New York Rangers Sign Michael Grabner, Nathan Gerbe
According to the team, the New York Rangers have agreed to terms with free agent forward Michael Grabner. Elliotte Friedman reports that the deal is worth $1.65MM per season for the former Islander and Maple Leaf.
The team has also announced that they’ve signed Nathan Gerbe, after playing last season in Carolina. Darren Dreger gives us the breakdown: it’s a one-year deal worth $600K.
Grabner, 28, played last season with Toronto after coming over in a trade last summer. Often suiting up on the top-line alongside Nazem Kadri, the former 30-goal man continued to prove that his offensive days are behind him. Only scoring nine goals and 18 points, his biggest contribution was on the penalty kill, where his speed and agility still offer big upside.
In New York, he won’t be asked for much more than that, slotting into the bottom six behind a crop of young forwards. Mats Zuccarello, and Jesper Fast project to skate on the right side of the top two lines, but Grabner will provide at least some depth at the position if J.T. Miller continues to be deployed down the middle.
Gerbe, one of the smallest players to ever play in the NHL at 5’5″, returns to the state he made his debut in. After being drafted by the Sabres in 2005, Gerbe put up 16 goals and 31 points in his first full season with the club. While he didn’t have a very productive 2015-16, he still adds a lot of energy and speed to the bottom six.
Okposo Signs For Seven Years With Sabres
As reported by Arthur Staple, another talked-about deal has been confirmed, as Kyle Okposo signs a seven-year, $42MM deal with the Buffalo Sabres. The high-scoring winger stays in-state, but not in-division, moving from the Islanders in Brooklyn to the Sabres upstate.
Okposo has quietly blossomed into one of the NHL’s top scoring right wingers in recent years. Last season, he picked up 22 goals and 42 assists, good for sixth in points among NHL RW’s. That was enough to earn him the #2 ranking on PHR’s Top 50 free agents list. He spent a lot of his time alongside John Tavares and while some believe that doing so led to a lot of his points but Okposo has enough of a proven track record to show he’s a legitimate top liner in his own right.
Over the last three seasons, Okposo has averaged 22 goals and 39 assists. One area of concern is that over that span, he has missed 34 games due to various injuries and has a bit of a reputation for being an injury prone player. Still, at just 28 years of age and the fact he isn’t an overly physical player, there shouldn’t be much worry that his body will break down any time soon. Okposo should slot in as the top right winger for the Sabres next season and for several years to come.
Free Agent Profile: Loui Eriksson
Once Steven Stamkos was crossed off several teams’ wishlist, a name that continues to rise to the top is Loui Eriksson. The one time Dallas Star and current Boston Bruin is a 30-year-old winger who could provide a scoring punch for any team that signs him.
Eriksson is coming off a season where he had 63 points (30-33), his best season statistically since 2011-12 when he was in Dallas. Fairly or unfairly, Eriksson was seen as the lesser of the two in the deal for Tyler Seguin and his first couple seasons in Boston didn’t entirely quiet that notion. Though he had 47 points in 2014-15 (22-25), it was a far cry from the three 30+ goal seasons Seguin produced in Dallas. Regardless, Eriksson has been a 20+ goal scorer six out of his nine NHL seasons.
Potential Suitors
After Stamkos re-signed with Tampa Bay, Eriksson had a lot of teams–possibly up to eight–kicking the tires. Vancouver, Montreal, Nashville, and San Jose are thinking about a future with the 31-year-old forward. Boston should not be counted out from re-signing him, either. The Hockey News listed Eriksson as one of the better bets to pick up during the free agent period because of his size, skill, and scoring prowess. Teams looking for scoring, Detroit and Buffalo also come to mind, may be intrigued should the bidding not get completely out of hand.
Expected Contract
PHR listed Eriksson #10 out of the top 50 free agents and had him staying with the Bruins. The predicted contract was six years, $27.5MM. While the price tag might go up due to Eriksson being one of the better goal scorers available, expect a yearly deal somewhere between $4.5-$5.25MM.
Buffalo Re-Signs McCabe To Three-Year Deal
According to Renaud Lavoie via Twitter, Buffalo restricted free agent Jake McCabe signed a three-year, $4.8MM deal. The cap hit is $1.6MM. CapFriendly also confirmed the move and included specifics about the contract.
The 22-year-old defenseman played in 77 games for the Sabres, registering 14 points (4-10). After a productive first full year in the NHL, McCabe will most likely see his ice time increase from an average of 19:07 this past season.
- In related news, Patrick Williams tweets that Buffalo also re-signed forward Cole Schneider to a one-year deal. In 74 AHL games with both Binghamton and Rochester, Williams had 56 points (21-35). Schneider recorded no points in two games with the Sabres.
Sabres Sign Casey Nelson To Two-Year Extension
The Buffalo Sabres signed rookie defenseman Casey Nelson to a two-year extension today worth $650,000 a year. The Sabres initially signed Nelson to an entry-level deal in March after playing three seasons in the NCAA for Minnesota State University.
Nelson made his Sabres debut on March 26, 2016. He performed admirably in his short time with the club, potting 4P in 7G. In college he managed 60P in 99 games—winning the WCHA defensive player of the year in his final year.
Nelson will be competing for a bottom-pairing role with the Sabres, as most experts pencil in Kulikov, Franson, Bogosian, and Ristolainen in the top 4. The Wisconsin native (though born in Minnesota) is waiver-exempt, however, so he can be shuttled back and forth from the AHL without risk. His opportunity to make the big club out of camp will also depend on if the Sabres sign any UFA defensemen.
Free Agent Profile: Kyle Okposo
Though Steven Stamkos has been dominating the free agent headlines as we inch closer to Friday’s deadline, there’s another player who some teams might value quite highly. Kyle Okposo has been a hugely productive player the last few years, ranking 17th in PPG since 2013-14. Last season he put up 64 points, tying him with Stamkos for the lead among the unrestricted class, and only turned 28 this April.
A three-time twenty goal scorer, Okposo now has 369 points in 529 career games and usually graded out as a positive possession player. The caveat though is that he’s spent a lot of time on the wing of New York superstar John Tavares, and his stats may be inflated because of it.
Potential Suitors
Despite the potential Tavares-shaped red flag, Okposo is sure to get interest from at least a dozen teams this offseason. His combination of youth, offensive performance and an increasingly physical style will make teams salivate as they imagine installing him on their top line. 60-point wingers don’t grow on trees, and as Arthur Staple of Newsday reports there are already a handful of teams calling for him.
If the rumors are true, the LA Kings do seem like a natural fit for the winger as they’ll be losing both Milan Lucic and Kris Versteeg this summer. Though Okposo plays the right side, and Lucic the left, the offense would be a welcome addition to a team looking to make it back to the playoffs. Perhaps playing along excellent centers in Anze Kopitar or Jeff Carter would hide some of the regression many believe to be coming.
Detroit also seems like a good fit, as though they are deep on the left side with Tomas Tatar, Justin Abdelkader and Henrik Zetterberg (when he’s not playing in the middle) they have only Gustav Nyquist as a proven top-six guy on the right side. Okposo would be a great consolation prize if they can’t land Stamkos, as the team heads into a new era without Pavel Datsyuk.
Expected Contract
In our Top 50 List we had Okposo receiving a seven-year, $47.25MM deal from the Sabres, giving him an annual salary of $6.75MM. As GM Tim Murray has recently been quoted saying he’s going to go after the “big fish” this summer, perhaps it’s not out of the question that Okposo would land there. Either way, expect him to sign a deal for at least six years, and upwards of $40MM. The Minnesota native may in fact crack $7MM per season, something that only 28 skaters currently do.
If the last few seasons are his true talent, perhaps he’ll be looking to be paid even higher than that, as players like Corey Perry, Phil Kessel and Jonathan Toews all earn a substantial amount more, while providing less offensive production (on a per game basis) the last three years. While it would be hard to see anyone rank him ahead of these players overall, perhaps that’s just a symptom of riding under Tavares’ shadow and in the less-covered portion of New York sports.
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.
Andrey Makarov Signs Two-Year Deal in KHL
In a less than surprising move, Andrey Makarov signed a two-year deal with Spartak Moskva of the KHL. Aivis Kalnins tweets that the 2-year contract is worth about $1.2MM. Kalnins also tweeted that Makarov’s role is undetermined for now.
The Hockey News wrote that Makarov had already decided that the KHL was his next destination. Quoting Makarov from a Russian source, Makarov was displeased with his treatment by the organization, and went as far to let the Sabres know during exit interviews. Statistically, Makarov was the better goalie in Rochester, with other goaltender options Nathan Lieuwen and Linus Ullmark posting .909 and .902 save percentages respectively.
At Rochester, Markarov posted a 9-9-2 mark with a .916 save percentage.
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.
Panthers Trade Kulikov to Sabres for Pysyk And Picks
The Florida Panthers traded D Dmitry Kulikov and the 33rd pick to the Buffalo Sabres for D Mark Pysyk and the 38th and 89th pick. More details forthcoming.
Kulikov scored 1G and 17P last season in 74 games. He has one year left on his contract worth $4.33MM a year. Mark Pysyk scored 1G and 11P in 55 games for the Sabres.