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Red Wings Expect Kronwall At Training Camp

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Red Wings Coach Jim Blashill is confident that Niklas Kronwall will be healthy for training camp despite missing the upcoming World Cup of Hockey. The Swedish defenseman bowed out of the fall tournament because of a lingering knee injury that sidelined him for 15 games last season. Kronwall says the knee isn’t 100% but there is nothing surgery can do at this point.

Having Kronwall back is a boon for the Red Wings as they will be right up against the cap season and have little money to spend on replacements. Right now Detroit exceeds the cap by $4.2MM, but expects to place injured Johan Franzen and Joe Vitale on LTIR, saving approximately $5M in cap space. The Wings did not acquire any defensive help this offseason, so losing the veteran Kronwall would be a huge blow.

If the Red Wings had to replace Kronwall they would do it from within, and hope that a Xavier Ouellet or Brian Lashoff are able to make the jump to the NHL. There is still time to re-sign Kyle Quincey to a contract, but GM Ken Holland will have some salary maneuvering to do to fit the UFA defensemen under the cap. Look for the Red Wings to make more salary cap-based trades this season if Kronwall has to miss any significant time.

Offer Sheets And The Remaining RFAs

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Training camps open soon and valuable restricted free agents (RFAs) remain unsigned. An RFA has two options if he cannot reach a deal with his current team: sit out or sign with another club via an offer sheet. There are rules and restrictions regarding offer sheets, and the following guide should help navigate the thicket before training camp starts.

Offer Sheets are governed by Section 10.3 and 10.4 of the CBA. The basic premise is that an RFA can sign a contract with any club, but the RFAs prior club has seven days to match the principal terms—salary, bonuses, and length. If a prior club matches, then they are bound to the contract. If the prior club declines to match, however, they get compensated with draft picks from the RFA’s new club. The draft pick compensation is commensurate with the average annual value (AAV) of the RFA’s new contract. The prior club gets better (and more) draft picks the higher the contract value.

Determining draft pick compensation is easy. Take the full salary offered and divide it by the contract term, but only up to five years. Even if a player signed a seven year contract, the CBA dictates that the salary only be divided by five. The resulting number determines the draft picks a prior club receives from the new club. The CBA breaks the compensation down into tiers, and CapFriendly published a convenient guide:

Offer Sheet Chart

The draft pick compensation mechanism limits the teams that can submit offer sheets. A team must only use its own draft picks—not picks previously owned by another team—and must have them available for the next draft. General Fanager has a great resource that keeps track of which teams can submit offer sheets at each value tier. If a team owes two picks in the same round, both picks must be available in the next three drafts. If they owe four, then they must be available in the next five drafts.

Fourteen RFAs remain unsigned as of writing, and with NHL training camp only two weeks away, time is ticking for both players and teams. The following players still have yet to sign, in order of last season’s scoring:

  1. Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames
  2. Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
  3. Rickard Rakell – Anaheim Ducks
  4. Rasmus Ristolainen – Buffalo Sabres
  5. Tobias Rieder – Arizona Coyotes
  6. Dmitry Orlov – Washington Capitals
  7. Valeri Nichushkin – Dallas Stars
  8. Hampus Lindholm – Anaheim Ducks
  9. Ryan Strome – New York Islanders
  10. Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets
  11. Zemgus Girgensons – Buffalo Sabres
  12. Nikita Nesterov – Tampa Bay Lightning
  13. Stefan Elliott – Nashville Predators
  14. Freddie Hamilton – Calgary Flames

Some teams are close to signing their RFAs—like the Flames and Gaudreau—but others, like Arizona and Rieder, are far apart. The next two weeks should bring a wave of signings, but for now offer sheet speculation ramps up as fans ponder what a player is worth and whether a team is better off receiving draft picks or matching value.

Snapshots: Glass; Las Vegas; Leafs; Canadiens

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News and notes from around the NHL:

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs extended a training camp invitation to goaltender Jeff Glass, according to the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle. Glass was a heralded Ottawa Senators prospect in 2004-05, propelling Canada’s World Junior team to Gold with a 1.40GAA and a .944 SV% in five games. The Canadian goalie spent the next four years with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate Binghamton Senators but was unable to crack the big league roster. Glass then went overseas to the KHL in 2009 and remained there on a variety of teams throughout his career. The goalie will be battling for an AHL position, as the Leafs already have Frederik Andersen and Jhonas Enroth under contract. Both goaltenders, however, are playing in the World Cup of Hockey this September, so the Leafs need someone to fill in between the pipes. Glass will be competing with Garret Sparks and Antoine Bibeau, both of whom had significant playing time last year with the Marlies.
  • The Las Vegas NHL team moves one step closer to a team name this week after allegedly filing for a variety of potential team names, including the Desert Knights. Bill Foley, the Las Vegas expansion team owner, has consistently expressed interest in a name that included Knights or Hawks, and Desert Knights seems to be the one that poses the least risk intellectual-property wise. The ’desert’ moniker may have been added to avoid conflict with the London Knights, an OHL team in London, Ontario, Canada.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs announced its Rookie Camp tournament roster today, and 2016 NHL Draft first overall pick Auston Matthews is not among the players listed. The team does list four picks from that draft, and the rest of the tournament is made up of AHL players and players from previous drafts—including highly-touted prospect Mitch Marner. The tournament consists of three games against rookie teams from the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
  • The Montreal Canadiens also released their Rookie Camp tournament roster today. Notable players include 2016 NHL Draft ninth overall pick Mikhail Sergachyov and goalie prospect Zach Fucale. Sergachyov came over from Russia to play for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL in 2014-2015 and led all defensemen in goals with 17 in 67 games. Unlike Alex Nylander, however, Sergachyov would return to the OHL if he does not make the Canadiens NHL roster because he was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires rather than loaned from a European club. Goalie Zach Fucale was called up by the Canadiens last season after Carey Price battled injury, but the young prospect did not see the ice before being sent back down to the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL.

Snapshots: Avs; Torres; NHL Rookies

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News and notes from around the NHL:

  • The Colorado Avalanche have completed interviewing for their recent head coach vacancy, reports the Denver Post’s Mike Chambers, and expect to name a coach as early as Wednesday. Patrick Roy, the former head coach, abruptly quit this summer leaving Colorado with few options before training camp began. Two significant candidates have emerged, according to Terry Frei and Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Kevin Dineen and Bob Boughner. Dineen is currently the Chicago Blackhawks Assistant Coach, and Bougher is the San Jose Sharks Assistant Coach. Bougher also played with Colorado GM Joe Sakic before the 2005 lockout for two seasons.
  • Raffi Torres told The Province writer John Matisz that he plans to retire if he does not make an NHL club. Raffi admitted that he does not have a back-up plan, and that it is “probably The Show or no.” Torres last held a job with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, but never stepped on the ice. He last played in the 2015 preseason where he blindsided Jakob Silfverberg and garnered a 41-game suspension. Suspensions and league discipline have dogged Torres throughout his career, and it is unlikely a team takes a chance on the Toronto-native. Torres has been on numerous NHL rosters throughout his career, with stops on the Islanders, Oilers, Blue Jackets, Sabres, Canucks, Coyotes, Sharks, and Maple Leafs.
  • The NHLPA announced its roster for its annual NHLPA Rookie Showcase today and it has significant omissions. Only two players—Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matthew Tkachuk—are from the 2016 draft class. Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine are not participating, despite all top-three picks participating last year. Nevertheless the showcase isn’t a serious event. It functions more as a photo-op for Upper Deck and contains a end-of-showcase scrimmage.

Snapshots: Prust, Hrabarenka, Bissonnette

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News and notes from around the NHL:

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs extended a training camp invitation to Brandon Prust. Prust played for the Vancouver Canucks last season, amassing only 1G and 6A in 35 games. The gritty forward peaked in 2012, garnering a four-year, $10MM contract from the Montreal Canadiens in free agency. The Habs then traded Prust in his final contract year to the Canucks for Zach Kassian and a fifth rounder—a change of scenery deal for both sides. Prust could not regain what made him popular early on, and faltered in Vancouver. We predicted Prust would get a PTO partly because teams believe he may have something more to offer. The Leafs take no risks with this move, points out GM Lou Lamoriello, and can sign Prust for cheap if he impresses.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs also extended a training camp invite to former New Jersey Devils Raman Hrabarenka (a.k.a. Roman Graborenko). The Belarusian defenseman went undrafted before signing a three-year ELC with the Devils in 2012-2013. Hrabarenka scored 20G and 37A in 142 games for the Albany Devils in the AHL, and was called up for one NHL game last season.  The obvious connection here is that the Leafs current GM Lou Lamoriello was previously the GM of the New Jersey Devils. It’s unclear where Hrabarenka fits in as the Leafs have a logjam of average defensemen. This move looks more like an AHL restocking than a move to bolster the big club’s blueline.
  • The Los Angeles Kings extended a training camp invite to former Arizona Coyotes Paul Bissonnette. Bissonnette last played in the NHL for the Coyotes, but has since been playing on AHL contracts with the L.A. Kings AHL Affiliates Manchester Monarchs and Ontario Reign. Last year Bissonnette scored 2G and 1A in 35 games for the Reign, and 1G and 1A in 13 playoff games. The Kings are up against the cap with just over $1MM in space, and if Bissonnette can regain his form he’ll be a nice addition for the team.

Keep track of all the NHL training camp invites with ProHockeyRumor’s Training Camp Tracker.

Training Camp Invites: Devane; Galiardi; McCollum

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A few more hockey players were invited to NHL training camps today:

  • The Calgary Flames have invited former NHL forward Jamie Devane to training camp this September, reports the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle. Devane last played for the Nashville Predators’ AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals, scoring 6G and 5A in 62 games. The former 2009 third round draft pick played in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and appeared in 2 NHL games. Devane is a big bruising forward weighing in around 230lbs, and Flames President Brian Burke is known for admiring such players. In fact, Burke was the Maple Leafs GM who drafted Devane in 2009. Burke used the 68th pick on Devane—Reilly Smith was picked next.
  • The St. Louis Blues also extended a training camp invite today to T.J. Galiardi, reports the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle. Galiardi has had mixed success in the NHL, scoring 44G and 61A in 321 games for the Avalanche, Sharks, Flames, and Jets. The forward spent last year in Sweden playing for the Malmo Redhawks. St. Louis lost David Backes, Steve Ott, and Troy Brouwer in the offseason, so Galiardi may win himself a spot on the big club if he impresses.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have invited former Red Wings goalie Tom McCollom to training camp. McCollom was a former first round draft pick that could not crack the big club, but played well on Detroit’s AHL affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins. McCollom was signed to a one-year contract last year but the Red Wings declined to extend a new offer. Los Angeles is currently lacking proven backup goaltending, with last year’s backup Jhonas Enroth supposedly close to signing in Toronto.

Keep track of all the training camp invites with our training camp tracker.

Off-Season To Date: Pacific Division

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The NHL has entered its seasonal lull where teams are done signing free agents and will wait until training camp to make major roster moves. We have already documented the off-season moves of the Atlantic Division, Metropolitan Division, and Central Division teams. Now we take a quick look at the Pacific Division.

Anaheim Ducks

Key Additions: Jared Boll, Antoine Vermette, Jonathan Bernier, Mason Raymond
Key Departures: Jamie McGinn, David Perron, Brandon Pirri, Frederik Andersen, Mike Santorelli, Chris Stewart, Anton Khudobin
Unsigned RFAs: Rickard Rakell, Hampus Lindholm
Cap Space: $6,657,500
Projected Roster Size: 21
Notes: The Ducks traded Frederik Andersen away and are going with John Gibson as their number one starter. They have yet to sign Lindholm but have ample cap space to do so. The team experienced some decent turnover from last season, including firing Coach Bruce Boudreau and hiring former Ducks and Leafs coach Randy Carlyle.

Arizona Coyotes

Key Additions: Jamie McGinn, Ryan White, Alex Goligoski, Luke Schenn, Anthony DeAngelo
Key Departures: Antoine Vermette, Alex Tanguay, Boyd Gordon, Sergei Plotnikov, Anders Lindback, Joe Vitale
Unsigned RFAs: Tobias Rieder
Cap Space: $8,847,875
Projected Roster Size: 22
Notes: The Coyotes picked up a trio of forwards to surround their young prospects, and signed Goligoski to beef up their defense. Arizona also took on Pavel Datysuk’s contract to move up in the first round of the NHL Draft.  All that remains is to sign RFA Tobias Rieder, but recent reports says that both camps are far apart. New GM John Chayka is an analytics proponent, so his moves will garner extra scrutiny as the season progresses. Finally, at time of writing Vrbata is close to signing a one-year deal with Arizona, but nothing has been finalized yet.

Calgary Flames

Key Additions: Troy Brouwer, Alex Chiasson, Linden Vey, Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson
Key Departures: Karri Ramo, Joni Ortio, Jonas Hiller, Niklas Backstrom, Kevin Poulin, Joe Colborne, Josh Jooris, Mason Raymond
Unsigned RFAs: Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan
Cap Space: $14,969,600
Projected Roster Size: 20
Notes: The Flames’ offseason is noteworthy for two reasons. One, they completely switched out their goaltending, bringing in St. Louis starter Brian Elliot and Buffalo semi-starter Chad Johnson, and letting Ramo, Ortio, Hiller, and Backstrom walk. Elliot represents a significant upgrade over last year’s goaltending-by-committee. The second noteworthy event—or non-event—is that Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan are still unsigned. The top two Flames scorers last year are playing on Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey, and impressive performances could raise the RFAs’ asking prices.

Edmonton Oilers

Key Additions: Milan Lucic, Adam Larsson, Jonas Gustavsson
Key Departures: Taylor Hall, Rob Klinkhammer, Adam Cracknell, Lauri Korpikoski
Unsigned RFAs: None
Cap Space: $9,238,833
Projected Roster Size: 23
Notes: The Oilers made two big splashes this offseason. First, they traded away Taylor Hall to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson. Hall was one of the Oilers’ best players since he was drafted, but the Oilers desperately needed a top-notch defenseman. Whether Larsson is or becomes that defenseman, however, is up in the air. They then signed top free agent Milan Lucic to a seven-year deal worth $6MM a year. Lucic will add both grit and offense to a team mired in a perpetual rebuild.

Los Angeles Kings

Key Additions: Teddy Purcell, Tom Gilbert, Jeff Zatkoff, Jack Campbell
Key Departures: Milan Lucic, Kris Versteeg, Luke Schenn, Jhonas Enroth
Unsigned RFAs: None
Cap Space: $1,154,773
Projected Roster Size: 25
Notes: The Kings stayed relatively pat this offseason, swapping backup goaltenders and letting Milan Lucic walk. The team was constrained by their cap, which at just over $1M gave them little wiggle room. The team is banking on their core to step up and improve over last season’s first-round exit.

San Jose Sharks

Key Additions: Mikkel Boedker, David Schlemko
Key Departures: Nick Spaling, Dainius Zubrus, Roman Polak, James Reimer
Unsigned RFAs: None
Cap Space: $995,832
Projected Roster Size: 22
Notes: After the Sharks finally made the Stanley Cup Finals, their offseason was uneventful. They took a flyer on Boedker, and will most likely find a backup goalie within the organization. The Sharks are tight against the cap this season, but face an onslaught of UFAs and the end of the year. Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Brett Burns are all UFAs next summer, and the Sharks need to evaluate who they want to keep.

Vancouver Canucks

Key Additions: Loui Eriksson, Erik Gudbranson
Key Departures: Radim Vrbata, Linden Vey, Chris Higgins, Brandon Prust, Dan Hamhuis, Matt Bartkowski, Yannick Weber
Unsigned RFAs: None
Cap Space: $2,771,250
Projected Roster Size: 24
Notes: The Canucks had an odd offseason, signing Eriksson and trading for Gudbranson. More trades were expected—but of a rebuilding variety. The Canucks have one more year of Ryan Miller and two more years of the Sedins, so its possible that they want to try to rebuild on the fly while they still have elite talent. Their defense took a hit by losing Hamhuis, and while Gudbranson was a highly touted prospect, he hasn’t evolved into the player scouts predicted.

Snapshots: Tavares; Goalie Equipment; Cowen

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News and notes from around the NHL

  • New York Islanders captain John Tavares spoke to Newsday’s Arthur Staple on Monday, stating that he has no reason to leave Long Island when his contract expires. Tavares is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2017-18 season, and rumors are already swirling that he may leave. The comments Tavares made are an attempt to quell the media attention Tampa Bay Lighting Steven Stamkos endured this offseason on whether he would re-sign with the Lightning. Many media members speculated that he would join his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, and the same media attention looks to descend upon Toronto-native Tavares as well. Proving further speculation was this offseason’s UFA exodus. Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen, and Matt Martin all signed elsewhere within the first day of free agency.
  • TSN’s Jason Gregor tweeted that goaltender equipment may not be streamlined this season, a move widely expected by the NHL. The new equipment standards would shrink the chest protector, upper pads, and pants, making everything more streamlined and less bulky. Gregor noted that he trained with five NHL goaltenders who said that no new equipment has been ordered yet. The NHL wants to decrease goaltender bulk in an effort to increase scoring, but the league may have to wait another year to implement.
  • Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jared Cowen will have a grievance hearing sometime in the future regarding his buyout. The Maple Leafs waived Cowen this offseason with the intention of buying him out, but Cowen states that he was injured. A team cannot buy out an injured player, and the Leafs say that he is not injured—hence the grievance proceeding. A date has not been set yet, but the Leafs ideally want this situation resolved before the season starts as they are currently have only $500K in cap space. Buying Cowen out would not only free up his $3.1MM salary, but will actually create an additional cap credit of $650K for the upcoming season. Next year Cowen’s buyout cap hit would be $750K. So by buying out Cowen, the Leafs instantly go from sub-$500K in cap space to over $4MM.

Jhonas Enroth and the Toronto Maple Leafs

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Earlier this summer we reported on a rumor that free agent goalie Jhonas Enroth was close to signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs had acquired Frederik Andersen from Anahiem, shipped off last Jonathan Bernier (also to Anaheim), and traded away James Reimer at the deadline. As it stands now, one of Garret Sparks or Antoine Bibeau are set for the backup role, but most pundits agree that the Leafs are looking for a more experienced backup. Bibeau has not played an NHL game, and Sparks was wildly inconsistent in his few starts at the season’s tail end.

That is where Enroth comes in. Enroth went 7-5-1 in 13 starts for the Los Angeles Kings last season, collecting a .922 SV% and a 2.17 GAA. It was the goalie’s best performance of his career, though playing on the Kings certainly helped. The backup goalie market is always saturated, and this year is no exception, but Enroth stands out as the best of the bunch. Most backups last year with similar numbers had either a low SV% and a high GAA, or vice-versa. Enroth represents the safe choice for a team looking for a stable veteran backup.

So why hasn’t Enroth signed? If Enroth is going to the Leafs as reported, the team will have to do some creative cap maneuvering. Right now the Leafs have a mere $435,000 in cap space—less than the league minimum salary. Part of the problem is that Jared Cowen’s buyout is being held up due to injury. As we reported here, a player cannot be bought out unless they are healthy. Once Cowen’s situation is worked out, the Leafs will have more cap certainty. But that isn’t the full story. Teams can exceed the cap by 10% during the offseason as long as they are cap compliant once the season starts. That means that the Leafs can exceed the cap by $7.3MM, more than enough to sign Enroth. Becoming cap compliant shouldn’t be an issue either, as Stephane Robidas, Nathan Horton, and Joffrey Lupul are expected (but not guaranteed) to be placed on LTIR once the season starts.

The other explanation is that Enroth will not sign with the Leafs. If so, the Leafs will have slim pickings this late for a backup of Enroth’s caliber. Former Calgary Flames goalie Karri Ramo is the only comparable backup left on the market. He appeared in 37 games for the Flames, going 17-18-1 with a .909 SV% and a 2.63GAA. Those numbers are consistent throughout his career, so the Leafs know what they would be getting. The only other free agent goalies to play meaningful games last year are Anders Lindback (.894 SV% and 3.11GAA) and Joni Ortio (.902 SV% and 2.76 GAA), but neither represent attractive options.

Capology 101: International Tidbits

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With the IIHF World Championships behind us, and the World Cup of Hockey on the horizon, PHR takes a quick look at how the CBA governs international play.

  • Any revenue from the World Cup of Hockey will not be considered Hockey Related Revenue (HRR). Rather, the revenue will be split equally between the NHL and the NHLPA. That means that any money the World Cup of Hockey brings in has no effect on next year’s salary cap. Given that the World Cup—the first such tournament since 2004—is in hockey-mad Toronto, high revenues are expected, and would have had a significant effect on the salary cap if applicable.
  • Moreover, the World Cup may actually have an adverse effect on HRR as the tournament takes the game’s brightest stars away from pre-season games. Teams usually play preseason games in different locales, and demand may suffer slightly as fans aren’t able to see a team’s top player.
  • Revenue from International NHL games, however, such as regular season and pre-season games overseas, qualifies as HRR for salary cap purposes.
  • A player is only eligible for the IIHF World Championships (usually held in May) if:
    • the player’s club either did not make the NHL playoffs or was eliminated in an early round (1st or 2nd); and
    • the national team (agent or otherwise) did not contact the player before his team was eliminated from the playoffs.
  • The IIHF or Player’s National Team must also insure the player’s remaining SPC value, and any additional earning capacity should a player get injured. If a player is injured in the World Championships, the player is treated as being injured in an NHL game for CBA purposes. That means the player is still eligible for all benefits available to players injured in NHL games.

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