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Korpikoski Headed To Camp With Flames On PTO

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Veteran checking forward Lauri Korpikoski, who was bought out of his contract by Edmonton earlier this summer, is evidently going to training camp with the provincial rival Flames, joining several other experienced players looking for work in Calgary. The addition of Korpikoski was first reported by Darren Haynes, via Twitter, and later confirmed by the Flames themselves through the release of their training camp roster.

Korpikoski would have been entering the final season of the four-year, $10MM contract originally inked while a member of the Coyotes. But unhappy with the Finnish forward’s play and looking to open up a slot for a younger player, the Oilers bought out his contract in June, making him a free agent. Unable to land a guaranteed contract, Korpikoski will now have to compete with NHL veterans Chris Higgins and Matt Frattin, both of whom are also going to camp on a PTO, and several other players for a bottom-six role with the Flames.

A veteran of 540 NHL games, Korpikoski played just one season with the Oilers, tallying 10 goals and 22 points in 71 contests, after being acquired from Arizona for center Boyd Gordon. For his career, he has scored 181 points with 122 minutes in penalties and has posted a -54 plus-minus rating. Korpikoski was at one time considered a solid, defensive forward who combined for 77 points in 161 contests during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 campaigns as a member of the Coyotes. He would also garner some Selke votes, placing 40th and 35th respectively in balloting for those seasons.

You can keep track of the latest PTO signings by checking out our Training Camp Invite Tracker.

2016-17 NHL Over/Unders

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After giving us their opening Stanley Cup odds last week, Las Vegas odds-maker Bovada was back at it again today, releasing their over/under for each NHL team’s total points in the upcoming season. Not included on the list (below) are the Dallas Stars, who were left off the board by the odds-makers until more information is available regarding the injury to Tyler Seguin. The Stars are an unpredictable pick at this point regardless, as both Seguin and Jamie Benn are banged up, Valeri Nichushkin is suddenly gone, and the defense is still a risk following the departure of three starters.

While the points projections generally mirror the Stanley Cup odds, Bovada has certainly predicted some interesting scenarios. Despite having the highest Cup odds in the East, the Penguins are again expected to finish behind the Capitals in the Metropolitan Division. On second thought though, a slow start to the regular season for the defending champs would not be much of a surprise, nor would another postseason collapse for Washington. Elsewhere in the division, the Islanders and Rangers are projected to be in a dead heat for that final divisional seed, with the loser slipping into a wild card spot. Staying in the East, they see the Canadiens and a healthy Carey Price skyrocketing from their 82 point finish a year ago to 96.5 points in 2016-17, with the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators taking a corresponding dip in the standings. Out West, the battles atop each division promise to be similarly tight as they were last season, but the projected jump by Calgary and Edmonton of 10+ points from bottom dwellers to playoff contenders may be a story to watch. The good news for Vancouver Canucks fans is that they’re expected to finish with more points this season than last. The bad news? It will be good enough for last place in the league.

The easiest over to take out of this group is likely the St. Louis Blues. Although they lost captain David Backes and have to see if Jake Allen can handle his bigger workload in net, the Blues are set at 101.5 points, a mark they have beaten easily in each of the past three seasons. The Ottawa Senators are another good over, as they have hardly changed their roster this summer and finished with 85 points last year and more than that the two years prior. Their 80.5 line seems unwarranted unless you believe the rest of the Atlantic Division is in for a big year. That seems unlikely, especially when it comes to the aforementioned Canadiens, who are an easy under. Yes, the loss of Price for much of 2015-16 hurt the Canadiens, but they also had a lot of trouble scoring goals as well. The effects of the trade-off between P.K. Subban and Lars Eller for Shea Weber, Andrew Shaw, and Alexander Radulov have yet to be seen, but one would think that it’s not enough to justify a 14 or 15 point increase in points. The Oilers, somewhat obviously, are also a good choice for an under. If this many seasons of “this is the year” followed by a lottery pick haven’t tempered your expectations of Edmonton yet, nothing will. Even if they do finally improve in 2016-17, will it really be to a high-80’s point total? Doubtful.

Washington Capitals      107.5 points

Tampa Bay Lightning     106.5 points

Pittsburgh Penguins       103.5 points

Chicago Blackhawks       102.5 points

St. Louis Blues                 101.5 points

San Jose Sharks              100.5 points

Los Angeles Kings            99.5 points

Anaheim Ducks                98.5 points

Florida Panthers              98.5 points

Nashville Predators         98.5 points

Montreal Canadiens        96.5 points

New York Islanders         95.5 points

New York Rangers           95.5 points

Minnesota Wild                94.5 points

Boston Bruins                   92.5 points

Detroit Red Wings           90.5 points

Philadelphia Flyers         89.5 points

Calgary Flames                87.5 points

Edmonton Oilers             87.5 points

Winnipeg Jets                  87.5 points

Colorado Avalanche        86.5 points

Columbus Blue Jackets   84.5 points

Buffalo Sabres                  83.5 points

New Jersey Devils           82.5 points

Ottawa Senators              80.5 points

Toronto Maple Leafs      80.5 points

Carolina Hurricanes       78.5 points

Arizona Coyotes              76.5 points 

Vancouver Canucks        76.5 points

Snapshots: Russell, Sproul, Fleischmann, Team USA

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TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie appeared on TSN 1260 on Monday morning, and commented on Kris Russell as an option for Edmonton’s “hole on defense”. On the weekend, TSN 1260 host Dustin Nielson tweeted that the Oilers had reached out to Russell and that he expected the two sides to exchange numbers sometime this week.

McKenzie believes Russell would “probably” be a “decent fit” for the Oilers, especially if it’s on a short-term contract. He brought up the abundance of “third-pairing guys” the Oilers have, and wondered who would play with Andrej Sekera on the second pair.

McKenzie also suggested he could see why Russell would have interest in a short-term contract with Edmonton, with an opportunity to possibly play some top-four minutes before becoming a free agent next summer after team’s lose defensemen to Las Vegas in the expansion draft.

However, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal opined that he doesn’t see Russell as being better than any of the Oilers current top four of Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson, Sekera, or Brandon Davidson. While McKenzie labelled the latter as a “third-pairing” defender, Davidson did impress last season, working his way into the Oilers’ top four. Staples said he’s “not sure of Russell, but I’m sure those four can all play the game.”

McKenzie said Russell is still talking with as many as eight teams, including the Oilers’ provincial rivals the Calgary Flames. Russell spent three seasons in Calgary before being traded at last year’s trade deadline. McKenzie expects Russell to sign a one-year contract in the neighborhood of $4-5MM.

  • Meanwhile, Ansar Khan tweeted a photo of Red Wings RFA defenseman Ryan Sproul skating with teammates at Joe Louis Arena. Khan noted that he expects Sproul to sign a one-year deal this week. Sproul is coming off his entry-level contract, where he went pointless in one NHL game and put up 93 points in 213 AHL games.
  • Michael Russo, of the Minnesota Star Tribune, confirmed Elliotte Friedman’s speculation regarding UFA Tomas Fleischmann with Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. Fleischmann will be attending camp in Minnesota on a PTO. He has previously played for Wild coach Bruce Boudreau when the pair were in Washington.
  • TSN’s Frank Seravalli was among those questioning Team USA’s new lines, asking if coach John Tortorella was “trolling the media” with the line of Justin Abdelkader, Derek Stepan, and Patrick Kane. The States face a must-win game versus northern rivals Canada tomorrow night.

Snapshots: Sedins, Gaudreau, Strome, Dvorak

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They may turn 36-years-old later this month and certainly they are in the twilight of their tremendous careers, but that doesn’t mean the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, are thinking about retiring any time soon. Still with two years remaining on the matching deals they have with the Canucks – at an AAV of $7MM – the Sedins are adamant that there will be one more contract in their shared future, according to Mark Spector of Sportsnet. Whether that contract is with the Canucks or not remains to be seen. As Henrik said:

“If they don’t want us there, then we’ve got to make a decision. We’re not going to retire because we don’t want to play for another team.”

The likelihood the twins retire as Canucks likely depends on a couple of factors. First, how effective will they be at age 38 and two, will Vancouver have embraced a full rebuild by that point. Not many players remain particularly effective into their late 30’s but the Sedins have shown to be an exception. Last year, each twin tallied an average of 0.74 points-per-game, which prorates to roughly 60 over an 82-game schedule. For their careers, Henrik has slightly outproduced his brother, 0.83 to 0.82 points-per-game. The Sedins are still producing reasonably close to their career scoring rates.

Still, in two seasons, Henrik could have more than 1,300 NHL games under his belt and Daniel can reach that plateau if he plays virtually game over the next couple of years. That’s a lot of hockey and doesn’t even count postseason or international contests.

It’s also quite possible the Canucks will have little interest in keeping the Sedins beyond the 2017-18 campaign, as Spector points out. Vancouver doesn’t look to be a playoff team this season and many of their better players are also in the later stages of their careers. The club does have some high-end prospects coming – Brock Boeser and Olli Juolevi, for example – but their system isn’t particularly deep in quality talent. It’s likely their top prospects will just be breaking into the league by 2018-19 and while it’s never a bad thing to have veteran mentors the caliber of the Sedins, the organization may simply want to move in another direction by that point.

The Sedins may well be among the most interesting free agents on the 2018 open market.

More from around the NHL:

  • Perhaps the top remaining unsigned restricted free agent, Johnny Gaudreau, is still no closer to a resolution of his status, and as Eric Francis reports, the contract situation has been “painful,” for the Flames young star. “Honestly, throughout the whole summer and contract situation it’s been so painful because every day it’s something that’s on my mind.” Fortunately for Gaudreau, the World Cup has provided the Team North America participant with a distraction from the situation. “So this tourney has helped me not worry about that. I can just play hockey, have fun, be part of the team and hang out with teammates. It’s been the easiest part of my summer without the contract situation there.” It would be shocking if a new accord between the two sides wasn’t reached soon after the World Cup. Both sides clearly want to get a deal done; it’s just a matter of closing the remaining gap and finding common ground. At least playing in the World Cup will help keep Gaudreau sharp and ready for the regular season, assuming he misses all or part of training camp.
  • John Chayka made a number of moves this summer designed to help the Coyotes get back to the playoffs after a four year absence. However, two players drafted before the league’s youngest GM assumed his position may play critical roles if the team is to qualify for the postseason tournament. Writing for the Coyotes team website, Dave Vest reports that while Chayka is pleased with the overall depth of the team’s prospect pool, expectations are specifically high for 2015 first-round pick Dylan Strome and 2014 second-round choice Christian Dvorak. Strome could position himself to earn one of the team’s top two center positions with a good training camp. In fact, their current depth chart on Roster Resource already lists him as the top center, although he’d likely be best suited playing more protected minutes. Still, Chayka has made it clear to Strome and the other prospects what he expects to see at the team’s prospect camp. “He’s just a real smart, cerebral player who does a lot of good things. It’s not like he has to be hitting the scoresheet every night to make an impact. We want him to play a 200-foot game and look after all the details that we know he learned from last year’s camp. We’re looking for consistency. It’s one thing to have one good game but you have to come in each day and follow that up consistently. For Dylan, and for all of our players, it’s a matter of making an impact in the game consistently. That’s what we’re looking for.” 

 

Compelling RFA Cases For 2017: Pacific Division, Part I

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Jacob Trouba, Johnny Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov highlight a strong and deep group of restricted free agents that remain unsigned at the moment. While they will each ultimately cash in and receive substantial contracts for the 2016-17 campaign and likely beyond, their status as restricted free agents has certainly complicated the negotiation process.

Next summer, another quality group of players are set to hit restricted free agency unless they can agree to terms on a new deal prior to the 2017-18 league year. In a series of posts, Pro Hockey Rumors will profile the top pending 2017 RFAs and examine what kind of contract they could elicit assuming they put up a strong performance during their platform year. Today we start in the Pacific Division.

Anthony Duclair (Arizona) – “The Duke” is coming off a solid rookie season, scoring 20 goals and posting 44 points in 81 games for the Coyotes. Arizona acquired Duclair and a couple of draft picks from the New York Rangers at the 2015 deadline in the Keith Yandle deal. Duclair, considered a first-round talent in his draft year, tumbled into the third-round following an injury-shortened 2014-15 campaign in the QMJHL.

Another 20+ goal campaign could propel Duclair’s earning potential into the $4MM range annually. Mike Hoffman, who has scored 27 and 29 goals respectively the last two seasons, inked a four-year deal with an AAV of more than $5MM per season. On the heels of back-to-back 21-goal campaigns, Chris Kreider also landed a four-year pact, his worth $18.5MM in total. Kreider was coming off his second contract, Hoffman his ELC. Based on experience, Hoffman would be the better comparable but the goal-scoring numbers are likely to match up better with Kreider. Either way, if Duclair can match or exceed his 2015-16 production this season, a $4MM+ AAV on a new contract would be realistic.

Sam Bennett (Calgary) – Bennett, the fourth overall selection in the 2014 entry draft, posted an 18-18=36 scoring line as a rookie with the Flames in 2015-16, while playing the entire campaign as a 19-year-old. Along with the aforementioned Gaudreau and Sean Monahan, Bennett is part of a strong nucleus of young talent the Flames are counting on to lead the club into Stanley Cup contention.

Assuming an uptick in performance given Bennett now has a full year of NHL experience under his belt, it will be interesting to see how the Flames handle his restricted free agency. They’ve already locked up Monahan to a rich long-term extension and seem to want to do the same for Gaudreau. If they elect to go the same route with Bennett, he’ll likely need to do much better than 36 points to earn a contract in the same ballpark as Monahan’s.

Instead, perhaps a two-year bridge deal similar to the one Kevin Hayes received this summer makes more sense for the two sides. Hayes, who has tallied 81 points in 158 NHL games, inked a two-year pact worth $2.6MM per. That deal might be a fair comparable for Bennett assuming a 40 – 50-point output in 2016-17. A bridge deal also allows Bennett to further prove he can be a top-line player in the league.

Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton) – There was thought that perhaps the Oilers rushed Draisaitl to the NHL and possibly hindered his long term development based on the German pivot’s dreadful rookie year. After being chosen third in the 2014 draft, Draisaitl debuted in the NHL, appearing in 37 games during the 2014-15 campaign and scoring just 9 points and finishing with a -17 plus-minus rating.

Thankfully for Edmonton, Draisaitl demonstrated his career trajectory is firmly pointed upwards after an impressive sophomore season in which he tallied 51 points in 72 contests and improved his plus-minus rating to a -2. If he should continue to show that level of improvement, Draisaitl could land in the same territory as Monahan and Nathan MacKinnon each did coming off their ELCs; namely in the range of $6MM annually. Monahan is coming off back-to-back 60-point campaigns while MacKinnon sandwiched a mediocre second season (38 points in 64 games) between a 63-point debut and a 2015-16 almost identical to Draisaitl’s in terms of production (52 points in 72 games). If Draisaitl can produce in the neighborhood of 60 – 65 points in his platform year, $6MM annually may well be within reach.

Tyler Toffoli (Los Angeles) – Toffoli has improved steadily over his three full NHL seasons, seeing his goal totals increase from 12 his rookie season to 23 in year two and finally to a team-leading 31 last season with the Kings. He also led the league in plus-minus rating with a +35.

Toffoli won’t turn 25 until late in the 2016-17 campaign suggesting he has several more prime years remaining. He is entering the final season of a two-year deal with an AAV of $3.25MM and should be in line for a lucrative long-term pact. Two recent extensions signed by RFA-eligible players that could set the bar for a Toffoli deal are the contracts inked within the last several months by Filip Forsberg (six years with an AAV of $6MM per) and Mike Hoffman (four years with an AAV of $5.1875MM). If Toffoli produces season scoring totals in 2016-17 similar to those of this past campaign, he should be able to command something between what Hoffman and Forsberg are earning on each of their respective deals.

 

Grossmann Joins Flames On PTO

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The Calgary Flames have added D Nicklas Grossmann to its training camp roster, agreeing to a PTO the 10-year vet per this tweet from Dean Molberg of The Fan 960. Grossman appeared in 58 games in 2015-16 with the Arizona Coyotes, scoring three goals and seven points and posting a -3 plus-minus rating. Drafted by Dallas in the second-round of the 2004 entry draft, Grossman has also spent time with the Stars and Philadelphia Flyers during his NHL career.

Grossman joins a relatively crowded Flames blue line corps led by team captain Mark Giordano and rising young star Dougie Hamilton.  Veterans T.J. Brodie, Dennis Wideman and Deryk Engelland also figure to hold down regular roles. Young Jyrki Jokipakka, acquired at the trade deadline in the Kris Russell deal, will compete with Ladislav Smid and presumably Grossman for the sixth spot.

There has been talk that Calgary could be interested in a reunion with Russell, who has lingered on the free agent market all summer. It’s unclear if adding Grossman in any way changes that line of thinking though Russell, despite his struggles landing a lucrative free agent deal, is still a reasonably competent NHL blue liner whereas Grossman is likely more of a depth option at this point.

Feel free to check out our Invite Tracker for updates on all of the recent PTO signings.

Potential 2016-17 Impact Rookies: Puljujarvi, Kempe, Goldobin, Tkachuk

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It’s rare for players to debut in the NHL and make a significant impact for their teams in the same year they are drafted. In 2015-16, just three players selected in the prior June’s draft – Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Noah Hanifin – appeared in more than 18 NHL contests as rookies. However, we could see as many as five 2016 draftees all earn regular shifts with their clubs during the 2016-17 season, two of whom appear in this post.

Jesse Puljujarvi (Edmonton) – Expected to go in the top-three of the draft, Puljujarvi surprisingly dropped to #4 after Columbus elected to take C Pierre-Luc Dubois at #3 instead of the Finnish winger. Edmonton happily grabbed Puljujarvi with their choice and this stroke of good fortune may have played a role in the June 29th trade of Taylor Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Having Puljujarvi in the fold provided Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli the knowledge he had enough depth on the wings to cash in a player of Hall’s caliber to address their weakness on the blue line.

Puljujarvi combines NHL size at 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds with excellent skating ability. He starred for the Finns helping his home country win the gold medal in the World Junior Championships. He also captured the tourney’s MVP award and finished tops among all participants in both assists (12) and points (17).

The Oilers already have one of the top young superstars in the game in MacDavid and saw 2014 first-round pick Leon Draisaitl bust out with a 51-point campaign in 2016-17. Joining that dangerous duo up front is former top overall selection Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton boasts plenty of talented high-end forwards which virtually assures Puljujarvi will have a chance to skate with some good players. Don’t be surprised if he ends up as a Calder Trophy finalist and the leading scorer among all 2016 draftees.

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – After losing forwards Milan Lucic and Kris Versteeg to free agency and with Dustin Brown’s offense regressing to a level where he has no business in the top-nine, the Kings could turn to Kempe to provide additional scoring. Kempe, the team’s first-round choice in 2014, already has 55 games of pro experience in North America after suiting up this past season for the Kings AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign. The Swedish winger tallied 11 goals and recorded 28 points during the regular season and another four goals and five points in 13 postseason contests.

Since Kempe doesn’t turn 20 until later this month and given he didn’t exactly dominate at the AHL level, it wouldn’t be a bad idea if the Kings sent him back to Ontario to start the 2016-17 campaign and get some more seasoning. But with Kyle Clifford (nine points in 56 games) and Brown (28 points in 82 games) currently expected to hold top-nine spots, according to Roster Resource, Los Angeles might decide they need to inject more offense into the lineup and Kempe could be the source of that offense.

Nikolay Goldobin (San Jose) – The Sharks addressed any need they may have had for a scoring line LW by signing Mikkel Boedker as a free agent this summer. With Tomas Hertl and Patrick Marleau also listed as LW’s on the team’s depth chart, it’s likely the highly skilled Goldobin begins the season with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL to gain more experience. But in the event of injury, Goldobin could be among the team’s first choices for a promotion to the big club.

Goldobin is said to have an excellent shot and release and is a creative offensive player. He can use some work on his defensive game, as do many young players, which is another reason he might find himself in the AHL to start the 2016-17 campaign. But with Marleau entering the final year of his contract, Goldobin is in line to land a job with the Sharks soon enough; perhaps as early as this year.

Matthew Tkachuk (Calgary) – The Flames already possess several skilled young players, but as mentioned in an earlier installment of this series, if they do have an opening it would be for a scoring line LW with size. Hunter Shinkaruk might get the first crack to fill that role though he doesn’t possess the size the Flames would seem to need. If Shinkaruk isn’t ready for regular NHL action, Tkachuk could be an option for Calgary up front.

Tkachuk, the son of former NHL power forward Keith Tkachuk, was drafted by the Flames with the sixth overall selection of the 2016 draft following an impressive 107-point season with the London Knights of the OHL. While his dad was noted for playing a physical game (2,219 PIM in 1,201 NHL games), as well as being a terrific goal scorer, Matthew is more of a complete, two-way player who is also a good skater with high-end offensive instincts. He helped Team USA to a bronze medal at the 2016 WJC U20 tournament, tallying 11 points in seven contests.

Tkachuk might be better off returning to junior to gain more experience. He will certainly have to prove to the Flames that he is truly ready to play at the NHL level but he has the talent and the skill to provide some offense if he earns a role in Calgary.

 

 

Can’t-Miss Games Of The 2016-17 NHL Season: October

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The start of the NHL regular season may be a month away with the World Cup of Hockey and preseason still to come, but it’s never too early to get excited for the best slate of games the NHL has to offer this season. Here are the can’t miss-games of October:

Oct. 12th – Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators

The puck drops on a new NHL season at 7pm ET in the Canadian capital, as the Sens host the Leafs in a rivalry match-up. With #1 overall pick Auston Matthews and newly acquired keeper Frederik Andersen expected to be among many new faces in the Toronto lineup, the Leafs will have a clean slate as they start the year off against old friend Dion Phaneuf and an Ottawa team looking to get back to the playoffs.

Oct. 12th – Calgary Flames  vs. Edmonton Oilers

Later that night, the Oilers will open the brand new Rogers Place for it’s first NHL regular-season game, as they welcome their Alberta rivals. Edmonton will definitely be curious to see if the newly-acquired Adam Larsson can help to slow down the Flames’ dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Leaving behind Rexall Place and the many memories (though few good ones in recent years) they had there, the Oilers will look to start the season off on the right foot in a new building, while Calgary hopes to play spoiler.

October 13th – Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The home opener for the 2015-16 Stanley Cup champs comes against none other than the 2015-16 President’s Trophy winners, as fans are treated to a battle of talent and intensity between two fierce rivals on just Day 2 of the NHL season. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will each look to start off strong and lead their teams to victory, as the Penguins begin a title defense and the Capitals begin another long march toward that elusive Stanley Cup championship.

October 20th – San Jose Sharks vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins have another big game a week later, this time against their Stanley Cup competitors, the Sharks. The 2016 Stanley Cup final was one of the best in recent memory, with immense speed and talent on both sides and young goalies Martin Jones and Matt Murray standing on their heads. Though nothing can make up for falling short when it mattered most, you can bet that captain Joe Pavelski and the Sharks will be fired up for some revenge in this game.

October 23rd – Edmonton Oilers vs. Winnipeg Jets

The Jets will get their first taste of outdoor hockey, as they square off against the Oilers in the Heritage Classic. Investors Group Field in Winnipeg, home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, will host the game as these two Canadian teams look to battle it out, and at least put on a better show than the much talked-about Alumni Game.

 

 

 

Snapshots: Quebec Expansion, Roy, Radulov, Trouba

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In a post for ESPN.com published this morning, Craig Custance provides a wealth of information on a wide array of topics. The entire piece is well worth the read but here are several of the highlights.

  • Custance relays an update on possible expansion into Quebec City, per comments from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. Daly said that while he would like to see the NHL return to Quebec, “hopefully at some point in my career,” there are currently no serious discussions of adding a 32nd team to the league. Daly: “We’ll recap the expansion process, but I don’t expect there will be any announcements on new expansion.” Further diminishing the chances of a Quebec entry any time in the near future, Daly also stated that despite the drawn out process, the Arizona Coyotes will “find a long-term arena in the Phoenix area,” thus eliminating any talk of possibly relocating the club. All together, the NHL is satisfied with 31 franchises and the existing geographical balance of those teams. While Daly’s comments appear to pour cold water on the idea of a Quebec franchise, it’s still a good possibility the league places a team there in the relatively near future.
  • During the first period of Team North America’s win over Team Europe, former Avalanche VP of hockey operations and head coach Patrick Roy met with the media. Roy is said to have resigned his position due to philosophical differences with other members of management and a loss of influence in the front office. When asked whether the Avs choice not to seriously pursue winger Alexander Radulov in free agency was a contributing factor to his decision to leave the organization, Roy indicated that while he vouched for his former Quebec Remparts star and would like to see him one day play for Colorado, the final call was always Joe Sakic’s and that Roy “respected his decision.” Roy would later suggest that the team is giving more thought to using analytics in their decision-making and that also may have played a part in his decision to leave.
  • Earlier today we touched on the lack of progress in talks between RFA Johnny Gaudreau and the Flames. But Gaudreau is far from the only remaining unsigned RFA of note. According to Custance, Winnipeg defenseman Jacob Trouba has not spoken to agent Kurt Overhardt since camp opened for the World Cup of Hockey. Custance also points out that one potential benefit to RFA’s participating in the tournament is the chance to further enhance their values with excellent performances at the tournament playing against many of the top players in the world. Trouba, for example, believes that he can fill a greater role with the Jets and if given a heave dose of responsibility with Team North America, perhaps he can prove to Winnipeg he is deserving of more ice time.

Snapshots: Gaudreau, Benson, McGrattan

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Time is running short for the Flames to ink star forward Johnny Gaudreau prior to the start of the 2016-17 campaign and it appears as if the two sides are still quite far apart in talks, according to Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun. Francis reports that Gaudreau’s camp is seeking $8MM annually while the Flames are countering with a figure somewhere in between what Sean Monahan’s recent extension pays out ($6.375MM) and what captain Mark Giordano earns on an annual basis ($6.75MM).

An unnamed source Francis spoke with stated: “He wants unrestricted money but he’s restricted.” The source would go on to point out that other players with track records similar in both length and production have signed for less, including Filip Forsberg ($6MM) and Nathan MacKinnon ($6.3MM). He also questions whether Gaudreau, while a terrific young talent, is better than than the two players he mentioned.

For his part, Gaudreau is leaving the heavy lifting to his agent, Lewis Gross, at least until after the World Cup has concluded at which point he has said he would become more involved.

Gauedreau is certainly a talented young player and one the Flames want to build around but the reality is he only has two seasons of NHL experience and almost no leverage to exercise in these negotiations. He could choose to sit out until he gets a deal to his liking or sign in the KHL but it’s unlikely he’d receive a comparable salary overseas to what the Flames are offering him today. The smart money is the deal gets wrapped up soon after he returns from the World Cup and that the AAV is closer to what Monahan received than what Gaudreau is said to be asking for at the moment.

  • According to the Elite Prospects website (via tweet) tough guy forward Brian McGrattan has left North America and accepted a deal to play for the Nottingham Panthers of the EIHL in England. The nine-year veteran who turned 35 just last week, did not see any action at the NHL level and instead suited up for 58 games for the Anaheim Ducks AHL affiliate in San Diego. McGrattan tallied nine goals and 17 points along with his usually high number of penalty minutes (144) for the Gulls. Anaheim loaded up yesterday on organizational depth, agreeing to deals with seven players to minor league deals. That McGrattan was not among them suggested a move elsewhere might be in the offing. McGrattan leaves North America (for now at least) having scored just 27 career points in 317 games and 609 minutes in penalties.
  • Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal wonders if 2016 second-round pick, Tyler Benson, can beat the odds and become an important contributor for the Oilers. McCurdy lists the 10 players the club has selected in the second round since 2007 and only two, Justin Schultz (266) and Anton Lander (193) has appeared in more than 27 NHL games to date. Second-round picks are still considered valuable choices and teams generally expect to land one quality NHL talent for every three players chosen in the round. It’s hard to say the Oilers have even developed one quality NHL player from their group as Schultz wasn’t even drafted by the Oilers and was dealt away to Pittsburgh at the 2016 trade deadline after failing to live up to expectations in Edmonton. Lander has yet to land a full-time role and it’s been suggested current management is not particularly high on the Swedish pivot.
  • Former Devils forward Stephen Gionta might be under consideration from the Islanders for a PTO, according to Arthur Staple of Newday (via tweet). Gionta doesn’t bring much offense to the table – just one goal last season and a career-best of five in 2014-15 – but would add energy to the team’s fourth line. He can also contribute on the penalty kill. The Islanders have boasted one of the game’s best fourth lines but they will undoubtedly have someone new skating with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck after Matt Martin departed New York as a free agent. Gionta could provide another option for head coach Jack Capuano.

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