Training Camp Cuts: 09/18/19
Like always, we’ll keep track of all the training camp cuts right here. Keep checking back to see the updated list:
Arizona Coyotes (per team release)
D Kevin Bahl (to Ottawa, OHL)
Buffalo Sabres (per team release)
F Matej Pekar (to Barrie, OHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (per team release)
F Tyler Angle (to Windsor, OHL)
D Eric Hjorth (to Sarnia, OHL)
Dallas Stars (per team release)
D Dawson Barteaux (to Red Deer, WHL)
Edmonton Oilers (per team release)
F Luke Esposito (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Ostap Safin (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Beau Starrett (to Bakersfield, AHL)
F Nolan Vesey (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Vincent Desharnais (to Bakersfield, AHL)
D Jake Kulevich (to Bakersfield, AHL)
Los Angeles Kings (per team release)
F Aidan Dudas (to Owen Sound, OHL)
F Arthur Kaliyev (to Hamilton, OHL)
D Jordan Spence (to Moncton, QMJHL)
G Jacob Ingham (to Kitchener, OHL)
G Lukas Parik (to Spokane, WHL)
F Jonathan Yantsis (released from ATO)
D Billy Constantinou (released from ATO)
Montreal Canadiens (per team release)
D Gianni Fairbrother (to Everett, WHL)
New York Islanders (per Blainville-Boisbriand team release)
D Samuel Bolduc (to Blainville-Boisbriand, QMJHL)
Philadelphia Flyers (per team release)
F Egor Serdyuk (to Victoriaville, QMJHL)
D Egor Zamula (to Calgary, WHL)
D Mason Millman (to Saginaw, OHL)
D Wyatte Wylie (to Everett, WHL)
F Max Golod (released from ATO)
F Ben McCartney (released from ATO)
F Mika Cyr (released from ATO)
D Sean Comrie (released from ATO)
Tampa Bay Lightning (per team release)
F Gabriel Fortier (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
F Maxim Cajkovic (to Saint John, QMJHL)
D Quinn Schmiemann (to Kamloops, WHL)
F Eli Zummack (released from ATO)
D Louis Crevier (released from ATO)
D Cody Donaghey (released from ATO)
Vegas Golden Knights (per team release)
D Xavier Bouchard (to Baie-Comeau, QMJHL)
D Connor Corcoran (to Windsor, OHL)
D Kaedan Korczak (to Kelowna, WHL)
F Mason Primeau (to North Bay, OHL)
Brian Boyle Has Interest In Playing For Columbus But Blue Jackets Want To Try Younger Players
- Brian Boyle is one of the more notable unrestricted free agents still available. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch notes (Twitter link) that the veteran would like to play for the Blue Jackets and be reunited with head coach John Tortorella. However, at this time, Columbus wants to evaluate their younger players instead of turning to Boyle. Hedger does add that there are a couple of teams that would like to sign Boyle but need to clear cap room to do so first.
NHL Tryout Tracker: 09/11/19
With several NHL teams announcing their full training camp rosters today, there have been a number of previously unreported training camp invites, amateur tryouts and professional tryouts alike, revealed. Below is a list of players not under contract with an NHL team or their AHL affiliate, but will be attending NHL camp:
Buffalo Sabres (link)
F Kyle Olson, Tri-City Americans (WHL)
Calgary Flames (link)
D Eric Gryba, New Jersey Devils (AHL)
Columbus Blue Jackets (link)
F Egor Sokolov, Cape Breton Screaming Eagles (QMJHL)
Los Angeles Kings (link)
D Billy Constantinou, Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
F Jonathan Yantsis, Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
Montreal Canadiens (link)
F Liam Hawel, Guelph Storm (OHL)
New York Rangers (link)
F Connor Brickley, New York Rangers (NHL)
Ottawa Senators (link)
F Tristan Scherwey, SC Bern (NLA)
F Scott Sabourin, Stockton Heat (AHL)
Toronto Maple Leafs (link)
D Marc-Antoine Pepin, Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL)
Vegas Golden Knights (link)
D Brayden Pachal, Prince Albert Raiders (WHL)
Washington Capitals (link)
F Casey Bailey, HC Slovan Bratislava (KHL)
G Beck Warm, Tri-City Americans (WHL)
Zach Werenski Signs With Columbus Blue Jackets
There will be no training camp holdout for Zach Werenski. The Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman has agreed to a three-year, $15MM contract. Werenski will still be a restricted free agent at the deal’s expiry, though will be arbitration eligible. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the breakdown:
- 2019-20: $4MM
- 2020-21: $4MM
- 2021-22: $7MM
The structure of the deal is an important thing to note, as the increased salary in year three guarantees Werenski will be given a qualifying offer of $7MM. Given that he’ll be just one year away from unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2022, it essentially makes the deal a four-year, $22MM deal ($5.5MM) if Werenski wanted. He’ll also be eligible for arbitration, where his previous salary will be taken into account.
To be sure, this deal represents a bargain for the Blue Jackets in the short term. Werenski has proven to be one of the most offensively-gifted young defensemen in the league over his three-year career, recording 38 goals and 128 points in 237 games. He has double-digit goals in each season and forms one of the best pairings in the NHL alongside Seth Jones. The fact that he is just 22 means there is room for improvement and likely even more excess value for the Blue Jackets over the next three years.
Unfortunately, that bargain will change dramatically at the end of the deal. Negotiating an extension with Werenski when he has the option of taking a $7MM payday and walking straight into unrestricted free agency will mean the Blue Jackets would have to offer a substantial increase, likely making him one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league. It also means that Werenski and Jones will both be negotiating extensions at the same time, though the latter is scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2022 and should be getting a huge raise as soon as possible (which is July 1, 2021) if the Blue Jackets want to retain him.
Having both of their young defenders hitting free agency (of one kind or another) at the same time is obviously not ideal, but it also means that the team does have a sort of rebuild deadline if things aren’t going well over the next few seasons. The Blue Jackets actually have just three players signed through the 2022-23 season and just one—Cam Atkinson—for longer than that. While other teams are handing out long-term extensions to lock in their core for nearly a decade, Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen seems prepared to re-evaluate every few seasons to make sure his club doesn’t get too far ahead of themselves.
Obviously for Werenski this is a strong contract, even if he did accept a little less money up front. He controls where he wants to spend his prime years and how he wants to approach negotiations down the line. The fact that it is done a few days before training camp will allow him to enjoy the full preparation for this season.
For the other restricted free agent defensemen, it also may provide a model contract. Charlie McAvoy and Ivan Provorov remain unsigned as camp approaches and are in similar situations. McAvoy is a year further from unrestricted free agency, but for both the idea may be the same; take a shorter-term deal that gets you close to UFA status and go from there.
Kevin Weekes of the NHL Network and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reported the deal earlier this morning.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Bruins Notes: Backes, McQuaid, Thomas
A major reason why top young defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo remain unsigned by the Boston Bruins is that the team is working with very little salary cap space to fit the dynamic duo on to the roster. CapFriendly estimates that Boston has just $7.3MM in cap room (albeit committed to 23 players, so slightly more in reality). That amount would make it tough to sign McAvoy alone, nevertheless both. The team likely will need to find a way to move out some salary, but a trade may not be the only route. It has already been revealed that John Moore will not be ready to begin the season and Kevan Miller remains a question mark as well. The combined $5.25MM in salary between the two defenseman would certainly help to get their younger counterparts back under contract. However, NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggery also believes that there have been hints that David Backes may begin the year on the shelf as well. Backes, 35, is undoubtedly the most inefficient usage of the Bruins’ payroll, accounting for $6MM against the cap but only producing 20 points last season. Trading Backes would have been the ideal move for Boston to make this off-season, but doing so likely proved to be too costly. They may still wind up removing him from the books though, as Haggerty points to comments made earlier this summer by GM Don Sweeney about an undisclosed Backes injury and the complete silence on the topic ever since as a possible sign that he is still struggling. Backes does have a concussion history, which Haggerty believes could be the culprit. However, it’s also very possible that the aging forward simply has a nagging injury that both sides are waiting to evaluate in training camp. If Backes isn’t 100% or resumes playing poorly, odds are that both team and player would rather opt for surgery or some other long-term rehab rather than the likely alternative of Backes spending time in the minors this season.
- Defenseman Adam McQuaid was at the Bruins’ first informal skate today, but The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson says not to read into it too much. The long-time Bruin still has many friends on the team and connections to the city, but Anderson reports that he is in no way officially linked to the team right now via contract or tryout offer. In fact, McQuaid was wearing his Columbus Blue Jackets gear at practice today, the only non-Bruin in the mix. McQuaid left Boston around this time last year, after nine years with the team, in a trade to the New York Rangers for a pair of picks and recently re-signed defenseman Steven Kampfer. He was later moved to Columbus at the deadline. However, despite his trade value last season, McQuaid still remains unsigned after another injury-plagued season, including a season-ending concussion. McQuaid’s market remains a mystery, even as he stands as one of most experienced UFA defensemen available. For that reason, Anderson notes that, while McQuaid is not connected to the Bruins right not, a possible reunion cannot be ruled out. With McAvoy and Carol unsigned and Moore and Miller injured, Anderson writes that McQuaid would be a preferable addition over camp invite Alex Petrovic if the Bruins feel they actually need to add an NHL defenseman before the season begins.
- Former star Bruins goalie Tim Thomas spoke with the media today for the first time in years, responding to his election to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter writes that, in explaining his reluctance to be a public personality, Thomas revealed that he has been struggling with previously unreported concussion-related symptoms. In fact, Thomas implied that health was a major reason why he did not return to Boston during the team’s Stanley Cup run this spring. The Bruins’ playoff push was the first time that Thomas had re-engaged with hockey in several years and he was happy to root for several former teammates, but as Porter notes, the Vezina Trophy winner is content with his private, quiet lifestyle:
My focus and mind is on learning about other stuff. I learned so much about hockey and that area. I feel like I’ve learned as much as I needed to learn about it… My time with the Boston Bruins was very rewarding. My time with USA Hockey was very rewarding. I’ve decided to keep what I’ve been doing with my life and learning to myself, at this point for sure, and probably forever… you never know what the future may hold. I’m just taking life as it goes.
Prospect Notes: Merkley, Karlberg, Chudinov
When the OHL’s Peterborough Petes released their training camp roster last week, star defenseman Ryan Merkley was suspiciously absent. The San Jose Sharks 2018 first-round pick was only acquired by the Petes midway through last season and was expected to play a major role for the team this year. However, that won’t be the case. Merkley’s agent, J.P. Barry, relayed to Mike Davies of The Peterborough Examiner that he has been informed that Peterborough is working to trade Merkley and do not plan to begin the season with him on the roster. Petes GM Mike Oke confirmed as much, telling Davies that “We’ve decided we’re going to go in a different direction. Finding another opportunity for Ryan would probably be best for everybody… [W]e just felt it wasn’t the right fit.” Oke stated that no specific incident led to the team’s decision on Merkley, but this is hardly the first time that the young blue liner has worn out his welcome. A player that has continuously been followed by rumors of immature behavior and poor sportsmanship, Merkley was thought to have been initially traded to Peterborough from the Guelph Storm under similar circumstances. These personality concerns also likely played a factor in Merkely’s drop to No. 21 overall last year, as his offensive ability might have otherwise warranted a higher draft slot. Nevertheless, the Sharks remain committed to their prospect defender and Oke and Barry are certain that Merkley is still a valuable commodity in the OHL. In fact, the Petes expect to get a similar package back in a trade as what they gave up for him: a top young player and a package of high picks. Merkley is a talented player – he has recorded 193 points in 188 career OHL games – and will get a fair shake at Sharks training camp, but his defensive ability still needs work and he will almost certainly end up back in the OHL this season. The question is with who and whether his continued behavioral issues will follow him to his next stop as well.
- Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Marcus Karlberg will also be playing somewhere different this season. The 19-year-old forward, a 2018 third-round pick, has been loaned to a new club for the 2019-20 season. AIK of Sweden’s second-tier pro league, the Allsvenskan, announced that they have acquired Karlberg’s services from Leksands IF for the coming season. Karlberg was a near point-per-game player for Leksands’ U-20 SuperElit team early last season before being promoted and recording 11 points in 44 games in the Allsvenskan. Karlberg had clearly outgrown the junior level, but with Leksands earning a promotion to the SHL, the team was likely wary of moving the young forward to Sweden’s top pro level. Karlberg’s growing ability is obvious – he is a fast, hard-working forward who doesn’t let his small frame limit him – but remaining in the Allsvenskan for another year is likely a better developmental move. AIK hope that he can break out and perhaps contribute to another promotion-worthy campaign.
- While he can barely be considered a prospect anymore, Russian defenseman Maxim Chudinov is already back to impressing in the KHL. Likely one of the best players in the world never to try his hand at the NHL, Chudinov still remains Boston Bruins property as a 2010 seventh-round pick. The 29-year-old rearguard has been playing in the KHL since even before the Bruins took a flier on him and has become well-known for his top two-way play and even more so for his howitzer of a shot. Chudinov put his slapper on display in the KHL’s season opener yesterday, scoring from behind his own blue line. Amazingly, this is the third time in this calendar year alone that Chudinov has accomplished that unthinkable task. A multiple-time Gagarin Cup champion and KHL All-Star, it’s possible that Chudinov could finally decide he wants a new challenge in his career and the Bruins would surely welcome him with open arms, despite their depth on defense. However, with his 30th birthday arriving this season, it’s more likely that Chudinov will simply remain a “what could have been” for NHL fans.
Emil Bemstrom To Miss Rookie Tournament, Should Be Available For Training Camp
- While winger Emil Bemstrom is expected to contend for a roster spot with the Blue Jackets this season, he won’t be suiting up for them in their upcoming prospect tournament, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch. He’s dealing with a facial injury although the team is hopeful that he’ll be ready for the start of training camp. The 2017 fourth-round pick led the SHL in goals last season and will likely be part of a big youth movement that’s upcoming following the departure of several veterans this summer.
Free Agent Profile: Scott Darling
Veteran goaltender Cam Ward called it a career today, signing a one-day contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, who he served for 13 seasons to begin his NHL career. The 35-year-old finally moved on from the Hurricanes last season, but struggled in a backup role with the Chicago Blackhawks. With his numbers slipping and age catching up with him, Ward decided now was the time to retire.
Interestingly enough, Ward’s failed replacement in Carolina, Scott Darling, also remains an unsigned free agent, waiting for a market to develop. Just two UFA goaltenders – Anthony Stolarz and Jared Coreau – have signed an NHL contract since July 2nd and no goalie has been inked in 50 days. The market is dead quiet, but Ward’s exit leaves Darling as the obvious top name if a team does come calling. Darling, 30, is just hoping at this point that he too doesn’t have to consider retirement.
It was not long ago that Darling was actually considered one of the best backup goaltenders in the NHL. A 2007 draft pick, Darling was a slow-developing prospect who played another year of juniors, two years in college, and four years bouncing around the minors before he ever saw NHL action. However, when he broke through in 2014-15 with the Chicago Blackhawks, he immediately impressed. Darling spent three seasons as the backup to Corey Crawford, with his role increasing each year, and in total posted 39 wins, a .923 save percentage, and a 2.37 GAA in 75 appearances.
The Hurricanes believed they were getting a bargain when they acquired Darling for a third-round pick in the summer of 2017 and signed him to a four-year, $16.6MM contract. However, it quickly became clear that the star backup was not cut out to be a starter. Darling was unable to overtake Ward despite ample opportunity, posting an .888 save percentage and 3.18 GAA in 43 appearances. Darling made 40 starts to Ward’s 42 and was outplayed by the aging veteran, which is not what either he nor Carolina had hoped for.
The ‘Canes essentially cleaned house last summer, letting Ward walk in free agency and burying Darling in the AHL, replacing them with the far more effective duo of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. Darling did make eight spot starts for Carolina this past season, but somehow performed even worse than he did the year prior. In the minors, Darling sat behind lauded prospect Alex Nedeljkovic and when he did get a chance to play – he made just 14 appearances – the results were just as bad if not worse than his NHL performance. Not wanting to be weighed down by Darling’s $4.15MM cap hit any longer, the team traded him to the Florida Panthers this off-season along with a sixth-round draft pick for a new backup in James Reimer. The Panthers quickly bought out Darling, making him a free agent.
Potential Suitors
It has now been more than two years since anyone has been impressed by Darling’s efforts on the ice. With that said, the free agent market at goalie is slim pickings, with Darling easily headlining a group that includes Michal Neuvirth – who has signed a PTO with the Toronto Maple Leafs – Chad Johnson, Al Montoya, and Michael Leighton. Each of those players is both older than Darling and was last considered a legitimate NHL option far prior to Darling’s downfall. Darling is simply the best of a poor group, but is looking for redemption. Unlike Ward, Darling will have no expectations of any role or guaranteed play time. He will instead be looking for an opportunity to show that he can still be an effective NHL backup, likely by seeking a third-string role with the chance to battle for play time at the top level.
Accepting a role such as this could open some opportunities for Darling, especially once training camp begins. Injuries to starters or backups can shift the paradigm for an NHL team and leave them searching or an experienced option. The Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, and Philadelphia Flyers are examples of teams with shallow depth in net and injury concerns who could turn to Darling in the even of an incident.
It’s also very possible that several teams are already aware of their weaknesses in goal and simply waiting to see how their current keepers look in training camp and the preseason and potentially even early on the in the regular season. The Columbus Blue Jackets are the one team that everyone is focused on in net, as the team is set to have former backup Joonas Korpisalo and newly-signed European prospect Elvis Merzlikins begin the year as a young, unproven tandem. Early concerns could lead to Columbus looking for additional support, with Darling as the top option other than trade or waivers. The Colorado Avalanche are also in need of depth in net. Their top two of Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz are likely to be fine this season, but the lack of any other experienced name behind them could be a cause for pause, especially given this will be Francouz’ first full NHL season.
Ironically, the Florida Panthers are one final team that could be in the goalie market and would have been a good fit for Darling. The team understandably bought out Darling’s hefty contract, but could’ve actually used a player of his experience. The Panthers spent big on Sergei Bobrovsky’s this summer and will likely ask him to start 65+ games this season, but young Samuel Montembeault is currently slated to be his backup with other untested prospects behind him. Montembeault’s performance in the backup role, as well as the effect on his development of sitting so often, could lead the Panthers to search for a veteran option. Darling won’t be the answer now, but one has to wonder if the two sides connected at all prior to what was clearly an orchestrated trade-and-dump.
Projected Contract
It’s nearly September and teams are getting ready for training camp, yet Darling still sits without a contract. At this point, he will receive a PTO or nothing. Even if he proves himself in camp, it will likely only result in a minimum $700K NHL cap hit on a one-year, two-way deal. If that’s what it takes to climb his back way into the NHL though, Darling will surely take it. After all, he’s receiving a nice pay check from the Panthers for four more years anyway.
Snapshots: Werenski, Kempny, Pominville
Despite all that has happened over the past few month, Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has no regrets. He tells ESPN’s Greg Wyshysnki that the team’s decision to go “all in” at the trade deadline, holding on to Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky and acquiring Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, was a “calculated risk”. Even though all four have departed this summer via free agency, Kekalainen made his best effort to retain them and isn’t doing to dwell on the players’ decisions not to return. Instead, the bold executive is focused only on the coming season. Kekalainen answered Wyshynski confidently about a number of issues facing his team entering 2019-20, but paid extra attention to the stalled contract talks with RFA defenseman Zach Werenski:
The real frustration for me [is when it] drags on into training camp, because that’s a time for ‘team’… They start preparing and jelling and building that chemistry that we need as a team. When it goes to training camp time, it takes away from that preparation. It takes away from the team. That’s what I’m concerned about. And that’s where we’ve drawn the hard line before: We don’t believe in taking that preparation time away from the team. We think it should be resolved before the team gets together and gets ready for the season.
It seems that the Blue Jackets and Werenski are no closer to a resolution in contract talks and it is starting to impact the GM. With so much talent leaving Columbus this off-season and very few new faces arriving, Columbus needs their leaders and core players in training camp to get ready for what will likely be a more challenging season. Werenski is one of those key players and Kekalainen is clearly doing all that he can to get the talented young blue liner back under contract as soon as possible. As training camp draws closer, the question will be whether the Blue Jackets cave to Werenski’s demands to ensure that their valuable “preparation” is not adversely affected.
- The division rival Washington Capitals may also be without a key defenseman in training camp and perhaps longer. Michal Kempny is still working his way back from a season-ending hamstring injury and The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir writes that there is no clear timeline for his return. Fortunately, after a summer spent rehabbing at home in the Czech Republic, Kempny has resumed skating back in D.C. and is working one-on-one with Capitals strength coach Mark Nemish. Kempny hopes to be ready for training camp, but truly has his sights set on simply being at full strength for the team’s regular season debut. “I’m getting there,” Kempny said, “I’m not 100 percent yet, for sure. I still need some time. If I’m going to make the (start of) training camp, that’s going to be great. But we’ll see… My goal is to be ready for the season.”
- At one point this off-season, veteran forward Jason Pominville was also hoping to see another opening night of NHL action, but as the summer has drawn on without much interest in the free agent, his mindset has shifted. Pominville explained to NHL.com that he is “fine with the way things ended” last season, if it was indeed the end of his playing career. The 36-year-old returned to the Buffalo Sabres two years ago, re-joining the team with which he spent the first nine years of his now 15-year NHL career, and proved that he could still be a contributor, posting back-to-back 30+ point seasons and taking on an important role in the locker room. Pominville hoped that he could return to Buffalo for another season, but since that seems like a longshot, he’s content to stay in the city and not move his family, even if that means hanging up his skates.
Latest On Zach Werenski
It is now just over three weeks until the Columbus Blue Jackets will gather for their 2019 training camp, meaning Zach Werenski is running out of time if he still wants to have a deal done before it begins. Werenski is one of three restricted free agent defensemen being grouped in a tier above the rest alongside Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins and Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers. Today, Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch tweets that the market is stalled waiting on either Werenski or Provorov to sign and adds in what the Blue Jackets’ defenseman is looking for.
Werenski is apparently working towards a three-year deal with a cap hit that will “begin with a five” according to Hedger, though he doesn’t know when something will actually be made official.
A three-year bridge deal would be an interesting outcome for both Werenski and the other two high-profile defensemen. The 22-year old has already completed three full seasons in the NHL meaning that contract would take him just a year away from unrestricted free agency and give him full arbitration rights. That could potentially put Columbus in a tricky situation with Werenski able to file for arbitration and walk himself right into the UFA market.
The team also has to worry about Werenski’s running mate Seth Jones, who has three years left on his deal and will need a massive contract extension at some point. Jones is already a perennial Norris Trophy contender, meaning buying him out of unrestricted free agency will likely make him one of the richest defensemen in the league. Having Werenski’s deal end the same summer might not be the most desirable outcome.
Still, keeping it to just three years and a ~$5MM cap hit would give the Blue Jackets a good window to try and contend for a Stanley Cup. Having that duo under contract for something around $11MM—Jones currently makes $5.4MM per season—gives them a leg up on almost any other team in the league.
A bridge deal would also affect McAvoy and Provorov, who may be looking for long-term deals with substantially higher salaries. Indeed, Hedger has heard of a $10MM average annual value ask from Provorov’s camp, though immediately downplayed the likelihood of it actually happening. A bridge deal for Werenski might not set the market in the way that the other two are hoping for.
In any case, the Blue Jackets are running out of time to get their young stud defenseman under contract if he’s not going to miss any of training camp. Something will have to change soon if these restricted free agents are going to be there on day one.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images