Grant Hutton Signs With New York Islanders
The New York Islanders have signed a college free agent of their own, inking Grant Hutton to a one-year entry-level contract that will begin in 2019-20. Hutton recently finished his college career at Miami University (Ohio).
Hutton, 23, was named captain of the RedHawks this season and ended up with 21 points in 37 games. The 6’3″ defenseman has a well-rounded game that is anchored by his solid skating ability, and should be able to step right into the professional ranks next season. The question will be whether he can contribute enough to make it to the NHL, especially in an organization that is suddenly flush with young defensemen.
The Islanders have seven defensemen already signed to one-way contracts for next season, and five signed through the 2020-21 season. That’s not even including other youngsters like Noah Dobson, Bode Wilde and Sebastian Aho who are still all on their entry-level contracts. For Hutton to make an impact at the NHL level he’ll have to show that there is another level to his game.
NHL Announces Global Series Dates For 2019-20
The NHL will be heading overseas again next season, bringing the top league in the world to fans all across Europe. Four teams will be included in the 2019 Global Series, as the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres will all participate in regular season games in another country. The full series is as follows:
September 29, 2019 – Berlin, Germany
Chicago Blackhawks vs Eisbaren Berlin (exhibition)
September 30, 2019 – Lausanne, Switzerland
Philadelphia Flyers vs Lausanne HC (exhibition)
October 4, 2019 – Prague, Czech Republic
Chicago Blackhawks vs Philadelphia Flyers
November 8-9, 2019 – Stockholm, Sweden
Buffalo Sabres vs Tampa Bay Lightning
The games in Sweden will be special for several players on the Sabres and Lightning, including standout defensemen Victor Hedman and Rasmus Dahlin. The two squads will go head to head in a pair of games, and Dahlin spoke with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com about his excitement:
Now it’s going to happen, and it’s unreal. It’s awesome. I mean, I’ve been on the same ice surface as [Hedman], but to be able to do it at home in front of friends and family, it’s unbelievable.
I can’t believe it’s actually going to happen.
The league also has details on the outdoor games for next season that had already been announced, including the 2020 Winter Classic between the Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars.
WHL Conference Awards, OHL Coaches Poll Highlight Top Prospects
The Canadian Hockey League remains the largest source of young talent in the world, sending nearly countless players into various professional hockey leagues every year. The WHL, OHL and QMJHL are continually being picked over for the next great NHL player, and while some slip through the cracks the majority of the top performers are snapped up by organizations at the draft.
Today the WHL released their conference awards, highlighting the very best performers from this year. This list is littered with NHL prospects, including some who will make their debut as soon as next season. Each of the conference winners are eligible for the overall awards which will be given out at the beginning of May. The list is as follows:
Eastern Conference Player of the Year: Trey Fix-Wolansky, Edmonton Oil Kings (Columbus Blue Jackets)
Western Conference Player of the Year: Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)
Eastern Conference Top Goaltender: Ian Scott, Prince Albert Raiders (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Western Conference Top Goaltender: Dustin Wolf, Everett Silvertips (2019 draft eligible)
Eastern Conference Top Defenseman: Josh Brook, Moose Jaw Warriors (Montreal Canadiens)
Western Conference Top Defenseman: Ty Smith, Spokane Chiefs (New Jersey Devils)
Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year: Brayden Tracey, Moose Jaw Warriors (2019 draft eligible)
Western Conference Rookie of the Year: Lassi Thomson, Spokane Chiefs (2019 draft eligible)
Eastern Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player: Justin Almeida, Moose Jaw Warriors (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Western Conference Most Sportsmanlike Player: Cody Glass, Portland Winterhawks (Vegas Golden Knights)
WHL Top Scorer: Joachim Blichfeld, Portland Winterhawks (San Jose Sharks)
68 GP, 53 G, 61 A, 114 PTS
Washington Capitals Sign Joe Snively
March 20: Snively has signed an amateur tryout with the Hershey Bears and will get some AHL experience before the end of the year.
March 18: The Washington Capitals have signed one of the top remaining college free agents, inking Yale University standout Joe Snively to a two-year entry-level contract. The deal will begin in the 2019-20 season, meaning Snively will not be able to help the Capitals down the stretch.
Snively, 23, apparently drew interest from more than 20 teams—though Snively himself told reporters that he was only negotiating with about five—after finishing his NCAA career, given his long history of offensive production. The 5’9″ forward recorded 139 points in 129 career games for Yale, never scoring fewer than 28 in a single season. Snively was a nominee for the Hobey Baker award this season after recording 36 points, but that was just another year for the elusive left-handed shot.
He could join the Hershey Bears on an amateur tryout for the rest of this season, but will almost certainly spend time in the AHL in 2019-20 unless he blows away the Capitals coaching staff at training camp. The team does need cheap contracts like this one moving forward, given they already have more than $70MM committed to just 14 players next season.
It’s important to note that the Capitals actually couldn’t have signed Snively to a deal starting this season because they are already at the 50-contract limit. The fact that they convinced him to join their organization even without burning a year right away is impressive, and will certainly help them keep costs down in the future.
Snapshots: Drury, Winnipeg, Savoie
The U.S. Men’s National Team will be under new leadership moving forward, as Chris Drury has been named GM. Drury is currently serving as assistant GM with the New York Rangers, a position he will continue in along with this new role. John Vanbiesbrouck, assistant executive director of USA Hockey, explained the hiring:
We’re really happy to have Chris serving as general manager of our team. He knows what it takes to succeed at the international level, and working with our men’s national team advisory group, which brings vast experience, success and passion to the table, we have a tremendous group in place to build our team.
That advisory team is made up of several active NHL front office executives, including Drury’s boss in New York Jeff Gorton. The group will decide who will play in the upcoming World Championship, scheduled for May 10-26 in Slovakia. Drury has plenty of experience on the international stage, winning two Olympic silver medals and taking part in several other tournaments throughout his excellent playing career.
- The Kootenay Ice have moved to Winnipeg for the 2019-20 WHL season, and will get a nice prize to start their run in the new city. The team today won the WHL Bantam Draft lottery, moving up one spot to get the first overall selection in the upcoming draft. The Prince George Cougars will pick second (with Swift Current’s selection) and fourth, while the Saskatoon Blades will be the third team up. Kelowna rounds out the top five of the draft, which will be held on May 2.
- Unfortunately they won’t get a chance to pick Matthew Savoie with the top selection, as the 15-year old was denied exceptional status. In response to that, Savoie committed to the University of Denver for 2021-22, something his brother had already done previously. If he wants to maintain his college eligibility, Savoie will not be able to play anywhere in the WHL and instead will likely go the route of the USHL. That is, unless a favorable situation comes about at the 2020 bantam draft and he rescinds his commitment.
Elvis Merzlikins Signs Entry-Level Contract
As expected, the Columbus Blue Jackets have officially signed goaltender Elvis Merzlikins to a one-year entry-level contract. The experienced Latvian netminder will burn through his deal this season, making him a restricted free agent in the summer but still under Columbus control. GM Jarmo Kekalainen had this to say about the newest member of the Blue Jackets organization:
Elvis Merzlikins is a big, athletic goaltender who has performed at a very high level in the Swiss League with Lugano and is ready to take the next step in his career. We think he is the best goaltender outside of the NHL right now and are excited about his future with our organization.
The 24-year old Merzlikins has shown what he can do against top competition several times in the past, most notably during the last three World Championships. The 6’3″ goaltender has led Latvia to respectable finishes despite their team being overpowered, racking up save after save against the more traditional hockey nations. Playing in Switzerland, he has twice won the Goaltender of the Year award and is usually a force in the playoffs—this year notwithstanding.
Originally selected in the third round five years ago, Merzlikins was happy to stay overseas until now. With Sergei Bobrovsky entrenched as the Columbus starter there was little opportunity for him to play in the NHL, but that all may be changing quite soon. Bobrovsky is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, meaning there is a clear path to the starter spot for Merzlikins if he can continue to produce on the ice. That’s certainly not guaranteed, but Kekalainen isn’t alone in his assessment that Merzlikins is among the best goaltenders in the world outside of the NHL.
It will be interesting to see what kind of deal the two sides agree upon this summer. The league just saw Mikko Koskinen come into the NHL on a $2.5MM deal, only to be given a three-year $13.5MM extension before he’d even made 30 starts for the Edmonton Oilers. Koskinen was much older and had the benefit of being an unrestricted free agent, but still got paid before really showing what he could do over a long stretch. The Colorado Avalanche similarly signed Pavel Francouz last summer out of the KHL, but for only $690K. Francouz has been excellent in the AHL, but appeared in only two games for the Avalanche earlier on this season.
Interestingly Joonas Korpisalo (restricted), Keith Kinkaid (unrestricted) and Jean-Francois Berube (unrestricted) are all free agents this summer, meaning the Blue Jackets currently only have one goaltender—Matiss Kivlenieks, who has exactly zero games of NHL experience—under contract for next season. While that is a frightening situation for a team expecting to compete for the Stanley Cup, it also gives them ample flexibility to decide how to fill their net in 2019-20. Merzlikins is unlikely to get any NHL experience this year, but you can be sure he’ll be in the net at some point next season for Columbus.
No Extension Talks Between Vancouver Canucks, Jacob Markstrom
The Vancouver Canucks have had plenty of intrigue at the goaltender position this season, finding themselves without anyone to start in the minor leagues at various times. All that was caused by trading away Anders Nilsson, knowing that they wanted to give young up-and-comer Thatcher Demko a shot in the NHL. While Demko has looked fine in his five appearances, the more impressive run has been by 29-year old Jacob Markstrom.
Markstrom has a .929 save percentage over his last 14 starts, raising his numbers on the year to .915—the best mark of his career. He’s recorded a 26-20-9 record through 55 starts, an impressive total for a team that has lost more games than they’ve won overall on the season. While Demko may still represent the goaltender of the future, this run by Markstrom has definitely put himself in position for a potential extension. His current deal, which carries just a $3.67MM cap hit, expires after 2019-20 meaning he could sign an extension this July. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet though reports that there have been no talks yet between the two sides.
There’s good reason to believe that Markstrom has finally started to figure things out. He now has a .913 save percentage across his last four seasons, and has looked poised all year long behind an exciting Vancouver team. Remember this is a player that was selected 31st overall in 2008, and experienced incredible success early in his career. Markstrom was named the best goaltender at the 2008 World Junior tournament, carrying his Swedish team to a silver medal, and then won SHL Rookie and Goaltender of the Year after the 2009-10 season.
While the Canucks may not be competing for the Stanley Cup next season, their young core of Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes and others are going to be pushing for the playoffs before long. The team will have to decide who they want backstopping that group, and whether they can afford to keep Markstrom around. Demko meanwhile is a restricted free agent this summer, but does not have arbitration rights and likely will have to settle for an inexpensive deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ten Finalists Named For 2019 Hobey Baker Award
The first round of voting has come to an end, and the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award have been named. 83 players were nominated for the award this year, and a fan vote was added to the opinions of NCAA head coaches to determine the final ten names.
The trophy is given to the top NCAA player in the country, and has an impressive line of winners over the past few years. In 2013-14, Johnny Gaudreau took home the award as a junior for Boston College, followed by Jack Eichel in his only year for Boston University in 2015-16. Jimmy Vesey, Will Butcher and 2017-18 winner Adam Gaudette don’t bring quite the same impact, but look like they’ll each have long NHL careers.
The award also has several top NHL alumni in its small fraternity, including Neal Broten, Tom Kurvers, Paul Kariya, Chris Drury, Ryan Miller and Brendan Morrison. With that group behind them, this year’s winner is certainly not someone to take lightly.
The finalists are as follows:
Joseph Duszak – Mercyhurst University (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Adam Fox – Harvard University (unsigned, Carolina Hurricanes)
Taro Hirose – Michigan State University (Detroit Red Wings)
Quinn Hughes – University of Michigan (Vancouver Canucks)
Mason Jobst – Ohio State University
Cale Makar – University of Massachusetts-Amherst (unsigned, Colorado Avalanche)
Patrick Newell – St. Cloud State University
Chase Priskie – Quinnipiac University (unsigned, Washington Capitals)
Jimmy Schuldt – St. Cloud State University
Nico Sturm – Clarkson University
Jimmy Howard Signs One-Year Extension
The Detroit Red Wings have signed veteran goaltender Jimmy Howard to a one-year extension. John Shannon of Sportsnet reports the deal will be for $4MM, and CapFriendly adds that he can earn up to $1.1MM in additional performance bonuses. Howard is eligible for performance bonuses as a 35+ player (as of the 26th) that is signing just a one-year deal. Scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, the goaltender has been open about his willingness to keep signing one-year deals as long as they keep him in Detroit. The deal will include zero trade protection.
Howard, who will turn 35 next week, has posted a .908 save percentage this season through 48 games and remains a solid option in net for the Red Wings. In fact, he outplayed Jonathan Bernier this season and could very well enter next year still ready to make the majority of the starts. While he was a potential trade candidate at the deadline, both sides had expressed a desire to keep him in Detroit all season and with a one-year deal there is little risk for the Red Wings. The team can ride him until he’s no longer effective, and Howard can retire having only ever played for a single organization.
Selected in the second round back in 2003, Howard starred at the University of Maine—recording an incredible .956 save percentage in his sophomore season—before jumping into professional hockey with both feet. After a few seasons as the starter for the Grand Rapids Griffins, he took over as the full-time NHL starter in 2009 and never looked back. Though he has dealt with injury, Howard never posted a save percentage under .906 during his decade as the starter for Detroit and twice received votes as a Vezina candidate. He has an all-time record of 240-171-68 in 509 regular season starts with the team.
The Wings are finally climbing out of the salary cap troubles they put themselves in over the past few years, and signing Howard to a one-year deal will only give them even more flexibility going forward. Bernier carries just a $3MM cap hit for the next two seasons, meaning the combined tandem is still not prohibitively expensive.
Dan Girardi Out Indefinitely With Lower-Body Injury
It seemed as though Dan Girardi was close to a return for the Tampa Bay Lighting, but any excitement should be tempered for now. The team today announced that Girardi will be out “indefinitely” with a lower-body injury. The 34-year old defenseman hasn’t played since March 7th, and Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times was told by head coach John Cooper on Monday that Girardi hadn’t suffered a setback. Still, it seems as though the Lightning will have to look elsewhere for the time being.
The Lightning certainly haven’t missed a beat with Girardi out of the lineup, winning their last five games to extend their lead and secure the Presidents Trophy. Still, he has been a valuable option for the team this season and his absence will only thin out their depth on the blue line. With the NHL playoff grind just around the corner, losing an experienced right-shot defenseman is never an ideal situation.
Experienced is certainly one way to describe Girardi, who has suited up for 139 playoff games during his long career, including 17 last season with the Lightning. While he has just 36 points in those games, he has averaged nearly 23 minutes of ice time including some incredible totals as a younger player in New York. The team will now have to rely even more heavily on Ryan McDonagh and Erik Cernak while short handed, especially until Stralman returns. Jan Rutta meanwhile will get an extended opportunity to show he can be a full-time contributor.