Atlantic Notes: Sabres 2020 Offseason, Heinen, Chiarot
While the Florida Panthers received all the attention before free agency opened on July 1 due to their excessive amount of cap space and they fact that they were attracting several of the top free agents on the market, next year’s offseason will look quite a bit different. In fact, it could be the Buffalo Sabres that could be poised to take a similar role next year before free agency opens and could find themselves the team that could lock up some of the top free agents for the 2020-21 season.
The Athletic’s John Vogl (subscription required) writes that while a lot can change in a year, Buffalo has only nine key players under contract for the 2020-21 season along with six restricted free agents. The team is expected to be free of a number of contracts, including Zach Bogosian ($5.14MM), Marco Scandella ($4MM), Vladimir Sobotka ($3.5MM), Conor Sheary ($3MM), Jimmy Vesey ($2.28MM), Matt Hunwick ($2.25MM), Scott Wilson ($1.05MM) and Casey Nelson ($812K). Assuming the salary cap rises by approximately $2MM, the Sabres should have about $29.5MM of projected salary cap, and assuming general manager Jason Botterill can properly persuade them, could add a couple of top free agents.
Who could be available, assuming that some of them don’t re-sign with their teams in the next season? Taylor Hall, Nicklas Backstrom, Brayden Schenn, Chris Kreider, Mike Hoffman, Alex Galchenyuk, Torey Krug, Jake Muzzin, Tyson Barrie, Roman Josi, and Braden Holtby.
- While it’s been assumed for some time that Marcus Johansson would not return to Boston, (he signed with Buffalo earlier today), The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa (subscription required) looked at who might replace the veteran forward this season as the third-line left wing. The problem for Boston is that the team is loaded with a number of right-shot options in Zachary Senyshyn, Karson Kuhlman or Brett Ritchie. However, general manager Don Sweeney suggested it might be best to take the third-line right wing, Danton Heinen, and move him to the left side as he possesses more versatility than the others, which could allow one of the others to move in on the right side. “I think Heinen, depending on what side you play him on,” said Sweeney when asked who could replace Johansson. “Whether it’s Karson or Senyshyn or Brett Ritchie, guys that are right shots, we could play lefty-righty and move Danton over. I think he fits into the same mold of player creative-wise.”
- The Athletic’s Marc Dumont (subscription required) analyzes the video of the Montreal Canadiens newly signed blueliner Ben Chiarot and looks at where he might fit in their lineup. Chiarot, who told reporters that he has discussed with the coaching staff about playing on the second pairing alongside Jeff Petry. However, Dumont suggests that would be a mistake as Chiarot struggles with retrieving pucks in a timely manner, which would not work well with Petry and suggests that Brett Kulak should continue in that role like he did last season. It might be best to play him on the Canadiens’ third pairing, but that seems a waste considering his $3.5MM price tag.
Minor Transactions: 07/03/19
Even as several top NHL free agents remain unsigned, some teams have moved on to filling out their minor league depth charts for the upcoming season. We’ll keep track of some of the notable minor moves right here:
- The ECHL Kelly Cup champion Newfoundland Growlers will get several players back next season, as the Toronto Marlies have re-signed Matt Bradley, Brady Ferguson, Zach O’Brien, Scott Pooley and Kristians Rubins to minor league deals. All five were part of the Growlers title run in their inaugural season in the ECHL. O’Brien, 27, was named playoff MVP after scoring 29 points in 23 postseason games.
- The Colorado Eagles are loading up this offseason and now have another goaltender to add to the mix. Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic is reporting that former Arizona Coyotes prospect Hunter Miska will sign an AHL contract with Colorado. Miska, a former standout at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, made his NHL debut last season for the Coyotes but spent the majority of the season in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners, recording an .895 save percentage in 25 appearances.
- Mark Divver reports that the Providence Bruins will bring back Christopher Breen for another season. The mammoth defenseman is an effective penalty killer and imposing physical presence, but hasn’t played an NHL game since the 2013-14 season.
- The Manitoba Moose have agreed to terms with Alexis D’Aoust, Bobby Lynch, Cole Maier, Kristian Reichel, Graeme Craig, Jimmy Oligny and Hayden Shaw for the 2019-20 season, bringing back a good chunk of their organizational depth.
- Former Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers prospect Kale Kessey has signed with the AHL’s Hershey Bears, the team announced. Kessey has largely played in the ECHL over the past three years, but the 2011 fourth-rounder will push for a regular role with Hershey. His penalty minutes are a thing to behold.
Notable AHL Signings: 7/1 & 7/2
It’s not uncommon to see many players coming off NHL contracts, including those who have found success in the AHL, opt to sign minor league contracts early in July. As the new league year begins, many unrestricted free agents find that the market for their services at the top level does not develop. Rather than hold out hope for a two-way NHL contract further into the off-season, many are content to accept AHL contracts, which don’t rule out the possibility of signing in the NHL but provide some certainty about the coming season. Through the first two days of free agency, more than a few familiar names have settled for minor league pacts:
- Tyler Sikura has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs, remaining in the Chicago Blackhawks organization. Sikura has been a key contributor for Rockford the past two years, even earning a one-year contract with Chicago this past season, but did not make an NHL appearance. He was likely content to stay with organization anyway, as he can continue to play with younger brother Dylan Sikura.
- After playing a key shutdown role for the Charlotte Checkers en route to a Calder Cup championship, defenseman Josiah Didier has signed a one-year deal with the Providence Bruins. Providence has several top prospects on their blue line, but are lacking depth and Didier should again play an important role for his team next season.
- The San Antonio Rampage have signed former Detroit Red Wings prospect and second-round pick Zach Nastisiuk to an AHL contract, as well as fellow forwards Cameron Darcy and J.J. Piccinich. The trio will have to fight for ice time in the minors, as the St. Louis Blues have signed quite a few depth players already over these past two days.
- The Lehigh Valley Phantoms went big game hunting among AHL veterans yesterday, signing five-time AHL All-Star Cal O’Reilly to a two-year deal and bringing back their own All-Star, Greg Carey. O’Reilly, 32, has been on an NHL contract in each of the past five seasons, but had to settle for a step down this year despite another strong campaign. The center was a point-per-game scorer for the Iowa Wild, notching 67 points in 67 games to finish in the top ten in the AHL in scoring. It was his sixth AHL season with 60+ points. Carey, 29, saw his contract with the Philadelphia Flyers expire, but remains in the organization, where he has recorded three straight 50+ points seasons. The Phantoms also signed another Iowa forward, Gerry Fitzgerald, and defenseman Eric Knodel to one-year contracts.
- A trio of familiar names have joined the Hartford Wolfpack: goalie Thomas McCollum, forward Harry Zolnierczyk, and defenseman Vincent LoVerde. All three players are coming off of NHL contracts but will have to work their way back into relevance at the top level. McCollum and Zolnierczyk both have played in the NHL, albeit not in several years, and LoVerde is a two-time AHL All-Star and Calder Cup champ. It’s quite a haul for Hartford.
- Sam Vigneault left Clarkson University early to join the Columbus Blue Jackets, but his play in the minors tailed off over the past two years and his entry-level contract expired without an NHL experience. However, he’s content to stay in the organization, as Vigneault has signed a one-year deal with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.
- Former top goalie prospect Zach Fucale has had a tough go of it in the pros. A second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2013, Fucale has been relegated to the ECHL for much of the past three seasons. He managed to find an AHL contract with the Syracuse Crunch, but considering the depth in net for the Tampa Bay Lightning after signing three goalies yesterday, Fucale is likely headed back to the ECHL.
- Cole Schneider has been a force in the AHL for years, recently wrapping up his sixth straight season of 50+ points. However, the 28-year-old has been unable to translate that offense to the NHL. Although he still had enough value to warrant a trade to the Nashville Predators this season, Schneider never made an appearance for the team. That hasn’t stopped him from sticking with the organization though. The Milwaukee Admirals have brought back the talented forward on a one-year deal.
Panthers Sign Defensemen Tommy Cross And Ethan Prow
The Florida Panthers are re-tooling their blue line and that goes beyond simply adding Anton Stralman. The team also needs more talent among their depth options and have accomplished that by adding a pair of capable AHL defenders. The Panthers announced that Tommy Cross and Ethan Prow have both agreed to two-year, two-way contracts. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Cross, 29, was a Boston College standout and long-time Boston Bruins prospect before signing a one-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer. Cross plays a sound defensive game, which allowed him to be a capable emergency option for Boston on a few occasions, but has mostly made his name on being a very offensively productive minor league defenseman for many years.
Prow, 26, enjoyed a breakout season at the right time, as he entered a contract year having yet to establish himself as a pro. In 74 AHL games last season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he recorded 50 points and showed that he can be an effective puck-mover at the pro level. He’s turned that into a nice opportunity to fight for NHL appearances with Florida.
Boston Bruins Announce Several Signings
While the Boston Bruins garnered some attention early on today with a long-term extension for defenseman Connor Clifton and the signings of young power forward Brett Ritchie and third-string goalie Maxime Lagace, the team was quietly working through a number of other deals that insiders failed to pick up on. The team has announced seven signings: extensions for Clifton and Ryan Fitzgerald, one-way contracts for Ritchie and Par Lindholm, two-way contracts for Lagace and Brendan Gaunce, and an AHL contract for defenseman Josiah Didier.
Outside of Clifton and Ritchie, the biggest news is the addition of Lindholm, who signed a two-year deal with an AAV of $850K. Although Lindholm, 27, just finished his first NHL season after a long career in Sweden, the Bruins got a good look at him as a member of the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Lindholm recorded 12 points in 61 games for Toronto, but was held to just one point in four regular season games and two postseason games for the Winnipeg Jets following a late-season trade. However, defense is more Lindholm’s game anyway, as he proved to be a good physical presence and proved to be adept at blocking shots and creating turnovers. Lindholm is a good fourth-line depth option and penalty kill possibility for the Bruins, who lost Noel Acciari to the Florida Panthers, but replace much of the same ability at half the price.
Gaunce, 25, became a UFA after he was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Vancouver Canucks. A 2012 first-round pick, the Canucks expected more offense out of the forward, who instead recorded just 15 points in 117 NHL games through four seasons with the team. Last year, Gaunce played all but three games in the AHL. At his point, Gaunce is a player who uses his size and speed to play a physical, up-tempo style, but lacks the skill to play a scoring role in the NHL. At best, Gaunce will challenge Lindholm to be the next man up on the fourth line in Boston, and would be an affordable piece at $700K, but at worst he has a high floor of being a hard-working and experienced minor league presence that will make his Providence teammates better.
One such teammate is Fitzgerald, who returns to the team on a one-year, $700K deal, coming in below his qualifying offer. Fitzgerald has shown a well-rounded game and consistent production in two years with the Providence Bruins, as he did in four years at Boston College. The homegrown product comes from hockey bloodlines and plays a smart game. There’s still some question of whether the skill is enough to get to the NHL, though. Fitzgerald will still be searching for his Boston debut this coming season.
Another Providence addition is Didier, who strengthens a talented, but shallow AHL blue line for the Bruins. Didier is coming off a career-best offensive season for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, despite only being a part-time player for the Calder Cup champs. It’s unclear how much of a role he will play in Providence, but it’s a risk-free investment in a big, experienced defender by the Bruins.
Senators Sign Forward Jordan Szwarz
The Ottawa Senators continue to bring in talent from their division rivals, signing former Providence Bruins captain Jordan Szwarz per a team release. It is a one-year, two-way contract for Szwarz worth $800K in the NHL. Szwarz, 28, has skated in 47 NHL games with the Bruins and Coyotes in his career.
Szwarz, 28, has been an excellent minor league player for nearly a decade, and is coming off his third consecutive 20 goal season for the Providence Bruins. That kind of offensive consistency at the AHL level is exactly what the Belleville Senators were looking for, after their team was led almost entirely by young prospects that will likely be graduating to the NHL in the upcoming years.
Brett Ritchie To Sign With Boston Bruins
The Bruins are set to add a depth piece up front, as TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that former Dallas Star forward Brett Ritchie will join the team. It is expected to be a one-year deal in the $1MM range for the 26-year-old winger.
Ritchie gives the team an fourth-line option as the 6-foot-4, 220-pound winger will add some size and grit to the team after the Bruins lost Noel Acciari to Florida earlier in the day. However, he will still have to prove himself as the Stars opted to not qualify Ritchie last week, allowing him to become a free agent.
The 26-year-old looked like a promising player for the Stars, who drafted him in the second round in 2011. He flashed some offense in his first full season in the 2016-17 season when he potted 16 goals and 24 points. However, those numbers dropped to seven goals and 14 points the following year before only scoring four goals last season in 53 games and saw himself bounced out of the lineup by the end of the season. A physical presence who has been known to throw down against other big players such as Colton Parayko and Tom Wilson, Ritchie will have to prove that he can outplay other depth players for Boston.
Boston Bruins Add Maxime Lagace
In need of an established third-string option in net, the Boston Bruins have opted to sign Maxime Lagace to fill the role. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports it is a one-year, two-way deal for the 26-year-old and worth the minimum $700K at the NHL level. The former Vegas Golden Knights keeper will spend next season with AHL Providence barring any injuries to top tandem Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak.
Lagace wasn’t needed much as a third-sting option for Vegas this season as he only appeared in one game for the Golden Knights, but he saw quite a bit of action in the Golden Knights’ inaugural season when he became the starting goaltender for a stretch after the team lost both Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban to injury. He appeared in 16 games that year, but struggled with a 3.92 GAA and a. 867 save percentage. He split time with Oscar Dansk this year in with the Chicago Wolves, but took more of a backup role to him, especially in the Calder Cup playoffs as Lagace appeared in just three games of their Calder Cup Finals run. However, his numbers remained solid in the AHL, where he put up a 2.43 GAA and a.914 save percentage in 33 appearances.
Lagace will replace Zane McIntyre who the Bruins were going to lose in free agency. The team hopes that Lagace can help mentor 21-year-old Dan Vladar, who showed some flashes of success at the AHL level, but also proved to be quite inconsistent and wouldn’t be able to help much at the NHL level. Lagace should be able to fill that void.
Boston Bruins Extend Connor Clifton
The Bruins have expressed their appreciation for the development of young defender Connor Clifton, as they will sign him to a long-term extension today, the earliest date in which they could make the move. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that it is a three-year, $3MM deal for Clifton, who still has one season remaining at $725K. The 24-year-old appears to be locked in as blue line depth piece for years to come.
At the start of the season, Clifton was a longshot to make any impact on the Bruins squad, but the 24-year-old blueliner was recalled on two separate occasions to fill in for several injured Boston players. He played 19 games for the Bruins, posting just an assist, but it was in the playoffs where Clifton broke out. With multiple injuries still ravaging their blueline, Clifton became a regular for the team during the playoffs and started to show off some of his offensive skill as well, scoring two goals and finishing with five points in the playoffs, while maintaining his high-energy levels throughout.
The addition likely guarantees him a permanent spot on Boston’s blueline as he will serve as a depth defenseman and fight for playing time with John Moore, Matt Grzelcyk and Kevan Miller.
Eastern Notes: Francis, Payne, Johansson, Reimer, Lehner, Mastrosimone
One name that hasn’t gotten quite a bit of attention the last year has been that of former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis. The former GM has spent the last few months on a management team that put together the roster for Canada at the recent World Championships. Sportsnet’s John Shannon points out that today is the last day that he is under contract with Carolina and could be free to sign with an other NHL team. According to Shannon, His work with Hockey Canada has increased his desire to return to the NHL.
Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland adds that Francis name has come up for a while as a strong candidate for the general manager position in Seattle. Francis help build the Hurricanes roster that eventually eliminated the former Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals last year and reached the conference finals.
- Ottawa Senators new head coach D.J. Smith will add another key assistant to his staff. After bringing in Jack Capuano to be his associate head coach, the Senators announced today that they have also added former St. Louis Blues head coach Davis Payne as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. The 48-year-old Payne spent the past two years in Ottawa’s division as the associate coach for the Buffalo Sabres and Phil Housley. Before that he spent five years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings and helped lead the team to the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship. As head coach in St. Louis, he spent parts of three seasons there between 2009 and 2011, finishing with a 67-55-15 record.
- TSN’s Darren Dreger writes that unrestricted free agent forward Marcus Johansson is talking to a number of teams today, but he is no longer talking to the Boston Bruins. The 28-year-old was acquired by Boston at the trade deadline for their playoff run, but reports indicate that his price tag is more than Boston wants to pay. Dreger adds that Boston is totally out of the picture now.
- News & Observer’s Luke DeCock reports that while the Carolina Hurricanes acquired goaltender James Reimer earlier today, his stay in Carolina could be short. The scribe writes that Carolina isn’t necessarily planning on keeping the goaltender as the team continues to look to make more deals ahead of the opening of free agency on Monday. If they can find a taker, the team may try to flip him to another team.
- The Athletic’s Arthur Staple adds that the Reimer trade suggests that the Florida Panthers are the leading candidates to sign Sergei Bobrovsky, which means the Islanders could find themselves without a top goalie. He points out there is plenty of time to re-connect with Robin Lehner. The two sides weren’t close in negotiations, but the Islanders may have no choice to change their stance in discussions.
- The Detroit Red Wings got some bad news Saturday when they learned that recent draft prospect Robert Mastrosimone, the team’s second-round pick this year, suffered broken right ankle during development camp last week, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The injury will require four to six weeks of rehab. Mastrosimone scored 31 goals for the USHL Chicago Steel last season.