Ben Hutton Drawing “Strong Interest” As Offseason Continues
The free agent period is now more than three weeks old and several interesting names remain unsigned. While Jake Gardiner is the top defenseman left on the open market, Ben Hutton is another option that would be much cheaper for a team closer to the cap. That might be why Luke Fox of Sportsnet reports that there is “strong interest from multiple teams” in Hutton, even at this later stage of free agency.
Hutton, 26, actually ranked 38th on our list of the Top 50 UFAs this year, thanks almost entirely to the huge role that he has played on the Vancouver Canucks the last several years. While he hasn’t shown very well in advanced statistics, the left-handed defenseman has averaged over 20 minutes a night through his four-year career including a whopping 22:21 per game in 2018-19. Hutton registered 20 points in 69 games last season with the Canucks and has 70 in his career, but is also a -75 as he and the rest of the team haven’t had much success during that time.
The Canucks decided not to qualify Hutton as a restricted free agent, an offer that would have been worth $2.8MM. That would have also allowed him to elect salary arbitration for an even bigger raise, something that Vancouver didn’t want to pay as they had their eyes set on bigger prizes. The team brought in Tyler Myers on one of the biggest deals in free agents at five-years, $30MM and also signed Jordie Benn and Oscar Fantenberg to round out their depth chart. Those three added to a group that is also bringing Quinn Hughes on for a full season didn’t have room for Hutton, especially at a relatively high salary.
But for another team, he may be the kind of player that can play a solid depth role or become perfect trade bait. A rebuilding club could continue to give him big minutes and hope his production improves even further, only to flip him down the road when teams are needy for playoff depth. Or, given his relative youth, if someone believes he can be a key player for them bring him in for a reasonable price now that the market frenzy has died down. Either way, the interest in Hutton isn’t surprising even if he has had to wait a few weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minor Transactions: 07/22/19
As July marches on and we get into arbitration hearings and contract holdouts, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league. We’ll keep updating as more come in:
- Erik Condra has signed with the Colorado Eagles, giving the team another veteran forward for what looks like a Calder Cup run. Condra has played 372 NHL games over a long career, and put up 54 points last season for the Texas Stars of the AHL. The 32-year old settled for an AHL contract, meaning he can’t be called up to the Avalanche without first clearing waivers and signing an NHL deal.
Snapshots: Gusev, Dotchin, Prospects
The Vegas Golden Knights still haven’t come to an agreement with Nikita Gusev, but there is coming a time when they’ll need to make a final decision on the restricted free agent. Gusev’s Russian agent Yuriy Nikolayev spoke to Championat and explained (via Google translate) that there is a “certain deadline” when they will turn to negotiate with SKA St. Petersburg, who currently own his rights in the KHL.
Gusev signed his entry-level contract with the Golden Knights just a few months ago and burned through it without actually ever playing a game for the team. The team issued him a qualifying offer as an RFA, but haven’t yet been able to come to an agreement on a new contract. The only bit of leverage Gusev really has in this position is a possible return to the KHL, as he was not eligible for arbitration and cannot sign an offer sheet.
- According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, the Tampa Bay Lightning have reached a settlement with Jake Dotchin on the grievance he filed after seeing his contract terminated last fall. Dotchin allegedly showed up to training camp out of shape, causing the Lightning to place him on unconditional waivers and cut ties with him. He eventually signed with the Anaheim Ducks and played 20 games in the NHL last season, but had filed a grievance through the NHLPA for his lost salary. Smith reports that the two sides settled without having to go to an arbitration, which potentially could have set a precedent for other cases in the future. The details have not been disclosed.
- Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) has released his top-50 drafted prospect list, and recent first overall selection Jack Hughes comes in on top. The list includes 11 others from the 2019 draft, but is also led by names like Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar who made their NHL debuts at the end of last season. Notably the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers each have two players in the top-10, giving them plenty of hope for the future—and the present, if Makar and Kaapo Kakko have anything to say about it.
Zach Aston-Reese Re-Signs With Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t need to wait on an arbitrator’s decision with regards to Zach Aston-Reese. The young forward has re-signed with the team, inking a two-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $1MM. Aston-Reese was scheduled for an arbitration hearing today. GM Jim Rutherford released a short statement on the signing:
Zach is a responsible player who plays a solid two-way game. He has a heavy style of play that is especially effective on the forecheck and penalty kill.
The deal leaves the 24-year old Aston-Reese a restricted free agent again in 2021, as long as he participates in 21 more NHL games before then. That seems extremely likely, as the former Northeastern University standout has developed into a nice depth option for the team that can play in several different situations. Signing with the Penguins after a 63-point senior season at Northeastern, the undrafted Aston-Reese made a great impression on the organization by recording eight points in ten games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He made his NHL debut the following season, and ended up playing 43 regular season games (and four playoff contests) with the team in 2018-19.
One thing that stood out in Aston-Reese’s senior season at Northeastern was his net-front ability, as he was routinely able to find loose pucks in tight and put them in the back of the net. That same nose around the net has actually led to 12 goals in 59 NHL games, a solid rate for a young player with varying levels of opportunity. He has averaged just over 13 minutes a night over those games, but played as much as 18:30 and as little as 8:00 depending on where he’s slotted into the lineup.
That kind of versatility—Aston-Reese has lined up beside everyone from Sidney Crosby to Matt Cullen at different times—makes him a nice piece for the Penguins as they try to find a little different roster construction heading into 2019-20. With Phil Kessel gone and several new faces on board, it’s not clear at all how the lines will shake out at this point. At the very worst, Aston-Reese is likely ticketed for a depth role on the NHL roster this season, given he would need to clear waivers to be sent to the AHL.
With Marcus Pettersson still to sign however, the Penguins now project to be just over the $81.5MM cap ceiling for next season. Though that could be dealt with by carrying fewer than 23 players at the start of the year, it seems much more likely that Rutherford will find another trade to clear some room over the next few months. If that deal sends a forward out of town, the opportunity for Aston-Reese should only increase.
Florida Panthers Agree To Terms With Ian McCoshen
The Florida Panthers are getting their restricted free agent business done today, as after avoiding arbitration with MacKenzie Weegar the team has agreed to terms with Ian McCoshen. McCoshen will sign a one-year, two-way contract for 2019-20, though the exact financials have not been released yet.
McCoshen, 23, still hasn’t had quite the impact at the NHL level that the Panthers were hoping for when they made him the 31st overall pick in 2013. After three years at Boston College the 6’3″ defenseman was expected to take a very short amount of time in the minor leagues before being ready to step into an NHL role, but that hasn’t worked out quite as planned. Now three seasons into his pro career, McCoshen has only suited up 60 times with the Panthers and is by no means guaranteed a role at that level in 2019-20.
Never a huge offensive threat, McCoshen was instead heralded for his tight gaps on defense and ability to engage physically when necessary. In extremely limited ice time, he has just seven points in those 60 games and has posted very poor possession statistics. In order to receive any more opportunity this season he will have to battle against players like Weegar and Josh Brown in training camp and show there is another level to his performance.
Still, it’s not time yet to give up on the young defenseman nor is it time to pencil him into the Springfield Thunderbirds roster to start the year. No longer waiver-exempt, the team might have to keep him in the NHL for a while as another team could easily find him attractive enough to put in a claim if he were to be exposed at the end of training camp. While the Panthers are now looking to compete and will be trying to trim the fat from their roster, a rebuilding club could certainly give McCoshen a chance as a bottom-pairing option to see what he can develop into. With just nine forwards signed to one-way contracts, the Panthers will have some flexibility at the start of the year if they want to keep all eight defensemen on the roster.
Michal Neuvirth Expected To Attend Toronto Maple Leafs Camp
According to a report from iSport in the Czech Republic, veteran goaltender Michal Neuvirth will sign a professional tryout with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Neuvirth is an unrestricted free agent after his contract with the Philadelphia Flyers expired, and would be battling with other goaltenders like Garret Sparks and Michael Hutchinson who are both already signed to one-way contracts.
Neuvirth, 31, has a long history in the NHL but not all of it has been successful. Originally selected 34th overall by the Washington Capitals—quite a high pick for a goaltender—he quickly made it to their NHL squad and played parts of six seasons. In Washington he had a .910 save percentage and even started nine games during their playoff run in 2011. Neuvirth has suited up for the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres in addition to Washington and Philadelphia, and has 257 games under his belt over an 11-year career.
That experience may not mean anything if he can’t show a substantial upgrade over Sparks and Hutchinson. The two backups will both require waivers to be sent down to the minor leagues, leaving Toronto in the same vulnerable situation they found themselves in last fall. Deciding to keep the younger Sparks, Toronto placed both Curtis McElhinney and Calvin Pickard on waivers and when both were claimed the team suddenly had no goaltending depth. They eventually traded for Hutchinson, while Sparks had an up-and-down season as Frederik Andersen‘s primary backup. That situation could potentially happen again, though it is unclear at this point how many teams will be looking for goaltending at the end of camp.
Edmonton Oilers Trade Milan Lucic To Calgary Flames
7:45pm: Sportsnet’s Mark Spector reports that there are two conditions on the third-round draft pick sent to Calgary and, in a move not before seen in the NHL, one has to do with the traded players’ production relative to one another. The first condition is that Neal must score 21 goals in 2019-20. The second condition is that those 21+ goals must also be 10 goal or more above Lucic’s goal total on the year. According to Spector, the conditions do not cause a shift in the round of the pick; instead, if those conditions are not met, the Oilers do not owe the Flames any pick at all.
7:00pm: The deal is now official, including the additional pieces and salary retention on Edmonton’s side. In addition to Lucic, the Flames announced that they have also acquired a conditional 2020 third-round pick as well, though terms of the condition were not disclosed. Additionally, the Oilers will retain 12.5%, or $750K, of Lucic’s $6MM cap hit. In other words, Calgary will pay Lucic $5.25MM against the cap for the next four years, while Edmonton will pay a total of $6.5MM against the cap for Neal and Lucic’s retained salary, also for four more years.
2:30pm: The Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames have decided to swap a pair of underperforming forwards. According to Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet the Oilers will send Milan Lucic to their provincial rivals in exchange for James Neal after Lucic decided to waive his no-movement clause. Bob Stauffer of 630 CHED and Gene Principe of Sportsnet have heard the same, though neither team has confirmed it at this point. Jason Gregor of TSN reported earlier that Lucic would be willing to waive the clause to go to Calgary. Eric Francis of Sportsnet expects the Oilers to include a conditional draft pick and retain part of Lucic’s salary.
Lucic, 31, has been considered one of the worst contracts in the league since the day he signed it on July 1, 2016. Agreeing to a seven-year, $42MM deal in unrestricted free agency, he was supposed to add some physicality, experience and scoring prowess to an up-and-coming Oilers team led by two young superstars. In the first year of the deal Lucic disappointed but still scored 23 goals and 50 points, helping the Oilers to the playoffs for the first time in a decade. There were red flags even then however, as Lucic was noticeably slowing down and scored more than half his goals on the powerplay. His even-strength production of 25 points was underwhelming and only a signal of things to come.
In 2017-18, things completely fell apart. Lucic recorded just seven even-strength tallies and scored just a single goal in his final 46 games. Last season was even worse, and at this point the former Boston Bruins star is a fourth-liner with a $6MM cap hit. That wasn’t going to cut it in Edmonton where new GM Ken Holland and the Oilers are trying desperately to reshape their roster even without much cap flexibility.
Neal meanwhile hasn’t been much better since signing his own lucrative free agent contract. Signing a five-year, $28.75MM deal on July 2, 2018, Neal was supposed to be the consistent goal scoring threat to line up alongside young forwards like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. He had just completed his tenth consecutive 20+ goal season and been to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals with the Nashville Predators and Vegas Golden Knights. His offense was rarely contingent on powerplay time and the 30-year old had played with some of the best players in the world during a long career. Unfortunately, that Neal never arrived in Calgary.
Instead, the veteran ended up posting just seven goals and 19 points in 63 games for the Flames. A healthy scratch at times, his role on the team was immediately limited as he never seemed to find a real comfortable fit in the forward group. Basically every metric fell off a cliff for Neal, and Calgary regretted his contract tremendously. Luckily it did not include any trade protection—a notable difference from Lucic, who will require protection in the expansion draft thanks to his no-movement clause.
The question will be whether either player can recover some of their past glory in their new homes. Lucic has been a shell of his former self offensively for more than two years now, but at least still does provide that physical presence that the Flames have been looking for. The 6’3″ winger has recorded at least 200 hits in each of the last six seasons including 259 in 2018-19. If that’s the role Calgary is expecting of him, he should fulfill those expectations just fine.
Neal however probably has bigger shoes to fill. The Oilers have been desperate for any sort of goal production from the wing—partly due to Lucic’s decline—and may still have big expectations for Neal, especially if they are retaining salary and giving up an additional asset. He’s only a year away from a 25-goal campaign with Vegas, but he’ll have to prove his worth to head coach Dave Tippett before he is strapped to McDavid’s wing.
In all, this is a crap shoot for both teams hoping to find some production in their misspent money. If Lucic can give the Flames some bite and contribute a bit on the fourth line he’ll be more useful to them than Neal was. If Neal can play the powerplay and log some time beside their best forwards he’ll have more value to Edmonton. Neither scenario is guaranteed.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Jacob Trouba Agrees To Terms With New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are going to avoid arbitration with new defenseman Jacob Trouba, instead agreeing to terms on a new contract. The deal is for seven years and carries an average annual value of $8MM. Trouba was scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 25, but will no longer require it. CapFriendly provides the full breakdown:
- 2019-20: $4.0MM salary + $8.0MM signing bonus
- 2020-21: $2.0MM salary + $8.0MM signing bonus + NMC
- 2021-22: $2.0MM salary + $6.0MM signing bonus + NMC
- 2022-23: $6.0MM salary + NMC
- 2023-24: $8.0MM salary + NMC
- 2024-25: $6.0MM salary + 15-team NTC
- 2025-26: $6.0MM salary + 12-team NTC
This contract is exactly the reason why the Winnipeg Jets decided to move on and trade the 25-year old Trouba this summer, as they wouldn’t have been able to afford a deal of this magnitude even if he had wanted to sign long-term there. The Jets have Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine to sign this offseason and already have huge commitments laid out for several others. The Rangers meanwhile had nearly zero long-term commitments when they acquired Trouba for Neal Pionk and a first-round pick, though they subsequently gave Artemi Panarin $81.5MM in free agency.
Signing Trouba is another signal that the Rangers are finished their tear down and are starting to turn the corner towards a competitive team once again. After spending a little over a year selling every asset they could to acquire draft picks and prospects, the Rangers have now added a top-pairing defenseman, superstar winger and second-overall pick in one offseason, not to mention nabbing top college prospect Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes. Though the team is still projected to be very young this year with names like Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Lias Andersson and Brett Howden fighting for playing time, the additions of Trouba and Panarin are not ones made by a rebuilding club.
The new contract for Trouba will buy out six years of unrestricted free agency, as an arbitration decision of one year would have taken him to the open market. Despite being only 25 he has already played six full seasons in the NHL, totaling 408 regular season games. After taking on a bigger powerplay role last season with the Jets, Trouba set a career-high in points with 50 while still averaging nearly 23 minutes a night. He will immediately become their top right-handed option, forming quite the formidable pairing with Brady Skjei if the team decides to go that route.
At $8MM however, a huge responsibility will be placed on Trouba’s shoulders. The deal makes him the fifth-highest paid defenseman (in terms of cap hit) in the league, tied with John Carlson and Brent Burns. Both of those players have reached the 70-point mark, with Burns being a previous Norris Trophy winner as the league’s best defenseman (three-time finalist). He’ll have more than enough opportunity to get to that level in New York, but it’s still a gamble for the Rangers to make at this point.
In fact, this deal (when combined with Panarin’s) puts the Rangers into a tight salary situation of their own. The team still has Brendan Lemieux and Anthony DeAngelo to sign and an arbitration hearing scheduled for later this month with Pavel Buchnevich. In order to afford new contracts for all three the Rangers will have to make an additional roster move, whether that is trading a player like Vladislav Namestnikov or buying out someone like Kevin Shattenkirk. The team will get another buyout window a few days after the Buchnevich arbitration is settled, which will give them some more flexibility. There is also the possibility of trading veteran forward Chris Kreider who sits as the third-highest paid forward on the team and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Either way, this contract for Trouba comes with real consequences for the Rangers. The 25-year old defenseman is an excellent player, but he now has even more pressure to perform than ever.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Bowen Byram Signs Entry-Level Contract
The Colorado Avalanche have signed top prospect Bowen Byram to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will only kick in for the 2019-20 season if Byram plays in more than nine games at the NHL level.
The fourth-overall pick in June’s draft, Byram was the top defenseman selected and is coming off an incredible season with the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. Playing this season at just 17 years old, Byram recorded 71 points in 67 games and led all players—defensemen or otherwise—in playoff scoring with 26 points. His upside as a puck-mover is unquestioned, but he’ll have to prove himself at Avalanche training camp before they hand him a full-time role in the NHL.
If he had been selected by another team, Byram’s chances at playing in the NHL for the entire 2019-20 season may have been higher. Colorado has built quite an impressive blue line over the last several years, and even after trading Tyson Barrie to the Toronto Maple Leafs still have eight or nine legitimate roster options. Ian Cole and Erik Johnson are expected to miss the start of the season with injuries, but that still leaves Cale Makar, Nikita Zadorov, Samuel Girard, Kevin Connauton, Mark Barberio, Calle Rosen and even Ryan Graves as possibilities, not to mention Conor Timmins if he can prove he’s healthy enough to contribute.
Though playing more than nine games would start Byram’s contract, teams around the league are worrying less and less about that threshold and more about the 40-game mark. That’s when the season would count towards his eventual unrestricted free agency status, meaning there is a scenario where the young defenseman plays more than nine and still returns to junior eventually. The team could potentially keep him until Cole or Johnson (or both) are set to return, and then potentially even send him to the World Juniors in December to delay the junior decision even further. Once they return him to the Giants they can’t recall him, making it an even tougher decision.
Even if Byram does return to the CHL at the beginning of the season, he represents another high-end piece for the Avalanche to build around. With Nathan MacKinnon still just 23 and Mikko Rantanen 22, there are good times coming in Colorado.
Andrew Copp, Winnipeg Jets Exchange Arbitration Figures
Second on the list of arbitration hearings scheduled for this summer is Andrew Copp of the Winnipeg Jets. The two sides exchanged figures prior to their hearing on Sunday, and according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet the player filed for a one-year deal at $2.9MM while the team is looking for a two-year contract at $1.5MM. In this case the team gets to choose the length of the award because Copp was the one who filed for arbitration. It is important to remember that not only can the two sides still negotiate a different deal in the time remaining (and even for a short period after the hearing), the arbitration decision also does not need to be one salary or the other. The award can (and usually does) fall somewhere in the middle of the submitted figures.
Copp only just turned 25 a few days ago, meaning he will be a restricted free agent at the end of even a two-year contract. The fourth-round pick has developed into a valuable depth piece for the Jets even if his offense still hasn’t progressed very far. Scoring 11 goals and 25 points in 69 games last season was the best rate of his NHL career, but his real worth lies on the penalty kill and in the corners where he is a strong possession player.
The question will be how the Jets can afford to keep him as a fourth-line player if he receives a decision anywhere near the $2.9MM he filed for. Though they still have nearly $23MM in cap room, Winnipeg has contracts still to sign with Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine which should likely total more than $15MM combined. That $23MM disappears fast given it is only based on a 15-player roster at the moment, and Neal Pionk is also due for an arbitration hearing next week. The Jets find themselves in real trouble after losing three key players from their blue line and will need a youngster like Jack Roslovic or Kristian Vesalainen to give them some real value on an entry-level deal.