Winnipeg Jets Sign Laurent Brossoit
The Winnipeg Jets have signed their backup goaltender, inking Laurent Brossoit to a one-year deal worth $1.5MM. Brossoit was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next week.
There’s never a lot to do when you’re the backup to Connor Hellebuyck, the league-leader in goaltender games played two of the last three seasons. The Jets obviously like Brossoit in that role, deciding to bring him back even before seeing what is truly available on the free agent market. The question is, why exactly?
There’s no doubt that Brossoit can hold his own at the NHL level. He posted a .925 save percentage in 21 games for the Jets in 2018-19 and put up a record of 13-6-2. But in 2019-20 he reverted to the goaltender who struggled for the Edmonton Oilers, posting just an .895 save percentage and 6-7-1 record in 19 appearances. Those aren’t exactly inspiring numbers for a team that expects to challenge deep into the playoffs, and certainly don’t stand up to some of the other backups that will hit the market in the coming days.
Sure, Brossoit comes at a reasonably low price for a team that has trouble staring them right in the face, but it’s actually a raise on the $1.225MM he earned last season in spite of his poor performance. Obviously, the comfort level with Brossoit is worth a lot to the Jets, but with the compressed schedule expected next season, it puts even more pressure on him to have a bounce-back campaign.
Darren Dreger of TSN broke the news on Twitter.
Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers
With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Another disappointing exit awaited the Edmonton Oilers when the NHL came back this summer, making it another busy offseason for their front office as they try to capitalize on their superstar duo.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Ethan Bear – If you weren’t watching closely you might have missed the fact that another rookie defenseman was logging huge minutes in the Pacific Division. Bear, a fifth-round pick in 2015, ended up averaging just under 22 minutes a night in his 71 games for the Oilers this season, coming in only behind Darnell Nurse in terms of even-strength ice time. That was good enough to earn Bear some votes for the Calder Trophy and perhaps an even bigger role next season. Now 23, Bear is still not arbitration-eligible but could be critically important to the Oilers, especially if Oscar Klefbom‘s injury keeps him out long-term.
F Andreas Athanasiou – The Oilers used two second-round picks to acquire Athanasiou at the deadline this year, but may end up being forced to leave him unqualified this offseason. A qualifying offer for the 26-year-old forward would cost the team a minimum of $3MM for next season and potentially even more through arbitration. That blazing speed didn’t end up working as well as hoped in Edmonton, with Athanasiou scoring just a single goal in his 13 games for the team. Just a year removed from his breakout 30-goal campaign though, he’s one of the toughest decisions that GM Ken Holland (who happened to draft Athanasiou in Detroit) will have to make in the coming days.
Other RFAs: D Matt Benning, F Cameron Hebig, F Ryan Kuffner, F Nolan Vesey, D Logan Day, D Ryan Mantha, D William Lagesson, G Angus Redmond
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
G Mike Smith – Like so many other teams, the Oilers are on the lookout for an improvement in net this offseason and could be ready to move on from the veteran goaltender. Smith is now up to 610 games played in his 14-year career, good enough for 47th all-time among netminders. The puck-handling wild child recorded a .902 save percentage in the regular season, the second straight year he has been ineffective. With so many other goalies available, it’s hard to find a market for a 38-year-old Smith, even if he has been a consistent presence in the league since 2007.
F Tyler Ennis – While Athanasiou cost two seconds and never seemed to click in Edmonton, Ennis cost just a fifth and fit in right away. That seems to be the story with the undersized forward in recent years as he bounces around the league taking bargain-basement deals but performing whenever given the chance. 12 goals in 51 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19 playing fourth-line minutes and another 16 in 2019-20 splitting the year between Ottawa and Edmonton, all for the combined two-year total of $1.45MM in salary. If Ennis is still looking at a limited market, why not bring him back on another short-term deal?
Other UFAs: F Riley Sheahan, F Brad Malone, F Josh Currie, F Tomas Jurco, D Keegan Lowe, D Brandon Manning, G Shane Starrett
Projected Cap Space
Here’s the problem for the Oilers. The team has just $8.77MM in cap space for next season and still need to upgrade the roster. Spending a good chunk of that on Athanasiou’s qualifying offer or a long-term Bear extension would seem foolish, unless they can make room elsewhere by moving bad money out. If Klefbom does need surgery and can be put on long-term injured reserve it would provide some extra flexibility, but right now Holland’s hands are tied pretty tightly.
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Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Denis Malgin
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Denis Malgin to a new one-year deal. The contract will carry a salary of $700K and pushes restricted free agency a year into the future for the young forward.
Importantly for a cap-strapped team like the Maple Leafs, Malgin will come in under the amount he would have received through a qualifying offer. While that offer could have been a two-way deal (which it appears this is not), it would have been worth $787,500 at the NHL level. Even minuscule savings are important for Toronto at this point and given the fact that Malgin was also arbitration-eligible, it seemed plausible that he wouldn’t even receive a qualifying offer in the first place.
Instead, he’ll return to the team on the league minimum and continue in his role as a depth option next season. Malgin was acquired in exchange for Mason Marchment in February and ended up playing eight games for the Maple Leafs before the season was canceled. He failed to score a point during those games, but does have 60 in his 192-game NHL career.
Still just 23, Malgin will likely be in the competition at Maple Leafs camp for a fourth-line spot next season. With so much money tied up at the top of the roster, Toronto has to use inexpensive options at the bottom.
Snapshots: Dillon, Jankowski, Devils
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet the Washington Capitals are trying to move some money in order to free up enough space to keep Brenden Dillon from hitting unrestricted free agency, but if he does hit the open market a return home would be of interest to him. Dillon told TSN radio today that “any Surrey kid would love to play in Vancouver” and that he would be interested in signing with the Canucks should it fall that way.
While there is still so much to happen in the next few days that could complicate a move like that, the Canucks are obviously interested in adding a defenseman given the work they’ve done to try and acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson so far. Perhaps Dillon, who is coming off a five-year deal that carried a $3.27MM cap hit, could be a potential fallback option through free agency.
- Not only do they have a draft and free agency to navigate, but the Arizona Coyotes are still busy building out their front office again after hiring GM Bill Armstrong to change the direction of the franchise. Yesterday they added Darryl Plandowski from the Tampa Bay Lightning and today the Coyotes have hired Ryan Jankowski as the new associate director of amateur scouting. Jankowski has worked with the Buffalo Sabres for the past two seasons after a lengthy stint with Hockey Canada.
- Speaking of filling out a staff, the New Jersey Devils are still looking for a goaltending coach and third assistant coach, according to GM Tom Fitzgerald who spoke to reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic today. Mike Grier was given a chance to return but declined, while Alain Nasreddine will be returning to his position as an assistant coach.
Minor Transactions: 10/02/20
The hockey world is brimming with energy as next week’s draft and free agent frenzy approach. There is a buzz in every corner of the NHL as teams attempt to restructure their rosters and deal with uncertain financial situations. Meanwhile, the minor and European leagues continue to fill out their own depth charts with players from around the world. We’ll keep track of some of the minor moves right here:
- The Ontario Reign signed three players to AHL contracts, including the older twin brothers of Montreal Canadiens prospect Ryan Poehling. Nick Poehling and Jack Poehling will both start their professional careers after four years at St. Cloud State University. The team also added Jack Sadek, who spent the 2019-20 season with the Allen Americans of the ECHL after failing to sign an entry-level contract with Minnesota and seeing his draft rights expire last summer.
- Jordan Murray, who spent the last three seasons with the Belleville Senators, has signed a deal with Dinamo Riga in the KHL. Murray, 27, led all Belleville defensemen last season with 34 points in 57 games and is a former star at the CIS/USports level in Canadian university hockey.
- Former NHL forward David Broll will be back on North American ice next season after playing with the Coventry Blaze in 2019-20. Broll has inked a deal with the Indy Fuel of the ECHL. The 27-year-old forward played five games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2013-14, recording a single point.
Ottawa Senators Acquire Josh Brown
The Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers have completed a trade, sending Josh Brown to Canada’s capital in exchange for a fourth-round pick in next week’s draft. Brown is a pending restricted free agent and will need to reach a new agreement with the Senators. Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on his newest addition:
Josh Brown is a big, strong defenseman who plays a physical style of game. He’s a defensive defenseman who skates very well and who is exceptionally competitive. He’s also a very good shot blocker who clears a lot of space in front of the net. We’re looking forward to seeing him in our lineup.
Interestingly enough, you could say many of those same things in reference to veteran defenseman Mark Borowiecki who is not expected to re-sign with the Senators this offseason. Brown enters the roster as a potential replacement, but one who is considerably younger and has posted much better possession statistics over his short NHL career.
In 93 games with the Panthers over the last two seasons, Brown has posted just ten points, but was often asked to play just a few minutes of ice time. Averaging a little over 13 minutes a game, he only broke the 17-minute mark in four of his 56 contests. In Ottawa, that number will likely increase as they look to find a new mix of talent.
The Senators will watch Borowiecki and Ron Hainsey both hit the open market when free agency opens and have just four defensemen under one-way contracts. Young options like Erik Brannstrom are expected to be given a chance to secure full-time roles, but a more experienced name like Brown could find a big opportunity on the rebuilding club.
You can bet head coach D.J. Smith will give him that chance, given their history together. Brown was the captain of the Oshawa Generals back when Smith was coaching in the OHL, winning the Memorial Cup together in 2015.
For the Panthers, defense was a position that needed an overhaul after their struggles last season and new GM Bill Zito has worked quickly. Brown joins Mike Matheson on the way out and leaves the Panthers with just three players of their own on one-way contracts. Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle and Anton Stralman are an expensive trio at the top of the chart, while MacKenzie Weegar will surely get a new contract as an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent. But more changes may be coming from Zito, who obviously saw something that needed fixing and is acting quickly.
Goalie Notes: Sharks, Ustimenko, Bachman
The San Jose Sharks have been linked strongly to Devan Dubnyk in recent days, meaning Pierre LeBrun’s latest report for The Athletic should come as little surprise. LeBrun writes that the Sharks are on the lookout for a “1B” to install behind Martin Jones, with Dubnyk, Braden Holtby and James Reimer all candidates.
Short-term is the key part of the Sharks search, leaving Holtby as an interesting inclusion. The former Washington Capitals starter is about to hit free agency after his worst season in the NHL and perhaps could be looking at a shorter deal to rebuild his value. Still, signing to serve as the backup, even if it is in a tandem role, may not be the best way to accomplish that.
- Sometimes when a team has a young goaltender starring in the NHL, it’s easy to forget about their other prospects. That’s the case in Philadelphia where Carter Hart steals all the headlines, but the pipeline is filled with other interesting names. One of those, Kirill Ustimenko, is headed overseas for the time being, loaned to HC Gomel of the Belarusian Extraliga. That’s Ustimenko’s hometown team, where he can continue to develop his game before eventually returning to North America. The 21-year-old was a third-round pick in 2017 and posted a .919 save percentage in 31 starts at the ECHL level in 2019-20.
- Former NHL goaltender Richard Bachman‘s playing days are over, as the Iowa Wild of the AHL has announced his hiring as goaltending coach. Bachman, who suited up in the AHL and SHL just this season, played in 49 NHL games over a long professional career.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Andrew Oglevie
The Buffalo Sabres have finished some work, re-signing a restricted free agent before the market opens next week. Andrew Oglevie has signed a two-year deal with the team that will carry an average annual value of $775K.
Oglevie, 25, was an undrafted free agent signing out of Notre Dame in 2018 that showed a marked improvement this season. In 55 games with the Rochester Americans, he scored 15 goals and 29 points, good enough to potentially put himself into a competition for a roster spot with Buffalo next season.
Part of that is the lack of depth on the current roster—the Sabres currently have only five NHL forwards under contract for 2020-21. Oglevie’s signing leaves 12 more pending restricted free agents for the Sabres to deal with.
Adam Cracknell Loaned To Esbjerg Energy
The Edmonton Oilers signed Adam Cracknell this summer to bring him back from overseas, but they’ll let him stick around in Europe for a little while longer. The veteran forward has been loaned to Esbjerg Energy of Denmark’s Metal Ligaen for the beginning of the 2020-21 season.
Cracknell, 35, spent the 2019-20 season playing for Kunlun Red Star in the KHL, scoring 24 points in 52 games. He signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Oilers last month, re-joining one of the many NHL organizations he has suited up for in the past. Cracknell has played for the Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, New York Rangers and Anaheim Ducks over a 210-game NHL career, spending the rest of his time in the minor leagues starring with the various AHL affiliates.
The Oilers have sent a number of prospects overseas to continue their development, but are also loaning out more veteran players that have experience in other leagues. Perhaps they believe that time on the ice in professional situations will bring them even more ready to compete when the NHL season finally gets underway.
Dallas Stars Trying To Re-Sign Anton Khudobin
With just a few days left before free agency opens, the Dallas Stars front office have licked their Stanley Cup wounds and are back to work. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that GM Jim Nill has reached out to pending free agent goaltender Anton Khudobin‘s camp, letting them know that the team wants to re-sign him. LeBrun notes that the “feeling is mutual” for Khudobin.
If you thought that Khudobin playing well and leading the Stars to the final was just a miraculous bubble hockey story, you haven’t been paying attention. The 34-year-old goaltender has been one of the best tandem options in the league for years now, even leading the entire NHL in save percentage during the 2019-20 regular season. Over the last three years he has posted a .922 save percentage, good enough to compete with the best in the league over that span. Sure, it came in just 102 appearances, but it is clear that Khudobin can be an elite backup or 1B option for a team looking to go deep in the playoffs.
Given the 2020-21 schedule is expected to be considerably condensed, a goaltender like Khudobin could have even more value.
Still, this is the year of the goalie in terms of offseason availability. Seemingly everywhere you turn a team is shopping a young netminder or allowing a veteran to reach free agency. If Khudobin wants to avoid that whole musical chairs routine, re-signing with Dallas would certainly be a comfortable fit.
Remember, this is a goalie who has already bounced around the league. Originally selected in the seventh round by the Minnesota Wild, he would play just six games for that team before ending up in Boston. He then went to Carolina, Anaheim, and back to Boston before heading to Dallas, where he has found a home and played his most consistent hockey.
The Stars do already have Ben Bishop in place at a $4.9MM cap hit, but should have some extra room as long as they don’t go huge with some of their restricted free agents. Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov all need new contracts, but unless they all take huge long-term deals there should be a little bit of room left over for the Stars to spend on their Russian bear.
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