New York Rangers Agree To Terms With Julien Gauthier
The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with restricted free agent Julien Gauthier. The young forward will sign a one-year deal with the team. PuckPedia reports that the deal is a two-way contract worth $775K in the NHL.
Gauthier, 23, is coming up on a “prove it” season for his career. The 21st overall pick in the 2016 draft, he was acquired by the Rangers in a trade for Joey Keane last year. To this point, he has registered just 11 points in 47 NHL games, spending half of the 2020-21 season on the taxi squad. Gauthier has never received many opportunities under the previous coaching staff, averaging fewer than ten minutes a night during his Rangers career, and is now getting to the “too-old-to-be-a-prospect” stage.
That said, the raw package is still very intriguing. Gauthier stands 6’4″, has an above-average skating ability, and has shown in the past that he can be a lethal finisher on the powerplay. Whether the huge winger will actually get a chance to show what he can do in an offensive role remains to be seen.
Of course, with any contract these days, the expansion draft must be considered. It seems unlikely that the Rangers will protect Gauthier from selection given how many other key forwards they have, but perhaps the new staff and front office have bigger plans for him. If they do leave him unprotected, perhaps Seattle believes he could be a difference-maker if given more minutes on an expansion roster.
At any rate, he won’t be distracted by a contract negotiation any longer after agreeing to the one-year deal, and can now focus on the upcoming season. Turning 24 in October, he needs to grab whatever opportunity is given to him this year—be it New York or Seattle—and establish himself as a full-time NHLer.
Latest On Gabriel Landeskog
The situation surrounding Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog continues to bring intrigue to the NHL offseason, with the expansion draft and free agency rapidly approaching. Landeskog and the Avalanche were said to be far apart in contract talks recently, and Darren Dreger of TSN tweets this morning that there hasn’t been any movement.
Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest tweets that the team’s last offer was in the $5-6MM range on an eight-year term, but that Landeskog is looking for much more than that. Strickland lists the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders and St. Louis Blues as teams that will show interest if Landeskog makes it to the open market.
There’s still time to work things out, and Landeskog could still return to Colorado after free agency opens, but there seems to be a sizable gap at the moment between what he believes he’ll get and what the Avalanche are willing to pay. The team must also save cap space for Cale Makar‘s new deal and UFA goaltender Philipp Grubauer, if they intend to keep their core group together.
With protection lists submitted tomorrow and a transaction freeze coming into effect, the Avalanche will no longer have to worry about maneuvering for the expansion draft. At that point they will have just over ten days to negotiate with Landeskog before he gets to speak to the rest of the market. During that time, the Seattle Kraken will have a short window to negotiate with free agents, before the rest of the league is once again allowed to sign players on July 22. In this compressed offseason, timelines for managers are extremely tight, with sometimes only a few days to work out a deal. In Colorado, things do not appear to be progressing.
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PHR Live Chat Transcript: 07/15/21
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Calgary Flames Re-Sign Brett Ritchie
The Calgary Flames have met one of their expansion requirements by signing Brett Ritchie to a new one-year, $900K deal. Ritchie was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, but was one of the few forwards on the team that could meet the exposure requirements for the team if signed to a new contract.
That doesn’t mean Ritchie is solely an expansion move though, as he did suit up for 32 games with the Flames this season. Averaging just over 11 minutes a night, he posted four goals and four assists, but added a physical presence to the bottom of the lineup. He certainly may not play every game in 2021-22, but still adds a depth option that head coach Darryl Sutter seems to trust.
At just $900K, he’ll also be easily buried in the minor leagues if things go bad. It appeared as though big changes were coming in Calgary this offseason, but no real substantial moves have been made to this point. The expansion draft may change that if captain Mark Giordano is indeed left unprotected, but for the team has only made this move with Ritchie.
The 28-year-old Ritchie will likely join Milan Lucic as the two forwards that meet Calgary’s exposure requirements, after the latter agreed to waive his no-movement clause. The team needed to sign one of Ritchie, Derek Ryan or Josh Leivo, and for $900K this was probably the easiest deal to complete.
Nashville Predators Sign Cole Smith
The Nashville Predators have signed minor league forward Cole Smith to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $750K at the NHL level and $70K at the AHL level. Smith was scheduled to be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent later this month.
Now 25, Smith was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota in 2020 and managed to make his NHL debut with the Predators this season. The 6’3″ forward scored ten points in 23 games with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL and is likely headed back to the minor leagues next season. He does represent a potential injury callup, but it’s hard to imagine him grabbing a full-time roster spot without an incredible performance in training camp.
Still, he should give the AHL club some good depth and could land a few more opportunities in the NHL throughout the season. Even though he’ll be 26 next summer, he won’t qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency as Smith will have just two years of professional experience. That means restricted free agency is awaiting him once again, hopefully with a full successful season under his belt.
Latest On Zach Hyman
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Zach Hyman appear to be parting ways this summer, but it could potentially even happen before free agency opens later this month. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Maple Leafs have granted Hyman’s agent permission to speak with other clubs, opening the door for a trade of his rights before the open market. Dreger adds that there is “considerable interest” league-wide, but some would have to wait until the expansion draft passes to actually sign the pending UFA forward.
Last night, Pierre LeBrun explained on TSN that there was a “pretty sizable gap” in negotiations between Hyman and the Maple Leafs front office, noting that he believes on the open market Hyman could receive between $5.5-6MM (AAV) on the open market. That’s just isn’t possible for Toronto to hand out, especially on a long-term deal to a player that recently turned 29 and has dealt with major knee injuries over the past few seasons. There’s no doubt that Hyman could help the team, but with so much cap tied up in the team’s top forwards, paying him what he’ll receive elsewhere doesn’t make much sense.
Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest believes that no team will get Hyman to sign a contract of fewer than seven years, and lists the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and even the Seattle Kraken as potential teams of interest. The Maple Leafs are the only team that can currently offer him an eight-year deal, but could potentially work out a sign-and-trade with one of the other clubs. The Kraken would get a chance to speak with him ahead of the expansion draft as well and could offer an eight-year deal, though that would mean forfeiting their pick from the Maple Leafs roster.
Hyman has been an excellent player for the Maple Leafs the last several years, scoring at a high rate in shortened seasons. After returning from ACL surgery in 2019-20, he scored 21 goals and 37 points in 51 games before the season was shut down. This year, he had 15 goals and 33 points in 43 games, but again fell victim to a knee injury that kept him out for part of the season. He did return in time for the playoffs, but registered just a single goal in seven games against the Montreal Canadiens, despite averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time.
The Maple Leafs are likely saying goodbye to several pending free agents this summer, but getting back an asset out of a Hyman trade would certainly lessen the blow. The team has one of the lowest values in the league in terms of 2021 draft capital, with just three picks to make this year. With a healthy free agent market and rumors swirling about Tyler Bertuzzi, Hyman could be replaced, though it remains to be seen how taking one of the league’s best forecheckers out of the lineup will affect the rest of their highly-paid forwards.
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Ben Bishop Agrees To Waive No-Movement Clause For Expansion
The Dallas Stars may not have to expose Anton Khudobin to the Seattle Kraken after all. Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News reports that Ben Bishop has agreed to waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft, meaning the Stars will not be forced to protect him. Bishop’s agent, Allain Roy, explained why his client made the decision:
I thought that was a good move for him and the team. In the big picture, the goal is to win the Stanley Cup, so I think he felt that was the right move for the team to be the best team possible next year. Makes sense.
The 34-year-old Bishop missed the entire 2020-21 season due to injury, but remains an enticing option for the Stars if he can get back to full health. Since arriving in the NHL, the 6’7″ netminder has been one of the league’s best, posting a .921 save percentage over 413 appearances. That number has Bishop sitting fifth in NHL history, with Tuukka Rask the only active netminder ahead of him (Dominik Hasek, Johnny Bower, and Ken Dryden are the other three). A three-time Vezina Trophy finalist, he was outstanding in his first three years in Dallas, posting a .923 in 143 games.
Of course, that success would also make him a very attractive choice for Seattle, if only they knew he would be healthy enough to play. That uncertainty and the $4.92MM cap hit likely keeps him off the Kraken’s radar, but waiving the no-movement still helps out the club. Jake Oettinger, the team’s presumed “goaltender of the future” is still exempt from selection, meaning the team can protect Khudobin and keep their depth intact.
Florida Panthers Re-Sign Anthony Duclair
Busy day in Sunrise. The Florida Panthers have signed another one of their pending restricted free agents, inking Anthony Duclair to a three-year contract. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the deal will carry an average annual value of $3MM. The announcement included a statement from Panthers GM Bill Zito.
Anthony brought great speed and skill to our club this season. We look forward to seeing him continue to be a creative playmaker for us on the ice and a valuable member of our community. We are thrilled to have him as a part of the Panthers family for years to come.
Duclair, 25, has found a home in Florida, finally receiving some contract stability and financial security. The young forward had signed exclusively one-year contracts since his entry-level deal expired in 2017, and never made more than $1.7MM in a single season. Now, with a three-year, $9MM contract in hand, he can continue the strong offensive production he has shown the past few seasons. In 2020-21 for the Panthers, Duclair posted ten goals and 32 points, almost all of which came at even-strength. He had just two powerplay points the whole season, meaning there is potential for even more production if the Panthers ever decide to bump up his usage with the man advantage.
Even if that doesn’t come, the fact that Duclair has proven to be a valuable secondary scorer at 5v5 is an important asset for the Panthers moving forward. There is always a potential downside, and that is that Duclair’s role on the team did decrease significantly in the playoffs. He averaged just 12 minutes a night against the Tampa Bay lightning and registered zero points, something that would be unacceptable now that he’s carrying a $3MM cap hit.
Still, even though his career has been bumpy, betting on a player that has 72 points in his last 109 regular season games seems like a pretty safe gamble, especially given he’s still in his prime years. This move, like the one to sign Gustav Forsling earlier in the day, hints at the Panthers protection strategy for the upcoming expansion draft. Though there was some question to whether the team would leave Duclair exposed as an unsigned RFA, a new reasonably-priced deal should mean he is one of the forwards protected.
New Jersey Devils Sign Michael McLeod
The New Jersey Devils have signed restricted free agent forward Michael McLeod to a two-year contract today, that will carry an average annual value of $975K. The deal pays McLeod $950K in 2021-22 and $1.0MM in 2022-23.
McLeod, 23, was the 12th overall pick in 2016, but only really established himself as a full-time NHL player earlier this year. In 52 games with the Devils, the speedy forward recorded nine goals and 15 points. Though those numbers obviously don’t pop off the page, it’s McLeod’s skating ability and versatility that should still excite fans.
He will likely never become a dominant offensive presence, but McLeod stepped into a bottom-six center role this season and looks like he will become a fixture there. Given the toughest deployment on the team and played regularly on the penalty kill, if he can continue to improve his defensive ability there’s an obvious fit for him behind the more offensive young centers in New Jersey. He’ll still have to provide some scoring depth, but given he’s earning just $975K, it doesn’t have to be much.
Interestingly, this contract actually likely increases the chance that Seattle would select McLeod if left unprotected in the upcoming expansion draft. The fact that the Devils got it done this early (and this cheaply), suggest that he will be one of the forwards protected.
Florida Panthers Re-Sign Gustav Forsling
The Florida Panthers have bought out one defenseman and signed another. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the Panthers have signed Gustav Forsling to a three-year extension. The contract will carry an average annual value of $2.66MM and carries Forsling into unrestricted free agency. PuckPedia gives the full breakdown:
- 2021-22: $1.5MM salary + $500K signing bonus
- 2022-23: $2.5MM salary
- 2023-24: $3.5MM salary
A move like this signals how the Panthers intend to approach the upcoming expansion draft, as the earlier buyout of Keith Yandle opens up a protection slot for another defenseman. Forsling will surely be that defenseman after passing some of the more veteran options on the depth chart this year. In 43 games, Forsling registered 17 points and averaged 20 minutes a night, more than Anton Stralman, Radko Gudas, Markus Nutivaara, or Yandle. He, Mackenzie Weegar and Aaron Ekblad were the three options that head coach Joel Quenneville leaned on the most, and Forsling is getting nicely rewarded for his strong play.
Throughout his career to this point, Forsling has only ever signed two-way contracts, earning less than $900K in the NHL. This deal is worth nearly three times that much, but does buy out one year of unrestricted free agent status. The question now becomes who will Forsling play with, as Brandon Montour is an unrestricted free agent and one of the other veteran options will likely be snagged in the expansion draft.
The Panthers have several other key free agents to sign, including RFAs Sam Bennett and Anthony Duclair. Things will be busy for GM Bill Zito and his staff, who also have to navigate an expansion draft, an entry draft and unrestricted free agency in the next few weeks.
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