Red Wings Re-Sign Teemu Pulkkinen To One Year Contract
The Detroit Red Wings announced today via Twitter and their website the re-signing of 24-year-old right winger Teemu Pulkkinen. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports on Twitter that the deal is worth $812k.
Pulkkinen, a fourth round pick of the Red Wings in 2010, played 36 games for the Red Wings last year, scoring six goals, and adding six assists. In his career, Pulkkinen has played 70 NHL games, scoring 11 goals, and nine assists. Pulkkinen would have to be waived to be sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate, so it’s more likely he’ll be given an NHL spot. Other right wingers on the Red Wings include Tomas Jurco, Gustav Nyquist, and Johan Franzen, though the latter missed all but two games last year with concussion issues.
The Red Wings now have a little under $3.3MM in cap space, still needing to re-sign two restricted free agents, defenseman Danny DeKeyser, and goaltender Petr Mrazek. This will be somewhat difficult to pull off, given they combined to make almost that last year, but Detroit also has eighteen forwards under contract, giving them a lot of movable assets, and given the likelihood of Johan Franzen spending another season on the long-term injured reserve, they shouldn’t have too many problems unless they plan on adding more salary via trade.
NHL Notes: RFA Defensemen
As we mentioned earlier this week, there are several very talented Restricted Free Agents (RFAs) who have yet to sign contracts for next season. Of the 24 RFA defensemen who played in the NHL last season, 15 of them averaged more than 15 minutes per game (minimum 25 GP). Despite the high value of young capable defensemen (see Larsson, Adam), it is the their teams who appear to have the upper hand in negotiations.
Let’s take a look at the top five unsigned defensemen:
1. Hampus Lindholm – Anaheim Ducks – The Ducks number one defenseman, Lindholm averaged 22:00 minutes per night last season with superior possession numbers. His 28 points were 54th among defensemen, but Lindholm is still a bona fide top-pairing option. Lindholm is likely looking for a long-term contract in the $5-6MM range, similar to the Morgan Rielly ($5MM, Seth Jones ($5.4MM), and Nick Leddy ($5.5MM). The Ducks would probably prefer something lower, in the Travis Hamonic ($3.86MM), Oscar Klefbom ($4.17MM), and Justin Faulk ($4.83MM) range. Anaheim is a budget team, and is already only $8.4MM away from the cap ceiling with Lindholm and Rickard Rakell still to sign. Lindholm is not eligible for arbitration, and an offer sheet seems unlikely given the current NHL climate.
2. Tyson Barrie – Colorado Avalanche – Barrie seems to be constantly featured in trade rumors, mainly due to his high-end offensive ability (49 points last season) and coach Patrick Roy’s apparent lack of confidence in him. It doesn’t help that the Avalanche have just $8.3MM in cap space before Barrie and Mikhail Grigorenko‘s arbitration hearings in late July. Barrie and his agent don’t need to look any further than teammate Eric Johnson‘s $6MM salary for a starting point; Barrie outscored Johnson by 22 points in similar time-on-ice.
3. Rasmus Ristolainen – Buffalo Sabres – Ristolainen lead the Sabres in ice-time by just under 500 minutes. He was also fourth in team scoring with 41 points. He’s also extremely big at 6’4, 207 lbs and mobile. Ristolainen is already the Sabres best defenseman, and he’ll only be 22 in October. The Sabres will look to sign him long-term somewhere in the Faulk to Rielly range. The Sabres have approximately $11MM in cap space and still need to lock up Marcus Foligno and Zemgus Girgensons.
4. Jacob Trouba – Winnipeg Jets – Trouba is in an interesting situation in Winnipeg: he’s considered a future top-pairing player, and is big, mobile, and right-handed. However, he’s blocked from playing top-four minutes by fellow right-handers Dustin Byfulgien and Tyler Myers. Trouba has played the left side before, but like most players performs better on his natural side. There seems to be two options for Trouba; he can sign a bridge-deal and earn a big payday in two seasons when Mark Stuart and Toby Enstrom are free agents, or he can holdout for the big payday now. There was some talk last month about the Bruins looking at Trouba as an offer sheet candidate, but that seems to have passed. He’s not eligible for arbitration, so the ball is in Winnipeg’s court.
5. Danny DeKeyser – Detroit Red Wings – With Niklas Kronwall turning 35 last season, DeKeyser appears poised to be the next big man on the Red Wings blueline. The two defensemen lead the team in ice time, and DeKeyser will likely pass Krowall in that regard next season. The 25-year-old DeKeyser put up just 20 points last season, however Mike Green was the only defenseman who scored more. DeKeyser is scheduled for arbitration on July 28, but could very likely come to a longer agreement with the Red Wings before then.
Full Salary Arbitration Hearing Schedule
The NHLPA released the full schedule of arbitration hearings today, which will not include Jordan Weal, after he re-signed with the Philadelphia Flyers earlier today. Teams and players can still negotiate up until the hearing, and many will reach agreements before going to arbitration. For more information on the arbitration process, check out part one of our full guide. Here is the full schedule:
PLAYER ELECTED FILINGS
Arizona Coyotes
Michael Stone – August 4, 2016
Colorado Avalanche
Tyson Barrie – July 29, 2016
Mikhail Grigorenko – July 22, 2016
Detroit Red Wings
Danny DeKeyser – July 28, 2016
Minnesota Wild
Jordan Schroeder – July 27, 2016
Nashville Predators
Calle Jarnkrok – August 4, 2016
Petter Granberg – August 3, 2016
New York Rangers
Kevin Hayes – July 27, 2016
Chris Kreider – July 22, 2016
Dylan McIlrath – July 21, 2016
J.T. Miller – August 2, 2016
Ottawa Senators
Mike Hoffman – August 4, 2016
Philadelphia Flyers
Brandon Manning – August 2, 2016
Brayden Schenn – July 25, 2016
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz – July 20, 2016
Tampa Bay Lightning
Alex Killorn – July 20, 2016
Vladislav Namestnikov – July 29, 2016
Toronto Maple Leafs
Frank Corrado – July 26, 2016
Peter Holland – July 25, 2016
Martin Marincin – August 2, 2016
Washington Capitals
Marcus Johansson – July 20, 2016
CLUB ELECTED FILINGS
Detroit Red Wings
Petr Mrazek – July 27, 2016
Atlantic Notes: Boston’s Defense, Red Wings, AHL Affiliates
While it’s no secret that the Bruins could use some help on the blueline, CSN’s Joe Haggerty suggests that the help may be coming later rather than sooner in the form of a midseason trade instead of an offseason addition. As things stand, the UFA market for defensemen is getting rather thin quickly and there aren’t many teams willing to trade impact defenders at this time. Players like Anaheim’s Cam Fowler and Colorado’s Tyson Barrie have been mentioned in trade rumors in recent weeks but the asking price for those players is justifiably quite high.
Haggerty suggests that some in Boston’s front office are growing skeptical that one of Brandon Carlo, Robbie O’Gara, or Matt Grzelcyk will be able to step into a top six role to start the season. That would put more pressure on returnees Colin Miller and Joe Morrow, as well as John-Michael Liles, who will begin his first full season with the team.
The Bruins lost Zach Trotman to Los Angeles in free agency while buying out Dennis Seidenberg, thinning their depth on the back end accordingly.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill is a big fan of the Wings’ moves so far this offseason, writes MLive’s Brendan Savage. Early in free agency, the team re-signed center Darren Helm while adding centers Frans Nielsen and Steve Ott as well as winger Thomas Vanek. Blashill acknowledged that Nielsen is expected to center Detroit’s second line next season though he wouldn’t go as far as suggesting who the wingers on that unit may be. Vanek would be a candidate, as would returnees Justin Abdelkader and Tomas Tatar.
- Both the Senators and Canadiens are expected to move their AHL affiliates in time for the 2017-18 season. Jason Miller of the Ottawa Citizen reports that the Sens will move their affiliate from Binghamton, New York to Belleville, Ontario. Meanwhile, the Habs have called a press conference for Monday morning in Laval, Quebec where it’s expected that they will announce what has been speculated for a couple of years, that they will move their farm team from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Laval to play at a new 10,000 seat arena that’s expected to be ready in 2017.
Are Offer Sheets A Thing Of The Past?
This summer’s restricted free agent (RFA) list is quite impressive, with nine 20-goal scorers and 13 players who scored more than 40 points last season. Forwards Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Nikita Kucherov, Marcus Johansson, and Mike Hoffman headline the forwards; while Hampus Lindholm, Tyson Barrie, Rasmus Ristolainen, Danny DeKeyser, and Jacob Trouba are the top defensemen. Detroit’s Petr Mrazek is the only big-name RFA goalie remaining. Most of the above players are eligible for offer sheets.
According to Elliotte Friedman, compensation for offer sheets is as follows:
- Less than $1.239MM (average annual value of contract) – Nothing;
- $1.239-$1.878MM – Third-round pick;
- $1.878-$3.755MM – Second-round pick;
- $3.755-$5.633MM – First and third-round picks;
- $5.633-$7.510MM – First, second and third-round picks;
- $7.510-$9.388MM – Two first, a second and third-round picks;
- Over $9.388MM – Four first-round picks.
With this in mind, teams could target rival teams top young players, with both outcomes having their benefits to the aggressive team: either they acquire a good young player for only picks, or they mess up a rival’s salary cap by inflating the player’s salary.
The threat of an offer sheet was evident last summer, with the Blackhawks trading Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets and the Bruins trading Dougie Hamilton to the Flames. Both players were pending RFAs and in line for a big raise before being shipped out to prevent their teams from being subjected to an offer sheet. However, this summer has been the complete opposite, with teams taking their time to sign the above-mentioned stars, apparently not overly worried about offer sheets.
Why could that be?
The last time an NHL team successfully acquired a player via an offer sheet was in 2007. Then-Oilers-GM Kevin Lowe signed Anaheim Ducks LW Dustin Penner to a 4-year, $21.5MM contract. The Ducks did not match, and the Oilers forked over their first three rounds of draft picks in 2008. Penner enjoyed varying degrees of success in three-and-a-half seasons in Edmonton before being traded to Los Angeles where he won a Stanley Cup. The Penner offer sheet is most fondly remembered by then-Ducks-GM Brian Burke and Lowe’s escalating war of words which nearly lead to a fist-fight in a rented barn in Lake Placid. Commissioner Gary Bettman was forced to have a conference call with the two GMs to get them to stop.
It’s perhaps this sort of reaction that prevents GMs from making offer sheets. Earlier this summer, ESPN and TSN reporter Pierre LeBrun quoted an unnamed GM as threatening opposing GMs with an offer sheet per year for the next ten years as retribution for a potential offer sheet. There appears to be an unspoken agreement between GMs to leave RFAs alone. There hasn’t been an offer sheet tendered since 2013 when Colorado matched Calgary’s contract with Ryan O’Reilly, saving the Flames from an embarrassing and costly mistake.
So despite several fan bases calling for offer sheets, it seems unlikely that any players will be switching sweaters this summer because of one.
Development Camp Notes: Matthews, Bertuzzi, Pokka
After two crazy weeks in the NHL that saw blockbuster trades and nearly a billion dollars spent on the free agent market, teams now hold development camps for their young prospects, evaluating what they have and allowing the recent draftees to get their first taste of an NHL organization.
In Maple Leaf camp, much of the speculation has been around Auston Matthews and his yet-to-be-signed contract. With GM Lou Lamoriello being staunchly against performance bonuses, it’s been opined many times that this is the sticking point. Lamoriello tried to put and end to that today, speaking with Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: “We’re certainly talking to his representative. I don’t think this is something that’s going to take long. I have total confidence that he’ll be under contract. He’s an elite player and will be (in the NHL). No one’s going to be rushed here.”
As we outlined this past week, Matthews could earn upwards of $3MM if he were to max out all the usual bonuses given to top draft picks. Here’s more from around the league’s development camps:
- Tyler Bertuzzi, nephew of former Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi is absent from camp today due to overall soreness, reports Brendan Savage of MLive. The former second-round pick is the elder statesman at Detroit’s camp as he tries to work his way into a bottom-six role in the NHL. After putting up 98 points in his last year of junior, Bertuzzi made an impact at the AHL level last season, scoring 12 goals and 30 points in 71 games.
- In Chicago, the Blackhawks are holding camp without one of their top prospects in Ville Pokka, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. The Finnish defenseman was injured during the World Hockey Championship (in which Finland earned a silver medal), after spending last season with the Rockford Icehogs of the AHL. With 75 points in 144 games at that level, Pokka has turned into the puck-moving defenseman the Islanders hoped for when they made him their second-round pick in 2012. He joined the Chicago organization after being the centerpiece of a deal for Nick Leddy in 2014.
Free Agent Profile: Kyle Quincey
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.
Red Wings Snapshots: Vanek, Cholowski
Though many blasted the term and money used to re-sign Darren Helm, and the idea to bring Steve Ott into the fold, there were some who appreciated the Detroit Red Wings signing of Thomas Vanek. While the Red Wings addressed a need by signing center Frans Nielsen to a six-year deal, the signing of Vanek was one that many labeled as a low risk, high reward. Vanek, who was bought out by Minnesota, inked a one-year, $2.6MM contract and is expected to boost a moribund Red Wings power play that struggled throughout the season and into the playoffs.
There is also a faction of the Wings fan base that believes Vanek prevents a young forward, namely Andreas Athanasiou or Anthony Mantha, from getting a full time spot on the roster. To answer this question and others, MLive’s Tom Mitsos quantified Vanek’s performance and possible future performance by using advanced stats. Mitsos found that as many have pointed out, Vanek appears to be on the downside of his career. Besides the obvious slide in goals, points, and being bought out by his previous team, the advanced measures of his ability don’t bode well for the 32-year-old forward.
Mitsos lists Vanek’s Corsi For percentage as the first indicator. Vanek registered a CF% of 45.45, which is considered below average in terms of puck possession metrics. Further, Mitsos reveals a similar comparison when looking at it from a three year glance. Mitsos also points out that current forward Tomas Tatar, who has been speculated as a possible trade target, has Vanek beaten in almost every major category.
That’s not good, especially since the Red Wings are looking to move pieces to acquire a #1 defenseman, something the team has lacked for nearly five seasons. Moving a player who outpaces another who looks to be a one-year rental hardly helps the long term health of a franchise.
Mitsos concludes that should Vanek tally 20 goals this upcoming season, it would go a long way in justifying the signing. But a deeper statistical dive shows exactly what many suspected: Vanek’s better years are far behind him.
Other Red Wings news:
- 2016 first round draft pick Dennis Cholowski has a lot to like about him writes MLive’s Brendan Savage. The Red Wings front office labeled him an “elite thinker” on the ice, and also spoke highly of his puck possession and offensive abilities. Cholowski is headed to St. Cloud State where he’s expected to develop into a top four defenseman the Red Wings can rely on to produce points. While Ken Holland cautioned fans that the Wings would take their time developing Cholowski, there’s no question their eyes are glued to the young defenseman as a future solution to their current woes on the blue line.
Atlantic Notes: Vesey, Kane, Red Wings, Stamkos
While he is still expected to test the free agent market on August 15th when his negotiating rights expire, Jimmy Vesey will sit down with representatives from the Sabres on Thursday, writes Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. Buffalo traded a third round pick in last month’s draft for the rights to talk to him early and to get to make their pitch to him before anyone else can.
Toronto and Boston are also believed to be on Vesey’s shortlist though he’ll undoubtedly have no shortage of suitors once he’s able to talk to all teams in mid-August.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Still with the Sabres, winger Evander Kane will face non-criminal harassment charges stemming from a bar incident on June 24th, reports Lou Michel of the Buffalo News.
- While Detroit GM Ken Holland acknowledges that the team would still like to add some help on defense, it may take a while for that to happen as he told Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News that a decision may not be made until September. The Red Wings appear to currently have a surplus of forwards that could potentially be used to acquire a blueliner but it may take until training camp to sort out which ones could possibly be expendable, depending on the continued development of youngsters such as Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou.
- Tampa Bay C Steven Stamkos doesn’t appear to have any lingering effects from the blood clot that caused him to miss most of the playoffs, telling Lightning beat writer Bryan Burns that he is already into his full offseason workout routine. That’s certainly a positive sign for both him and the team after Stamkos agreed to the richest deal of the offseason at eight years and $68MM.
Wings Notes: Mrazek, Howard, DeKeyser
When the list of 24 players who filed for arbitration was released by the NHLPA yesterday, the absence of certain names stuck out like a sore thumb. As we touched on, young Detroit netminder Petr Mrazek was among the most prominent names that were left off.
Now, Ken Campbell of The Hockey News reports in his latest column that the Red Wings are likely to take Mrazek to arbitration themselves, filing before today’s deadline of 6pm. Detroit was the only NHL team to take a player to arbitration by today’s deadline. For more on how the arbitration process works, check out the first part of our guide. Here are more notes from Campbell’s column:
- As Mrazek deals with his arbitration uncertainty, the other goalie in the Motor City is unsure of his future with the club as well. Campbell tells us that Ken Holland has said trading Jimmy Howard would be “good for the organization”. Earlier this summer, we reported that Holland has also said Mrazek will definitely be the Wings’ number one goalie this season, meaning that Howard – and his $5.3MM cap hit – may find himself playing somewhere else in 2016-17.
- It sounds much more positive on the Danny DeKeyser front however, as Campbell reports that the star blueliner is close to a deal with the club that will pay him somewhere in the $5MM range. DeKeyser filed for arbitration yesterday, but can still negotiate with the team until his hearing. After three solid seasons in the NHL, DeKeyser is looking to sign a long-term deal with his home town team.