Boston Bruins Sign John Moore To Five-Year Contract
The Boston Bruins have found their defenseman, signing John Moore to a five-year, $13.75MM contract according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Moore is coming off a three-year $5MM contract and was an unrestricted free agent for the first time.
Boston had been after a defenseman for some time, trying to give themselves some depth and balance on the blue line. While this does help the depth of their group, it’s not clear what role Moore will carve out for himself. As a left-handed defenseman, he slots in behind Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug and would be battling with the recently re-signed Matt Grzelcyk for playing time. That is of course unless someone moves over, but the early speculation immediately went to Krug’s future with the club. Moore can carry the puck has a good shot and could be a useful piece for the Bruins powerplay, a role that Krug currently occupies.
The 27-year old Moore has certainly not has as much success offensively as Krug, but recently topped 20 minutes a night with the New Jersey Devils and will offer the Bruins some long-term stability on the left side. His five-year deal is much longer than we at PHR expected when ranking him 21st on our Top 50 UFA List, but the $2.75MM AAV is close to our $2.83MM estimate. It’s a reasonable cap hit for a player of his quality, and doesn’t pose a lot of risk at such a relatively low cap hit. Even if Moore fails to live up to expectations, it can’t cripple the Bruins’ salary structure. Moore becomes the only Boston defenseman signed past the 2019-20 season, giving them plenty of options on how to build the blue line going forward.
Blue Jackets Sign Defenseman Tommy Cross
The Columbus Blue Jackets are bringing in a familiar face in former USHL Junior Blue Jackets player Tommy Cross. The 28-year-old defenseman, a long-time Boston Bruins depth player, is also a good friend of Cam Atkinson from the pair’s time at Boston College. TSN’s Frank Servalli reports that it is a two-way deal for Cross, paying him the minimum $650K at the NHL level.
The 28-year-old has shown off his offensive game over the past couple of years with the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. In two seasons, he’s combined for 20 goals and 71 points. However, the blueliner has not had any success cracking the Bruins lineup, even with the team’s rash of injuries in the last couple of years. He hasn’t appeared in a regular season game in two years, although he did make an appearance in a Bruins’ playoff game in the 2016-17 season.
The two-way deal should allow Cross to play a major role for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and would have to challenge both Dean Kukan and Markus Nutivaara for playing time at the NHL level.
Vegas Signs Nick Holden To Two-Year Deal
The Vegas Golden Knights are adding a reliable body to the blue line, reportedly adding defenseman Nick Holden. While the team has yet to officially announce the deal, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Holden will sign for two years at $4.4MM, with an AAV of just over $2MM. The Golden Knights outbid the Boston Bruins who trying to keep him in the fold.
Holden provides the Golden Knights depth after the team parted ways from Luca Sbisa and a two-year deal keeps the team nice and short, which is what the Golden Knights were able to do with center Paul Stastny, who signed a three-year pact. Holden provides Vegas with a veteran defensive presence, but his best attribute is his size as he stands 6-foot-4.
Holden spent the last two years with the New York Rangers, but was traded at the deadline for a third-round pick and a lower-tier prospect to the Boston Bruins. However, the 31-year-old blueliner’s game is starting to decline as his numbers dropped from a year ago. After an 11 goal and 34 point season in 2016-17, he finished with four goals and 17 points between the two teams this season.
Boston Bruins Sign Joakim Nordstrom
The Boston Bruins have signed Joakim Nordstrom to a two-year contract worth $2MM total. Nordstrom became an unrestricted free agent when the Carolina Hurricanes failed to qualify him last week.
Nordstrom played the past three years with Carolina, but failed to impress as he scored just two goals in 75 games last year, which is down from 10 goals in the 2015-16 season and seven the year after that. However, a change of scenery could be good thing for Nordstrom.
The 26-year-old should be able to provide solid bottom-line depth for the Bruins as he is versatile forward, who can play both center and wing. That might be essential as the team has lost Tim Schaller to Vancouver and could also lose Riley Nash and Boston may be forced to rebuild their bottom-six lines.
Free Agent Notes: Holden, Ellis, Namestnikov, Wilson
The Vegas Golden Knights already surprised a few when they reached out and stole Paul Stastny away from Western Conference rival Winnipeg. However, the Golden Knights are apparently not done as The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Vegas is the front-runner for unrestricted free agent defenseman Nick Holden.
Holden, who spent time with both the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins last season, would be a solid depth defenseman that could add to Vegas’ core. he averaged 19:00 ATOI between both clubs, but only posted four goals and 17 points on the year. However, the 31-year-old may be starting to show a decline in skills as he was a 34-point player in 2016-17 with the Rangers.
Incidentally, Holden is being pursued by two teams as the Boston Bruins are also vying for the blueliner’s services, according to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. The Bruins, after all, gave up a third-round pick and low-end prospect Rob O’Gara at the deadline.
- LeBrun also mentions that while Nashville Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis, who will be a unrestricted free agent in one year, can sign an extension as of today. However, the scribe writes that Nashville isn’t there yet. They intend to reignite talks with Ellis and his representatives within the next one to two weeks. Nashville wants to keep Ellis in the fold at all costs as the team has put major emphasis on having a dominant four defense. The team already has P.K. Subban ($9MM AAV) and Mattias Ekholm ($3.75MM AAV) locked up for four years, while Roman Josi ($4MM AAV) is signed for another two years.
- The New York Rangers can breathe easier after the agent for restricted free agent Vladislav Namestnikov, Dan Milstein, refuted rumors that the forward was leaving for the KHL. Namestnikov, who was acquired from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, but saw his playing time drop once he arrived in New York. After averaging 17:30 of ATOI as a Lightning, his playing time dropped to 15:43, along with his offensive production. After potting 20 goals with Tampa Bay, he managed just four points in 19 games with the Rangers. However, Milstein insists the rumors are not true and that Namestnikov believes playing in the NHL is a privilege and honor and an extension is in the works with the New York Rangers.
- Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports the Buffalo Sabres are currently working on re-signing winger Scott Wilson. The 26-year-old was picked up in a December trade this last season from the Detroit Red Wings and played a regular role as a bottom-six forward. After not scoring a point in 17 games with Detroit, he tallied six goals and 14 points in 49 games in Buffalo.
Bruins To Sign Jaroslav Halak
After failing to agree to terms on a new deal with Anton Khudobin (who is expected to sign with Dallas), the Bruins have found their new backup goaltender. Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports (Twitter link) that Boston will sign veteran netminder Jaroslav Halak. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
It has been a bit of a tumultuous ride for Halak in recent years. In his first season with the Islanders, he was a capable starter and looked to be providing good value on his contract that paid him an average of $4.5MM per year. But then New York brought in Thomas Greiss, who wound up platooning with him in 2015-16 and eventually wrestled away the number one job in the postseason.
Things got worse the following season as Halak struggled out of the game and wound up clearing waivers that resulted in a lengthy minor league stint. He played quite well with AHL Bridgeport and earned a recall later in the year where he went on a nice run to finish, winning six of seven starts down the stretch. That didn’t carry over to last season, however. Although he managed to win back the starting role, he struggled overall on the year, posting a 3.19 GAA and a .908 SV% in 54 appearances, numbers that were below the league average.
The Bruins are banking on Halak returning to form with less pressure and a better back end in front of him. At the very least, he should be able to handle more than a typical number two workload which will allow them to take some pressure off Tuukka Rask and keep him fresh as the season progresses.
Bruins Expected To Sign Chris Wagner
The Bruins are poised to add some grit into their bottom six group of forwards as they are expected to ink center Chris Wagner to a two-year contract, reports Fox Sports West’s Andy Strickland (Twitter link). Mark Divver of the Providence Journal adds (via Twitter) that Wagner will get a two-year deal with a $1.25MM AAV.
The 27-year-old spent the majority of the season with Anaheim before being dealt to the Islanders at the trade deadline in exchange for winger Jason Chimera. He is coming off of a career year offensively as he collected 16 points (7-9-16) in 79 games while logging 13:17 per night of playing time. For perspective, he came into 2017-18 with a total of 13 points in 95 games over parts of three seasons.
However, despite his increase in production, Wagner is most known for his physicality. He ranked third in the league – second among forwards – in hits last season with 253, an average of 3.2 per game. The Bruins will be counting on that to continue from their fourth line for the next couple of years.
Western Notes: Winnipeg Goalies, Seguin, Lehtonen, Fehr, Beagle
With the trade of goaltender Steve Mason this morning to open up some cap space, the Winnipeg Jets find themselves with a sudden hole in their lineup as the team no longer has a viable backup goaltender behind starter Connor Hellybuyck. Their top goalie out of the AHL, Michael Hutchinson, is already an unrestricted free agent and likely to move on, while the next in line is Eric Comrie, who has a total of four NHL games to his name.
That will force the cap-saving Jets to find a cheap solution on the free agent market. A few days behind in the recruiting market, many of those backup options are already off the board, such as Carter Hutton (Buffalo), Jonathan Bernier (Detroit) and Cam Ward (Chicago).
The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe writes there are options out there, suggesting the team look at some under-the-radar goaltenders who struggled a year ago. Tops on his list is former Buffalo Sabres netminder Chad Johnson, who struggled last year in Buffalo with a 3.55 and a .891 save percentage. However, the 32-year-old was behind one of the worst defenses in the league, while the Jets’ offense could easily protect Johnson better.
- Sean Shapiro of The Athletic writes that extension talks between the Dallas Stars and Tyler Seguin can’t even start until after John Tavares signs a contract and sets the market. Whatever Tavares gets will be the starting point for negotiations between the two parties. Seguin, who is eligible to sign an extension starting tomorrow, put up a career-high 40 goals for the Stars. However, the 26-year-old can also opt to become a free agency next year in a similar fashion to what Tavares is doing now. Dallas has made it clear they want to lock the center up long-term.
- Former Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and current unrestricted free agent could be an interesting watch, according to Fox Sports Andy Strickland. The 34-year-old backup was interested in joining the Boston Bruins as a backup to Tuuka Rask, but now doesn’t seem likely. While there has been some interest from some Western Conference teams, he could choose to retire if the right opportunity doesn’t present itself. Lehtonen finished last season with a pedestrian 2.56 GAA and a .912 save percentage as a backup for the Stars.
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo writes the Minnesota Wild have had conversations with free agent center Eric Fehr. The 32-year-old veteran had trouble cracking the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup this year and was eventually traded to the San Jose Sharks for a 2020 seventh-round pick, but made an impression centering the team’s fourth line. He put up three goals in 14 games and played in 10 playoff games. The scribe also writes that he doubts Fehr ends up in Minnesota.
- Despite rumors that the Vancouver Canucks were closing in on an agreement with unrestricted free agent center Jay Beagle yesterday, Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet reports that the market for Beagle is increasing and driving up his pricetag. Vancouver remains quite interested in signing the veteran and are very, very much in the race to acquire him.
Bruins, Anton Khudobin $150K Per Year Apart In Negotiations
- Winger Austin Czarnik has largely flown under the radar but he has received interest from 24 different teams, reports Craig Custance of The Athletic (via Twitter). He adds that a two-year deal with a Western Conference team appears to be the likeliest outcome at this time. The 25-year-old lit up the AHL this past season with 25 goals and 44 assists in 69 games which ranked third overall in league scoring. He also added four assists in ten games with the Bruins. NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty tweets that the Oilers are among the teams making a push.
- It doesn’t appear that there is a big gap to bridge between the Bruins and goaltender Anton Khudobin. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reports (Twitter link) that the two sides were only $150K per year apart on talks. However, it appears that Khudobin, barring a change in the next little while, will go to the open market. TSN’s Darren Dreger tweets that Dallas could make sense as a landing spot.
Free Agent Focus: Boston Bruins
Free agency is now just days from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Boston’s free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agent: F Sean Kuraly – This was Kuraly’s first season as a regular and he acquitted himself relatively well on the fourth line as he provided the Bruins with a physical presence and the odd timely goal. Given his limited track record though, he won’t have much leverage when it comes to contract negotiations even though he is eligible for salary arbitration. His qualifying offer came in just shy of $875K and his next deal should be close to that amount.
Other RFAs: W Anton Blidh, D Colby Cave
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Rick Nash – While his production has tapered off in recent years, that didn’t stop several teams from pursuing Nash at the trade deadline. His days as a top-line scorer are finished but he can still slot in nicely as a second liner, something that the Bruins were hoping for when they acquired him. Unfortunately for them, he suffered a concussion shortly after joining the team and while he was back for the playoffs, he didn’t make much of an impact.
Nash was projecting to be one of the top free agents available this summer – he’s ranked sixth in our Top 50 UFA Rankings – but he has taken himself off the market for the time being as he has told teams that he is unsure if he intends to play in 2018-19. Boston was among the teams that had expressed interest in signing him during the interview period so it will be interesting to see if they leave enough cap space freed up this summer to circle back to Nash if he decides later on that he’s going to play next season.
F Riley Nash – The other Nash had quite the season. After being expected to be primarily a depth player, he worked his way into a regular spot on the third line and never looked back, posting career highs in goals (15), assists (26), and points (41) while winning a respectable 48.4% of his faceoffs. With it being a pretty weak market for centers in free agency, the 29-year-old is poised to land a considerable pay raise and some long-term contract security on the open market.
Other UFAs: F Kenny Agostino, D Christopher Breen, D Tommy Cross, F Austin Czarnik, D Nick Holden, G Anton Khudobin, D Paul Postma, F Tim Schaller, F Tommy Wingels
Projected Cap Space: The Bruins currently have just shy of $12MM in cap room this offseason, per CapFriendly. Even after re-signing Kuraly and finding a replacement for Khudobin with his return appearing to be unlikely, they should have enough room to add a notable player either through trade or free agency.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.