Carolina Hurricanes Sign Seth Jarvis
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed their top draft choice, inking Seth Jarvis to a three-year entry-level contract. Jarvis was recently one of the final cuts from Team Canada for the World Juniors and is awaiting the start of the WHL season. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell released a short statement:
Seth is an extremely talented player with elite puck skills and scoring ability. He has a very bright future, and we are excited to watch him continue his development into an NHL player.
Jarvis, 18, was the 13th overall selection in this year’s draft after his outstanding 2019-20 season with the Portland Winterhawks. The Winnipeg-born center had 42 goals and 98 points in 58 games, finishing second in WHL scoring behind only Minnesota Wild prospect Adam Beckman. Unfortunately, he’s one of the top prospects that now hasn’t played a competitive game in nearly ten months, unless you count the intra-squad games at Canada’s WJC selection camp.
That long wait is important to remember when considering this contract. Though most top picks are quickly inked to their entry-level deals, it may be even more important for a player like Jarvis. Should the WHL cancel the season at any point, he would likely be eligible to join the AHL. Even before that he could potentially stick around with the Hurricanes on their taxi squad, learning from the NHL players that will one day be his teammates. Of course, his deal will only actually kick in if he plays in seven games with Carolina. It will likely slide forward as he continues his development.
Corey Perry Signs With Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have added even more veteran depth, this time signing Corey Perry to a one-year contract worth $750K. Perry is the fifth Stanley Cup winner the Canadiens have added this offseason, following Jake Allen, Joel Edmundson, Tyler Toffoli, and Michael Frolik.
Now 35, it’s easy to dismiss Perry as nothing but an extra forward on a team that already seemed to have too many for the NHL roster. But that would be diminishing the talent that the 2011 Hart Trophy winner still has, flashed once again in the postseason with the Dallas Stars. No, he won’t be scoring 50 goals again, but Perry adds some net-front touch and a bite that is hard to replicate. In the Stars recent playoff run, he scored five goals including a game-winner, good enough for fifth among Dallas forwards. That kind of secondary scoring is exactly what the Canadiens will need, considering they believe themselves to be a real contender for the playoffs in the new All-Canadian division.
The fact that Perry comes at a near-minimum cost removes any sort of risk for Montreal. Though the team technically projects to be over the salary cap at the moment, that can easily be fixed by either waiving one of their depth forwards or even moving a young name to the taxi squad for the start of the year. Though Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Nick Suzuki, and Alexander Romanov are all expected to play big roles on the team this year, the fact that they’re all waiver-exempt could lead to some transaction gymnastics at the start of the year.
It’s interesting to see these veterans taking such low offers in a squeezed offseason. After his strong performance in the playoffs, one could have assumed that Perry might be able to secure a bigger salary in a normal year. Now the pressure is on for him to perform well enough to even keep his NHL career going. For the other teams in the North division, keep your head up.
Henrik Lundqvist Will Not Play This Season
Dec 28: Lundqvist announced on Twitter that he will undergo open-heart surgery to try and fix his health issues. The procedure will include an aortic valve, aortic root, and ascending aortic replacement.
Dec 17: The Washington Capitals’ big offseason acquisition won’t actually get to play for them this season. Henrik Lundqvist announced in an emotional tweet that he will not be able to suit up for the Capitals due to a heart condition. The full letter to fans:
It breaks my heart (literally) to share this news: I will not be joining the Capitals this upcoming season. After many weeks of tests and conversations with specialists around the country, it’s been determined that a heart condition will prevent me from taking the ice. Together, we have decided that the risk of playing before remedying my condition is too high, so I will spend the coming months figuring out the best course of action.
For the past two months I’ve been so inspired by the opportunity to play in DC and committed to my game, spending every day at the rink to prepare for the upcoming season. The news was very difficult to process but after the last test result earlier this week we knew there was only one way to go from here.
I want to thank the entire Capitals organization for not only giving me this opportunity but also for their support throughout this challenging time. I will take the next few weeks to be with my family and I’ll be back to share the next steps.
This is such disappointing news for one of the great players of the last generation. Lundqvist, who will turn 39 in March, sits sixth on the all-time wins list with 459, every one of them recorded with the New York Rangers. That era came to an end when the veteran goaltender signed a one-year, $1.5MM contract with the Capitals in October to replace Braden Holtby as the new backup for phenom Ilya Samsonov.
Often considered among the greatest players to never win the Stanley Cup, Lundqvist finished at least sixth in Vezina Trophy voting in each of his first ten seasons, winning the award in 2012 when he posted a .930 save percentage in 62 games. While he hasn’t actually won the thing, Lundqvist’s playoff performances have been among legend, with a .921 through 130 postseason appearances. In Sweden, perhaps he is even better known for his international exploits, which include Olympic and World Championship gold and silver medals.
For those wondering how this affects the Capitals salary cap situation, the team’s best course of action would likely be to place Lundqvist on unconditional waivers and terminate the deal. Though 35-plus contracts usually count regardless of what happens, that is only in the case of multi-year agreements, which Lundqvist was obviously not. If his contract is terminated, it will come off the books completely.
Regardless, the focus now should be on Lundqvist’s health and future. Here’s hoping we haven’t seen the last of the King on an NHL ice surface.
Ottawa Senators Acquire Derek Stepan
The Arizona Coyotes have shipped out one of their veteran leaders, sending Derek Stepan to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2021 second-round pick (originally belonging to the Columbus Blue Jackets). Ottawa will take on the entire $6.5MM cap hit for the final season of Stepan’s contract, though notably, the forward is owed just $2MM in actual salary this season.
Stepan, 30, was one of the big moves that former Coyotes GM John Chayka pulled off in the 2017 offseason, coming to Arizona from the New York Rangers along with Antti Raanta in exchange for Tony DeAngelo and the seventh-overall pick (which turned out to be Lias Andersson). In an attempt to get more competitive that summer the Coyotes added the two Rangers, Nick Cousins, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Jason Demers. Though it won’t be remembered as a supremely successful summer, it’s not like Stepan didn’t do exactly what he was brought in for. In his first year in Arizona, Stepan scored 56 points, trailing only Clayton Keller for the team lead. His consistent presence in the middle of the ice is valuable and it’s exactly what the Senators were after.
Stepan is just the latest move by Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion to try and surround his young core with more veteran names. Evgenii Dadonov, Alex Galchenyuk, Erik Gudbranson, and Matt Murray all have plenty of NHL experience and could make the Senators a sneaky competitive team in the All-Canadian division. That said, it’s not clear exactly where Stepan fits into a lineup that already had several options down the middle.
For both clubs, this is a nice move, as the Coyotes desperately needed some cap room and the Senators are just hoping to start turning a few losses into wins. Arizona now figures to have a little more than $3MM in space even before moving Marian Hossa to long-term injured reserve and could potentially have more moves coming. In Ottawa, after several years of turmoil, a respected leader like Stepan can provide some stability not only on the ice but in the locker room as well.
NHL, Canadian Teams Receive Government Permission For All-Canadian Division
December 25: The five Canadian provinces and the federal government have officially given the NHL the green light to go ahead with their plans for the upcoming season, reports TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie. No adjustments or delays in the schedule will be required.
December 24: The NHL has seemingly made agreements with each province to allow the Canadian teams to stay north of the border for the upcoming season. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic the following:
On the basis of our discussions in the past week, as well as our exchange of correspondence over the last 24 hours, we believe we are aligned and in agreement on the conditions on which each of our Canadian franchises can begin play in their own buildings for the start of the 2020-21 NHL season.
Darren Dreger of TSN meanwhile reports that both the league and the NHLPA will accept additional testing if necessary and will use certain players for public service announcements. The league will not need to change any of the schedule that was released yesterday, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
December 17: Though there seems to be some momentum towards an NHL season, a new obstacle may get in the way. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet is reporting that if the league cannot make agreements with each of the five Canadian provinces that house NHL teams, there is a possibility of moving all of them south of the border for a shortened season and holding every game in the United States. Frank Seravalli of TSN has heard the same thing. The league could be floating the idea, perhaps in an attempt to put pressure on the provincial governments.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that if the seven Canadian teams do have to move their operations to the U.S., there would no longer be an All-Canadian division, and more realignment would be required.
Other sports have already experienced a situation like this. In the summer, the Toronto Blue Jays were not allowed to play home games in Canada, meaning they had to move to Buffalo for their shortened season. The NBA’s Toronto Raptors are preparing to start their season in Tampa after moving their entire training camp and preseason south.
Obviously, the difference is that those teams, the Blue Jays and Raptors, are the sole Canadian teams in each of their respective leagues. They had no one to play that wouldn’t have to cross the U.S.-Canada border, meaning a regular season made little sense. In the NHL’s plan, the seven Canadian teams would only play each other, reducing the need to cross the federal border altogether.
That doesn’t mean it would limit travel all that much though, as those seven teams still stretch across most of the country and would need to be moving large groups of people across provincial borders. That isn’t ideal, and as Public Health Agency of Canada spokesperson Andre Gagnon told Johnston, “the resumption of sports events in Canada must be undertaken in adherence to Canada’s measures to mitigate the importation and spread of COVID-19.”
If they do need to move to the U.S. there will likely be several markets willing to welcome them in, though moving seven franchises all at once is a lot different than finding a home for the Blue Jays (which was already difficult enough). Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia tweets that Kansas City, Milwaukee, Austin, and Orlando could be potential hosts, though speculation on that front could be endless at this point.
Danil Yurtaykin Clears Unconditional Waivers
Friday: Yurtakin cleared waivers, CapFriendly reports, paving the way for the Sharks to release him.
Thursday: The San Jose Sharks have placed Danil Yurtaykin on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination, according to CapFriendly. Yurtaykin had one year remaining on his entry-level contract but will become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow.
Signed out of the KHL in 2019, Yurtaykin played in four games for the Sharks during the 2019-20 campaign but spent most of his time in the minor leagues with the San Jose Barracuda. The 23-year-old winger was never drafted, but caught the eye of scouts when he scored 10 goals and 19 points for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv in 2018-19.
Since he wasn’t expected to be a full-time member of the Sharks NHL roster, terminating his contract makes a lot of sense for Yurtaykin. The AHL season is still clouded in uncertainty and he hasn’t played a competitive game since March. This will allow him to return to the KHL if he chooses, getting his hockey career back on track. Down the line, remember the name as a potential option for another NHL club.
Cam York Named Captain Of Team USA
The World Junior Championship is set to start tomorrow and Team USA Now has a captain to lead them into battle against Russia in their first game. Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cam York has been given the “C” and he will be joined by alternates Cole Caufield and Alex Turcotte. Head coach Nate Leaman explained what an honor it is to be named captain:
It says a lot about this leadership group being voted in by their teammates. It’s a tremendous honor to be named captains and represent your country. This isn’t our team, this is their team. I believe our locker room is filled with leaders, and to be successful each guy will need to step up and be a leader in their own way, whether wearing a letter or not.
York, 19, was the 14th overall pick of the 2019 draft, selected by Philadelphia out of the USNTDP. He’s currently at the University of Michigan, where he earned conference All-Rookie honors last season and has five points in eight games this year. The smooth-skating defenseman was part of the U.S. team that disappointed a year ago but is back for revenge this time around.
Caufield, one of the most-hyped prospects in college hockey, returns to the tournament after scoring just a single goal last year. The undersized forward is an incredible sniper that is able to put the puck in the net in a thousand different ways and will be extremely difficult to contain at the event. Selected 15th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 2019, he could be operating at the sidewall of an NHL powerplay before long.
Turcotte, the highest drafted of the three, went fifth overall to the Los Angeles Kings in 2019 and was a teammate of Caufield at Wisconsin last season. The 19-year-old signed his entry-level contract in March and will attempt to make the Kings out of training camp this year, but first has his eye on gold at the upcoming tournament.
Even though they were denied access to some top names, the U.S. squad looks extremely dangerous this time around. Caufield was named player of the match in the team’s exhibition game against Finland earlier this week when they won 3-2, with Trevor Zegras dazzling with his playmaking once again.
IIHF Provides WJC COVID-19 Update
The IIHF has provided another update on their COVID-19 testing and for one team, it is not good news. Another German player has tested positive and will remain in quarantine until January 4. Only ten players and eight staff members from Germany were released from quarantine today, joining the six players who had previously been released.
This is catastrophic news for any hope the Germans had of competing in the round-robin, given they’ll now be taking on Finland and Canada with a reduced lineup. As Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets, the team is expected to have just two goalies, five defensemen, and nine forwards available for those two games. Even past that they will not have a full complement, certainly reducing their chance of toppling the hockey giants in the group.
There were no further positive tests among any of the other teams. Games start tomorrow with Switzerland and Slovakia kicking things off before the weakened German squad tries to upset Finland. Team USA’s first game is against the Russians, while Canada will not only get to face Germany without their full group but on a back-to-back as well Saturday evening.
Anthony Cirelli Re-Signs With Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed their last key restricted free agent, inking Anthony Cirelli to a three-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $4.8MM and keeps Cirelli under contract through the 2022-23 season. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets out the full details, noting that it is the exact same deal that Mikhail Sergachev signed earlier this offseason:
- 2020-21: $900K salary + $1.5MM signing bonus
- 2021-22 $3.3MM salary + $1.5MM signing bonus
- 2022-23: $7.2MM salary
When the Lightning walked to the podium to select Cirelli in the middle of the third round back in 2015, they never could have imagined what he would turn into five years later. At that point, he had only one year of OHL hockey under his belt, and though the Oshawa Generals were successful, he certainly wasn’t the one most fans were watching. Michael Dal Colle, the fifth-overall pick from 2014 was on that team and led the Generals all the way to the Memorial Cup, scoring 31 points in 21 playoff games. Cirelli scored only two goals in the playoffs for Oshawa, but he was already showing the elite work ethic and defensive ability that would become his calling card.
When Dal Colle was traded to the Kingston Frontenacs partway through the 2015-16 season, it was Cirelli who took over the captain’s “C” for Oshawa. He would also get his first taste of AHL action at the end of that season, suiting up three times for the Syracuse Crunch. Cirelli would then go on to win another OHL Championship and a World Junior silver medal in 2016-17, never losing that shutdown defensive mindset in the process.
Now, just two full seasons into his NHL career, everything he did for Oshawa (and Erie, and then Syracuse) he is doing for the Lightning. The 23-year-old center is one of the very best defensive players in the entire league, allowing almost no production from opponents when he is on the ice. He’s married that defensive acumen with improving offensive ability that resulted in 44 points in 68 games this season. Though his offense took a backseat to the superstar forwards on Tampa Bay in the playoffs, there’s little doubt how valuable Cirelli is to the team.
At a $4.8MM cap hit, he’ll continue to be a key part of the team’s lineup for the next three years. That number already likely doesn’t live up to the value Cirelli brings and if his development continues it could be a laughably low amount very soon. The bridge deal will also leave him as a restricted free agent one last time, meaning the Lightning will have a chance to ink a big, long-term deal with Cirelli in 2023.
How can they fit another high cap hit in? Nikita Kucherov‘s injury is providing some relief, but this number is high enough that the Lightning will likely need to make another move before the season begins. CapFriendly tweeted out several explanations of how they’re even allowed to file a contract like this, which takes Tampa Bay nearly $12MM over the cap ceiling for the time being. Their projected cap hit is nearly $2.2MM over the $91MM that the team will be allowed to build assuming Kucherov goes on long-term injured reserve, meaning either some creative moves or a trade will be necessary in the coming weeks.
Still, even if it costs the Lightning one of their other bloated contracts, getting Cirelli locked up at a reasonable number is some strong work from GM Julien BriseBois. The team’s younger core of Kucherov, Cirelli, Sergachev, Brayden Point, and Andrei Vasilevskiy are now all locked in for at least the next two seasons, with the veteran stars—including Victor Hedman, who only turned 30 a few days ago—all still on workable numbers.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Dawson Mercer Agrees To Terms With New Jersey Devils
Though he can’t actually sign because he’s locked away in the World Junior Championship bubble, Dawson Mercer has agreed to terms on his three-year entry-level contract with the New Jersey Devils.
Mercer, the 18th overall pick this fall, is a returning player for Canada at the WJC after winning gold with the team last year. He wasn’t able to register a single point during that tournament, but he should be asked to do much more this time around (especially now that Kirby Dach has been ruled out). The Chicoutimi Sagueneens star has seven points in five QMJHL games this season and will likely return to junior after the tournament ends.
A shifty, dynamic playmaker, the 19-year-old winger should be able to transition to the professional level easily if given offensive minutes and powerplay time. There doesn’t need to be any rush for that though as he focuses on winning a second gold medal and then (hopefully) completing his junior season. The entry-level deal will not actually kick in this season, sliding forward instead as long as he doesn’t play in seven NHL games.