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Carolina Hurricanes Re-Sign Steven Lorentz

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The Carolina Hurricanes have signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Steven Lorentz to a two-year, two-way contract. It will pay him $700K in the NHL this season and $750K next, the league minimum in both years. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell released a short statement:

Steven took a big step forward this season. He was an impact player on the AHL level and we believe he will contribute in the NHL in the future.

Lorentz, 24, was a seventh-round selection by the Hurricanes back in 2015 but has quickly climbed the organizational depth chart. After starting his professional career at the ECHL level, he became a full-time AHL player in 2018-19 and then a star in 2019-20. Scoring 23 goals and 46 points in 61 games for the Charlotte Checkers, the 6’4″ forward trailed only Jake Bean for the team lead in scoring.

Now, with the AHL season still shrouded in uncertainty, Lorentz will try to establish himself as an NHL option that could step in when another player is injured. The Hurricanes are already loaded with at least 12 legitimate NHL forwards, but he can compete for the last few spots and potentially make his debut in 2020-21.

Latest On Jake Gardiner

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It’s been a little over a year now since the Carolina Hurricanes signed Jake Gardiner to a four-year, $16.2MM contract. It seemed the ink had only barely dried by the time speculation started swirling about his tenure in Carolina, with the team potentially looking to move on just a few months into the deal. At the trade deadline, the Hurricanes added Brady Skjei and Sami Vatanen, with the former signed through 2023-24.

Now in free agency, though Vatanen remains unsigned and the team moved on from Joel Edmundson, there is still a log jam of defenders in Carolina. Joakim Ryan has been brought in as an inexpensive depth option, while Jake Bean continues to wait patiently for his NHL opportunity. Gardiner meanwhile is in the news again, with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writing Carolina “continue to examine its trade options” for the veteran defenseman.

Gardiner, 30, was an incredibly polarizing player during his years with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both one of their consistent options on the blue line and the author of the most ill-timed giveaways, he had fervent supporters and detractors over a 551-game tenure. In 2019-20 with the Hurricanes, the same frustrations were evident. Gardiner did record 24 points in 68 games, but was also limited to fewer than 17 minutes a night and was a team-leading -24 (the next closest player was Trevor van Riemsdyk’s -7 rating).

Unfortunately perhaps for the Hurricanes, Gardiner does hold a seven-team no-trade clause and is under a contract that is actually back-loaded. Though his cap hit may only be $4.05MM per season, the actual money owed reaches $12.55MM. That’s not a huge difference, but still could be one that makes a trade harder in the current financial landscape.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Hurricanes Re-Sign Spencer Smallman

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Oct 14: The Hurricanes have officially announced the contract for Smallman, at the reported terms. GM Don Waddell released a short statement on his young forward:

Spencer has continued to improve each season since turning pro. He took another positive step in his development last season and we hope he can take another step forward next year.

Oct 13: The Hurricanes have taken care of one of their minor league restricted free agents.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Carolina has signed winger Spencer Smallman to a one-year, two-way deal.  The contract pays $735K in the NHL and $70K in the AHL which means that he accepted his qualifying offer.

The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the ’Canes back in 2015 (138th overall) but hasn’t had a lot of success at the professional level so far aside from a good showing in the 2018 ECHL playoffs.  Last season, Smallman played in 47 games with Carolina’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte but managed just three goals and ten assists but still was able to land a qualifying offer last week.

Smallman must pass through waivers next season to return to the Checkers but that should happen without much concern.  Once he returns to the minor league level, he’ll need to take a big step forward in his offensive production.  If not, he’ll be a candidate to be non-tendered next offseason given that he’ll be entering his age-25 season in 2021-22.

 

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Clark Bishop, Vasiliy Ponomarev

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The Carolina Hurricanes have re-signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Clark Bishop to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal will pay Bishop $700K in the NHL and $100K at the AHL level. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell released a short statement:

Clark is a versatile, two-way center that knows our system well. We look forward to him continuing his development this season.

Bishop had filed for salary arbitration last week, which will no longer be required.

The 24-year-old forward has played in 25 games for the Hurricanes over the past two seasons, spending most of his time as a professional at the minor league level. Like every other AHL player, Bishop will have to wait and see what the 2020-21 season looks like for minor leaguers.

The team has also signed Vasiliy Ponomarev to a three-year, entry-level contract. Ponomarev was picked 53rd overall in this year’s draft and is currently playing for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. The 18-year-old Russian forward had 49 points in 57 games as a CHL rookie last season and is off to a hot start with two goals in his first four games.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Joakim Ryan

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The Carolina Hurricanes have added even more experience to their deep blue line. The team has announced a one-year, two-way deal with Joakim Ryan, who has played in nearly 150 NHL games over the past three seasons. The deal carries the minimum $700K NHL salary, making him an affordable option in a pinch, and a $150K salary in the AHL.

Ryan, 27, is a balanced defenseman who can step into the lineup without issues. A mobile blue liner, Ryan does not produce many points but moves the puck well. Similarly, he does not put up big defensive numbers, but is a sound defender. While his role with the San Jose Sharks in his first two NHL seasons was limited, Ryan played over 19 minutes per games last season with the Los Angeles Kings, albeit only in 35 games.

Ryan has not played in the AHL in the past two seasons and spend only two games in the minors the year prior, but that is likely set to change in Carolina. Ryan’s two-way contract combined with the Hurricanes’ depth implies that Ryan could be the next man up in the minors, rather than a full-time NHLer. As of right now, Jaccob Slavin, Dougie Hamilton, Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, Jake Gardiner, and RFA Haydn Fleury are locked in for roster spots while Jake Bean could push for a role, and you can never quite rule out the ’Canes acquiring another defenseman as well. Ryan seems like the odd man out, but is a quality option when injuries occur.

Hurricanes Sign Jesper Fast

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The Hurricanes have added some speed to their group of wingers as Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed Jesper Fast to a three-year deal.  The contract carries a $2MM AAV and pays $1MM next season, $2MM in 2021-22, and $3MM in 2022-23.

The 28-year-old has been a consistent depth scorer throughout his NHL career, ranging between 20 and 33 points in each of the last five seasons.  Last year was one of his better offensive campaigns despite the pandemic as he potted 12 goals and 17 assists in 69 games with the Rangers while logging a career-best 16:36 per night.

Fast is a good fit for the up-tempo Hurricanes both by which the speed he plays and his ability to play both wings and a variety of roles.  He likely will slot in as a third liner when everyone is healthy and will be in more of a two-way role but he showed with New York that he can move up in a pinch.

The winger gets a small raise on his most recent deal which carried a $1.85MM AAV which is notable in this cap environment.  The fact he also received a three-year deal is also impressive at a time where a lot of capable wingers have had to settle for shorter-term contracts.

With the move, Carolina now has a little under $5.8MM in cap space per CapFriendly with RFA winger Warren Foegele and RFA blueliner Haydn Fleury need new deals.  Even when those two re-sign, they should still have enough to add another player if they so desire.

David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period was first to report that Carolina was working on a deal with Fast.

Hurricanes To Take Full Bonus Penalty In 2020-21

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  • In a pair of tweets, PuckPedia reports that the Hurricanes and Capitals will both take their full bonus overage penalties this coming season instead of amortizing them over two years which was a one-time option in the new CBA. As a result, Carolina’s cap space for 2020-21 will decrease by just over $1.367MM while Washington’s goes down by just under $420K.

Sami Vatanen And Trevor Van Riemsdyk Expected To Test Free Agency

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Hurricanes defensemen Sami Vatanen and Trevor van Riemsdyk are expected to test free agency when the market opens up on Friday, GM Don Waddell told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.  Waddell did indicate that Carolina is interested in retaining them and the players could still potentially circle back once they’ve seen what other offers are out there:

We’ve made it real clear that we’d like both guys, but we also understand that we’re under a little bit more of a scrutiny with our salary cap.  So if they go out to the market, whatever the market will bear, it might be something that if they do come back to us that we can talk about.

As things stand, the team has less than $8MM in cap space with only 17 players signed and while winger Warren Foegele and blueliner Haydn Fleury aren’t going to break the bank as restricted free agents, by the time they’re signed, there won’t be enough room to keep both UFAs by the time you factor in spending to fill out the rest of their roster.

Vatanen is the more intriguing of the two situations.  The 29-year-old was brought in by Carolina at the trade deadline despite being injured at the time with the hopes that he’d help them down the stretch and in the playoffs.  Of course, the pandemic shut things down and he was only able to play in seven playoff games.

While Vatanen’s offensive production has dipped in recent years compared to the 37 and 38-point seasons he put up in 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, he’s still an intriguing top-four option that can help run a power play.  He does, however, carry considerable injury risk as he has yet to play more than 72 games in a single season.  With a thin UFA market though, there still should be a large number of teams interested in him and a deal around the $4.875MM AAV that he had the past four seasons could still happen even with the salary cap flattened out.

As for van Riemsdyk, the 29-year-old was in a limited role for most of this season, playing in just 49 games during the regular season and only two of their postseason contests.  It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to command the $2.3MM AAV he played under the last two years but if he’s willing to sign for less, it’s plausible that he could be brought back at a rate that’s more commensurate with a sixth or seventh role.

Waddell also has to be mindful of two big-ticket deals on the horizon for 2021-22 in winger Andrei Svechnikov and defenseman Dougie Hamilton.  Svechnikov is a restricted free agent next offseason and Waddell indicated that extension talks are ongoing while allowing for the possibility of the 20-year-old’s next contract being a short-term bridge.  As for Hamilton, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency after next season, no talks have been held yet but he’ll be in line for a significant raise on his current $5.75MM AAV.  Knowing that those contracts will be coming sooner than later will certainly affect Waddell’s willingness to spend big on multi-year deals in the weeks ahead which could very well take Vatanen off the table for them.

Fortunately for Carolina, even if both of their UFA blueliners don’t return, they’ll still be well-positioned for next season with Hamilton anchoring a top-four that also features Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei.  Veteran Jake Gardiner is also in the mix as well as Fleury so the Hurricanes will still have a strong back end without Vatanen and van Riemsdyk in the mix.

Trade Rumors: Ekman-Larsson, Mrazek, Virtanen, Tampa Bay

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Name a top trade target or impending free agent and they seem to be linked to the Edmonton Oilers. While the team clearly needs to help superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, they have cap constraints because of those players as well and holes to fill all over the roster. The team must be confident that they can perform some cap magic, as they have their sights set on making a big splash this off-season. TSN’s Darren Dreger backed up previous rumors today that the Oilers have been talking to the Arizona Coyotes about elite defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. In fact, Dreger notes that discussions have been preliminary, but the interest is serious. It’s a complex situation given the cap situations in both Edmonton and Arizona, but the teams appear to be working through their options when it comes to moving Ekman-Larsson, a proven top-pair commodity. Of course, it’s worth noting that Ekman-Larsson has a full No-Movement Clause and could nix a deal to Edmonton if he chooses. Dreger adds that the Boston Bruins also remain interested; Ekman-Larsson may very well prefer landing alongside Charlie McAvoy on the top pair of a perennial contender.

  • The Oilers are also known to be eyeing an addition in goal and have kicked the tires on a number of netminders on the trade block. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the latest name on that list is the Carolina Hurricanes’ Petr Mrazek. LeBrun believes that Mrazek could be more of a fallback option if Edmonton cannot add Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray or Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper or can’t woo Jacob Markstrom in free agency. Of course, if Mrazek is even available for trade, it may mean that Carolina has already landed one of those three Oilers targets for themselves. Mrazek had a fine season for the ’Canes, but the team is looking to upgrade at starter. Unfortunately for Edmonton, Carolina’s castoff would still be an upgrade for them.
  • From GM Jim Benning’s comments since his Vancouver Canucks were eliminated from the postseason, it should come as no surprise that he is listening to offers for restricted free agent forward Jake Virtanen, according to Dreger. Virtanen has failed to live up to the expectations of being the 2014 sixth overall pick, but is still due a significant upgrade over his expiring $1.25MM AAV. The cap-strapped Canucks have greater needs than Virtanen’s third-line scoring totals and may be able to put his cap space to greater use via trade. Dreger reports that there is plenty of interest in the 24-year-old power forward, who could still grow into the dangerous scorer that he was in junior.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning are less than a day removed from taking home the 2020 Stanley Cup title, but GM Julien BriseBois is already back at work. LeBrun speculates that Tampa must clear at least $10MM in cap space in order to re-sign RFA’s Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, and Erik Cernak and to rebuild a defense with numerous pending UFA’s. As such,  BriseBois can’t afford to waste any time with free agency approaching. LeBrun notes that the two most talked-about names on the Lightning roster right now are forwards Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde. However, he notes that both players have full No-Trade Clauses and would have to accept any trade. As a result, LeBrun believes there is a growing suspicion that the Bolts may trade a player or two that no one is suspecting in order to clear cap space. That could mean one of the RFA’s themselves is dealt, or perhaps it could be a player lacking trade protection, such as Brayden Point or Andrei Vasilevskiy. One way or another, the Cup-winning roster will look very different next season.

Hurricanes Not Expecting Justin Williams To Return

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Last year, it took quite a while for Justin Williams to determine his NHL future.  Instead of signing with Carolina, he took a step back to ponder his future in September before ultimately rejoining the Hurricanes in January.  It appears as if things could be heading down a similar path this offseason as GM Don Waddell told Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer that they aren’t expecting the veteran to return although they haven’t ruled it out entirely yet either.

The 38-year-old picked up eight goals over his 20 regular season games with Carolina this past season despite playing just 13:37 per night which is strong production for someone that just joined the team midseason after not playing.  Before that, he had four straight years between 48 and 52 points so it’s clear that Williams can still play at the top level.  Instead, the question remains whether or not he wants to.

His agent, Thane Campbell, indicated that a decision won’t be coming before the start of free agency on October 9th and that he expects that it will once again take a while for Williams to figure out what he wants to do.  Considering he was willing to sign a contract for the league minimum (plus $1.3MM in incentives, $500K of which was earned), this is a decision that can be dragged out for a while.  At this point, it seems likely that he’d only rejoin the Hurricanes so as long as they leave themselves a bit of wiggle room in the coming months, they’ll be able to bring Williams back if he wants to return but for now, they’ll plan as if his time with the team has come to an end.

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