Vancouver Exploring Short-Term Deals With Elias Pettersson
The Vancouver Canucks have more than $66.5MM in cap hits committed to next season. Their two best players are still unsigned. Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes will both become restricted free agents this summer and will be demanding substantial raises off their entry-level contracts. Today, agent J.P. Barry of CAA Sports spoke with Rick Dhaliwal of the Athletic and CHEK TV, explaining that the two sides are exploring shorter-term deals with Pettersson:
We’re going to look at everything, but I think that anything for Pettersson will be five (years) or under, and we will have to look at with Quinn whether we can do a little more or not.
Barry was clear that the comparables for Pettersson, at least most of them, have taken short-term deals around the league. Mathew Barzal, for instance, agreed to a three-year $21MM deal with the New York Islanders coming off his entry-level contract, while Brayden Point was a three-year $20.25MM deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. That three-year term was mentioned specifically by Barry, as he explained that the Canucks cap situation likely isn’t set up to do long-term deals for both young players.
Even coming off a disappointing season in which he played just 26 games, buying out any of Pettersson’s unrestricted free agent years would dramatically drive the average annual value of a contract up. The Canucks already have plenty of bad money on the books for the 2021-22 season and would obviously have a tough time fitting both players in under the flat $81.5MM cap. Going the bridge route with Pettersson would give them an opportunity to clear some of their troublesome contracts off the roster, while also retaining control of the player as a restricted free agent.
That’s not to say he will come cheap. Since he entered the league in 2018-19, Pettersson has recorded a points/game rate of 0.93, higher than veterans like Nicklas Backstrom, Ryan O’Reilly, and Claude Giroux, while also ahead of younger talents like Kyle Connor, Matthew Tkachuk and Teuvo Teravainen over the same period. It’s not just empty assists either, as his goals/game rate of 0.39 puts him just behind names like Artemi Panarin and Aleksander Barkov, while ahead of the likes of Mark Stone and Nikolaj Ehlers. There’s no doubt that Pettersson can be one of the league’s best offensive talents and even with an injury-shortened season, he’ll be looking to get paid like one.
Jakub Pour Signs With Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks have added some more international talent, agreeing to terms with Jakub Pour on a two-year entry-level contract. The deal carries an average annual value of $842,500 and runs through the 2022-23 season. Pour explained exactly why he chose the Blackhawks to start his NHL journey:
It is a hockey dream come true. Every boy who puts on skates wants to start in the National Hockey League one day. I know that I have not reached this goal yet, but by signing the contract I have taken an important step towards it. I’m happier even more that I just signed with Chicago. Ever since Dominik Kubalík started playing for the Blackhawks, I have been following the club in great detail, the whole organization seems very nice to me. Great players, traditions, great triumphs. I’m excited and looking forward to it.
In the summer, I will prepare myself at home to be 100 percent ready for a new challenge. In Chicago, I will do my best to fulfill my dream of playing in the NHL. I believe it will be sooner than later, but I will be patient. Whether the chance comes after a month or in the second year of the contract, I have to be prepared.
Kubalik was Pour’s teammate with Plzen HC in the Czech Republic and is a great path to try and follow if you’re an undrafted European free agent. Though Kubalik was actually selected in the seventh round in 2013, he didn’t come to the NHL until 2019 with the Blackhawks. By scoring 30 goals in his rookie season, he was a finalist for a Calder Trophy and is now inspiring other young Czechs to sign with Chicago.
Pour, 22, is another big frame, standing 6’3″ with a long reach. He scored 12 goals in 48 games with Plzen this season setting a new career-high in scoring. While those numbers don’t inspire greatness, he represents another lottery ticket for the Blackhawks to test at training camp. Having only turned 22 a few months ago, he still has plenty of time to develop his offensive game or establish himself as a legitimate bottom-six option in Chicago.
Snapshots: Shore, Ward, Nelson
It’s the end of the road for journeyman forward Drew Shore, who announced his retirement today on Instagram. The 30-year-old forward was originally selected by the Florida Panthers in the second round of the 2009 draft and bounced around the hockey world over the last decade. Starting at the University of Denver, Shore became a collegiate star, while also helping the U.S. secure a bronze medal at the World Juniors. Upon signing with Florida he became an NHL regular, playing 43 games in his first season.
Unfortunately, that would be the highest total of his career, as Shore then bounced around the minor leagues and took his talents overseas in 2016. He has since played in Switzerland, China, Russia, Slovakia and Belarus, but most recently signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. He played four NHL games this season but was held scoreless and will now hang up his skates. In 98 career NHL games, Shore recorded 26 points.
- Geoff Ward, who was let go by the Calgary Flames earlier this season, will now be joining the Anaheim Ducks as an assistant coach. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Ward will join Dallas Eakins staff for next season after the team had previously shown interest in new Flames associate coach Kirk Muller. The 59-year-old Ward ended up behind the bench for just 66 games in Calgary, taking over for the outgoing Bill Peters in 2019 and then replaced by Darryl Sutter earlier this year. In those games, he posted a 35-26-5 record and actually got Calgary through the qualification round in the bubble, only to fall to the Dallas Stars in six games. Update: The Ducks have confirmed the hire along with the addition of Mike Stothers to their coaching staff.
- The Arizona Coyotes will have Todd Nelson in for a second interview tomorrow, according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider. Nelson is one of many candidates the Coyotes are looking at and hasn’t been an NHL head coach since his one partial season in Edmonton. The 52-year-old is a well-respected assistant that has spent the last three seasons with the Dallas Stars however and has plenty of experience as head coach in the AHL. Morgan notes that the timeline for a hire in Arizona isn’t clear, though something should be done before the draft.
Lucas Wallmark Signs In KHL
The Florida Panthers won’t be bringing back trade deadline acquisition Lucas Wallmark, at least not next season. The restricted free agent forward has signed a one-year deal in the KHL with CSKA Moscow, ending his NHL career for the time being.
Wallmark, 25, was half of the return the Panthers received from the Chicago Blackhawks for Brett Connolly, Henrik Borgstrom, and Riley Stillman. The team used him just four times down the stretch and didn’t dress him in the playoffs, meaning they’ll receive very little in the trade. His rights can be retained with a qualifying offer, but it’s not clear whether he’ll actually be back in time for them to actually receive any benefit from that. Wallmark will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2022, regardless of where he spends the next two seasons.
It was an interesting move at the time, given how little the Panthers seemed to value Wallmark the first time they acquired him in 2020. Part of the deal that saw Vincent Trocheck head to Carolina, Wallmark played seven games for the Panthers that season, played twice in the bubble qualification round, and then was left without a qualifying offer. He became an unrestricted free agent, signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks, and ended up back in Florida by the end of the year. It’s not really like anything changed during that time; in fact, Wallmark failed to score even a single goal in his 16 games with Chicago.
The fact that he has signed a deal in the KHL this early could suggest that he already knows the Panthers were going to leave him unqualified once again. While this could change that decision, it doesn’t appear as though he has much of a future in Florida. In 187 regular season games, Wallmark has 23 goals and 59 points.
New Jersey Devils Showing Interest In Rasmus Ristolainen
The Buffalo Sabres are a team to watch on the trade market this summer and not only because of Jack Eichel. At their end-of-year press availability, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen both expressed some frustration with the organization’s lack of success and knew their names would be brought up in the offseason. Ristolainen in particular has been involved in trade speculation for years, as his blunt way of speaking his mind has led to some choice quotes.
Now, Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have shown interest in the 26-year-old defenseman, noting that the team has a glaring hole on the right side because of the pending free agency of Connor Carrick. Of course, Carrick only played 11 games for the Devils this season and has been used sparingly since arriving, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Devils wouldn’t do well to upgrade their defense. Even the right side, which already has P.K. Subban and Damon Severson on the books, could be improved if the Devils want to compete in the Metropolitan Division next season.
Is Ristolainen the right way to go about that? The Sabres defenseman has just one year left on his six-year, $32.4MM contract, meaning he’ll carry a cap hit of $5.4MM next season. He has long been criticized for the analytical community given his brutal possession numbers, but at least some of that poor shot suppression comes from being asked to carry the load as the Sabres top dog. Since he debuted in 2013-14, the eighth-overall pick has averaged nearly 24 minutes a night over 542 games. He has been given defensive starts more often in all but one of his NHL campaigns, with this most recent season being the most lopsided. He is a -163 in that eight-year career and has failed to make the playoffs even a single time, but perhaps there is more to draw out of his game if he goes somewhere else.
When trading players that are a year away from free agency, teams will often look for a suitor that can offer an extension in order to maximize the return. While the Devils have enough cap space to do that with Ristolainen, the defenseman has been clear about his desire to end up with a winning program. He’s tired of missing the playoffs, and going to New Jersey–even with their exciting young core–certainly doesn’t guarantee he’d see the postseason anytime soon. Though he doesn’t have a no-trade clause, the idea of a possible extension with a winning team would give the Sabres the most assets in return.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nathan Bastian Re-Signs With New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils have re-signed rookie forward Nathan Bastian to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $825K and keep Bastian from reaching restricted free agency this summer. He’ll earn $775K in 2021-22 and $875K in 2022-23.
Bastian, 23, was the 41st overall selection in 2016, but is coming off his first full NHL season. The 6’4″ winger scored three goals and ten points in 41 games with the Devils, racking up a team-leading 136 hits. Deployed almost exclusively in defensive situations (more than 69% of Bastian’s zone starts were in his own end), the young forward actually performed pretty admirably.
In fact, there could even be a little more offense to come. Bastian scored 16 goals and 38 points in 62 games for the Binghamton Devils in 2019-20, finding a way to produce while still providing a physical presence every night. If that same growth comes at the NHL level in the years to come, New Jersey could have a very valuable power forward on their hands.
Even if the offense doesn’t really improve though, Bastian looks like a rock-solid bottom-six option for the team, now on an inexpensive deal. He is the latest in a long list of restricted free agents the team will have to deal with this offseason, which includes Nicholas Merkley, Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, Yegor Sharangovich, and Jonas Siegenthaler, among others.
Expansion Primer: Toronto Maple Leafs
Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.
The Maple Leafs didn’t do too badly last expansion draft, losing Brendan Leipsic to the Vegas Golden Knights. This year could be a little more complicated, with the team at risk of losing a more regular contributor on the back end.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Auston Matthews, John Tavares (NMC), Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Alexander Kerfoot, Pierre Engvall, Nic Petan, Joey Anderson, Adam Brooks, Denis Malgin
Defense:
Jake Muzzin, T.J. Brodie, Morgan Rielly, Justin Holl, Travis Dermott
Goalies:
Jack Campbell, Michael Hutchinson
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents
Riley Nash, Zach Hyman, Wayne Simmonds, Nick Foligno, Alex Galchenyuk, Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, Zach Bogosian, Ben Hutton, Frederik Andersen, David Rittich
Notable Exemptions
F Ilya Mikheyev, F Nicholas Robertson, D Rasmus Sandin, D Timothy Liljegren
Key Decisions
The Maple Leafs are one of the teams that will have to make a fundamental decision at the beginning of their expansion preparation. Do they protect seven forwards and three defensemen, or just eight skaters?
If they go the more “regular” protection method, protecting seven and three, the team would be at no risk of losing a key piece upfront. Matthews, Tavares, Marner and Nylander are going to be protected no matter what they do, but the other three slots could then be used on Kerfoot, Engvall and one of Brooks or Anderson. Even Hyman, who is an unrestricted free agent, could then be signed before the draft to use that last spot. It would give the Maple Leafs plenty of flexibility at the forward position, allowing them to start conducting business before the draft even happens.
The first problem that would present, however, is it would mean exposing Holl. Rielly, Brodie, and Muzzin are the obvious choices for protection unless the team believes that their more expensive contracts would keep them off the Seattle radar. Holl has turned into a legitimate top-four option (at least when paired with Muzzin, who does have a history of elevating his partner) and costs just $2MM against the cap through the next two seasons. That kind of value is crucial in Toronto as they continue to try and navigate the salary cap with so much money tied up by four forwards. Losing him right now would also open a huge hole on the right side, a position the Maple Leafs have had trouble filling for years.
The second problem that the seven/three structure would create is a lack of options to leave exposed at forward. Only Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Kerfoot and Engvall meet the exposure requirements upfront, meaning at this moment, two of them need to be left unprotected. Usually, that problem can be easily fixed by signing a depth player that spent the majority of the season with the NHL club. In Toronto’s case though, most of those spots were held by veterans like Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza and Wayne Simmonds, not players who want to sign a cheap deal just to be exposed to Seattle. In fact, if the Maple Leafs are going to protect seven forwards, it would be difficult for them to meet the expansion requirements without making a trade of some kind.
So it’s more likely that the team goes the eight-skater route, in order to protect an extra defenseman, plus the big four forwards. At that point, the decision comes whether or not Dermott, still just 24, is worth more to the organization than Holl. The restricted free agent has played 208 games for the team over the last four seasons, but seemed to be passed at the very end of the year by top prospect Sandin and has never developed into much more than a third-pairing option. That’s not to say there isn’t more potential left to unlock in Dermott, but at this point, it is hard to see how the Maple Leafs would protect him without making a separate trade.
Of course, making a trade is a very realistic scenario in this situation, given that the eight-skater route will also leave Kerfoot exposed. That helps meet Toronto’s requirements, but also could very well mean the Kraken take the 26-year-old third-line center over Dermott. At $3.5MM Kerfoot isn’t a burden on most team’s salary cap and if given the opportunity, has shown he can be a better offensive producer. Though he was stuck in a more defensive role in Toronto behind Matthews and Tavares, Kerfoot did score at least 42 points in each of his first two NHL seasons, then with the Colorado Avalanche.
Moving Kerfoot before the draft could very well be the best option for the Maple Leafs. It would open up a bit more cap space for them to do their offseason shopping, while also potentially bringing back some of the draft capital they expended at the deadline this year. It would almost certainly mean the Kraken’s focus would shift to Dermott, but as it stands, the team is going to lose one of them either way.
Projected Protection List
F John Tavares (NMC)
F Auston Matthews
F Mitch Marner
F William Nylander
D Jake Muzzin
D Morgan Rielly
D T.J. Brodie
D Justin Holl
Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist
When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.
Forwards (2): Alexander Kerfoot, Pierre Engvall
Defensemen (0)
The eight-skater protection structure would technically mean the Maple Leafs don’t have a defenseman that meets the requirements either, but re-signing one of Bogosian, Hutton or Dermott would handle that issue. Dermott may not want to given he would know that contract could very well be going to the Kraken, but Hutton especially seems like a perfect candidate to return on a low-cost deal.
Still, it is certainly not an excellent spot for the Maple Leafs to be in, so tight against the exposure requirements. This is one of the downsides of signing so many veterans to one-year contracts but fortunately, they won’t need to go through the expansion process again (at least not for a while).
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
San Jose Sharks Sign Jeffrey Viel, Jonatan Dahlen, Nicolas Meloche
The San Jose Sharks have come to terms with three young players, signing Jeffrey Viel, Jonatan Dahlen, and Nicolas Meloche. Viel has inked a two-year, two-way contract, while Dahlen will be coming to North America on a one-year one-way contract. Meloche will be back on a one-year, two-way deal, the same structure he spent 2019-20 on. All three contracts will carry an average annual value of $750K, the league minimum.
In the Viel release, Sharks GM Doug Wilson explained why they re-signed the 24-year-old forward:
Jeff showed his compete level last season, playing a hard-nosed, physical game. He is a player who has great character and leadership qualities, being a former captain of his junior team, and we feel that he will push to make the jump to the NHL. We are happy to have him in our organization.
The undrafted winger managed to grind his way up through the minor leagues in San Jose, earning an NHL contract in 2019 after a full season with the San Jose Barracuda. The bang-and-crash forward ended up playing 11 games this year for the Sharks, though he failed to register a single point. He did however rack up 23 penalty minutes, one of his calling cards through junior and the AHL. On a two-year deal, he’ll bring a physical presence to the fourth line whenever needed.
Dahlen is the opposite, a high draft pick whose game is predicated on offensive skill. The 23-year-old was originally a draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, but found his way to San Jose through trade via the Vancouver Canucks. The last two seasons playing for Timra in the Swedish second league, Dahlen has racked up 148 points in 96 games, earning Forward of the Year honors both years. Wilson also released a statement on him:
Jonathan went back to Sweden this past year with goals of being the captain for his team and winning the championship in the Allsvenskan. He delivered on his promises by being the MVP and leading scorer in the league and matured in his path to success. He will take this experience he has earned and challenge for a spot in the NHL.
The fact that the Sharks GM specifically mentioned competing for an NHL spot is interesting because the lack of an opportunity at that level is what many believed kept Dahlen in Sweden. He did play one season in the AHL during the 2018-19 campaign, scoring 33 points in 57 games, but still has not made his NHL debut. Perhaps that will come now after his two dominant campaigns.
Meloche, 23, made his NHL debut and played in seven games for the Sharks this season, spending the rest of the year in the AHL where he has been for the past four years. A second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in 2015, he arrived in the Sharks system thanks to a 2019 trade for Antoine Bibeau. Wilson hinted at what comes next for the young defenseman:
Nicolas is a steady, reliable presence on the blueline. He continued his development last season with the Barracuda and the Sharks and improved over the course of the season. We feel that he is ready to compete for a spot in our lineup in the NHL.
Competing for a spot on the Sharks blueline certainly isn’t easy, given how much money they already have invested in it. Even at the bottom, Mario Ferraro and Nikolai Knyzhov were both full-time players on entry-level contracts, not leaving a lot of room for competition. That perhaps suggests that there could be some changes coming, but as it stands, Meloche will be hard-pressed to land a full-time roster spot in 2021-22.
Ottawa Senators Sign Leevi Merilainen
The Ottawa Senators have inked another one of their impressive 2020 draft class, signing Leevi Merilainen to a three-year entry-level contract. Merilainen is coming off another season at the junior level in Finland and will likely spend 2021-22 in Europe again. Senators GM Pierre Dorion released a short statement on his newest prospect:
Leevi made significant strides in his development while playing with a strong program at Karpat last season. He plays big in the net, maintains a controlled style and is on the right path to continuously improve as he builds additional strength and gains more experience. It’s our hope to see him play for Finland at the next world junior championship.
Merilainen, 18, was the 71st overall pick in 2020 and one of the youngest players available in the draft class. Amazingly, despite going in the third round, he was the Senators seventh selection. Should he spend next season in Finland as expected, his entry-level deal will not burn the first year and instead slide forward.
Already 6’2″, Merilainen still hasn’t really matured physically and will likely put on even more size to his thin frame in the coming years. That hasn’t held him back at all so far though, as the young netminder posted a .934 save percentage in 22 appearances this season for Karpat’s junior club. As Dorion notes, he will be an interesting candidate for the Finnish World Junior team, where he would be tested against the best similarly-aged players in the world.
With the Senators goaltending depth chart quite full at the moment, there’s no rush to Merilainen’s development. The team already has Matt Murray signed for the next three seasons, Anton Forsberg is coming back next year, and Joey Daccord is already under contract through 2022-23. Filip Gustavsson, who looks like the team’s next starting goaltender, is a restricted free agent, while 20-year-old Kevin Mandolese and Mads Sogaard are also in the system. At a position where it is so difficult to accurately predict future NHL success, the Senators have decided to gather quite a few prospects and see who pans out.
Philadelphia Flyers Re-Sign German Rubtsov, Linus Sandin
The Philadelphia Flyers have dealt with a pair of restricted free agents, signing German Rubtsov and Linus Sandin to new one-year, two-way contracts. Both deals will carry an NHL salary of $750K.
Rubtsov, 22, was the team’s first-round pick in 2016 but has just four games to his name in the NHL so far. This season he played for Sochi in the KHL, recording just three goals and 11 points. That’s a far cry from the player the team thought they were getting 22nd overall, but even if Rubtsov doesn’t score as much as originally expected, he could potentially still be a useful bottom-six piece.
His entry-level contract was set to expire this summer, meaning he was an RFA without arbitration rights. A minimum salary two-way deal was basically all he was ever going to get until he shows that he can be a reliable piece in the NHL.
Sandin on the other hand was an undrafted free agent signing last spring, inked out of the SHL after an excellent 2019-20 season. The 25-year-old split time this year between Sweden and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but didn’t make his NHL debut. In 26 AHL games, he scored six goals and ten points.