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Morning Notes: Flyers, Canadiens, Colts

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The Philadelphia Flyers have extended their affiliation with the Reading Royals of the ECHL. The two organizations have been partnered for the past five years and have signed a one-year agreement with an option for 2020-21. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher explained the move:

We are very happy to extend our relationship with the Reading Royals. Over the last five years, we have seen how advantageous it has been to have each of our minor league affiliates, which includes the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, in close proximity to Philadelphia, as we continue to develop players within the Flyers system.

The Royals missed the playoffs last season for the first time in a decade, but still posted a 34-28-10 record. Like other teams in the ECHL, Reading is used as a place for raw or long-shot prospects to hone their games in hopes of a chance at the AHL or NHL level some day. The team was led in scoring once again by Chris McCarthy, a 28-year old forward that has become something of a superstar for Reading over the last few seasons.

  • Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin confirmed to Eric Engels of Sportsnet that the team did make an offer to Jake Gardiner before the defenseman signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, but explained that it is a “two-way street” and that the player needs to be interested as well. Gardiner’s market didn’t quite become what many thought it would be this summer as few teams offered him the term he was looking for. The Hurricanes signed him for four years and $16.2MM on Friday.
  • The Canadiens also won’t be bringing in Jason Pominville according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports, who notes that the club wants to give their young players a “fair chance” during training camp. Pominville is still unsigned despite a 16-goal, 31-point season in 2018-19 and may need to settle for a professional tryout at this point in order to earn a contract.
  • After Dale Hawerchuk was forced to take a leave of absence from the Barrie Colts coaching staff due to health concerns, the team has brought in a familiar OHL face. Warren Rychel, the long-time co-owner and general manager of the Windsor Spitfires will take over as head coach. Rychel sold his stake in the Spitfires earlier this year and stepped down from his post in the front office. Rychel played more than 400 games in the NHL, winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.

Zach Werenski Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets

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There will be no training camp holdout for Zach Werenski. The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman has agreed to a three-year, $15MM contract. Werenski will still be a restricted free agent at the deal’s expiry, though will be arbitration eligible. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the breakdown:

  • 2019-20: $4MM
  • 2020-21: $4MM
  • 2021-22: $7MM

The structure of the deal is an important thing to note, as the increased salary in year three guarantees Werenski will be given a qualifying offer of $7MM. Given that he’ll be just one year away from unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2022, it essentially makes the deal a four-year, $22MM deal ($5.5MM) if Werenski wanted. He’ll also be eligible for arbitration, where his previous salary will be taken into account.

To be sure, this deal represents a bargain for the Blue Jackets in the short term. Werenski has proven to be one of the most offensively-gifted young defensemen in the league over his three-year career, recording 38 goals and 128 points in 237 games. He has double-digit goals in each season and forms one of the best pairings in the NHL alongside Seth Jones. The fact that he is just 22 means there is room for improvement and likely even more excess value for the Blue Jackets over the next three years.

Unfortunately, that bargain will change dramatically at the end of the deal. Negotiating an extension with Werenski when he has the option of taking a $7MM payday and walking straight into unrestricted free agency will mean the Blue Jackets would have to offer a substantial increase, likely making him one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league. It also means that Werenski and Jones will both be negotiating extensions at the same time, though the latter is scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2022 and should be getting a huge raise as soon as possible (which is July 1, 2021) if the Blue Jackets want to retain him.

Having both of their young defenders hitting free agency (of one kind or another) at the same time is obviously not ideal, but it also means that the team does have a sort of rebuild deadline if things aren’t going well over the next few seasons. The Blue Jackets actually have just three players signed through the 2022-23 season and just one—Cam Atkinson—for longer than that. While other teams are handing out long-term extensions to lock in their core for nearly a decade, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen seems prepared to re-evaluate every few seasons to make sure his club doesn’t get too far ahead of themselves.

Obviously for Werenski this is a strong contract, even if he did accept a little less money up front. He controls where he wants to spend his prime years and how he wants to approach negotiations down the line. The fact that it is done a few days before training camp will allow him to enjoy the full preparation for this season.

For the other restricted free agent defensemen, it also may provide a model contract. Charlie McAvoy and Ivan Provorov remain unsigned as camp approaches and are in similar situations. McAvoy is a year further from unrestricted free agency, but for both the idea may be the same; take a shorter-term deal that gets you close to UFA status and go from there.

Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported the deal earlier this morning.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Washington Capitals Hire Brooks Orpik

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Brooks Orpik will be staying with the Washington Capitals after all. The veteran defenseman retired from his playing days earlier this offseason, but will join the Capitals’ Player Development department, working with prospects and players from the Hershey Bears. GM Brian MacLellan explained why he hired one of his former players:

As a member of our team, Brooks was a tremendous leader and a great role model for our young players. We are excited to be able to bring him back in this new role. We feel he will be a great resource for our hockey staff and our prospects.

Orpik, 38, played the last five seasons of his career with the Capitals and took home his second Stanley Cup in 2018. A first-round pick that took a few years to really find his way in the NHL, he’ll be able to relate to many of the team’s top prospects that are trying to get to the highest level. Never much of an offensive threat, Orpik still managed to carve out an excellent playing career that included two selections for the Olympics and more than 1,000 regular season NHL games.

In June he explained that his body simply couldn’t take another season, but it comes as little surprise that “Batya” as his Washington teammates called him, wants to stay involved in the game. Orpik will obviously be starting in a smaller role, but a future in the front office or coaching seems like a natural progression for the big defenseman.

2007 NHL Draft Take Two: Fourteenth Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.”  Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended.  For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now.  Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?

Here are the results of the redraft so far, with their original draft position in parentheses:

1st Overall: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (1)
2nd Overall: Jamie Benn, Philadelphia Flyers (129)
3rd Overall: P.K. Subban, Phoenix Coyotes (43)
4th Overall: Logan Couture, Los Angeles Kings (9)
5th Overall: Max Pacioretty, Washington Capitals (22)
6th Overall: Jakub Voracek, Edmonton Oilers (7)
7th Overall: Ryan McDonagh, Columbus Blue Jackets (12)
8th Overall: James van Riemsdyk, Boston Bruins (2)
9th Overall: Wayne Simmonds, San Jose Sharks (61)
10th Overall: Kevin Shattenkirk, Florida Panthers (14)
11th Overall: Jake Muzzin, Carolina Hurricanes (141)
12th Overall: Kyle Turris, Montreal Canadiens (3)
13th Overall: David Perron, St. Louis Blues (26)

It always comes back to the Blues for David Perron. Now 12 years removed from being selected with the team’s third pick of the first round, Perron has played for five different NHL organizations. Amazingly, during all that time he has never signed a contract with anyone but St. Louis. Jumping right to the NHL after being drafted, Perron showed exactly why he was ranked as the tenth best among all North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, despite teams letting him fall almost out of the first round entirely. The young forward put up 27 points in 62 games during that rookie season as a teenager, showing a glimpse of the incredibly consistent offensive player he would become.

In his sophomore season, Perron shot up the scoring list for St. Louis by becoming a catalyst on the powerplay and showing off his playmaking skills at even-strength. His 35 assists put him behind only Brad Boyes for the team lead, and his 50 points trailed only Boyes and David Backes. Not bad for a 20-year old still finding his footing at the professional level. After several injury-riddled seasons with the Blues, he ended up traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a package of picks and prospects (one of which ended up turning into Ivan Barbashev), before being flipped a couple of years later to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a first-round pick (which ended up turning into Mathew Barzal). His journey around the league wouldn’t end there as a year later he would go to the Anaheim Ducks, before signing back with the Blues that summer.

That homecoming was cut short when he was picked in the expansion draft by the Vegas Golden Knights, who promptly went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final on the back of Perron’s best offensive season. It always comes back to the Blues though, and Perron would sign again with St. Louis in the summer of 2018 only to win a Stanley Cup.

It makes sense then that the Blues would move Perron up their board and take him with the 13th overall pick. In fact, he’s probably a steal even there. The 31-year old ranks fifth in points among all players selected in 2007 but seems to have been continually overlooked throughout his career. While most players hit their peak in their mid-twenties, it almost seems as though Perron is getting better with age. He has 112 points in his last 127 regular season games and is an important part of the Blues forward group.

In 2007 it was Colorado that picked 14th after St. Louis, coming off their first season missing the playoffs in more than a decade. The team had still gone 44-31-7 under Joel Quenneville, but finished fourth in the extremely competitive Northwest Division. Joe Sakic had just put up 100 points as a 37-year old, and still looked like he had plenty left in the tank. Unfortunately Sakic wouldn’t play another full season, suiting up just 59 times over his last two seasons in uniform. Perhaps if they knew that they would have gone after a forward in the middle of the first round, but instead the team chose Kevin Shattenkirk.

That definitely worked out for Colorado, as shown by Shattenkirk’s spot in our redraft. He moved up into the top-10 after an excellent career, and will be unavailable this time around. So who could the team choose?

With the fourteenth pick of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, who should the Colorado Avalanche select?  Cast your vote below!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*Tragically, 17th overall pick Alexei Cherepanov died at the age of 19 and would never get a chance to suit up in the NHL.  He has not been included in this vote.

Minor Transactions: 09/06/19

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It’s now September and teams are still filling out their organization depth charts as they wait on the restricted free agent market to heat up. With moves being made daily in the minor, professional, collegiate and European leagues, we’ll keep track of all the notable ones right here. Check back often for an updated list:

  • The Syracuse Crunch have signed Mikhail Shalagin to a one-year AHL contract, bringing him into the Tampa Bay Lightning organization after they used a seventh-round pick on him in June. Shalagin will turn 20 next week and went undrafted through his first two years of eligibility, but after two outstanding seasons in the MHL and his debut in the KHL, the Lightning thought he was worth a selection. The big winger set the MHL record with 48 goals in 43 games last season.
  • The team also picked up a one-year option on the AHL contract of Nolan Valleau, a 26-year old defenseman who played 68 games for the Crunch last season. Undrafted, Valleau has bounced around the minor leagues the last several years, suiting up for teams in Rockford, Orlando, Chicago, Milwaukee, Utica and Syracuse.
  • The Brampton Beast have signed former QMJHL star T.J. Melancon to a one-year ECHL contract. The 23-year old defenseman has recorded 74 points in 118 games for the Norfolk Admirals over the last two seasons, including 25 goals during that time.
  • 6’6″ forward Jay Dickman will play his first full professional season with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL, signing a one-year deal with the team. Dickman has played the last four seasons with Bemidji State University and suited up three times with the Florida Everblades this spring.

East Notes: Jacobs, Flyers, Clutterbuck

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The Boston Bruins have new ownership. Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the team since 1975, has transferred the ownership to his six children according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. The franchise will obviously stay in the family, but will no longer be in the hands of the 80-year old owner who is known as one of the most powerful in the league.

Jacobs, 80, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017 and as of now still serves as chairman of the NHL board of governors. He holds immense power among the other owners around the league, though it is not clear if this transition will affect that at all.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers have added more names to their front office as Chuck Fletcher continues to put his stamp on the organization. Martin Gendron has been hired as an amateur scout, coming from the Minnesota Wild where Fletcher had originally hired him. Angelo Ricci has been hired as a skills coach, and Vincent Yula is in as assistant video coach. Yula had already been assisting, though will now be part of the staff in an official capacity.
  • Cal Clutterbuck underwent surgery to fix multiple back injuries earlier this year, but is feeling much better as he prepares for the season. The New York Islanders forward told Andrew Gross of Newsday that he has “no issues” with his back anymore and that he felt better immediately after surgery. Even while battling through injury last season Clutterbuck played in 73 games and recorded 23 points, but if the 31-year old is at all improved the Islanders could have an even more dangerous bottom-six.

Landon Ferraro To Attend Vancouver Canucks Training Camp

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According to Jeff Patterson of TSN, Landon Ferraro will be attending Vancouver Canucks training camp on a professional tryout. Ferraro last played in the NHL during the 2017-18 season and missed much of last year due to injury.

Ferraro, 28, was once a top prospect of the Detroit Red Wings, selected 32nd overall in 2009 thanks to a solid year in junior and a famous last name—he is the son of Ray Ferraro, who scored 408 goals in the NHL. Unfortunately things took a slight downward turn almost immediately, as his goal scoring dried up in junior and he spent several years in the minor leagues trying to find his game.

There is offensive talent there, as proven by his multiple 20-goal seasons in the AHL, but Ferraro has never been able to find much consistency at the NHL level. He’ll try to earn himself another two-way contract at training camp to see if he can resurrect his career. The Trail, British Columbia native should feel right at home with the Canucks, and perhaps he can use that familiarity to finally break through and be a nice depth piece for the team. In 77 NHL games, he has 12 points.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Brendan Perlini

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The Chicago Blackhawks have settled on a one-year deal with restricted free agent Brendan Perlini, giving him another chance to show what he can do for the organization. Perlini arrived in Chicago as part of the Nick Schmaltz–Dylan Strome trade last season but scored just 15 points in 46 games with the team. The deal will be for just $874,125 which was the qualifying offer extended to Perlini earlier this summer.

Perlini, 23, was a first-round pick of the Arizona Coyotes in 2014 and quickly made an impact at the NHL level by scoring 14 goals in 57 games as a rookie in 2016-17. That goal scoring ability continued in his sophomore season but seemed to disappear last year for the big winger, at least until he got to Chicago. The inconsistency he’s shown at the NHL level—he scored eight of his 12 goals with the Blackhawks in a seven-game span—will need to be corrected if he is ever going to be relied upon as an offensive weapon or climb into the top-six on a full-time basis.

That’s not to say there’s no hope when it comes to Perlini though. Standing 6’3 and well over 200-lbs he will likely have a place in the NHL just because of his size, strength and speed, but this season will be a sort of crossroads in his career to determine whether he’ll be a core piece to build around or just a secondary asset for the Blackhawks. He will be a restricted free agent once again next summer, hopefully with a little more production to base his negotiations on.

Jake Gardiner Signs With Carolina Hurricanes

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The Carolina Hurricanes have added another talented defenseman to their ever-expanding depth chart, signing Jake Gardiner to a four-year contract. The deal carries an average annual value of just $4.05MM, quite a bit less than what many expected Gardiner to command this summer. PuckPedia provides the full breakdown of the deal:

  • 2019-20: $3.65MM salary
  • 2020-21: $3.90MM salary
  • 2021-22: $4.20MM salary
  • 2022-23: $4.45MM salary

The deal also includes a seven-team no-trade clause in all four seasons. Carolina GM Don Waddell released a short statement on the signing:

Jake is a solid veteran blueliner with a proven history of contributing offensively, including on the power play. He’s had options this summer, but ultimately decided that Carolina is his best fit, and we’re thrilled to have him here.

At first blush, this is an incredibly team-friendly deal for the Hurricanes. Gardiner came into the offseason as our highest ranked defenseman in the Top 50 UFA list, but after a late-season back injury and implying that he wanted to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs his market never seemed to develop. The $4.05MM cap hit is exactly the same as he has made over the last five years with Toronto, and could result in a real value for the Hurricanes. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet notes that the four-year term may have been the biggest selling point, as there “weren’t many multi-year offers” for Gardiner this summer.

The hesitance to give Gardiner term may be because of the cap as Johnston suggests, or because of the injury, but there’s good reason to like this deal from a Carolina standpoint. The team now boasts probably the deepest group of defensemen in the league, with Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Gustav Forsling, Haydn Fleury, Jake Bean and now Gardiner all being capable NHL options. The team even signed Chase Priskie recently and also has Roland McKeown if injuries were to really pile up. That glut of defensemen will certainly lead to plenty of trade speculation, most notably around Faulk who has been involved in rumors for years.

Faulk and van Riemsdyk are both heading into their final years under contract before reaching unrestricted free agency, and could potentially be moved for an upgrade at forward now that Gardiner is in place to take on some minutes. Though they play opposite sides, Gardiner and Faulk have been compared for some time due to their playstyles as offensive puck-moving options. Both are known to turn the puck over at the most inopportune times, but can generally drive play at an excellent rate and run a powerplay. Gardiner has averaged at least 20 minutes of ice time in every season of his career to this point, and is just a year removed from a career-high 52-point season. The Minnesota native has amassed 245 points in 551 games, very similar to Faulk’s 258 in 559.

It’s not clear where exactly the Hurricanes will deploy the 29-year old Gardiner, but he comes in just ahead of Pesce in terms of salary and could very well take over for Calvin de Haan who was shipped out of town this offseason. de Haan logged more than 18 and a half minutes per game with the Hurricanes, a total that may allow Gardiner to be even more effective on a nightly basis.

San Jose Sharks Hire Ned Colletti

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In a head-scratching move, the San Jose Sharks have hired former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti as a professional scout. Colletti will focus on scouting the AHL and NHL levels, a huge change from his near 40-years of experience in the MLB. Sharks GM Doug Wilson released a statement explaining the hire:

Ned has an extensive background working in professional sports and talent evaluation and he will bring a fresh perspective to our organization’s evaluation process. This was a unique opportunity to add someone of Ned’s experience to our staff.

Colletti does have experience with hockey as a journalist, covering the Philadelphia Flyers before starting his career in baseball. Back in 2013, Los Angeles Kings reporter Jon Rosen interviewed the baseball executive about his history with hockey and friendship with former Kings GM Dean Lombardi. Moving to an entirely new sport after several decades will not be easy, but Wilson and the Sharks will hope his experience running one of the biggest organizations in professional sports will help him acclimate quickly.

In the professional scouting role there isn’t likely a ton of pressure on Colletti, though this does beg the question of where his future lies. Will he transition entirely over to hockey for the rest of his career, or is there a return to baseball on the horizon? The 65-year old was taken out of the GM position with the Dodgers in 2014, but remained on as an advisor and worked in broadcasting.

The team has also added Jon Hull and Tomi Kallio to the scouting department.

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