Snapshots: First Overall, Fleury, Season Start
The New York Rangers have received “plenty” of calls on the first-overall pick before tonight’s draft according to Frank Seravalli of TSN, but continue to rebuff those interested. Seravalli reports that Rangers even received an offer from the Los Angeles Kings to swap top picks (the Kings hold the second-overall selection) but have “zero intention” of moving off number one.
That would certainly suggest that the Rangers agree with the rest of the world and will select Alexis Lafreniere first this evening. While Quinton Byfield and Tim Stuetzle are supremely talented players that will make their respective franchises very happy, there’s just no comparison to the potential that Lafreniere brings as a do-it-all superstar. The 18-year-old winger has won the CHL Player of the Year award in each of the last two seasons and showed the world what kind of a competitor he was at the World Juniors, physically dominating his opponents and returning from a knee injury to help Canada win a gold medal (and take home the tournament MVP honors).
- The Vegas Golden Knights are trying hard to move Marc-Andre Fleury, as Seravalli reports on TSN’s Insider Trading that they are trying to encourage teams to act as a “broker” and take on some of Fleury’s cap hit in a three-team deal. The Toronto Maple Leafs did something similar for Vegas this season when they assumed part of Robin Lehner‘s salary in exchange for a fifth-round pick, but the Golden Knights are offering an even bigger prize to teams willing to help them facilitate a Fleury trade. Seravalli reports that Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon has offered a second-round pick to that broker team, but so far that hasn’t been enough to eat the $3.5MM that the Golden Knights are hoping for. Instead, teams like the Carolina Hurricanes who have been involved could be asking for as much as a first- and second-round pick in order to take on that much salary over the final two seasons of Fleury’s deal.
- While the hockey world goes crazy over this week of draft and free agent frenzy, remember that the 2020-21 season is not going to start for quite some time. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet confirmed today what many have speculated on, that the league is now looking at January 1, 2021 as a potential start date for next season. Previously, the league had listed December 1 as the target, but that always seemed optimistic.
Denis Malgin Loaned To Lausanne HC
The Toronto Maple Leafs have loaned Denis Malgin overseas, sending him to Lausanne HC of the Swiss NLA. Malgin signed a new one-year contract with the Maple Leafs last week and had already been training back home in Switzerland.
While he certainly doesn’t draw many headlines, the 23-year-old forward has actually quietly racked up 192 games played over the last four seasons and hasn’t suited up in the minor leagues since 2017. The Maple Leafs acquired him in exchange for Mason Marchment last season and put him in the lineup for eight games down the stretch. Undersized, Malgin is a bottom-six option for the cap-strapped Maple Leafs next season.
Malgin will be expected to return in time for NHL training camp, like some of the other Maple Leafs players currently suiting up overseas. Mikko Lehtonen, one of their prized free agent signings, is currently lighting it up in the KHL once again. When considering how the Maple Leafs will fill out their roster come next season, these inexpensive names currently playing overseas are important to remember.
Philadelphia Flyers Issue Qualifying Offers
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that Nolan Patrick, Mikhail Vorobyev and Philippe Myers have received qualifying offers, keeping their negotiating rights in the organization. Nathan Noel, the team’s only other pending restricted free agent, did not receive an offer and will become an unrestricted free agent on Friday.
The decisions made today shouldn’t surprise anyone, but that doesn’t mean the work is finished for GM Chuck Fletcher and the Flyers front office. Patrick in particular is a very interesting case to follow as he becomes a restricted free agent this offseason. Because he has been limited so much by injuries, Patrick is not actually eligible to sign an offer sheet and without arbitration rights is at the mercy of the Flyers. They don’t need to necessarily work out a multi-year deal with the top draft pick, though perhaps they could get some savings if they do.
If Patrick is healthy, he has already proven his worth in the NHL. The second overall pick in 2017 played in the NHL as a teenager, scoring 13 goals and 30 points in his rookie season. While that certainly didn’t blow the doors off the building, holding your own as a center in the league at that age is still impressive. Patrick returned in 2018-19 and once again posted 13 goals and 31 points in 72 games, but unfortunately, those would be the last games he played to this point. All of 2019-20 was lost to a migraine issue, and though Patrick has been skating for months it’s still hard to know if he’ll actually be ready to start next season.
If he is, perhaps the Flyers could try to lock up several of his RFA years right now at a bargain bin price. If there is still doubt in his ability to stay on the ice, a one-year deal makes a lot more sense.
St. Louis Blues Issue Qualifying Offers
The St. Louis Blues have announced that Vince Dunn, Austin Poganski, Mitch Reinke and Jake Walman have all received qualifying offers, keeping them in the organization. That means Derrick Pouliot and Jake Dotchin, who did not receive offers, will become unrestricted free agents on Friday.
The decision to let Pouliot and Dotchin walk doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as both players would have been arbitration-eligible and obviously do not figure into the Blues plans at this point. Each was once an up-and-coming young defenseman with plenty of potential, but both have flamed out over the last few seasons.
Pouliot, 26, was the eighth overall pick in 2012 and quickly became one of the top defensive prospects in the entire league. An incredible final year of junior hockey that saw him score 102 points in 79 games made Pittsburgh Penguins fans salivate at his potential, but after arriving in the NHL the next season obvious warts began to show in his defensive game. Pouliot ended up spending time bouncing between the minor leagues and NHL for years and now six years into his professional career has just 202 games played at the highest level. In 2019-20 he spent almost the entire season in the minor leagues with the San Antonio Rampage, suiting up just twice with the Blues.
Dotchin meanwhile wasn’t a high draft pick like Pouliot, but still quickly found himself playing next to Victor Hedman0 after arriving in the NHL. The sixth-round pick in 2012 debuted with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016-17 and played 83 games with the team over two seasons, but saw his contract terminated in 2018 after showing up to training camp out of shape. Since then, Dotchin has played in 20 games with the Anaheim Ducks but spent the entire 2019-20 season at the minor league level with the Rampage.
Both players could land new deals elsewhere, but a qualifying offer and arbitration award was never going to make sense for the Blues.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Places Deadline On Potential Trade
The Arizona Coyotes have been trying to trade captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson over the past few weeks, asking him to give them a list of teams that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to. The star defenseman has given them an option of just the Vancouver Canucks or Boston Bruins and has now put a clock on the negotiations as well.
Ekman-Larsson’s agent Kevin Epp of Titan Sports Management has contacted several media members including Darren Dreger of TSN, explaining that his client wishes to be traded before free agency opens on Friday. If a deal cannot be completed before then, Ekman-Larsson will remain in Arizona.
The 29-year-old defenseman is heading into just the second season of an eight-year, $66MM contract extension he signed in 2018 to stay in Arizona. When Ekman-Larsson signed that contract and included a full no-movement clause throughout, he likely believed that he would spend his entire career with the Coyotes, the team that drafted him sixth overall in 2009.
Instead, new management approached him this offseason with the potential of a trade, likely due to the need to cut payroll drastically after the coronavirus shutdown. Ekman-Larsson is the Coyotes’ highest-paid player and will be entering the most expensive years of his contract after this season. In each of the three seasons following 2020-21, he is owed $10.5MM in total salary, before his contract starts to fall off. Getting out from under that now would save Arizona plenty of cash, plus hopefully recoup several valuable assets.
If they’re going to pull it off, it’s going to have to happen quickly. Notably, the Coyotes do not have a selection in the first three rounds of tonight’s entry draft.
Detroit Red Wings To Buy Out Justin Abdelkader
Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman continues his cleaning of the team’s cap situation, this time placing Justin Abdelkader on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Abdelkader has three seasons remaining on his contract, meaning the Red Wings will incur cap charges for the next six years. Those charges will look like this:
- 2020-21: $1,805,556
- 2021-22: $2,305,556
- 2022-23: $2,305,556
- 2023-24: $1,055,556
- 2024-25: $1,055,556
- 2025-26: $1,055,556
There was a time not too long ago when Abdelkader looked like exactly the kind of powerhouse winger that every team was looking for. In 2015-16 he scored 19 goals and 42 points while racking up 120 penalty minutes and 207 hits. A wrecking ball on the ice with a scoring touch around the net was extremely effective and it landed him a new seven-year extension during that season.
Unfortunately when you play that style, if the goal-scoring falls off you’re suddenly just an overpaid fourth liner. That’s basically exactly what happened to Abdelkader, who almost immediately struggled under his new contract. Since the start of the 2016-17 season he has scored just 26 goals in 259 games despite averaging more than 15 minutes a night. Only 15 of those have come at even-strength and Abdelkader failed to score a single goal in his 49 games during the 2019-20 season.
That’s not to say this move comes without a bit of surprise. The Red Wings are not in any sort of cap trouble and could have kept Abdelkader on the roster as an overpaid veteran presence. But Yzerman has a clear plan to sweep out all the bad money and install his own vision of the Red Wings.
With Abdelkader gone, Dylan Larkin is the only player in the organization signed to a one-way contract through the 2022-23 season. Every other contract is either an entry-level deal or will expire by the summer of 2022. That freedom will allow Yzerman to do anything he wants to the roster, likely relying on the draft-and-develop strategy that served him so well in Tampa Bay.
Montreal Canadiens To Buy Out Karl Alzner
Another buyout is on the docket for today, as the Montreal Canadiens have placed Karl Alzner on unconditional waivers for the purpose of terminating his contract. With two years left on his deal, Montreal will incur cap penalties for the next four seasons. Those charges will look like this:
- 2020-21: $3,958,333
- 2021-22: $1,958,333
- 2022-23: $833,333
- 2023-24: $833,333
Alzner, 32, was actually signed to the longest contract on day one of free agency just three years ago, inking a five-year deal with the Canadiens that carried a cap hit of $4.625MM. That deal, which was considered extremely risky right from the start, resulted in just 95 games played for Montreal.
In 2017-18 Alzner spent the entire season in the NHL, suiting up for all 82 games and averaging more than 20 minutes a night. Unfortunately, those minutes weren’t all that effective, with the defensive defenseman recording just 12 points and poor possession statistics. By the next season, he was buried in the minor leagues where he has spent the majority of the last two years.
That risky deal turned into an albatross for the Canadiens, though the team was never really in cap trouble as they slowly rebuilt their team around a younger core. Now that they are ready to start competing again, getting at least some of the Alzner money off the books was an obvious choice.
Still, because of the front-loaded nature of the deal, the Canadiens will not receive much relief this season. They do however save quite a bit of actual money, paying Alzner just $833K in each of the next four seasons.
It’s hard to see an NHL future for the veteran defenseman, though perhaps at a much lower cost another team would take a chance on him as a depth option.
Wayne Simmonds Drawing Interest
The free agent market is approaching rapidly and without an interview period, this season things may be complete chaos when the bell strikes on Friday. Then again, perhaps not for every free agent. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Buffalo Sabres have given Wayne Simmonds permission to speak with other teams ahead of free agency.
That news comes on the heels of a report from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens have shown interest in Simmonds. Both teams are looking for a little more physicality in their forward groups, something Simmonds can provide in spades when healthy and playing his best. He’s also an excellent net-front player on the powerplay, something both teams could use.
The question now is whether Simmonds can ever get back to that “healthy and playing his best” status. The 32-year-old scored just eight goals in 68 games this season playing for the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres, after an extremely disappointing finish to the 2018-19 season with the Nashville Predators.
Once one of the best power forwards in the entire league, Simmonds was a perennial 30-goal candidate with oodles of physicality and leadership. In 2015-16 he reached a career-high with 32 goals and 60 points, while also racking up 192 hits for the Philadelphia Flyers. That kind of player is difficult to find in today’s game, but even in the case of Simmonds himself, it may no longer exist.
For at least the Maple Leafs, Simmonds would need to take a drastic pay cut to fit into their financial structure, but perhaps he will be forced to do that anyway by a shrinking market. He earned $5MM on his one-year deal with the Devils, but will likely be looking at a much lower salary this offseason.
Arizona Coyotes Will Not Qualify Vinnie Hinostroza
The Arizona Coyotes are expected to slash payroll dramatically this offseason as the team deals with a new financial reality. While that may play out most dramatically with an Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade, it also may be seen in the margins with some less expensive players. Vinnie Hinostroza, one of the team’s pending restricted free agents, is not expected to receive a qualifying offer according to Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider. That would make him an unrestricted free agent on Friday.
Hinostroza, 26, would need a $1.5MM qualifying offer from the Coyotes to remain in the organization, but it could end up costing them even more than that to get him signed. The sixth-round pick is also arbitration-eligible, and with a 16-goal season in 2018-19 may end up landing more than just $1.5MM should he get that far. The only way to avoid arbitration is by cutting bait, something we suggested the Coyotes may do in our Free Agent Focus piece last month.
Frankly, Hinostroza hasn’t been good enough to deserve a raise this offseason. The former Chicago Blackhawk scored just five goals and 22 points for the Coyotes this season and doesn’t bring a ton of value outside of his expected offense. When he first arrived in Arizona it seemed like a strong fit, but the combination of a lack of scoring and salary restructuring appear to have made him expendable.
As a free agent, he’ll be an interesting name to keep an eye on. Perhaps a team can get the relatively young forward on a bargain contract to attempt a bounce-back season, especially in a flat-cap world that could squeeze the midrange free agents.
Tyler Johnson Working With Tampa Bay On Potential Trade
When you win the Stanley Cup in the NHL, it usually comes at a cost. The core of your team is often broken up immediately afterward thanks to the salary cap system, or depth players are sacrificed to try and pay the next wave of talent. That’s exactly what is happening in Tampa Bay, where the Lightning are being forced to make tough decisions on some of their veteran players.
Tyler Johnson, an excellent soldier for the team over the last decade, is one of the names most likely to be traded in the coming days, even despite the full no-trade clause he holds. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Johnson has given the Lightning several teams that he would accept a trade to and that there is a good amount of communication between GM Julien BriseBois and the player’s camp.
Johnson, 30, has four years left on his current contract and carries a $5MM cap hit. The versatile forward has seen his role in the Tampa Bay offense diminish over recent years and averaged just 14:33 a night this season. That’s not to say his skills have disappeared though. Remember, Johnson once tied for the team lead in scoring with 72 points in a single season and in 2018-19 he scored 29 goals. That $5MM price tag might be too expensive for the Lightning in his current role, but he could still be a useful player around the league.
Of course, if the Lightning had a choice, they would probably simply keep Johnson in the fold. But after winning a Stanley Cup they are in a very tight salary cap situation with more than $76MM committed for just 15 players. One of the biggest causes of that salary squeeze is Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s new extension, which kicks in for the 2020-21 season and sees his cap hit jump from a reasonable $3.5MM to a whopping $9.5MM. The 2019 Vezina winner is certainly worth his big ticket, but extensions like that make it difficult to keep the depth over the rest of the roster.
The Lightning also have Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev and others to re-sign as restricted free agents this offseason, a group that could take up more than $10MM even on simple bridge deals. Moving money out is imperative for BriseBois and it looks like it will start with Johnson.