Free Agent Focus: Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins were faced with a “win and you’re in” situation in the final game of the regular season versus Ottawa. Unfortunately, Tuukka Rask was a last-minute scratch due to illness, and his backup, Jonas Gustavsson allowed 4 goals in 8 minutes in the second period as the Senators routed the Bruins 6-1. The Flyers won later in the day to clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
It was a bizarre season for the Bruins, coming off their first non-playoff year since 2006-07. GM Peter Chiarelli was fired and replaced by his assistant Don Sweeney. Sweeney got off to a rough start with Bruins fans, trading emerging blue-liner Dougie Hamilton to Calgary for three draft picks, despite the belief Edmonton (now helmed by Chiarelli) had a better offer on the table. He then traded longtime Bruins winger Milan Lucic to Los Angeles, resulting in the Bruins having three consecutive picks in the first round (13-15). Sweeney selected tough defender Jakub Zboril and wingers Jake Debrusk and Zachary Senyshyn. Senyshyn was a particularly controversial pick, as he was rated to be a mid-second round pick.
The Bruins went on to post 42-31-9 record, missing the playoffs after that brutal loss to Ottawa.
Cap space: $18.43MM, 16 players under contract
Key RFAs: D Torey Krug – Krug may have been the best defenceman on the Bruins last year, scoring 44 points and averaging 21 minutes per game. Krug underwent shoulder surgery after the season and may miss the beginning of the 2016-17 season. The diminutive Krug will be looking for a raise on the $3.4MM he made last year. With Zdeno Chara getting older, the Bruins are going to rely on Krug more than ever.
Other RFAs: RW Brett Connolly, D Colin Miller, D Joe Morrow, F Landon Ferraro
Key UFAs: W Loui Eriksson – the two-way scoring winger acquired in the Tyler Seguin trade scored 30 goals and 63 points in 82 games last season. Eriksson was widely expected to be traded or re-signed by the trade deadline, but neither happened. Eriksson is believed to be asking for around $6MM per season for 5-6 years. If the Bruins don’t sign him, they’ll be in the market for his replacement.
Other UFAs: R Lee Stempniak, C Chris Kelly, D John-Michael Liles, G Jonas Gustavsson, D Zach Trotman, RW Tyler Randell
Outlook: The Bruins have a busy off-season ahead, with two of their top players needing contracts, and a desperate need on the blueline. The Bruins have allegedly had conversations about acquiring Dmitry Kulikov from the Panthers, according to Joe Haggerty from CSN. Aging defenceman Dennis Seidenberg is a potential buyout candidate. The Bruins also have $5.25MM eaten up by a pair of third-pairing defensemen Kevan Miller and Adam McQuaid. McQuaid could be on the trade block to make room for a higher priced defenceman.
Expect Frankie Vatrano to spend the entire year on the Bruins roster after scoring 36 goals and 55 points in 36 AHL games. He also scored 11 points in 39 NHL games.
They shouldn’t have a problem protecting their current roster from an expansion draft, though goalie-of-the-future Malcolm Subban will have to be exposed.
Sweeney also needs to ensure leading goal-scorer Brad Marchand is under contract well before the trade deadline.
Rumor Roundup: Bogosian, Kulikov, Trouba
Rumor season is alive and well as we head towards the NHL Entry Draft and free agency. While fans salivate at the possibilities, and reporters fight for any scrap of information, here are some of the rumors that are floating around the league right now:
- In an offseason that will be spent trying to find a number one (not to mention two, three, and four) defenceman, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal hears that the Oilers are interested, at least somewhat, in Buffalo Sabres blueliner Zach Bogosian and have been since last season. While it doesn’t seem likely that the former third overall pick would be on the move to Edmonton due to his no-movement clause, Buffalo may try to get him to waive it in order to move his contract.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com hears that the Boston Bruins have interest in Florida defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and have at least been kicking the tires on a possible trade. The 25-year old has just one year remaining on his contract at $4.3MM before he would become a (much sought after) UFA. The Panthers have a lot of young players that they need to get signed over the next year and a half, with Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Reilly Smith and Alex Petrovic all restricted free agents after next season.
- After rumors swirled this week about the Colorado Avalanche’s interest in Jets’ defenceman Jacob Trouba, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post asked GM Joe Sakic about it: “There’s a lot of speculation out there. All I can tell you is we’ve had conversations with different teams and we want to try to improve our crop.”. Trouba is sure to be sought after by many teams if the Jets do indeed make him available this summer. The 22-year old is a former ninth overall pick, is an RFA for the first time this summer and has performed well in his three NHL seasons.
Minor Transactions: 6/17/16
Here is where we’ll keep track of today’s minor transactions, updating as they happen.
- Maxim Lamarche, a former undrafted free agent signed in 2013, has re-upped on an AHL deal with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 23-year old defenceman has yet to make his debut in the NHL and isn’t expected to do so anytime soon.
- The first captain of the Stockton Heat, Aaron Johnson has decided to take his talents to Europe. He has signed a contract to play with Adler Mannheim of Germany’s DEL. Johnson was once a staple of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ blueline, playing in 172 games for them over two different stints (4 total seasons). He hasn’t played in the NHL since 2o12-13, when he suited up for 10 games with the Boston Bruins
- Daniel Sprong, one of Pittsburgh’s top prospects underwent shoulder surgery Friday and will be out 7-8 months. Sprong made his NHL debut this season before joining the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins for their playoff run and showed his scoring ability, putting up 7 points in 10 games in his first taste of professional playoff hockey.
- The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed center Tyler Pitlick to a one-year deal, according to the team twitter. Pitlick, a former second round pick, didn’t play for the Oilers this season after fighting injury again. He did put up 21 points in the 37 games he suited up in for the AHL Bakersfield Condors.
- According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, Lightning center Jonathan Drouin has withdrawn the trade request he issued last season during a battle with GM Steve Yzerman over playing time. After making his return to the team and performing well in the playoffs, Drouin now wants to stay in Tampa for the long haul. The quickly approaching free agency of first-line center Steven Stamkos may have something to do with it, as Drouin can feature heavily in the future of the Lightning if Stamkos were to sign elsewhere.
- Recent Calder-cup winning goaltender Anton Forsberg has been re-signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to the team. He’ll receive a one-year, two-way deal that will keep him on the AHL roster unless something changes on the big club. Forsberg has played in seven games for the Blue Jackets’ over the last two seasons, but backstopped their AHL affiliate to 43 wins over that time.
Buyout Notes: Cowen, Bruins, Brown
The first window to buyout unwanted contracts begins Wednesday at 4pm CST, and the process has already begun with the Maple Leafs placing defenceman Jared Cowen on waivers early this morning in preparation to buy him out this evening. While Cowen was long-expected to be bought out, there are many others that will see their names bandied about in the coming weeks.
Bryan Bickell, expected to be bought out, was moved to Carolina earlier today along with Teuvo Teravainen for draft picks. Carolina will keep Bickell under contract as they will have trouble hitting the cap floor this season, and need veteran players to fill the bottom two lines. The window is open until June 30th, here are some other tidbits on upcoming buyouts:
- Still on Cowen, Sportsnet’s Luke Fox brings up an interesting point: due to a contract quirk the Maple Leafs will actually get a $650,000 cap credit for the 2016-17 season, while only paying a $750,000 hit in 2017-18. For the Maple Leafs, this credit gives them even more room to take on bad salary this season while they continue to rebuild.
- DJ Bean of WEEI in Boston reports that the Bruins aren’t ruling out using buyouts on multiple players, listing Jimmy Hayes and Dennis Seidenberg as candidates. As of early afternoon on Wednesday, Seidenberg had not been told anything in regards to receiving a buyout.
- The Hockey News noted that if the Los Angeles Kings did decide to use a buyout on Dustin Brown, his cap hit would stay with them until 2027-28, a tough pill to swallow. After losing the captaincy earlier this month, and posting his forth straight year of fewer than 30 points, the former USA Olympian is a tough sell to any team. With six years remaining at $5.875MM, Brown’s self-negotiated contract is one of the biggest anchors in the NHL.
Friedman’s Latest: Hartnell, Eriksson, Barrie
Although the Montreal Canadiens failed to move up in the lottery last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they may try to make a deal to improve on their ninth overall pick. After picking late in the first round the last three seasons, Montreal will try to replicate the success they’ve had with their last couple of top-10 picks. In 2012 they selected Alex Galchenyuk third overall, and nailed Carey Price at number five way back in 2005. If Montreal wants to get back to the playoffs and have any chance at contention, they’ll have to improve through the draft. Here’s more from Friedman’s latest 30 thoughts:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets interviewed quite a few players ahead of selecting third overall in the upcoming draft. With rumors swirling that they are already getting offers for the pick, perhaps they’re just covering their bases before one of these deals blows them away.
- Still with Columbus, Friedman hears that there are trade rumblings around Scott Hartnell and that he is willing to waive his no-movement clause for several teams. Hartnell has three seasons at $4.75MM left on his deal, but put up another 20-goal season in 2015-16 and is a near-lock for 40 points at least for the immediate future.
- On Loui Eriksson, Friedman says that Boston will take one final run at re-signing the winger before he becomes a free agent on July 1st. If he makes it that far, expect a long list of suitors for the 30-year old after putting up an excellent 63 point campaign. He’s coming off a contract that earned him $4.25MM a season, and will look to improve on that number.
- It seems certain that Avalanche defenceman Tyson Barrie will be on the move this summer, but perhaps not until Colorado secures some help on the back-end. Their top target is Winnipeg Jets’ Jacob Trouba, who has played well since being drafted in 2012 and would take a fairly large ransom to pry away from GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
- After acquiring Marc Savard‘s cap hit on Friday, the New Jersey Devils are no longer a landing spot for the Pavel Datsyuk dilemma should he decide to go back to Russia. According to Friedman this leaves only Carolina and Arizona as potential takers for the $7.5MM cap-hit he’ll incur since he signed his deal after he turned 35.
- Since Florida now has some room following the jettison of Savard’s hit, they’ve turned their attention to extending Vincent Trocheck. The 22-year old is a restricted free agent this summer, and is coming off an impressive 53 point season. With extensions for Aaron Ekblad and Reilly Smith due next year, Florida will have to keep Trocheck’s hit as low as possible if they’re to fit in all their young talent.
- Arizona is reluctantly looking at options with C Martin Hanzal as he nears free agency. While the Coyotes would like to re-sign him before he hits the market next summer, they are considering moving him and have asked for his list of teams he would accept a trade to.