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Alex Kerfoot Down To Five Teams

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NCAA free agent and former New Jersey Devils prospect Alex Kerfoot has been expected to make a decision in the near future, and Darren Dreger of TSN has reported his “final five.” The Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders and Colorado Avalanche are the finalists for the Harvard forward. Arthur Staple of Newsday adds that he’s heard it’s just between the Sharks and Rangers.

Kerfoot became a free agent last week when the Devils were unable to sign him, and there were as many as 10 teams interested in signing him to an entry-level contract. Many believed his hometown of Vancouver would be his final destination, but other teams also provide interesting options. Former teammate Jimmy Vesey followed a similar path and signed with the Rangers last offseason, while the Sharks and Islanders both have their eye on the playoffs and could be losing key centers—Joe Thornton and John Tavares—after this season.

The Colorado connection is an interesting one, as the team could easily give Kerfoot a role right away on the struggling NHL team but does have several young centers that seem locked in for the long-term. Even if Matt Duchene is moved eventually, Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher are all expected to stay in the middle which would likely require a move to the wing for Kerfoot.

It’s not clear exactly where Kerfoot’s priorities lie, as he hasn’t been as vocal as fellow free agent Will Butcher on what he’s looking for in his first professional opportunity. Kerfoot is expected to make a decision within the next few days, at which point he will have to sign a two-year entry-level contract.

Cale Makar Expects To Play Just One Or Two Years At UMass

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Over the last few weeks, teams around the league have been experiencing what it’s like to lose a draft pick to free agency after he completes college. After watching him develop into an exciting prospect, they’re unable to sign him and end up having to watch other teams pursue him on the open market. As one reader asked in our live chat last week, there could be some hesitation for teams picking players that are headed into the college ranks with the fear that they could lose them down the road.

It doesn’t sound like the Colorado Avalanche—one of the teams burned recently by Will Butcher’s free agency—will have to worry about that with the fourth-overall pick from this summer. Cale Makar, the dynamic defenseman from the Alberta Junior Hockey League is set to attend UMass-Amherst this season but spoke to the NHL Network yesterday about his future.

I think in my mind it’s a process and I think in terms of my development it’s going to be very beneficial for me to go to college for one or two years, or however long it’s going to take for me to be ready to make the jump to the NHL.

There’s no doubt that Makar does need some seasoning against top players, as the AJHL isn’t quite on the level many other prospects played at. That said, Makar has shown well on the international stage at the recent World Junior Summer Showcase and possesses remarkable talent. There should be little worry that it will take him more than a year or two to adapt to the higher level and be ready to make the jump.

There is some level of protection against a player drafted as high as Makar waiting for free agency, but it’s not exactly worth the fourth-overall pick. The Avalanche would be given a compensatory pick in the second round, similar to the situation Arizona faced when they did not sign Conner Bleackley—who was originally a Colorado draft pick as well—in 2016. Colorado should also be familiar with the risk and reward of choosing a college-bound player; last year saw Tyson Jost refine his game for the University of North Dakota before making the jump to the NHL near the end of the season. Jost got ample experience in big game situations against older players in the NCAA tournament, and is expected to make an impact in the NHL this year.

Upcoming UFA Goaltenders With Something To Prove

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Next year’s goaltending UFA crop may lack star power, but it does contain many interesting potential rehabilitation projects. This season provides those pending UFA goaltenders with an opportunity to turn things around and show teams that they are worth more than their current reputation belies. Whether it’s a former starter regulated to backup duties, or an aging veteran with just enough left in the tank, the following goaltenders can significantly improve their stock going into unrestricted free agency.

Jonathan Bernier – Colorado Avalanche – $2.75MM
The Colorado Avalanche signed the former Toronto Maple Leafs starter to a one-year deal worth $2.75MM this season to back up presumed starter Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov struggled last season, dealing with injuries and his worst stat line in his career. The Avalanche hope that Bernier can provide steady goaltending if Varlamov continues to slide or cannot shoulder a full starter’s load. If Bernier steps up and performs admirably, he could be in line for a starters position during the offseason. Last season saw Bernier player with the Anaheim Ducks and put up his best numbers in years. Part of that is the superior team in front of him, but it shows that given the proper tools, Bernier can be a serviceable starter in the league.

Eddie Lack – Calgary Flames – $2.75MM ($1.375 retained)
The Carolina Hurricanes traded Lack to the Calgary Flames this summer and agreed to retain 50% of his salary. Lack now has the opportunity to back up new Flames signee Mike Smith. Smith turns 36 this season, and will experience the injury woes that go along with veteran goaltenders. Lack will have an opportunity to step up and show teams that he still has the skills to become a starting goaltender. He is only two seasons removed from posting a .921 SV% and a 2.45GAA in 41 games for the Vancouver Canucks.

Ondrej Pavelec – New York Rangers – $1.3MM
Continuing with the reclamation projects backing up older veterans, Pavelec has a chance to show NHL GMs what he can do behind a very good team. In Pavelec’s ten year career he has seen the playoffs just once—with the Winnipeg Jets in 2014-15—and can benefit from the Rangers’ stacked defensive corps. Luckily, his bar is set low after his worst statistical season since 2008-09. Last season Pavelec played in just eight games, earning a .888 SV% and a 3.55 GAA. He was not much better the season before, with a .904 SV% and a 2.78 GAA. Mired by a reputation for being shaky and inconsistent, this may be Pavelec’s last opportunity to convince GMs to take a flier on the former 2nd round pick.

Cam Ward – Carolina Hurricanes – $3.3MM
Ward is over a decade removed from his Stanley Cup-winning playoff performance, but since then he has been the model of consistency. Unfortunately, he has been consistently average. And once again, Ward will have some true competition coming into camp. The Carolina Hurricanes signed former Chicago Blackhawks backup Scott Darling to a $4.15MM a year contract, signalling who the team prefers to earn the starting role going forward. Ward has already experienced this before with Eddie Lack, and eventually Lack was moved out to Calgary. This time, however, a decent season may not end with a new contract from the Hurricanes, but it will garner interest from other NHL teams.

Antti Raanta – Arizona Coyotes – $1MM
Raanta is the only goaltender on this list who is not a reclamation project. The Finnish netminder has backed up elite goaltenders Corey Crawford and Henrik Lundqvist, and now has the opportunity to take the starting reins in Arizona. The New York Rangers shipped Raanta alongside Derek Stepan to the Arizona Coyotes for Anthony DeAngelo and the 7th overall pick earlier this summer. Raanta is fresh off of a 30 games season where he earned a .922 GAA and a 2.26 SV%, significantly better than Lundqvist’s .910 SV% and 2.74 GAA. If Raanta can maintain his statline for a full season in Arizona, he will be in line for a large pay increase.

 

Colorado Eagles Will Become 31st AHL Franchise

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While this may not come as much of a surprise following the news earlier this month that the San Antonio Rampage will begin a five-year partnership with the St. Louis Blues in 2018-19, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post is confirming that the ECHL’s Colorado Eagles will become the AHL’s 31st franchise. The club will act as the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate for 2018-19.

After the Vegas Golden Knights were added to the NHL, it was expected that AHL expansion would happen eventually. The Golden Knights made an initial affiliation with the Chicago Wolves, leaving the Blues without a minor league club for this season. They’ll send players to the Wolves and various other AHL organizations, but have little say when it comes to playing time and role. NHL teams are moving more and more to geographically close affiliates for the added benefits of player transactions and coaching staff proximity, allowing them to watch over their teams more closely. Now Colorado will enjoy the same benefit.

The Eagles won the Kelly Cup this season as the ECHL’s best franchise, and have a long history of regular season success. With the Avalanche building a large group of young players they might find themselves with early success in the AHL as well. Last year the Rampage went just 27-42-7, but with continued development of young players like A.J. Greer and Chris Bigras, along with the potential addition of older prospects like Andrei Mironov and Dominic Toninato, the team could bounce back in a hurry.

Revisiting The Rare August Trade

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Recent comments by Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic has rejuvenated the discussion over Matt Duchene, and where he’ll spend the 2017-18 season. While Sakic still seems open to moving him, it would take a very rare occurence indeed to move him before training camp starts: the August trade.

Lawson CrouseLast year we saw something happen for the first time since 2011, a trade that took place in the month of August in the NHL. That was when the Florida Panthers felt it necessary to move Dave Bolland’s contract out of town and found a buyer in Arizona. It would cost them Lawson Crouse, an 11th-overall pick who had just made his professional debut a few months earlier. The Coyotes would send back a third-round pick plus a conditional selection that ended up being a second, because of the immediate impact Crouse had.

The then 19-year old forward broke camp with the Coyotes, and though he scored just 12 points all season, showed himself physically mature enough to handle an NHL season. He led the Coyotes’ forwards in hits on the season with 160, and put in valuable development time on the penalty kill.

It’s not to say this trade was a steal for either side—the Panthers will likely get a high second-round pick in what is expected to be an extremely deep 2018 draft—just that this is the kind of thing you can expect in the dog-days of August. You have to go all the way back to the summer of 2011 to find the next most recent deals, when Arizona sent Lee Stempniak to Calgary for Daymond Langkow and Minnestoa sold James Sheppard to San Jose for a third-round pick.

August trades are rare in themselves, but August blockbusters are near imaginary. The last real exciting deal may have been the 2008 trade of Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In exchange for a couple of seasons of Meszaros (and an eventual second-round pick), the Lightning gave up Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a first-round pick—who ended up as Kyle Palmieri.

The point is that August is not a time for much wheeling and dealing, and even when it is a player like Duchene is rarely involved. While we hope that changes in 2017, it’s not something you should bet on.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Nikita Zadorov, Colorado Avalanche Still Working On Contract

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Though there has been plenty of rumors that Nikita Zadorov had already agreed upon a contract with the Colorado Avalanche, nothing had yet been announced by the club. Mike Chambers of the Denver Post finally got GM Joe Sakic to sit down and talk about it, and he explained that the contract length has been decided but they are still working on salary.

Both sides agreed to a two-year deal and we just have to figure out the numbers. We’ve got our NHL comps that we’re going with and he’s got to make a decision at some point on what he wants to do.

Zadorov has a contract offer in hand from the KHL, but has been clear that he’d like to stay in the NHL if possible. With Sakic taking a hard stance on salary though, that may have to change. The 22-year old defenseman is a restricted free agent and has little leverage if he stays in North America, as the Avalanche are more worried about slowly building their youth movement than competing in the short term. A holdout by Zadorov wouldn’t hurt a playoff run, for instance.

Even though Zadorov was a big part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade, he hasn’t yet turned into the shutdown defender the Avalanche had hoped for. While his big hits make highlight reels on the regular, he recorded just 10 points last season and has been generally just average in his own end. It’s clear that Sakic has a set number that he’ll pay, and is willing to endure threats of a KHL departure.

Sakic also mentions Matt Duchene, and the continuing possibility of a trade. Duchene is expected currently to join the team at training camp but Sakic “will be listening to offers.” Recently, Darren Dreger of TSN said that pushing Duchene back into the Colorado dressing room could be a mistake after the public availability this summer, but it doesn’t sound like Sakic’s ask has softened any. If he’s still looking for a blockbuster return for Duchene, he might have to start the year with the squad and wait for a desperate team to come forth later in the year.

Minor Transactions: 8/16/17

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Between a long-term extension for Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, a return to Minnesota for Matt Cullen, and a couple of contracts for first day-eligible college free agents Dominic Toninato and Connor Clifton, it’s been a relatively busy August day for NHL transactions. Yet, here is some more news from across the hockey world:

  • The AHL’s Providence Bruins already made a splash today, signing the aforementioned Clifton, a standout right-handed defenseman from nearby Quinnipiac University, but another notable name has also joined the fold in Providence. The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver, who also broke the Clifton news, revealed that NHL veteran Josh Hennessy has agreed to return to Providence on a PTO to begin the season.  Hennessy has been playing for the Vaxjo Lakers in Sweden for much of the past three years and bounced around the KHL prior to that, but the 32-year-old was last in North America with the Boston Bruins and their affiliate in 2011-12. A 2003 second-round pick of the San Jose Sharks who has skated in 23 NHL games with the Bruins and Ottawa Senators, Hennessy clearly did not reach the expectations of his draft slot, but does have a history of high-scoring AHL campaigns. The P-Bruins had success with the PTO route last season, winding up with reliable veterans Peter Mueller and Matt Bartkowski, and hope that the local Massachusetts native can play well enough to crack a lineup that is chock full of talented Bruins prospects.
  • Divver also made note of another move affecting Providence hockey, but the NCAA’s Providence College Friars rather than the AHL’s Bruins. The OHL’s Guelph Storm announced today that they have signed forward Cam Hillis, the team’s second-round pick in the 2016 OHL Draft. However, to join the Storm, Hillis had to break his commitment to play college hockey at PC. As Divver points out, Hillis is now the third Friars recruit this summer to instead choose the major junior route, joining Merrick Rippon (Mississagua Steelheads) and Sam Rhodes (Barrie Colts).
  • Another player spurning the college game, but in Canada instead of the U.S., is former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds forward Bobby MacIntyre. The undrafted overager registered 80 points in 63 games in his final OHL season and was one of the top targets of many Canadian universities. However, he will bypass the university path and go straight to the pros after an impressive campaign. Victor Findlay of the Canadian University Sports Network reports that MacIntyre has agreed to terms with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, the minor league affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets, on his first pro contract. MacIntyre could be an AHL rookie to watch for next season.
  • Another AHL deal of note was that of Jake Marchment joining the San Antonio Rampage. The Colorado Avalanche affiliate announced the signing today, as well as an extension for Shawn St. Amant. Marchment comes over from the San Jose Sharks organization, where he was a sixth-round pick in 2014. The big two-way center saw only four games of AHL action last year with the San Jose Barracuda, instead mostly skating in the ECHL. He’ll look for a greater opportunity in San Antonio in 2017-18. Many will remember Marchment as a member of the talented 2014-15 and 2015-16 Erie Otters teams, who made it to the OHL Championship and Conference Finals respectively. Marchment was acquired from the Belleville Bulls in 2015 in part to help the team on their playoff run and also to make up for the impending loss of superstar Connor McDavid.

Dominic Toninato Signs With Colorado Avalanche

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As we expected, Dominic Toninato is the first NCAA free agent off the board. The young forward has signed with the Colorado Avalanche. It was clear for a while that Toninato was not going to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the team had given him permission to talk to other teams even before hitting the open market today. The 23-year old will be signing a two-year entry-level contract.

Drafted in the fifth-round by Toronto five years ago, Toninato has grown into a top two-way forward that could step right into Colorado’s lineup in 2017-18. He was named the NCHC top defensive forward and had 29 points in his senior season, captaining the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs to the National Championship game.

He joins several Bulldogs in making the jump to professional hockey this summer, including Neal Pionk (Rangers), Brenden Kotyk (Rangers) Alex Iafallo (Kings) and Adam Johnson (Penguins).

NCAA Free Agent Rules

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Some of the most intricate rules in the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement have to do with player draft rights. Depending both on where the player was when drafted, and the path he takes after being selected exclusive negotiating rights can be held for anywhere between two years and indefinitely. When it comes to players joining the NCAA ranks, it gets even trickier.

We saw one of the less often used tactics earlier this summer, when Cal Petersen declared he would not return to Notre Dame for his senior season. Since Petersen had been drafted four years ago, the Buffalo Sabres were given 30 days in which to sign him or lose his exclusive negotiating rights. The Sabres couldn’t get him under contract, and a month later the Los Angeles Kings scooped him up. Petersen could use this tactic because of the year he spent in the USHL after his draft, pushing his scheduled graduation to five years out from his draft year.

But this isn’t the method you want to hear about today. Will Butcher and Alex Kerfoot lead a group of players who will see their draft rights expire today after completing their senior seasons, and will be allowed to sign with any team in the NHL tomorrow, August 16th. Though their free agency is being widely reported as starting today, teams actually retain their negotiating rights through the end of day.  From Section 8.6(c)(i) of the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement:

If a Player drafted at age 18 or 19 is a bona fide college student at the time of his selection in the Entry Draft, or becomes a bona fide college student prior to the first June 1 following his selection in the Entry Draft, and remains a bona fide college student through the graduation of his college class, his drafting Club shall retain the exclusive right of negotiation for his services through and including the August 15 following the graduation of his college class. The Club need not make a Bona Fide Offer to such Player to retain such rights.

Though it’s quite possible that teams are already talking to the upcoming free agents—probable even, despite not technically being allowed to do so—they won’t be signing with anyone until tomorrow. Since this version of the CBA was introduced only Robbie Russo signed right away, inking with the Detroit Red Wings on August 16th nearly immediately after becoming a free agent. Last year we saw John Gilmour lead the pack by signing with the New York Rangers on August 18th, before Thomas DiPauli and Jimmy Vesey followed on the 19th to Pittsburgh and New York respectively.

While Butcher and Kerfoot are exciting players, and should sign within a few days of becoming free agents we will have to wait for one more day before anything can be officially announced. For now, they’re still tied to the Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils.

*Note: Kerfoot actually could have used the method described in Petersen’s case to become a free agent last summer, since he played an additional season in the BCHL after being selected by the Devils in 2012. For ease of reading we did not include all of the CBA provisions, but if you’d like to read more about why his rights are held through and including August 15th, check out Section 8.6(c)(iii). 

Nikita Zadorov Still Expected To Sign With Avalanche

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  • Though there is still no announcement on a new Nikita Zadorov contract, Adrian Dater of BSN Denver isn’t worried. Reports have surfaced previously that Zadorov had already agreed to a two-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, and Dater makes it clear that he won’t be heading back to the KHL.

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