Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Logan Shaw, C.J. Suess
The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with both Logan Shaw and C.J. Suess on one-year contracts. Both players were scheduled to be restricted free agents this summer, but will now sign two-way deals worth $700K in the NHL.
Shaw, 26, ended up in the Jets organization after signing a one-year contract partway through the season. Though it wouldn’t result in any NHL action, he would suit up 63 times for the Manitoba Moose and experience the best professional season of his career. The 6’3″ center scored 27 goals and 46 points for the Moose, and when added to the five points he had for the San Diego Gulls, more than doubled his previous career high of 25. That’s an impressive breakout for the depth forward, and may have him in line for some spot duty with the Jets next season. Originally a third-round pick of the Florida Panthers, Shaw has scored 31 points in 180 career NHL games.
Suess on the other hand is still waiting for his big break at the highest level. The 25-year old forward was selected by the Jets in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, but attended college for four seasons before joining the organization. He suited up just 26 times this year for the Moose thanks to injury, but did contribute eight goals and 12 points over that span. He’ll try to make a bigger impact next season when fully recovered.
Toronto, Los Angeles Discussed Patrick Marleau Trade
Even while the Stanley Cup Final is still happening, this time of year brings plenty of interesting trade speculation. Today, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweeted that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings have discussed a potential Patrick Marleau trade, though they haven’t been able to find a fit yet. Marleau has a full no-movement clause and can decide his future, though LeBrun points out the connection he has to new Kings head coach Todd McLellan from their days in San Jose.
Marleau, 39, saw his production decline severely this season, posting his lowest goal total since he was an 18-year old rookie in 1997-98. Those 16 tallies and 37 points were a disappointing result for the legendary forward, who continued his iron man streak and has now completed ten straight seasons without missing a game. Still, he is looked to as an important leader for the Maple Leafs and has been leaned on by head coach Mike Babcock in important situations. His defensive responsibility is still there, and the Maple Leafs have even used him at center sporadically when necessary.
Even with all that however, a trip to the west coast certainly wouldn’t be about improving the Kings roster for next season. Los Angeles is in the early stages of a rebuild, and would likely only entertain the idea of a Marleau trade if it meant they could either rid themselves of a bad contract or acquire some additional assets. The veteran forward has just one year remaining on his contract and is owed just $1.25MM after his signing bonus is paid out on July 1, but still carries a $6.25MM cap hit for the 2019-20 season. That’s exactly the reason the Maple Leafs are exploring a trade, given their impending cap crunch.
The Kings and Maple Leafs have been trading partners recently, as the two hooked up on a swap revolving around Jake Muzzin earlier this season. That saw Toronto hand over their first-round pick along with two highly touted prospects, helping along the Los Angeles rebuild. Perhaps there is more to be discussed, but we’ll have to wait to see if Marleau is even willing to waive his no-movement clause at all.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Willie Desjardins Returns To WHL
It’s a homecoming for Willie Desjardins today, as the Medicine Hat Tigers announced that he will return as head coach and GM of the WHL franchise. Desjardins coached the Tigers from 2002-10 before taking his first coaching role in the NHL. His most recent NHL opportunity, coaching the Los Angeles Kings down the stretch, did not result in another position with the team after they instead turned to Todd McLellan this offseason.
Despite his stint in Vancouver not going very well, Desjardins is an accomplished coach. The 62-year old has won championships at the WHL and AHL level, along with medals at the World Juniors and Olympics. Unfortunately that didn’t carry over to the NHL, but there is little doubt that he can bring some stability and success back to the Tigers organization.
Full List Of 2019 Expiring Draft Rights
When drafting a player out of North America or more European countries, a team acquires their exclusive negotiating rights for a set amount of time. Each year on June 1, a long list of players see those rights expire and they become unrestricted free agents (or choose to re-enter the draft, depending on specific circumstances). While this doesn’t always result in a flurry of signings in the last week of May, there are usually a few players who ink their deals at the last minute to stay in the organization that drafted them. With the deadline set for 4:00pm CT tomorrow, CapFriendly has provided a full list of players who will see those rights expire:
Anaheim Ducks
Kyle Olson (122nd overall, 2017)
Arizona Coyotes
Noel Hoefenmayer (108th overall, 2017)
Boston Bruins
Cedric Pare (173rd overall, 2017)
Daniel Bukac (204th overall, 2017)
Calgary Flames
Zach Fischer (140th overall, 2017)
D’Artagnan Joly (171st overall, 2017)
Carolina Hurricanes
Brendan De Jong (166th overall, 2017)
Chicago Blackhawks
Radovan Bondra (151st overall, 2015)
John Dahlstrom (211th overall, 2015)
Colorado Avalanche
Gustav Olhaver (191st overall, 2015)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Veeti Vaini (141st overall, 2015)
Dallas Stars
Liam Hawel (101st overall, 2017)
Brett Davis (163rd overall, 2017)
Markus Ruusu (163rd overall, 2015)
Detroit Red Wings
Lane Zablocki (79th overall, 2017)
Zachary Gallant (83rd overall, 2017)
Cole Fraser (131st overall, 2017)
Reilly Webb (164th overall, 2017)
Brady Gilmour (193rd overall, 2017)
Minnesota Wild
Ales Stezka (111th overall, 2015)
Jacob Golden (147th overall, 2017)
Montreal Canadiens
Scott Walford (68th overall, 2017)
Jarret Tyszka (149th overall, 2017)
Nashville Predators
Karel Vejmelka (145th overall, 2015)
Pavel Koltygin (176th overall, 2017)
Jacob Paquette (216th overall, 2017)
New Jersey Devils
Jocktain Chainey (191st overall, 2017)
New York Islanders
Petter Hansson (202nd overall, 2015)
New York Rangers
Daniel Bernhardt (119th overall, 2015)
Dominik Lakatos (157th overall, 2017)
Ottawa Senators
Filip Ahl (109th overall, 2015)
Jordan Hollett (183rd overall, 2017)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Zachary Lauzon (51st overall, 2017)*
St. Louis Blues
David Noel (130th overall, 2017)
Trenton Bourque (175th overall, 2017)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ryan McGregor (172nd overall, 2017)
Vancouver Canucks
Kristoffer Gunnarsson (135th overall, 2017)
Matthew Brassard (188th overall, 2017)
Vegas Golden Knights
Maxim Zhukov (96th overall, 2017)
*Lauzon is obviously the highest pick in the group, but the chances of him earning a contract seem slim at this point. The 20-year old defenseman missed the entire 2018-19 season and most of 2017-18 with concussion issues.
Minnesota Wild Acquire, Sign Fedor Gordeev
4:17pm: The Wild have indeed signed Gordeev to a three-year entry-level contract, meaning Toronto will now receive their 2020 seventh-round pick.
11:45am: The Minnesota Wild have acquired the rights to Fedor Gordeev from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Gordeev needs to be signed by June 1 or else his exclusive rights would expire and he would re-enter the draft. If he does sign, the Maple Leafs will receive a seventh round pick.
Gordeev, 20, was originally selected in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, but wasn’t going to sign with the Maple Leafs. The 6’7″ defenseman had a fine season in the OHL, starting out with the Flint Firebirds before joining the OHL Champion Guelph Storm at the deadline. Gordeev may not have had the offensive impact that he was hoping for in the OHL playoffs, but is still an interesting project for the Wild to try and develop. Obviously his size presents a big opportunity, given that he can also move the puck and skate well.
Minnesota must have liked Gordeev, given that they could have drafted him themselves in a few weeks had he re-entered the draft. For the Maple Leafs, getting anything for a player you were about to lose for nothing is obviously a positive, but it does represent another failed late-round pick. Outside of their early selections the Maple Leafs haven’t found much success in the last few drafts, with another 2017 pick Ryan McGregor also expected to go unsigned. With the impending cap crunch in Toronto, the team will need to start finding some organizational depth in the later rounds in order to keep their window open.
Bob McKenzie of TSN first reported the deal.
Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Juuso Riikola
The Pittsburgh Penguins have locked up Juuso Riikola to a one-year one-way contract worth $850K. The 25-year old defenseman was a restricted free agent this summer, but will now get another chance to prove he is worth a multi-year contract as a full-time piece of the Penguins’ blue line. Pittsburgh assistant GM Bill Guerin released a statement on the defenseman:
Juuso has adjusted to the North American style of hockey seamlessly. He’s a very confident guy, and he’s also a great skater that moves the puck really well. We expect him to make an even bigger impact this year.
Riikola was signed out of Finland last year as an undrafted free agent, and immediately made an impact on the Penguins. When Justin Schultz went down early in the season with a broken leg, Riikola was used heavily by the Penguins and ended up playing 37 games for them through the first half of the season. By March, the Penguins had acquired some additional depth on the blue line and the team ended up eventually sending him down to the minor leagues.
Depth seems to be the key word to describe this contract, given the number of defensemen the Penguins now have signed for next season. There are already six players earning at least $3.25MM on one-way deals, plus the recently extended Chad Ruhwedel and RFA Marcus Pettersson. Right now it doesn’t appear as though there will be much opportunity for the young Finn, however the Penguins have been clear about their desire to shake up the roster this summer.
Toronto Maple Leafs, Nikita Zaitsev Working To Find “Fresh Start”
The Toronto Maple Leafs are working to find Nikita Zaitsev a “fresh start” according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who reports the defensemen is available for trade. Zaitsev has five years remaining on the seven-year contract he signed in 2017, and carries a $4.5MM cap hit. Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, Zaitsev’s agent, told Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun that he would not comment publicly on the matter, though Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that it was the player who asked for the team to try and trade him. McKenzie notes the request was for “personal reasons.”
It’s been a tumultuous few years since Zaitsev signed his long-term deal. After scoring 36 points as a rookie in 2016-17, he was taken completely off of the powerplay and given a hefty defensive workload as one of head coach Mike Babcock‘s most trusted penalty killers. Instead of thriving in that role, Zaitsev unfortunately suffered a broken foot that cost him a quarter of the season and his offensive output dropped to just 13 points in 60 games. This season, still in a defensive role, Zaitsev’s offensive production dropped even further to register just 14 points in 81 games. That included a stretch of 22 straight contests where he was held scoreless, despite averaging more than twenty minutes of ice time over that stretch.
Still, there were signs that he might turn things around going forward. A late season and playoff pairing with Jake Muzzin appeared to work well, though the right-handed Zaitsev was held under 18 minutes in four of the seven games against the Boston Bruins.
The idea that Toronto would be looking to shed Zaitsev is likely not entirely based on his play however. The Maple Leafs are desperate for cap room, given their upcoming summer in which they have to sign Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, and that $4.5MM cap hit is an easy target. Zaitsev still may hold some value on the open market as an experienced right-handed defenseman who has played in all situations, but the real benefit of moving him for Toronto would be to open up some room for their young forwards. That would come with the cost of depleting their already razor thin depth on the right side, but GM Kyle Dubas may have a plan to fill those spots internally.
In terms of Zaitsev’s landing spot, there may be teams around the league who believe he can be more than he showed over the last two seasons. The 27-year old was actually a relatively offensive defenseman during his days in the KHL, and is an excellent skater. If those offensive numbers can bounce back to the level they reached in 2016-17, $4.5MM isn’t a problem, even if it is for five more years.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Eetu Luostarinen
The Carolina Hurricanes have signed another prospect, inking Eetu Luostarinen to a three-year entry-level contract. Luostarinen has been playing in Finland for the last several years, but could now be on his way to North America if the Hurricanes decide to bring him over right away. The deal will carry an average annual value of $897,500 after bonuses, and begin in 2019-20.
Luostarinen, 20, was picked 42nd overall in 2017 but has developed into a top prospect for the Hurricanes over the last two seasons. His production in Finland has skyrocketed, to the point where he finished second in scoring on KalPa only behind Columbus Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier. The 6’3″, 178-lbs forward also recently suited up for Finland at the IIHF World Championship, where he took home a gold medal but was held scoreless.
If a Finnish forward is looking for an organization that he will feel comfortable in, there may be no better place than Carolina. The team is led by Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, and has also has players like Saku Maenalanen, Aleksi Saarela, and Janne Kuokkanen on the way to being consistent contributors. The team will hope that Luostarinen can be the next Finn to make an impact on the squad, after his development takes another few steps.
West Notes: Boeser, Trouba, Massie
The Vancouver Canucks are another team with a high profile forward set to hit restricted free agency for the first time, as Brock Boeser‘s current deal will expire on July 1. The 22-year old sniper has 59 goals through his first 140 NHL games, and looks like he will be a key part to whatever success the Canucks experience in the future. With that said, while this summer’s negotiation is extremely important, it may also be nowhere near concluding. Irfaan Gaffar of Sportsnet reports that the Canucks and Boeser are “not close at all” at this time, but are expected to meet again soon.
Boeser’s situation isn’t exactly the same as some of the other RFA forwards this summer. While Mitch Marner, Mikko Rantanen and Brayden Point all achieved new highs this season and set themselves up for long lucrative contracts, Boeser has dealt with injury through the first two years of his career and played just 69 games this season. While still extremely effective during those years, his camp may see value in taking a short-term deal and betting that he can put himself in another category altogether with a full season.
- Jacob Trouba‘s name continues to come up in trade speculation around the league, and Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that there is “significant interest” in the Winnipeg Jets defenseman. That’s easy to understand given the season Trouba just had, scoring 50 points for the first time in his career and stepping into an increased role on the Winnipeg blue line. Still, Trouba has now completed six seasons despite being only 25 years old and has just a single year of restricted free agency left. He also has no contract, meaning anyone who acquires him runs the risk of him filing for arbitration and walking right into unrestricted free agency in 2020. That possibility is likely exactly why the Jets are even having trade discussions about him, as he has never seemed likely to sign a long-term deal in Winnipeg.
- Defenseman Jake Massie has decided to turn pro, though nothing has been announced yet in terms of an NHL contract. Massie told his team at the University of Vermont that he would not be returning and instead will “pursue opportunities in professional hockey.” The Chicago Blackhawks own Massie’s rights after a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2015, just a few months after he was selected in the sixth round. The 22-year old played three seasons at Vermont, and totaled 23 points in 95 games.
Latest On Jeff Skinner
The biggest question of the Buffalo Sabres offseason, at least now that the head coaching vacancy has been filled, is whether or not GM Jason Botterill can get Jeff Skinner under contract. The star forward is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and would be one of the very best available players on the open market. Buffalo has maintained since they acquired him last year that they want to re-sign Skinner long-term, but to this point nothing has been set in stone. That might be changing soon, as Bob McKenzie said on NBC Sports last night that the two sides are getting closer:
The sense seems to be that there’s optimism, but not to the point where either side is entirely comfortable with the numbers that they’re exchanging. I do expect that there is likely to be more dialogue between Skinner’s [representatives] and the Buffalo Sabres. For quite some time now I’ve been saying that I think the sweet spot for a number is an eight-year deal somewhere between $8.5MM per year and $9.5MM per year.
Buffalo certainly wants him back, and Skinner would like to come back but they’ve just got to get the final massaging of the numbers to the point where both sides are happy. So it’s very close, but it’s not done. And until it’s done, it’s not done.
Skinner of course is coming off the best season of his career, scoring 40 goals and 63 points for the Sabres while finding instant chemistry with Jack Eichel. There is every reason in the world for the Sabres to want to retain Skinner, given how they’ve watched talented players like Ryan O’Reilly and Evander Kane sent packing in recent years but still haven’t found much success on the ice. Buffalo needs to start keeping their talent around if they ever want to stop the perpetual rebuild they’ve found themselves in for so long.
Still, an eight-year deal for any player comes with plenty of risk. While Skinner is one of the youngest free agents on the market, he also is a relatively one-dimensional player that doesn’t provide much if his goal scoring ability ever dries up. That has led to underwhelming seasons in the past, including his final one in Carolina in which he scored just 49 points in 82 games and ended up in a trade north. He only turned 27 a few weeks ago, but those 40 goals came on a likely unsustainable 14.9% shooting percentage. If that drops his career average of 11.2%, a $9MM+ contract might be a bit tougher to swallow.