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Trade Candidates: Francois Beauchemin

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

The Colorado Avalanche remain in the NHL’s basement, and 36 year-old defenseman Francois Beauchemin could move in exchange for draft picks and prospects. Veteran defenseman are a playoff team GM’s guilty pleasure, and the cup-winning Beauchemin could prove tempting come trade deadline time. Unfortunately for the Avalanche, Beauchemin’s contract situation may hinder any potential deal.

Contract

Beauchemin is in the 2nd year of a three-year deal worth $4.5MM a year. The contract also contains a No-Movement Clause. Finally, because it is a 35+ contract, the cap hit remains if Beauchemin retires before next season.

2016-17

Beauchemin’s production dropped from last season’s surprise resurgence, but remains in line with his career average. The Avalanche started the season with Beauchemin on the 2nd pairing, but recent injuries to Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie have propelled Beauchemin to average over 27 minutes a night. The increased ice time doesn’t seem to have a negative influence on the veteran defenseman, who has potted 1G and 1A in those last five games. If this season tells us anything, it’s that Beauchemin still has enough gas in the tank to eat large minutes for a contending NHL team.

Season Stats

45 games: 2 goals, 9 assists, 11 points. 45.8 CF%, -5, 21:18 ATOI, 100 BLK

Potential Suitors

Playoff-bound teams with enough cap room to handle Beauchemin’s $4.5MM cap hit, and appealing enough for Beauchemin to waive his NMC. The Columbus Blue Jackets could use Beauchemin’s services, and have the cap room to spare. The team could benefit from a veteran presence on a blue with only one player older than 26. Columbus may even be attractive to Beauchemin as a return to a former team. Beauchemin played 11 games for the Blue Jackets in 2005-06 before being traded to Anaheim.

Another potential suitor with ties to Beauchemin is the Montreal Canadiens. Even though the Canadiens just acquired Nikita Nesterov from the Tampa Bay Lightning, a couple of cap moves would create enough space for a proven veteran defenseman. Andrei Markov is 38 and no guarantee to remain healthy during a long playoff run. Beauchemin would provide insurance and additional protection in front of Carey Price.

Likelihood Of A Trade

50-50. Without considering Beauchemin’s contract, his skill and experience make him a hot commodity around the NHL. The problem lies with the three-pronged contractual downside. He still has one year left at $4.5MM, he is on a 35+ contract, and he has a NMC. Any of those three factors could deter interested teams, or at least lower the Avalanche’s expected return. A team with cap space and a good chance at making the finals, however, could provide the perfect landing spot.

Trade Candidates: Martin Hanzal

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With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we will be profiling several players in the weeks ahead that are likely to be dealt by March 1st.

The Arizona Coyotes’ Martin Hanzal represents the epitome of the trade deadline rental. Arizona is a non-playoff team with pending free agents, and a smart GM looking to maximize the team’s value through any means necessary. The only variable in this situation is how much Arizona will receive in exchange for the Czech centerman.

Contract

Hanzal is on the final year of his contract worth $3.1MM a year. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the season’s end.

2016-17

Hanzal has not produced as expected during his contract year. After starting the NHL season with a goal and assist, Hanzal went pointless for the next five games. His streaky plan contributes to his underwhelming stat line this year, and those stats may deflate his value come the trade deadline. Hanzal’s saving grace is that he excels in the faceoff dot, averaging above 50% for the fourth straight season. Hanzal also played for the Czech Republic in the World Cup of Hockey, recording 1G and 1A in three round-robin games.

Season Stats

39 games: 10 goals, 8 assists, 18 points. 48.1 CF%, -15, 18:25 ATOI, 55.1% FOW.

Potential Suitors

Any team looking for a depth forward for an extended playoff run. Hanzal’s cap hit is low enough that most competitive teams can afford to add him without too much worry. The Montreal Canadiens are rumored to be interested in Hanzal, but according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Arizona is asking for prospect Michael McCarron, a 1st round draft pick and a conditional draft pick. The steep asking price may limit the number of suitors, but Arizona’s ask is not entirely unreasonable.

A skilled center is a hot commodity at the trade deadline, and players similar to Hanzal have extracted similar returns. Andrew Ladd returned a prospect (Marko Dano) and a first and third round draft pick. Eric Staal returned a prospect (Aleksi Saarela) and two second round draft picks. Both had similar production and similar ages to Hanzal at the deadline last year.

The Columbus Blue Jackets could be dark-horse suitors. The team may want to capitalize on their surprising success, and it has numerous prospects available for trade. Columbus could dangle one of it’s goalie prospects—something Arizona may need after Louis Domingue’s disappointing season so far.

Likelihood Of A Trade

Very likely. Hanzal is the prototypical trade deadline rental. A pending free agent with a decent contract on a non-playoff team. The question is not if, but when. Expect the Coyotes to hold out until the last minute to guarantee they maximize the return.

 

Evening Snapshots: Ducks, Vanek, Rielly

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The Anaheim Ducks recalled center Kalle Kossila from the San Diego Gulls today. The Franco-Finnish is having a great year in the AHL, scoring 9G and 18A in 33 games. The Ducks signed Kossila out of the NCAA last spring, but kept him in the AHL until now. Kossila was born in France but moved to Finland at an early age.
  • Detroit Red Wings forward Thomas Vanek returns to action tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, reports Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. Vanek suffered a lower body injury on Sunday against the New York Rangers, and missed Detroit’s next game against the Boston Bruins. To make room Detroit scratched forward Drew Miller. Vanek has been the lone bright spot on a disappointing Detroit team this year. The Austrian forward is second in team scoring with 12G and 19A in 36 games. That is great production from a forward making only $2.6MM this year. Vanek has a chance to earn much more this summer as he enters free agency at the end of this season. And because of his pending UFA status—coupled with Detroit presumably not making the playoffs—Vanek could be a top trade candidate at the NHL trade deadline.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs continue to be without defenseman Morgan Rielly, reports the Toronto Star’s Kevin McGran. Rielly did not travel with the team to Detroit, and is not expected to be with the team tomorrow night in Philadelphia against the Flyers. Rielly hasn’t played since suffering a lower body injury on January 17th against the Buffalo Sabres. In that time, Toronto is 1-1-0-1, but did shut out the Calgary Flames on Monday 4-0. With the Atlantic Division playoff spots up for grabs, the Maple Leafs need Rielly back as soon as possible.

Rumor Roundup: Hanzel, Jurco, Parity

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News and notes from the NHL’s rumor mill:

  • According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Arizona Coyotes offered the Montreal Canadiens pending UFA Martin Hanzal in exchange for Michael McCarron, a 1st round draft pick, and a conditional draft pick. That is a steep price to pay for a player with only 10G and 8A in 39 games. Hanzal hasn’t done anything lately to help the Coyotes, either—he’s scored in only two games this month. Unfortunately for teams looking at Hanzal, the Coyotes’ asking price is in line with previous deals for Hanzal-like players. Andrew Ladd returned a prospect (Marko Dano) and a first and third round draft pick, while Eric Staal returned a prospect (Aleksi Saarela) and two second round draft picks. Both had similar production and similar ages to Hanzal at the deadline last year. That first round pick could turn into a second round pick if Hanzel continues to underproduce, but the Coyotes are not out the realm of reasonability right now.
  • According to the Detroit Free Press’s Helene St. James today, Tomas Jurco had asked the Detroit Red Wings for a trade this season. Jurco has sat as a healthy scratch for all but 11 games this season, and has failed to register a point in those games. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has also heard that Jurco wants out, and one can see why. Sometimes a player has no room in a given organization, and no player wants to sit idly by at any point in his career. Teams are usually good about accommodating these requests—like when the Maple Leafs traded Peter Holland to the Arizona Coyotes for a conditional seventh round draft pick—but nothing is guaranteed. The problem for most teams is that the player usually has untapped potential and they want to hold on to that player as long as they can.
  • TSN’s Darren Dreger said on TSN 1040 Vancouver today that the trade market is paralyzed by parity. Because so many teams are within a few points of a playoff spot, those teams are wary of trading away assets. Part of that parity stems from the so-called loser point, where many games end up becoming three point games (2 for a win, 1 for the OT/SO loss). The parity may be an illusion however. Three years ago Elliotte Friedman, then with the CBC, wrote that of the 32 teams 4 points or more back of a playoff spot, only 3 teams managed to make the playoffs.

Snapshots: Kronwall, Miller, Condra

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News and notes from around the NHL this morning:

  • Niklas Kronwall returns to the Detroit Red Wings lineup today for a game against the New York Rangers. Kronwall hasn’t played since January 4th due to a groin injury. Alexey Marchenko is the corresponding healthy scratch today. Kronwall has struggled points-wise this season, scoring 0G and 3A in 25 games. The Red Wings are five points out of a playoff spot with three games in hand, so any positive addition should excite Detroit fans and management alike.
  • To make room for Kronwall, the Detroit Red Wings placed forward Drew Miller on waivers, reports the Macomb Daily’s Chuck Pleiness. As Helene St. James points out, the Red Wings are already at the 23-man roster maximum. Somebody needed to go to make room for Kronwall. Miller has 5G and 1A in 34 games this season, and was playing just over ten minutes a night. Expect Miller to return if another Detroit player goes down with injury.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning forward Erik Condra cleared waivers today, notes Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Condra has no points in 10 games this season, and was often a healthy scratch for the Lightning. The veteran forward hasn’t found his footing this year, and will likely remain in the AHL until the Lightning need an injury replacement. Condra is in the second year of a three-year, $1.25MM a year contract.

Senators Working On Contract With Zack Smith

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The Ottawa Senators began contract talks with forward Zack Smith, reports the Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch. Smith is a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, and Ottawa needs to know whether to keep Smith or trade him at the trade deadline.

Smith came back down to earth this season after scoring 25G and 11A last year. His unsustainable 20.7% shooting percentage contributed to the drastic scoring increase, and this year’s regressed 11% shooting percentage leaves him with 9G on the season. His numbers are still respectable, but unless Smith goes on a scoring tear to finish the year, it would appear that last season’s success was an anomaly. Smith is in the final year of his $1.88MM contract. Given his production this year, Smith should expect a small bump, but nothing north of $3MM.

The Senators sit second in the Atlantic Division right now, and have to weigh making a playoff run against acquiring picks and prospects. With a weak and unpredictable Atlantic Division this year, any team could conceivably make a run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Montreal Canadiens’ Carey Price is struggling, the Boston Bruins sits third but with more games played than any other team, and the Toronto Maple Leaf’s rookie-laden team makes their success unpredictable. The usual division powerhouses—Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning—are experiencing down years and the Senators could use this opportunity to make a run. It’s unclear whether the Senators—or more aptly, whether owner Eugene Melnyk—wants to buy in for a playoff run, but what they do with Zack Smith will be indicative of their plans.

 

Snapshots: Stafford, Bruins, Coyotes

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • Winnipeg Jets forward Drew Stafford suffered a lower body injury in the second period of a mid-afternoon game against the St. Louis Blues. He did not return for the third period. Stafford is struggling this season, posting only 4G and 8A in 33 games so far. The veteran forward is playing just under 14 minutes a night which is three minutes less than he’s averaged over the past five years. Stafford becomes a free agent this summer, but he’ll have to turn things around if he wants to earn more than his current $4.35MM a year.
  • The Boston Bruins sent down forward Anton Blidh to the Providence Bruins today. The move follows Blidh’s healthy scratch last night. The Swedish forward has 1G and 1A in 19 games for the Bruins, and 6G and 4A in 21 games for Providence. This is Blidh’s second full season in North America, but its unclear whether he offers enough to stick with Boston for longer than a few games. Blidh may need more time in the NHL to acclimate to the North American game
  • Arizona Coyotes prospect Christian Fischer makes his NHL debut tonight, reports AZCentral’s Sarah McLellan. Fischer, Arizona’s 2nd round pick in 2015, is lighting up the AHL this season. He has 16G and 16A in 31 games for the Tucson Roadrunners, and his call-up was all but certain. Expect the Coyotes to be patient with Fischer. The team is out of playoff contention and will use this opportunity to see what they have in their prospects.

Hawks Linked To Tomas Tatar And Gustav Nyquist

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Chicago Sun-Times beat writer Mark Lazerus reported that the Chicago Blackhawks have shown interest in Detroit Red Wings forwards Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist. The two Red Wings forwards are on pace for full season career-lows but neither are unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. Tatar has 10G and 12A in 46 games, and Nyquist has 7G and 17A in 46 games.

In what has become a familiar dance, the Chicago Blackhawks begin to mine non-playoff teams for playoff run depth. Last season Chicago acquired Andrew Ladd, Matt Fraser, Jay Harrison from the Winnipeg Jets for prospect Marko Dano, a 1st round draft pick and a conditional pick. The team then acquired defenseman Christian Ehrhoff from the Los Angeles Kings for defenseman Rob Scuderi. Finally, the team acquired Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann for prospect Phillip Danault and a 2nd round pick.

The season before, Chicago added Kimmo Timonen from the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2nd and a conditional 4th round pick. They then obtained Antoine Vermette from the Arizona Coyotes for Klas Dahlbeck and a 1st round pick. The team rounded off those deals by trading Ben Smith and a conditional 7th round pick to the San Jose Sharks for Andrew Desjardins.

That the Blackhawks are interested in non-UFA players signals a shift from their previous strategy. Tatar makes $2.75MM this season as an arbitration-eligible RFA, but Nyquist—at $4.75MM—still has two more years after this season. But with Artemi Panarin set to make $6MM next season Chicago is once again up against the cap. The only redeeming factor is that either player could be taken in this summer’s expansion draft and free up cap space.

Radim Vrbata’s Bonuses May Limit Trade Partners

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Arizona Coyotes forward Radim Vrbata will garner attention come trade deadline time because he is an impending free agent. As TSN’s Bob McKenzie points out, however, Vrbata’s performance-laden contract poses problems for potential trade partners because his bonuses could significantly increase his salary and cap hit.

Vrbata signed a $1MM contract this off-season, but could earn an additional $2.25MM in bonuses. Those bonuses could wreak havoc on a contending team’s cap space next year if a team decides to shift those cap charges to next season as allowed under the cap. Spotrac.com lists Vrbata’s bonuses as:

  • 10 GP: $250,000
  • 30 GP: $250,000
  • 20 Goals/40 PTS: $500,000
  • Playoffs: $250,000
  • Per Playoff Round: $250,000

Vrbata has already hit his 10 and 30 GP bonuses, and is 10 goals or 11 points away from his other stat-based bonus. The two playoff bonuses listed seem innocuous and unattainable if Vrbata remains with the Coyotes, but if traded those bonuses become very valuable. Vrbata would receive $500K just by making the playoffs, and an additional $250K for each successive round. If Vrbata makes the Stanley Cup Finals he earns $1.25MM in additional bonuses on top of his performance-based bonuses.

Any team vying for Vrbata will be a playoff-bound team, so Vrbata’s potential bonuses become instantly attainable. This may eliminate teams like the Chicago Blackhawks because of the potential cap overages next season. The contract structure will not kibosh trades, but it may lower Arizona’s return as teams are trading for a potentially $3.25MM rental instead of a $1MM rental.

 

Anthony Duclair Sent Down to AHL

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The Arizona Coyotes sent prospect forward Anthony Duclair down to the Tucson Roadrunners, reports AZ Central’s Sarah McLellan. Duclair’s demotion opens up a roster spot for Ryan White, who returns tonight after missing 11 games with a lower body injury.

Duclair has struggled this season, scoring 3G and 6A in 41 games. His production pales in comparison to last season’s campaign where he scored 20G and 24A in 81 games. Duclair played just 10 minutes last night in a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets but managed to earn a -3 rating during those ten minutes. The Coyotes gave Duclair numerous opportunities to turn things around, but it appears that the team has given up on Duclair regaining his scoring touch without any intervention.

GM John Chayka stated that he hopes Duclair finds his skills in the AHL and leaves the door open for Duclair’s return. Duclair was linked to trade talks earlier this season, but it is unclear what the Coyotes plan on doing with the young forward after sending him down. It could be that Duclair gains more playing time in the AHL and thus the demotion may double as a showcase for interested teams.

Replacing Anthony Duclair is Ryan White who returns from injured reserve. White has 2G and 3A in 30 games this season. Unless White finds another gear, however, the Coyotes shouldn’t expect a flurry of offense with these moves.

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