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Latest On Nic Hague

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While Jason Robertson takes most of the headlines regarding unsigned restricted free agents at this point, there are a number of other players still waiting to see if they’ll be under contract when training camp opens next week. One of those is Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nic Hague, who, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period on Thursday, was no closer to a deal. Hague is in Vegas but will likely return home if there is no deal at the start of camp, Pagnotta adds.

This isn’t a surprise, as the news all offseason has been pointing at a significant divide between the Golden Knights and the RFA defenseman. A week ago, reports emerged that the two sides had had “very little dialogue since early July.”

Like any negotiation, things can swing quickly with a single phone call. In this case specifically, it’s hard to see how sitting on the sidelines will benefit the 23-year-old.

Hague has played in 142 games through parts of three seasons, scoring ten goals and 14 points. But given the fact that the Golden Knights already have six defensemen signed to one-way contracts, and young players like Kaedan Korczak (or even junior superstar Lukas Cormier) ready to push for NHL minutes, there is a chance that the team will find ways to fill the lineup without him.

It’s that leverage, along with the fact that Vegas is perpetually in a salary cap crunch, that makes it a difficult situation for Hague. There is no one really doubting his talent but with relatively low offensive totals, a recent injury history, and the team’s financial situation, landing a multi-year deal for a significant raise seems unlikely.

As with any unsigned RFA, Hague will need to have a deal in place by December 1 in order to play this season.

Evander Kane, San Jose Sharks Reach Settlement

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11:55 AM: Seravalli has elaborated on the specific nature of the settlement. He reports that Kane will receive a “one-time payment” from San Jose, and as a result, a “cap penalty” will be retroactively applied to last season’s salary cap calculation for the Sharks, who finished last season with just under $5MM in space.

Presumably, the nature of this settlement means the cap implications of the agreement are entirely in the past and will not have an impact on GM Mike Grier’s roster-building decisions moving forward.

11:04 AM: One of the oddities of this NHL offseason was the cloud of a grievance hanging over Evander Kane, the San Jose Sharks, and the Edmonton Oilers. Kane had filed for wrongful termination of his previous contract with the Sharks, while the Oilers had signed him anyway, with the hope that things could be settled and Kane could continue to play in Edmonton.

It appears as though that will be the case, as Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports that a verbal settlement has been reached between the Sharks and Kane. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff expands on the details, explaining that the Sharks are expected to face a salary cap charge because of the settlement, though are mitigating the risk that an arbitration decision could have brought.

When his contract was terminated, Kane had three years and $19MM in salary remaining. His new four-year contract with Edmonton is worth $16.5MM over those same three seasons, leaving a disparity of $2.5MM. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that the settlement is expected to “come close” to making up that difference, though it is not clear how the cap charge will be applied at this point.

Even if it is just $2.5MM spread over three seasons, it is meaningful. The Sharks currently have less than $250K left under the cap ceiling with a projected 23-man roster, meaning any additional penalties will make things tight for this season. Of course, that is the much-preferred option to having Kane’s entire contract on the books, which would have been possible if he won the grievance and was reinstated.

The Sharks moved on from Kane quite some time ago, stashing him in the minor leagues for the start of last season until they could terminate the contract. He then joined the Oilers on a one-year deal and scored 22 goals and 39 points in 43 games down the stretch. He re-signed with Edmonton and now carries a cap hit of $5.125MM through 2025-26.

Blake Wheeler No Longer Captain Of Winnipeg Jets

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There have been rumors all offseason about big potential trades the Winnipeg Jets could make to change the dynamic of the team, and yet now with a few weeks to go before the season begins, not much has changed.

Today, however, the team did announce some interesting news regarding their leadership group. Blake Wheeler will no longer wear the captain’s “C” – in fact, no one will. New head coach Rick Bowness released the following:

It is the determination of the coaching staff that we will enter the 2022-23 season without a specific captain but rather a group of assistants still to be determined. It is our goal to expand the leadership base within our hockey team. We have high expectations for our core players and we want to provide them with the opportunity to step into those greater leadership roles as a group. 

Bowness and Wheeler will meet with the media together later this afternoon to discuss the situation.

The core of the Jets has remained intact over the offseason, with Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Connor Hellebuyck, and Josh Morrissey still the group that drives the team, making at least $6MM each and signed through 2023-24 (at least). Pierre-Luc Dubois, as important a player on the ice as any other, has been surrounded by rumor since he made it clear that a long-term extension wasn’t on the table. Dubois is signed through this season and is an arbitration-eligible RFA in 2023 but could reach the open market the following summer.

Wheeler, Schiefele, and Hellebuyck are all scheduled for UFA status in 2024.

New Jersey Devils Tried To Acquire Matthew Tkachuk

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The New Jersey Devils have been an interesting team to watch for the last few offseasons. With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier in place as franchise cornerstones up the middle, it has been obvious that the front office wants to put a rebuild behind them and start competing in the Metropolitan Division.

In 2021, the team went hard after one of the top free agents available and signed Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year, $63MM contract to be patrolling their blueline, potentially for the rest of his career. That deal hasn’t worked out exactly as planned, with Hamilton playing just 62 games in his first season, but it hasn’t deterred them from chasing more big fish.

The team was in the running for Johnny Gaudreau when free agency rolled around this year, and now Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that New Jersey general manager Tom Fitzgerald also tried to acquire Matthew Tkachuk from the Calgary Flames, before he was ultimately traded to the Florida Panthers.

Tkachuk, who was unwilling to sign a long-term deal in Calgary, had given the team a short list of places where an extension was possible, thus giving them the best return. Florida was on that list, along with Colorado, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Vegas, and St. Louis, but New Jersey was not.

Still, the fact that they were going after big-ticket free agents and top trade names shows exactly how serious the Devils are about competing in the short term. The team is entering this season with just a tiny bit of cap space (they ended up pivoting from Gaudreau to Ondrej Palat, while acquiring other names like John Marino and Vitek Vanecek), but that could be drastically different next year.

Jonathan Bernier, Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, Tomas Tatar, Andreas Johnsson, Miles Wood, and Erik Haula are all unrestricted free agents after this season, opening up a huge amount of cap space for the Devils to work with. They went after Hamilton last offseason, Gaudreau and Tkachuk this year, and will have plenty of flexibility to land a big fish a year from now.

While a player like Nathan MacKinnon likely isn’t going to get anywhere close to the open market, there are a number of outstanding players still unsigned for 2023-24. Free agency looks a lot different now than it will in June, but you have to believe that the Devils are already putting together a list of potential targets. Patrick Kane, Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko, David Pastrnak, Dylan Larkin, Matt Dumba, Bo Horvat, Joe Pavelski, and plenty of others are currently scheduled for unrestricted free agency, though some are more likely than others to go unsigned throughout the year.

It will be interesting to see how this year’s performance impacts how the Devils operate next summer. With second-overall pick Simon Nemec waiting in the wings, youngsters like Dawson Mercer already showing huge upside, and a goaltender in Vanecek brought in to stabilize the crease, the Devils might already be substantially better. If the past is any indication, they’re going to try hard to land another marquee player to join that group at some point.

Andrew Hammond Signs In KHL

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As reported a few days ago, Andrew Hammond will no longer be headed to Florida Panthers’ training camp. A one-year contract with Traktor Chelyabinsk was announced today, as the Hamburglar heads to the KHL for 2022-23. The release indicates that Hammond will fly to Russia as soon as his visa is worked out.

While he is 34 now and getting closer to the end of his playing career, it is somewhat surprising that Hammond has chosen to go to the KHL. He has never played overseas before, he had secured a PTO with the Panthers, he is coming off a season with 11 NHL appearances, and he has been a strong AHL performer for nearly a decade.

Still, perhaps he is excited about the opportunity he will receive with Traktor, where he can form a goaltending room with Emil Garipov, who has been brutal through two games so far this season. Ilya Proskuryakov, a 35-year-old netminder who spent last season in the VHL, and Sergei Mylnikov, a young goalie with barely any KHL experience are there too, not much competition for the consistent play of Hammond.

At this point in his career – Hammond will turn 35 in February – a year in the KHL may end any chance of another appearance in the NHL. Through 67 appearances at the highest level, Hammond posted a 31-20-7 record with a .916 save percentage and four shutouts. He also posted a .924 in five playoff appearances, losing three of them.

Extension For Nathan MacKinnon “Pretty Close”

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The Colorado Avalanche and Nathan MacKinnon are “pretty close” to an extension, according to the superstar forward who spoke with reporters including John Matisz of theScore at today’s NHL Player Media Tour. MacKinnon explained that the deal will be fair but “not going to be a single digit.”

One can only assume he means the average annual value will be at least $10MM, though even that would be a discount for the Stanley Cup champion.

MacKinnon, who just turned 27 two weeks ago, is headed into the final season of a seven-year, $44.1MM contract signed in 2016 that has become one of the league’s biggest bargains. For $6.3MM against the cap, the Avalanche have received a three-time Hart Trophy finalist, Lady Byng winner, and one of the most dominant two-way centers in the league.

Since the start of the 2017-18 season, only Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have outscored MacKinnon’s 442 points, and both of them have played more games than the Colorado phenom. His 167 goals during that stretch put him seventh in the league, while his +88 rating (seventh-highest over that span) gives a glimpse of just how dominant the Avalanche have been whenever he is on the ice.

There’s a real chance that MacKinnon – if he chooses to – could become the highest-paid player in the league on his next contract. That title currently goes to McDavid and his $12.5MM cap hit. At the very least, one would expect MacKinnon to join the select group of players that earns at least $11MM per season, which includes McDavid, Artemi Panarin, Auston Matthews, Erik Karlsson, John Tavares, and Drew Doughty for 2022-23 season.

Amazingly, the Avalanche do currently project to have the room to keep him, even at a price that high. The team has set up many of their contracts to expire at the end of this season, with Erik Johnson, J.T. Compher, Evan Rodrigues, Andrew Cogliano, and Darren Helm all coming off the books (if they choose to let them go). While there are other players – like star defenseman Devon Toews – to re-sign in the coming years, MacKinnon’s contract will certainly take precedence.

In fact, it has been somewhat surprising that an extension hasn’t been announced already, given he has been eligible for more than two months. Perhaps the team was allowing him and the rest of the Avalanche time to enjoy their celebratory offseason after finally breaking through and winning the Stanley Cup.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Edmonton Oilers Sign Jason Demers To PTO

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The Edmonton Oilers will be bringing some veteran depth to training camp, signing Jason Demers to a professional tryout according to Daniel Nugent-Bowman. The team is also “discussing the idea” of offering Brett Ritchie a PTO, while they are no longer in on Jake Virtanen, according to Nugent-Bowman.

Demers, 34, played a handful of games in the KHL last season and played for Canada at the Olympics, but hasn’t been a regular in the NHL in over a year. His last action at that level was with the Arizona Coyotes in 2020-21, when he registered just four points in 41 games.

Overall, the veteran defenseman has had quite an effective career, racking up 214 points in 699 regular season games while averaging just over 19 minutes a night. The right-shot option has played for the Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, and Florida Panthers over his 12-year career, filling in on both the powerplay and penalty kill at various points.

After the Oilers brought in Ryan Murray on a one-year deal recently, there isn’t much room left on the blueline for a player like Demers, though camp injuries are always a possibility. More likely, he is taking an opportunity to showcase himself for the whole league to try and land one last NHL deal before his career comes to an end. So far removed from the league, there’s no telling how effective Demers could be, though his experience and previous success may lead to a team giving him a chance if he’s healthy enough to compete.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Sean Durzi

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With training camp just a few days away, the Los Angeles Kings have finished up some pressing business. Sean Durzi has signed a new two-year contract with the club that carries an average annual value of $1.7MM. The restricted free agent did not have arbitration rights this season.

Durzi, 23, burst onto the scene in his rookie year with 27 points in 64 games, while averaging close to 20 minutes a night for the Kings. Despite that strong performance, he stayed relatively under the radar, not earning a single vote in the Calder Trophy discussion and seemingly surprising the entire hockey world when he and the Kings pushed the Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the first round.

Fans in Los Angeles certainly weren’t shocked though, as Durzi had made great strides in the minor leagues over the last few seasons and stepped into the NHL as a polished offensive option.

Acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Jake Muzzin trade (that also netted the Kings Carl Grundstrom and Tobias Bjornfot), Durzi had 50 points in 91 games for the Ontario Reign of the AHL, somewhere he doesn’t project to play for quite a while. His performance in the playoffs, when he logged more than 21 minutes a night in the first-round series, along with his youth and offensive upside, make him a pretty attractive piece for the team to build around.

Along with Bjornfot, Michael Anderson, and Jordan Spence, the Kings actually have quite the impressive group of young defensemen ready to lead the way this year, not to mention Brandt Clarke and Helge Grans on their way as top prospects.

A contract like this, which will leave Durzi a restricted free agent again at its expiry, comes with the potential for huge surplus value if he can continue to improve. A $1.7MM cap hit is very affordable, and if Durzi steps into a regular top-four role with powerplay time, he will almost certainly outperform the deal right away.

As with every bridge deal, however, the team may have to pay for that bargain later, if Durzi is deserving of a long-term contract down the road. His next deal will certainly be buying out UFA seasons, meaning the price tag will go higher. He will also have the benefit of arbitration rights, an important factor for defensemen who rack up points like the smooth-skating youngster.

No matter what, for the next two years Durzi will be locked in as an inexpensive option for the team while Matt Roy and Sean Walker’s remain on the books. After the 2023-24 season both of those players are scheduled for unrestricted free agency, which will give the team a chance to reassess the financial situation.

The Kings have now completed their RFA negotiations for the summer and will focus on training camp later this month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Jean-Francois Berube Expected To Be In Panthers Camp

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Given that Andrew Hammond is likely no longer attending Florida Panthers training camp on a PTO, with the veteran netminder expected to sign overseas, the team needed another goaltender. George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports that it will be Jean-Francois Berube, who will now be in camp on a tryout basis, competing for a spot in the organization.

Berube, 31, has bounced around the league as a depth option for years now, playing for a number of organizations but rarely seeing much NHL playing time. In 2021-22 he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets, appearing six times and posting a .900 save percentage. In 19 appearances with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL he actually fared worse, but despite middling minor league performances, Berube continues to be a trusted option for NHL clubs trying to add experience.

A PTO is about as much as he can hope for at this point, though it is important to remember that this doesn’t lock him into a deal with the Panthers. Berube can showcase himself in the preseason for the entire league and hope to land somewhere once injuries start to pile up.

For his career, Berube has appeared in 40 regular season games and owns a .898 save percentage with a 12-12-4 record.

Ottawa Senators Sign Derick Brassard, Michael Dal Colle To PTOs

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The momentum behind the Ottawa Senators continues, this time with two veteran forwards joining the group for training camp. General manager Pierre Dorion told reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia that Derick Brassard and Michael Dal Colle will both be with the Senators in camp on professional tryouts.

Brassard, 34, is a familiar face for Ottawa fans, having played parts of two seasons with the team in the past. While his time there was relatively successful, many will remember him only as the piece that the Senators received for a young Mika Zibanejad from the New York Rangers in 2016. While Zibanejad is now a star, Brassard has bounced around, playing for seemingly every team in the league to this point.

After starting with the Columbus Blue Jackets and then going through New York and Ottawa, the veteran forward has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders, Arizona Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Edmonton Oilers. Last year saw him record 19 points in 46 games and now he is just searching for a place to play.

Dal Colle, meanwhile, is finally getting a chance with a different organization after spending his entire career to this point with the Islanders. The fifth-overall pick in 2014, he has played just 112 regular season NHL games to this point in his career and has just eight goals. Even his minor league totals haven’t been off-the-charts, though perhaps a fresh start will breathe life back into his career.

Still just 26, Dal Colle has never been able to use his size – 6’3″ – to his advantage, regularly acting like a small perimeter player instead of the power forward that some believed he could be. Now with a chance to showcase what he can do outside of the Islanders system, he’ll have to do more than he has to this point if he wants another NHL deal.

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