Chicago Blackhawks Sign Dylan Sikura, John Quenneville
The Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to terms Dylan Sikura and John Quenneville to two-year contract extensions, taking them through the 2020-21 season. The matching deals are two-way contracts in 2019-20 that will pay $700K in the NHL and one-way contracts in 2020-21 worth $800K. That gives both players a $750 cap hit and makes them inexpensive depth options for the Blackhawks.
Sikura, 24, was originally a sixth-round pick of the Blackhawks back in 2014 but developed into one of the best players in the country at the NCAA level and was twice a nominee for the Hobey Baker award. After scoring 111 points in his final 73 games for Northeastern University, Sikura jumped to the NHL level and added three assists in five games for the Blackhawks at the end of the 2017-18 season. Unfortunately he is still looking for that elusive first NHL goal, as through 33 games this season the young forward registered just eight assists. That scoring drought certainly wasn’t present at the AHL level however, and Sikura should be in a competition for a roster spot with the Blackhawks out of camp. Perhaps unfortunately for him however, Sikura will still be waiver exempt at the start of the year and could be sent down if the team faces a roster crunch.
Quenneville meanwhile came to the Blackhawks through a much different path. Originally a first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 2014, the 23-year old forward’s progress has seemed to stall over the last few years. Though he has continued to dominate offensively in the AHL, Quenneville received just 33 NHL games with the Devils and contributed just five points. During Saturday’s draft, the Devils decided to trade Quenneville to the Blackhawks in exchange for John Hayden, giving both players a fresh start. Unlike Sikura he is not waiver exempt, which may give him a leg up on making the Chicago roster out of training camp.
Cam Talbot Linked To Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames have had interest in Cam Talbot going back to his days with the New York Rangers, and they may be finally getting their man. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweeted this morning that the Flames and Talbot are still both looking at all of their options, but there is a “decent possibility” of a deal when free agency opens next week. Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest went even further than that, reporting that the veteran goaltender will be signing a one-year deal with the Flames. Though they often do, players and teams aren’t supposed to exchange contract figures during the current interview period and no deal can be made official until Monday, July 1.
Talbot, 31, may seem like he has passed his prime given the poor performances he has posted the last two seasons, but he’ll try to prove his doubters wrong this year. After finishing fourth in Vezina Trophy voting in 2017 he has posted just a .902 save percentage and eventually relinquished the Edmonton Oilers starting gig. If he does end up in Calgary, it likely would be as a partner—or even backup—for David Rittich, who still needs a new contract of his own after receiving a qualifying offer earlier this week. Rittich went 27-9-5 with the Flames this season but watched Mike Smith play all five games in the team’s first round postseason loss.
Calgary is loaded with talent up front and on the blue line, but haven’t been able to find a consistent starting goaltender for years now. Smith and before him Brian Elliott were prone to wild swings in effectiveness, making it tough to find any sustained or postseason success. If Talbot can reclaim some of the stability he showed in that 2016-17 season with the Oilers and help lift up Rittich as an NHL starting goaltender, perhaps the team will be able to reach new heights and contend for the Stanley Cup once again.
PHR Live Chat Transcript: 06/27/19
Click here read a transcript of this week’s live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Dallas Stars Re-Sign Taylor Fedun
The Dallas Stars have decided to bring back one of their depth defensemen, today signing Taylor Fedun to a two-year, two-way contract. Fedun was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, but will stick around with the Dallas organization through 2020-21. The deal carries a $737.5K annual average value in the NHL.
Fedun, 31, has been a professional for many years but only received his first extended opportunity at the NHL level with Dallas last season. Suiting up for 54 games—more than he had in his previous six pro seasons combined—he finished with 11 points and found himself in a depth role where he averaged just under 14 minutes a night. All of that came after a November trade from the Buffalo Sabres which cost the Stars just a 2020 seventh-round pick, a small price to pay for an NHL regular. That pick though is still higher than Fedun was ever drafted.
Playing in the Albert Junior Hockey league instead of the CHL, Fedun was undrafted and went to Princeton to play hockey and get a mechanical engineering degree. It turns out he wouldn’t need it yet as he has instead carved himself out a nice playing career including some excellent seasons in the minor leagues. While the deal is still a two-way contract that means he earns a different salary at the NHL and AHL level, he secured a $350K minimum in year one and $400K minimum in year two.
Carolina Hurricanes Buy Out Patrick Marleau
4:00pm: The buyout is official.
11:41am: Even though the Carolina Hurricanes hoped to convince Patrick Marleau to stick around after arriving in a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the expected buyout is going to move forward. Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer reports that GM Don Waddell admitted as much today, noting that the team will have to pay a $3MM signing bonus right away and then the remaining $833,333 split over the next two seasons. Since Marleau is on a 35+ deal however, the Hurricanes will not receive any cap relief and will continue to have his $6.25MM hit on the books for this season. A buyout will make Marleau an unrestricted free agent and a return to the San Jose Sharks is possible.
Thanks to his no-movement clause, Marleau will also not require waivers for a buyout. The 39-year old forward was acquired by the Hurricanes on Saturday along with a package that included a conditional first-round pick in a straight salary dump by the Maple Leafs. Toronto desperately needed some cap room to help them re-sign their trio of restricted free agents, and Marleau seemed ready to leave the organization and return to the west coast with his family.
One of the NHL’s true iron men, Marleau has now gone ten straight seasons without missing a single game and has played in at least 74 games every year of his career (save for the lockout-shortened 2012-13 where he played in all 48). During that career he has amassed 551 goals and 1,166 points in 1,657 games, putting him among the all-time leaders in each category. Unfortunately, he is still chasing that elusive Stanley Cup and has only even made it to the Stanley Cup Final on one occasion. His hope that a move to Toronto in 2017 would give him that opportunity fizzled when the Maple Leafs were ousted two years in a row by the Boston Bruins in the first round.
As his Cup dreams dwindled in Toronto, so did his play as Marleau recorded his worst goal-scoring season since his rookie year in 1997-98. With just 16 goals and 37 points he was no longer worth the $6.25MM hit for the Maple Leafs, who are trying to find a way to surround Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Mitch Marner with enough talent to go on a deep playoff run.
Wherever he signs (if he does at all), Marleau could potentially play for the league minimum of $700K given he is already earning nearly $3.5MM for this season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Free Agent Focus: Tampa Bay Lightning
Free agency is now just a few days away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Tampa Bay has already made moves to clear some salary off their books but have several RFAs needing new deals. Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Brayden Point — For Tampa Bay, the entire offseason comes down to Point and his next deal after he exploded for 41 goals and 92 points in 2019-20. The undersized forward has worked his tail off since dropping to the third round in 2014 and is now one of the best two-way centers in the league. While teammates Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos may get more national coverage, Point’s impact on the Lightning is irreplaceable and he’ll be looking for a huge raise coming off an entry-level contract that saw him record 198 points in 229 games. There is optimism that a deal will eventually get done between the two sides, but Point is in a group of restricted free agents around the league that are all waiting to see each other’s contracts.
F Cedric Paquette — While Point is the straw that stirs the drink this offseason, Paquette shouldn’t be overlooked. The 25-year old center provides a physical, grinding presence that the team may be lacking now that J.T. Miller and Ryan Callahan are gone and even scored 13 goals in limited minutes last season. A good faceoff man and key penalty killer, his 269 hits would be difficult to replace if the team was forced to go in another direction.
Other RFAs: F Adam Erne, F Danick Martel, F Carter Verhaeghe, D Ben Thomas, D Dominik Masin
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Anton Stralman — Easily the biggest loss through free agency this summer for the Lightning will be Stralman, who has been the epitome of consistency for the last five seasons. The veteran defenseman has provided a stable, stay-at-home option on the right side for some of the more offensive Lightning defenders and has eaten up minutes on a nightly basis. He dealt with injury this season that limited him to just 47 games, but he heads into the offseason as one of the top free agent options remaining on the blue line. If Tampa Bay wanted to bring him back they’d need to find some extra cap space, as even at 32 he should command a multi-year contract.
D Dan Girardi — The same might not be true for Girardi, who is set to sign his next contract after his 35th birthday. That designation comes with added risk for teams, but performing decently enough in a reduced role for Tampa Bay there will still be someone who gives him the chance if he wants it. Girardi recorded 16 points in 62 games for the Lightning but was still a key penalty killer and trailed only Ryan McDonagh in blocked shots.
Other UFAs: F Andy Andreoff, F Mitch Hults, F Gabriel Dumont, F Kevin Lynch
Projected Cap Space: The Lightning currently sit a little more than $10.6MM under the $81.5MM ceiling according to CapFriendly, but can also place Callahan’s $5.8MM hit on long-term injured reserve if necessary. LTIR designations are a little more complicated than just “free cap space” however, and with Point’s deal expected to add a huge chunk of salary the Lightning don’t have a ton of room for free agent shopping—just don’t tell them that.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ottawa Senators Re-Sign Jack Rodewald
The Ottawa Senators have signed depth forward Jack Rodewald to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2019-20 season. The deal is worth $725K at the NHL level, and will keep him in the organization for at least one more year. Rodewald will be eligible for Group VI unrestricted free agency next summer should he fail to play in at least 70 NHL games this season.
Rodewald, 25, hasn’t been handed much in his professional career. Even his junior career got off to a terrible start when he recorded just 26 points through his first two seasons for the Regina Pats, before he eventually turned himself into a prime offensive option for the Moose Jaw Warriors. Undrafted, he needed to prove that ability again at the minor league level, but his first real opportunity wouldn’t come in the AHL. Instead Rodewald played his first full professional season with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL, scoring 47 points in 62 games. He would impress at the Ottawa Senators training camp the following year and earn a spot in their minor league system. It still took until fall of 2017 to sign his first NHL contract, a deal that was now set to expire with just ten games played for Ottawa.
Still looking for his first NHL point, Rodewald nevertheless has developed himself into an excellent AHL performer just as he did at every level previous. Last season he recorded 23 goals and 47 points in 59 games for the Belleville Senators, trailing only top prospect Drake Batherson in scoring. While bringing that scoring touch to the NHL is still another huge step, it’s hard to write off a player who has come so far in such a short time. With another NHL contract in hand, he’ll push for a spot in Ottawa out of training camp, a team that should have plenty of opportunity available.
St. Louis Blues Re-Sign Carl Gunnarsson
The St. Louis Blues will be keeping one of their depth defensemen around a while longer, announcing a two-year extension for Carl Gunnarsson. The deal comes with a $1.75MM cap hit, a substantial decrease from the $2.9MM average annual value his last contract carried. Gunnarsson was set to become an unrestricted free agent.
In an offseason where the free agent market for defensemen seems to be shrinking daily, a player like Gunnarsson may have been considered quite valuable on the open market. The veteran returned from 2018 offseason hip and knee surgeries but dealt with several other injuries during the year that limited him to just 25 games played for the Blues. He nearly matched that total in the postseason however, suiting up 19 times and scoring a memorable game two overtime winner against the Boston Bruins. A solid option whenever he entered the lineup, Gunnarsson could be relied upon for safe minutes beside one of the team’s more active right-handed stars.
Playoff success and steady defensive play is usually rewarded in free agency, but the 32-year old obviously valued the stability of the Blues organization where he has spent the last five seasons. Originally selected in the seventh round back in 2007, Gunnarsson has worked hard for every opportunity in his NHL career and will stick around with the team that just took him to a championship. Whether he plays a big role on the St. Louis blue line in 2019-20 is still to be determined, but he’ll be valuable depth for the team as they look to repeat.
Vegas Golden Knights Closing In On Contract For Tomas Nosek
The Vegas Golden Knights failed to issue a qualifying offer to free agent forward Tomas Nosek this week, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be hitting the open market. Golden Knights president George McPhee confirmed to Jesse Granger of The Athletic that the team is close to a deal with Nosek, though nothing has been officially submitted yet.
Nosek, 26, is coming off a one-year $962K contract with the Golden Knights and ended up playing in 68 games for them last season. The undrafted forward recorded just 17 points but had excellent possession numbers and was a key part of the team’s penalty kill. Vegas recently cleared some cap room by dealing Erik Haula to the Carolina Hurricanes, but still have plenty of work to do in order to get under the cap and give themselves a little bit of wiggle room for the upcoming season. Another move can be expected soon, as McPhee explained to SinBin.vegas when asked about whether Nikita Gusev‘s presence allowed them to move Haula:
Um, yeah, I guess so. And again, we’ll see where things go in the next few days, but we made a move yesterday and there’s probably another one coming. We’ll talk about that when it happens.
Gusev is one of a few restricted free agents that did get qualifying offers and will need new contracts in the coming months. Where the team will find the room for that is unclear, but for now they’re at least confident that they can get a deal done with Nosek before any other team comes calling for the depth forward.
Calgary Flames Showing Interest In Patrick Maroon
A year ago, Pat Maroon decided to take less money in order to head home to St. Louis and play hockey closer to his son. That decision, based entirely on his personal life, ended up having huge ramifications on his professional one as Maroon was an integral part of the Blues’ first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The power forward scored just three goals in 26 playoff contests but had perhaps the most memorable one of the entire postseason when he chipped in a loose puck in double overtime against the Dallas Stars to send the Blues to the third round.
Now, as free agency approaches again, Maroon has another decision to make on whether to pursue a contract elsewhere. The 31-year old is an unrestricted free agent once again after his one-year deal with the Blues expires, but has “several teams” looking into him according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN. The Calgary Flames are one of those, which would represent a return to the Pacific Division for the former Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers forward.
How Calgary would afford Maroon without him taking another healthy discount isn’t clear. The team currently projects to have close to $13MM in cap space for next season, but still has plenty of work to do with their own restricted free agents. Not only do solid players like Sam Bennett and David Rittich need new deals, but young star Matthew Tkachuk is part of the league-wide group of players coming off their entry-level deals that may be demanding huge raises. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic isn’t sure how well the initial conversation between Tkachuk and the Flames went, and Eric Francis of Sportsnet recently detailed how that negotiation is slowing down everything else Calgary is trying to do.
There is undoubtedly going to be interest in Maroon, who can be a physical force and still chip in a little offense when required. While he may never replicate the 27-goal campaign he had in 2016-17, postseason success is almost always rewarded on the open market.