Poll: Who Wins A Loui Eriksson-Milan Lucic Swap?
July 1st, 2016 is a day that a handful of NHL teams would like to forget. As the free agent market opened, mistakes were made, as they usually are, but this year in particular took a heavy toll. David Backes, Loui Eriksson, Andrew Ladd, Milan Lucic, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo: six contracts, each with a term of five or more years, totaling $220MM. The contracts all looked bad right away and now three years later, all six players have been massive disappointments. None of those six teams – the Bruins, Canucks, Islanders, Oilers, Red Wings, and Sabres – have been able to shed those cumbersome contracts to this point either. As with most bad pacts, the teams must either give away something of value or take on a similarly poor contract to move the player. Entering a new off-season, patience is running out on most, if not all, of these players and it seems that long-awaited moves could be on the horizon.
But what if two of these teams simply decided to swap a 2016 mistake? It wouldn’t do much to help with cap compliance, but it would at least allow for the players to get a fresh start and perhaps play at a level closer to what was expected when their contracts were signed. Over the past few days, two players on this unfortunate list have hinted that they may want to leave as much as their teams would like to be rid of them. There seems to be a fit to make a deal as well. As a result, rumors have emerged that Loui Eriksson and Milan Lucic could be traded for one another.
Eriksson, coming off his worst season since he was a rookie in 2006-07, told a Swedish newspaper that he and head coach Travis Green “do not get on 100%”. As translated by The Province’s Patrick Johnston, Eriksson goes on to say that there is a lack of trust from Green, as reflected my a major drop-off in ice time, as well as a lack of opportunity when he is on the ice, as Eriksson feels he has been pigeon-holed into a defensive role. Still a capable two-way winger, Eriksson believes in his ability and promises to “keep fighting”, but is clearly frustrated in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, Lucic stopped just short of saying he would rather be playing for the Canucks right now during an appearance on Sportsnet 650 in Vancouver. When asked if he would welcome a move to his hometown, Lucic’s answer was pretty transparent:
That’s definitely something I wouldn’t rule out. It’s obviously something that potentially could happen. Like you said, things haven’t gone that well for me here with the Oilers. Especially the last year and a half. So a new GM, new coach, which haven’t even been named yet, coming in. You don’t even know what their plan is moving forward, and stuff like that. Like I said, it’s definitely something that could potentially happen… I think the Canucks right now are a very exciting team. I love what (Vancouver GM Jim Benning) has done as far as building the team within through the draft and developing players. He’s done a great job of that. I think Travis has done a really good job as well from a coaching stand point. Like I said, it’s an exciting team and it’s a growing team and you never know what the future has in store for you.
So, Lucic would seemingly like to be in Vancouver and Eriksson would seemingly like to be anywhere else. Benning has never been afraid to shake things up in Vancouver, while the Oilers are close to hiring a new GM, who will almost certainly want to shake things up. This deal, while only a convenient rumor, could happen. But is a one-for-one trade a fair swap? From a production and salary cap standpoint, it’s pretty close between these former Boston Bruins teammates.
Both Eriksson and Lucic carry a $6MM cap hit on their current contracts, but Lucic is signed for four more years versus only three for Eriksson. This is not inconsequential, as another year hurts even more on a bad contract as it additionally impacts potential buyout calculations. Lucic additionally has greater trade protection built into his deal, a problem if he continues to play poorly. The bulk of Eriksson’s actual salary has also largely been paid out in signing bonuses over the past few years, making him more affordable from a payroll standpoint. So while Lucic and Eriksson are even in terms of yearly cap calculations, Eriksson’s contract is friendlier. It is worth considering though that Eriksson, 33, has more tread on his tires than Lucic, 30, and could be less effective in year three than Lucic is in year four.
Lucic has the slight edge in terms of performance, as he has been the least bad of the pair. To his credit, Lucic has been extremely durable during his time in Edmonton, missing only three games over three seasons. In 243 games, the power forward has 104 points, including 39 goals. While his offensive numbers pale in comparison to his early years of production, he has maintained his physical style of play, logging 715 hits. In comparison, Eriksson has struggled to stay healthy with Vancouver. Formerly a tough, two-way winger, Eriksson has missed 50 games in his Canucks tenure and his injury history shows in his play style, which has become far less tenacious. Nevertheless, Eriksson has accumulated 76 points in 196 games, including at least 10 goals each season. It’s not much, but it’s a clip that would put Eriksson only ten points behind Lucic if he had played the same number of games. It’s worth noting that the overall picture looks poor for Eriksson, but he still shows flashes of offensive ability from time to time that Lucic does not.
Needless to say, neither Lucic nor Eriksson are players that any team would be excited to add at this point in time. But if the Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks were to make this trade straight-up, would it be a fair deal? The Canucks land a hometown product who is younger and has been slightly more productive and far more durable over the past few years, while the Oilers get back a player that costs less, both in reality and against the cap, in the long-term and has a more versatile game and could have more upside. What do you think?
Western Notes: Fedun, Oilers’ Front Office, Holden, Kubalik
With lots of questions surrounding the last spot on the Dallas Stars’ defense, SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks reports that Taylor Fedun is expected to play after participating in warm-ups before Game 6 of their second round series against the St. Louis Blues. The veteran defenseman was questionable to play, but he successfully warmed up with no issues.
The team has been hampered by injuries at the third pairing spot alongside Ben Lovejoy, as both Jamie Oleksiak and Joel Hanley are out with injuries, while Fedun has also struggled to get on the ice. The team had a number of options if Fedun could not go, including Dillon Heatherington and Gavin Bayreuther.
- While nothing has been signed, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins suggests that if/when Detroit Red Wings Senior Vice President Ken Holland takes over as General Manager in Edmonton, he’s likely to bring front office personnel with him. He writes that Detroit’s Director of Amateur Scouting Tyler Wright is a likely candidate to follow Holland, as well as Ryan Martin, the Red Wings Assistant General Manager, who is the team’s salary cap guru. He adds that rumors that Dave Tippett could end up as the team’s head coach would be a good move considering the relative success he had in Arizona when the team had little to work with.
- After being relegated to the press box for all but one game in the playoffs, Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nick Holden is motivated to come back and reclaim a spot on Vegas’ blue line, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Ben Gotz. The 31-year-old played in his least amount of regular season games since the 2013-14 season after he was passed on the depth chart by Jonathon Merrill. With one more year on his contract at $2.2MM, Holden must prove he is capable of being a regular. “Whenever you’re sitting out, it’s added motivation to try to bring your level up,” Holden said. “It’s good for a team to have that healthy competition, because that pushes all of us to be better.”
- The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required) writes that while the Chicago Blackhawks are finalists in the sweepstakes to sign Swedish forward Anton Wedin, the team is also expected to sign NLA forward Dominik Kubalik after the World Championships. Kubalik, whose rights were acquired from the Los Angeles Kings on January 24th of this year, is coming off a 25-goal, 57-point season in the Swiss League. The 23-year-old is expected to challenge for a bottom-six spot in the Blackhawks’ lineup immediately.
Oilers Waiting On Ken Holland To Make Decision On GM Opening
Sunday, 9:14 a.m.: TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports that Holland is expected to give his answer today and all indications suggest that he is interested in the job.
Sunday, 8:11 a.m.: Late last night, Friedman signed off, reporting that Holland’s decision on whether to take Edmonton’s five-year, $25MM offer will come in either Sunday or Monday. If Holland does accept the position, Dave Tippett would become the lead candidate for the team’s head coaching job.
Saturday, 8:37 p.m.: Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported (via Sportsnet’s Mark Spector) on Hockey Night in Canada that the Edmonton Oilers have offered Holland a five-year contract at $5MM per year to be the Oilers General Manager.
Saturday, 3:33 p.m.: No decision is expected to be made until next week, but the Edmonton Oilers could be close to choosing their future general manager. In fact, with the franchise having recently narrowed their search to three candidates in Detroit Red Wings Senior Vice President Ken Holland, interim general manager Keith Gretzky and former Toronto Maple Leafs’ assistant general manager Mark Hunter as their top candidates, The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell (subscription required) writes that it already looks like Holland has the inside track on the job.
Holland is expected to return from a trip overseas Saturday night, suggesting that negotiations might heat up soon. While just a few days ago the GM race was considered to be a “two-horse race” between Gretzky and Hunter, Sportsnet’s Marc Spector revealed one day later that the Oilers were going “all-in” on Holland. The question was whether Holland was interested in waiting for a potential general manager job opening in Seattle or would be willing to take over in Edmonton.
Holland is completing his 36th season in Detroit and his 22nd as general manager, but with Steve Yzerman taking over those duties, Holland could be looking for another GM position already. He certainly has a impressive resume, including three Stanley Cup Championships, four Presidents’ Trophies, and has seen his team reach 100-season points 13 times. Unfortunately, his recent resume hasn’t been as exemplary as he has continued to try to keep his franchise-winning teams in contention with questionable free-agent signings and only recently committed to rebuilding their salary-capped franchise. In fact, the Red Wings have finished with a worse record than the struggling Oilers franchise for several years now. Now 63 years old, many people wonder what Holland has done in the NHL lately and whether running a franchise has past him by.
The Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones writes that CEO Bob Nicholson is likely banking on the team hiring Holland, as the scribe believes that Nicholson isn’t enamored with the two other candidates. After two interviews already with Hunter, the fact that they haven’t hired him suggests that Nicholson isn’t comfortable hiring him, while Jones also adds that he doesn’t think Nicholson believes that Gretzky is an “A-list” hire. The belief is that if Holland takes the job, he would have full control of the franchise and that he would never have even begun talking to Nicholson if he wasn’t interested in being a general manager again.
Mitchell adds that if Holland does take over, he will likely bring in his own people into the front office. And while, he believes that there will be a place for Gretzky no matter what, Holland has stated that your need four or five key people in place to run a franchise. One interesting option if Holland does take over is who might become the team’s next head coach, suggesting that Holland has close connections to current Dallas Stars assistant coach Todd Nelson. Changes could also come quickly depending on Holland’s assessment of the Oilers’ core. That core of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Oscar Klefbom, Adam Larsson and Darnell Nurse could be altered, considering he wasn’t the man to bring them in.
Snapshots: Laine, Holland, NWHL
The Winnipeg Jets and Patrik Laine have not had any contract negotiations, according to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest. The 21-year old sniper is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer and is in line for a big raise after his third consecutive 30-goal season to start his career. In fact, Laine has 110 goals over his first three years, but saw his overall point output drop to just 50 this season despite playing in all 82 games.
The Jets have plenty of work to do this offseason with Laine, Kyle Connor and Jacob Trouba all headed for RFA status, and don’t have an eternity to get it done. With more and more reporters believing there is an increased chance of an offer sheet this season, getting deals for Laine and Connor done before July 1st would limit that opportunity for other teams.
- Ken Holland has been the focus of much speculation over the last few days regarding the Edmonton Oilers general manager job, but now some details are becoming clear. Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports that the Oilers are willing to offer complete autonomy to Holland in the role and are waiting to receive an answer. Mark Hunter, Keith Gretzky and Sean Burke, the most commonly reported final candidates, have not been ruled out as back up plans if Holland turns the Oilers down.
- The first cracks are showing in the NWHL after more than 200 players announced a boycott of all North American women’s professional leagues. Hailey Salvian and Katie Strang of The Athletic (subscription required) report that the 2019-20 season for the Buffalo Beauts is “up in the air” and that several players have “serious doubts” whether they will be operational. The reporters also indicated that expansion into Montreal and Toronto, two markets that were left vacant when the CWHL closed their doors earlier this year, is no longer likely.
Seattle Willing To Wait For General Manager Candidates
The Vegas Golden Knights had a valuable asset, and they knew it. When the team promoted Kelly McCrimmon to general manager yesterday, teams around the league had to change course on their own front office searches. The Edmonton Oilers were interested in McCrimmon, but according to Ryan Rishaug of TSN are now looking at either Keith Gretzky or Mark Hunter for the job. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic adds that the Seattle expansion franchise is “willing to be patient” now that McCrimmon is off the market. The Seattle group “would have gone hard” this summer to hire McCrimmon, but could now wait until next year.
It was always a possibility that the new team wouldn’t have a GM until 2020. The Vegas Golden Knights hired George McPhee to lead their expansion preparation in July 2016, less than a year before they had to make their selections in the expansion draft. The Seattle team won’t be doing that until 2021, meaning there is still plenty of time to get the management group in order.
Still, McCrimmon seemed like a perfect candidate given his success with Vegas in the first draft. The Seattle team will try to emulate the Golden Knights’ success, but may not have quite so many opportunities to pull good young players away now that team’s have experience preparing for a draft of this nature. LeBrun notes that Ken Holland may still be of “serious interest” to the Seattle group, but the Red Wings executive is taking his time to decide what is next.
Of note is the recent report that Dave Tippett has interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres coaching position. The veteran coach was serving in an advisory role for the Seattle organization and some had speculated that he would join their front office in some capacity. It appears as though the coaching bug has bitten Tippett again however, leaving it unclear whether or not he will be part of the organization for much longer.
Speculation Still Surrounding Ken Holland
The Edmonton Oilers lost a potential GM candidate today when the Vegas Golden Knights promoted Kelly McCrimmon in an effort to keep him with the franchise. It was no secret that the team was hoping McCrimmon would become available, but will have to turn their search in a different direction now. Immediately, the Golden Knights’ announcement made people wonder if former Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland would appear at the top of the Edmonton short list once again, or perhaps even be recruited by the expansion Seattle franchise which had also shown interest in McCrimmon.
Holland recently left the Red Wings position in order to bring Steve Yzerman back into the organization, but signed a multi-year extension in order to stay on in a senior position. That means there isn’t any rush for Holland to find another job, and he is apparently going to take some of that time. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that Holland is “currently taking stock of what lies ahead for him” but that the jobs in Edmonton and Seattle are still possibilities. For what it’s worth, Ryan Rishaug of TSN believes that the Edmonton situation is essentially a “two horse race” between Keith Gretzky and Mark Hunter.
There is obviously good reason to believe Holland would be open to another front office role with increased responsibility. While he admitted that he allowed Yzerman to come back to Detroit in order to help the franchise, a 62-year old Holland had signed a two-year extension with the Red Wings just over a year ago, expecting to be leading the rebuild. That rebuild has gone quite well, despite the Red Wings’ struggles on the ice the last few seasons. The team has started to shed their long expensive contracts and has a better prospect pool than they have had in years. Detroit will also pick four times in the first two rounds this June, and ten times overall unless Yzerman makes an additional move.
Holland commands quite a bit of respect around the league, and if LeBrun is correct that he will “want to probably resurface at some point” there undoubtedly will be organizations willing to offer him the GM role. We’ll have to wait and see if that time comes this summer or down the road, but nothing seems imminent at this point.
Kelly McCrimmon Promoted To Vegas GM
The Edmonton Oilers will not be hiring Vegas Golden Knights assistant general manger Kelly McCrimmon. That’s because the Golden Knights have promoted him to GM, while George McPhee will remain as President of Hockey Operations. Team owner Bill Foley released a statement:
This is a very exciting announcement for our club and Vegas Golden Knights fans around the world. George and Kelly are a fantastic team. From the mock draft exercises and preparation leading up to the Expansion Draft, building out our coaching staff, and continually improving our team through the draft, trades, signings and free agency, the work they have done over the last three years has been remarkable. Together they have constructed a championship-caliber team in a very short time. This personnel move ensures that our hockey operations group stays intact and positions our organization for long term success.
The Golden Knights have experienced unprecedented success for an expansion team, and a huge part of that has been the work that McCrimmon did as assistant GM. McPhee and McCrimmon were almost flawless in their execution of the expansion draft strategy that netted them players like Jon Marchessault, Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt, and turned that strategy into a Stanley Cup Final appearance in their first season.
A promotion like this ensures that McCrimmon stays with the Golden Knights, something that wasn’t so clear before the announcement. Edmonton who were reportedly interested in hiring McCrimmon for their front office vacancy, will now shift their focus somewhere else and perhaps back to interim GM Keith Gretzky. The team had wanted to interview several candidates for the opening, and have had at least two with former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant GM Mark Hunter. Hunter’s name is exactly who Darren Dreger of TSN suggests in a tweet, while also listing Gretzky and former NHL goaltender and Arizona Coyotes executive Sean Burke.
The next expansion franchise in Seattle will also have to cross McCrimmon’s name off the list, as they were another team with reported interest in bringing him aboard. That made a lot of sense given his experience in the process, but the new organization will have to find another way to navigate their expansion draft and inaugural season.
Edmonton Oilers Sign Ryan McLeod
Wednesday: The Oilers officially announced a three-year entry-level contract for McLeod which will start next season, and an amateur tryout that allows him to join the Condors right away. McLeod will wear No. 28 for Bakersfield.
Tuesday: The Edmonton Oilers were far from playoff contention this season, but that wasn’t the case for their AHL affiliate. The Bakersfield Condors were one of the most exciting teams in the AHL this season and will begin a second-round playoff series on Friday against the San Diego Gulls. According to Mark Spector of Sportsnet they’re hoping to get some help for that series in the form of top prospect Ryan McLeod, who the Oilers are working to get signed this week.
McLeod, 19, was selected 40th overall last June and had another solid season in the OHL. The incredibly smooth skating forward recorded 62 points in 63 games split between the Mississauga Steelheads and Saginaw Spirit, only to record another 12 in 17 playoff contests. The Spirit were defeated by the Guelph Storm in seven games during the Western finals, meaning McLeod is free to join the AHL for the rest of the season.
Like his older brother, New Jersey Devils forward Michael McLeod, the Oilers prospect is a confident two-way player that looks ready to make a contribution at the professional level. While he may not have the huge point production of some of his contemporaries, his skating, size and work ethic are all good enough for him to take the next step. That speed is of considerable interest to an Oilers team that always seemed one step behind their opponents thi season—except of course for their captain—and something they will welcome happily into the organization.
Since he won’t turn 20 until September 21st, McLeod will not burn the first year of his potential entry-level contract even if he jumps right into the AHL playoffs this season.
2019 Hart Trophy Finalists Announced
The finalists for the Hart Trophy, given to the player most valuable to his team, have been announced. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the three finalists are Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid.
Kucherov is considered to be a favorite for the award after putting up a tremendous year. The 25-year-old took his game to another level as he has already captured this year’s Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in total points. He finished the year with 41 goals and 128 points, the most in the league since the 1995-96 season. His totals are also the most-ever by a Russian-born NHL player. Kucherov has also been nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, awarded to the most outstanding player and voted on by the players. Kucherov led his team to the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the best regular-season record.
Crosby had an impressive season as well. Often forgotten when talking about the league’s best players, Crosby helped lead the Penguins to the playoffs this year and did it by breaking the 100-point mark for the first time in five years. On top of that, he was 18-points better than any other players on his team, making his season quite valuable for a Pittsburgh franchise that struggled to get into the playoffs this season.
McDavid’s name is not surprising either, other than the fact that the Edmonton Oilers didn’t have a very impressive season and while they weren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs until late in the season, they were never truly considered to be a playoff threat this season. In fact, McDavid is just the sixth player in NHL history to be a Hart finalist from a non-playoff team. McDavid, however, who won the Hart Trophy in the 2016-17 season when he tallied 30 goals and 100 points, continues to improve on each season as he tallied 41 goals and 116 points to reach new career highs.
Several interesting players were left off the finalist list as well, including Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane.
Oilers Down To Three Candidates In Their GM Search
It appears that the Oilers are making progress in their search for a new general manager. In an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Edmonton has narrowed its list of candidates down to three names. Two have been widely speculated for a while in former Toronto assistant GM Mark Hunter and current Vegas assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon while the third has yet to be determined. Friedman suggests that Ken Holland would warrant consideration but there are doubts that the now-former Detroit GM would seek that position so quickly. Interim GM Keith Gretzky could also be the other option being considered. A decision on who to hire is expected after the World Under-18’s conclude on Sunday.