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Patrick Marleau, Toronto Maple Leafs Ready To Part Ways

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A rumor several days ago suggested that the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to move on from 39-year-old winger Patrick Marleau, who is coming off a disappointing season this past season. With Toronto’s general manager Kyle Dubas trying to balance multiple players and their contracts into the team’s already full salary cap, the team was expecting more out of Marleau, who posted his worst goal totals (16) since his rookie campaign back in the 1997-98 season.

While many have squashed the rumors that Toronto was trying to send him to the Los Angeles Kings Friday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported late last night during a Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada that Marleau would like to leave Toronto and would prefer to be moved to a west coast team:

It sounds like Marleau and the Maple Leafs are set to part ways. The family is going to move back to San Jose. Patrick Marleau has made it clear to the Toronto Maple Leafs that he’d like to get closer to his family once again, which means moving to the west coast area.

That could make Los Angeles a legitimate candidate, despite reports to the contrary. Kypreos also mentioned the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes as other options for Marleau, while can you never totally rule out a return to San Jose. The original belief is that with a no-movement clause, the Maple Leafs might have had a challenging time finding a trade partner considering he could reject any offer, but it now looks like Marleau will be much more willing to move on from Toronto. Marleau, who will be wrapping up the final year of the three-year, $18.75MM deal he signed back in 2017, will make only make $4.25MM next season, but does carry a $6.25MM AAV. The Maple Leafs would likely have to attach a pick or prospect to any deal to unload Marleau’s contract and might even have to retain salary to make a deal work.

The Avalanche might be one of the best options for Toronto as Colorado should have more than $37MM in available cap space, although the team has a number of important restricted free agents they must re-sign, including winger Mikko Rantanen. However, Marleau could be a veteran presence the Avalanche wouldn’t mind adding for one season. The other teams would require sending another significant contract back to Toronto, perhaps one with a lower AAV, but longer term. The Kings would have to send back a contract and while they might be willing to move on from some players such as forwards Ilya Kovalchuk (two more years at $6.25MM), Dustin Brown (three more years at $5.875MM) or defenseman Dion Phaneuf (two more years at $5.25MM), none of whom would fulfill Dubas’ desire to free up salary cap space. Arizona, which is another team that must deal with salary cap issues starting this off-season, has a few cheaper options and could be an interesting option, including forward Michael Grabner (two more years at $3.35MM) or defenseman Jason Demers (two more years at $3.94MM).

Sakic: No Plans To Move Fourth Overall Pick

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  • The Avalanche have no intention of moving their fourth overall pick in next month’s draft, GM Joe Sakic told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required). Considering Colorado made it to the second round of the playoffs, it’s somewhat plausible that there could be a temptation to move that pick for someone that can step in and make a significant impact right away.  However, with the salary cap starting to become a hindrance for more teams, impact talent on entry-level deals are going to become even more valuable in the years to come and Colorado should land one of those players with that pick, acquired from Ottawa in the Matt Duchene trade in 2017.

Chicago, Colorado, And Philadelphia Have Interest In Kevin Hayes

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Kevin Hayes will be one of the top centers available in free agency in July.  With that in mind, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in his latest 31 Thoughts column that several teams have already started doing their due diligence on the 27-year-old, including the Blackhawks, Avalanche, and Flyers.

Hayes is coming off of a career year offensively with 55 points in 71 games between the Rangers and Jets, who acquired him at the trade deadline.  However, he didn’t have the type of impact in the postseason that Winnipeg was hoping for as he was dropped to the fourth line in their first-round loss to St. Louis.

Despite that, he slots in as arguably the second-best option down the middle behind Matt Duchene so he will undoubtedly have plenty of suitors.

Seeing Chicago among that group is certainly interesting.  They actually drafted him in the first round (24th overall) back in 2010 but he opted to play out his college eligibility and become an unrestricted free agent where he joined the Rangers in 2014.  To further add to their frustration, the player they drafted with the compensation pick for not signing him (Graham Knott) has only been a depth player in the AHL for the past two seasons.  The Blackhawks are in good shape down the middle with Jonathan Toews and Dylan Strome both coming off career years and adding Hayes to that group would really make that position an organizational strength.

Colorado GM Joe Sakic indicated earlier this month that the team would be more aggressive in its pursuit of free agents this summer.  While Nathan MacKinnon is entrenched as their top pivot, they have several young players behind him (along with veteran Carl Soderberg) that aren’t quite ready to take on the number two role on a full-time basis.  At the very least, Hayes would serve as a reasonable bridge player until one of Tyson Jost, Alexander Kerfoot, or J.T. Compher jumps into that spot while giving them some extra depth down the middle.

Philadelphia is in a similar situation.  Sean Couturier is their top center and Nolan Patrick, the number two pick in 2017, isn’t quite ready to play on the second line just yet.  Claude Giroux, a natural center, has fared quite well on the wing so moving him back down the middle probably isn’t their preference for next season.  Hayes would fit in well on the second line and could flip spots with Patrick a couple of years from now.

Last summer, Hayes signed a one-year, $5.175MM deal with New York to avoid salary arbitration.  Given the year he had and the dearth of top-six centers available on the open market, it’s quite likely that he will earn considerably more than that on the open market in July.  Teams will be eligible to speak to Hayes once the UFA interview period opens up on June 23rd.

Pavel Francouz Re-Signs With Colorado Avalanche

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The Colorado Avalanche may have found their NHL backup for next season. The team has re-signed Pavel Francouz to a one-year one-way contract for 2019-20 worth $950K. Francouz was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Colorado signed Francouz out of the KHL in 2018 for just $690K despite his incredible numbers for Chelyabinsk. The Czech goaltender posted a .953 save percentage in 2016-17 and followed that with a .946 in 2017-18, but was somehow not nearly as coveted as fellow free agent KHL goaltender Mikko Koskinen, who signed with the Edmonton Oilers for $2.5MM. The difference in expectation may simply be because of Francouz’ stature, as he stands just 6’0″, much smaller than most NHL goaltenders—Koskinen, for comparison measures 6’7″.

That small stature certainly didn’t stop Francouz from succeeding in North America however. Starting 49 games for the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, the 28-year old goaltender recorded a .918 save percentage and 27-20-1 record, only to post even better numbers during his two NHL appearances. While Koskinen is now signed to a three-year, $13.5MM contract with Edmonton, the Avalanche have managed to bring back Francouz on another bargain-basement contract that gives them plenty of options this summer.

Philipp Grubauer figures to be the Colorado starter next season given Semyon Varlamov’s pending free agency, but the team could still bring in another veteran to give them more of a tandem look. Grubauer has never started more than 37 games in a single season, though he certainly proved he was capable of playing deep into the year when he posted a .925 save percentage in 12 playoff appearances. Otherwise, they could now use Francouz as the primary backup and use the extra money to go after some other free agents. GM Joe Sakic has admitted he plans on being “more aggressive” in the free agent market this year, and Colorado is set up with oodles of cap room to work with even after some of the incoming restricted free agent deals.

Interestingly, this was a move that was almost a requirement for the Avalanche. The team only has two other goaltenders in the entire organization under contract for 2019-20, and teams are required to have three at all times. That meant someone needed to be signed by July 1st, though an agreement could have been made with RFA Spencer Martin to fulfill those needs. Instead it’s Francouz, who will take over the No. 2 spot on the depth chart for now.

Senators Notes: Groulx, Roy, Mann, Potential Targets

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According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, new Senators head coach D.J. Smith is expected to hire his own staff in Ottawa. Although GM Pierre Dorion made the final decision on hiring Smith, the team is in the process of finding a President of Hockey Operations and, until that is completed, it appears Dorion will stick with player personnel decisions while Smith is given control of the remaining coaching hires. The one exception though is goaltending coach Pierre Groulx. McKenzie adds that Groulx has already been confirmed as returning to the team next season in the same capacity. Groulx has spent the past three seasons as the Senators’ goalie coach and has a close relationship with veteran starter Craig Anderson. He also had success with Anders Nilsson last season, whose play improved noticeably following a mid-season trade from the Vancouver Canucks. Even if the decision were up to him, it is unlikely that Smith would have opted to move on from Groulx, who was one of the few things that worked well in Ottawa last year.

  • Patrick Roy won’t be the next head coach of the Senators obviously, despite so much evidence pointing in that direction. But he won’t be the team’s President of Hockey Operations, either. TSN reports that Roy will return to his post as head coach and general manager of the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. Roy purchased the Remparts in 1997 and served as GM and later head coach from 2004 to 2014 before being hired as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. Roy resumed his role with the Remparts this past season and has decided to stay on with the team rather than continue to pursue other NHL opportunities.
  • One interesting decision for Smith will be what to do with current AHL head coach Troy Mann. Mann was also in consideration for the Senators’ head coaching gig alongside Smith, but did not make the cut. Another relatively young coach like Smith, Mann has spent more than a decade now in the minor leagues with a number of different teams and varying degrees of success. However, he garnered some extra attention last year due to his strong work with the young members of the AHL’s Belleville Senators in his first season as the head coach. Mann remains under contract with the Senators it is up to Smith to decide how best to use a valued asset. With many of those top young players expected to play regular roles in Ottawa next season, he could make Mann an assistant on his staff to help with that transition. However, if he feels that Mann is better suited for the minor league level – or wants to avoid a challenge of authority from a fellow candidate – he may instead opt to leave Mann where he is in Belleville.
  • One of the more exciting aspects of adding a new head coach, especially at this time of year, is the possibility of their former players being interested in playing for them once again. The Senators’ whopping $37.7MM in projected cap space means they are more or less a blank slate this off-season when it comes to exploring the free agent and trade markets. So who has ties to Smith, a long-time coach for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires and Oshawa Generals? Well, one of Smith’s stars in his early days as an assistant in Windsor just so happens to be a known fixture on the trade block as well. The Anaheim Ducks’ Adam Henrique played three seasons under Smith and could very likely be on the move this summer as the Ducks seeks to shed salary. Smith could definitely push to acquire Henrique, who would immediately step into a top scoring role with Ottawa. Another name on the rumor mill who played for Smith briefly in Windsor is Zack Kassian of the Edmonton Oilers. Signed for one more year, Kassian would be an affordable, low-risk acquisition to bring some depth, experience, and toughness to the Ottawa lineup. A player who is not being forced out for salary reasons, but has nevertheless outstayed his welcome is the New York Islanders’ Michael Dal Colle. Dal Colle was one of Smith’s best players and leaders with the Generals and was selected No. 5 overall in 2014 due to his production in Oshawa. Yet, five years later, Dal Colle has seven points in 32 NHL games and is no longer considered part of the Islanders’ future core. They may be willing to sell low to the Senators, where the 22-year-old may have better luck under his old coach. On the free agent market, the defensive-minded Tom Kuhnhackl is a former Smith student who fit well under his old coach, but the intrigue here really lies with Smith’s Toronto connections. The man who ran the defense and penalty kill for the Maple Leafs could take a run at two high profile free agent defensemen – Jake Gardiner and Ron Hainsey – as well as two-way forward Par Lindholm, who Smith entrusted with ample shorthanded time in his first NHL season. Smith and the Senators may also flirt with the idea of an offer sheet for Toronto RFA Kasperi Kapanen, who Smith valued as a PK option but also brings a dynamic offensive game. The Leafs may have trouble matching an offer sheet for Kapanen against their tight cap crunch. Two other Toronto players with close ties to Smith are Nikita Zaitsev and Connor Brown, also potential trade casualties of the impending Toronto cap dilemma.

Snapshots: Bruins, Roy, Kochetkov

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As the Boston Bruins continue to wait for the Western Conference Final to wrap up, the organization thinks they’ve found a way to stave off lethargy and stay on routine during this long stretch of inactivity. The team has announced that they will hold a public intra-squad scrimmage on Thursday night, exactly one week since they last took the ice for Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes. After sweeping Carolina, the Bruins faced an eleven-day break before the start of the Stanley Cup Final series on Monday and have opted to break up that span by simulating a game day. The Bruins, including their AHL depth recalls, will split their available players in half and square off in two 25-minute periods. With fans in the stands and officials on the ice, Boston hopes this will as closely as possible resemble a true game day, but head coach Bruce Cassidy also acknowledged that he will fabricate specific game situations during the scrimmage to ensure that his special teams units also get work in. There is no doubt that any team entering the Stanley Cup Final would rather have more rest than less and the Bruins are no different. With Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Noel Acciari, and John Moore among the players nursing minor injuries, not to mention Chris Wagner hoping he can return to game shape at some point during the series, Boston will gladly take the nearly two weeks off. However, they hope for those trying to stay focused and in game condition that the scrimmage on Thursday will be enough to be ready from the start on Monday night.

  • After the report earlier that both the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers were close to naming their new head coaches, The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Senators GM Pierre Dorion was spotted in Montreal with Patrick Roy today. Roy interviewed for Ottawa’s head coach position on Monday, only to again meet with Dorion and Assistant GM Peter MacTavish today. According to witnesses, the trio left a hotel together in Montreal this afternoon after what can only be assumed is a follow-up meeting about the vacancy. This new obviously vaults Roy, who is the seventh known person to interview for the head coach position, as the clubhouse leader. Roy, who last coached in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche in 2016, left the post due to his lack of input in player personnel decisions. With the Senators known to also be looking for a President of Hockey Operations, it could be that Dorion also spoke to Roy today about taking on some front office responsibilities as well as coaching duties if hired.
  • Although passed up in the NHL Draft prior, 19-year-old Russian goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov was ranked as the top European goalie in this draft class by NHL Central Scouting in their final rankings. Kochetkov was lights out for Russia at the World Juniors earlier this year, named the tournament’s Best Goaltender behind a .953 save percentage and 1.45 GAA. He also performed extremely well in the VHL, the KHL’s minor league, and looked comfortable in two KHL games with HK Sochi. As impressive a season as he had this year, Kochetkov has a chance to accomplish even more next season. KHL powerhouse SKA St. Petersburg announced today that they have acquired Kochetkov and the teen keeper is expected to serve as the primary backup to NHL veteran Magnus Hellberg next season. Even though he is an over-ager, Kochetkov was always likely to stick around in Europe for a few years before making the jump to North America, so his commitment to SKA next season and beyond won’t deter interested NHL teams. To the contrary, Kochetkov has a great opportunity to grow and learn in St. Petersburg with one of the top teams in the KHL and when he does arrive in the NHL could be a very promising and polished prospect.

West Notes: Sutter, Hayes, Pavelski

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New Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland has made another pair of changes in the front office, parting ways with both vice president of player personnel Duane Sutter and media relations director J.J. Hebert according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN. This comes after the organization also recently said goodbye to Craig MacTavish who is off to coach in the KHL.

It’s not unusual for a new general manager to clean house so to speak, but Sutter’s departure will mean a big change in the scouting department. That of course may not be a terrible thing, given the team’s lack of real success in the draft over the last several years. Sutter had been with the team’s scouting department since the 2011-12 season, after which Edmonton notoriously selected Nail Yakupov first overall. While there have obviously been other cases of successful draft picks, Holland will likely install his own team to try and draft and develop more talent for the Oilers moving forward.

  • Kevin Hayes didn’t fit into the Winnipeg Jets perfectly after the New York Rangers sent him north at the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have his suitors this summer when he hits unrestricted free agency. Adrian Dater tweets that sources have told him of the Colorado Avalanche’s interest in the big center, which would certainly make sense given GM Joe Sakic’s “aggressive” comments at the end of the year. Hayes heads into the offseason as one of the top centers available in free agency after posting a career-high 54 points this season split between New York and Winnipeg.
  • Joe Pavelski is focused on helping the San Jose Sharks avoid elimination tonight—if he even plays—but pretty soon he’ll have to consider what’s next in his NHL career. The Sharks’ captain is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and is coming off an incredible 38-goal regular season, but has had no extension talks with the front office according to Scott Burnside of The Athletic (subscription required) who examined the Pavelski situation in full earlier today. It seems extremely unlikely that Pavelski would leave the only organization he’s ever known, especially one that gave him an opportunity as a seventh-round pick, but GM Doug Wilson has played hardball as recently as 2017 when he watched Patrick Marleau chase a three-year deal in Toronto.

Draft Notes: Blackhawks, Avalanche, Golden Knights

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While the first two picks of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft are considered simple enough for the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers who have to claim the top two players in the draft in Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, the real draft gets started at No. 3 where the Chicago Blackhawks must wade through a bevy of prospects and decide who is the best of the rest.

Many scouts have suggested the next obvious player to be taken could be defenseman Bowen Byram, who Chicago head scout Mark Kelley compared to Paul Coffey. However, would the Blackhawks take a defenseman in the first round after selecting Adam Boqvist and Nicolas Beaudin in the first round last year and Henri Jokiharju in the first round in 2017 (plus taking Ian Mitchell in the second round that year as well).

Even if Chicago is willing to take the plunge to draft another defenseman in the first round, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus (subscription required) writes that the team is banking on success as quickly as possible while Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are on top of their game, leaving little time to sit around and develop their first-rounders. Lazerus writes that the team needs the most NHL-ready player to take over and defenseman rarely fit that bill as forwards develop much quicker and produce more quickly than defensemen.

  • Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Colorado Avalanche will find themselves watching what the Blackhawks will do at the draft. The Avalanche, who own the No. 4 pick in the draft, also would be interested in drafting Byram, but could have more pressing needs as well. The team has a number of top defensemen in Tyson Barrie, Cale Makar, Samuel Girard and Connor Timmins, which would make Byram a luxury, especially considering they could have a bigger need on offense. While the team has a number of young NHL players in Tyson Jost, J.T. Compher and Alexander Kerfoot that could fill the team’s second line, none of them have taken that next step in their development. All have done well, but none look like top-six players yet. That could still happen, but the team also has interest in Alex Turcotte, who could help the team out quickly as well.
  • With a need to bring in a future franchise goaltender and the top goaltending prospect, Spencer Knight, likely to be available when the Vegas Golden Knights pick at No. 17, it would look to be a great fit. Even his last name fits perfectly in Vegas. However, Sinbin.vegas’ Ken Boehlke writes that while Marc-Andre Fleury was a major success when he was drafted in the first round back in 2003, there have been 18 goaltenders selected in the first round and few of those have been successful as only five of them have made more than 10 starts in the NHL with only two of them having become franchise goalies for the teams that drafted them in Carey Price and Andrei Vasilevskiy, suggesting the team would be better off going after a skater than taking a major risk with their first-round pick.

Overseas Notes: Cannata, Praplan, Niederreiter

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It’s not clear who will be the Colorado Avalanche backup goaltender next season, but it certainly won’t be Joe Cannata. The 29-year old goaltender will not re-sign with the Avalanche after spending the last two seasons in their minor league system, as he is headed overseas to play in the Swedish second league. Cannata was originally selected by the Vancouver Canucks in 2009 but never ended up playing an NHL game after his college career ended in 2012.

The Avalanche have just two goaltenders under contract for 2019-20 in the whole organization, meaning they’ll need to ink another one before long. While Philipp Grubauer can handle a large role in the NHL, Adam Werner has very little experience in North america and surely won’t be used as the primary backup this season. Pavel Francouz and Semyon Varlamov are scheduled for unrestricted free agency, while Spencer Martin is an RFA once again.

  • Vincent Praplan’s time in North America is coming to a quick end. The Swiss forward is headed home to play for SC Bern this season after just a single year in the AHL. Praplan was originally signed by the San Jose Sharks in 2018 but was flipped to the Florida Panthers in a deadline deal. While he’s only 24, Praplan signed in Switzerland for another four years, effectively ending any thought of returning to Florida. The restricted free agent’s rights will be retained with a qualifying offer, but would expire before his new deal with Bern.
  • Speaking of Switzerland, their IIHF World Championship team has received some good news today as Nino Niederreiter is on his way to help. The Carolina Hurricanes forward will give the team another offensive threat as they try to continue their perfect tournament so far. The Swiss are currently 4-0 after dispatching Italy, Latvia, Austria and Norway with relative ease. Their big tests will come over the next two days when they take on Sweden and Russia, hopefully with a new face in the lineup.

Avalanche To Be “Aggressive” With Top Free Agents

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Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic is a fan of the upcoming free agent class. Speaking at the team’s final media availability of the season, Sakic said of the impending market that “It’s a pretty good class this year…We see positions of need, of what we’re looking to do. There’s a few guys that we’re gonna want to talk to if they become available. We’ll be more aggressive this year.” The Avalanche went out and added defenseman Ian Cole and forward Matt Calvert last summer, who are solid complementary players, but aren’t the major game-changers that can alter a franchise. After a surprising postseason run, Colorado now knows that their championship window is open and those game-changers appear to be exactly what Sakic has his sights set on this off-season to support his team’s pursuit of the Stanley Cup. And he’s also not willing just add anyone if he misses out on his top targets, adding “if it doesn’t work out with the players that we want to talk to we’re not just gonna go spend on anybody. We want the right players and the right fit.”

Fortunately for Sakic and the Avs, the team’s salary cap structure allows the GM to back up his comments as well. With Semyon Varlamov, Patrik Nemeth, and Derick Brassard – three players who contributed little to nothing this postseason – coming off the books, Colorado will shed more than $11MM. The team could opt to re-sign the likes of Colin Wilson, Gabriel Bourque, and Pavel Francouz, but none of that trio would likely take up much cap space. Right now, the team has an estimate of nearly $32MM in cap space entering the off-season. Some of that will need to be reserved for re-upping restricted free agents Alexander Kerfoot, J.T. Compher, Nikita Zadorov, and most of all Mikko Rantanen. However, it should still leave the Avs with at least double-digit cap space to explore the market with.

So which top free agents could the Avalanche pursue? You can cross off the tandem of Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky for a number of reasons and it’s hard to imagine Matt Duchene returning to Denver. However, the team’s need for secondary scoring could lead Sakic to make pitches for many of the other elite forwards. Jeff Skinner, Joe Pavelski, and Anders Lee may not hit the market, but expect the Avs to be in the mix if they do. More ascertainable targets could be Ryan Dzingel, Jordan Eberle, Kevin Hayes, Gustav Nyquist, Marcus Johansson, and Mats Zuccarello, any of whom would provide an immediate boost to the team’s scoring depth. Adding two of those forwards would give the team a totally different look up front next season. Colorado may also have their eye on an established backup for Philipp Grubauer and could chase the likes of Mike Smith or Cam Talbot, among others. 

Given the talent already on the Colorado roster, an aggressive off-season plan should be an interesting topic to follow along with this summer. Sakic and company have seen what their team can do as an 8-seed in the playoffs and surely are imagining what might happen if they are instead a top seed. A division title and more is certainly in the realm of possibility next season if the Avalanche succeed in adding a couple of the aforementioned players.

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