Atlantic Notes: Marner, Red Wings Trades, Bruins Rookies
Mitch Marner is ready for the spotlight of Toronto hockey writes Sportsnet’s Michael Grange. The fourth overall pick from the 2014 NHL Draft is ready to prove he belongs in Toronto as he attends his third prospect camp since being selected by the Leafs. Marner has played well with the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights, registering 59 points (13-46) in 2013-14, 126 points (44-82) in 2014-15, and 116 points (39-77) in 2015-16. His monstrous production over the past two seasons has the Leafs’ brass attention and Grange writes that should he produce the wizardry he did in London, he’ll absolutely be playing in Toronto this fall. During the Leafs 2-1 victory over the Senators Friday night during the Leafs Rookie Tournament, Marner played well in the Leafs 2-1 victory over the Senators, and also demonstrated some physicality in the Leafs’ win.
In other Atlantic Division notes:
- Puck Daddy’s Ryan Lambert writes that the Red Wings lack of trades indicate some deeper issues in Hockeytown. The Wings wanted to move Jimmy Howard but failed to do so. They are trying to acquire a top four defenseman but haven’t been able to do that either. Lambert reports that the problem is all the money tied up in older veterans like Henrik Zetterberg and goes as far to say that the Red Wings made a number of poor contract choices this summer. This has been levied by many analysts regarding general manager Ken Holland’s decisions and has contributed to the Red Wings current situation of cap hell. Lambert further writes that the forward core had its struggles last season and that the defense is leaky. Lambert sees the Wings not making any trades due to this situation–unless they find themselves on the outside looking in at the trade deadline. And at that point, the Wings may be sacrificing the future for another playoff run that may end as quickly as the last three have.
- Joe Haggerty reports via CSNNE that a number of Bruins’ rookies have a real shot at cracking the Bruins roster this fall. Haggerty quotes Boston general manager Don Sweeney as saying that the “door is wide open” for younger players to make their mark. Brandon Carlo, Jakub Zboril and Jeremy Lauzon are three players to watch, and Haggerty says that Carlo has the inside track to make the team out of camp. He does believe that some extra time in the AHL may be a more realistic start for Carlo. Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk are also other young Bruins to watch as the Bruins start their analysis of their young talent.
Snapshots: Robidas, Bartkowski, Zuccarello
It appears the playing career of defenseman Stephane Robidas is over but that doesn’t mean he’s leaving the sport of hockey altogether, according to Lance Hornby in the Toronto Sun. The veteran of 15 NHL seasons injured his leg during training camp last year and is still unable to resume any hockey-related activities. But while he can’t suit up for the Maple Leafs, Robidas will still be able to contribute to the organization in his new role as a consultant.
Robidas, in the final year of a three-year 35+ deal with an AAV of $3MM, says he will be based in Montreal and work with the Toronto Marlies and scout some NCAA games. While not technically retiring – he will be placed on IR by the team thus negating his cap charge – Robidas concludes his NHL career with 258 point and 713 penalty minutes in 937 NHL games.
Elsewhere around the NHL:
- The Ottawa Senators announced via the team’s website that they have signed defenseman Matt Bartkowski to a PTO agreement. Bartkowski, who has appeared in parts of six NHL campaigns, five with the Bruins, saw action in a career-high 80 games last season with Vancouver. He tallied a career-best six goals – ironically the first goals of his NHL career – and tied his career-high with 18 points. Bartkowski, a left defender, will likely compete with Mark Borowiecki for a spot on the third pair. Borowiecki, coming off he season in which he netted just two points and averaged just 14:38 of ice time, could be vulnerable to a challenge for his job.
- Due to cap restrictions and the desire to get younger, the New York Rangers have had to make some difficult roster decisions the last two summers. Among them were the decisions to deal winger Carl Hagelin and pivot Derick Brassard in back-to-back offseasons. Those trades were particularly tough on the team’s leading scorer in 2015-16, Mats Zuccarello, who saw both of his best friends shipped off to other organizations. While he understands that’s the nature of the business, he did have some advice for his teammates: “Don’t be friends with me. Or else you might be traded,” as Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes. All kidding aside, Zuccarello already feels in mid-season form due to his participation in both the Olympic qualifying tournament and the World Cup of Hockey. As Brooks notes, Zuccarello has already seen action in 10 games, helping Norway qualify for the 2018 Winter Olympics and skating with Team Europe in the World Cup. He is also looking forward to the new NHL season getting started and is excited by what management has done this summer.
Snapshots: Cap Overages, Strachan, Rinaldo, Stransky
CapFriendly released a series of tweets today outlining the teams that suffered cap overages in 2015-16 and will thus feel the effect in 2016-17. Overage penalties are incurred when players with bonus-laden contracts meet the contractual criteria to receive those bonuses. The resulting payout is attributed to the prior season, in which the bonuses were earned, but if the increases put the team over the salary cap for that year, the overage carries over as a cap penalty in the following season. The following teams had players earn bonuses that put the team’s salary cap payroll over the 2015-16 salary cap limit, and CapFriendly has calculated rough estimates of the accompanying penalty against the 2016-17 cap:
Florida Panthers – $1.42MM
San Jose Sharks – $617K
Detroit Red Wings – $550K
Toronto Maple Leafs – $512K
Edmonton Oilers – $322K
Vancouver Canucks – $315K
Tampa Bay Lightning – $314K
St. Louis Blues – $190K
Unfortunately, but also predictably, many of these teams are already struggling with the off-season salary cap crunch, and must also take these overage penalties into account. The Red Wings are currently further over the cap (about $4.24MM) than any other team in the league and already must be considering trading away a significant piece to become cap compliant. The Leafs and Sharks are also right up against the cap, and overage penalties give them even less cap flexibility to maintain compliance. The Lightning currently have over $6MM in cap space, but have yet to re-sign key restricted free agents Nikita Kucherov and Nikita Nesterov, and the last thing they need is yet another reason why they can’t afford to meet the asking price of the pair.
In other league news:
- Veteran journeyman defenseman Tyson Strachan has signed an AHL deal with the Rochester Americans, the affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, the team announced today. Strachan has bounced around the NHL and AHL throughout his career, never finding a permanent home at the big league level. The soon-to-be 32-year-old had his best season in 2014-15 though, with five points in 46 games for none other than the Sabres. Buffalo does not have much depth on the blue line at the AHL level, and Strachan seems likely to earn an upgrade to a two-way deal with his former team should the injury bug strike the defense corp in 2016-17.
- Another player looking to get back to the NHL is the Bruins’ Zac Rinaldo. WEEI’s D.J. Bean caught up with Rinaldo’s agent, Todd Reynolds, who says he hopes to see Rinaldo given another chance this season. After trading a 3rd-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers last summer to get Rinaldo, Boston was happy with his grit and intensity early in the year. However, as young players pushed for ice time and the Bruins focused more on scoring and fighting for a playoff spot, Rinaldo got into fewer and fewer games. Eventually, he was put on waiver, went unclaimed, and was optioned to AHL Providence in February. Rinaldo was not recalled for the remainder of the season, and now questions what his role is in the organization. While Rinaldo is likely to get the chance to earn a spot in Boston during training camp and the pre-season, the Bruins have several young grinders like Noel Acciari and Tyler Randell who played well last year, as well as young scorers like Seth Griffith, Danton Heinen, and Jake DeBrusk who will look to earn NHL spots. Factor in the additions of Riley Nash and Dominic Moore, and there appears to be very few energy line spots up for grabs. Rinaldo’s NHL future is very much in doubt right now.
- The Bruins are giving another player whose future was once in doubt a fighting chance, as 2016 NHL Draft pass-over Simon Stransky has been invited to rookie camp. The biggest surprise left on the board in June, Stransky was a point-per-game player in juniors this past season, and is considered by many to be an elite offensive talent who is held back by his mediocre defensive game. However, if an organization that emphasizes the two-way game, like the Bruins, can work on developing his defensive game, his scoring and play-making skill could make him a great value find.
Snapshots: Zetterberg, Miller, Brown
With the departure of Pavel Datsyuk to the KHL, Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg assumed the mantle as the team’s longest tenured player. Entering his 14th NHL campaign and soon to turn 36-years-old, the skilled Swedish forward has certainly seen better days as evidenced by his 16-point drop in scoring from 2014-15 to this past season. That being said, Zetterberg is still someone the Wings will lean on if the team wishes to stretch its streak of qualifying for the postseason to 26 years.
Zetterberg acknowledges a drop-off in his play during the second half of each of the previous two seasons and suggests he is looking at different ways to stay fresh throughout the coming season, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
“That’s what’s gotten me the last two years, I ran out of gas. You can’t play hockey in this level when you run out of gas. So that’s one thing we’re going to play around with.”
Zetterberg tallied 27 points in the season’s first 34 games through December but struggled down the stretch recording just nine points over the final 24 contests. He also chipped in just a single point, a goal in game three, during Detroit’s five-game, first-round playoff loss to Tampa Bay. Zetterberg stated he is at least willing to listen if head coach Jeff Blashill suggests decreased ice time or even taking a game off here and there.
“As a player, as soon as you hear ‘less minutes,’ you’re not happy. I don’t think I will go and tell Coach I need less minutes. But if he decides that I need to play less or get some rest dates, I’m open to listen to that.”
“We want to see the younger guys take steps and kind of take minutes from the older guys. But I won’t give it away, they have to earn it. That’s part of the transition. I went through it when I came in and started to play more. But you have to earn it.”
Zetterberg has five seasons remaining on a long-term deal that took effect in 2009-10. He carries a cap hit just in excess of $6MM annually but the final three seasons of his contract come with actual salaries of $3.35MM, $1MM and $1MM respectively. It will be interesting to see if Zetterberg is both willing and able to finish out the pact with the Red Wings.
Elsewhere around the league:
- After trading away talented young blue liner Dougie Hamilton and steady veteran defender Johnny Boychuk in successive offseasons, the Boston Bruins are still searching for a reliable top-four defenseman, as Joe Haggerty opines. An aging Zdeno Chara is still the club’s top defenseman with Torey Krug likely not far behind but beyond those two, pickings are slim. Haggerty admits the team has the cap space and veteran assets to make a trade if they so choose, though they may already have the top-four option they seek on the roster. While also listing prospect Brandon Carlo and youngster Joe Morrow as possibilities, Haggerty believes Colin Miller might be the Bruins “X-factor” on the blue line. As Haggerty notes, Miller scored 19 goals and 52 points in 70 AHL games with the Manchester Monarchs in 2014-15, suggesting he has the skill to put up points in the big leagues. Miller came to Boston from Los Angeles in the Milan Lucic trade during the 2015 offseason and may be coming into his own as an NHL player after producing 16 points in just 42 games as a rookie. With few quality options available either on the trade market or in free agency, it might be wise for Boston to give Miller a chance before looking outside the organization for a top-four blue liner.
- According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet (via tweet), Mike Brown is the latest veteran player to land a PTO with the tough guy winger signing on in Columbus. Brown, 31, spent time with both San Jose and Montreal last season, scoring two goals and three assists in 58 games with 90 PIMs. For his career, Brown has potted 19 goals and recorded 778 minutes of penalties in 407 NHL games. He has suited up for Vancouver, Anaheim, Toronto and Edmonton in addition to the Sharks and Habs in his nine NHL seasons. The Blue Jackets bought out the contract of veteran enforcer Jared Boll earlier this summer and could see Brown as a possible replacement depending on his play during training camp.
Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Ericsson, Leafs Cap Overage
Bruins president Cam Neely is expecting some improvement from the team this season despite not making many substantial changes to the roster, writes Joe Haggerty of CSN New England. Boston’s big offseason acquisition was signing center David Backes away from St. Louis but despite giving him $6MM per season for five years, Neely envisions Backes potentially as a bottom six forward at times:
“He could be a great third line centermen for us, and, depending on the game situation if we’re trying to shut somebody down while we’re protecting a lead, he could slide up with either [David] Krejci or [Patrice] Bergeron on the right side.”
One area that the team was seeking an upgrade in was the back end but aside from re-signing John-Michael Liles and buying out Dennis Seidenberg, nothing else has been done in that area. Neely noted that GM Don Sweeney has been working hard to try to do something there and that they have the cap space (a little over $5.8MM according to Cap Friendly) to make some additions if the right fit presents itself. Kris Russell remains the most prominent blueliner on the UFA market while Kevin Shattenkirk’s name continues to come up in trade speculation.
[Related: Bruins Depth Chart]
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson has been dealing with a hip impingement for the last four years but continues to put off surgery, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes. The surgery to correct the problem would take him out of action for four months. Ericsson played in 71 games with Detroit last season, scoring three goals while adding 12 assists. He averaged 18:32 of ice time per game, his lowest ATOI since 2011-12. He’s under contract with the Wings through 2019-20, carrying a cap hit of $4.25MM per year.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a bonus overage penalty from last year of roughly $512K, reports Cap Friendly on Twitter. The Leafs finished last season using LTIR (which brings cap space available to $0) and had three players achieve performance bonuses in their contracts. As a result, Toronto will have a spending limit of $72.488MM (the salary cap less last year’s overage). With Nathan Horton plus potentially any of Jared Cowen, Joffrey Lupul, and Stephane Robidas expected to be on LTIR this year and several prominent youngsters with bonuses in their deals, the Leafs may find themselves in a similar situation next season.
Can’t Miss Games Of The 2016-17 Season: November and December
The start of the NHL regular season may be a month away with the World Cup of Hockey and preseason still to come, but it’s never too early to get excited for the best slate of games the NHL has to offer this season. Here are the can’t miss-games of the holidays:
November 1st – St. Louis Blues vs. New York Rangers
The trade chatter surrounding a Rick Nash – Kevin Shattenkirk swap has not gone away, and should these two teams get off to a slow start in the first month of the season, this game could act as the final tryout before they pull the trigger. Even if the trade never happens, it’s still a battle between one of the best from each conference to kick off the month.
November 24th – Boston Bruins vs. Ottawa Senators
Hockey may not be able to take Thanksgiving away from football, but they’re doing their best with this match-up. Not only is Boston not far from the location of the first Thanksgiving, but they’re a team on a mission after missing the playoffs in back-to-back years. A rivalry game against the Senators should make for some great holiday hockey.
December 23rd – Los Angeles Kings vs. Dallas Stars
The NHL might freeze trades over the holidays and take a break around Christmas, but a Friday night face-off between two Western Conference titans is a great way to start off the holiday weekend.
Can’t-Miss Games Of The 2016-17 NHL Season: October
The start of the NHL regular season may be a month away with the World Cup of Hockey and preseason still to come, but it’s never too early to get excited for the best slate of games the NHL has to offer this season. Here are the can’t miss-games of October:
Oct. 12th – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators
The puck drops on a new NHL season at 7pm ET in the Canadian capital, as the Sens host the Leafs in a rivalry match-up. With #1 overall pick Auston Matthews and newly acquired keeper Frederik Andersen expected to be among many new faces in the Toronto lineup, the Leafs will have a clean slate as they start the year off against old friend Dion Phaneuf and an Ottawa team looking to get back to the playoffs.
Oct. 12th – Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers
Later that night, the Oilers will open the brand new Rogers Place for it’s first NHL regular-season game, as they welcome their Alberta rivals. Edmonton will definitely be curious to see if the newly-acquired Adam Larsson can help to slow down the Flames’ dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Leaving behind Rexall Place and the many memories (though few good ones in recent years) they had there, the Oilers will look to start the season off on the right foot in a new building, while Calgary hopes to play spoiler.
October 13th – Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The home opener for the 2015-16 Stanley Cup champs comes against none other than the 2015-16 President’s Trophy winners, as fans are treated to a battle of talent and intensity between two fierce rivals on just Day 2 of the NHL season. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will each look to start off strong and lead their teams to victory, as the Penguins begin a title defense and the Capitals begin another long march toward that elusive Stanley Cup championship.
October 20th – San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins have another big game a week later, this time against their Stanley Cup competitors, the Sharks. The 2016 Stanley Cup final was one of the best in recent memory, with immense speed and talent on both sides and young goalies Martin Jones and Matt Murray standing on their heads. Though nothing can make up for falling short when it mattered most, you can bet that captain Joe Pavelski and the Sharks will be fired up for some revenge in this game.
October 23rd – Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets
The Jets will get their first taste of outdoor hockey, as they square off against the Oilers in the Heritage Classic. Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, will host the game as these two Canadian teams look to battle it out, and at least put on a better show than the much talked-about Alumni Game.
Bruins Hope To Extend Brad Marchand By Start Of Season
The Bruins remain in discussions with left winger Brad Marchand on a long-term contract extension, reports CSN New England’s Joe Haggerty. Team president Cam Neely had the following to say about their talks:
“We’d like to get Brad signed. We’ve made that clear to him, and we’ve made that clear to his agency. I know Don has been working with their group to a get a deal done. We’d like to get something done before the start of the season.”
Marchand is coming off a career season where he recorded 37 goals and 24 assists in 77 games while averaging 18:36 per game. His goal total ranked him sixth in the league. His strong year helped earn him a spot on Team Canada at the World Cup of Hockey where he is currently slotted on the top line alongside teammate Patrice Bergeron and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby.
Earlier this offseason, Marchand commented on negotiations and indicated that he would like to stick with the Bruins for the long term:
“It would be great to be here my whole career, and you see how rare that is nowadays. It doesn’t happen often, so that would be incredible. But a lot of things have to line up in order for that to happen not only now, but down the road. So, we’ll play it year-by-year.”
The 28 year old is entering the final season of a four year contract that carries a cap hit of $4.5MM and will pay him $5MM in salary. Needless to say, he is looking at getting a big raise on a lengthy contract.
Boston’s highest paid player in terms of AAV is David Krejci who is in the second season of a six year deal with a cap hit of $7.25MM per season. With the season Marchand just had, it wouldn’t be surprising if it takes more money than that to get a deal done. If that happens, the team would have at least four players signed for 2017-18 with a cap hit of $6.875MM or more (the others being center Patrice Bergeron and goalie Tuukka Rask).
Boston already has a little less than $54MM committed to 14 players beyond this season according to Cap Friendly so a big extension for Marchand could potentially present some challenges filling out the rest of their roster next offseason (particularly with both Ryan Spooner and David Pastrnak being restricted free agents). However, in the cap era, teams are spending more money building around their core talent and then using cheaper options to fill the final few spots on the roster which is an avenue that the Bruins would likely take if a deal gets done.
Minor Transactions: 09/08/16
A number of minor moves were made across the NHL today:
- The San Diego Gulls announced they’ve signed seven players to AHL deals. Stu Bickel, Brian Cooper, Antoine Laganiere, Zac Larraza, Tyler Morley, Scott Sabourin, and Nick Tarnasky will all be suiting up for the Ducks’ affiliate this season.
- Ryan Haggerty has signed an AHL deal with the Wilks-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The 23-year old wasn’t given a qualifying offer by Chicago earlier this summer and became a free agent.
- The Providence Bruins have signed Adam Roach and Matt Ginn to AHL deals. Roach spent last year with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL, while Ginn was with the Atlanta Gladiators for all but one game – which he spent with these Bruins of the AHL.
- Paul Gaustad has announced his retirement after 12 years in the NHL. The veteran of 727 games only played for two teams in his entire career, Nashville and Buffalo. Well respected for his leadership and work ethic, Gaustad was once even traded for a first-round pick despite only scoring 21 points that season. Although he says he’s looking forward to spending more time with his family, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Gaustad join a coaching staff in the next few years.
Kris Russell In “Serious Discussions” With Eight Teams
After Darren Dreger mentioned on TSN 1050 Tuesday that unrestricted free agent Kris Russell could still possibly be a fit for the Maple Leafs this season, he took to Twitter to clarify his stance, and the news he has about Russell as the season approaches. Dreger reports that the defenseman is in serious discussions with eight teams, and is expected to sign before camp starts.
While Dreger gives no hints on who these teams are, one can guess at least the Maple Leafs are still among them if he would go out of his way to theorize about them. We originally ranked Russell 12th among our top-50 free agents, assuming that his analytical detractors weren’t so widespread among league front offices by this point. That doesn’t seem to be the case however, as he’s languished deep into the summer without a deal and will likely have to sign one much lower than our expectation.
We predicted he’d land with the Bruins, though that now seems a fantasy after the team brought back John-Michael Liles and Joe Morrow on one-year deals. An interesting possibility is the Arizona Coyotes, who while at the forefront of hockey analytics, may still see his reduced market as a net-win, like they did with Luke Schenn earlier in the summer.
Either way, Russell will likely sign a shorter term deal to try and rebuild his value, something many teams could be interested in as injuries start piling up in training camp. Russell still is a capable NHL defenseman, though probably best suited to a third pairing at this point in his career.