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Atlantic Notes: Larkin, Lightning, Moore

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The Detroit Red Wings have two options in regards to signing restricted free agent Dylan Larkin this summer. The team could go short-term or long-term. With a solid, but hardly spectacular season, the Red Wings might want to wait and see how the 21-year-old develops over the next year or two and hand out short contracts to see if he’s worth the money. That makes sense considering the team is capped out with so many long-term deals having been handed out to veterans over the past few years.

However, NBC Sports’ James O’Brien writes that the team needs to look at the long-term option instead and lock up Larkin as quick as possible as he compares Larkin’s situation to that of Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, who signed an eight-year, $68MM deal a year ago, which is starting to look like a bargain after the many signings since then.

Larkin, who has shown that he’s one of the few answers in Detroit still hasn’t broken out with the Red Wings. While his rookie campaign showed plenty of promise with 23 goals, he’s failed to duplicate that number since. However, while he did just tally 16 goals a season ago, his 47 assists was a career-high along with his 63 points, suggesting he might be due for a breakout season. Signing Larkin to a long-term deal now while his value isn’t through the roof might be better than waiting another two years when they will be forced to shell out top dollar in the future with the cap constantly increasing.

  • While it’s already been reported that the eight-year, $76MM extension that Nikita Kucherov signed will not take the Tampa Bay Lightning out of a potential Erik Karlsson trade, the team will have to make some moves if it does pull the trigger on a trade as the team has less than $3MM in cap space for this coming year. Brandon Schlager of the Sporting News writes that the most obvious candidates that would have to be moved would be forwards Ryan Callahan ($5.8MM AAV for two more years), Tyler Johnson ($5MM for six more years), Alex Killorn ($4.45MM for five more years) and defenseman Braydon Coburn ($3.7MM for one year).
  • Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe attempts to break down what the Boston Bruins defense will look like next season as well as what the team should expect out of their top free agent target, John Moore. The scribe writes that general manager Don Sweeney hasn’t struck gold yet with his long-term free agent deals, pointing to the contracts handed out to Matt Beleskey and David Backes. Beleskey was an outright failure, while Backes has been average, at best. Moore is just 27 years old and will be playing already for his fifth team, which isn’t a good sign. What the team’s plans are for his usage is also unknown as if the team intends to put him on the team’s second-line defensive pairings, then the team would force either Torey Krug or Brandon Carlo to the third-line pairing, which doesn’t make sense either unless the team intends to move Krug. However, there is still no proof that Moore is good enough to be a top-four player.

Central Notes: Maroon, Predators, Kruger

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The St. Louis Blues had one of the best offseasons in the league when they managed to acquire Ryan O’Reilly, Tyler Bozak, David Perron with in the first few days of the start of free agency. The fact they were able to add those players without mortgaging their future prospects, make their offseason that much more successful. However, when the team signed winger Patrick Maroon to a one-year, $1.75MM deal, the team really looked at their offseason as a roaring success.

Maroon, who opted to give up both money and term so he could sign with his home-town Blues, could easily have gotten both elsewhere. Maroon, who made $2MM last year, has scored 44 goals in the past two years, making the 6-foot-3 physical forward an excellent, inexpensive addition. However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jeff Gordon writes don’t be surprised if Maroon gets an extension before the 2018-19 season ends. It’s likely the team will give him that deserved money and term when the team’s salary cap situation improves next season.

A lot of that will depend on how Maroon plays next season. The 30-year-old will likely find himself on the team’s third line, which could prove challenging to put up big numbers in. However, with his experience and ability to play along with top-line talent like he did alongside Connor McDavid in Edmonton, Maroon could easily find himself in a top-six role if injuries develop or lines don’t produce like the team hopes.

  • In a mailbag segment, the Tennessean’s Adam Vingan writes that he wonders whether the Nashville Predators insistence on not including no-movement clauses is what’s hurting the team from signing top free agents to their team. In fact, the scribe wonders whether the team can keep that policy up when it comes to re-signing defenseman Ryan Ellis. The problem with refusing to include no-movement clauses into contracts is that players will often take less money to stay with the Predators due to the lack of a state tax in Tennessee. However, the issue that many players have is that if the team trades them and the player then doesn’t receive the tax benefits. Only goaltender Pekka Rinne has a no-movement clause.
  • Mark Lazerus of The Chicago Sun-Times writes that despite the team lack of success when bringing back former Stanley Cup Champions to their lineup, the acquisition of Marcus Kruger is a minimal risk. The veteran forward, who was acquired in the Marian Hossa deal with the Arizona Coyotes, is in the last year of a three-year, $9.25MM deal in which he will only cost them $2.775MM against the cap. The forward struggled in Carolina last year, posting just six points in 48 games and played some time in the AHL as well. However, it turns out he played most of the season with a sports hernia injury. At just 28 years of age, the team should be thrilled if they can get some quality minutes out of him on the team’s fourth line.

 

Snapshots: Hossa, Zadina, Brassard

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been quieter than usual this offseason and one reason that has been the case is that while it has some cap room to work with, the team didn’t have enough to make a major splash in free agency. The team had been linked at one time or another to players such as James van Riemsdyk, James Neal and David Perron, but were unable to work out a deal and a lot of that has to do with cap space. With its minor moves made after free agency began when the team inked Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning, the team only has just over $2MM to work with.

That’s where the contract of Marian Hossa comes in. His contract of $5.275MM is still stuck on the books for yet another offseason until the team can put it on LTIR to free up the money at the start of the NHL season. That’s what Chicago did last season, using that money to sign defenseman Cody Franson and using it on shuttling AHL talent back and forth all season. However, that didn’t work, according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers.

The general belief was the team wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and would attempt to deal the bloated contract to a team that needs the contract to get them to the cap floor. However, there haven’t been any takers as teams want an asset in return for them to take on the 39-year-old’s contract, which the Blackhawks don’t want to do. They were burned back in 2016 when they threw in Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina to get the Hurricanes to take Bryan Bickell’s final year of his contract off their books. Teravainen put up 64 points this season.

One way or another, especially if the team still has plans to make a big offseason move, is to find a way to get Hossa and his contract permanently off their books, even if they have to give up a prospect.

  • With questions surrounding where prized 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina may end up if he doesn’t make the Detroit Red Wings NHL lineup next season has been up for debate as there are rumors that the sixth-overall pick does not have to return to his junior team next season and could be eligible to jump right to the AHL. However, regardless on how the NHL decides that case, NBC Sports James O’Brien writes that it shouldn’t even matter. He writes that the team shouldn’t want Zadina to make the team next season as the team’s main focus should be to garner another high-end lottery pick next season to complete their rebuild. A 25-goal season by the flashy winger, who many had pegged as the No. 3 pick in the draft, could vault the team to that unenviable position of not being good enough to make the playoffs, but not being bad enough to get an elite prospect either. O’Brien hopes that the addition of free agent Thomas Vanek might help force Zadina to get much needed development time in the minors, no matter where he ends up.
  • Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that while he envisions the Pittsburgh Penguins keeping Phil Kessel, who has been rumored to be moved out for much of the offseason, he could see the team move on from trade deadline acquisition Derick Brassard. The team suddenly has five centers and of them all Brassard is the most expendable. He has one year remaining on his deal at $3MM, but struggled to produce once he got to Pittsburgh, especially in the playoffs, posting just four points in 12 playoff games.

Canucks’ Offseason Signings Were Critical To Improve Team

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The Vancouver Canucks dealt with a lot of criticism when free agency started last week when they went out and signed bottom-six players Jay Beagle, Antoine Roussel and Tim Schaller to long-term deals (Beagle & Roussel got four years, while Schaller signed for two). While the general addition of these three players was to add some size, grit and leadership to an incredibly young team, there is another key advantage of bringing in those three, especially with their abilities to help with penalty killing. Both Beagle and Schaller were solid contributors to their teams last season on the penalty kill and they both will bring those skills to Vancouver now.

“We’ve added some players which is, I think, important. We need guys who can kill penalties,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “The longer you’re in the league, the better the penalty killer you are. Some won’t understand what that means, but there’s a lot of reading plays, and making changes on the fly that you get better at over time. It’s an art learned. You don’t see a lot of young guys come in who are great penalty killers.”

The hope is that Beagle and Schaller should improve the team’s 21st-ranked penalty killing unit, which must improve dramatically if the team wants to start winning. However, their signings also have another key importance to the team.

Perhaps more than anyone, the most likely benefactor to these signings will be center Bo Horvat, who has always been forced to take penalty killing minutes in the past as part of his responsibilities. However with the retirement of Henrik Sedin, suddenly Horvat’s responsibilities have changed, according to Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun. The team needs more scoring without the Sedin twins and the team will turn to their four-year pro to take his game to that next level and reducing his minutes on the penalty kill should only help him carry that out.

Horvat’s numbers have been solid, but now that he’s likely moving into the No. 1 center position, he must continue to improve. The 23-year-old has increased his scoring over the past four years, going from 14 goals in his rookie campaign, to 16, then 20 and this year posting 22 goals, even though he played in the least amount of games in his career (64).

That grit created by Beagle and Roussel especially should benefit someone like Elias Pettersson, who the team hopes will become one of the next great scorers in Vancouver. However, while the 19-year-old is 6-foot-2, he weighs in at 161 pounds and the presence of one of those players could remind other teams to stay away from their prized prospect.

 

Columbus’ Panarin Likely To Be Next Star Player On The Move

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With many contract extensions already in the books and the realization by the Ottawa Senators that Erik Karlsson needs to be traded, that might suggest to some fans that after Karlsson the superstar market might be closed for some time. Yet that isn’t the case as several players have not opted to sign extension yet, including players such as Dallas’ Tyler Seguin and most notably the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Artemi Panarin.

The 26-year-old has only played in the league for three years, but has made it count, totaling 88 goals and 233 points in that span. Now after recent comments suggesting that he isn’t willing to sign an extension “as of now,” there is plenty of doubt that a long-term deal with the winger is even likely. In fact, while he has not requested a trade, it looks like he’s trying to force his way out of Columbus.

Panarin’s agent Dan Milstein clarified initial statements in a Q&A with Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required). He says it has nothing to do with his love for the team, but more on where he wants to play for the next seven or eight years.

“… (Panarin’s) biggest thing is … he loves the team, he loves the coach,” Milstein said. “It’s not the team or the way they treat him. It’s about, does he want to spend the next eight years in Columbus? That’s the only thing at stake right now. If it was a two-year deal we probably would have done it. But it isn’t a two-year deal. It’s gonna have to be an extended, seven- or eight-year deal put in place.”

Columbus may not be the right fit for Panarin if he’s looking for exposure, considering that he chose to sign his initial tw0-year, entry-level deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, who had already won a Stanley Cup in 2013 and were on the verge of winning their second weeks after they signed him in 2015. Columbus lacks the geographical market as a impact city, while the team’s success has also been an issue as they’ve reached the playoffs just four times in the history of the team (albeit, twice in the past two years). However, the team is neither a place where free agents frequently want to come to and despite recent success, the team still isn’t viewed as a team that can contend for a Stanley Cup.

While the Blue Jackets have reportedly been “testing the market” for Panarin, so far little movement has occurred, according to Milstein. However, when directly asked what the chances are that Panarin signs with Columbus, Milstein said he would suggest the Blue Jackets trade him.

“He doesn’t want me to negotiate yet, so you know … if I was the Blue Jackets, I would do the same thing (consider trades),” Milstein said.

Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Myers, Rangers

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While defensemen have been receiving big deals in the last week or two, one deal that caught many by surprise was the five-year, $16.25MM deal that Jack Johnson signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins signed on July 1. While Johnson was a highly-touted prospect at one time and developed into a solid NHL veteran, the five-year term seemed like a lot considering that the 31-year-old had lost his job at the end of the season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and instead took up a role as a healthy scratch for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. Johnson finished the year posting

Regardless, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford had coaches’ Mike Sullivan and Sergei Gonchar look into the three games leading up to Johnson’s benching and they walked away with a positive impression and the team signed the veteran.

The Athletic’s Jesse Marshall (subscription required) took a look at the three games before Johnson was benched and analyzes and breaks down the veteran’s play, citing that his performance was solid, but underwhelming and while the defenseman did have some bad luck at times, what stood out the most was his lack of involvement in the team’s offense as he seems to only have been focusing on his defensive game, which might be exactly what Rutherford and the Penguins want out of Johnson.

  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Philadelphia Flyers’ signing of Christian Folin almost guarantees that defensive prospect Philippe Myers will begin the season with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 21-year-old undrafted free agent had a solid rookie season with the Phantoms last season and was expected to get a “long look” in Flyers training camp in September. However, with six quality NHL established defenseman already on the roster (not counting the injured Samuel Morin), Myers would have to beat one of them out to make the team. General manager Ron Hextall wouldn’t allow Myers to make the team as the team’s seventh defenseman when he could return to Lehigh Valley and get valuable playing experience. So, while many were upset that the team went out and signed Folin, it’s likely that Folin will man that extra defenseman role instead.
  • The New York Rangers have been talked about as a potential third-team in any deal involving Erik Karlsson. The team has $23.7MM in cap room to work with and with the team in a quick rebuild, this would be the perfect time to add more picks or prospects to that effort. While the team might be open to acquiring Ryan Callahan from Tampa Bay, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that the team will not take on the contract of veteran Bobby Ryan, who still has four years at $7.25MM remaining on his deal. He writes that the Rangers don’t believe they will still be rebuilding in three or four years and being burdened by that deal down the road wouldn’t make any sense.

Pacific Notes: Lucic, Valamaki, Steel

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After a disappointing season a year ago, Edmonton Oilers’ fans have taken their anger on high-priced winger Milan Lucic. After all, the 6-foot-3, 234-pound bruising winger was signed not only to protect their elite players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but also to produce goals on the wing. That’s why the team signed him to a seven-year, $42MM deal back in 2016.

While Lucic showed the deal was a promising one after the first season when he tallied 23 goals and 50 points, he made the contract look like a disaster after last season when he managed just 10 goals and 34 points. Suddenly with five years remaining at $6MM AAV, and Lucic looking slower than he ever has, rumors have been flying about how Edmonton must get out of the deal which is suddenly weighing down the Oilers team and salary cap.

However, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal confirms rumors that Edmonton Oilers have no intention of moving him this offseason. The key problem is that no trade would be likely as few teams would be willing to take on that contract and if they did, it might cost Edmonton even more to dump it. However, Staples adds that what the Oilers need to do is have him settle into a lesser role with lesser expectations and allow him to produce a 35 to 40-point season and along with his defensive abilities as well as his physicality, teams will eventually call on him.

  • With the Calgary Flames having their development camp this weekend, Darren Haynes of the Canadian Press reports that the standout prospect so far has been 2017 first-round pick Jusso Valimaki. The 16th overall pick has been a force around the other prospects and Haynes speculates the 6-foot-2, 204-pound defenseman might make things interesting in September for the Flames. Valamaki posted 14 goals and 45 points in 44 games last year for Tri-City of the WHL, but showed his mettle in the playoffs when he put up four goals and 17 points in just 12 games.
  • Eric Stephens of The Athletic (subscription required) writes a profile on the Anaheim Ducks prospect Sam Steel, who has a legitimate chance to crack the Ducks’ opening day lineup this year, especially with recent question marks surrounding the availability of veteran Ryan Kesler. Steel, who won the WHL Player of the Year award after the 2016-17 season when he scored 50 goals and 131 points, failed to duplicate his success last year when he returned to the Regina Pats last season. Regardless, the 20-year-old has been focusing this summer on getting more explosion on his first step. Steel, whose junior career is now over, will either be with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL or he will be a rookie in the NHL.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Barkov, Canadiens

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While the Boston Bruins added a couple of small, but important pieces to their team this offseason in goaltender Jaroslav Halak and defenseman John Moore, their two biggest Atlantic Division rivals seem to be working at a much bigger scale. The Toronto Maple Leafs have already successfully signed superstar center John Tavares to a long-term deal, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are trying hard to acquire superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson.

Those two moves (although nothing is definite about Karlsson going to Tampa) suggest that maybe Boston isn’t doing enough to improve their own team. The team looks like they lost veteran Rick Nash who is still trying to decide if he intends to return to the NHL and hasn’t added much to their forward core this season. No doubt Boston general manager Don Sweeney is trying to work the trade market in hopes of picking up a Jeff Skinner or Artemi Panarin. However, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that there is nothing wrong if the team can acquire such a player, but the team needs to stay the course and not overreact to the whatever the Maple Leafs or Lightning do.

Haggerty writes the team had a plan at the end of the season and they need to stick to it, which means the team must hold onto their talented young players and not consider moving them for big-name players. The team already had a plan in place in hopes to upgrade its team, using prospects and pieces such as Torey Krug and Anders Bjork. However, the team also needs to keep their elite young players like Charlie McAvoy and Jake Debrusk, because they will need them to stay with the organization for the next decade. The team shouldn’t panic and attempt to grab a big-name player if it will cost them their long-term future.

  • The Florida Panthers could be making major shakeups in their lineups next season, according to Matthew DeFranks of the SunSentinel. With the addition of more talent this season, including Mike Hoffman and a host of young talent, coach Bob Boughner has a lot of option for loading up his top line which features star Aleksander Barkov. The talented center has spent much of the last three years playing alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgeni Dadonov, who arrived last season. However, with Hoffman and how well forward Nick Bjugstad played on the top line at times last season, it’s likely Barkov could get all new linemates next season, giving the team more depth on both their second and third lines.
  • Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette writes that the Montreal Canadiens have done nothing to get better this offseason. The scribe writes that when you finished the season as the 28th worst team in the league, you need to make big changes. Instead, the team’s biggest trade of Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi didn’t make the team better, especially since most experts believe that Arizona won the deal, but at best it’s a wash. Then the team’s biggest free agent signing was bringing back Tomas Plekanec, who isn’t the same player he once was and since he spent the majority of the season with Montreal last season, also can’t be anything more than a wash as well. The scribe also points out that if the team was rebuilding then they wouldn’t have tried so hard to go after Tavares or Paul Stastny this offseason. It just looks like another down year in Montreal.

San Jose Sharks Sign Dylan DeMelo To Two-Year Deal

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5:25: The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports it’s actually a two-year deal. The Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno adds that it’s two years for $1.8MM with a $900K AAV.

4:48: The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman Dylan DeMelo to a one-year, $900K deal to stay with the Sharks after the team did not offer him a qualifying offer two weeks ago, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. It is a one-way deal.

“Dylan proved last season that he’s ready to be a full time NHL player and really blossomed towards the end of the year and into the playoffs,” said San Jose general manager Doug Wilson. “His skating ability and strong play in both ends make him a valuable part of our blue line. He’s extremely popular with his teammates and we’re excited to have him back with our team.”

The Sharks surprised a few when they opted not to offer a qualifying offer to the 25-year-old blueliner, making him an unrestricted free agent. He showed promise this past year when he played in a career-high 63 games and more than doubled his points total on the season when he tallied 20 assists. He was a regular in the team’s 10 playoff games as well. Regardless, his playing time actually dropped as he averaged just 14:12 of ATOI this season playing on the team’s third defensive pairing. He will likely battle Tim Heed for the final defensive spot in the rotation. However, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz suggests this could be the end for Heed as the team may opt to trade him as he will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2019-20 season.

When San Jose chose not to offer DeMelo a qualifying offer, it was believed the team didn’t want to pay him the $735K that the offer was worth. By not qualifying him and making him an unrestricted free agent, the Sharks could sign him for less, but instead offered him more in the end. With the new contract in place, San Jose has less than $8MM in salary cap space to make more deals. The team still has one remaining restricted free agent in forward Chris Tierney.

Vegas Golden Knights Sign Colin Miller To Four-Year Deal

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The Vegas Golden Knights have signed restricted free agent Colin Miller to a four-year, $15.5MM contract worth an AAV of $3.875MM, according the Associated Press’ Stephen Whyno. The deal makes him the highest paid defenseman with the Golden Knights.

Miller was one of the key components for Vegas during an impressive run in its inaugural season that took them all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. The 25-year-old had his best year as a pro player with the Golden Knights. He led all defenseman with 41 points, including 10 goals and 31 assists and was a key contributor in the team’s playoff run, where he tallied three goals and seven points in 20 games. He was also a critical part of the team’s power play unit. For Miller, it marks a big raise as he played the last two seasons for $1MM per year.

Acquired through the expansion draft from the Boston Bruins, Miller has quickly taken the reigns as the top defenseman along with Nate Schmidt in Vegas. His average ice time for the year increased from over 15 minutes a game last year in Boston to 19:21 this year with the Golden Knights. Considered to have an elite-level slapshot as he had a record-breaking shot back in the 2015 AHL Hardest Shot competition, clocking in at 105.5 mph, Vegas has asked him to shoot more, which he did all season. However, more importantly, Miller’s defensive game has rounded out this year, which has been key to the blueliner’s success.

The four-year deal means the team opted to offer him a long-term deal that ate into two future unrestricted years. At $3.875MM, the Golden Knights got solid value again from a young, emerging player. The team still has quite a few restricted free agents it must deal with including No. 1 center William Karlsson, as well as Shea Theodore, Tomas Nosek, William Carrier, Philip Holm and Teemu Pulkkinen. Vegas remains in a good situation cap-wise as the team still has a little under $15MM in salary cap space left after the Miller signing and that doesn’t include the money they will get back for David Clarkson, who’s $5.25MM contract can be put onto LTIR when the season starts.

 

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