Ryan Getzlaf Expected To Re-Sign With Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks won’t lose their captain after all. Ryan Getzlaf is expected to be back on a one-year deal according to Kevin Weekes of NHL Network. Getzlaf had recently spoken about how watching former teammate Corey Perry find success elsewhere gave him a bit of an “itch” to test free agency, but he’ll stay with the organization he’s been with all along. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic confirms that the deal will be worth $4.5MM when officially filed.
Now 36, Getzlaf doesn’t really need to go Cup chasing like other veteran free agents. He already has his championship, winning with the Ducks back in 2007 before becoming the team’s captain a few years later. He already sits as the franchise leader in games played and assists, but will also pass Teemu Selanne for the franchise scoring lead this season (he sits six points behind). Getting that record and playing his entire career in Anaheim could very well mean more to Getzlaf at this point, but it’s also the $4.5MM price tag that looks like a win from the player’s perspective.
It’s hard to see how any other team in the league would be able to commit that much to a 36-year-old forward that scored just five goals and 17 points in the 2020-21 season. That was a sharp decline for Getzlaf, who hadn’t finished a season with fewer than 39 points previously. This is a legacy contract more than anything, giving him a reason to stay and continue to mentor the next wave of talent in the Ducks system.
Mattias Janmark, Patrick Brown Re-Sign With Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights must have liked what they saw from Mattias Janmark in the playoffs. The free agent winger will be returning to the Golden Knights on a one-year, $2MM contract according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The team will also bring back Patrick Brown, who served as captain for the Henderson Silver Knights last year. PuckPedia reports that Brown’s two-year contract will carry a cap hit of $750K.
Janmark, who came over from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline last season, registered eight points in 16 playoff games. Though he averaged just under 14 minutes as the Golden Knights leaned on the big guns, he’ll be back on a not-insignificant contract. Vegas now has 14 forwards on one-way deals with Nolan Patrick still to sign, and are already over the cap despite trading away Marc-Andre Fleury. There are more moves coming from the Golden Knights, but it appears as though Janmark will be somewhere in the lineup when the season begins.
The 28-year-old forward has been an effective secondary scoring option throughout his career, recording at least 21 points in each of his five seasons. While he doesn’t bring a ton of physicality, he’s a big enough body and skates well enough to still be disruptive on the forecheck. In his short time with the Golden Knights, he was put on the powerplay and the penalty kill, hinting at a potentially significant role in 2021-22.
Brown meanwhile played just nine games for the Silver Knights, but had eight points during that short season. He’s been with the Golden Knights affiliate for two years now, adding valuable minor league depth and serving as an injury replacement for the NHL. Through parts of seven seasons, he has 55 NHL appearances including 12 games with the Golden Knights in their most recent playoff run.
Ryan Dzingel Signs With Arizona Coyotes
The Arizona Coyotes have signed another forward to fill out the depth chart this season, inking Ryan Dzingel to a one-year, $1.1MM contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
Dzingel, 29, is coming off a forgettable year in which he scored just eight goals and 13 points, splitting the season between the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators. That’s two years in a row that he’s had disappointing offensive numbers after his breakout 2018-19 campaign. That season, he scored 26 goals and 56 points, joining the Columbus Blue Jackets at the deadline for a memorable, albeit short, playoff experience. The Blue Jackets pushed all the chips to the middle by acquiring Dzingel and Matt Duchene at the deadline during the final year of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky‘s contracts. They managed to sweep the historically good Tampa Bay Lightning but then were quickly dismissed by the Boston Bruins in the second round.
In terms of value contracts, this actually might be one of the best signed today if Dzingel can even approach his previous totals. For the Coyotes, that would be a perfect storm, as they can load up his offensive opportunities only to flip him to a contender at the trade deadline. Arizona is obviously trying to collect as many future assets as possible, and Dzingel appears to just be a means to that end. On a $1.1MM cap hit, he’ll be extremely attractive at the deadline if he can play well during the first half.
Brayden Point Signs Eight-Year Extension
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to lock up their key players. On the first day it was possible, the Lightning have signed Brayden Point to an eight-year contract extension worth a total of $76MM. That will take him to an average annual value of $9.5MM for the 2022-23 campaign after his current deal expires. GM Julien BriseBois was clear in his praise of the young forward:
Brayden is a key contributor to the Lightning’s success and one of the most dynamic players in the NHL. To be able to agree to terms with him on a long-term contract is great news for our organization going forward. Not only is Brayden a skilled player, he is also a fierce competitor who fits in well with the pedigree of our team. Our organization looks forward to having him be a big part of this team for many years to come.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the full breakdown of salary and signing bonuses for Point:
- 2022-23: $3.5MM salary + $5.5MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $5.0MM salary + $6.25MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $5.0MM salary + $7.0MM signing bonus
- 2025-26: $5.0MM salary + $7.0MM signing bonus
- 2026-27: $4.0MM salary + $5.75MM signing bonus
- 2027-28: $3.0MM salary + $4.6MM signing bonus
- 2028-29: $3.0MM salary + $4.2MM signing bonus
- 2029-30: $3.0MM salary + $4.2MM signing bonus
Point, 25, was available to every team in the NHL during the 2014 draft, but it was Tampa Bay that used the 79th overall pick on him. Two years later he would debut with the club during the 2016-17 season, scoring 18 goals and 40 points en route to finishing tenth in the Calder Trophy voting. It was an impressive rookie season, but still, no one could guess at the level of play the Lightning were about to receive from their undersized center. The following year, he recorded 32 goals and 66 points, becoming the third star forward in Tampa Bay behind Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. A 92-point campaign and then two straight Stanley Cups came after that, establishing Point as a legitimate superstar and one of the very best centers in the entire league.
Even with a $76MM deal, Point appears to be taking a discount to stay with Tampa Bay. He will match the deals signed in 2018 by Kucherov and 2019 by Andrei Vasilevskiy, tying them for the 15th highest cap hit in the NHL with players like Mark Stone, Alex Ovechkin, and Jamie Benn. That $9.5MM appears to be something of an internal limit for the Lightning, one that has allowed them to build an incredibly dominant team.
Signed through the end of the decade, Point will be in his mid-thirties by the time he reaches free agency again. That means there is at least a decent chance that he spends his entire career in Tampa Bay. If he does, Point very well could go down as one of the best players in franchise history. This core group—Point, Kucherov, Stamkos, Vasilevskiy and Victor Hedman—has already won two championships but does not appear to be breaking up anytime soon. All five players are under contract for at least three more seasons.
Detroit Red Wings Sign Jordan Oesterle
The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to terms with veteran defenseman Jordan Oesterle on a two-year contract. The deal carries an average annual value of $1.35MM according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider.
Someone has to play defense for the Red Wings this season, so why shouldn’t it be the 29-year-old Oesterle. An undrafted college signing out of Western Michigan University in 2014, the left-shot defenseman has carved out quite a nice NHL career for himself. Starting with the Edmonton Oilers with stops in Chicago and Arizona, Oesterle has suited up for more than 250 games at the highest level.
He’s not a difference-maker, and has just 65 points in his career, but can at the very least handle bottom-pairing minutes on a team that is just trying to install some structure as it builds up from the bottom. On a two-year deal, his role is likely safe even next season when Nick Leddy, Danny DeKeyser, Mar Staal and Troy Stecher will all be scheduled for unrestricted free agency. The fact that Oesterle can play both sides will come in handy as players move in and out of the rebuilding roster.
Liam Kirk Signs Entry-Level Contract
Though it was reported earlier this summer, the official announcement of Liam Kirk‘s three-year entry-level contract had to wait until today. The Arizona Coyotes have signed the breakout World Championship star three years after drafting him 189th overall. GM Bill Armstrong released a short statement on his newest prospect:
We are very pleased to sign Liam to an entry-level contract. Liam played extremely well at the World Championships in Latvia and has earned this contract. He’s a goal scorer with a great work ethic and he is very focused on realizing his dream of one day playing in the NHL. We look forward to watching him continue to develop.
Kirk, 21, was the first player born and trained in England to be selected in the NHL draft. He played for Great Britain at the recent IIHF Worlds, scoring seven goals in seven games, tied for the tournament lead. He spent the 2020-21 season split between Sweden and England after playing two years for the Peterborough Petes of the OHL. He’ll now have to show what he can do at the AHL level.
Trevor Lewis Signs With Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have signed Trevor Lewis to a one-year, $800K contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The veteran forward will be reunited with head coach Darryl Sutter, with whom he won two Stanley Cup championships during their time in Los Angeles.
If it wasn’t a Sutter roster before, the Flames are focused on making it one, acquiring bottom-six names like Lewis, Tyler Pitlick, and Blake Coleman in recent days. Even if Lewis isn’t the twenty-something that won those championships, he showed for the Winnipeg Jets last season that he can still be effective in a limited role. Though he scored just five goals and ten points, he happily welcomed tough defensive minutes and logged more penalty-killing time than all but two Jets forwards.
In the system that Sutter became famous for, the fourth-line isn’t there to contribute offensively. They slow the game down to a crawl and make sure nothing dangerous happens at either end. That’s all Lewis will be asked to do again in Calgary, and it’s a job he has done quite well over the years. Now that he’s 34 he might not be in the lineup for all 82 games, but for $800K it poses basically no risk to bring him aboard.
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Five Players
The Toronto Maple Leafs have added some toughness to the roster, signing Kurtis Gabriel to a one-year deal worth $750K. The team has also signed David Kampf to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.5MM. James Mirtle of The Athletic adds that the team has also signed Alex Biega and Carl Dahlstrom, while extending a professional tryout agreement to Joshua Ho-Sang.
None of these are game-changing names for the Maple Leafs, but at least one of them has a chance to play every night. Kampf was specifically mentioned by GM Kyle Dubas as a player the team has been targeting for a while, likely thanks to his defensive contributions at the center ice position. One thing the Maple Leafs have been dearly missing over the last few seasons is a true center who can penalty kill and in Kampf they’ve found their answer. The 26-year-old was left unqualified by the Chicago Blackhawks and the Maple Leafs snatched him up for a not-insignificant cap hit. He’ll likely start the year as the team’s fourth-line center.
Gabriel, a 6’4″ enforcer from the San Jose Sharks, will certainly raise some eyebrows on a contract with Toronto, given the way their team is usually perceived. The Maple Leafs have been adding more and more toughness over the last few years by bringing in names like Wayne Simmonds and Zach Bogosian, but now have decided to sign a player that doesn’t really bring much else. The 28-year-old Gabriel has just 49 games in his NHL career but has racked up 153 penalty minutes, including 15 fighting majors. Even though he’s recorded just five NHL points, he could very well be on the roster to add some bite to the fourth line on specific nights.
Biega and Dahlstrom bring some defensive depth to the organization, but neither one figures to be a full-time member of the NHL roster. It’s Ho-Sang that will draw the most attention of the last three. The 25-year-old was a first-round pick in 2014 and has put up strong offensive totals in the minor leagues. There was also a public falling out with his management with the New York Islanders, leading to a split and essentially an end to his NHL career. After playing the 2020-21 season on loan in Sweden, Ho-Sang became a Group VI unrestricted free agent. If he can’t land a contract with the Maple Leafs out of camp, it seems likely that he’ll never have another chance.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
The Tampa Bay Lightning will fill one of their bottom-six forward roles with a well-liked NHL veteran, signing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a two-year contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The deal is expected to carry an average annual value of $1MM.
Bellemare, 36, has played 51 postseason games over the past four years, filling a checking role with the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. Though his playing career is likely coming to an end relatively soon, he’ll give it at least one more go with the reigning Stanley Cup champions. With the Lightning forced to part with Yanni Gourde, Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Johnson and Blake Coleman due to cap concerns, they needed to find some players to fill the third and fourth line for cheap. Bellemare is a strong candidate, though he’ll likely be lining up beside players more than ten years younger than him.
Undrafted, Bellemare took an interesting path to the NHL, spending several years in the French professional league back home before heading to Sweden for his formative professional years. By the time he debuted in the NHL in 2014, he was already nearly 30 years old. He has never been much of an offensive contributor at this level, but offers unending energy and slick defensive ability in the middle of the ice. The fact that he won more than 60% of his draws this season was surely not lost on the Lightning, whose best faceoff man is a part-time center in Steven Stamkos.
It’s unlikely that Bellemare will be able to replicate the production of any of those four players mentioned above, but the cap-strapped Lightning will have to make due. If they put him in the correct situations, he can still be a valuable addition to any playoff lineup.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Gavin Bayreuther, Tyler Sikura
After a short vacation to Seattle, Gavin Bayreuther has once again signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The minor league defenseman was selected in the expansion draft as a pending UFA and has signed a two-year contract to return to his previous organization. The deal will be a two-way contract in 2021-22 and a one-way contract in 2022-23. The team has also signed minor league forward Tyler Sikura to a one-year, two-way contract.
Bayreuther, 27, was a confusing selection in the first place, as he has just 28 NHL games under his belt and has scored just three goals. It never seemed like he was destined for the Kraken roster, but perhaps they believed he could be signed and stashed in the minor leagues. For Columbus, that’s exactly what is likely to happen, with him returning to the Cleveland Monsters where he scored 12 points in 14 games this year.
The same can be said for Sikura, who doesn’t even have an NHL game under his belt. He did however scored 21 points in 29 games for Cleveland, and will return as a strong minor league veteran to fill out the system. It’s all about the development of their young talent now in Columbus, so keeping the relationship with the AHL team strong and productive is an important step.