Ryan Carpenter is an unrestricted free agent that hasn’t generated a lot of attention so far but the center is on the radar of a few teams at least. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that the 28-year-old center is on the radar of the Blackhawks, Bruins, and Avalanche and is likely deciding which of those three teams to sign with. Carpenter joined Vegas back in 2017-18 on waivers and wound up playing a regular role for them down the stretch. He followed that up with a career year offensively this past season, recording 18 points in 68 games while winning 52.6% of his faceoffs. Teams are always looking to upgrade down the middle and Carpenter could certainly slot in as a fourth line piece on each of those teams.
Avalanche Rumors
Panthers Acquire Dominic Toninato From Avalanche
The Panthers and Avalanche have made a swap of minor league prospects. Florida has acquired center Dominic Toninato from Colorado in exchange for defenseman Jacob MacDonald. Both teams have announced the trade.
Toninato spent most of 2018-19 with Colorado’s AHL affiliate where he posted 29 points (14-15-29) in 57 games. Although he only got into a pair of games with the Avs, the 25-year-old played in 37 NHL contests back in 2017-18, his rookie season. Originally a fifth-round pick of Toronto in 2012, Toninato signed with Colorado back in 2017 as a free agent after not getting signed by the Maple Leafs. He will be a restricted free agent on July 1st with salary arbitration rights.
MacDonald, meanwhile, is a late bloomer. He spent three full seasons playing on minor league contracts before a 55-point breakout year with New Jersey’s AHL team in 2017-18 got him on the NHL radar. That earned him a two-year contract with Florida last July and he was once again productive in the minors, recording 43 points (14-29-43) in 72 contests while picking up a goal in a pair of games with Florida. He’s under contract with a $750K cap hit for next season and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Andre Burakovsky
The Colorado Avalanche have added some more skill and youth to their team, acquiring Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2020 second-round pick, a 2020 third-round pick (previously acquired from Arizona in the Carl Soderberg deal) and minor league forward Scott Kosmachuk. Burakovsky is set to become a restricted free agent, and Kosmachuk is actually set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent in a few days.
Burakovsky could potentially accept his $3.25MM qualifying offer as well, given that his development hasn’t quite gone the way the Capitals hoped the last few seasons. In fact, the 24-year old forward has now posted two 25-point years in a row, a far cry from the 17-goal 38-point sophomore season that looked like his coming out party. Armed with plenty of speed and skill, Burakovsky was the 23rd-overall pick in the 2013 draft and quickly made his way to the NHL.
In Colorado, he will likely receive a bigger offensive role on the left wing where the Avalanche needed some more depth. A change of scenery may be the key to unlocking his full potential, something the Avalanche will hope for after giving up a not-insignificant package for him. Those two draft picks plus the potential $3.25MM salary is a fair amount of assets for a 25-point player, so he will have pressure on him to perform with his new team.
For Washington, trading Burakovsky was basically inevitable after extending the qualifying offer. The team didn’t have enough cap space to afford him this season and he just wasn’t providing the necessary offense for their championship goals. With a new contract due for Jakub Vrana and potential extensions on the horizon with Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby, moving Burakovsky was an obvious choice. Getting two relatively high draft picks out of the move is a win, though GM Brian MacLellan had tried to secure another young player during the most recent season and wasn’t able to.
At the very least, Washington now has some more ammunition for a potential trade deadline acquisition. Depending on where Vrana falls they could also potentially circle back to 20-goal forward Brett Connolly, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on Monday and was previously too expensive for the team to retain.
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Joonas Donskoi Drawing Interest
The San Jose Sharks won’t be able to afford new contracts for all of their pending free agents, so names like Joonas Donskoi are going to have to scour the market for a new opportunity. That isn’t going to be very difficult, as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) reports that nearly have the league has already “kicked the tires” on Donskoi, and lists the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres as teams with real interest.
The 27-year old winger has scored 14 goals in each of the last two seasons and reached a new career-high with 37 points in the 2018-19 campaign. That was despite averaging just over 13 minutes a night, making him quite an efficient scorer in the lower half of the Sharks’ lineup. It comes as no surprise then that teams are interested in bringing him aboard, hoping they can coax even more production out.
It is important to note that unlike many depth wingers, Donskoi has virtually no experience on the penalty kill and thus would need to be able to contribute enough offensively to warrant whatever deal he eventually earns. Though he’s not useless defensively and isn’t completely against physical play, those are certainly not his calling cards.
Edmonton, as LeBrun points out, is checking the market on basically every free agent winger including Donskoi’s teammate Gustav Nyquist, who is also drawing interest but hasn’t ruled out a return to San Jose. The Oilers are in desperate need of help this season to try and avoid missing the playoffs again, and will look to add some skill to Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on the open market.
Stefan Elliott Signs With KHL’s Dinamo Minsk
Stefan Elliott surprised many when he left North America as a restricted free agent 2016 and signed with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan. The Canadian defenseman had just finished a season in which he played in 21 NHL games, the second most of his career, and looked like he might be a fit as a depth option for the Nashville Predators after they had acquired him mid-season from the Arizona Coyotes. This time around, coming off a return home that yielded just three NHL appearances, it comes as less of a shock that Dinamo Minsk of the KHL has announced that they have signed Elliott to a one-year contract.
Elliott, 28, was an impending unrestricted free agent with his one-year deal signed last summer with the Pittsburgh Penguins expired. After two years abroad, in Russia and Sweden respectively, the Penguins brought Elliott in as a potential minor league leader and deep blue line depth option. A 2009 second-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Elliott had always been very successful in the AHL and Pittsburgh hoped for the same and possibly more. Instead, Elliott got off to a slow start with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was traded to the Ottawa Senators in a swap of minor pieces. Elliott got to play in three games with Ottawa and also put up strong numbers with AHL Belleville.
Regardless, even with the Senators there did not seem to be long-term opportunity for Elliott to play a significant role, so a move back to Europe seemed like a strong possibility. The ongoing UFA discussion window likely confirmed Elliott’s doubts of finding a suitable NHL offer. He thus returns to the KHL, where he recorded 11 points in 31 games a few years ago, but joins a new team in Minsk. The club is excited about the addition, but so too should be Elliott, who could very likely be the team’s top player next season. Teemu Pulkkinen, Quinton Howden, and Patrick Wiercioch have departed and the aging Kostitsyn brothers, Sergei Kostitsyn and Andrei Kostitsyn, and former collegiate and minor leauge defender Oleg Yevenko are the only other notable players on the roster. As the go-to guy, Elliott could be in for a productive season that once again sparks interest back in North America.
Arizona Coyotes Acquire Carl Soderberg
The Arizona Coyotes have acquired Carl Soderberg from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Kevin Connauton and a 2020 third-round pick. Coyotes’ GM John Chayka released a short statement on the acquisition:
Carl is a versatile, 200-foot player who has a history of being productive and playing tough minutes. He will be a stabilizer in our lineup and gives our coaching staff lots of flexibility.
Soderberg, 33, had an excellent bounce-back season in 2018-19, recording 23 goals and 49 points while playing in all 82 games. That kind of production is exactly what the Avalanche expected when they signed him to a five-year, $23.75MM deal in the summer of 2015 but after a good initial season in Colorado he had fallen off a cliff offensively. In fact, during the 2016-17 campaign the Swedish center only recorded 14 points in 80 games and many called for the Avalanche to get rid of him through one way or another. Their waiting has paid off, as his entire $4.75MM cap hit will now be transferred to Arizona while receiving a quality depth defenseman and pick in return.
In Arizona though, Soderberg will be a veteran addition to a club trying to get over the hump and qualify for the playoffs. His versatility down the middle will help take some pressure off the other offensively gifted players on the Coyotes and add to what has now become something of a strength for the club. Just a few years ago the Coyotes were trying everyone they could at the center position in hopes of finding a quality option, but now have Soderberg, Derek Stepan, Nick Schmaltz and Brad Richardson who can be penciled in with Christian Dvorak and Alex Galchenyuk also having experience in the middle.
For Colorado though, this move seems to indicate something bigger is on the horizon. GM Joe Sakic spoke at the end of the year about being more aggressive in free agency, and with nearly $40MM in cap room he can basically go after any player he wants. A good chunk of that money is owed to the team’s own restricted free agents—most notably star winger Mikko Rantanen—but there is more than enough to go around in free agency. In fact, the team might even be able to clear more cap space if they are actually still considering moving Tyson Barrie in his final year. With the addition of Connauton, the Avalanche have seven NHL defensemen under contract with Nikita Zadorov a restricted free agent and Bowen Byram pushing for a spot after being selected fourth overall.
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Offseason Keys: Colorado Avalanche
With the postseason now finished, the activity is about to pick up with free agency now just days away. What storylines lie ahead around the league in what is shaping up to be a likely busy NHL offseason? Next up in our Offseason Keys series is a look at the Colorado Avalanche.
Despite making the postseason a year earlier and holding their own against Nashville, Colorado was a popular pick to take a step back in 2018-19. While their point total in the regular season dipped slightly, they still made it to the playoffs and did some damage while they were there as they made short work of Calgary before pushing San Jose to seven games in the second round. They have a strong young nucleus to build around and GM Joe Sakic has ample salary cap room to work with to try to bring in a few more pieces. Here’s what the Avalanche need to accomplish this offseason.
New Deal For Rantanen
Mikko Rantanen followed up his breakout 2017-18 season with an even better showing this past season as he set new career highs across the board. In doing so, he also took away any questions about whether his sophomore year was an aberration or a sign of things to come. Clearly, it’s the latter as he was a key part of Colorado’s top line that also featured Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog.
The good news for the Avs is that both of those other players are signed for at least two more years at below-market rates. Rantanen isn’t in that situation as he’s a restricted free agent when his contract expires next month. Unlike Landeskog and MacKinnon, his deal won’t be coming in below market value.
Rantanen is one of the top restricted free agents in this elite class of RFAs that don’t have salary arbitration eligibility. By all accounts, none of their agents want to set the market and go first so it wouldn’t be particularly shocking to see this drag out for a little while. From a budgetary perspective, Sakic would be wise to allocate roughly $10MM per year towards this contract as he plans his other offseason activity.
Decide Barrie’s Future
Tyson Barrie has been no stranger to the rumor mill in recent years. He has seemingly almost always been in play to some extent though never with Colorado really actively listening to offers. But they’ve been content to listen and haven’t done anything to try to quell the notion that they’re willing to deal him. As Barrie enters the final year of his contract next season, the decision on his future becomes much more pressing.
Not surprisingly, he was in trade speculation in the days leading up to the draft and those will likely continue in the coming days. The free agent market isn’t particularly deep so teams on the lookout for help on the right side defensively will be calling, especially if they have a need for more offense from their back end. If Sakic decides that the time is right to move him, Barrie’s value is as high as it’s going to be right now and the trade options are more plentiful than they’ll be midseason when more teams are capped out.
On the flip side, the team could decide that it’s worth pursuing an extension for the 27-year-old. Yes, they have Erik Johnson signed long-term and top prospect Cale Makar under team control for six more years plus promising prospect Conor Timmins in the system as well. However, it’s rarely a bad thing to have a surplus of quality defenders. Getting Barrie to commit to a long-term deal would be pricey though as he’ll undoubtedly be looking for a nice boost on his current $5.5MM AAV.
Add Top-Six Winger
Sakic has already stated that he intends to be aggressive this offseason. Part of that aggression needs to be focused on adding some secondary scoring. Their top three forwards combined for 106 goals which is great but it also accounted for a little more than 40% of their total offense. They’ve shown that they can have success with that but adding some help on the second line would go a long way towards bolstering their attack.
With Carl Soderberg having a resurgent season plus Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Jost on the team already, they’re not in bad shape down the middle behind MacKinnon. Adding Alex Newhook in the draft gives them a good center for the future as well. That means that they can focus on adding support on the wing which is where the depth of this free agent class lies.
While Artemi Panarin may be out of their price range as a team that has had a budgeted payroll well below the Upper Limit in the past, players like Anders Lee, Mats Zuccarello, Micheal Ferland, and Gustav Nyquist would all give their second line a boost and a bit more lineup flexibility if they want to split up their big three from time to time. With a team that’s viewed as on the rise and lots of cap room to work with this summer, Sakic will be able to present these players with a compelling case to join them which would be a good way to start their summer spending.
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Overseas Notes: Yakupov, Kovar, Erixon, Garteig
Former No. 1 overall pick Nail Yakupov won’t be joining any of the most recent draft class in the NHL next season. The bust of a former top prospect enjoyed his best season as a pro in the KHL last season and has decided not to press his luck. SKA St. Petersburg has announced a new three-year extension with Yakupov, keeping the 25-year-old in the KHL until 2022 at the earliest. Yakupov finally decided to move on from the NHL last summer and returned to home to Russia to ink a one-year “show me” deal with SKA. He did just that, recording 33 points in just 47 games and another eight points in the postseason for one of the KHL’s top clubs. Now, he has likely either decided to stay in Russia for the remainder of his career or that his best odds of being an impact player in the NHL down the road are to continue developing overseas. Either way, we won’t be seeing Yakupov in North America anytime soon. The top pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2012 from the OHL’s Sarnia Sting, Yakupov played three underwhelming seasons with the Oilers and last suited up in the NHL in 2017-18, a season split between the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche. Moving forward, he’ll suit up alongside Jori Lehtera, Sergei Plotnikov, Viktor Tikhonov, and recently drafted goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov in St. Petersburg.
- Similarly, Jan Kovar is not messing around with an NHL return after a 2018-19 season that did not go as expected. The veteran Czech forward signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the New York Islanders last summer, but that contract was terminated before the regular season even began, once it became clear that Kovar would not crack the opening night roster. Yet, he still wound up in the AHL, playing for the Providence Bruins for two months in hopes of earning a contract with Boston. When that also failed to materialize, Kovar finally returned to Europe, signing with HC Plzen of his native Czech league. Rather than stay in the Czech Republic, return to North America, or even go back to the KHL, where he had spent the previous five seasons and found much success, Kovar has instead decided to try his hand at playing in the Swiss NLA. EV Zug, an NLA finalist last season, have announced a one-year contract with Kovar. The team is excited about the addition and expect Kovar to be a key piece for them next season. The contract does have a temporary NHL exit clause, but it expires on Tuesday and there has been no talk of any NHL interest in Kovar. It’s safe to assume that he’ll be joining Carl Klingberg, Raphael Diaz, and company next season.
- Give Tim Erixon credit. The 2009 first-round pick out of Skelleftea in Sweden has not played in the NHL since 2015, but has remained in North America, grinding it out for another opportunity in the AHL. However, it’s finally become time to return home. The SHL’s Vaxjo Lakers have announced a two-year contract with Erixon and plan to use him in a major role, unlike the minor league depth capacity that he has filled for several years. A veteran of 93 NHL games 331 AHL games with six different organizations, Erixon is an experienced defenseman who also became a leader and mentor at the minor league level. He heads back to Sweden as a respected and capable veteran player who should be a difference-maker for the Lakers. Vaxjo continues a strong off-season, now adding Erixon to a list of additions that also includes Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Marcus Davidsson, Emil Pettersson, and Matt Bodie.
- Fresh off of a Kelly Cup championship with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers, goaltender Michael Garteig has decided to take his talents to Finland. The 27-year-old keeper has signed a one-year deal with Tappara, the Liiga club announced. Garteig was a former standout at Quinnipiac University and was briefly a prospect of the Vancouver Canucks. However, he has played the past two seasons on a minor league contract and altogether has only seen ten total games in the AHL in three pro seasons. Yet, Garteig was stellar for the Growlers last season, especially in the playoffs, where he posted a .928 save percentage and 2.19 goals against average. Tappara hopes those numbers translate to the Liiga, as the team seeks a replacement for former NHL veteran Niklas Backstrom in their tandem with young Christian Heljanko. Chicago Blackhawks prospect Wouter Peeters also hopes to push for some starts next season.
Free Agent Focus: Colorado Avalanche
Free agency is now less than two weeks 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. Colorado has one of the top restricted free agents in need of a new deal plus quite a few other regulars that have to sign new contracts. Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Mikko Rantanen – Let’s get the obvious one out of the way quickly. Not only is Rantanen Colorado’s top restricted free agents in need of a new deal, he is one of the top RFAs available around the league. After a breakout season in 2017-18, the 22-year-old was even better this past season and was an integral part of one of the most dangerous number one lines in the league. He has two straight years of high-end production under his belt. He was dominant in the 2019 postseason. He’s going to get paid even though he doesn’t have salary arbitration rights. Rantanen’s next contract will drastically chance Colorado’s salary structure as he’ll check in considerably higher than Nathan MacKinnon and could have a case to push for upwards of a $10MM AAV this offseason.
F Alexander Kerfoot – The 24-year-old has put up two nearly identical seasons (43 and 42 points) since signing with Colorado back in August of 2017 after opting for free agency instead of signing with New Jersey. He’s not a fixture on the top line for the Avalanche and probably won’t be down the road but he has already become an important part of their secondary core. He has arbitration rights and that type of offensive consistency will help his case should it get to a hearing.
D Nikita Zadorov – The 23-year-old has been someone that has been in plenty of trade speculation over recent years but his combination of size and skill has made it difficult so far for the Avs to part with him. He took a bit of a step back in 2018-19 which likely complicates their plans that much more. When he’s on, he can be a capable piece on the second pairing but he wound up playing a lesser role than that last year. His name will probably be up in trade speculation once again while he pushes for a raise on the $2.2MM he made this past season.
Other RFAs: F Sven Andrighetto, D Sergei Boikov, F J.T. Compher, F Sheldon Dries, D Mason Geertsen, D Ryan Graves, F A.J. Greer, F Vladislav Kamenev, D Anton Lindholm, G Spencer Martin, F Julien Nantel, F Dominic Toninato
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: G Semyon Varlamov – Varlamov was Colorado’s starter for a good chunk of the regular season but was on the bench when it mattered most in the postseason. With Philipp Grubauer still in the fold for two more seasons, it’s clear that Varlamov will be heading elsewhere. However, without many opportunities for a starting job, it will be interesting to see what he winds up getting. Does he take a spot with a team where he could push to be the higher half of a platoon and be content with that for a few years? Does he take a one-year in the hopes of getting something bigger next summer? Either way, he’s looking at a pay cut from the $5.9MM AAV he’s had over the past five seasons.
F Derick Brassard – Some players do well in contract years. Brassard was one who didn’t. He never did fit in with Pittsburgh, even after a full training camp with them. He was okay in Florida but that was only a short-term landing spot before he was ultimately flipped to Colorado where he once again struggled. He’s going to have a hard time selling himself as a top-six player after getting just 23 points in 2018-19. A short-term contract seems to be a probable outcome for him as he hopes to restore some value.
F Colin Wilson – The 29-year-old has never really lived up to his first-round draft billing but he has nonetheless been an effective middle-six forward. Unfortunately, his production has eroded the last couple of seasons so he’s not hitting the open market at the ideal time. Still, as someone that can play center a pinch and hold down a spot on a third line, he should have a fair bit of interest in free agency but he will also be looking at a drop from his $4MM salary over the past three seasons.
Other UFAs: F Andrew Agozzino, F Gabriel Bourque, F Max McCormick, D Patrik Nemeth, F Scott Kosmachuk, D David Warsofsky
Projected Cap Space: While their RFAs won’t be cheap, the Avalanche enter the offseason with over $35MM in cap room, per CapFriendly. That means that they will have plenty of room to work with if they decide to spend on the open market or add an impact player via trade this summer. GM Joe Sakic has said he intends to be aggressive this offseason and he has lots of cap space to use to his advantage.
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NHL Sets Salary Cap at $81.5MM for 2019-20
The NHL and NHLPA have made it official, as TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the NHL salary cap for 2019-20 will be $81.5MM, as many had recently projected with the salary floor being set at $60.2MM.
That isn’t good news for teams that are at or near the cap as many teams had hoped that the cap might be closer to $83MM like it was projected several weeks ago. However, recently rumors had been rumbling that the number would be closer to $82MM and potentially as low as $81.5MM, which is what it ended up being, which is a worst-case scenario for teams hoping for that extra space to maneuver.
That could prompt more teams that need to open up cap space to make cost-cutting moves. The league has seen some of that already today with the Nashville Predators unloading the $9MM contract of defenseman P.K. Subban in order to free up space to extend defenseman Roman Josi and potentially sign a free-agent center such as Matt Duchene in the coming week. The Toronto Maple Leafs sent a future first-rounder to Carolina also today in order to unload the final year of Patrick Marleau and his $6.25MM contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning also unloaded J.T. Miller’s $5.25MM contract that still has four more years on it for a future first-rounder as well. Other teams that are in trouble and could be making similar cap-saving moves include the Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
The announcement, however, could be big news for teams with plenty of cap space to sell. The Devils acquired a top-four defenseman for a very little return, while Vancouver added a top-six forward in Miller. There are six teams underneath the ceiling of $60.2MM, including the Philadelphia Flyers, Winnipeg Jets, New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators and the Colorado Avalanche. Several of those team have significant free agents to sign, however, including Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Colorado, but there are many teams that could take advantage, now more than ever, of some of the teams who have already capped themselves out. In fact, Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was thrilled at the cap number.
“It doesn’t affect us. I like it,” Kekalainen said (via NHL.com’s Dan Rosen). “It’s going to squeeze some teams some more. … They’re going to have to solve their problems and maybe we can be a solution.”