2021 Offer Sheet Compensation
Though still rare, we did see an offer sheet make an impact in the 2019 offseason as the Montreal Canadiens signed Sebastian Aho to a five-year deal. It was quickly matched by the Carolina Hurricanes, meaning Aho stayed put and the team had to turn down a big package of draft picks that Montreal would have had to surrender.
Offer sheet compensation is based on the average salary of the league, and Elliotte Friedman included the thresholds for this year in his latest 31 Thoughts column for Sportsnet. Below is the full breakdown, with the contract’s average annual value placing it in one of seven tiers:
| $1,356,540 or less | No compensation |
| $1,356,540 to $2,055,364 | Third-round pick |
| $2,055,364 to $4,110,732 | Second-round pick |
| $4,110,732 to $6,166,096 | First and third-round picks |
| $6,166,096 to $8,221,463 | First, second and third-round picks |
| $8,221,463 to $10,276,829 | Two firsts, a second and third-round picks |
| Over $10,276,829 | Four first-round picks |
For the first time in quite a while, these thresholds actually decreased from last offseason, thanks to the pandemic-related squeeze on player contracts. The average league salary finished at $2,960,905 according to Friedman, an 11.6% fall from 2019-20. Because of that decrease, the numbers for compensation have similarly fallen; last offseason, you could sign a player up to a $1,439,820 AAV without being required to give up any compensation.
It is important to note that any team trying to sign a player to an applicable offer sheet must use their own draft picks for compensation, not ones that have been acquired. That rules several teams out already from signing high-profile RFAs unless they were to work to reacquire their picks before submitting the contract. An offer sheet’s average annual value is also calculated slightly differently than a normal contract; if the contract is of a length greater than five years, the total salary is still divided by five to determine the AAV. That would mean a seven-year contract worth $8MM per season would actually carry an AAV of $11.2MM for purposes of offer sheet compensation.
There are some restricted free agents, like Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes, that have not accumulated enough time in the NHL to be eligible for an offer sheet. For more information about the details of offer sheets, check out CapFriendly’s FAQ.
Seattle Kraken Announce AHL Partnership For 2021-22
The Seattle Kraken will have an AHL team all to their own, but it won’t happen until 2022-23. That’s when the Palm Springs AHL franchise is set to start play, meaning the Kraken needed to find a partnership for the upcoming season. That agreement has now been announced with the Charlotte Checkers, the primary affiliate of the Florida Panthers. The Checkers will serve as the development stop for both Kraken and Panthers prospects next season.
Rick Olczyk, the Kraken assistant general manager, explained that his team will supply between eight and 12 players to the Checkers, including one goaltender. Those players will come from the initial expansion draft as well as free agent or trade acquisitions. Most of the players selected in the upcoming entry draft will not be eligible for AHL action, provided their respective leagues get underway as planned.
This was an obvious connection, given Kraken GM Ron Francis‘ history with the Checkers during his time with the Carolina Hurricanes. For years, the Checkers were the AHL affiliate for Carolina, and Charlotte CEO Michael Kahn expressed his excitement about this new agreement:
We are excited to work with Ron Francis again as we help develop the inaugural group of Seattle Kraken prospects. We feel the partnership between ourselves, the Kraken and our primary affiliate, the Florida Panthers, will give the Checkers a strong pool of players for the upcoming season.
This is the same setup that the Vegas Golden Knights went through in their first year, before buying and relocating an AHL franchise to Henderson. Expansion teams do not have long enough depth charts to really fill out an AHL roster in the first year, meaning a development partnership like this is more than enough. Obviously, once Palm Springs is up and running it will be more beneficial to have their prospects and depth options closer to Seattle, but for now, those names will be playing on the other side of the country in Charlotte.
Minor Transactions: 06/28/21
The Stanley Cup Finals will start this evening, with the Tampa Bay Lightning defending their crown against the Montreal Canadiens. That means 30 NHL teams (welcome, Seattle) are working on the offseason already, not to mention all the other organizations around the world that will be tweaking rosters and inking deals. Like always, we’ll keep track of the notable minor moves right here.
- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are set to bring back two familiar faces, as Tony Androckitis of Inside AHL Hockey reports that the team will soon sign Cal O’Reilly and Garrett Wilson. Both will be returning on AHL deals after serving in the major leadership roles this season. O’Reilly, 34, was the team’s captain, scoring four goals and 23 points in 32 games, while Wilson wore an “A” and provided his usual physical presence.
- The Laval Rocket have signed Kevin Poulin to a one-year AHL contract for 2021-22, giving them some extra goaltending depth for next year. Poulin, who many will remember served as the starting goaltender for Canada at the 2018 Olympics, spent last season in Sweden playing for IF Bjorkloven. A veteran of 50 career NHL games, the 31-year-old Montreal native will be coming home for next season.
- Jermaine Loewen has earned an extension with the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger reports that Loewen has inked a new one-year deal with the team following his second pro season. The Jamaican-born forward has mostly played an enforcer role in the pros, but is hoping to tap into that scoring ability he showed in the WHL.
Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames
Free agency is now just a little more than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Next summer will be more interesting for Calgary free agent-wise, but there’s still lots to do this time around.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Dillon Dube – This season was supposed to bring a breakout for Dube, and although he did set career-highs in goals and points, it certainly wasn’t the step forward many were hoping for. The 22-year-old forward saw his ice time fall once head coach Darryl Sutter took over, even sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch on occasion. Overall, he averaged less than 14 minutes a night in 2020-21, a far cry from the core piece that he is expected to become. In 51 appearances, Dube ended up with 11 goals and 22 points, still flashing top-six potential at times. But there is a lot of work to be done to gain the trust of Sutter and his contract this summer should reflect that. With just 18 goals through his first 121 games, Dube won’t be able to demand a huge raise and could maybe even be forced to settle for his qualifying offer, given he is not yet arbitration-eligible.
D Juuso Valimaki – The player that Dube shared the press box with on occasion? 22-year-old defenseman Valimaki, who was also called out by Sutter late in the season. “If they become better players, this team becomes better” was the eyebrow-raising quote from the head coach in May, after another Valimaki healthy scratch. The 2017 first-round pick ended up averaging just over 15 minutes a night in 49 games, putting him behind even depth options like Michael Stone and Nikita Nesterov. Because Valimaki missed the entire 2019-20 season due to injury, he actually will actually have even more restrictions this summer. He is not eligible for an offer sheet and is not eligible for arbitration, meaning just like Dube, he may have to settle for his qualifying offer if the two sides don’t work out a multi-year deal.
Other RFAs: F Glenn Gawdin, F Dominik Simon, F Justin Kirkland, F Matthew Phillips, F Luke Philp, D Oliver Kylington, D Connor Mackey, D Carl-Johan Lerby, D Alexander Yelesin, D Colton Poolman, G Tyler Parsons, G Artyom Zagidulin
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Derek Ryan – If Ryan is the most important free agent forward you are at risk of losing you’re in a good spot, but he’s actually an interesting extension candidate for the Flames. The 34-year-old center is still a capable penalty killer and you could do far worse for a fourth-line center, but his real value would come in the expansion draft, where Calgary needs players to fill the exposure requirements upfront. While it sounds like Milan Lucic will be waiving his no-movement clause to fill one spot, the team will need one of the other regulars from this season to sign a deal in the coming weeks.
G Louis Domingue – It’s not really that Domingue is a must-sign player for the Flames, but he represents a position that will need to be filled somehow. The team has Jacob Markstrom locked in as the starter, but they will need a backup goaltender that can help give him some time off or even take the net for a little while. David Rittich, who was supposed to be that option, was traded at the deadline, and Domingue likely isn’t the answer. While he does have a .904 save percentage in 140 NHL appearances, that number is boosted by some early-career stats. Over the past two seasons, he has posted an .882 in 18 games, certainly not enough to play tandem to Markstrom.
Other UFAs: F Brett Ritchie, F Buddy Robinson, F Josh Leivo, F Zac Rinaldo, D Michael Stone, D Nikita Nesterov, D Alex Petrovic
Projected Cap Space
One of the most interesting parts of the offseason for Calgary is how they deal with their big-ticket players who haven’t yet rewarded the team with much playoff success. The Flames have nearly $67MM tied up in just 13 contracts for the 2021-22 season, meaning they have less than $15MM to round out the rest of the roster. With Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, Sean Monahan, and Lucic the year after, there will be money coming off the books in short order. If any of those contracts are moved out, the team could get a jump on things by being aggressive in free agency this year, knowing there will be a bit more flexibility down the road.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Trent Frederic Re-Signs With Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have locked up one of their restricted free agents, signing Trent Frederic to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.05MM. The young forward was coming off his entry-level deal and was not yet eligible for salary arbitration. PuckPedia reports that the first year of the contract will carry a salary of $950K, while the second will be $1.15MM.
Frederic, 23, was the Bruins’ first-round pick in 2016 and has had a target on his back since the day he was selected. Despite being ranked 47th among North American skaters, Boston decided to pick him 29th overall, hoping that his physicality and in-your-face style would translate well to the professional ranks. Well, it’s been five years now and Frederic has finally established himself as an NHL player, but certainly not the middle-six presence the team was hoping for.
In 42 games this season, the 6’2″ forward scored just four goals and recorded a single assist. His 65 penalty minutes were the biggest impact he had on the scoresheet (though it is interesting to note that three of his four tallies were of the game-winning variety), being used in a role closer to an enforcer than a first-round pick. Boston didn’t use him on either special team and gave him just over 11 minutes a night, limiting his ability to have any real impact.
That lack of offensive production did end up keeping his salary low in these negotiations, meaning the Bruins will hope for a step forward during this very reasonable second contract. Even though he will likely never become a top-six scoring threat, Frederic can still be an important bottom-six piece on a team that is going through a transition period. The Bruins core that was so dominant at one point is getting older, meaning more and more minutes will be up for grabs. Frederic did score 32 points in 59 games for the Providence Bruins in 2019-20, showing there is still some upside there.
As with any signing right now, there are expansion draft complications. Frederic is eligible for selection, meaning the Bruins will have to use a protection slot if they want to keep him away from the Seattle Kraken. If they don’t feel the need to protect him though, this contract does mean he now fills one of the team’s exposure requirements. Chris Wagner and Curtis Lazar look to be the most likely candidates right now to be left exposed to meet those requirements, but this does at least give them a little more flexibility.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Golden Knights, Laich, Richardson
The Vegas Golden Knights were defeated last night by the Montreal Canadiens, giving them more frustrating memories of coming close but not reaching the top of the mountain. It’s been an incredible run for an expansion franchise, winning multiple playoff rounds in three of their four seasons in existence. But they still haven’t managed to win it all, meaning there will be changes once again this summer. On the 31 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes that this team has never been afraid to go after the big fish.
Not specifically about [Jack] Eichel, but they’ll be in on anyone that can help them. That’s the way they are, it’s their DNA. The surest predictor of future behavior is past behavior, and those guys go after the big fish. No matter who they’ve got. No matter who they’ve got, they go after the big fish.
Vegas made enough cap space to fit in Alex Pietrangelo last summer when the defenseman became available, but they’ll have to do it again if they want to add this year. Friedman and co-host Jeff Marek discussed the future of Marc-Andre Fleury, suggesting that moving his $7MM contract is the best opportunity for cap savings, while also noting that Alec Martinez is likely to be replaced in the lineup by Nicolas Hague full-time. The Golden Knights will be an interesting team to watch over the coming weeks as they deal with another heartbreaking loss.
- Though he hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2017-18 season, Brooks Laich is only just now announcing his official retirement. The 38-year-old forward last played for the Los Angeles Kings, but is far better known for his time with the Washington Capitals which included three consecutive 20+ goal seasons. Laich competed for Team Canada at the World Juniors and World Championships and will officially hang up his skates with 776 regular season games played in the NHL.
- One of the most impressive parts of the Canadiens’ series victory is that they did it without head coach Dominique Ducharme as he deals with a positive COVID test. Luke Richardson has taken over the head coaching duties in the meantime, and Darren Dreger of TSN explains how teams around the league may be keeping an eye on the former NHL defenseman. Of course, this isn’t the first time Richardson has held a head coaching role. For four seasons he led the Binghamton Senators of the AHL, and in 2017 he led the Canadian roster to a victory in the Spengler Cup. A one-time captain with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Richardson’s name will likely come up in connection to NHL head coaching vacancies.
Ty Gallagher Commits To Boston University
Earlier this month, the Boston University hockey program lost one of their top commits, as Roman Schmidt signed with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL. Schmidt is ranked 58th among North American skaters for the upcoming 2021 NHL Entry Draft, after two strong years in the U.S. National Team Development Program. Well, the Terriers have moved quickly to replace the outgoing defenseman, as Mark Divver of Rinkside Rhode Island reports that Ty Gallagher will be headed to BU instead of Notre Dame.
According to NHL Central Scouting, the move from Schmidt to Gallagher is actually an upgrade, though just slightly. The latter is ranked 53rd among North American skaters for this year’s draft after his own successful season in the USNTDP. Gallagher, 18, is a much different player than the 6’6″ Schmidt but has had plenty of success so far in his amateur career. At the U18 World Junior tournament, he led all defensemen in goals and has been able to create that kind of offense at every step, including 19 goals for the USNTDP this year.
The different decisions between Schmidt and Gallagher for the next step in their hockey careers will have rippling effects over the next few months. While the former will be able to sign his entry-level deal as soon as possible, Gallagher will have to wait and only sign an NHL contract once he has decided to leave school.
Minor Transactions: 06/25/21
The Montreal Canadiens have punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games. Artturi Lehkonen was the hero, scoring less than two minutes into the overtime period sending the Bell Centre (and the surrounding area) into a frenzy. While Montreal waits to see which team they’ll face for the chance to lift the chalice, the rest of the hockey world isn’t sitting on their hands. We’ll keep track of all the notable minor moves right here.
- Colin Campbell (the player, not the league executive) has signed a new contract with the Augsburger Panther in Germany for the upcoming season. Now 30, Campbell left his AHL career last year to play for the Vienna Capitals in Austria, and will now continue his European sojourn in the DEL. In 2019-20 with the Colorado Eagles, he scored 26 points in 48 games.
- David Ullstrom, who once played 49 games for the New York Islanders isn’t coming back to North America anytime soon. The 32-year-old forward signed a contract with HV71 as they load up to pursue promotion. A fourth-round pick in 2008, Ullstrom had multiple stints on this side of the pond, most recently in 2018-19 with the Tucson Roadrunners. Though he has always done extremely well at the AHL level, his career has taken him all over the world, with stops in Sween, Russia, the Czech Republic, Belarus, Latvia, and Switzerland just in the past eight years.
- Iowa Wild defender Turner Ottenbreit re-signed on a one-year AHL deal today, the team announced. Now entering his fourth professional season, the 23-year-old Canadian has struggled offensively at the AHL level. After serving as the captain for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds in 2017-18, Ottenbreit showed decent flashes of production in the ECHL, including 11 points in 17 games with the Allen Americans in 2019-20. However, Ottenbreit’s offensive numbers declined at all levels this year, making this a rather important season for his professional development.
- Veteran minor league defenseman Matt Register is making an interesting career move. The 31-year-old rearguard initially made the rare jump from the Junior-A level in Canada to pros, moving from the Alberta Junior Hockey League to the then-Central Hockey League in 2011 (after taking a year off nonetheless). After a decade and 472 ECHL games, as well as 43 AHL games, Register is making another unorthodox transition. The Iowa Wild defenseman has signed with the Cardiff Devils of the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League, a major change in the caliber of competition from North America. However, if Register is looking for any way to extend his unique career, he may as well become a star in the UK.
Minor Transactions: 06/24/21
The playoffs rage on with the Vegas Golden Knights facing elimination this evening. The Cinderella run by the Montreal Canadiens continues, this time with a chance to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals. While most of the eyes will be focused on the Bell Centre, there’s still plenty more happening around the hockey world. We’ll keep track of the day’s notable minor transactions right here.
- Vincent LoVerde, a two-time Calder Cup winner and minor league veteran will take his talents overseas for next season. The 32-year-old defenseman has signed with EC Salzburg in the Austrian ICEHL for the 2021-22 season. LoVerde took home the Calder with Manchester in 2015 and again with Toronto in 2018, but recorded just three points in 23 games as captain of the Hartford Wolf Pack this year. The undrafted defenseman never did play in an NHL game during his time in North America.
- Dmitry Sokolov, who has spent the last few seasons with the Iowa Wild, is headed back to Russia. The 23-year-old winger was a seventh-round pick by the Minnesota Wild in 2016 but never played a game for them, instead spending his entire career thus far in the minor leagues. Now he has inked a deal with Omskie Krylia of the VHL for next season, meaning in order for the Wild to retain his rights, they’ll just need to extend him a qualifying offer. In 14 games for Iowa this season, Sokolov scored three goals and recorded four points.
- Among the group of players extended by the AHL’s Ontario Reign today was Adam Johnson, who arrived late in the season under strange circumstances but appears to have found a fit in SoCal. After three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Johnson had been playing in Sweden this season with the SHL’s Malmo Redhawks. He then left abruptly just before the NHL trade deadline, leaving Malmo without one of its best players with the playoffs approaching, leading many to assume he had an NHL contract lined up. Instead, Johnson joined Ontario and will now stick around for another year in the AHL. Long-time captain Brett Sutter and journeyman grinder Jacob Doty were also re-signed, all to one-year contracts.
- 2021 NHL Draft prospect Hugo Gabrielson is changing teams and moving up. After years spent developing at the junior level for Frolunda, Gabrielson has signed his first pro contract, joining Vasterviks IK of Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan on a one-year deal. The mobile blue liner is expected to fall in the third or fourth round next month.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 06/24/21
Click here to read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.