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Minor Transactions: 07/06/16

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A few minor moves were made today to fill out minor league rosters:

  • Blues’ prospect Jake Walman will head back to Providence College this season for his third year at the school, according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. After putting up 28 points in 27 games last season, Walman’s year was cut short by a shoulder injury that needed surgery.
  • According to General Fanager, T.J Hensick has signed an AHL contract with the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ affiliate. Hensick last played in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues in 2010-11, and has 38 points in 112 NHL games.
  • Also with the Reign, Paul Bissonnette has signed on after an entertaining social media presence over the last few days. Bissonnette, a veteran of 202 NHL games, let fans in on all his conversations with various clubs and players, even sharing that he’d be tricked by a friend into believing Nashville had offered him a contract.
  • Ryan Bourque, son of former NHLer Ray who was in court today, has re-signed with the Hershey Bears after being traded to them midseason last year. Bourque was part of the Calder Cup run that took Hershey all the way to the finals before losing to the Lake Erie Monsters. A former third round pick of the Bruins, Bourque has played one game in the NHL to date. He returns to Hershey to play alongside his brother, Chris. The Bears additionally announced that they had re-signed Dustin Gazley and also that they have inked former Boston College standout goalie Parker Milner.
  • The Red Wings have signed goaltender Jared Coreau to a two-year deal, according to a team release. Coreau was one of the 24 players to file for salary arbitration yesterday. The 24-year old spent last season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

This Day In History: Seguin Traded To Dallas

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Monday is three years ago to the day that the Bruins and Stars made a blockbuster deal with Boston sending Tyler Seguin to Dallas as part of a seven player swap.  It was a deal that significantly shaped the look of each franchise.  Here’s a closer look at each player in the original deal and what they’ve accomplished since the trade.

Dallas Received:

Tyler Seguin – Seguin has been better than a point per game player in each of the last three seasons and has the fourth most points in the NHL in that span.  Seguin has three years left on a six year, $34.5MM contract, making him one of the better bargains among top line forwards in the league.

Rich Peverley – Peverley played most of the 2013-14 season with Dallas, picking up 30 points in 62 games before collapsing mid-game on the bench in March.  He was never able to get the green light to return to the ice and officially retired in September of 2015.  He remains with the Stars as their Player Development Coordinator.

Ryan Button – Button spent 2013-14 with Dallas’ two minor league affiliates but was not given a qualifying offer at the end of the season.  He has played the last two years in Germany.

Boston Received:

Loui Eriksson – Eriksson played each of the last three seasons with Boston, saving his best effort for last with a 63 point campaign in 2015-16.  However, he no longer is with the team as he signed a six year, $36MM contract with Vancouver on Friday.

Reilly Smith – Smith spent two years with Boston, collecting 91 points in 163 games in that span.  He was traded to Florida last July in exchange for Jimmy Hayes.  Smith picked up 50 points last year with the Panthers and signed a five year, $25MM extension yesterday afternoon.

Joe Morrow – The former first round pick spent all of last season up with the Bruins but only got into 33 games of action.  He should be positioned to play more of a regular role in 2016-17.

Matt Fraser – Fraser spent parts of two seasons with the Bruins, picking up five goals in 38 games.  He was lost to Winnipeg on waivers in December of 2014 and spent all of last season in the AHL, split between Manitoba and Rockford.

At the time, the return for the Bruins was widely panned and a few years later, that still seems like the case as all they have left to show for Seguin, one of the NHL’s top players, is Hayes and Morrow.  Meanwhile, the Stars have themselves a franchise player on a team-friendly contract for several more seasons.

Panthers Extend Reilly Smith For Five Years

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Clearly the biggest players in free agency this year, the Florida Panthers are close to another move to lock up their young core. Gary Lawless of TSN was first to report that the team was close to an extension with forward Reilly Smith that would pay him $5MM a season for an additional five years.  The team has since confirmed the length of the deal, though not the financial details.

In just the past few weeks, the team has traded for then signed Keith Yandle, dealt away Dmitry Kulikov, given extensions to Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck, signed free agents Jason Demers and James Reimer, and pretty much owned the hockey world.

Smith, 25, had an excellent season last year with the Panthers, scoring 25 goals and 50 points. The former third round pick has had quite a start to his career, putting up at least 40 points in each of his first three full seasons. The talented young winger came over to Florida in the deal that saw them take on Marc Savard’s cap-hit from the Bruins, one that they recently dealt to New Jersey for some cap relief of their own.

The Panthers have been on quite a clear path lately, trying to push past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the year they lost in the Cup finals to Colorado. After being knocked out by the New York Islanders last season, the team has made clear upgrades to their defensive group, and should have one of the better top pairings in the league with Ekblad and Yandle signed long-term.

Smith is still under contract for next season at a $3.43MM cap hit, meaning that a five-year extension would take him through the 2021-22 season.  Perhaps not coincidentally, that is also when Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov will hit free agency, giving the team a chance to re-tool if they need to at that point.

If the financials are true, it would mean the Panthers have four young forwards under contract long-term for less than $6MM apiece in Barkov, Trocheck, Smith and Nick Bjugstad. All 25 or under, that quartet scored 93 goals last season. Next on the to-do list would be Jonathan Huberdeau, the former third overall pick who put up 20 goals of his own last season.  He’s due $3.25MM next year before becoming an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.

Vesey Remains Committed To Free Agency

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Jimmy Vesey will wait a little longer before deciding his future.

The Harvard grad says he’s committed to becoming an unrestricted free agent, but that won’t happen until August 15. The end-of-summer signing period won’t prevent him from being heavily sought-after. While Vesey has never publicly revealed his shortlist, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe reports Toronto, Boston, Buffalo, both New York teams, New Jersey, and “potentially” St. Louis and Philadelphia having potentially having major interest.

Vesey was drafted 66th overall in 2012 by the Nashville Predators. He played 4 seasons post-draft at Harvard, posting 144 points in 128 games. But when it came time to sign his entry-level contract with the Predators, Vesey declined to put pen to paper, despite allegedly saying he would. Not wanting to lose a good prospect for nothing, the Predators traded Vesey to Buffalo for the 70th pick in this year’s entry draft, recouping the draft pick they spent on Vesey but not the four years of development.

According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, the Sabres plan on making their pitch to Vesey sometime this week, with hopes of convincing him to sign and play with his good friend, Jack Eichel. Vesey and Eichel have been playing together on a summer league team for years now, and Eichel has already given Vesey the talk about Buffalo. However, Vesey’s agent confirmed that free agency is still the plan.

Despite being done school, Vesey will spend his summer doing homework on where he wants to sign. He has family connections in Toronto, with his dad working with the Maple Leafs and his brother being drafted by them. He’s spent four seasons playing in Massachusetts. His good friend plays with Buffalo.

All of the above-listed teams have room for Vesey in their top 6 forwards, and will be getting a highly-motivated player.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Lightning, Maple Leafs, Red Wings

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Though Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski  was initially surprised by David Backes signing in Boston, further review made it understandable. Backes adds another physical, goal scoring center to a team that already includes David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. Wyshynski does warn that Backes arrives with a lot of miles and although he’s only missed 16 games since 2008, his style of play makes the five-year deal somewhat risky near the end of the contract. Regardless, the Bruins beefed up down the middle and have a more favorable look against the best teams in the division–and conference.

Other notes from the Atlantic:

  • Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman continues his mastery of signing the team’s high end talent and Tampa Times writer Joe Smith reports that Nikita Kucherov should be the next name for Yzerman to cross off his list. Smith writes that Yzerman is optimistic a deal will get done and predicts that Kucherov could expect Filip Forsberg numbers in the range of a six-year, $36MM deal. But if there’s anything to be seen with Yzerman, it’s that he’s become a master of negotiations. Between Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman taking what was considered significantly less money to stay in Tampa, it should be expected that Kucherov will possibly take less to stay with a team that Yzerman continues to build into an Eastern Conference force.
  • The Maple Leafs were very quiet with the exception of signing Matt Martin to a four-year, $10MM deal Friday. TSN’s Kristen Shilton writes that Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello felt that Martin filled a need for the rebuilding organization. The move was also precipitated by bench boss Mike Babcock wanting more toughness on the roster. The Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornsby writes that while the team didn’t come out and say it, Martin’s role will be that of a bodyguard for #1 overall pick Auston Matthews, and other Leaf youngsters. Lamoriello did admit that the signing was one to make his younger players feel “freer” on the ice.
  • While the Red Wings inked Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek and Steve Ott, their moves weren’t applauded by everyone. The Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa wonders if general manager Ken Holland’s magic touch is beginning to wear off, and writes that the Wings’ top man shouldn’t be finished with his offseason moves quite yet. Colleague Bob Wojnowski agrees, adding that the Wings are a team “scrambling to find their way” and along with Krupa, opines that that the fanbase is growing restless with Holland’s loyalty to players like Darren Helm, who notched a five-year, $19.5MM deal before free agency opened. Craig Hagerman goes even further, writing that the Wings were one of three teams that actually got worse following Friday’s free agent frenzy. While he lauds the Nielsen signing, he questions the re-signing of Helm (registering a 30 point season twice in his career), Ott (no goals last season), and Vanek (bought out for underachieving).

Bruins Re-Sign Liles

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The Boston Bruins will bring back trade deadline acquisition John-Michael Liles on a one year, $2MM deal, reports Elliotte Friedman.  A spot on their back end moving forward was opened up yesterday with the buyout of Dennis Seidenberg.

The right-shot defenseman had six points in 17 games with the Bruins after coming over from the Carolina Hurricanes last season.  He also added 15 points (6-9-15) in 64 games with the ’Canes prior to the deal.

The 35 year old has played in 12 NHL campaigns with Colorado, Carolina, Toronto, and Boston.  He has 800 games under his belt, scoring 87 goals and 278 assists.

David Backes Signs Five-Year Deal With Bruins

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According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, David Backes has signed on with the Boston Bruins for five years. The free agent center will earn $6MM per season.

Backes, who has spent some time at center the last few seasons, may have to shift to the wing with Boston as the Bruins already have Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci under contract as their top two centers.  It’s likely that Backes will slide into Loui Eriksson’s vacated spot after he signed with Vancouver earlier today.

Last season, Backes suited up in 79 games for the Blues, scoring 21 goals and adding 24 assists, while adding 83 PIMS.  He also was a key part of their postseason run, tallying 14 points (7-7-14) in 20 playoff contests.

Backes, 32, has spent his entire ten year NHL career with the Blues up until now, playing in 727 games.  He scored 206 goals and 254 assists while adding 969 penalty minutes for St. Louis.

Free Agent Profile: Loui Eriksson

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Once Steven Stamkos was crossed off several teams’ wishlist, a name that continues to rise to the top is Loui Eriksson. The one time Dallas Star and current Boston Bruin is a 30-year-old winger who could provide a scoring punch for any team that signs him.

Eriksson is coming off a season where he had 63 points (30-33), his best season statistically since 2011-12 when he was in Dallas. Fairly or unfairly, Eriksson was seen as the lesser of the two in the deal for Tyler Seguin and his first couple seasons in Boston didn’t entirely quiet that notion. Though he had 47 points in 2014-15 (22-25),  it was a far cry from the three 30+ goal seasons Seguin produced in Dallas. Regardless, Eriksson has been a 20+ goal scorer six out of his nine NHL seasons.

Potential Suitors

After Stamkos re-signed with Tampa Bay, Eriksson had a lot of teams–possibly up to eight–kicking the tires. Vancouver, Montreal, Nashville, and San Jose are thinking about a future with the 31-year-old forward. Boston should not be counted out from re-signing him, either. The Hockey News listed Eriksson as one of the better bets to pick up during the free agent period because of his size, skill, and scoring prowess. Teams looking for scoring, Detroit and Buffalo also come to mind, may be intrigued should the bidding not get completely out of hand.

Expected Contract

PHR listed Eriksson #10 out of the top 50 free agents and had him staying with the Bruins. The predicted contract was six years, $27.5MM. While the price tag might go up due to Eriksson being one of the better goal scorers available, expect a yearly deal somewhere between $4.5-$5.25MM.

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Lightning, Bruins

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The Detroit Red Wings are apparently talking more with Darren Helm after many analysts figured his time in Detroit was up. This all changed after Steven Stamkos was locked up in an eight-year deal with the Lightning. Craig Custance tweets that both Helm and the Wings will talk until tomorrow when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. An afterthought after Drew Miller signed a one-year extension, Helm could fill a need at center now that Stamkos is off the market, though it will not be the type of production Stamkos would have generated. Helm, 29, has spent his entire career with the Red Wings.

Nick Cotsonika wonders where the Red Wings go from here after not even getting a chance to talk with Stamkos. Cotsonika reports that Stamkos would have been the first bona-fide superstar signing for Detroit in quite some time, and that a quarter-century of success has its drawbacks in terms of not drafting generational talent due to having lower draft picks. The Red Wings, Cotsonika writes, will have to be deft at not only acquiring the right free agent, but outbidding other teams without overpaying.

Other Central Division notes:

  • Speaking of Stamkos, Kevin McGran writes how the 25-year-old never intended to leave Tampa in the first place. Though he had the chance to be a “hometown hero,” Stamkos opted to stay with the Lightning where the opportunity to win a Cup remains very strong. McGran reports that not only did Stamkos sign for a very cap friendly $8.5MM, he did so knowing it was about $3MM less than what he could have received on the open market.
  • DJ Bean reports that the Bruins would have preferred to trade Dennis Seidenberg instead of buying out his contract. Bean writes that a source told him that general manager Don Sweeney never approached Seidenberg with a trade scenario. Seidenberg’s contract included a no trade clause until December. Bean surmises that this either meant no one was interested in taking Seidenberg’s contract or if willing to take it, they would have expected a return similar to the Blackhawks Bryan Bickell trade that included Teuvo Teravainen.

Bruins Re-Sign Torey Krug

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The Boston Bruins have agreed to terms with D Torey Krug on a four year, $21MM deal, the team announced Thursday.  NHL analyst Aaron Ward was first with the report.  The $5.25MM AAV represents a sizable increase on the $3.4MM he earned last season.  Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt adds that the deal contains a no-trade clause that kicks in for the final two years of the contract.

The announcement comes mere hours after the team placed fellow blueliner Dennis Seidenberg on waivers for the purposes of a contract buyout.

Last year, Krug played in a career best 81 games with the Bruins, picking up four goals and 40 assists while averaging 21:36 of ice time per game.  Those 44 points ranked him 9th in the NHL amongst all defenders.  His goal total was a big drop from the past two years where he had 14 and 12 respectively but at the same time, he set a career high in assists.

Krug signed with Boston in 2012 as an undrafted free agent.  In 241 career NHL games, he has 30 goals and 90 assists.  With Zdeno Chara showing signs of slowing down in recent years, the Bruins are likely expecting Krug to take on more of the load and be a top pairing blueliner moving forward.

The Bruins now have just over $17.6MM in cap space remaining according to Cap Friendly.  With just 16 players signed, they are expected to be active in the free agent market in the coming days.

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