Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers Complete Trade
After coming close to a trade yesterday, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers have worked through their “glitch.” That deal has now been completed, with Patric Hornqvist heading to Florida in exchange for Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour. No salary has been retained by either team.
Panthers GM Bill Zito‘s statement on the move reveals exactly why he targeted Hornqvist:
A proven winner and champion, Patric brings a level of competition to our club. He is a talented veteran presence who plays with an edge and we look forward to what he can add to our group.
That championship resume is not something that many other players on the Panthers have and something that Zito will obviously value as he looks to turn around Florida in his first time as a GM. Hornqvist is also arguably the best player involved in the trade, even at his age.
Likely turning 34 just as the next NHL season gets underway (his birthday is January 1), Hornqvist has plenty of miles on a body that is routinely used to battle in front of the net and in the corners. The physical forward has scored 238 times in his career, including 84 goals from his net-front spot on the powerplay. It’s not like things have gone downhill of late either, as Hornqvist recorded 17 goals and 32 points in just 52 games this season.
Of course, for the Panthers this deal is about a lot more than just adding pedigree and leadership. Getting out from under Matheson’s contract will be seen as a big win, even if he’s able to turn around his career in Pittsburgh.
The 25-year-old defenseman had fallen completely out of favor in Florida since signing an eight-year contract in 2017. That deal carries a cap hit of $4.875MM through the 2025-26 season, and actually has a partial no-trade clause that will kick in next year. The Panthers had scratched Matheson several times and even tried him at forward as they attempted to squeeze some value out of the deal, but it just wasn’t working. In 299 games with the team he had registered 91 points, but routinely posted underwhelming defensive and possessions statistics.
A part of the deal that wasn’t reported yesterday is Sceviour, who shouldn’t be entirely overlooked. Even if he isn’t a household name, there’s no doubting Sceviour’s ability to serve a depth role in the bottom-six and help a penalty kill. He’s been a regular NHL player for the last six seasons, good for about ten goals and 25 points a year.
It is notable though that with Sceviour’s addition, the Penguins aren’t even actually opening any cap space in this deal. Hornqvist’s $5.3MM cap hit is actually surpassed by the combined totals of Matheson ($4.875MM) and Sceviour ($1.2MM) next season, though obviously, they take up two roster spots now.
More likely, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford saw this as an opportunity to reshape his group and considered Hornqvist too expensive to serve the third-line role he was likely penciled moving forward. The acquisition of Kasperi Kapanen pushed him down the lineup, plus Rutherford has been clear that he felt this group needed a drastic change if they wanted to compete for another Stanley Cup.
The question now becomes how exactly Matheson fits in. The Penguins already had four defensemen making at least $3.25MM, plus youngster John Marino who has taken hold of a top-four role. There very well could be another move coming, but for now, it is a crowded (and expensive) blueline.
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Curtis Lazar Signs With Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres have decided that Curtis Lazar played well enough to keep around, signing him to a new two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $800K and allow Lazar to avoid restricted free agency this offseason.
Now 25, Lazar is on his third NHL organization since being the 17th overall pick in 2013. Never developing into the dominant power forward that some expected, he did seem to find a home in the Sabres bottom-six this season. Scoring 10 points in 38 games was obviously enough to show he deserved a new deal, one that will keep him an inexpensive option for head coach Ralph Krueger.
Amazingly, Lazar becomes just the fifth Sabres forward under contract for the 2020-21 season. While prospects like Dylan Cozens are expected to take a roster spot, it’s rare that you see an NHL team with so many pending free agents in one year. Wayne Simmonds, Vladimir Sobotka, Jimmy Vesey, Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson and Michael Frolik are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency, while Dominik Kahun, Tage Thompson, Victor Olofsson and Sam Reinhart are all restricted free agents.
That will situation will offer a ton of flexibility for new GM Kevyn Adams as he looks to right the ship and fix a culture that has resulted in only losses over the last decade. The last time the Sabres went to the playoffs was 2011, something they’ll try to change quickly.
NHL Announces Offseason Training Protocols
Even if official training camps and exhibition schedules are still not set in stone, the NHL did release some information about how and when teams can start to get together for offseason training. In an agreement between the NHLPA and league, team sites will be opened on October 15. Many of the same protocols from Phase 2 will be in place, including a limit of 12 people on the ice at the same time.
These protocols are just another thing to remember when it comes to prognosticating for the 2020-21 season. Even with several months between the Stanley Cup Finals and opening day, it will not be an offseason like any other. For players arriving in new organizations or young prospects trying to make an impact, access will be limited throughout the fall.
If players and staff do choose to use these facilities, they will be administered regular COVID-19 tests and be forced to adhere to strict protocols to reduce the chance of contraction or spread of the disease.
Announcements of training camp and the regular season schedule are yet to come.
Condensed Season Puts More Pressure On Goaltending
One of the things most talked about in the hockey world as we approach the draft and free agency is the game of musical chairs that awaits many of the league’s goaltenders. Braden Holtby, Robin Lehner, Jacob Markstrom, Anton Khudobin, Cam Talbot, the list of goalies headed to unrestricted free agency is almost endless. Trade rumors about many more have surfaced, with Frederik Andersen, Matt Murray, James Reimer, and Marc-Andre Fleury all potentially on the market.
In Fleury’s case specifically, the veteran goaltender has expressed a desire to remain with the Vegas Golden Knights even if Lehner is re-signed. Speaking to Jesse Granger of The Athletic, Fleury made it clear that he is not asking for a trade, even if he has seemingly lost the starting role. Vegas means a lot to him and Fleury has meant a lot to the Golden Knights in their first three years of existence. It’s just that his salary makes him an exceedingly expensive option as a backup goaltender.
Fleury’s $7MM cap hit may be too rich for the Golden Knights to keep around as a backup, but make no mistake there will be an increased emphasis on the goaltending position this offseason. Even those teams with outstanding starters will be looking for legitimate backup options as we head towards the condensed 2020-21 season. It may not even end up needing the “2020” part, given the regular season is now not expected to start until January.
If that’s the case and the league continues to remain steadfast on playing the full 82-game schedule, next season will be extremely difficult on starting goaltenders. Back-to-back situations will come up much more frequently, with three-in-four-nights often also becoming the norm. Even the league’s most durable goaltenders won’t be able to play the same number of games that they’re used to, meaning a capable backup will be more valuable than ever.
That’s exactly the reasoning behind Montreal’s recent acquisition of Jake Allen from the St. Louis Blues. The Canadiens are now spending more than any other team on goaltending for the upcoming season, but have a backup they can rely on to keep Carey Price fresh even in a condensed season. If Allen is asked to start 30 or even 35 games, Price will be even fresher for a potential playoff run.
Sure, the Tampa Bay Lightning rely heavily on Andrei Vasilevskiy to carry their goaltending load, but other teams are definitely looking at what Khudobin has done for the Dallas Stars and wondering if they need to improve their own backup situation. With that in mind, the opportunity for some of those free agent netminders may not be as limited as once believed.
Take a team like the Washington Capitals, for instance. While they have obviously made the decision to move on from Holtby and hand the reins to young netminder Ilya Samsonov, what kind of guarantee do they have that he can handle the job by himself? Samsonov’s heaviest workload as a professional came in 2018-19 when he appeared in 37 games for the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Is Pheonix Copley or Vitek Vanecek the answer behind him in a condensed schedule?
What about the Winnipeg Jets, where Connor Hellebuyck led all goaltenders in appearances this season en route to the Vezina Trophy. There’s no doubt that he’ll be taking a heavy load again next season, but it’ll be hard to pick out 65 games and not include several back-to-back situations. That team spent just $1.225MM on Laurent Brossoit last season, but perhaps they’ll be another landing spot for one of these veteran options that come with a bit bigger price tag.
For those looking to predict who sits where when the music stops, a condensed 2020-21 schedule is among the most important considerations. You might be surprised by how many teams are looking to shore up the position, even if they already have a star in net.
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Morning Notes: Trade Bait, Pietrangelo, Draft Takes
In a normal year, the NHL Entry Draft is usually a hotbed for trading action. The event normally takes place at least a week before free agency opens and brings the front offices of every team in the league into one room at the same time. This year might be different, but thanks to a flat cap and poor financial situations for several teams, the next two weeks may actually have even more trade action. With that in mind, Frank Seravalli of TSN released his latest Trade Bait board, which includes a snippet of each team’s current situation. Matt Murray remains on top of the list, with Pittsburgh Penguins GM Jim Rutherford essentially guaranteeing a move before the season begins.
Still, it’s the rest of the board that may draw interest. Nikolaj Ehlers has disappeared from it, for one thing, while Matt Dumba has climbed to the second spot. Stars like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Patrik Laine and Kris Letang all fall in the top-ten, suggesting that it could be more than just depth moves coming around the corner.
- Interestingly, the negotiating rights for Alex Pietrangelo also found a home on the board, just two weeks before the star defenseman hits unrestricted free agency. Perhaps that’s because of Pierre LeBrun’s latest for The Athletic, where he details the possibility of a sign-and-trade of the St. Louis Blues captain. Of course, these sign-and-trade moves basically never happen in the NHL, even if it could be a beneficial situation for all parties. As LeBrun notes, adding an eighth year onto Pietrangelo’s next contract (which only the Blues can do) would likely serve to reduce the cap hit for a new team. St. Louis could also get an asset out of the deal, but it still seems like a long-shot plan given the rarity of these moves in the hockey world.
- Of course, in many of the trades made over the next few weeks, there will be a draft pick component as rebuilding squads try to accumulate talent on October 6. Corey Pronman of The Athletic writes about the prospects currently causing the biggest divide among scouts, with quotes from either end of the spectrum. For a player like Kaiden Guhle for instance, who is expected to go in the first round, one scout believes he can play 22 minutes a night in the NHL and the other believes he’s nothing more than a third-pairing defender. Guhle was ranked eighth among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting after his breakout season with the Prince Albert Raiders.
Free Agent Focus: Colorado Avalanche
With free agency now just a few weeks away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. While their top performers may still be locked up, Colorado has a ton of work to do on their depth pieces.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Valeri Nichushkin – After a season that saw him score exactly zero goals in 57 games following several years in the KHL, it looked like Nichushkin’s NHL career might be over after the 2018-19 campaign ended. He was bought out by the Dallas Stars in June and could have easily decided to go back to Russia and continue his career there. Not so fast, said the Avalanche, who signed Nichushkin to a one-year, $850K deal that gave him another chance in the NHL. After scoring 13 goals and 27 points in 65 games while being one of the best defensive wingers in the entire league—he finished eighth in Selke Trophy voting—the 25-year-old Russian has probably earned himself a multi-year extension with Colorado.
F Andre Burakovsky – Quick, after Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who was the leading scorer on the Avalanche this season? Gabriel Landeskog? Mikko Rantanen? Nazem Kadri? No, it was Burakovsky, whose 45 points were a career-high despite the shortened season. In just 58 games he scored 20 goals for the first time in his career, finally getting the opportunity to play big minutes and rewarding the Avalanche by fulfilling the huge potential he had shown as a young player. Importantly, Burakovsky has already played six full seasons in the NHL despite being just 25, meaning he could become an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Waiting for a one-year arbitration award would get him there, meaning the Avalanche will have to try and work out a multi-year deal in the coming weeks if they want to lock him up.
D Nikita Zadorov – For all the frustration at the fact that Zadorov still hasn’t grown into that minute-munching two-way star that fans have been dreaming off since he came into the league as a teenager, he has already logged nearly 400 games in his NHL career and only turned 25 a few months ago. He’ll never be the leader of the Colorado blueline, but he still represents a valuable asset that they’ll have to make a decision on this summer. Like Burakovsky, Zadorov already has six NHL seasons under his belt and could use an arbitration award to get to unrestricted free agency at 26 next offseason. Unlike Burakovsky, the Avalanche might be okay with that outcome given the pipeline of defensemen they’ve created over the last few years.
Other RFAs: F Tyson Jost, F Vladislav Kamenev, D Ryan Graves, F A.J. Greer, F Sheldon Dries, G Hunter Miska
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Colin Wilson – When the 2018-19 season came to an end, the Avalanche decided that Wilson was worthy of a $2.6MM contract. They waited until July 1 to do it, but they obviously felt it was acceptable after his 12-goal, 27-point campaign. He was an option on the powerplay and a depth piece for a team that looked like they were gearing up for a real Stanley Cup run. Unfortunately, that $2.6MM resulted in just four points and nine games. Wilson suffered a (somewhat mysterious) injury in October and never returned, opening the door for other players to take his opportunities. If he’s healthy, perhaps the Avalanche bring him back. But with so much firepower ahead of him on the depth chart, it might be wise for Wilson to go somewhere else to build his value back up.
F Vladislav Namestnikov – If a trade deadline pickup ends up playing just nine regular season games for your team, it usually means the transaction was a mistake. Not so with Namestnikov, who scored four goals for the Avalanche before the shutdown and then added another four in their 12-game postseason. You can bet the team is wondering what kind of a resurgence they could milk out of the 27-year-old Russian forward, given he has shown an ability to score in bunches, but there simply might not be enough to go around. If the team is set on bringing back all of their restricted free agents, Namestnikov may be better served looking for a free agent landing spot.
F Matt Nieto – What can you say about Nieto? A few years ago he was lining up beside some of the very best players on the Colorado roster, but even after being dropped out of that group has still performed relatively well. 21 points in 70 games are nothing to sneeze at, especially when it comes in just over 11 minutes of even-strength ice time a night. Nieto was Colorado’s top penalty-killing forward this season and will be missed if the team is forced to let him reach free agency. There’s not always enough money to go around, especially if Nieto’s versatility and consistency end up drawing a crowd when the market opens.
Other UFAs: D Kevin Connauton, G Michael Hutchinson, F Jayson Megna, D Mark Alt, G Antoine Bibeau
Projected Cap Space
The $22.4MM in cap space Colorado has this offseason is a testament to the way GM Joe Sakic has built his squad, but it doesn’t mean they can take endless shots at high-priced free agents. The team has to consider their own core first, with Makar and Landeskog both heading into their final season under contract. MacKinnon will be up two years after that, with Kadri due for a new deal in the middle. No, they’re not in cap trouble, but they could be if they lean in and spend all of their room this offseason trying to chase a Stanley Cup right away.
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Anaheim Ducks Not Expected To Buy Out David Backes
On Friday, the first buyout period for the NHL will open and teams will be able to reduce the cap hit of some unwanted contracts (while paying a chunk of the remaining salary owed.) With the salary cap ceiling flat for next season (and likely several more afterward) this tool may be important to several teams around the league looking to shed payroll. It’s not the magic wand that compliance buyouts were in 2014, but it could still be useful in the right situation.
One player that has drawn some buyout speculation is David Backes of the Anaheim Ducks, who has just one year remaining on his current contract. The Ducks, who are set to cover just $4.5MM of his $6MM cap hit already thanks to the salary that the Boston Bruins retained in trade last year, would receive an additional $1.5MM in cap savings for 2020-21 should they exercise a buyout of the veteran forward. That would be offset by a $750K cap penalty in 2021-22, while the Bruins would also get a small amount of relief next season ($500K, with a $250K cap penalty in 2020-21).
That doesn’t appear to be the plan, however, as Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest reports the Ducks told Backes they intend to keep him for the upcoming season. Backes himself is preparing for the upcoming season already, working with a skating coach twice a week after scoring just a single goal in 22 games.
Though his play has fallen off a cliff, Backes could still represent a valuable veteran presence on a team that is just starting a rebuild. Youth will be dotted all over the Ducks roster next season, and though they appear quite close to the salary cap ceiling, it’s important to remember the flexibility that will be provided by Ryan Kesler‘s contract. Kesler is not expected to play hockey again, meaning his $6.875MM cap hit will be moved to long-term injured reserve.
The Ducks also don’t have any real pressing free agents after already completing deals with Sonny Milano, Troy Terry and Jacob Larsson this summer. Unless they want to pursue high-end unrestricted free agents on the market, they aren’t in desperate need of the $1.5MM in cap savings a Backes buyout would provide.
Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers Working On Trade
1:40pm: Friedman tweets that the hold up is related to an insurance issue. It is still not clear what the particulars of the trade would be, if it does go through.
10:50am: The Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers appeared to be close to a deal that would see Patric Hornqvist and Mike Matheson switch teams, but there has been a “glitch” holding it up according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Pierre LeBrun and Josh Yohe of The Athletic both tweet that the deal is not yet done. Hornqvist does hold a full no-trade clause, though it is not clear if that is the issue here or if the trade will happen at all.
Matheson has become something of a whipping boy for Panthers fans, ever since he signed his eight-year, $39MM extension in 2017. At the time he seemed like an up-and-coming top-four defenseman, but even then the eight-year term and $4.875MM cap hit seemed like a risky proposition. Since then his performance has declined drastically, with the team either benching him or trying him out at forward to attempt to recoup some of the investment. Ridding the books of his contract would be a win for new GM Bill Zito, though the cost of doing so is obviously important to consider.
Hornqvist meanwhile has three years remaining on his own questionable extension, signed in 2018 and carrying a $5.3MM cap hit. That would actually mean the Penguins would gain some cap space in a straight swap, though the veteran forward still does have some effectiveness left in his game. Hornqvist plays one of the most physical, grinding styles in the NHL, constantly battling in front of the net or in the corners. It’s resulted in a lot of offensive success over the seasons including this one in which he scored 17 goals and 32 points in just 52 games. Still, that style of play can often lead to a steep decline as a player enters their mid-thirties, which Hornqvist is firmly in as a 33-year-old that could very well turn 34 before the next season gets underway (his birthday is January 1).
If the trade does go through without any additions, it would seem a curious decision for a Pittsburgh team that already has plenty of money tied up on the back end. That said, their recent acquisition of Kasperi Kapanen has likely pushed Hornqvist out of a top-six role, making him quite the expensive option in his own right. Perhaps they believe that returning assistant coach Todd Reirden can help Matheson regain his form, or were just looking for a way to get out of Hornqvist’s last few years.
Stay tuned for more information.
Patrick Russell Loaned To Rungsted Seier Capital
The Edmonton Oilers have loaned several prospects overseas, but they won’t stop there. Now Patrick Russell has also been sent to Europe, loaned to Rungsted Seier Capital in Denmark’s professional league. Russell, one of the few Danish players in the NHL, hasn’t played for a club team in his home country since 2009.
The 27-year-old forward was re-signed to a new one-year $700K contract just last month, but will spend at least the first few months of it playing for a different club. Russell will be expected to return to North America in time for NHL training camps, though it is not clear exactly when those will be held at this point.
Though he has failed to score a single goal in 51 NHL matches, Russell still represents a depth option for the Oilers to plug in at the bottom of their lineup next season. His contract carries just a $700K cap hit, but he has shown an ability to score goals at both the NCAA and minor league levels. If that ability surfaces at the NHL level, he’d be quite the bargain in 2020-21.
Ottawa Senators Will Not Re-Sign Craig Anderson
The Ottawa Senators will be going in a different direction between the pipes next season. Today, while speaking to reporters including Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, Senators GM Pierre Dorion confirmed that the team will not be extending a contract offer to Craig Anderson (or Mark Borowiecki, whose agent already broke that news). Anderson will become an unrestricted free agent next month when his current deal expires.
Even as he announced that he wouldn’t be re-signing him, Dorion called Anderson the best goalie the Senators have ever had. That’s hard to argue, given Anderson’s place on the all-time Senators goaltending lists. After a decade with the team, he ranks first in games played (435), wins (202), saves (12,447), save percentage (.914, minimum 50 starts), points (11) and second in shutouts (28). While you could argue that Dominik Hasek‘s short stint with the team represented the best goaltending play the franchise has ever received, no one else has come close to the consistency that Anderson showed over his ten years in Ottawa.
Now 39 and coming off a poor season, it was obvious the time to move on had come. The Senators are starting to head back up in their rebuild after gathering an elite prospect system and have some young goaltenders who may deserve an NHL opportunity before long. There’s also still Anders Nilsson, who is expected to be ready for the start of next season and a free agent market full of players that could be short-term options.
Anderson, if he wants to continue playing, could be one of those short-term options available for other teams if they believe he can still be an effective backup. He has posted just a .901 save percentage over the last three years though, not exactly evidence of future success at the position.
Still, if this is the end of Anderson’s career it will have been an excellent one. A third-round pick in 1999 and then again in 2001, he would finish with nearly 700 career games. His postseason performances have been excellent, posting a .929 save percentage over 46 appearances and helping the Senators come within a goal of the Stanley Cup Finals in 2017.
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