Carolina Hurricanes Sign Fredrik Claesson
Apparently Fredrik Claesson has done enough to prove he can still play. The Carolina Hurricanes have signed the 26-year old defenseman to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a $700K salary at the NHL level after previously being in training camp on a professional tryout.
Claesson spent last season with the New York Rangers where he suited up 37 times and registered six points, but was left without a qualifying offer for the second consecutive summer. The 2011 fifth-round pick had previously spent the first six years of his North American professional career with the Ottawa Senators, and has a total of 164 NHL games under his belt.
It’s unlikely that Claesson will make a big impact for Carolina out of the gate given their impressive defensive depth, but he can serve as a veteran option to fill in for short periods of time. He also gives the team a good option to carry as the extra defenseman on the roster while giving Jake Bean more time in the minor leagues, if the youngster fails to make to opening night lineup. With Trevor van Riemsdyk on the shelf to begin the season and Justin Faulk‘s future with the team still uncertain, adding even more depth on the blueline was important.
Though he will need waivers to clear and be assigned to the minor leagues, Claesson could also represent another strong option for the Charlotte Checkers as they look to defend their Calder Cup title in the AHL.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/17/19
Like always, we’ll keep track of all the training camp cuts right here. Keep checking back to see the updated list:
Calgary Flames (per team release)
F Milos Roman (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Dmitry Zavgorodniy (to Rimouski, QMJHL)
G Dustin Wolf (to Everett, WHL)
Dallas Stars (per team release)
F Riley Damiani (to Kitchener, OHL)
F Curtis Douglas (to Windsor, OHL)
F Nicholas Porco (to Saginaw, OHL)
Florida Panthers (per team release)
F Patrick Bajkov (to Springfield, AHL)
F Blaine Byron (to Springfield, AHL)
F Aleksi Heponiemi (to Springfield, AHL)
F Jake Horton (to Springfield, AHL)
F Cliff Pu (to Springfield, AHL)
F Sebastian Repo (to Springfield, AHL)
F Adam Rockwood (to Springfield, AHL)
D Brady Keeper (to Springfield, AHL)
D Will Lochead (to Springfield, AHL)
G Joseph Raaymakers (released from PTO)
Nashville Predators (per team release)
F Egor Afanasyev (to Windsor, OHL)
F Philip Tomasino (to Niagara, OHL)
New Jersey Devils (per team release)
F Mitchell Hoelscher (to Ottawa, OHL)
F Graeme Clarke (to Ottawa, OHL)
D Xavier Bernard (to Charlottetown, QMJHL)
D Nikita Okhotyuk (to Ottawa, OHL)
D Michael Vukojevic (to Kitchener, OHL)
G Akira Schmid (to Omaha, USHL)
G Eamon McAdam (to Binghamton, AHL)
St. Louis Blues (per team release)
F Mathias Laferriere (to Cape Breton, QMJHL)
G Joel Hofer (to Portland, WHL)
Vancouver Canucks (per team release)
F Carter Bancks (to Utica, AHL)
F Carter Camper (to Utica, AHL)
F Dylan Sadowy (to Utica, AHL)
F Dyson Stevenson (to Utica, AHL)
F Tanner Sorenson (to Utica, AHL)
F Wacey Hamilton (to Utica, AHL)
D Dylan Blujus (to Utica, AHL)
D Mitch Eliot (to Utica, AHL)
D Zach Frye (to Utica, AHL)
D Stefan Leblanc (to Utica, AHL)
D Matt Petgrave (to Utica, AHL)
D Aaron Thow (to Utica, AHL)
G Jake Kielly (to Utica, AHL)
F Carson Focht (to Calgary, OHL)
F Ethan Keppen (to Flint, OHL)
G Arturs Silovs (to Barrie, OHL)
D Jett Woo (to Calgary, WHL)
F Will Warm (released from ATO)
Boston Bruins Sign Brandon Carlo
The Boston Bruins have locked up their final unsigned restricted free agent, inking Brandon Carlo to a two-year deal. The contract carries an average annual value of $2.85MM and will keep Carlo a restricted free agent at its expiry. Like most of the other RFAs this summer, the young defenseman will earn more money on the final year of the deal. Carlo will take home $2.2MM in 2019-20 and $3.5MM in 2020-21.
Carlo, 22, was a little overshadowed by Charlie McAvoy this summer as the young duo became restricted free agents at the same time, but he nevertheless was an extremely important piece for GM Don Sweeney to get under contract before the season began. A second-round pick in 2015, Carlo has quickly established himself as a reliable full-time option for the Bruins and played in 230 games over the last three seasons. The 6’5″ defenseman averaged nearly 21 minutes a night last season and recorded ten points, serving as the second most important penalty killer on the team behind only captain Zdeno Chara.
Though they were forced to go the bridge route with both McAvoy and Carlo (and Danton Heinen, who was signed earlier in the offseason), the Bruins have found a way to bring all of their pieces back with cap space to spare for this season. The team currently projects to come in a little more than $1.1MM under the ceiling to begin the year with almost the same lineup that took them to the Stanley Cup Final.
To be sure, there will be raises for both young defensemen in the future if they continue to play how they have during the early parts of their careers. But getting them both for less than $8MM combined will only help the Bruins current competitive window stay wide open.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Vancouver Canucks Sign Brock Boeser
The Vancouver Canucks have come to a resolution with Brock Boeser, signing him to a three-year contract worth a total of $17.625MM. That means Boeser will carry an average annual value of $5.875MM, a fair amount less than numbers that had been discussed earlier this summer. GM Jim Benning released a short statement on the deal:
We’re very pleased to have Brock re-sign. He’s a talented player, a key contributor to our offence and an important part of our team’s future. We look forward to having Brock join the team in preparation for the upcoming season.
As with several other restricted free agent contracts, Boeser’s deal will be back-loaded to force the team into giving him an expensive qualifying offer down the road. The full breakdown of the deal comes from Dan Murphy of Sportsnet:
- 2019-20: $700K salary + $3.3MM signing bonus
- 2020-21: $3.125MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2021-22: $7.5MM salary
That means that the Canucks will have to offer Boeser at least $7.5MM in 2022, given he will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal. As we wrote earlier today when things were picking up between the two sides, the 22-year old Canucks forward was in a different situation than many of the other unsigned RFAs. He and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins were both ineligible for offer sheets after making their NHL debuts following college seasons in 2017, giving them even less leverage in negotiations. As it turned out, both players have signed three-year deals to get them to their arbitration years.
In Boeser’s case, he still landed quite the raise and will immediately become the second highest-paid forward on the Canucks roster (only trailing fourth-line winger Loui Eriksson). For good reason too, given the 59 goals he has scored over his first 140 games in the NHL, a rate that puts him 17th in the entire NHL since the start of the 2016-17 season. That kind of first-line production will make Boeser a bargain right away for the Canucks as long as he can stay healthy, something that has been something of an issue so far in his career.
For the Canucks, there was no way they could afford to start the season without Boeser in the lineup. Vancouver spent up to acquire more talent this offseason by signing Micheal Ferland and Tyler Myers in free agency, while trading a first-round pick for J.T. Miller. After a few years of rebuilding the team wants to start contending for the playoffs once again, with Boeser, Horvat and Elias Pettersson driving the play up front.
The question now becomes who else is on the roster behind them. The team has 15 forwards signed to one-way contracts plus Pettersson and Adam Gaudette who are both still on their entry-level deals. 13 of those one-way deals are for at least $1.25MM, meaning they would still be felt (in part) against the cap even in the minor leagues. Boeser is also the only one of them that is still waiver-exempt, meaning there will be tough choices on who to expose to the rest of the league at the end of training camp if the group is healthy.
Boeser’s signing leaves just nine restricted free agents still to sign.
Training Camp Cuts: 09/16/19
Like always, we’ll keep track of all the training camp cuts right here. Keep checking back to see the updated list:
Arizona Coyotes (per team release)
D Connor Hall (released from ATO)
F Eric Uba (assigned to Guelph, OHL)
F Valentin Nussbaumer (assigned to Shawinigan, QMJHL)
F David Levin (assigned to Sudbury, OHL)
F Liam Kirk (assigned to Peterborough, OHL)
D Axel Bergkvist (assigned to Kitchener, OHL)
D Dennis Busby (assigned to Flint, OHL)
D Brady Lyle (assigned to Owen Sound, OHL)
G David Tendeck (assigned to Vancouver, WHL)
Colorado Avalanche (per team release)
F Travis Barron (assigned to Colorado, AHL)
F Brandon Saigeon (assigned to Colorado, AHL)
F Josh Dickinson (assigned to Colorado, AHL)
F Igor Shvyrev (assigned to Colorado, AHL)
D Josh Anderson (assigned to Colorado, AHL)
G Trent Miner (assigned to Vancouver, WHL)
Minnesota Wild (per team release)
F Gabe Gagne (released from PTO)
F Shawn O’Donnell (released from PTO)
F Brett Pollock (released from PTO)
F Jordan Topping (released from PTO)
D Josh Atkinson (released from PTO)
D Lester Lancaster (released from PTO)
D Matt Register (released from PTO)
D Keaton Thompson (released from PTO)
F Adam Beckman (assigned to Spokane, WHL)
F Shawn Boudrias (assigned to Cape Breton, QMJHL)
F Damien Giroux (assigned to Saginaw, OHL)
F Matvey Guskov (assigned to London, OHL)
D Fedor Gordeev (assigned to Guelph, OHL)
G Hunter Jones (assigned to Peterborough, OHL)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
F Liam Hawel (released from ATO)
New York Rangers (per team release)
F Ryan Gropp (assigned to Hartford, AHL)
F Ville Meskanen (assigned to Hartford, AHL)
F Ty Ronning (assigned to Hartford, AHL)
G Francois Brassard (assigned to Hartford, AHL)
G Tom McCollum (assigned to Hartford, AHL)
D Nico Gross (assigned to Oshawa, OHL)
D Hunter Skinner (assigned to London, OHL)
Brock Boeser Talks Picking Up
As of last week, the Vancouver Canucks and Brock Boeser were still not close on a contract despite training camp starting and the season approaching. That may be changing. Both Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet have reported today that talks have “picked up” over the last 24 hours. While both insiders can’t guarantee a deal comes soon, it is a positive sign at the very least that the two sides are talking again.
Boeser, 22, isn’t in the same situation as some the other restricted free agents. He doesn’t have all the rights of the others and couldn’t sign an offer sheet even if one was presented, because he’s played only two full seasons in the league. The former University of North Dakota standout signed after his sophomore college season ended and has just 140 games under his belt. Like Charlie McAvoy however, who was in the same situation, that doesn’t mean he won’t be able to secure a huge raise over his entry-level earnings. Boeser has been one of the most dangerous goal scorers in the league since his debut, registering 59 in those 140 games along with 57 assists.
While McAvoy ended up signing for just three years at $4.9MM, reports earlier this summer had the Canucks offering Boeser a much bigger and longer deal. His camp was trying to keep the term shorter than the reported six-year offer, but at this point it’s not clear what is being discussed. If one side has conceded on the term or salary, perhaps there is something to be done in the coming days. Like most players, Boeser and the Canucks have expressed a desire to get a contract signed before the season begins in order to miss as little time as possible.
It won’t take long to get Boeser to training camp, but the preseason schedule kicks off tonight for the Canucks. Every day this stalemate continues is lost preparation time for the young forward, and we’re now just over two weeks from the start of the regular season. The Canucks open the year in Edmonton on October 2nd, and hopefully will have their sniper ready to go.
Avalanche Notes: Rantanen, Annunen, Zadorov
Things are all quiet between the Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen according to Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now, who tweets that there has been “little to no talk” over the last week. There was a prevailing thought in the hockey world that once Mitch Marner signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs there would be some kind of movement with the other restricted free agents, but that’s not necessarily the case in Colorado. Rantanen compares pretty well to Marner after scoring 171 points over the last two seasons, but it is hard to imagine Avalanche GM Joe Sakic was happy when he saw the six-year, $65MM deal come across the wire from Toronto.
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado’s best player, is making averaging just $6.3MM over the final four years of his contract, making it tough to see the Avalanche hand out nearly twice that amount to Rantanen even with his strong performances to date. The 22-year old Finn will almost certainly become the team’s highest-paid player however if he signs any long-term deal, just how high the Avalanche are willing to go is unclear. Colorado has plenty of cap space for this season, but has to worry about potential extensions for Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer and Cale Makar in two years.
- They won’t have to worry about Justus Annunen for a while however, as the goaltending prospect has signed a two-year extension in Finland that keeps him under contract through 2021-22. While that doesn’t necessarily guarantee Annunen won’t be coming to North America during that time—the NHL does have a transfer agreement with Liiga—it certainly makes remaining overseas a strong possibility. The 19-year old was selected in the third round in 2018 and would see his draft rights expire on June 1, 2022. Annunen was brilliant in his first game for Karpat this season, stopping 23 of 25 shots for a win against HPK.
- Nikita Zadorov escaped major injury when he left the ice early yesterday and head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic that it is just a lower-body “tweak.” Zadorov is considered day-to-day. It is a big season for Zadorov as he approaches restricted free agency next summer, needing to prove that he can be a top-four option for this team over the long haul.
Philadelphia Flyers Agree To Terms With Travis Konecny
The Philadelphia Flyers have locked up their final restricted free agent, this time agreeing to terms with Travis Konecny. The young forward will sign a six-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $5.5MM. Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher released a short statement on the deal:
We are happy to have Travis under contract for the next six seasons. Travis has shown progression in each of his three seasons and is an integral part of our group of young forwards. His speed, skill and tenacity sets him apart in today’s NHL.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic—who accurately suggested Bo Horvat‘s six-year $33MM deal was a comparable this morning—provides the full breakdown:
- 2019-20: $1.0MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2020-21: $3.0MM salary + $2.0MM signing bonus
- 2021-22: $5.25MM salary
- 2022-23: $3.75MM salary + $2.0MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $6.0MM salary
- 2024-25: $4.0MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
Konecny, 22, was the 24th overall pick in the 2015 draft but quickly acclimated himself to the NHL level. Playing a full season in 2016-17 he showed off some impressive playmaking skills, and has now posted consecutive 24-goal campaigns over the last two years. The talented forward still hasn’t been able to break 50 points in a single year, but at least some of the reason for that is a simple lack of opportunity. Konecny averaged just over 15 minutes of ice time last season which was actually a career-high, and wasn’t a regular member of the first powerplay unit.
There’s no real guarantee that the man-advantage opportunity will increase for Konecny this season, but he should see more time at even-strength. He now slides in as the fifth-highest paid forward on the team, and with a huge investment in him the Flyers should be giving him every chance to succeed. If they do, that $5.5MM cap hit could become a bargain very quickly, especially compared to some of the other numbers his 2015 draft-mates are starting to pull in.
For the Flyers, they now have several pieces of their offense locked in long-term, but will have one more key negotiation coming up next summer with Nolan Patrick. Konecny joins Jakub Voracek, Kevin Hayes, Ivan Provorov, Shayne Gostisbehere and James van Riemsdyk with deals that carry through at least the 2022-23 season, while Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux still have three years each on their respective contracts.
Still, the team doesn’t have much cap space as they head into the season. Currently projected at just over $80.3MM in salary commitments for 21 roster players, the team may have to move players up and down regularly to accrue any additional room.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
NHLPA Formally Declines CBA Opt-Out Clause
Just like the NHL did a few weeks ago, the NHLPA has now formally declined their option to reopen the CBA following the 2019-20 season. That means the current agreement will remain in effect until September of 2022, avoiding any work stoppages during that time. The NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr released this statement:
While players have concerns with the current CBA, we agree with the league that working together to address those concerns is the preferred course of action instead of terminating the agreement following this season. We have been having discussions with the league about an extension of the CBA and expect those talks will continue.
When combined with the league’s decision, this is a very positive step that guarantees labor peace for at least three more years. The two sides will have a much longer runway to approach any CBA extension discussions, though by no means are those talks settled. The players and league both indicated in their announcements that they are not fully satisfied with the way the agreement is currently structured, meaning there will surely be some tense negotiations in the future. Topics like rising escrow levels, contract structuring and international competitions are some of the hot-button topics, though there are sure to be more brought up in the next few years.
Still, this can be celebrated by hockey fans that were dreading another work stoppage at the end of this season. The league has frustratingly gone through several over the last few decades, including the most recent one during the first half of the 2012-13 season. With this announcement, the hockey world can enjoy this season without the feeling of impending doom that has so often accompanied the sport.
Snapshots: Draft Rankings, Konecny, Laine
With training camp underway and the 2019-20 regular season just around the corner, Bob McKenzie of TSN has released his annual preseason draft rankings. This list is compiled from the opinions of ten active scouts around the league and given context by McKenzie, who will update throughout the year. It comes as little surprise to find Alexis Lafreniere leading the group, though none of them listed him as “in a class by himself.”
That may raise some eyebrows after Lafreniere took home the CHL Player of the Year award following his 105-point season with the Rimouski Oceanic, but it speaks to the strength of the players behind him. Those nipping at Lafreniere’s heels? They include power forwards, pure goal scorers, talented playmakers and even a potential franchise goaltender.
- After the trio of high profile restricted free agents all signed contracts over the past week, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) examines what that will mean for next year’s crop. Mikhail Sergachev and Thomas Chabot are the focus of his musing, each in very different situations in Tampa Bay and Ottawa. LeBrun also gives an update on the ongoing negotiations with Philadelphia Flyers Travis Konecny, noting that there is “at least a path ahead” and giving a potential comparable of Bo Horvat‘s $5.5MM average annual value. Horvat signed a six-year, $33MM deal in September 2017 following his first 20-goal campaign.
- Patrik Laine has begun practicing with SC Bern of the Swiss NLA as expected, explaining that he knew the coaching staff and thought it was a perfect place to stay in shape. The team’s head coach is Kari Jalonen, who had Laine on the Finland World Championship roster in 2016 where they won a silver medal. Laine was named the Most Valuable Player of that tournament, scoring seven goals in ten games.