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RFAs Headed For Payday In Arbitration

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As the list of the players who have filed for arbitration was released earlier today by the NHLPA, a few names stick out as those due a meaningful raise. Arbitration is a tricky process to reliably predict, but it’s a safe bet these names will see their cap hit rise substantially.

 

Brian Dumoulin – D – Pittsburgh Penguins

There was a time when the young Dumoulin was a well-kept secret in the league, overshadowed by the far flashier play of Kris Letang. Dumoulin’s accolades this last playoff year certainly didn’t go unnoticed, and as the lone defensive defenseman in their core group, he probably holds the greatest job security on the team’s blueline. He doesn’t put up points – only one goal in the last two seasons, but he blocks shots and drives possession while eating a ton of minutes against top competition. As analytics are utilized more and more, his case only gets stronger. A contract well over $4 MM is certainly looking possible.

Colton Parayko – D – St. Louis Blues

This is the name seen most commonly associated with offer-sheets this summer, and with good reason. Parayko plays with the mentality of an old-time defenseman, but he can skate quite well for a large (6’6) man. He’s only had two seasons in the NHL, but he’s impressed since he first took the ice. Again, he isn’t a massive offensive force (he scored 3 goals last season), but he’s already averaging over 21 minutes a night with near equal starts in both the offensive and defensive zone. He’ll be hurt by the quantifiable stats factor, but he’s a big body with a rare right-handed shot to boot. This contract could look relatively cheap compared to his next, if he continues along this course. He should cost around $5.5 MM.

Ondrej Palat – F – Tampa Bay Lightning

Others will look to the undersized center Tyler Johnson as most likely to get a payday. But don’t over look Palat’s consistency – it may give him an edge with arbiters. Johnson does have his 72 point campaign to lean on, but that was now two full seasons ago. The fact that both players couldn’t break 20 goals in the last two seasons will bring their prices back down to Earth. Palat has grown into his role on the team and back-checks with a ferocity not often seen in younger stars. Johnson is no slouch either – they’ve both accumulated Selke votes over the years. These are two pivotal pieces of the Lightning, and their upcoming contracts were a big reason Jonathan Drouin was traded away to Montreal. GM Steve Yzerman will happily lock both up, but he will be hoping for figures under the $6 MM mark.

Viktor Arvidsson – F – Nashville Predators

This would have been an unlikely name on such a list even last December, when you consider how truly meteoric Arvidsson’s rise was. His value in arbitration will be deeply interesting – the shifty winger has played himself into the core of the team within a season. He really only has 2016-17 and the long playoff run to hang his hat on, as he scored only 16 points through 56 games in 2015-16. This year was a remarkable offensive explosion, with 30 goals and 31 assists. At only 5’9, Arvidsson has really shocked many onlookers by how easily he’s adapted to the physicality of the NHL game. His talent has never been in question, and with his production now well-established, it’s safe to believe he’s going to get a cushy award. How bad the damage will be is going to affect Nashville’s cap going forward – I suspect over $5 MM, but there are few comparables.

Mikael Granlund – F – Minnesota Wild

Granlund is perhaps slightly more enticing league wide than fellow Wild RFA Nino Niederreiter. He’s a marginally more cerebral player, and he plays the valuable center position. Neiderreiter is the more natural goal-scorer and larger frame, but Granlund has better PPG and has broken 30 assists thrice. Both players will get paid, as they both broke 25 goals last season and will be important pieces in the State of Hockey for some time. I think the more interesting thing to watch here is whether the Wild play it safe with Granlund and take a one year deal, or attempt to lock him up for longer. This was the first season he really scored with any consistency, but the Wild have shown their faith in the player by continually giving him over 17 minutes of icetime even when he struggled to produce. A one-year would easily command over $5 MM, whereas a longer deal could bring cost down.

 

Galchenyuk Negotiations Intensify

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Alex Galchenyuk has suddenly gone from pariah to absolute necessity. In the wake of losing top scoring threat Alexander Radulov via free agency to the Dallas Stars, Galchenyuk, a restricted free agent, has seen his internal value skyrocket. Radulov, of course, signed with the Stars earlier today for 5 seasons, and the Montreal offense was already severely lacking. Galchenyuk had a respectable 44 points in only 61 games last season, but that was a marginal drop from his 30-goal, 56-point campaign the year prior.

One of the largest issues for Galchenyuk this last season was consistency in his production, and many link that to his constant switching between the center and left wing roles. Galchenyuk is a more natural center, and has stated as such on numerous occasions. His defensive play has left many fans wanting, however. Two separate coaching staffs placed him on the wing at different points, and the organization has stated pretty clearly that he isn’t ready for top-line center duties. The problem for Montreal of course, is that they don’t have anyone else nearly as capable to fill that role. Tomas Plekanec is another year older and Galchenyuk is already arguably the better player. With Radulov (a right-wing) out of the picture, it might be wise to keep Galchenyuk content and comfortable.

According to Darren Dreger, Galchenyuk’s agent Pat Brisson has been in contact with GM Marc Bergevin, who will now turn his attention primarily to this contract. If they can’t come to an agreement, arbitration is always an option that can be utilized. That said, arbitration would probably only serve to fan the flames that have surrounded this player since he was supposedly placed on the block a year ago. Those flames are still not going out until that contract has been signed, and there will always be a market for young, talented centers.

When Jonathan Drouin was acquired for the left side, it seemed as though the writing was on the wall. But now, with Radulov out of the picture, losing Galchenyuk’s top-six offensive abilities would be a massive blow to the team. Montreal finished 13th in Goals For, but only two players hit the 20 goal mark – Max Pacioretty (35) and Paul Byron (22). Losing their top assist man and second-leading point getter in Radulov, it would be entirely devastating to draw the Galchenyuk negotiations out into the season, or worse, to trade him following a down year. Galchenyuk and his agent know they have the leverage in negotiations, and there’s a strong possibility they’ll use every ounce of it to get a better deal for the 23-year-old talent. Considering his production and league wide comparisons, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see him make well above $5 MM.

Alexander Radulov Signs With Dallas Stars

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Just after the Montreal Canadiens signed a potential replacement, the Dallas Stars revealed (in the best way possible) that they’d won the battle for Alexander Radulov. The deal is for five years and $31.25MM, which comes out to a $6.25MM cap hit. $18MM of the contract will be paid out by way of signing bonuses, while it holds a full no-movement clause in the first three years, and a modified no-trade clause the final two. Radulov ranked #2 on our list of top free agents, predicting a five year deal worth $30MM (though with Montreal). Alexander Radulov

Radulov, who turns 31 in two days, came back to the NHL last season and put up 54 points for Montreal, anchoring their top line most often with Max Pacioretty. The Russian winger put up another seven points in six playoff games, only to see the Canadiens defeated in the first round. He’ll head to Dallas where early predictions have him skating alongside Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, on what will be one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL. Montreal of course tried to keep him, but were reportedly unwilling to offer a fifth year until after he had accepted the deal with Dallas. In a conference call, Radulov explained that he wouldn’t go back on his word with the Stars at that point. In a game of he-said-Habs-said, the team has now said to multiple sources they made the five-year offer well before July 1st.

There is quite a bit of risk in a player who doesn’t have a long track record of success in the NHL, but the Stars have put the cap on quite an offseason. After a disappointing year, it was clear that the team wanted to go in a new direction and after re-hiring Ken Hitchcock to coach the team, has brought in Ben Bishop, Marc Methot, Martin Hanzal and now Radulov to try and turn things around. That’s a lot of talent to add in a few short weeks, even if they did see Cody Eakin, Ales Hemsky and Patrick Sharp head for different teams.

Radulov’s deal comes in as the high-water mark among unrestricted free agents, matching Karl Alzner’s five-year deal in terms of length, while eclipsing everything in terms of total dollars. While many expected Kevin Shattenkirk to hold that title, the defenseman opted to sign just a four-year deal in his preferred city. Several extensions and restricted free agents have signed bigger deals, but Radulov will likely come away with the title among UFAs.

That points to a clear effort in Dallas to get back to where they were two seasons ago, when they led the NHL in goals scored and came second in terms of regular season success. Leading the entire Western Conference, they fell in the second round and saw everything go wrong last year. Four big names and some new deployments should turn things around, though it is still a lot of money committed to players on the wrong side of 30.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News was first to get the details of the contract, while Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported the various trade clause conditions.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Minor Transactions: 7/1/17

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Some additional signings that happened today:

  • The Carolina Hurricanes added Brenden Kichton to a one-year, two-way contract. The Hurricanes announced that the deal is for $700K in the NHL and $235K in the AHL. Kichton played 63 games with the Manitoba Moose last season, recording 23 points (1-22). Dennis Robertson and Jeremy Smith also signed deals with the Hurricanes.
  • The Canucks inked Anton Rodin to a one-year, $700K deal according to Sportsnet. Rodin struggled with injury last year, playing only three games for Vancouver.
  • The Detroit Red Wings brought Luke Witkowski into the fold for a “toughness” aspect. Witkowski is a Michigan native and was added with a two-year, $1.4MM deal. Interestingly, it appears that he will shuffle between defense and forward for Detroit. Despite a glut of forwards, Detroit may want him to play the role that Steve Ott did last season, especially since it was Witkowski who broke Anthony Mantha’s finger in a scuffle last season while with Tampa Bay.
  • Winnipeg inked Michael Sgarbossa to a one-year, $650K deal. Last season, he was with both the Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers. The 24-year-old had a combined nine points (2-7) with both teams. The Jets also added Buddy Robinson with a one-year deal worth $650K. It’s a two-way contract.
  • Defenseman Seth Helgeson signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Islanders. The former New Jersey Devil played nine games with the big club last season, and spent 48 games with the AHL Albany Devils, scoring two goals and adding seven assists.
  • Patrik Nemeth re-upped with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, $945K deal. Nemeth had three points last season with the Stars in 40 games. Brian Flynn also hammered out a deal with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract for $700K. Flynn spent last season with Montreal. Mike McKenna also signed on with the Stars, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract. Dallas also agreed to terms with Brent Regner, who signed a one-year, two-way deal.
  • The Sabres signed Matt Tennyson to a two-year deal, with the first year being on a two-way contract while the second is a one-way deal. Tennyson spent last season with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played 45 games. He had six assists. Seth Griffith and Adam Wilcox also inked deals with the Sabres. Griffith agreed to a one-year, $650K deal while Wilcox’s one-year deal is a
  • The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver reports that Jordan Szwarz signed a two-way deal with the Boston Bruins. Szwarz spent all of last season with the Providence Bruins, where he had 54 points (22-32)  in 65 games.
  • Derek Grant is on the move according to Darren Dreger, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks for $650K.  It’s a one-way contract for Grant, who spent the majority of his time last season with the Buffalo Sabres. He also saw six games with Nashville.
  • Montreal and Joe Morrow agreed to a one-year, one-way contract. Formerly with the Bruins, Morrow had one assist with the B’s, but only appeared in 17 games, as opposed to the 33 he saw a season prior.
  • Ottawa made a slew of signings, adding Ben Sexton Max Reinhart, Tyler Randell, Erik Burgdoerfer, and Danny Taylor to deals. Reinhart, Taylor and Randell all signed one-year deals, while Burgdoerfer and Sexton agreed to two-year deals.
  • Mat Bodie signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bodie appeared in a combined 62 games for Rochester and Hartford of the AHL last season. The Bolts also added Alex Gallant with a one-year deal. Gallant spent last year with the San Jose Barracuda. Finally, Michael Leighton and Jamie McBain both agreed to one-year, two-way deal as well.
  • Kyle Rau and Minnesota came to terms on a one-year, $700K deal. Rau’s deal is a two-way deal and brings him back to his home state.
  • TSN’s Aaron Ward tweets that Paul Carey agreed to terms with the New York Rangers. Ward reports that the deal is for one-year, and is worth $650K. The Blueshirts also added Cole Schneider to a one-year, two-way contract.
  • The Flames brought Marek Hrivik aboard, signing him to a one-year, two-way deal. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets the move is for organizational depth. According to Fox Sports West’s Jon Rosen, the Flames have also signed their 2016 seventh-round pick Stepan Falkovsky to a three-year entry-level contract.
  • The Oilers signed Eddie Pasquale to a one-year, two-way deal. Pasquale was allowed to walk away from the Red Wings organization. Another player signed away from the Red Wings organization was Mitch Callahan, who agreed to a two-year, two-way deal. Both were reported by Ryan Rishaug. Keegan Lowe also inked a one-year, two-way deal. The Oilers weren’t done, also adding Ryan Stanton with a $700k deal. The deal is for two years, and is a two-way contract. Edmonton also inked forwards Brian Ferlin, Grayson Downing and Ty Rattie to one-year deals.
  • Nashville agreed to terms with Pierre-Cedric Labrie, who came from the Blackhawks organization. Labrie agreed to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $650K.
  • The Stanley Cup Champion Penguins added some names today, all on one-year deals. Jarred Tinordi, Zach Trotman and Greg McKegg all agreed to a single-year deal. Chris Summers signed on for a two-year deal. In an additional release, the team has re-signed Tom Sestito, Frank Corrado to one-year two-way deals, and goaltender Casey DeSmith to a two-year two-way deal. All three will earn $650K in the NHL.
  • The Sharks and goalie Antoine Bibeau signed off on a one-year, two-way deal. Bibeau was not offered a qualifying deal with his former team in Toronto.
  • The Maple Leafs weren’t done, as they announced the signings of Colin Greening to a one-year deal (two-way, $750K), and Chris Mueller (two-way, $650K) and Vincent LoVerde (two-way, $725K) to two-year deals.
  • The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Cameron Schilling to a one-year, two-way contract. Schilling was with the Rockford IceHogs and Ontario Reign last season, where he scored 26 points.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have signed three more players, inking Andrew Agozzino and David Warsofsky to two-year deals while bringing in Joe Cannata for just one season.
  • Arizona has signed Zac Rinaldo, Michael Sislo, Andrew Campbell and Joel Hanley to one-year two-way contracts. It’s a fall for Rinaldo, who was once traded for a third-round pick.
  • Chase Balisy, Connor Brickley, Reece Scarlett, Harri Sateri and Curtis Valk have all signed one-year contracts with the Florida Panthers. Interestingly, Brickley was the Vegas Golden Knights’ selection from the Hurricanes during the expansion draft but was a Group VI free agent this summer.
  • The Devils have added Brian Strait, Bracken Kearns and Brian Gibbons on one-year two-way deals, bringing in the veterans for $650K at the NHL level.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have signed six players. They have signed forward T.J. Tynan and defenseman Brad Hunt to two-year deals at $650,000 per season. They inked forward Paul Thompson, forward Stefan Matteau, defenseman Chris Casto and goalie Maxime Lagace to one-year contracts at $650,000.

Stars Sign Tyler Pitlick To Three-Year Deal

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The Dallas Stars added some more forward depth, inking Tyler Pitlick to a three-year, $3MM deal. Pitlick spent last season with the Edmonton Oilers, notching 11 points (8-3).

Pitlick comes at a relatively low cost and is still only 25 years of age. It’s a depth move for the Stars, who are looking to rebound from an injury-ravaged 2016-17 season. The Stars released their own announcement on the signing, with general manager Jim Nill saying:

“Tyler is a young player who will add speed and size to our lineup,. He offers versatility to our forward group and we look forward to him being a Dallas Star for many years.”

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Goalie Antti Niemi

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Antti Niemi will look to turn his career around as the recently bough-out goalie will move from expensive split starter, making $4.5MM with the Dallas Stars, to cheap veteran backup, making just $700K for the reigning Stanley Cup champs, according to a team release. The Penguins lacked an experienced substitute for Marc-Andre Fleury, which the desperately need for the talented, but oft-injured Matt Murray, and they hope Niemi can fit the bill and improve upon his ghastly .892 save percentage in 2016-17.

Niemi is an interesting story, as an undrafted goaltender who took the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup as a rookie, only to go to San Jose and struggle to get his team deep in the playoffs. Now, bought out by the Stars he’ll try to get back to the Finals with the team whose won the last two.

For the Penguins, watching Fleury go was hard not just because of his strong ties to the team and community, but also because of the stellar goaltending he’s given them for so long. Niemi is coming off a year in which he registered an .892 save percentage, and though some of that might be due to the weak team in Dallas, it’ll have to bounce back or he’ll find himself out of the league. That number isn’t acceptable by any NHL goaltender, much less one on a team hoping to compete.

2017 NHL Free Agency Tracker

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Stay with PHR for all of the free agency signings this off-season. As of noon ET on July 1st, unrestricted free agency is open, but not before many extensions earlier in June. This page serves to organize everything in one spot, and are linked to the PHR story that corresponds with the signing. All July signings will be separated by date while June signings are organized alphabetically by team. It will be updated as soon as stories post.

Please note that signings on this list start on June 12.

July 1st:

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Dallas Stars Sign Martin Hanzal To Three-Year Deal

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The Dallas Stars have inked one of the top centers on the market, signing Martin Hanzal to a three-year, $14.25MM deal according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. Hanzal was ranked #4 on our free agent list, where we predicted he would get a fourth year, but agree to a slightly smaller salary.

Instead, the 30-year old Hanzal will go down to Dallas to join Ken Hitchcock and the rest of their group, trying to get the Stars back to the playoffs after an extremely disappointing season. The Stars, losing Cody Eakin to the Vegas Golden Knights needed some help at center behind Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza, and bringing Hanzal in makes them very deep down the middle.

He can now play that third-line center role and contribute on both the powerplay and penalty kill. Though he saw more than 18 minutes a night in Arizona last year, his role in Dallas is more likely to be closer to the 15:31 he averaged for Minnesota. While $4.75MM might seem like a lot to pay that spot, Dallas had the room to do it and needed to land at least one of the bigger free agent forwards this year. Though linked to Justin Williams, he ended up signing in Carolina with his old team.

Chicago Blackhawks Bring Back Patrick Sharp

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As indicated by reports this morning, the Chicago Blackhawks have indeed signed Patrick Sharp. After a two-year hiatus with the Dallas Stars, the three-time Stanley Cup winner is back home in Chicago to the tune of just $1MM. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the deal is for one year and carries an $800K base salary with $200K in bonuses for games played.

This could be quite the steal for the Blackhawks, given that Sharp scored 78 points in his last fully healthy season in Chicago. While Sharp struggled with injuries and inconsistency last season in Dallas, he posted 55 points in his first season with the team the year before and another 43 in just 68 games in his final season in Chicago. Armed with a top-end shot, Sharp was always the beneficiary of great offensive linemates on the Blackhawks and there is no reason to think he won’t excel again, even if he has lost a step.

Sharp becomes the second player this week to re-join the Blackhawks after the team re-acquired Brandon Saad from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a deal that saw Artemi Panarin shipped out of town. While neither Sharp nor Saad could single-handedly make up for the loss of offense from Panarin’s departure, together the two may be able to get the job done if they can re-ignite the old chemistry they had with the likes of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. 

Nashville To Sign Nick Bonino For Four Years

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TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Nashville Predators are signing Nick Bonino to a four-year deal.

The former Pittsburgh Penguin had 37 points (18-19) in 80 games and added 7 points (4-3) in the playoffs. PHR had Bonino listed as the 11th best free agent out there, and correctly predicted a four-year deal.

Bonino will give the Preds some more depth up front, while playing a solid two-way game. What remains to be seen is how he does without having superstars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby facing other team’s top talent every night. Regardless, Bonino is a solid pickup which adds another piece for the defending Western Conference Champion.

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