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Arizona Coyotes, Niklas Hjalmarsson Agree To Extension

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June 30: Hjalmarsson will ink a two-year deal worth a total of $10MM, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

June 23: The Arizona Coyotes have reportedly reached an extension agreement with veteran defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson, which can’t be signed until July 1, according to AZ Sports Craig Morgan. No terms have been announced yet.

The 31-year-old blueliner was brought in last season to provide a veteran presence to Arizona’s defensive core, but most especially to guide countrymate Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who at the time was considered a question as to whether he wanted to stay in Arizona. However, now that Ekman-Larsson has verbally agreed to an extension, the team didn’t take long to lock up Hjalmarsson.

The team displayed interest back in March to bring back Hjalmarsson, who is in the final year of a five-year, $20.5MM deal he signed with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 at $4.1MM per year. After being traded last offseason to Arizona for Connor Murphy and prospect Laurent Dauphin, the stay-at-home defenseman struggled with injuries and played in just 48 games, putting up nine points. However, that was evidently enough for the team to extend him for more years beyond next season.

Snapshots: Karlsson, Thornton, Talbot, Brodziak

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While the free agent market is slimming more and more after John Carlson opted to re-sign with the Washington Capitals, the trade market has barely gotten active as teams wait to see how the free agent market shakes out. Regardless that could change in the next few days. While there were a few trades this weekend during the draft, one name that stayed put is Ottawa Senators’ defenseman Erik Karlsson.

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, general manager Pierre Dorion was fielding phone calls all the way up to the Senators picked at No. 4, but still hasn’t found the right deal as he’s looking for a big haul of players and picks considering that Karlsson is a franchise player.

As expected, Garrioch writes that the Vegas Golden Knights were at the forefront in trying to make a deal and Vegas was prepared to take the contract of Bobby Ryan, who still has four years at $7.25MM AAV remaining on his contract, but other teams are also trying to get into the Karlsson sweepstakes, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks and the Washington Capitals. No word on whether the other teams are willing to take on Ryan’s contract. While the Capitals are likely out of the running now that they’ve signed Carlson, the Carlson signing may force other teams to press harder to acquire Karlsson.

  • David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that there is mutual interest between Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks to return to the team, regardless of whether the team signs John Tavares or not. Thornton, who suffered a season-ending torn MCL in January, would have to come back at a lower salary than the $8MM he made last year, but at 38 years old, he can still be a productive player even if he is forced to play on a lower line. Thornton put up 13 goals and 23 assists in 47 games, but “Jumbo Joe” is well past the days of putting up 82 points in 2015-16.
  • Pagnotta also commented on Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot as he says both the Oilers and Talbot have agreed to hold off on extension talks until the start of the new season. The 30-year-old Talbot had been a major piece to the team’s success up until this past year. After posting 2.39 GAA and a .919 save percentage two years ago, he struggled this season, posting a 3.02 GAA and a .908 save percentage. The team likely wants to ensure that Talbot bounces back to form before offering him an extension.
  • Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic writes that the St. Louis Blues and center Kyle Brodziak both have interest in an extension. The 34-year-old center put up his best season since 2011-12 as a fourth-line center. He tallied 10 goals and 33 points last season. While the Blues have bigger concerns at the moment, Rutherford points out that neither party is in a big rush.

Washington Re-Signs John Carlson To Eight-Year Deal

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One of the top free agents of the 2018 free agent class came off the board as the Washington Capitals have announced the re-signing of defenseman John Carlson to an eight-year $64MM deal, with an AAV of $8MM. The deal gives Carlson the second-highest AAV among NHL defenseman behind Nashville’s P.K. Subban ($9MM), at least until the extension that the Arizona Coyotes gave Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($8.25MM) kicks in next season. San Jose’s Brent Burns also has an $8MM AAV.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports the breakdown of the contract is as follows:

2018-19: $6.5MM signing bonus, $5.5MM salary
2019-20: $6.5MM signing bonus, $5.5MM salary
2020-21: $2MM signing bonus, $6MM salary
2021-22: $5MM signing bonus, $3MM salary
2022-23: $2MM signing bonus, $4MM salary
2023-24: $2MM signing bonus, $4MM salary
2024-25: $2MM signing bonus, $4MM salary
2025-26: $2MM signing bonus, $4MM salary

While there had been talk that Carlson and the Stanley Cup winning Capitals were close to an agreement on Friday, there was some concern this morning when the two parties still hadn’t come to an agreement with rumors that Carlson would listen to offers from other teams, suggesting they hit an impasse in negotiations.

Carlson, who has been with the Capitals for all nine of his years, had a breakout year just in time, putting up 15 goals and 68 points, while playing a major role quarterbacking the Capitals power play through the playoffs and winning the Stanley Cup. His 20 points in 24 playoff games was critical of the team. Due to the team’s budget constraints, there were many questions whether Washington had the money to make a new deal with Carlson work. With almost no cap room, the Capitals solved many of those problems when they traded backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer and veteran defenseman Brooks Orpik to Colorado in exchange for a second-round pick Friday at the NHL Entry Draft, freeing up enough cap room to make the move possible.

While the 28-year-old may not be the third of fourth best defenseman in the league, Carlson was in an enviable bargaining position and after Carlson and his negotiating team also had the most recent extension of Ekman-Larsson to work with in contract discussions.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report that a deal was near completion.

Tavares Notes: Toronto, San Jose, Boston

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While reports suggest that John Tavares and his representation are speaking to five teams in Los Angeles, there is some confusion of which teams Tavares’ camp is speaking to. It was reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars are three teams that are definitely meeting with him, while other teams such as Vegas and Tampa Bay have been suggested as possibilities.

The Maple Leafs have been interested in signing Tavares for a long time, years in fact. However, with the state of their salary cap in the coming years with contracts of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander on the books, there are a lot of questions whether the Maple Leafs are really true candidates to bring Tavares on board, especially after the team splurged a season ago when they pried Patrick Marleau away from San Jose.

The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) writes that trying to add a contract that at the moment is linked at $11MM per year for Tavares (possibly $12MM) might be challenging, but not totally impossible. Unlike two years ago, when they tried to sign Steven Stamkos when they were a struggling franchise, things are much different. For one, Tavares gets to come home, he can immediate play for a top team which has a legitimate chance to win a Stanley Cup, and lots of cap space in the first year of a contract, which is where the discussion ends.

Mirtle suggests one rumor that has been going around for week is to offer Tavares a one-year max deal, which would be worth $15.9MM. Then the team could attempt to lock him up to an eight-year deal after that. However, that could also be construed as cap circumvention as well as dangerous if Tavares gets injured in that first year. Another offer Toronto could add to the package is the captaincy, but that would also be an issue considering that Matthews has been in line for that role.

  • David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period confirms that the San Jose Sharks were the second team to speak with Tavares and his representatives. He writes that the Sharks are all-in on Tavares and the entire organization is on board to bring Tavares in. With more than $18MM in cap space, the Sharks have the money even after locking up winger Evander Kane to a seven-year, $49MM extension last month. With their defense and goaltending, alongside Tavares, Kane, Logan Couture, Joe Pavelski as well as a bunch of talented younger players that are ready to break out, the Sharks would look like a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
  • Joe Haggerty of NBC Sports writes that while there is no word yet, the scribe gets the sense that the Boston Bruins haven’t been told yet whether they are one of the five teams that Tavares will meet with, but Boston definitely wants a meeting with the center. Boston has almost $12MM of cap space available and a team that is full of both veterans and young stars in which the addition of Tavares could take them to that Stanley Cup level as well.

Philadelphia’s Mrazek Will Not Be Given Qualifying Offer

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With a backlog of goalies in their system, the Philadelphia Flyers have taken their first step to pare down that number as The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell reports that the Flyers will not be offering goaltender Petr Mrazek a qualifying offer tomorrow, which will make him an unrestricted free agent.

Mrazek, who was finishing up a two-year bridge deal worth $8MM total at an AAV of $4MM could generate some interest as a backup in the league at a much cheaper pricetag. Despite recent struggles, the goaltender was at one time considered to be a front-line goalie.

The 26-year-old netminder was acquired at the trade deadline for a third-round pick in the 2018 draft, but wasn’t of much help to the Flyers as inconsistency plagued him there as well as in Detroit. Once considered to be the heir-apparent in Detroit, Mrazek took over the starting reigns in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, but lost his job to veteran Jimmy Howard by the end of that year. He was exposed in the expansion draft last year with many believing that the Vegas Golden Knights might select him, but they passed. As Howard’s backup this year, Mrazek had some great moments, but had just as many, if not more, terrible games. He posted just eight wins in 22 games with a 2.89 GAA and a .910 save percentage before being traded. In Philadelphia, he was given a new chance as the team was dealing with injuries to both Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth, but Mrazek struggled immensely. In 17 games he had a 3.22 GAA and a .891 save percentage.

The Flyers have both Elliott and Neuvirth locked up for one more season, making Mrazek expendable. While the team could attempt to qualify him and hope to pass him through waivers to play in the AHL as emergency insurance, the team will have star goaltending prospect Carter Hart expected to make his pro debut in the AHL, so they don’t want a veteran goalie taking valuable playing time away from Hart. On top of that, the team also has restricted free agents Alex Lyon and Anthony Stolarz on their roster, so moving on from Mrazek might be the best thing.

Philadelphia also saves itself a third-round pick in the 2019 draft by not signing Mrazek. The trade deadline deal had a conditional third-round pick for next season if the team signed him.

 

Free Agency Notes: De Haan, Bernier, Stastny, Vanek

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While early reports that quite a bit of interest has been directed towards John Tavares, another New York Islanders’ unrestricted free agent has garnered attention too. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports defenseman Calvin de Haan has received significant interest from upwards of 10 teams so far.

While Lou Lamoriello has made it clear that it is his mission to convince Tavares to stay with the Islanders, the team has two key defensive free agents to worry about as well, including de Haan and Thomas Hickey. De Haan, however, is an interesting situation as the blueliner has shown a lot of promise over the years since being drafted in the first round back in 2009, which includes some flashes of brilliance at times, but he’s never been able to put it all together in a full season for the Islanders. He did put up career highs in 2016-17 with five goals and 25 points and may well have been on his way to break that this year, but went down with a season-ending injury on Dec. 16. He posted one goal and 11 assists in 33 games.

Many teams feel that a change of scenery and the fact that the free agent is still just 27, would make him an ideal player who could become a quality top-four defenseman.

  • The Athletic’s Craig Custance reports that unrestricted free agent goaltender Jonathan Bernier has indicated that he likes Colorado and would like to return to the Avalanche. However, after the team traded for Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer Friday and the fact they still have Semyon Varlamov listed as their starter, that would cause an unusual logjam at the goaltending position. If Colorado would rather have a combination of Grubauer and Bernier, general manager Joe Sakic would have to make another roster move to rid himself of Varlamov, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019. There would almost undoubtedly be a market for Varlamov if Sakic made him available. Bernier had moments of brilliance last season, but finished the year with a 2.85 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 37 games.
  • Fox Sports Andy Strickland reports that their is mutual interest for veteran center Paul Stastny to return to the Winnipeg Jets. Stastny thrived in Winnipeg’s offense alongside Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, but the expected cost of retaining Stastny, who is the No. 2 center on the unrestricted free agent market, is not in the team’s financial plans. Custance writes the Jets are looking for a way to keep Stastny, which would require them to move out a contract to make a deal like that work. The 32-year-old put up 16 goals and 53 points between St. Louis and Winnipeg last year.
  • Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that while former Vancouver Canucks forward Thomas Vanek has received some early interest from teams, the Canucks are not one of them. There had been some early talk that the team wanted to bring back the 34-year-old winger after they traded the veteran to Columbus at the trade deadline. The team liked the way he mentored the younger players. His 17 goals for Vancouver (24 total for the season) suggest he still has the ability to put the puck in the net.

Carter Hutton Has Received Interest From Eight Teams

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With goaltending at a premium this season as several teams are still in need of starting help, St. Louis Blues unrestricted free agent Carter Hutton has received quite a bit of interest. In fact, he has received close to 10 teams checked in on the 32-year-old netminder, according to Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun adds that Hutton has heard from eight teams and will take the next few days to cut that list down and expand contract discussions.

The Athletic’s Craig Custance writes that the Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins are definitely interested. NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti adds that the Islanders would be a good fit as new head coach Barry Trotz knows him well from their days in Nashville. Even NHL.com’s Joe Yerdon suggested that the Buffalo Sabres could be interested in the former UMass-Lowell goalie. Hutton is the top free agent goaltender on the market. The veteran has been an excellent back-up goalie over the past several years and played the most minutes since the 2013-14 season. He posted a 2.09 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 32 appearances.

While the Blues would undoubtedly like to bring Hutton back with the inconsistencies that starter Jake Allen has had over the past two years, the team is not likely to offer the term that Hutton and his representatives would be asking for. Custance adds the team is unlikely willing to offer more than two years. Strickland said that he is likely looking for a three-year deal, possibly a similar deal to the three-year, $10MM deal that Philipp Grubauer inked Saturday with the Colorado Avalanche. The Blues have top goaltending prospect Ville Husso, their goaltender of the future. Husso, who has already played two full seasons in the AHL, is no more than one year away, so signing Hutton to a three-year deal would affect Husso’s development. Allen has three more years remaining on his deal at $4.35MM AAV and would be difficult to move on from at this point in time.

NHL.com’s Lou Korac reports that St. Louis general manager Doug Armstrong said they have talked to Hutton, but are fully aware and have a plan in place if Hutton opts to leave the Blues.

Toronto’s Tyler Bozak Is Receiving Strong Interest On Free Agent Market

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With the next phase of the offseason having already arrived, NHL teams can now begin talking to other teams’ unrestricted free agents. With the increasing demand of centers needed by many NHL teams, unrestricted free agent centers are getting a lot of attention. And while no one is surprised that John Tavares is receiving a lot of interest, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports there is quite a bit of interest in Toronto Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak now that the interview period has opened as his representative, Newport Sports, have fielded several calls from other teams. Dreger adds that the Maple Leafs are still involved.

Besides Tavares and Paul Stastny, Bozak is likely the third most coveted center on the unrestricted free agent market. The 32-year-old is coming off a slightly down year where he posted 11 goals and 32 assists for a loaded Toronto team. The veteran saw his minutes total drop to a career-low 15:39 ATOI, although he has a solid 53.4 percent faceoff percentage. He tallied 18 goals in the 2016-17 season and put up a career-high 56.7 percent faceoff percentage.

The question is what kind of contract can he get? With a few more good years ahead of him, the veteran is likely looking for both money and term in what is likely to be his last opportunity at a big contract. The nine-year veteran just finished out a five-year, $21MM deal worth an AAV of $4.2MM. Bozak has always expressed interest in returning to Toronto where he has played his entire career. The Maple Leafs would like him back, but it all comes down to Bozak’s demands. The team might have some cap maneuverability now, but with pending extensions due to Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, their future cap space is in question.

Blackhawks Acquire Michael Chaput from Vancouver

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The Chicago Blackhawks announced a small trade today with the Vancouver Canucks between two players who have been unable to crack their respective lineups as Chicago acquired Michael Chaput from the Canucks in exchange for Tanner Kero.

Chaput has been a valuable commodity for Vancouver’s AHL team as he has bounced back and forth between the Comets and the Canucks. The 26-year-old forward tallied 17 goals and 25 assists last year with Utica in 55 games and only managed to appear in nine games for the Canucks, averaging 9:47 of ATOI and tallying no points. He did appear in 68 games in 2016-17, but couldn’t hold onto that job. With an influx of young talent pouring into the system, it appears that players such as Adam Gaudette or Jonathan Dahlen (unless they make the Canucks outright) will likely take over as top-line forwards for Utica, making Chaput expendable.

A restricted free agent with arbitration rights, Chaput will need to be signed, but again provides a cheap depth forward that Chicago needs with all its bloated, high-priced contracts at the top of their books. Already with 135 games of NHL experience, he provides the perfect bubble addition for the team that has a lot of youth that may or may not be ready for Chicago next season.

As for Vancouver, the team brings in Kero, who also has considerable experience playing between the AHL and NHL levels, but hasn’t been as successful. Kero tallied eight goals and 20 points in 36 games for the Rockford IceHogs last year, while he played eight games for Chicago, putting up a goal and two assists. He has 72 career NHL games under his belt. He provides value at the AHL level for the Comets, who need help at the center position there and he still has one year remaining on a $750K one-way deal.

 

Trade Interest In Carolina’s Skinner Remains Strong

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After being the centerpiece of biggest trade of the NHL Entry Draft, the Carolina Hurricanes aren’t done yet. Not even close, according to News & Observer’s Luke Decock. The team still needs a goalie and still have the assets to move some key players, including defenseman Justin Faulk and most especially winger Jeff Skinner, who has been one of the most talked about players available via trade. And while a deal did not take place this weekend, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to be moved.

In fact, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that trade interest in Skinner is still strong. However, most teams are waiting to see where superstar unrestricted free agent John Tavares lands first before looking to pull the trigger on a Skinner trade. It looks like Skinner might be the consolation prize to the Tavares sweepstakes. Therefore, expect Carolina to wait for the free agent market to shake out before dangling Skinner (and Faulk) for the biggest gains.

“It gives us some options as we sit here today to look at anything,” general manager Don Waddell said. “We came into this weekend talking if we could do something to make our hockey club better we would look at it. We weren’t worried as much about the position as gaining the assets. We have a lot of other possible pieces to move around.”

Skinner had a down year last season when he scored just 24 goals and 49 points, but that is compared to his 37-goal season in 2016-17 and at age 26, he has already had three 30-goal seasons, making him one of the most marketable players in the NHL who can inject immediate offense into any lineup. He has one more year at a reasonable $5.725MM. If a team can get Skinner to sign an extension along with the trade, then the price for the winger might increase even more.

 

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