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Pavel Zacha Files For Salary Arbitration

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The National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) announced that 24 players have filed for player-elected salary arbitration, the deadline for which came this afternoon. This list is not necessarily the final and complete list of players headed for arbitration, with clubs now eligible to elect salary arbitration until tomorrow, July 18th at 5:00 pm ET.

Mason Appleton (WPG)

Ethan Bear (CAR)

Jesper Bratt (NJD)

Lawson Crouse (ARI)

Morgan Geekie (SEA)

Mathieu Joseph (OTT)

Kaapo Kahkonen (SJS)

Kasperi Kapanen (PIT)

Keegan Kolesar (VGK)

Oliver Kylington (CGY)

Maxime Lajoie (CAR)

Steven Lorentz (SJS)

Isac Lundestrom (ANA)

Zack MacEwen (PHI)

Niko Mikkola (STL)

Andrew Mangiapane (CGY)

Matthew Phillips (CGY)

Jesse Puljujarvi (EDM)

Tyce Thompson (NJD)

Yakov Trenin (NSH)

Vitek Vanecek (NJD)

Jake Walman (DET)

Kailer Yamamoto (EDM)

Pavel Zacha (BOS)

Notably out of this list, Mikkola had previously filed for arbitration, but the two sides were able to settle on a one-year, $1.9MM contract that will leave the defenseman an UFA after next season.

A key distinction to add is that any player who has filed for arbitration is no longer eligible to sign an offer sheet, effectively taking the players on this list off the market. Three notable names that did not file for arbitration are Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, Calgary Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine. Though contract talks have been quiet on Dubois and Tkachuck, word of amicable discussions between Laine’s camp and Columbus has been made known. Once tomorrow’s club-elected salary arbitration deadline passes, teams and players will have time to prepare their cases before hearings begin, running from July 27th through August 11th.

Boston Bruins Extend Jack Ahcan

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As reported by PuckPedia, the Boston Bruins have re-signed defenseman Jack Ahcan to a one-year, $750K deal. The contract carries a $115K AHL salary and a $125K total guarantee.

Ahcan, 25, is an undrafted defenseman who turned pro with the Bruins organization in 2020-21 after a successful college career at St. Cloud State. An undersized blueliner, Ahcan’s calling card has always been his offense. In college, Ahcan was a productive offensive player. Ahcan finished his college career with 103 points in 144 games and even captained St. Cloud State during his senior season.

Ahcan’s transition to professional hockey has been an up-and-down affair. He’s shown some promise at the AHL level, scoring 33 points in 65 games across two seasons as well as handling a top-of-the-lineup role in Providence this season that required him to weather time on the penalty kill as well as anchor the team’s power play.

But Ahcan’s size is an issue, as he stands just five-foot-nine and weighs 180 pounds, meaning he’s a risk to be too frequently outmuscled for pucks and position by stronger players. As a result, his NHL impact has been limited, and he found himself a Bruins healthy scratch this season. The coaching staff in Providence clearly trusts him, though, meaning there’s more to his game than there might seem to be if one looks just at his size and production.

Ahcan will head to training camp in the fall and have an opportunity to battle other defenders for an NHL job. Ahcan’s one-year deal is an indication that 2022-23 is a make-or-break year for the 25-year-old to show that still has the potential to be a full-time NHLer.

Boston Bruins Sign Four Players

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The Boston Bruins have added some organizational depth, signing A.J. Greer to a two-year contract, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The deal will pay him $750K in 2022-23 and $775K in 2023-24, the league minimum in both years. The Athletic’s Michael Russo also reports the team’s agreed to terms on a “lucrative” two-way contract with Vinni Lettieri, one of the better skill forwards in the minors. The team also announced the signings of defenseman Connor Carrick and goalie Keith Kinkaid to one-year, two-way contracts worth $750K.

This deal should help the Providence Bruins more than the Boston Bruins, in all likelihood. Greer, 25, is an accomplished AHL scorer who has had very limited success at the NHL level. This past season, Greer scored 22 goals and 52 points in 53 games on the Utica Comets, good for third on the team. Greer is a big forward, standing at six-foot-three, 210 pounds, and uses that big frame to create space at the AHL level. At the NHL level, Greer has only played in limited-minutes, depth roles and as a result, doesn’t have a similar level of production there as he does at the AHL level.

The Bruins value their AHL affiliate and this signing is proof of that. Greer will have a chance to make Jim Montgomery’s Bruins squad but will in all likelihood be sent to the AHL and be one of the AHL Bruins’ most important players.

Lettieri split the 2021-22 season between the NHL and AHL with the Anaheim Ducks. He finished the year with five goals and 10 points in 31 games, showing flashes of NHL reliability, and he also had 22 points in 24 AHL games. 27 years old now, the Minnesota native is building a long history of producing well in the minors.

Carrick and Kinkaid both bring NHL experience to the table and are valuable options in the case of injury-related recalls. Kinkaid takes the reigns as the likely starting goalie in AHL Providence, serving as solid insurance for an injury to either Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark.

Boston Bruins Expected To Sign Dan Renouf

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The Boston Bruins are getting some AHL depth on defense, according to Bally Sports’ Andy Strickland. They’re bringing in Dan Renouf on a two-year, two-way deal.

While Renouf’s a name most NHL fans aren’t going to be familiar with, fans of the Grand Rapids Griffins are certainly going to know his name. The 28-year-old undrafted player returns to New England for the first time since he manned the blueline for the University of Maine from 2013-14 to 2015-16.

Since turning pro, Renouf has been a steady, reliable defensive specialist at the AHL level. Last season, Renouf played 63 games for the Griffins, scoring 14 points. More importantly, Renouf played over 20 minutes per night and anchored the Griffins’ penalty kill. The Griffins’ shorthanded unit ranked 29th out of 31 AHL teams, but one has to consider the inconsistent goaltending the team received before pinning that all on Renouf.

Renouf has 23 career NHL games to his name and heads to Providence after a year where he played in four NHL games. He’ll likely be down on the list of defensemen GM Don Sweeney will call up when he needs to fill in for an injured Bruins defenseman, though that won’t stop him from likely playing a valuable role as a top-four defenseman and penalty killer on the Providence Bruins.

Boston Bruins Acquire Pavel Zacha

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The Boston Bruins have made a move but it isn’t an unrestricted free agent coming to town. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Bruins have acquired Pavel Zacha from the New Jersey Devils. Zacha is a pending restricted free agent, and eligible for salary arbitration after his current three-year, $6.75MM (total) contract expires. Erik Haula is headed back the other way.

With another double-digit goal season under his belt–Zacha scored 15 goals this season after 17 in 2020-21–that potential arbitration award would have been rather pricey, and any multi-year deal would have been buying out UFA years.

Haula, on the other hand, has just one year remaining on his contract and carries a cap hit of $2.375MM. The Devils, who are in the mix for one (or more) of the biggest free agents available, will now have more money and more roster flexibility to use.

Boston, meanwhile, has now found another young(ish) forward to slot into the middle-six that can provide some secondary scoring and a strong defensive presence. Zacha does have plenty of experience at center, though he was deployed as a winger for much of this season.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that he hails from Czechia, just like David Pastrnak and the returning David Krejci. While that doesn’t mean he’ll find a new level, it will at least present some familiarity as he makes the transition to a new team.

Now the question is how much Zacha will cost for the Bruins, and where they find the cap space for all of the pending contracts. Patrice Bergeron and Krejci are both expected to finalize deals in the coming days, meaning this will only further limit the cap space available for general manager Don Sweeney today.

Free Agent Focus: Boston Bruins

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Free agency is almost upon us.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Next up is a look at the Boston Bruins.

Key Restricted Free Agent

F Jack Studnicka – We’re using the term ‘key’ here loosely but that’s simply because Boston doesn’t have any pending restricted free agents that were full-timers in the NHL last season.  Or were even in the NHL for a quarter of the games.  The closest is Studnicka who got into 15 games in 2021-22 and 20 the years before but the 2017 second-round pick hasn’t been able to establish himself yet as a full-time NHL regular.  Now waiver-eligible, Boston could look to make Studnicka an offer for the league minimum but on a higher AHL salary or even a one-way deal in exchange for keeping the cap hit down.  Those deals are quite common for players in his situation and it should play out like that here as well.

Other RFAs: D Jack Ahcan, F Matt Filipe

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Patrice Bergeron – The soon-to-be 37-year-old has been a fixture in Boston’s lineup for the last 18 years, spending many of those as an elite two-way center.  While he’s getting up there in age, Bergeron was still quite productive last season, finishing third on the team in scoring with 65 points in 73 games while winning the Selke Trophy for the fifth time in his career.  If he was to test the market, he’d have no shortage of interest and could command a raise on the $6.875MM he made on his expiring deal.  Of course, Bergeron won’t be testing the market and has made that clear already with his options either being re-signing with Boston or retiring; RDS’ Francois Gagnon reports (Twitter link) a deal has been agreed to and will be announced soon.  With the Bruins having limited cap space and a desire to bring David Krejci back from the Czech league, Bergeron will need to take less than market value or an incentive-laden deal to work around their cap situation.

F Curtis Lazar – The other player Boston picked up in the Taylor Hall trade, Lazar had one of his best NHL seasons in 2021-22, collecting 16 points while recording a career-high 186 hits.  He can kill penalties and has been close to a 50% player at the faceoff dot over the last three seasons.  Gritty fourth liners always generate some interest on the open market and the 27-year-old should be no exception as he’ll get a contract that’s above the $800K he made in each of the last two years.

D Josh Brown – After having a limited role in Ottawa, the Bruins picked up the 28-year-old at the trade deadline to give them some extra depth for the playoffs.  He rarely played the rest of the way, suiting up in just six games down the stretch and once in the postseason.  While that doesn’t help his cause heading into free agency, Brown has shown over his four seasons that he’s a serviceable depth defender that can bring some physicality into the mix.  He’ll have a bit of interest as a result.

Other UFAs: F Anton Blidh, G Callum Booth, D Kodie Curran, F Steven Fogarty, F Jesper Froden, G Troy Grosenick, F Cameron Hughes

Projected Cap Space

At the moment, Boston has just over $2.3MM in cap space which certainly doesn’t give them any room to work with while Bergeron and Krejci would need to take contracts that are well below market value.  Accordingly, GM Don Sweeney will need to be active on the trade front to create some space if they’re going to be active in adding to their roster this summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Latest On David Krejci

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After spending a year playing overseas, it appears as though David Krejci may be on his way back to Boston. Multiple reports have emerged today including from Kevin Weekes of ESPN that Krejci is currently in negotiations with the Bruins to re-join the team for 2022-23. General manager Don Sweeney admitted he had been in touch with the veteran forward a few days ago but wouldn’t go so far as to say contract negotiations were underway at that point.

Krejci, 36, spent this past season playing in his native Czechia, where he racked up 46 points in 51 games. It was at the World Championship where the itch to return to Boston might really have started, as he rediscovered that instant chemistry with former teammate David Pastrnak en route to a bronze medal finish.

With the Bruins also expected to bring back Patrice Bergeron for at least one more year, it appears as though the team is trying to give it one more kick with the old core–a group that had so much success for so many years. Krejci himself had 730 points in 962 regular season games, all with the Bruins, and led all players in scoring during both 2011 and 2013 trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

One of the most cerebral playmakers of his generation, Krejci has never relied on speed to produce at a high level, instead creating space for himself and his teammates with ultra-quick decisions and awareness. His presence behind Bergeron down the middle of the Bruins lineup gave the team a one-two punch that was hard to beat, and fans in Boston will likely be excited to see them reunited, should both contract negotiations end positively.

With so many players on expiring deals, there will be a chance for Boston to embrace a true retool next summer. For now, it appears as though they’re trying to get the band back together.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Bruins Notes: Pastrnak, Krejci, Bergeron, Coaching Staff, LTIR

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Following the completion of the draft yesterday, Boston GM Don Sweeney met with reporters including Eric Russo of the Bruins’ team website to discuss several items pertaining to his team for next season.  While talks have begun regarding an extension for winger David Pastrnak, Sweeney was quick to mention that no numbers regarding the length of a new deal or financial terms but made it clear that the team intends for Pastrnak to be a lifelong Bruin.  The 26-year-old is coming off a 40-goal season and has one year left on his contract with a $6.67MM cap hit and should be able to receive a max-term deal (eight years with Boston, seven if he hits the open market next summer) worth a couple million more than his current rate.

More from Sweeney’s press conference:

  • The team has not yet heard if David Krejci is interested in returning to the NHL for next season. The 36-year-old spent 15 years with Boston before deciding to go back home to his native Czechia for this past season where he had 20 goals and 26 assists in 51 games with HC Olomouc.  When he left, Krejci didn’t rule out a return to the NHL and his return would certainly help bolster their center depth next season.
  • Another center they’re waiting for in terms of making a final decision is Patrice Bergeron. The 36-year-old has been suggested to be leaning towards a return but Sweeney stated that no final decision has been made yet.  However, Sweeney suggested that the contract wouldn’t be an issue, which suggests that the parameters of a deal are in place if Bergeron does officially decide to return.  It’s possible that a final decision is made before free agency opens up on Wednesday.
  • Assistant coaches Joe Sacco, Chris Kelly, and Bob Essensa are all expected to return behind the bench next season with new head coach Jim Montgomery. Meanwhile, interviews continue to fill the vacancy created with the dismissal of assistant coach Kevin Dean earlier this offseason as Boston looks for a new coach to oversee their defensemen.
  • Sweeney is unsure as to whether or not the team will utilize LTIR to start next season. Winger Brad Marchand plus defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk are all expected to miss the start of the year after undergoing surgery but knowing that all will return, it would be difficult to make a big signing this summer and then try to clear money midseason when those players are ready to return.

NHL Announces 2022-23 Regular Season Schedule

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The news continues to break during what’s been a busy pre-draft week. The NHL has released the full 82-game schedule for the 2022-23 campaign, marking a return to normal dates and length for the first time since 2018-19.

2022-23 will see its curtains open overseas, where the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will open the season at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8, 2022. The regular season will begin on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, with a classic doubleheader. The puck will drop at Madison Square Garden for an Eastern Conference Final rematch between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, followed by a Pacific Division showdown in Southern California between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.

The Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony will be the following night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The season will wrap up on April 13, 2023.

Some key events throughout the season include the 2022 Global Series in Tampere, Finland, where the Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play a pair of games on November 4 and 5, 2022. The 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic is slated for January 2, 2023, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, and the 2023 NHL Stadium Series is set for February 18, 2023, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hurricanes will host the Washington Capitals. All-Star Weekend will be February 3-4, 2023, hosted by the Florida Panthers.

Boston Bruins Sign Nick Wolff, Kyle Keyser

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The Boston Bruins have completed some minor league business, signing Nick Wolff and Kyle Keyser to new one-year, two-way contract extensions. The deals both carry NHL salaries of $750K, and will allow them to avoid restricted free agent status this summer.

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020, the 25-year-old Wolf has spent the last two seasons playing in Providence, racking up 101 penalty minutes in 56 games. The 6’5″ defenseman has been known to drop the gloves and was quite a feared combatant during his USHL days, when he racked up more than 400 penalty minutes in a little over 100 games.

He’s not just an enforcer for the AHL Bruins though, and will now get a chance to continue his career on a new contract. At the end of it, should Wolff fail to play in 80 games with the NHL club, he’ll be a Group VI unrestricted free agent.

Keyser meanwhile is a bit more of a true prospect. The 23-year-old netminder was also an undrafted free agent signing, this time out of the OHL where he had dominated with the Oshawa Generals. Keyser has bounced up and down from the ECHL to the AHL each of his years as a pro but did have a .908 save percentage in 33 starts for Providence this year.

Given how goaltenders often take a little longer to develop, it was a good sign for his future, and definitely deserving of another contract. Unlike Wolff, Keyser will still be a restricted free agent at the end of this new deal.

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