Buffalo Sabres Sign Craig Anderson, Six Others
When the Buffalo Sabres lost both Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton to free agency, it left their goaltending depth chart almost completely empty. Only journeyman Dustin Tokarski and prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen remained, meaning the team was going to have to add another netminder at some point. They’ve done just that, though it certainly isn’t one that can handle a starting load if the need arises.
The Sabres have signed Craig Anderson to a one-year, $750K contract. The 40-year-old goaltender is now the oldest player under contract in the league. Just a few days ago, Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said that Anderson was expected to retire. That obviously hasn’t happened, as he’ll now join the Sabres and potentially have plenty of playing time this season.
Buffalo has also announced several other depth signings. Jimmy Schuldt, Sean Malone and Brandon Davidson have signed one-year contracts worth $750K each, Mark Pysyk has signed a one-year deal worth $900K, and Vinnie Hinostroza has signed a one-year contract worth $1.05MM.
Hinostroza is the most interesting among the five names, after he recorded 12 points in 17 games for the Chicago Blackhawks last season following a midseason trade. He had performed well offensively in the past, even recording a career-high of 16 goals and 39 points in 2018-19. The 27-year-old has been extremely inconsistent though, and will have to really take advantage of playing time in Buffalo to get his career back on track.
A few minutes later they signed Aaron Dell, another goaltender who isn’t a true starter and has struggled in recent years. Dell had an .857 in seven appearances for the New Jersey Devils in 2020-21, winning just one game. It’s good to have depth, but it seems like it will be up to Luukkonen if the Sabres are going to have any sort of above-average goaltending this season.
Dmitry Kulikov Signs With Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have added some defensive depth, signing Dmitry Kulikov to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.25MM.
Kulikov, 30, continues to secure healthy contracts despite a sharp offensive decline and a lack of any playoff success. The 6’1″ left-handed defenseman has registered just 36 points–four this year–in his last 265 NHL games. He brings some physicality and decent defensive awareness, but is really just a depth option at this point. Over his 12-year career, which includes 725 regular season games, Kulikov has only 27 postseason appearances and the only playoffs where his team even got out of the first round was when he played just a single game.
There are plenty of examples throughout NHL history of players that had no postseason success until they did, but this is a bit of an odd signing for a team that already has so much money tied up on defense. The Wild are also paying Alex Goligoski $5MM for the 2021-22 season, meaning the top-four combine for more than $24.5MM. The team has $20MM in cap space left, but a huge chunk of that (likely more than half) will be given out to Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala. If the team wants to make any other significant additions, the room is dwindling.
Still, Kulikov basically replaces the outgoing Carson Soucy, who was set to earn $2.75MM but was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. The veteran defenseman will not likely be asked to log anywhere close to 20 minutes a night but instead provides some depth in case of an injury in the top-four.
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Darcy Kuemper
The Colorado Avalanche missed out on retaining their starting goaltender when Philipp Grubauer decided to sign with the Seattle Kraken, but have found a replacement. The Avalanche have traded defenseman Conor Timmins, a 2022 first-round pick and a conditional 2024 third-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Darcy Kuemper.
The Avalanche can likely afford a price like that, given how many good young defensemen they already have in the organization, but it’s still a lot to pay for a goaltender under contract for just one season. There’s obviously a chance he will sign an extension with Colorado, but until he does, the Avalanche are pushing a few important chips to the middle after losing the bidding on Grubauer. During today’s TSN coverage of the trade deadline, Pierre LeBrun explained that Frederik Andersen was Colorado’s backup plan if they couldn’t re-sign Grubauer, but the former Toronto Maple Leafs netminder couldn’t wait and ended up with the Carolina Hurricanes when a strong offer was tabled.
There was really no other option for the Avalanche after the goalie carousel had stopped spinning today. The team needed a strong, experienced option that could potentially help them contend for the Stanley Cup, and those weren’t readily available on free agency or the trade market. Kuemper was the obvious choice, given his strong play over the last few years and overall NHL resume.
In 242 appearances, the 31-year-old netminder has posted a .917 save percentage, including a .922 in his three years with Arizona. He finished fifth and seventh in Vezina voting the two years previous to this season, and recently led Team Canada to a gold medal at the IIHF World Championship. He will now be asked to carry a heavy load for the Avalanche, splitting time with Pavel Francouz but being the obvious starting option. Kuemper’s never really had this kind of a dominant team in front of him, except perhaps for the start of 2017-18 when he served as the backup for the 45-29-8 Los Angeles Kings. During that 19-game stretch, he posted a 10-1-3 record with a .932 save percentage, numbers the Avalanche hope repeat now that he’s on a Cup contender in Colorado.
For Arizona, today played out perfectly as they waited to move Kuemper until a team was in a desperate situation. The team will not only add another high pick to their overflowing cupboard–they will now pick seven times in the first two rounds of 2022—but also bring in Timmins, a legitimate defense prospect that could very well slide in on the top pairing beside Jakob Chychrun. It’s not that Timmins projects to be that high on most depth charts, but the Coyotes only have a few NHL-level defensemen on the books.
The team has been desperately needing an influx of young talent and GM Bill Armstrong has done exceptional work this offseason to bring it in. The team has used cap space several times to add assets, while also flipping their most valuable pieces for future talent. Kuemper was unlikely to be in net the next time the Coyotes were competitive, so why not move him now when the price is so high.
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Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider was first to report the trade
Washington Capitals Re-Acquire Vitek Vanecek
Now that the Seattle Kraken have signed Philipp Grubauer in free agency, they are sending Vitek Vanecek back to the Washington Capitals. It was just a week-long vacation for the young netminder, who was claimed in the expansion draft and now sent back to Washington in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick.
This move will raise quite a few eyebrows, given the Kraken passed up the opportunity to select Brenden Dillon from Washington, only to see him flipped for two-second round picks on Monday. In fact, it’s one of those picks that Washington is using to reclaim Vanecek, sending Winnipeg’s 2023 selection.
At any rate, the Capitals have their tandem of Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov back intact and basically only lost a second-round pick in the expansion draft. The 25-year-old goaltender actually carries a cap hit of just $716K this season, less than the league minimum of $750K. That’s because of the three-year deal they signed him to back in 2019 before he’d ever even played at the NHL level. In 37 appearances this season, Vanecek posted a .908 save percentage, a 21-10-4 record and a 2.69 goals-against average. The Capitals would have been forced to look outside the organization if he hadn’t become available again, but they’ll now be able to go about an offseason as if nothing happened.
For Seattle, adding a second-round pick is important, even if it comes with some regrets. The big win here was signing Grubauer, who can anchor the franchise even if they go through a few growing pains in the early years. He and Chris Driedger will form the NHL tandem, while Joey Daccord is also still in the system.
Seattle Kraken Sign Philipp Grubauer, Jaden Schwartz
July 28: The Seattle Kraken saved cap space at seemingly every turn through the expansion draft, passing on several high-profile candidates. They’ve now decided to use that cap space in free agency, signing Vezina finalist Philipp Grubauer. Kevin Weekes of NHL Network first heard a deal could happen between Seattle and Grubauer, while Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports it will be a six-year contract with an average annual value of $5.9MM. The team has also officially announced a five-year contract for free agent forward Jaden Schwartz, which will carry an average annual value of $5.5MM.
It’s a huge swing for the expansion franchise, inking number four and nine from our Top 50 UFA List. Add in Alexander Wennberg, who signed earlier today for three years and $13.5MM and the Kraken have quickly used their cap space to improve the roster. Still, the Grubauer move in particular brings up several questions.
Seattle now has three NHL goaltenders on the roster between Grubauer, Chris Driedger and Vitek Vanecek. That will lead to a crunch before the start of the season given all three are waiver-eligible, meaning there could be a trade coming in the next few weeks. Friedman tweets that the Washington Capitals would be interested in re-acquiring Vanecek if possible, though it’s unclear what it would cost them at this point. Remember, the Kraken passed on selecting Brenden Dillon from the Capitals in expansion, only to watch Washington flip him for two second-round picks. If the return on Vanecek is any less than that, it will certainly raise some voices in criticism of GM Ron Francis.
For Grubauer specifically, he leaves one of the best teams in the league for a complete question mark. Colorado recently re-signed both Cale Makar and Gabriel Landeskog for huge cap hits, not leaving a lot of room to fit in their starting goaltender. The 29-year-old Grubauer could very well become the face of the franchise in Seattle after his outstanding 2020-21 performance, but he won’t have quite the same team in front of him.
The Avalanche now are left scrambling for a starting option, with not many left on the free agent market. Trade targets like Darcy Kuemper stand out as top options, though that also comes at a cost. Losing Grubauer is painful, but the team was going to be in a very tough financial situation if they tried to outbid a $5.9MM cap hit.
Schwartz meanwhile joins the Kraken as the team’s first big forward addition (apologies to Wennberg), signing a long-term deal. He will likely slot into the team’s top line, though there are now several wingers that could be interchangeable pieces in Seattle. After a down year with the St. Louis Blues, Schwartz still landed a slight raise on the $5.35MM cap hit he has carried over the last five seasons.
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Philadelphia Flyers Sign Five Players
The Philadelphia Flyers have filled out the organizational depth chart with one swift motion, announcing new contracts for five players. Ryan Fitzgerald, Adam Clendening and Nick Seeler have all signed one-year, two-way contracts that will pay $750K at the NHL level. Gerald Mayhew has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $800K at the NHL level. Cooper Zech has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $875K at the NHL level.
All five are pretty solid depth pieces for the team, with three having NHL experience. Seeler’s 105 games lead in that category, though none of them came in the 2020-21 season. The 28-year-old defenseman didn’t play anywhere this year after having his contract terminated with the Chicago Blackhawks in January. Clendening is next on the NHL games list with 90, but none of them have come since the 2018-19 season. This year he played just nine contests for the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL, spending most of the year on the taxi squad.
Mayhew has just 17 games at the NHL level, though he is the only one to have played there in 2020-21. The 28-year-old undrafted forward is an elite scoring threat at the minor league level, tallying 39 goals in 49 AHL games in 2019-20. Fitzgerald hasn’t yet made the NHL, but is also a strong offensive player who is coming off 21 points in 28 games with Lehigh Valley.
Perhaps most interesting is Zech though, who landed the biggest NHL salary of the bunch despite no games at that level. Just 22, the former Ferris State University star had seven points in 21 games for the Providence Bruins this season. He also played in Slovakia, racking u p ten points in 15 games, and has some interesting upside as a puck-moving defenseman. Though he certainly may not play in Philadelphia this year, he’ll now be a restricted free agent under team control even when this contract expires.
Calgary Flames Acquire Dan Vladar
After the Boston Bruins signed Linus Ullmark to a long-term deal, it was clear that one of the team’s young duo of Jeremy Swayman and Dan Vladar would have to go. It didn’t take long to make a decision, as Vladar is on his way to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick.
The 23-year-old Vladar made his regular season debut this year, playing in five games for the Bruins. He posted an .886 save percentage during those appearances, but still looked like he might have an NHL future with the Bruins before long. Tuukka Rask is getting older and was facing a long rehab from hip surgery, while veteran backup Jaroslav Halak was moving on from the team. The third-round pick had plenty of AHL success to show for his time in the organization, including a league-best .936 save percentage in 2019-20.
The moment that Boston signed Ullmark though, everything changed, and Vladar will now have to prove his worth all over again to a new team. Still, that may be a blessing for the young netminder, who moves into a Calgary depth chart as the potential NHL backup. The team has prospect Dustin Wolf that looks to have a bright future, but he’s at least a few years away from pushing for NHL playing time. Vladar can instead slide in right behind starter Jacob Markstrom and attempt to establish himself as a backup at the highest level.
Landing a third-round pick for a promising young goaltender might not be ideal, but at least the Bruins got something of value back from a tight situation. Vladar is not waiver-exempt any longer, meaning they potentially could have lost him for nothing at the start of the season. While they won’t get back all the hours and money spent developing him, at least they recoup the pick they used to select him in 2015.
Buffalo Sabres Acquire Will Butcher
After signing Dougie Hamilton to a massive contract, the New Jersey Devils have cleared out some cap space from the defensive unit. The Devils have traded Will Butcher and a 2022 fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres. The Devils will receive future considerations.
Butcher, 26, is signed through only the 2021-22 season but carries a $3.7MM cap hit that had become cumbersome for the Devils. The former University of Denver star is a great playmaker and can rack up points on the powerplay, but just isn’t a strong enough skater or physical enough to make up for it. His defensive game has always been a struggle, but it was only magnified as the Devils lost some of their other responsible options. With Hamilton signing and Ryan Graves acquired from the Colorado Avalanche, there was simply no more room for Butcher in New Jersey.
For Buffalo though, acquiring Butcher is a brilliant move. The team can let him run the second powerplay unit to accumulate points through the first half of the season, then flip him at the deadline for a future asset. Even just taking on his contract now landed them a draft pick, and it seems likely that they’ll be able to acquire another one down the road. The Sabres aren’t ready to compete for the playoffs and could stand to do more moves like this, eating some money for future picks.
In New Jersey, this is another indication that the Devils aren’t going to be happy missing the playoffs again this season. The team solidified their goaltending position by bringing in Jonathan Bernier and added the best free agent available in Hamilton. While the team is still extremely young, there’s lots of cap room and plenty of prospects ready to take the next step. Butcher was in the way, and it only cost them a fifth-round pick to move him out.
Boston Bruins To Sign Linus Ullmark
With Tuukka Rask out for a good chunk of next season after major surgery and Jaroslav Halak now in Vancouver, the Boston Bruins have brought in a new goaltender. Linus Ullmark has signed with the Bruins, leaving the Buffalo Sabres after a long negotiation that stretched all the way into free agency. Ullmark’s new deal with Boston will be a four-year contract worth a total of $20MM.
Beyond the financial increase, which is significant, Ullmark gets a huge competitive upgrade in terms of the team that will be in front of him on a nightly basis. Through the first six seasons of his NHL career, he had been backstopping a Buffalo team that never once finished above .500 or made the playoffs. Despite all that losing for the Sabres in general, Ullmark’s results have actually been relatively strong, posting a 50-47-13 record in his 117 appearances. This season he was responsible for nine of the team’s 15 wins, despite only appearing in 20 games due to injury. He had a .917 during those limited outings, slightly higher than his career .912.
The gamble here by the Bruins is that behind a better structure, Ullmark will not only turn into a viable starting goaltender, but an elite one. The team has committed to a $5MM cap hit through 2024-25, actually tied the 12th-highest among goaltenders in league-wide. Robin Lehner, for instance, signed a five-year $25MM deal less than a year ago coming off two seasons where he finished in the top-6 of Vezina Trophy voting.
Lehner is actually an interesting comparison for Ullmark, because he was the Sabres goaltender that once blocked Ullmark’s path to the NHL. After posting a .916 over 133 games with Buffalo, Lehner immediately broke out after going to a stronger defensive team. He had a .930 in 2018-19 with the New York Islanders, winning the Jennings Trophy and finishing as a Vezina finalist. The numbers between the two during their time in Buffalo are eerily similar, so it makes sense that the Bruins would be hoping for a similar transformation.
Still, Lehner left Buffalo (under admittedly different circumstances) and received just one year and $1.5MM on the open market, essentially having to prove himself all over again with the Islanders. Committing this much money to Ullmark already is certainly a risk for the Bruins. It also begs the question of what will happen when Tuukka Rask is healthy enough to play again, as the assumption was that he would sign with Boston after rehabbing his hip injury. With Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in place, the team should have enough goaltending to compete. If either one falters, the franchise icon could join the team midseason and help, but if they don’t, it’s unclear where Rask’s future lies.
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Montreal Canadiens Sign Mike Hoffman
The Montreal Canadiens are adding some serious goal-scoring to the top-nine, signing Mike Hoffman to a three-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $4.5MM. PuckPedia reports that Hoffman will earn $3.5MM in 2021-22 and $5MM in each of the final two seasons.
Hoffman, 31, is one of the most lethal powerplay weapons in the NHL, and should immediately help Montreal with the man-advantage. Even more than that he adds another legitimate offensive weapon to a team that struggled to score goals in 2020-21. Even in a down year by his standards, Hoffman’s 17 goals would have tied him for second on the Canadiens, behind only Tyler Toffoli. His 36 points would have been behind only Toffoli and Nick Suzuki among the forwards, and more than replaces the numbers that Philipp Danault provided (though obviously not his defensive or positional abilities).
The question now is where Hoffman fits exactly, given the current makeup of the team. The Canadiens already have Toffoli, Brendan Gallagher, Josh Anderson, Joel Armia and Cole Caufield on the wing, not to mention Jonathan Drouin who is expected to ready to play again at the start of the upcoming season. Hoffman will have to find fit somewhere on those top three lines, or likely won’t be able to provide enough offense to offset the hefty cap hit he just received.
Still, there’s no doubt that Hoffman can score, and that alone made him an interesting target in this year’s free agency. He ranked 12th on our list of the Top 50 UFAs, with a prediction of three years and $12MM for the Canadiens.