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St. Louis Blues Sign Derrick Pouliot, Five Others

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The NHL’s only Australian is on the move. Nathan Walker is set to sign a two-year, two-way deal with the defending champion St. Louis Blues. They didn’t stop there though, as the Blues have announced two-way contracts with five other players—Derrick Pouliot, Mike Vecchione, Nick Lappin, Jake Dotchin and Evan Polei.

Even though they were relatively quiet today, deciding to keep their Stanley Cup group together instead of bringing in any top names, the Blues have done well to add real depth to the organization on inexpensive deals. Pouliot especially was expected to get a more lucrative contract than this, even though the Vancouver Canucks had decided to not issue him a qualifying offer. The 25-year old even landed on our Top 50 UFA list, though admittedly he didn’t have a ton of leverage after a 12-point season.

Several of the others have legitimate NHL experience though, meaning the Blues will be able to pick and choose who starts the year on the NHL roster and who goes to the AHL as injury insurance. The team knows just how much of a grind it is to get all the way to the championship and will be well prepared in case of injury.

Florida Panthers Trade James Reimer

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July 1: The Panthers have officially bought out Darling.

June 30: The Florida Panthers have traded goaltender James Reimer to the Carolina Hurricanes. In return the Panthers will acquire a 2020 sixth-round pick and goaltender Scott Darling, who has been placed on waivers for the purpose of a contract buyout. After the recent retirement of Roberto Luongo this leaves the Panthers with just two minor league goaltenders under contract, likely opening the way for a free agent signing tomorrow. Sergei Bobrovsky is the speculative favorite, though nothing can be official until the free agent period opens.

Darling had two years remaining on his current deal, meaning a buyout will force the Panthers to pay him $4.73MM total over the next four years with the following cap hits:

  • 2019-20: $1,233,333
  • 2020-21: $2,333,333
  • 2021-22: $1,183,333
  • 2022-23: $1,183,333

Reimer meanwhile becomes the presumptive starting goaltender in Carolina for the time being, since they too are lacking in NHL experience at the position. Both Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney are set to become unrestricted free agents after failing to work out new contracts, leaving Reimer and one of Anton Forsberg or Alex Nedeljkovic as the tandem for next season. That is of course unless the Hurricanes go after another free agent, and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the team is still interested in bringing back Mrazek or going after Semyon Varlamov.

The 31-year old Reimer struggled last season in Florida, posting just a .900 save percentage in 36 appearances and seeing his goals against average balloon to 3.09. That’s a far cry from the .920 mark he posted in his first season with the Panthers in 2016-17, one that made him look like the eventual successor to Luongo and a long-term option. That’s the goaltender the Hurricanes will hope they can get, one that carried an average Toronto Maple Leafs team to the playoffs in 2013 and even earned Hart Trophy votes. They’ve had success with ex-Maple Leafs before, as McElhinney played excellent after a waiver claim at the start of last season.

Carolina has been one of the more active teams on the trade market so far, making deals to acquire Patrick Marleau (who they then bought out), Erik Haula, Forsberg and Gustav Forsling, while sending Calvin de Haan and others out of town. The team found so much success in the second half of last season and the playoffs, but obviously aren’t content with waiting around for their team to take another run without changes.

The question in Florida now becomes whether they can officially land Bobrovsky—and perhaps his close friend and teammate Artemi Panarin. The team has more than $26MM in cap space to use without any high profile restricted free agents to get under contract. With a new head coach in Joel Quenneville and big moves expected in free agency, it is obvious that GM Dale Tallon is ready to compete for the Stanley Cup right now and will spend quite a bit of money to do it.

Richard Panik Signs With Washington Capitals

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Monday: The Capitals have officially announced a four-year, $11MM contract with Panik, a deal that pays the two-way winger a $2.75MM AAV.

Sunday: The Washington Capitals were able to shed some salary recently by flipping restricted free agent Andre Burakovsky and his expensive qualifying offer to the Colorado Avalanche, and now they’re set to replace him with a more experienced winger. According to Bob McKenzie of TSN Richard Panik is expected to sign a four-year contract with the Capitals tomorrow. The deal could carry an average annual value “somewhere north of $2.5MM” tweets McKenzie.

Panik, 28, recorded 33 points in 75 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season and has now gone three years in a row with at least that many. That kind of production is exactly what the Capitals are looking for out of their bottom-six, especially after likely losing Brett Connolly to free agency as well. There’s actually a chance that the veteran forward could become even more than that playing in Washington, as Panik has been known to fit in well beside top players in a support role. The Capitals already have their superstars up front but needed a little more punch on the right side.

The question will be how this affects the rest of the summer for Washington, who may have a little flexibility right now but need to pay Jakub Vrana, Chandler Stephenson and Christian Djoos at some point. They also have to think about the future with Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby set to become free agents in a year’s time. While Panik is likely a bargain at $2.5MM, the four-year term could present some risk to a team that is always near the cap if he somehow fails to produce in Washington.

Gustav Nyquist Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets

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The Columbus Blue Jackets may have lost Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene, but they’ve added one of the other top free agent forwards. Gustav Nyquist has signed a four-year deal with the Blue Jackets that will carry a $5.5MM average annual value according to Bob McKenzie of TSN.

The 29-year-old winger has been a solid producer over the years as he has two straight 20-goal seasons, although his best two years were much earlier in his career when he tallied 55 goals over two seasons with Detroit between 2013 and 2015. Knowing they weren’t likely going to bring the veteran back, the Red Wings traded him to San Jose for a 2019 second-round pick and Nyquist proved to be instrumental in assisting the Sharks throughout the rest of the regular season and the playoffs. In 19 regular season, he scored six goals and 11 points and while he scored just one goal in 20 playoff games, he did set up a number of his teammates as he wracked up 10 assists.

In Columbus, Nyquist should fill a key role in the team’s top-six that not just lost Duchene and Panarin, but also is expected to part ways with Ryan Dzingel, who many believed would stay with the Blue Jackets. His presence should fill that gap and also give Columbus a solid second-line winger, who could eventually slide back into a third-line role as he gets older and a number of the team’s young prospects are ready to step into greater roles.

Keith Kinkaid To Sign With Montreal Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens will bring in some competition to battle Charlie Lindgren for the right to back up Carey Price next season, as Bob McKenzie of TSN confirms Keith Kinkaid will sign a one-year contract with the team.

Kinkaid, 29, ended up playing in 41 games for the New Jersey Devils last season before a deadline deal took him to the Columbus Blue Jackets as an insurance goaltender. At one point during 2017-18 it looked like he was ready to steal the job from Cory Schneider and establish himself as a full-time starter in the NHL, but that idea is now in the past after his struggles in 2018-19.

Those numbers were definitely disappointing. While equaling the 41 games played from his previous year, Kinkaid finished with a 15-18-6 record, while allowing an extra 23 goals in almost the same amount of minutes. He finished with a 3.36 GAA and .891 save percentage and now must prove that he can beat out Charlie Lindgren next year or end up as the team’s third goaltending option.

Dallas Stars Sign Andrej Sekera

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The Dallas Stars will add a pair of veteran forwards when free agency opens in just over an hour, and are now expected to bring in some experience on defense as well. Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that the Stars will sign Andrej Sekera to a one-year contract later today. Sekera was recently bought out by the Edmonton Oilers and will be earning $1.5MM from them in each of the next four seasons. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the deal will be $1.5MM in salary with an additional $500K in potential performance bonuses. Though Sekera isn’t 35 yet, he spent enough time injured last season to be eligible for bonuses.

Sekera, 33, has played just 60 games for the Oilers over the last two seasons but looked like his game was starting to turn around at the end of the year. If he can recover any of the ability that made him a 44-point defenseman in 2013-14 for the Carolina Hurricanes the Stars will have a bargain on their hands, but that is far from certain. Dallas already has most of their defense corps set but were a little thin at the fringes.

The question now will be what happens to young Julius Honka, who needs a new contract but hasn’t been able to find a fit with the Stars since being selected 14th overall in 2014. Through 87 games in the NHL Honka has just 13 points, and may not have much of an opportunity in Dallas if Stephen Johns is able to return from injury this season.

UFA Notes: Pickard, Agostino, Leier, Speculation

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There’s a goalie competition coming to Detroit. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that free agent goalie Calvin Pickard is poised to sign a two-year deal with the Red Wings when the market opens tomorrow. As Seravalli notes, that will pit him against Jonathan Bernier for the backup role behind Jimmy Howard. With Howard, 35, signed through just next year but both Bernier and soon Pickard signed for two more years, the time share in net next season in Detroit could be fascinating. Not only could the two veteran goalies battle to be Howard’s understudy next season, but they could be in line to replace him a season later. Neither keeper found much success in 2018-19. Bernier, who some expected to beat out Howard for the starting job, instead posted the worst numbers of his career – a .904 save percentage and 3.16 GAA – in 35 appearances. Pickard fared even worse, allowing an .875 save percentage and 3.86 GAA in a season split between the Philadelphia Flyers and Arizona Coyotes. Pickard’s advantage in the battle though will be his price point, expected to be low after a down year, compared to Bernier’s $3MM mark.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are lacking the cap space to do much of anything other than adding affordable depth pieces. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports that one such deal is already done. Former AHL MVP Kenny Agostino is expected to sign a two-year, one-way contract with the Leafs, though Dater does not provide any salary details. Agostino, 27, finally got a full-time look in the NHL last season, playing in 63 games with the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils. Agostino recorded 24 points on the year, a mark that Toronto would be very happy with if the winger comes in at a low cost.
  • It was a year of change for Taylor Leier, who experienced both his first trade, moving from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Buffalo Sabres, and his first season spent exclusively in the AHL. Despite qualifying for Group 6 unrestricted free agency, it seems the 25-year-old forward has place emphasis on familiarity instead of opportunity. The Rochester Americans, affiliate of the Sabres, have announced a one-year AHL contract with Leier. The signing comes as a bit of a surprise, considering Leier spent the entire 2017-18 season in the NHL and has been a very productive AHL player. Young and capable, Leier seemingly would have been a good fit for a two-way deal somewhere, but apparently would rather stay put in Rochester, perhaps in hopes of convincing Buffalo that he is worthy of an NHL contract.
  • Spoiler alert! Although he acknowledges that they are just educated guesses and provides few details, TSN’s respected insider Bob McKenzie has offered some insight where some of the biggest UFA names may end up tomorrow. McKenzie believes that Columbus teammates Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky may not end up as a package deal after all. He thinks that Panarin, and possibly Semyon Varlamov, could land with the New York Islanders, while Bobrovsky goes alone to the Florida Panthers. Those moves would then leave the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets as the likely to suitors for Robin Lehner. McKenzie also states that a long-term deal for Mats Zuccarello with the Minnesota Wild appears to be close to done.

Bobrovsky, Panarin Traveling To Florida To Meet With Panthers

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With the NHL unrestricted free agent speaking period having opened earlier this morning, many players can begin to talk to other teams to decide what team they might want to play for next season. Two of the biggest free agents on the market, Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin, are expected to participate immediately. The two stars are expected to arrive in Florida en route from Russia and TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that they are expected to both meet with the Florida Panthers on Monday morning.

While the two big-named free agents from Columbus don’t necessarily come as a package, both have been speculated to end up with the Panthers. Florida has $20.48MM in cap space available, which could cover both players’ price tags, although the team also has some needs on defense as well. McKenzie also points out that while it wants to sign both players, Florida’s top  priority is signing a goaltender, which means that Bobrovsky is likely the team’s top free-agent candidate.

The team still has two goalies under contract in Roberto Luongo and James Reimer, but neither goaltender played well last year. Luongo, who still has three years remaining at $4.53MM, managed to appear in 43 games despite often dealing with injuries, but finished with a 3.11 GAA and a .899 save percentage. While nothing is official, the rumor is that Luongo wants to come back as the team’s backup. Reimer, the team’s current backup, has two years remaining on his contract at $3.4MM. He struggled as well last season, posting a 3.09 GAA and a .900 save percentage. The team is working on finding a trade partner willing to take Reimer’s contract in hopes of freeing up some extra cap room to make more changes. Bobrovsky, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner, would give Florida a impact goaltender for the first time in years. The 30-year-old didn’t have his usual strong season, posting a 2.58 GAA and a .913 save percentage, but finally stepped up in the playoffs after years of struggles, picking up six wins and a .925 save percentage.

Panarin has plenty of suitors, but many have felt for more than a year that the 27-year-old scorer was interested in moving to Florida and joining the Panthers. That thought was intensified after the Panthers signed his former coach Joel Quenneville to be their new head coach. Quenneville coached Panarin for his first two years in the league when he played with the Blackhawks and the two had a good relationship. It’s hard to believe that Panarin has only been in the league for four years, but in that time, he’s tallied 116 goals and 320 points. With his young age, he’d be a perfect fit alongside players like Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov. Panarin is also being recruited by a number of other teams, including the New York Rangers, who hope to get a shot at signing the free agent.

 

NHL Sets Salary Cap at $81.5MM for 2019-20

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The NHL and NHLPA have made it official, as TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the NHL salary cap for 2019-20 will be $81.5MM, as many had recently projected with the salary floor being set at $60.2MM.

That isn’t good news for teams that are at or near the cap as many teams had hoped that the cap might be closer to $83MM like it was projected several weeks ago. However, recently rumors had been rumbling that the number would be closer to $82MM and potentially as low as $81.5MM, which is what it ended up being, which is a worst-case scenario for teams hoping for that extra space to maneuver.

That could prompt more teams that need to open up cap space to make cost-cutting moves. The league has seen some of that already today with the Nashville Predators unloading the $9MM contract of defenseman P.K. Subban in order to free up space to extend defenseman Roman Josi and potentially sign a free-agent center such as Matt Duchene in the coming week. The Toronto Maple Leafs sent a future first-rounder to Carolina also today in order to unload the final year of Patrick Marleau and his $6.25MM contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning also unloaded J.T. Miller’s $5.25MM contract that still has four more years on it for a future first-rounder as well. Other teams that are in trouble and could be making similar cap-saving moves include the Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.

The announcement, however, could be big news for teams with plenty of cap space to sell. The Devils acquired a top-four defenseman for a very little return, while Vancouver added a top-six forward in Miller. There are six teams underneath the ceiling of $60.2MM, including the Philadelphia Flyers, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators and the Colorado Avalanche. Several of those team have significant free agents to sign, however, including Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Colorado, but there are many teams that could take advantage, now more than ever, of some of the teams who have already capped themselves out. In fact, Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was thrilled at the cap number.

“It doesn’t affect us. I like it,” Kekalainen said (via NHL.com’s Dan Rosen). “It’s going to squeeze some teams some more. … They’re going to have to solve their problems and maybe we can be a solution.”

Vancouver Canucks Acquire Tampa Bay’s J.T. Miller

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With salary dumps starting off the day after both Patrick Marleau and P.K. Subban were traded earlier, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the Vancouver Canucks are closing in on a deal to acquire forward J.T. Miller and the four years remaining at $5.25MM from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vancouver trades goaltender Marek Mazanec, a 2019 third-round pick (goaltender Hugo Alnefelt) and a conditional first-round pick in 2020, reports NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. If the Canucks do not make the playoffs, the 2020 first-rounder will be conveyed in 2021.

With plenty of salary cap issues, the Tampa Bay Lightning had to move out some salary, especially with restricted Brayden Point expected to get a big raise this summer. Miller seemed to make the most sense as the forward struggled last season in his first full year with the Lightning. After posting more than 20 goals for three straight years, Miller saw his goal-scoring numbers drop to just 13 last season. With a no-trade clause kicking in on July 1, the team had to make a move sooner rather than later.

For Vancouver, Miller should provide some much needed offense as Miller can play all three positions and still is just 26 years old and should find a role somewhere in the team’s top six. If he continues to struggle like he did last year, he could always take over the third-line center duties. The Canucks have the cap space to take in the deal, but Miller’s four year’s at $5.25MM is pretty reasonable had the team tried to land a player of Miller’s success on the free-agent market.

It wasn’t a long stay for Miller, who the team acquired as part of the Ryan McDonagh trade back at the trade deadline in 2018. He looked sharp for the team’s stretch run that year, tallying 10 goals and 18 points in 19 games. The team then signed him to a five-year, $26.25MM contract last offseason, but now decided to move on from him. The team got solid value for him as they expect to get either the team’s 2020 first-rounder (assuming the Canucks make the playoffs) or the team’s 2021 first-rounder. They also added a third-round pick in this year’s draft, while also getting Mazanec. While it looks like it would fill their hole in the net in Syracuse, the team only picked up Mazanec’s rights as he has already signed a contract in the Czech League for two years. The team already lost both of Syracuse’s goaltenders from last year as Eddie Pasquale has already signed with Barys Nur-Sultan in the KHL, while they traded Connor Ingram to Tampa Bay for a future seventh-round pick.

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