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Jaden Schwartz Signs Five-Year Deal

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The St. Louis Blues have continued to lock up their young stars long-term, as according to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, they have signed restricted free agent forward Jaden Schwartz to a five-year deal worth just under $27MM.

The 24-year old Schwartz is coming off a season in which he missed a huge chunk of the season due to a broken ankle suffered in October.  He finished with 22 points in 33 games, but really made his presence felt in the playoffs, where he tallied another 14 points in 20 games, trailing the team leaders – Vladimir Tarasenko and Robby Fabbri – by just one point.

Before the broken ankle, Schwartz had put up back-to-back seasons of 25+ goals and 55+ points, making him one of the best young offensive forwards in the league. Now, the Blues have locked him up for $5.35MM (per Cap Friendly), a steal for a player of his performance. Cap Friendly also reports that he will receive a limited no-trade clause in years four and five, allowing him to submit a list of up to 15 teams that he will not accept a move to.

With the deals to Schwartz, Pheonix Copley and Jordan Binnington, St. Louis has now re-signed all of their restricted free agents from this year, and will not have to go to arbitration this summer. With what looks like a completed roster, it would be surprising to see St. Louis involved in any of the remaining free agents. If anything else happens with the Blues’ roster, it may still revolve around the departure of Kevin Shattenkirk, long rumored to be on the block this summer.

St. Louis Depth Chart

Jamie Benn Undergoes Surgery; Out Six Weeks

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According to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News, superstar forward Jamie Benn had surgery Thursday to repair an injured core muscle, and will be out for at least six weeks. While this shouldn’t put Benn’s 2016-17 season in jeopardy, it does put him at risk of missing the upcoming World Cup of Hockey this fall.

Benn put up another unbelievable season in 2015-16, scoring 41 goals (his first time cracking the 40-goal mark) and 89 points while suiting up for all 82 games.  Benn has been relatively healthy throughout his career, missing only 32 games since his debut in 2009-10.

With a lengthy playoff run added on to a grueling season, perhaps his body was finally breaking down.  He didn’t show any signs of it during the Dallas run however, as Benn contributed 15 points in just 13 games, before the team was eliminated by the St. Louis Blues.

If he’s healthy for this season, Benn will try again to capture a Hart trophy that he was a finalist for this year. With 448 points in 508 games, his career is off to a Hall-of-fame start, and with his 27th birthday on Monday he still has quite a few prime years left.  Whether those years are spent in Dallas or not is still to be determined, as Benn will become an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season.

Stars Sign Jamie Oleksiak

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The Dallas Stars have signed defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to a one-year deal worth $918,750, reports Dallas Morning News writer Mike Heika. The deal is reportedly the club’s qualifying offer issued earlier this summer. By signing Oleksiak, the Stars have only RFA Valeri Nichushkin to re-sign from last season.

The Stars former 2011 first round draft pick played 19 games with the big club last season and put up only two assists. The big defensemen routinely sat in the press box as a healthy scratch because he would be waiver-eligible if sent down to the minors. The much-heralded prospect never blossomed into the defensemen scouts expected, but the Stars hope that Oleksiak is a late bloomer.

Oleksiak will be battling for the last two defensive slots next season but should have a shot at making the team simply because everyone else competing for those spots can be sent down without passing through waivers. This deal acts as a “prove yourself” contract and gives Oleksiak one last shot to develop into a steady NHL defenseman for the Dallas Stars.

Free Agent Profile: Kyle Quincey

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One of the best remaining defensive options available on the open market, Kyle Quincey is somewhat of a tragic tale.  After being selected in the fourth round by Detroit, he slowly crawled towards the NHL but could never establish himself on the Red Wings’ blueline. It took a waiver claim by Los Angeles – then a bottom-feeder of the NHL – to give him his chance, and he ran with it.

Playing in 72 games for the Kings that year, Quincey put up what would turn out to be a career-high 38 points, including a whopping 25 assists on the powerplay. Though he wasn’t considered an excellent offensive defenseman, the Kings just didn’t have many other options then – a 19-year old Drew Doughty was still learning the game, and Jack Johnson was injured for much of the season.

In July of that year, still rehabbing a herniated disc that cut short his season, Quincey was the centerpiece in a deal with the Avalanche for Ryan Smyth, a key member in the turnaround the Kings experienced a year later. In joining Colorado, Quincey – still just 24 – was on his third team already in his young career.

Colorado wouldn’t keep him around very long either, as they dealt the young blueliner back to his original Detroit Red Wings mid-season in 2011-12 (via Tampa Bay, who received a first-round pick in the transaction).  He was back with the team who wouldn’t give him a chance in the first place, and immediately saw his numbers plummet again.  He’d see the ice 36 times in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, but only logged three points all season.

Still, the Red Wings thought of him enough to hand him a two-year, $8.5MM deal on July 1st of 2014, even though he qualified as an unrestricted free agent and could have chosen anywhere else (that would have him).

Now, with that deal expired, the Red Wings have shown no interest in keeping Quincey around, and have moved on to other options.  He now represents one of the best options left available, if you believe his early career success can be replicated in any way.

Potential Suitors

Before free agency started, we had Quincey on our Top 50 UFA list going to the Minnesota Wild, and it still seems to be a fit, though there has been no discussion about the 30-year old thus far in the media. Having given deals to both Eric Staal and Chris Stewart as they try to rebuild there value, it’s clear the team is willing to try and re-energize former stars on short-term deals.

Another possibility would be that of the Edmonton Oilers, despite already bringing in Adam Larsson and Mark Fraser. Though they look to have too many (luke-warm) bodies already, expect a few of them to be shipped out by the start of the season. If the team is committed to rebuilding a blueline that was horrible last year, Quincey could be a nice option on a bottom pairing to help some of the youngsters (Darnell Nurse, Jordan Oesterle or Brandon Davidson) develop into legitimate NHL defensemen.

Expected Contract

Needing to rebuild his value, Quincey will probably take a fairly low number on a short-term deal to prove that he’s still an effective NHL blueliner.  With advanced metrics disliking his play the last few seasons, he looks to be in the same boat as fellow unsigned free agent Kris Russell, in that teams are moving towards possession-based metrics, especially for their defense.

The thing that Quincey has going for him, is that he was once regarded positively in this manner, and with a change of scenery and correct role he could be again.  Only 30 years old, he’ll try to secure as much as Roman Polak did for the Leafs (one year, $2.25MM), but – amazingly – might not even get that.

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Stars

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Enter the Chicago Blackhawks into the number of teams interested in Jimmy Vesey reports Mike Harrington. Harrington cites the Providence Journal story that placed Hawks general manager Stan Bowman at the Foxboro Sports Center watching Vesey compete. Additionally, Harrington uses Chicago’s signing of Artemi Panarin as another clue into the Hawks’ interest in the Hobey Baker Trophy winner.

Chicago reaped the benefits of inking Panarin who complemented Patrick Kane well on a line, notched 77 points (30-44) and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie. Vesey would be an intriguing signing as the Hawks can promise ice time and instant success since the Blackhawks window to win remains wide open with Jonathan Toews, and Kane still being in the prime of their careers. As it stands, the Blackhawks remain just one of many teams looking into Vesey’s services. Harrington reports that Vesey seems willing to listen to every interested team before he inks a deal, and not just signing with the Sabres because they hold his rights.

Other Central news:

  • The Blackhawks have added Derek King as an assistant coach for AHL affiliate Rockford. Tracey Myers tweets that King spent 2009-2015 on the Toronto Marlies coaching staff. The Blackhawks also released a statement announcing King’s hiring with the Icehogs.
  • Mike Heika answered a number of questions about the Stars goaltending situation during a chat session. Among the several goaltending questions he received, Heika indicated that while the Stars are apparently content with their situation in net for now, it shouldn’t be ruled out that they could try to upgrade later. Heika says that while rumors cannot be discounted about Ben Bishop or Marc-Andre Fleury, Heika is “guessing” when he thinks the Stars would pass on Fleury due to playoff inconsistencies. He also speculates that a mid-season deal for Bishop would be more likely, especially if the Lightning cannot come to terms with him.
  • Heika also writes extensively about who the Stars need to develop between the pipes as the Stars dealt former prospect Jack Campbell after years of trying to make him the organization’s franchise goalie. Heika lists Max Lagace, Philippe Desrosiers, and Landon Bow as the three prospects the Stars must bring along in order to solve their goaltending woes. Both Bow and Desrosiers are both invitees to the Stars development camp and then the prospects tournament in Traverse City. Lagace intrigues because it was him who usurped Campbell, and helped the decision to jettison him to Los Angeles. Heika also lists Lagace as the favorite to be the #1 goalie in the AHL.

Calgary Flames To Hire Cameron, Jerrard As Assistant Coaches

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After Dave Cameron was spotted helping out in Flames development camp over the past few days, the team has confirmed that they will hire him as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.

Cameron was the head coach of the Ottawa Senators for a year and a half after taking over from Paul McLean during the 2014-15 season. He was fired from that position after the Senators took a major step back and missed the playoffs, despite a winning record.

A long-time OHL head coach with the St. Michael’s Majors, Cameron is still revered as an excellent bench boss and will join new head coach Glen Gulutzan on what is shaping up to be a good staff.

The team also announced the hiring of Paul Jerrard as another assistant, and both men will join Gulutzan and the returning Martin Gelinas behind the bench for the Flames this season. Jerrard last coached with the Utica Comets, Vancouver’s AHL affiliate, and has experience with the Dallas Stars in the NHL.

Per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet, Cameron will be in charge of the powerplay in Calgary, while Jerrard takes on penalty kill schemes. Ottawa was in the bottom five in powerplay percentage last season, despite having one of the best point men in the league. Perhaps in Calgary Cameron will have better success.

Snapshots: Hedman, McRae, Predators

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Even with the recent decision in the NBA of Kevin Durant heading to the Golden State Warriors to create a ’super-team’, it’s still not very often that you see superstars take less money to stay in a place they feel comfortable. That’s what happened the past two weeks, as both Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman re-signed for eight years (and considerably less money than expected) with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in part because of their personal bond. When talking to Pierre LeBrun of ESPN, Stamkos said just as much:

“Victor and I are extremely close friends. We came up in this organization as 18-year-old kids. To say that we’re going to be together for the long run, and on one team, that’s something special. A big reason why both of us stuck around is because of the relationship that we have as teammates and as friends as well.”

To see two superstars leave some money on the table and not even hit free agency is a rare one indeed in today’s sporting world, but we may be about to catch it again in Calgary.  Pending RFAs Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have expressed a similar sentiment, and hope to be together for ’the next ten years’. Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have brought in former London Knight general manager Basil McRae to become their director of player personnel, according to a team release. After capturing the 2016 Memorial Cup, McRae will return to the club he worked for in 2013-14 this time in a more advanced role. With the signing, the Blue Jackets have also announced two promotions, Ville Siren moves from pro scout to director of amateur scouting, and Josef Boumedienne moves from pro scout to director of European scouting.
  • After being knocked out in the second round by the San Jose Sharks, the Nashville Predators came into the offseason with the plan to get faster on the back end. Buying out Barret Jackman after just his first year with the club was the first move towards that end, and bringing in Yannick Weber to replace him was the next. For what it’s worth, Weber seems to have turned down more money in Europe to stay in the NHL, according to Adam Vignan of the Tennessean.  Weber took a minimum deal of $575K to secure an NHL job with Nashville.
  • Flyers prospect Philippe Myers underwent hip surgery on Wednesday, and will not be participating in the Philadelphia development camp, according to GM Ron Hextall.  Myers went undrafted out of Rouyn-Noranda in 2014-15, but exploded onto the scene last season with 45 points from the back end. He’ll now try and work his way back from surgery to return to the Flyers’ future plans.

This Day In History: Seguin Traded To Dallas

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Monday is three years ago to the day that the Bruins and Stars made a blockbuster deal with Boston sending Tyler Seguin to Dallas as part of a seven player swap.  It was a deal that significantly shaped the look of each franchise.  Here’s a closer look at each player in the original deal and what they’ve accomplished since the trade.

Dallas Received:

Tyler Seguin – Seguin has been better than a point per game player in each of the last three seasons and has the fourth most points in the NHL in that span.  Seguin has three years left on a six year, $34.5MM contract, making him one of the better bargains among top line forwards in the league.

Rich Peverley – Peverley played most of the 2013-14 season with Dallas, picking up 30 points in 62 games before collapsing mid-game on the bench in March.  He was never able to get the green light to return to the ice and officially retired in September of 2015.  He remains with the Stars as their Player Development Coordinator.

Ryan Button – Button spent 2013-14 with Dallas’ two minor league affiliates but was not given a qualifying offer at the end of the season.  He has played the last two years in Germany.

Boston Received:

Loui Eriksson – Eriksson played each of the last three seasons with Boston, saving his best effort for last with a 63 point campaign in 2015-16.  However, he no longer is with the team as he signed a six year, $36MM contract with Vancouver on Friday.

Reilly Smith – Smith spent two years with Boston, collecting 91 points in 163 games in that span.  He was traded to Florida last July in exchange for Jimmy Hayes.  Smith picked up 50 points last year with the Panthers and signed a five year, $25MM extension yesterday afternoon.

Joe Morrow – The former first round pick spent all of last season up with the Bruins but only got into 33 games of action.  He should be positioned to play more of a regular role in 2016-17.

Matt Fraser – Fraser spent parts of two seasons with the Bruins, picking up five goals in 38 games.  He was lost to Winnipeg on waivers in December of 2014 and spent all of last season in the AHL, split between Manitoba and Rockford.

At the time, the return for the Bruins was widely panned and a few years later, that still seems like the case as all they have left to show for Seguin, one of the NHL’s top players, is Hayes and Morrow.  Meanwhile, the Stars have themselves a franchise player on a team-friendly contract for several more seasons.

Snapshots: Russell, Vesey, Forsling

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After rumors swirled the past two days indicating that the Maple Leafs had offered a contract to free agent defenseman Kris Russell, agent Allain Roy took to Twitter to set the record straight:  “Reports of Kris Russell turning down any offer from the Maple Leafs are false. Simply rumors…”  The former member of the Dallas Stars is still available as of Sunday evening, and ranked 12th on our Top 50 UFA list last month.  Here is some more news from around the league:

Central Notes: Blackhawks, Blues, Stars, Wild

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The Chicago Blackhawks welcomed Brian Campbell back into the fold with a one-year, $2MM deal on Friday. Hawks beat writer Chris Kuc writes that not only does the decision strengthen the Blackhawks top four defensemen, but that it brings back a player who always wanted to return. The signing was lauded by Blackhawk superstars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, and was a move that general manager Stan Bowman made for a defenseman he feels has an “underrated” game. In 2015-16, Campbell was a +31 and registered 31 points (6-25).

  • The St. Louis Blues are grappling with the loss of two major leaders in their locker room writes Jeremy Rutherford. When David Backes signed with Boston and Troy Brouwer headed to Calgary, Rutherford reports that the roster is a far cry from the one that propelled the Blues to a Western Conference Final trip in 2016. The Blues will also have to name a new captain for the first time since 2011, and general manager Doug Armstrong said that the term Backes was looking for served as a pause for his re-signing. On Brouwer, Rutherford writes that Armstrong countered with what he thought was a strong deal, but at the end of the day, the winger decided on Calgary’s offer instead.
  • Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski writes that Dallas’ signing of defenseman Dan Hamhuis was “genius.” Wyshynski notes that the term and amount (two-year, $3.75MM) is a bargain for a defenseman the Stars wanted to acquire at the trade deadline.  Mike Heika reports that the Stars got the man that is the best fit for their team, and also at a price and term that is very flexible. Heika sees Hamhuis as a natural pairing with Stars youngster John Klingberg for bench boss Lindy Ruff.
  • The Star Tribune’s Michael Russo reports on what the Wild could look like on the ice next season. Russo pencils newly acquired Eric Staal in the middle with Zach Parise at left wing and also indicates that the Wild are talking with free agent Matt Cullen, who is fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Penguins. Russo adds that Cullen’s intrigue with the Wild would be that close friend Staal signed yesterday.

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