Free Agent Notes: Ladd, Martin, Lucic
It’s that time of year again in the NHL, where rumors and speculation run rampant. Last night, after a report from Jimmy Murphy of VICE Sports indicated the Bruins were preparing an offer sheet for Jets’ defenceman Jacob Trouba, the Twitterverse went wild with speculation and conjecture. If the Bruins are indeed preparing a sheet, it would have to be for the maximum compensation, four first-round picks, as the team doesn’t own their second or third rounders for 2017. A tough pill to swallow to be sure, even if Trouba is the top pairing blueliner they think he is. More news about the upcoming free agent market:
- Darren Dreger wakes us this morning with a report that the Islanders, Canadiens, Lightning and Predators are all in the hunt for Andrew Ladd. As the Stamkos Extravaganza begins (and quite possibly ends) this Friday, the Ladd camp is moving slowly and assessing possible fits before really getting into any negotiations with teams.
- Matt Martin, another interesting name on the market is getting a lot of calls, writes Arthur Staple of Newsday. Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, Los Angeles and Calgary have all reached out already, making the bottom-six winger one to watch over the next few days.
- Among the chatter yesterday was talk of Milan Lucic having agreed to a deal with the Edmonton Oilers, and while this seems like it’s a little ahead of itself, it’s at least something to keep an eye on. Gene Principe of Sportsnet, among others, reported that he’s heard Lucic is probably headed to Edmonton, but can’t guarantee it.
Shattenkirk Open To Western Conference Trade
The Kevin Shattenkirk trade sweepstakes might just be bigger than previously thought. Despite the widespread belief that Shattenkirk would only sign long-term in the Eastern Conference, the offensive defenceman remains open to extend with some Western Conference teams, Jeremy Rutherford reports.
Rutherford tweeted that the door is not completely closed, but Shattenkirk is only open to some teams, presumably only contenders. That means, despite having the pieces to make a trade for Shattenkirk, the Edmonton Oilers do not appear to be in the running for the defender.
The St. Louis Blues writer for NHL.com Lou Korac believes the Blues asking price was Taylor Hall or Jordan Eberle. The high cost of acquiring Shattenkirk, plus the risk of him walking after this coming season could put a damper on some teams’ interest. However, the Bruins, Red Wings, Sabres, and Flyers have all inquired about trading for Shattenkirk. According to Joey Alfieri of NBC Sports, the asking price was David Pastrnak and both of the Bruins first round picks from Boston, or Dylan Larkin from the Red Wings.
Jordan Neumann, Shattenkirk’s agent, told ESPN’s Craig Custance that based on their conversations with St. Louis, they expected Shattenkirk to be dealt over the draft weekend.
Shattenkirk has one year left on his contract, with $4.25MM cap hit. According to CapFriendly, Shattenkirk will make $5.2MM in real dollars.
Free Agent Profile: Milan Lucic
When it was announced last week that talks between Milan Lucic and the Los Angeles Kings broke down, many teams around the NHL looking for size up front and scoring cackled with glee.
Listed as the #2 free agent available by the USA Today’s Kevin Allen, Lucic is a hard nosed forward known for his scoring prowess, and ability to irritate on the ice. Traded to the Kings prior to the 2015-16 season, Lucic had 55 points (20-35) in a 81 games, an improvement from the 44 points (18-26) he had a season’s prior in Boston. Lucic has been a 20+ goal scorer four times in his career. Last season, Lucic averaged .68 points/game
Potential Suitors
Lucic’s landing spot is anyone’s guess, though most pundits believe he’ll be tempted to go back to his hometown Vancouver where he saw tremendous success in junior hockey. The National Post reports that if Lucic were to take a discount, he would still be in Los Angeles, so the Canucks should be expected to pay a higher price for Lucic to come home. Canucks GM Jim Benning also indicated to the Vancouver Sun that he would be making a run at Lucic. The Bruins have expressed their desire to make calls on significant free agents–which would include Lucic. Lucic had a number of great seasons with the B’s, and there is certainly more than enough cap room to get a deal done. However as CBS Boston’s Matt Kalman writes, the Bruins dealt Lucic away because of salary cap concerns, inconsistency, and a style of play that breaks the body down sooner. Though Lucic wasn’t specifically named as someone spoken with, Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland had conversations Monday with several prominent free agent targets writes Helene St. James. Lucic would be a rugged, scoring option who could help the Red Wings scoring woes. Darren Dreger tweeted that Lucic was on the Red Wings “want” list.
Finally, Scott Burnside listed the Edmonton Oilers as another potential team because of Lucic’s relationship with current Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli, who oversaw the Bruins during Lucic’s tenure with the team. Pierre LeBrun tweeted that Lucic was scheduled to meet with Edmonton officials today and wrote more about the possibility of Edmonton snagging the winger.
Expected Contract
PHR has Lucic as the #3 free agent available, fetching a 5 year/$28.75MM deal by someone in the marketplace. PHR had him re-signing with Los Angeles, but talks broke down last week. Jim Matheson recently tweeted that the Oilers could offer upwards to $6MM/year and that it would force a trade of another forward currently on the roster. Ryan Rishaug agrees, thinking that a Lucic deal shuttles a forward to another team, possibly Taylor Hall.
If Edmonton is looking at a long term deal around $6MM, it will be interesting to see if other teams are willing to offer the same amount. Expect a deal somewhere between that $5.5MM-$6MM range.
Full List of Players Who Did Not Receive a Qualifying Offer
The deadline to make a qualifying offer to a restrict free agent ended at 5pm today. Below is a list of players who did not receive an offer and sorted by team for easy reference. Any player that did not receive a qualifying offer is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
(as of writing the Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team not to confirm which players received QOs)
Anaheim Ducks
F Matt Bailey, F Brandon Pirri, F Charles Sarault, D Kevin Gagne, and D Martin Gernat.
Arizona Coyotes
F Sergei Plotnikov, , D Philip Samuelsson, F Christian Thomas, D Kevin Connauton, D Jarred Tinordi, D Klas Dahlbeck, and G Niklas Treutle
Boston Bruins
F Landon Ferraro and F Brett Connolly.
Buffalo Sabres
F Alex Guptill, F Colin Jacobs, F Jack Nevins, and Nathan Lieuwen.
Calgary Flames
F Kenny Agostino, F Bill Arnold, F Joe Colborne, F Turner Elson, F Josh Jooris, F Drew Shore, F Bryce Van Brabant, G Joni Ortio, and Kevin Poulin.
Carolina Hurricanes
F Zach Boychuk, F Anthony Camara, F Dane Fox, F Carter Sandlak, F Justin Shugg, D Danny Biega, D Michal Jordan, D Rasmus Rissanen, and G Rasmus Tirronen.
Snapshots: Kane, Shattenkirk, Sharks
In some startling news, WCVB news reports that Boston Bruins’ legendary defenceman Ray Bourque was arrested on Friday night on driving while intoxicated charges after a collision occurred in the Andover area. No one was seriously injured, and Bourque was released on bail. Here are some more stories from around the league:
- Another player no stranger to legal trouble, Evander Kane‘s name was in the headlines again in Buffalo following an alleged incident involving the physical harassment of two women at a downtown bar. The Associated Press was told that Kane “grabbed the woman by the arm or shoulder early Friday morning.” For Kane, this is the second incident this year involving the police, after a three-month investigation into an alleged sexual assault concluded in March without any charges been filed. The Buffalo News spoke to GM Tim Murray on Saturday about it and he seemed frustrated with the situation: “If it’s true, then we have to deal with it the way we have to deal with it. If it’s false again, then I guess we have to come up with a different plan of attack on how to make sure that these accusations that may not be true, how we stop them.”
- In other news, St. Louis Blues’ defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk was shocked to leave Buffalo without having been traded. Craig Custance of ESPN spoke to Shattenkirk’s agent Jordan Neumann about the 27-year old’s future: “Based on the conversations we had leading into this weekend with St. Louis, we did expect Kevin to have been traded this weekend. We are a bit surprised to be leaving here without having a deal done.” The veteran blueliner has one year left on his deal at $4.25MM and is widely expected to be traded soon.
- In conversation with Sharks’ GM Doug Wilson, Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News was told that he expects their in-season acquisitions to reach free agency on July 1st. The Sharks brought in pending UFAs James Reimer, Nick Spaling, Roman Polak and Dainius Zubrus during the season, and now don’t look like they’ll be able to retain any of them. To replace the outgoing players, Wilson thinks it’ll be an internal competition: “We have a lot of guys internally that will be knocking on the door”.
Free Agent Notes: Stamkos, Okposo, Lucic
With the completion of the NHL Entry Draft, the negotiating window with upcoming unrestricted free agents has now opened. From now until July 1st, teams are allowed to contact, but not sign, the pending UFAs. This is a key period when teams decide on strategy for the summer before the free agent frenzy begins, and also the last chance for teams looking to re-sign their own players to eight year contracts. Once the player becomes unrestricted next Friday, teams may only offer seven year pacts. Here is some information already coming out about some of the top names:
- Steven Stamkos is the most important example of a team who would lose their advantage after July 1st, with the superstar center surely demanding a maximum length deal. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the Buffalo Sabres may be joining the hunt for the 26-year old, quoting GM Tim Murray: “We’re going to chase the big fish.” The Sabres do have over $20MM in cap space for the upcoming season, and could fit a Stamkos-like contract into their current structure.
- After opening, the window for Kyle Okposo must have been pretty stuffed as Arthur Staple of Newsday reports there was plenty of interest in the 28-year old. Among the teams that came calling were the Jets, Blues, Kings, Wild and Red Wings. Okposo put up 64 points last season and landed at #2 on our list of the top 50 UFAs.
- ESPN’s Joe McDonald passes along a report that Boston Bruins’ GM Don Sweeney has considered a reunion with Milan Lucic, and that the team will at least inquire about Stamkos. Boston isn’t finding much luck trying to re-sign their own star forward, as Loui Eriksson looks poised to hit the open market next week.
2016 NHL Draft Results
Pro Hockey Rumors will be following and updating every selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. Below are the results of the first round.
Round 1
1. Toronto Maple Leafs: C Auston Matthews (Zurich Lions – SUI)
2. Winnipeg Jets: RW Patrik Laine (Tappara – SM-liiga)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets: LW Pierre-Luc Dubois (Cape Breton – QMJHL)
4. Edmonton Oilers: RW Jesse Puljujarvi (Karpat – SM-liiga)
5. Vancouver Canucks: D Olli Juolevi (London – OHL)
6. Calgary Flames: LW Matthew Tkachuk (London – OHL)
7. Arizona Coyotes: C Clayton Keller (USA NTDP – USHL)
8. Buffalo Sabres: F Alexander Nylander (Mississauga Steelheads – OHL)
9. Montreal Canadiens: D Mikhail Sergachev (Windsor – OHL)
10. Colorado Avalanche: C Tyson Jost (Penticton – BCHL)
11. Ottawa Senators (from New Jersey): C Logan Brown (Windsor – OHL)
12. New Jersey Devils (from Ottawa): C Michael McLeod (Mississauga Steelheads – OHL)
13. Carolina Hurricanes: D Jake Bean (Calgary – WHL)
14. Boston Bruins: D Charlie McAvoy (Boston University – NCAA)
15. Minnesota Wild: C Luke Kunin (Wisconsin – NCAA)
16. Arizona Coyotes (From Detroit): D Jakob Chychrun (Sarnia – OHL)
17. Nashville Predators: D Dante Fabbro (Penticton – BCHL)
18. Winnipeg Jets (From Philadelphia): D Logan Stanley (Windsor – OHL)
19. New York Islanders: LW Kieffer Bellows (US NTDP)
20. Detroit Red Wings (from Arizona via New York Rangers): D Dennis Cholowski (Chilliwack (BCHL)
21. Carolina Hurricanes (from LA Kings): RW Julien Gauthier (Val-d’Or Foreurs – QMJHL
22. Philadelphia Flyers (From Winnipeg via Chicago): C German Rubtsov (Team Russia U-18)
23. Florida Panthers: C Henrik Borgstrom (HIFK – SM-liiga Jr)
24. Anaheim Ducks: LW Max Jones (London – OHL)
25. Dallas Stars: LW Riley Tufte (Blaine – USHSW)
26. St. Louis Blues (From Washington): C Tage Thompson (Connecticut – NCAA)
27. Tampa Bay Lightning: C Brett Howden (Moose Jaw – WHL)
28. Washington Capitals (From St. Louis): D Lucas Johansen (Kelowna – WHL)
29. Boston Bruins (from San Jose): C Trent Frederic (USA U-18 NTDP)
30. Anaheim Ducks (from Pittsburgh via Toronto): C Sam Steel (Regina – WHL)
Snapshots: Shattenkirk, Nugent-Hopkins, Bobrovsky
As we inch closer to the 2016 NHL Draft, trade speculation continues. Here’s a quick look at what’s being said around the league.
- Michael Russo tweets that the Wild and Oilers might pair up on a deal. Russo speculates that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the likely target for the Wild. David Staples writes that he’s not the biggest fan of this move. While it would yield Mathew Dumba or Jonas Brodin (or possibly both), Staples doesn’t believe it benefits the Oilers in terms of obtaining the puck moving defenseman they need.
- Jimmy Murphy tweets that Kevin Shattenkirk remains a very high priority for several teams. Murphy indicated that the Bruins first round selection (14th overall) might just do the trick. Murphy includes the Red Wings, Rangers, Canadiens, and Coyotes as other possibilities. Joe Haggerty believes the Bruins will ultimately end up with Shattenkirk.
- Kevin Allen writes more about Cam Fowler moving to another team. Allen lists the Red Wings, Canadiens, Bruins, and Sabres as possible landing points. Allen also reports that the Blue Jackets will listen to offers for their 3rd overall pick. Kevin McGran tweeted this as well, adding that Columbus is looking for a proven center.
- Aaron Portzline reports that the Blue Jackets may want to look at offloading goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. The $7.425MM cap hit would be tough to unload on another team without either a weaker return or a willingness to take on some of the salary. Portzline also listed the four goalies who are being shopped: Bobrovsky, Jimmy Howard, Ben Bishop, and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Snapshots: Stamkos, Shattenkirk, Bruins, Canucks, Coyotes, Datsyuk
Saturday is shaping up to be an important day in the Steven Stamkos saga, writes TSN’s Frank Seravelli. The interview period with pending unrestricted free agents kicks off on Saturday, meaning that the Lightning have less than 48 hours left of exclusive negotiating rights with their captain. As a result, GM Steve Yzerman may have to deliver his best offer to Stamkos by Friday before other teams have an opportunity to make their pitch.
Other news and notes around the league:
- The market for St. Louis D Kevin Shattenkirk is starting to head up. Seravelli writes that the Blues would be willing to allow teams to talk extension with him but that they need a trade partner first. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds that while there are a lot of teams interested, no extension talks have been held. Shattenkirk has one year left on his contract at $4.25MM and will be an unrestricted free agent after.
- The Bruins are likely to take one more stab at re-signing pending UFA Loui Eriksson, reports WEEI’s DJ Bean. Boston has been unwilling at this point to go beyond a four year contract to get a deal done. Bean adds that the team has held talks with W Lee Stempniak and D John-Michael Liles but will not bring back D Zach Trotman or G Jonas Gustavsson.
- Vancouver GM Jim Benning met with the media Thursday. He noted (and the team tweeted) that the Canucks will not re-sign pending UFA W Radim Vrbata and defensemen Matt Bartkowski and Yannick Weber.
- The Arizona Coyotes have selected a new arena site and are working through the legal documentation, reports AZ Central’s Craig Morgan. Their lease with the City of Glendale expires following the 2016-17 and the management contract for the Gila River Arena was taken away from the team and awarded to AEG back in April.
- Several teams have been in discussions with Detroit regarding Pavel Datsyuk‘s contract, according to ESPN’s Craig Custance. There is an opportunity to expand the market to more teams if the Wings are willing to retain part of his $7.5MM cap hit but Custance notes that they don’t have much of an appetite to do so.
Boston Bruins Interested In Shattenkirk; Kulikov
UPDATE 4:40 PM CST: Jimmy Murphy of VICE Sports adds that in their search for defencemen, the Bruins have offered their first round pick (29th overall) to the Florida Panthers for Dmitry Kulikov as a “starting point”.
4:35 PM CST: In a tweet that assuredly caused panic in St. Louis, Darren Dreger reports that “The Shattenkirk watch is on” and that Boston among other teams are heavily interested in the blueliner. Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch adds a quote from Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong: “I don’t think either of us are naive. I’d love to find a way to keep Shatty here and we’re going to work toward seeing if there’s common ground. But you just can’t keep everybody.”
Kevin Shattenkirk is owed $4.25MM in the final season of his current deal, and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He’s basically a lock for 40 points from the back end, as he’s eclipsed that mark in the last four full seasons (and was on pace to do so in the lock-out shortened 2012-13).
If Boston was to acquire Shattenkirk, he’d immediately become the second highest paid defenceman on the team behind Zdeno Chara, and would seemingly join Chara on the top pairing. With the Bruins being rumored as trying to trade away Dennis Seidenberg and his $4MM cap-hit before a potential buyout, they would be creating room for Shattenkirk under their current payroll.