team full of young players, the Coyotes have changed their image over the last few years and have only one young player on their team under a cheap entry-level deal with only a handful of entry-level players that are even close to joining the team. Hayton, however, could be ready for a breakout season after spending the season with the team last year. Unfortunately for Hayton, he would have benefitted the most with one year in the AHL, but wasn’t eligible to play there, so instead of returning him to his junior team, the Coyotes kept him around. He only appeared in 20 games (although he did miss time with a shoulder injury at the World Juniors), but showed enough potential that he should be an everyday player next season. A big year from the 2019 fifth-overall pick would be a boost to the team’s center position.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Derek Stepan ($6.5MM, UFA)
D Alex Goligoski ($5.48MM, UFA)
F Marian Hossa ($5.28MM, UFA)
D Niklas Hjalmarsson ($5MM, UFA)
G Antti Raanta ($4.25MM, UFA)
D Jason Demers ($3.94MM, UFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($1.4MM, UFA)
D Ilya Lyubushkin ($1MM, UFA)
F Conor Garland ($775K, RFA)
F John Hayden ($750K, RFA)
F Dryden Hunt ($700K, RFA)

For a team that is looking to cut salary, the team has a lot of money coming off the books next year, suggesting the team could look drastically different in just one year. Some of those players could find themselves to be trade bait when the trade deadline comes around. The most interesting decision the team might have to make is what to do with Stepan, however. The 30-year-old was brought in from New York to stabilize their top line three years ago. He had four straight seasons of 50 or more points while with the Rangers and posted a 56-point season with the Coyotes in 2017-18. However, his production has taken a dive over the past two years as Stepan posted just 35 points (in 72 games) in 2018-19 and then dropped even further last year with just 28 points in 70 games. A team leader, the Coyotes have to hope that Stepan can return to form this season or the team could choose to move on from him.

The team’s defense is loaded with several high-priced veteran blueliners and almost all of their contracts come up next season, including Goligoski, Hjalmarsson and Demers. Goligoski is 35, but is still playing major minutes for Arizona and could be a candidate to return at a slightly lesser deal. Hjalmarsson is 33, but has seen his game break down a bit as he has dealt with numerous injuries the last couple of years, including a fractured fibula that cost him 43 games last year. The 32-year-old Demers also averaged more than 20 minutes of ATOI per game. The team may keep one or two of those players, but likely will not keep all three.

The team will also want to evaluate the play of Raanta, who has showed flashes of dominance, but also has dealt with injuries and inconsistent play at times as well. Raanta did play well last season, posting a .921 save percentage in 33 games and gives the team several options in the net. Raanta could easily be re-signed to new deal or could be a trade candidate as well.

The team will also finally be free of Hossa’s $5.28MM contract the team took on years ago.

Two Years Remaining

F Phil Kessel ($6.8MM, UFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($4.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1.75MM, UFA)
F Lawson Crouse ($1.53MM, RFA)
F Johan Larsson ($1.4MM, UFA)
F Christian Fischer ($1MM, RFA)

The team brought in Kessel to bring in the firepower that the team needed as goal scoring remains one of the team’s biggest weak points. Unfortunately, the first year with Kessel didn’t turn out to be the big acquisition that the team was hoping for. After an 28-goal, 82-point season in 2018-19, the 33-year-old saw quite a decline in his play with just 14 goals and 38 points in 70 games. That’s way below what they were hoping for and Arizona has to hope that Kessel can return to form this year in hopes of increasing his value if the team wants to move him at the trade deadline or next offseason when he has just one year left on his deal.

Kuemper has become the Coyotes’ top asset as the 30-year-old has been nothing short of dominant over the past two years and remains on a manageable contract. His name came up in trade speculation this offseason, but with so many free-agent goalies available, Arizona didn’t get the offers it was hoping for. That could change down the road. Yet at the same time, Kuemper might be worth keeping around down the road.

Three Years Remaining

None

Read more

Ekman-Larsson Could Still Be Traded To Bruins

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The Arizona Coyotes, attempting to free up some salary during the offseason, tried to trade their top defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. With a no-movement clause embedded within his eight-year, $66MM contract, Ekman-Larsson only gave the team two teams, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks, he would be willing to accept a trade to and refused any other suggestions. It proved to be a challenging task for new general manager Bill Armstrong and with no quality offers from either team, the Coyotes opted to keep him in house.

However, Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty writes that there remains a chance that the Boston Bruins could still end up with Ekman-Larsson. While the Canucks have since acquired Nate Schmidt to augment their defensive corps, the Bruins still have a number of holes in their defense after the departure of Torey Krug to St. Louis and with the uncertain status of veteran Zdeno Chara. The team only has three established top-four players in Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo and are hoping veterans Kevan Miller and John Moore can bounce back or youngsters Urho Vaakanainen or Jakub Zboril can step up and establish themselves as full-time players next season.

However, if the team can’t get some of those defensemen to take that next step, the Bruins might be more open to re-engage with Arizona about trading for Ekman-Larsson. With Krug gone, it’s likely that McAvoy and Grzelcyk would see a jump in their offensive numbers next year, but the team could definitely benefit from a player who has scored 10 goals of more for six straight years (would have been seven had the league not been shut down due to COVID-19), as well as two 20-goal seasons.

While Ekman-Larsson gave Arizona a window of time earlier in the offseason to send him to either Vancouver or Boston, that window has closed. However, in a recent interview with Coyotes’ insider Craig Morgan (subscription required), Ekman-Larsson suggested he’d still be open to being traded.

“That’s a question for (GM) Bill (Armstrong) to be honest with you,” said Ekman-Larsson. “There’s not much I can do about it. I’m just trying to stay in the moment. I know everybody says that but I really had a good offseason. I worked out really hard to show that I wanted to be here, wanted to get better and hopefully that transfers into the stuff on the ice. I feel really happy that I am here but if that day comes where they ask again, I will deal with it then.”

Haggerty writes that the likely timeline for a trade would be closer to the trade deadline as the Bruins want to give Vaakanainen and Zboril a chance to prove that they can handle everyday NHL duties first. If one or both can step up and prove themselves, then the team doesn’t have to do anything. However, with many questions if they are potential top-four options down the road, the team could choose to add Ekman-Larsson for their stretch run.

Boston has approximately $6.7MM in available cap space, which sounds good if they want to go out and get Ekman-Larsson. However, the Bruins still have to work out a deal with restricted free-agent Jake Debrusk and still hope to bring Chara back, if he so chooses. That likely will use up their remaining cap space. Haggerty writes for Arizona to make the trade work, the Coyotes would have to take back Moore’s contract. The veteran still has three years at $2.75MM and potentially another contract. Boston would almost certainly have to include a prospect like Vaakanainen as well.

Atlantic Notes: Toronto, Rasanen, Raymond

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With the city of Toronto beginning it’s 28-day lockdown on Monday, there are many questions on how that might affect the Toronto Maple Leafs if training camp were to begin during that shutdown. However, the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Maple Leafs are exempt from the lockdown in that case as professional teams are free to practice.

The scribe adds that according to an NHL source, “at this point” the NHL does not “anticipate that any applicable restrictions would prevent the #Leafs from conducting camp in the normal course.” Of course, that assumes that the NHL season might begin in January, which would require training camp opening in Toronto in December, which is no certainty.

  • Sticking with the Maple Leafs, The Athletic’s Joshua Kloke (subscription required) writes that time is running out for Toronto prospect Eemeli Rasanen, the Maple Leafs second-round pick in 2017. The 6-foot-7 defenseman came highly regarded, but has struggled to make an impact since being drafted, which included playing for four different teams in four different leagues last year. Despite his size and impressive shot, the knock on the 21-year-old was his skating which was exposed after signing with Jokerit of the KHL in 2018. He has struggled, playing very little at the KHL level and was eventually sent to Jokerit’s U20 team, then loaned to Kiekko-Vantaa of Finland’s second division and then finally loaned to Frederikshavn of the Danish league. Rasanen now is playing for HFK in the Liiga and hopes to establish himself there as Toronto must make a decision on whether they intend to offer him an entry-level contract next year.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press looks at a group of Red Wings prospects and tries to evaluate which ones are ready to join the NHL club for the 2021-22 season. While some believe that Lucas Raymond, the fourth-overall pick in the 2020 draft, might need a few more years in the SHL, the 18-year-old has already surpassed his 10-point season (in 33 games) from last year as he already has five goals and 12 points in 19 games (second on his team) and taking a much bigger role with his Frolunda squad. St. James believes he will be ready to come over for the 2021-22 season

Snapshots: NHL & AHL Seasons, Germany, Newhook

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After comments were made recently by NBC analyst Pierre McGuire that the NHL and AHL might have to settle for a 35-game season for the 2020-21 season with the pandemic running rampant recently in both the United States and Canada, AHL President and CEO Scott Howson stated that he agreed that both leagues should be grateful if they can even get in a 35-game schedule, according to BostonHockeyNow’s Jimmy Murphy.

“Well, I think a 35-game season is better than no season in any league,” Howson said. “So no I don’t think it’s too low. I think we’re in such a different time right now and whatever we do, whatever any league does, is not going to look good or look perfect. I think it’s going to be a challenge and we’re just gathering as much information as we can and we’re gonna make the best decision we can at the time.”

The AHL announced recently that they were shooting for return date of Feb. 5 with the hopes that the NHL might start shortly before that. However, with the increase in COVID-19 cases recently in both countries, there will be challenges for both leagues to put together a significant season.

“I’ve said this all along; we gotta be flexible, we gotta be nimble,” added Howson. “We don’t know what next week is going to look like, let alone February 5, and we’ll just try and plan as best we can and be ready to be flexible to change plans whenever we have to.”

  • The Athletic’s Corey Pronman reports that the DEL in Germany, which is one of the few leagues that hasn’t started in Europe, is expected to announce their start date early next week, which should be in early December with no fans. That should benefit teams that sent players to Germany to play.
  • The Denver Post’s Mike Chambers writes that the Colorado Avalanche could get a late season addition this upcoming season as top forward prospect Alex Newhook could join the team once his sophomore season at Boston College is completed. Newhook, the team’s first-round pick in 2019, was the NCAA Rookie of the Year after posting 19 goals and 42 points in 32 games. He is expected to leave his BC team shortly to join Team Canada for the World Juniors, a potential two-month experience if he makes the team, before returning to Boston College to finish their season. He is expected to take online classes while he’s in Red Deer, Alberta to remain eligible. However, he adds that he will then have to decide if he wants to join the Avalanche at that point. ” … at the end of the season (I’ll) reassess and see where we’re at in terms of what the NHL is doing, what the Avs think, and where I’m at development-wise as well,” said Newhook.

Free Agent Profile: Anthony Duclair

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It’s hard to believe that a player who was named to the all-star game just last year would still be sitting on the free-agent market at this point in the offseason, however, Anthony Duclair remains one of the top names in free agency who hasn’t found himself a home one month into it.

On the surface a 25-year-old all-star unrestricted free agent is a rarity as most big-named free agents are older when they hit UFA status the first time. Of course, much of that is due to the fact that the Senators did not qualify him, leaving him a free agent. Regardless, Duclair is coming off a great season in which he tallied 23 goals and 40 points in his first full season in Ottawa and looked prime to sign a long-term deal with the Senators this offseason. On top of that, he is also a fast skater, placing sixth in the fastest skater contest at the all-star game last year. However, Duclair struggles significantly in one area that could be keeping him from being signed — his defense. He is a goal scorer first, and there is a significant step back on his defensive efforts, one that former Columbus Blue Jackets’ coach John Tortorella mentioned before the team traded him to Ottawa back at the trade deadline in 2019.

Strangely enough, however, despite the belief that Duclair would dominate on the power play and not even play on the penalty kill, it’s the exact opposite. Duclair struggled on the man advantage at times during the season, while actually providing solid play on the Senators’ penalty kill, which makes things even more confusing.

However, another fact that stands out is that Duclair dominated the first half of the NHL season, scoring 21 goals and 33 points in 47 games. While the second half of the season was suspended, he only tallied two goals in 19 games following the all-star game, a significant drop off, making him one of the more unique players with little consistency.

Potential Suitors

While many people figured that Duclair had a good chance to sign a long-term deal with Ottawa this offseason, that never materialized. Duclair fired his agent and opted to represent himself. He was supposedly offered a two-year deal at $3MM AAV and turned that deal down, believing he could get more on the open market. However, no deal has materialized in this depressed market and now with Ottawa having brought in Evgenii Dadonov and Alex Galchenyuk, it’s extremely unlikely that the Senators will bring back Duclair even if he accepts a lesser contract.

Other teams still may be interested, although a deal is likely to come closer to when training camps begin. There are a number of playoff teams that might be interested in bringing in the 25-year-old as a second or third-line option on a short-term deal, but Duclair might have to accept less from those teams than the deal that Ottawa offered in the first place.

The Nashville Predators, who are looking for more firepower for their team, have been mentioned as one team that is looking at both Mike Hoffman and Duclair as options, although Hoffman could be the team’s first choice. However, Duclair might be a good fit, who could battle for a spot on the team’s second line there.

Other playoff teams like the Boston Bruins, the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche as options, but many of these teams might be more likely to look and see what they have in training camp before bringing in Duclair.

Projected Contract

Representing himself may have been a mistake as the forward now may be forced to accept less than the two years at $3MM AAV that he reportedly declined earlier in the offseason. He will almost assuredly will have to accept a deal with little term, either a one or two-year deal, but may have to take something significantly less than what he rejected in the first place.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Fabbri, Kotkaniemi

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While news out of Tampa Bay has been extremely quiet, many fans are waiting for the Lightning to get their offseason underway. The team has three key restricted free agents, including Mikhail Sergachev, Anthony Cirelli and Erik Cernak, that it must deal with and little to no cap room with which to work with.

In his most recent mailbag, The Athletic’s Joe Smith (subscription required) writes that with no confirmation yet on when the season will start, most teams have taken a break, leaving the Lightning with moves to make and no one to turn to until training camps get underway at some point. Much of that speculation points to whether Tampa Bay can find a taker for forward Tyler Johnson and the four years at $5MM AAV. The team was not able to find a trade partner at the start of the offseason and no team attempted to claim him when the Lightning put Johnson on waivers.

With rumors that teams are demanding a first-round pick to take Johnson off their hands, Smith writes that the Lightning have little interest in doing that considering they already traded away their 2021 second-rounder. It is possible if the Lightning can’t find an alternative solution, that they might have to retain some salary in order to trade him. Johnson, who has a full no-trade clause, has given the team eight or nine teams he’s willing to go to, but so far the team has had no luck finding a taker. Even if the Lightning can find a trade partner to take all of Johnson’s $5MM AAV, the team is also likely to make other moves to get all three RFA’s under contract.

  • In a Q&A with Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill, The Athletic’s Max Bultman (subscription required) gets the head coach to comment on the team’s potential lineup when the 2020-21 season starts. One interesting nugget in the interview is that Blashill said he wants to take a look at Robby Fabbri at the center position. “I’m intrigued by giving Robby Fabbri an opportunity to play center too. So we’ll see, we’ll see where the best fit is. But the fact he can do it, I think is a real positive to have on your roster,” said Blashill. Although more roster moves are possible, it is believed that there are a number of players who will vie for the second-line center position. Fabbri had a solid campaign last year with 14 goals and 31 points in 52 games and could be ready to return to the center position where he played before injury history began.
  • The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) looks at the play of 20-year-old Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who is currently playing for his hometown team of Assat in Finland’s Liiga. The forward went scoreless in his first four games before getting his first point. He now has three assists in seven games, but is still looking for his first goal. While the numbers aren’t there, Basu writes that Kotkaniemi is still trying to adjust to Finland’s top league where every team they play is completely focused on him, something he hasn’t had to deal with in his two years in the NHL. Adjusting back to the Liiga after two years on North America’s smaller rinks also has been an adjustments for a player who was enjoying doling out hits in the NHL. That’s much harder to do in the larger rinks where a hit could take him out of the play too, meaning he can’t really work on that part of his game much.

Central Notes: Wild, Husso, Stars

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Despite no start date set for next season, several Minnesota Wild players, who live locally, have begun skating once a week in Edina with skating and skills consultant Andy Ness, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required). Among those participating are Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Zach Parise, Marcus Foligno, Nick Bjugstad, Kyle Rau as well as former Wild players Luke Kunin, Eric Staal and Jason Zucker.

Russo said that according to sources, Suter, who was injured in Game 3 of the playoffs and missed Game 4 before being eliminated, looked good on the ice and should be fully ready for the start of the season. Reports also suggest that Bjugstad, who the Wild acquired from Pittsburgh earlier in the offseason and is recovering from back surgery, is progressing nicely.

  • Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes it’s very likely the St. Louis Blues stick with backup goaltender Ville Husso in net as opposed to going out and signing a veteran netminder for one more year. Husso, has never made an NHL appearance and would appear to be a candidate to struggle considering his limited experience at the NHL level. However, the scribe writes that besides being cheap, the team has a number of other young and talented goalies in the system and the team must learn sooner or later what Husso can offer them. He has been the No. 3 guy for a while now, but Jordan Binnington and Jake Allen never got injured, so Husso never got a chance to show what he can do at the top level.
  • The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf (subscription required) writes that the Dallas Stars are likely going to have to turn to some rookies to step in for Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop who are both expected to miss a large chunk of next season. The team will likely turn to top prospects Jason Robertson and Ty Dellandrea to step in and fill roles, with Robertson a leading candidate to fill a top-six role while Seguin is out. The team will also have to depend on rookie Jake Oettinger to backup Anton Khudobin, while Bishop is on the mend. Seguin underwent right hip arthroscopy and labral repair, while Bishop underwent right knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Former NHL Star, Hockey Night In Canada Icon Howie Meeker Dies At 97

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Howie Meeker, a four-time Stanley Cup Champion with the Toronto Maple Leafs and longtime broadcaster with Hockey Night in Canada died Sunday at the age of 97 at Nanaino General Hospital in B.C.

Meeker was the oldest living Maple Leaf and was an NHL star, winning the Calder Trophy back in 1947 when he scored 27 goals and 45 points in 55 games, beating out Gordie Howe in his rookie campaign. He played in a total of 346 NHL games (all with Toronto), scoring 83 goals and 185 points. His NHL career ended at the age of 30, but he continued to play throughout the next 15 years in different leagues.

Once retired, he did coach the Maple Leafs for one season, replacing King Clancy in April of 1956, but struggled behind the bench with a 21-34-15 record before moving upstairs as general manager the following season.

However, it was his broadcasting career with Hockey Night in Canada, that made him legendary. Meeker worked for 30 years between CBC and TSN, earning the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award in 1998 and was famous for phrases like “Jiminy Crickett,” “Golly gee willikers,” and “Stop it right there!”

Pro Hockey Rumors joins in with the rest of the hockey world with thoughts for the Meeker family during this difficult time.

Metropolitan Notes: Konecny, Capitals, Blue Jackets

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After two 24-goal seasons in Philadelphia, there were many that were concerned that Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny was at a crossroads in 2019-20 where his career would either take that next step or fall back. Konecny took that next step, scoring 24 goals for a third straight year, but also seeing a points increase of 12 in a pandemic-shortened season. Much of those offensive statistics can be credited to his improved defense, according to The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required).

With a new coach coming in last year in Alain Vigneault, Konecny put more of his offseason focus into developing his two-way game, which impressed the new coach, giving him more on-ice access during games, including playing late in games, something that he rarely saw under former head coach Dave Hakstol and then interim coach Scott Gordon. Vigneault’s confidence in Konecny led to an increase of minutes where he saw a 1:32 ATOI of more ice time.

While his regular season was a success, his playoffs was far from it with zero goals and seven assists in 16 games, including a big drop-off in his defensive ratings. The key to his future as a potential Flyers’ star is whether he can prove his two-way game is for real.

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