Dallas Stars Sign Martin Hanzal To Three-Year Deal
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
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
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.
Free Agency Rumor Round-Up
Free agency is set to open in mere hours, but there are already plenty of rumors out there about deals that will become official at noon ET. Here are all of the deals expected to be made official this afternoon with the link to the original PHR article or recent report:
Anaheim Ducks expected to sign G Ryan Miller (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Boston Bruins expected to sign LW Kenny Agostino
Buffalo Sabres expected to sign G Chad Johnson
Chicago Blackhawks expected to sign RW Patrick Sharp
Colorado Avalanche expected to sign G Jonathan Bernier
Dallas Stars expected to sign C Martin Hanzal (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Detroit Red Wings expected to sign D Trevor Daley
Florida Panthers expected to sign RW Evgeni Dadonov
Florida Panthers expected to sign C Micheal Haley
Montreal Canadiens expected to sign D Karl Alzner
New York Rangers expected to sign G Ondrej Pavelec
Philadelphia Flyers expected to sign G Brian Elliott
Tampa Bay Lightning expected to sign D Dan Girardi
Vancouver Canucks expected to sign D Michael Del Zotto
Vancouver Canucks expected to sign G Anders Nilsson
Vancouver Canucks expected to sign C Sam Gagner (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Winnipeg Jets expected to sign G Steve Mason (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)
Marc Methot Turned Down Teams On No-Trade List
New Dallas Stars defenseman Marc Methot spoke to the media today, and talked about the tough last few weeks as he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights and then flipped yesterday. According to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, the former Ottawa Senator confirmed he said no when teams on his no-trade list tried to inquire about him.
Methot holds a 10-team no-trade list, and it is reported to have every Canadian team (save for Ottawa, of course) on it. Whether it was those, or some of the remaining four that had interest in him is unclear. Methot has the right to exercise it, and clearly valued steering his future somewhat.
Ending up in Dallas, Methot is in a nice scenario for success going forward and as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet points out a much lower tax bracket. Methot saves quite a bit of money (almost $700K) and is likely to play with John Klingberg, a player who does have some similarities to Erik Karlsson. Not a bad situation even if you do have to be shipped across the continent.
Vegas Golden Knights Trade Marc Methot To The Dallas Stars
The Vegas Golden Knights have traded defenseman Marc Methot to the Dallas Stars for a 2020 2nd round draft pick and goaltender Dylan Ferguson, drafted in the seventh round at 194th overall this summer. The deal was first reported by Dallas Stars Senior Digital Correspondent Scott Burnside, and then subsequently confirmed with terms by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Golden Knights initially selected Marc Methot from the Ottawa Senators in this summer’s NHL Expansion Draft.
Methot was an integral part of the Senators’ defense last year, averaging just under 20 minutes a night in the regular season, and over 22 minutes a night in the playoffs. He scored 0G and 12A in 68 games, and an additional 2G and 2A in 18 playoff games. Methot is in the third year of a four-year deal worth $4.9MM a year.
Dylan Ferguson was drafted by the Stars in the 7th round (pick 194) of this year’s NHL Entry Draft. He posted a 2.74 GAA and a .922 SV% for the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL this season.
The 2020 pick is the Knights’ third 2020 pick so far. It now has its own, the Pittsburgh Penguins‘ from the Marc-Andre Fleury selection, and now Dallas’s. It looks like Vegas is trying to space out its prospect pool so that all of its contracts do not expire at the same time.
The Golden Knights were expected to trade defensemen. Before this deal, the team had 12 defensemen on its roster. With this trade, however, the team has no NHL-calibre defensemen signed past this year. Losing Methot also rids the team of arguably its best defenseman. And now that Vegas has set the market for its defensemen, it will probably receive even less for the rest.
Summarizing Today’s Signings
Today brought a flurry of teams re-signing players before July 1st. In total, 12 players have signed NHL contracts—and one signing in the KHL—and this is just day one. Below are all of today’s signings in one place for your convenience:
Dallas Stars Sign Mark McNeill To Two-Way Contract
The Dallas Stars are busying completing several roster transactions today, including signing prospect Mark McNeill to a one-year two-way extension. No financial details have been released. With the one-year term, McNeill could be eligible for Group VI free agency next summer if he does not spend most of the season with Dallas.
McNeill was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline this year in return for Johnny Oduya, and will be on some of his last legs as a prospect. Already 24, McNeill has never been able to live up to his 18th-overall billing, suiting up for just two NHL games. His goal scoring took a substantial step backwards this year even in the minors, where he registered just nine goals in 79 games split between Rockford and Texas. Expected to be a power forward capable of scoring 20 goals a season when he was drafted, he’ll try to make enough of an impact to force an NHL look this year.
The Stars will hope he can, as they could use some secondary scoring next year. The Stars had just five forwards score at least 15 goals last season, and one of them—Patrick Eaves—has already re-signed with the Anaheim Ducks. While Tyler Segun and Jamie Benn are offensive forces, and Brett Ritchie looks like he’s growing into power forward role, goals were hard to come by for the rest of the team. A surprising breakout from a player like McNeill would be a huge boost as the Stars try to make it back to the playoffs in 2017-18.
Esa Lindell Signs Two-Year Extension With Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have found common ground with a defenseman, inking Esa Lindell to a two-year extension worth $4.4MM. The contract will pay him $2.2MM per season, a healthy raise from his entry-level contract. Lindell was a pending restricted free agent for the first time. 
The 23-year old Lindell was likely the Stars’ second-best defender as a rookie last year behind only John Klingberg, and will return to log big minutes once again. Though he didn’t bring quite the offensive flair he had shown in the minor leagues, his 18 points were still a solid number for such a young defenseman. He ranked second on the team in blocked shots, and saw the ice for almost 22 minutes a night for the disappointing Stars team. Though they’re looking to bring in a more veteran defenseman to take some of that responsibility, Lindell will continue to be relied upon in big situations.
Interestingly, Lindell rates extremely poorly in terms of possession statistics, helping generate shots at a terrible rate. While his suppression numbers are better, it will be interesting to see if he can start performing better offensively as he grows into his role. In the AHL, Lindell put up 42 points in 73 games as a rookie including 14 goals. His big shot and relatively crisp passing ability should lead to higher point totals, but he does still need work skating the puck out of his own zone at times. At 23 he has a few more years to develop into a better all-around player, but he’s already surpassed his third-round draft tag.
The Stars, with lots of cap space and a team that is expected to bounce back under the leadership of Ken Hitchcock, will be going after defensemen on the open market. Already they’ve been linked to Marc Methot from the Vegas Golden Knights, while the potentially could go after other left-handed defensemen like Karl Alzner or Brendan Smith. After clearing out some more room with an Antti Niemi buyout, they’ll be one of the more interesting teams to watch this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Dallas Stars To Place Antti Niemi On Waivers, Buyout To Follow
Unable to find a trade partner around the league, the Dallas Stars have decided to place Antti Niemi on waivers for the purpose of a buyout, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. Niemi will be the fifth player to be bought out during the current window which closes on June 30th, following Simon Despres, Matt Greene, Francois Beauchemin and Dan Girardi. With just one-year remaining on his contract, his buyout will cause a cap hit as follows:
- 2017-18: $1.5MM
- 2018-19: $1.5MM
After acquiring Ben Bishop and signing him long term, it was clear that one of the Stars’ current goaltenders—Niemi or Kari Lehtonen—would be on their way out. Even with the buyout, the Stars will still be paying more than $10MM next season on active goaltenders, with Lehtonen still earning $5.9MM this year. He’s expected to fill the backup role for Bishop, while Niemi will be free to sign wherever he can around the league.
A former Stanley Cup champion—as a rookie, no less—with the Chicago Blackhawks, Niemi has seen his play fall off a cliff in recent years. Once a lock for somewhere around a .915-.920 save percentage, the 33-year old goaltender registered just an .892 mark this past season and couldn’t wrestle the job away from a similarly struggling Lehtonen. The end may be near for him as he enters his mid-thirties, but there could still be teams around the league who value his playoff experience enough to bring him in as a cheap veteran backup.
There are several backup vacancies around the league since the expansion draft, and though some may fill the spots internally Niemi will be discussed as a possible option. He’ll likely have to take close to the minimum though, as he showed very little in terms of NHL-caliber goaltending last season. A short term deal to try and prove he can still play in this league is likely the only chance he’ll have.