Exclusive Negotiating Rights Of 33 Draft Picks Expire
The deadline for signing draft picks has come and gone, and unless more deals come in after the fact, 33 players—the same total as last year—will see their exclusive negotiating rights expire. With it they will either re-enter the 2018 draft for the final time or become free agents, depending on their age. Adam Mascherin is the highest picked player among those who will be headed back into the draft, selected 38th overall by the Florida Panthers two years ago. Below is the full list of players:
Anaheim Ducks:
F Tyler Soy (7th round, 2016)
Arizona Coyotes:
F Anton Karlsson (3rd round, 2014)
D David Westlund (6th round, 2014)
Buffalo Sabres:
D Vojtech Budik (5th round, 2016)
F Brandon Hagel (6th round, 2016)
D Austin Osmanski (7th round, 2016)
Calgary Flames:
D Adam Ollas Mattsson (6th round, 2014)
Carolina Hurricanes:
C Hudson Elynuik (3rd round, 2016)
D Noah Carroll (6th round, 2016)
Chicago Blackhawks:
D Andreas Soderberg (5th round, 2014)
Colorado Avalanche:
G Maximilian Pajpach (6th round, 2014)
Dallas Stars:
D Miro Karjalainen (5th round, 2014)
Detroit Red Wings:
D Jordan Sambrook (5th round, 2016)
F Julius Vahatalo (6th round, 2014)
Florida Panthers:
G Hugo Fagerblom (7th round, 2014)
C Adam Mascherin (2nd round, 2016)
Los Angeles Kings:
D Jacob Friend (7th round, 2016)
Minnesota Wild:
D Pontus Sjalin (6th round, 2014)
D Brayden Chizen (7th round, 2016)
New Jersey Devils:
G Evan Cormier (4th round, 2016)
Philadelphia Flyers:
C Anthony Salinitri (6th round, 2016)
Pittsburgh Penguins:
D Connor Hall (3rd round, 2016)
San Jose Sharks:
D Mark Shoemaker (6th round, 2016)
Tampa Bay Lightning:
C Christopher Paquette (5th round, 2016)
Toronto Maple Leafs:
D Keaton Middleton (4th rond, 2016)
F J.J. Piccinich (4th round, 2014)
D Nicolas Mattinen (6th round, 2016)
Vancouver Canucks:
D Cole Candella (5th round, 2016)
F Jakob Stukel (6th round, 2016)
C Brett McKenzie (7th round, 2016)
Washington Capitals:
F Kevin Elgestal (7th round, 2014)
D Dmitri Zaitsev (7th round, 2016)
Winnipeg Jets:
C Jordan Stallard (5th round, 2016)
Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres
Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Buffalo’s free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Sam Reinhart – While Reinhart hasn’t exactly lit up the league since being the second-overall pick in 2014, he has made progress and had a career year in 2017-18 with 25 goals and 25 assists. The first thing that Buffalo needs to decide is whether or not he’s still a part of their long-term plans. If no, then he could be someone they look to move this summer. Assuming they decide he is part of their future, there’s a good chance that they will look to work out a long-term contract as a bridge deal for a 50-point player would wind up still being quite pricey.
G Robin Lehner – Last summer, the Sabres were faced with a decision as to whether or not to make Lehner their goalie of the present and the future. They wound up punting on that call and gave him a one-year, $4MM pact instead so this summer, they are faced with the same question with one extra pressure point; Lehner is one year away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency. His numbers have actually worsened year-to-year since he came to Buffalo but Linus Ullmark isn’t ready for the number one job and there isn’t a prominent starter set to become available on the open market. A long-term pact still seems unlikely but a medium-term one, a move that would buy them some time to find a goalie of the future, would make some sense.
Other RFAs: D Victor Antipin, F Justin Bailey, F Nicholas Baptiste, F Hudson Fasching, G Jason Kasdorf, F Sean Malone, F Daniel O’Regan, F C.J. Smith, F Scott Wilson
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Benoit Pouliot – While Buffalo was hoping that Pouliot would rebound in a new environment, that wasn’t the case. Even though his goal total went up to 13, he was still a depth player and didn’t take much advantage when he was moved up in the lineup. After taking a one-year, $1.15MM deal last summer, Pouliot will be looking for a similar pact this time around. If nothing else, he can get some comfort knowing that Edmonton still owes him another $4MM over the next three seasons after they bought him out last June.
G Chad Johnson – After a decent season with Calgary, Johnson returned to Buffalo back in July to the scene of arguably his best year. In 2015-16, he posted a 2.36 GAA and a .920 SV% in 45 appearances but his second stint was nowhere near as strong as he put up the worst numbers of his career. That will prevent him from matching the $2.5MM he received this past season but there should be a few teams that will take a chance on him having a bounce-back season.
Other UFAs: D Justin Falk, D Josh Gorges, F Seth Griffith, F Jordan Nolan, D Zach Redmond, G Adam Wilcox
Projected Cap Space: Even with center Jack Eichel’s new $10MM per year deal kicking in, Buffalo still has a lot of room to work with; they have just under $56MM committed for 2018-19 per CapFriendly. With the cap expected to jump by a few million, that should give them more than $20MM to work with. However, they still have nearly half of their roster to fill out so while they should have enough wiggle room to make a splash, expect to see a handful of bargain signings in the coming weeks and months as well.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Snapshots: Canadiens’ Center Search, Huska, Carrier
With the Montreal Canadiens looking to fill their holes at the center position this offseason and little immediate value at that position with their No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft, Montreal could find themselves looking long and hard to find a quality center to fit into their lineup this offseason. Assuming they don’t get star John Tavares to bite on July 1, the team might have no choice but to make a deal for a center to fill their need.
The Athletic’s Arpon Basu (subscription required) writes that there are two legitimate possibilities for the Canadiens on the trade market, including Ryan O’Reilly of the Buffalo Sabres and Elias Lindholm of the Carolina Hurricanes. The scribe writes that after recent end-0f-the-season comments he made about being more accepting of losing, O’Reilly is trying to force his way out of Buffalo and might be a perfect fit in Montreal. While he would likely make a better No. 2 center, O’Reilly is very talented and the team might be able to package together a combination of picks and young forwards to take on O’Reilly’s contract of $7.5MM over the next five years. The 27-year-old still put up some of the best numbers in his career this year with 24 goals and 61 points.
With the Carolina Hurricanes open for business, Lindholm might be a player the Canadiens take a chance on. The restricted free agent has had a promising start to his career, but also an inconsistent one, but likely would get a big payday after a 16-goal, 44-point season. If Carolina would like to avoid handing Lindholm a big contract, Montreal might be able to step in and give them an alternative as a combination of Lindholm and Jonathan Drouin would give them a solid young core up the middle for years.
- Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun writes that the Calgary Flames are on the verge of announcing their assistant coaches that will aid new head coach Bill Peters this season after the team let assistants Paul Jerrard and Dave Cameron go when they fired Glen Gulutzan on April 17. While he didn’t have any specifics other than the announcement will come some time next week, Francis did speculate that the team might be leaning towards promoting Stockton Heat head coach Ryan Huska.
- The Vegas Golden Knights are likely to get one of their players back from injury for the Stanley Cup Finals as William Carrier practiced today in a non-contact jersey, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. In fact, Schoen writes that head coach Gerard Gallant announced that he expects Carrier to be available for the Stanley Cup Finals. Carrier didn’t play in the Western Conference Finals due to an undisclosed injury has been a key member of the team’s fourth line.
Sabres Expected To Buy Out Matt Moulson
The Sabres are expected to buy out winger Matt Moulson once the window to do so opens up in mid-June, reports Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. The plan to do so shouldn’t come as much of a surprise after Moulson cleared waivers earlier this season after just 14 games with Buffalo.
Moulson re-joined the Sabres in July of 2014, inking a five-year, $25MM deal. (He briefly spent time with them in 2013-14 after they acquired him from the Islanders but he was later flipped to Minnesota before the trade deadline). However, he failed to live up to expectations and has provided Buffalo with a total of 35 goals over four seasons which is what earned him a one-way ticket to the minors.
After the Sabres decided that they didn’t want Moulson to take playing time away from anyone on their own AHL affiliate, they loaned him to Ontario of the AHL, the minor league affiliate for Los Angeles. The 34-year-old was more productive with them, collecting 46 points (18-28-46) in 49 games which should help his cause as he looks for a new deal.
A decision to buy a player out often results in a fair bit of short-term cap savings for the team but that won’t really be the case here. Due to the front-loaded nature of his contract (he has already received $22MM), the Sabres will incur a cap charge of $3.67MM for 2018-19 plus $667K the following season. Meanwhile, Moulson will hit the open market and will likely have to settle for a two-way contract as he looks to get back to the NHL with a new organization.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Rasmus Asplund To Three-Year Deal
The Buffalo Sabres have signed a top prospect, inking Rasmus Asplund to a three-year entry-level contract. The 20-year old forward has spent the last four seasons playing in the SHL, but could now begin his North American career.
Asplund was selected with the 33rd pick in the 2016 draft, just 25 picks after the Sabres had selected countryman and international teammate Alexander Nylander. The pair had shared the ice together at the recent World Juniors and would do so again the next year. There was hope that they could develop together and provide support to Jack Eichel in the coming years, something that still could happen as they enter their twenties. Asplund especially has experienced solid growth in the SHL, scoring 28 points in 50 games this season while even wearing an “A” as an alternate captain despite his young age.
The 5’11” 176-lbs center can do a little bit of everything on the ice and helps linemates by allowing them room to use their offensive talents. Though he may not have the ceiling of someone like Eichel or Casey Mittelstadt, there is plenty of hope that he could carve out a two-way role on the Sabres, contributing offensively while being a do-it-all defensive option. If he does come over to North America next season, expect him to suit up with the Rochester Americans to polish off his game before any NHL debuts are in order.
Rasmus Dahlin And Other Top Picks Will Attend Scouting Combine
Though it doesn’t seem like he has much to prove, Rasmus Dahlin will be in Buffalo next week for the NHL Scouting Combine, John Vogl of The Buffalo News reports. The Swedish defenseman is expected to go first-overall in the draft to the Buffalo Sabres, after finding himself at the top of almost every scouting list this season. Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers confirms that Andrei Svechnikov, Filip Zadina, Brady Tkachuk, Noah Dobson and Evan Bouchard will all also be present at the event, which combines fitness testing with media availability and team meetings over a week-long period.
While fans enjoy seeing the fitness testing results, they rarely make drastic changes to rankings just before the draft. What may be more important are the meetings teams have with the players to start to understand their personalities and history. Those meetings can also be revealing on how the player plans on pursuing a professional career, whether they’re headed to college or back to Europe in the following seasons.
For Buffalo, it will give them the chance to bring in Dahlin and show him around the facilities that he will likely call home in a few months. The young defenseman is expected to step right into the NHL in 2018-19, and play big minutes for the Sabres as they try to rebound from several disappointing seasons. The other top picks will all meet with teams from all around the league, especially in a draft year that features very little consensus after the top few picks.
Sharks Nearing Long-Term Extension With Evander Kane
The San Jose Sharks were clearly happy enough with the play of trade deadline acquisition Evander Kane that they are willing to do whatever it takes to bring him back, which appears to be giving him extensive term and salary and surrendering their first-round draft pick in 2019. Sportsnet’s Irfaan Gaffar reports that the two sides are closing in on a long-term extension, the terms of which appear to be in the seven-year, $49MM range. Per the terms of their trade with the Buffalo Sabres, if Kane does re-sign in San Jose than the second-round pick exchanged in the deal will be elevated to a first-rounder.
It is certainly understandable why the Sharks would want to bring back Kane. The 26-year-old power forward is coming off arguably the best season of his career and certainly his best campaign since being traded to Buffalo from the Winnipeg Jets in 2015. Kane finished the year with 29 goals and 54 points and nine of those goals along with five assists came during the 17-game span that he spent in San Jose to close out the regular season. Kane was the Sharks’ best player during the stretch run and continued to play well in his first ever playoff appearance, notching four goals and an assist in nine games while battling injury. If Kane keeps up that level of play in San Jose, he could be a perennial 30-goal scorer and the type of finisher that the team has sorely lacked outside of Logan Couture.
Nevertheless, some will balk at the cost associated with re-signing Kane, especially after this report. Giving up a first-round pick has already scared away some fans and analysts alike when the idea of the Sharks bringing back Kane first came up. However, this rumored term and salary is also likely to turn more than a few heads. Though undeniably talented, Kane has been able to put together a complete star-caliber season just twice in his career and brings both off-ice issues and on-ice consistency and effort concerns. Granted, he appeared to fit well and play hard in San Jose, but that is not guaranteed to continue and especially not over seven years or so. The Sharks have enough cap space this season to target some of the biggest names on the market and enough talent to attract those players as well, but some will speculate that an extension for Kane of this amount would take them out of the running for a John Tavares or John Carlson, which could also upset fans and eliminate a major opportunity for San Jose.
However, the Sharks acquired Kane primarily for this year’s playoff run and he performed beyond expectations for a very fair price – Danny O’Regan, a second-rounder, and a fourth-rounder. Even if that pick becomes a first-round selection next year, it still isn’t an extreme over-payment by the Sharks given what they got out of Kane. San Jose now has exclusive right to negotiate with Kane, something they don’t have with the likes of Tavares and Carlson and something that they’ll lose come July 1st. If the team feels that an extension based on his strong trial run is the right move and the best way to use the bulk of their cap space, then doing what it takes to keep Kane, a top five free agent, from hitting the market makes sense. There is absolutely risk associated with a decision of this reported magnitude, but it could pay off for GM Doug Wilson and the Sharks.
Eastern Notes: Backstrom, Burakovsky, Sabres Goaltending, Schneider
With Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals approaching in a few hours and deadlocked at 2-2, the Washington Capitals will make a few lineup changes, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. The scribe writes that head coach Barry Trotz said he intends to return center Nicklas Backstrom to his second line to join T.J. Oshie and Chandler Stephenson. Backstrom, who finally returned for Game 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, played well in his return after a four-game absence. While he didn’t score any points, he played 18:51 of ice time and won six of nine faceoff attempts.
Gulitti also reported that Trotz said he will switch out Andre Burakovsky with the bigger, more physical Alex Chiasson on the team’s fourth line. Burakovsky has been back for four games after missing time with an injury. However, in those four games, he’s failed to score a point and only has had two shots on goal. In the last two games, he’s played just 7:26 and 8:30, respectively. Chiasson has one assist in three playoff games against the Lightning.
- The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington writes that the prevailing belief is that the Buffalo Sabres do not have a No. 1 goalie within their organization, meaning the team will have to find one through free agency or via trade to join Linus Ullmark. Harrington writes its very likely the team has seen the last of Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson, last year’s goalie tandem. The 26-year-old Lehner will be a restricted free agent and is not expected to receive an offer, while Johnson will be unrestricted.
- After New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider listed his New Jersey house on the market recently, there was some speculation that he might be moving on, but NJ.com’s Chris Ryan writes that he’s not going anywhere as he’s just buying another house in the area. A career dominating goaltender, Schneider has struggled the past two years due to poor team defense and injuries. After putting up a 2.82 GAA and a .908 save percentage in the 2016-17 season and a 2.93 GAA and a .907 save percentage in the 2017-18 season, Schneider underwent surgery to repair cartilage in his left hip and is expected to miss training camp and possibly the start of the season. The 32-year-old has four years remaining on his deal at $6MM AAV.
Buffalo Sabres Could Make Big Changes This Summer
The Buffalo Sabres have the first-overall pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft, and are expected to use it on Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. That gives them another potential superstar talent to ice with Jack Eichel and Casey Mittelstadt as what would be a solid core. If that’s the trio the team is set to build around though, there are questions swirling about what it means for the rest of the roster. There has been a shortage of wins in Buffalo the last few seasons, but not necessarily a shortage of talented players. Certain names have been regularly brought up in trade talks, and this season saw Evander Kane go as a big ticket item at the trade deadline.
In the latest edition of the “Bobcast” TSN’s Bob McKenzie speculates on who might be first out the door for the Sabres this summer, as he believes there are big changes coming. Terming it—however hesitantly—a “culture change” on the way for Buffalo, McKenzie opines on the future of center Ryan O’Reilly.
There’s no question in my mind that the Sabres are open for business. My sense is that after the exit interviews were done with the Sabres, I think they realized they really need to make some changes to their core. I hate to use the term “culture change” because I think it’s such an over-used cliche, but I do believe it applies in this instance, that there does need to be a culture change in Buffalo. So I think they’re all ears on just about anybody not named Jack Eichel or Rasmus Dahlin. I suppose that’s a little bit hyperbole, I mean it always is when you say “they’re listening on everybody”—it’s not a fire sale.
In my view, the player that is most likely to be moved is veteran center Ryan O’Reilly. Now in some ways mentioning him first after mentioning “culture change” that’s probably not fair to him. Because it sort of implies that he’s at the root of everything wrong with the Buffalo Sabres, and the Sabres’ culture of losing and that’s not entirely true, in fact it may not be true at all. But he’s a core guy, and if you’re going to effect a culture change, you need to move core guys. It’s as simple as that.
O’Reilly is starring for Team Canada currently at the IIHF World Championship, but could be coming back to a different team next season. The 27-year old is arguably the best faceoff man in the league and put up another 60-point season this year. That’s a sought-after commodity on the open market, and even with the five years left on his contract at a $7.5MM cap hit, he could be attractive to many teams.
McKenzie lists the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens as two potential landing spots, though both seem to be speculative at this point. Both teams have been looking for help up the middle for some time, and both are trying to compete in 2018-19. McKenzie suggests the deal would have to look something like the Mike Richards trade from 2011, which brought the Philadelphia Flyers Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn—both of whom were very young players at the time—and a second-round pick. A package like that would certainly help build the new core around the above mentioned trio, and could propel the Sabres to relevancy again in the coming years.
O’Reilly will earn a $7.5MM signing bonus on July 1st, something that is repeated (in some fashion) for each remaining year of his deal. Interestingly that could reduce the cost of his overall deal quite a bit should a team wait until later in the summer to acquire him, though that would obviously then change his value in a relative manner.
It’s not often that a 60-point center in the middle of his prime comes available, especially one that is capable defensively and already locked up long-term. That contract will easily scare off some teams who don’t believe that O’Reilly is a difference-maker, but also could be very attractive, especially if Buffalo were to retain a portion or take a smaller return of assets.
Either way, there are changes coming in Buffalo and O’Reilly might be one of the biggest names on the market this summer. If he is truly available, you can bet there will be several calls placed to GM Jason Botterill in the coming weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Buffalo Sabres Officially Sign Lawrence Pilut
Though it has been expected for several weeks, the Buffalo Sabres finally announced that they have officially signed defenseman Lawrence Pilut to a two-year entry-level contract. Pilut has played the last several seasons with HV71 of the SHL, where he was named Defenseman of the Year in 2017-18.
Pilut, 22, immediately adds a good helping of skill into the Buffalo defense corps, something it has been sorely missing over the last few seasons. While there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to handle the grind of the North American game, he certainly proved himself a capable hockey playing during several years in Sweden. This season, he recorded 38 points in 52 games and was a dynamic puck-mover for HV71. That comes a year after taking home the SHL Championship, though he didn’t play quite as large of a role on that team.
With Josh Gorges and Justin Falk heading for unrestricted free agency, and rumors swirling about a potential return to the KHL for Victor Antipin, the Sabres depth on the left side of their defense has taken a big hit. Though Brendan Guhle is expected to push for a full-time position at camp, adding Pilut to the mix only strengthens the group overall. Even if he needs to start at the AHL level the team has already started the process of improving their back end, a crucial goal for GM Jason Botterill this summer.