Edmonton’s Tough Decision On Kailer Yamamoto
One of the more interesting decisions when it comes to the junior-aged NHL players as they approach the cut-off mark before the first year of their entry-level contract kicks in is with Edmonton and winger Kailer Yamamoto. While he didn’t play much early on, Leon Draisaitl’s concussion has given the rookie a chance to skate on the top line and he has made the most of it with three assists in the last three games while averaging nearly 20 minutes per night in ice time. Players with that type of responsibility don’t typically get sent back.
However, there are other factors potentially at play when it comes to Yamamoto. When Draisaitl returns, will there still be a spot for the rookie inside Edmonton’s top-six? Given his very small stature (he’s listed at 5’8 and 154 pounds and was the smallest first rounder in NHL history), Yamamoto is not the type of player that typically fits in a lower-line role. There are also questions about whether or not he will be able to withstand the rigors of a full NHL season even if he is certainly holding his own for the time being.
Then there is the salary cap. While it’s not a big factor this season with Connor McDavid still on his entry-level contract, that will change next year when his $12.5MM deal kicks in. When that happens, the Oilers are going to become a team that spends right to the Upper Limit every year and with some other big-ticket deals on the books (Draisaitl, Milan Lucic, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins), Edmonton is going to need some cheaper contracts to fill out the roster.
Sending Yamamoto back before he plays his tenth NHL game would keep him cheaper for one more year at a cap hit that actually would be slightly lower than his current $925K thanks to the treatment of signing bonuses on players whose contracts slide. (It would drop to just over $894K.) While that would be more beneficial for them three years from now, it would also weaken their current roster which is a trade-off that GM Peter Chiarelli will seriously need to consider.
Alternatively, the Oilers could opt to keep him around past nine games and look towards the 40 games on the active roster threshold. If they were to send him back before that mark, he would still burn the first year of his contract but wouldn’t accrue a year towards unrestricted free agency. That’s the route they took with Draisaitl back in 2014-15 and that played a bit of an impact on his long-term deal as instead of having to buy out six UFA years with the max-term eight-year contract, they only had to cover five which likely helped to slightly lower the AAV.
Because he was a healthy scratch for a handful of games earlier on, Yamamoto isn’t as close to the games played threshold as several others around the league are (teams will be making calls on several players early next week). He is suiting up in his sixth game today so that will give Edmonton a bit more time to see how the 19-year-old fares on their top unit and assess how close Draisaitl is to returning to the lineup but it’s safe to say that Yamamoto is going to make this decision a lot harder than it seemed just a week ago.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Talks Increase Between Red Wings, Athanasiou
The final restricted free agent to be signed is Andreas Athanasiou, who has not been able to work out a deal with the Detroit Red Wings. Athanasiou has been skating in Switzerland to try and stay ready for the season should a deal be worked out, but there had been little discussion in recent weeks between the two sides.
That seems to be changing now, as Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that dialogue between Athanasiou’s agent Darren Ferris and the Red Wings has really increased in the last few days. McKenzie cautions that there is nothing imminent, and even suggests that Athanasiou could sign in Switzerland to start playing real games.
The Red Wings are actually off to a solid start to the year, going 4-2 in their first six games and scoring more than most expected. Some of that has to do with Mike Green‘s impressive nine point performance in the early going, but the team has also leaned on younger players like Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin and Martin Frk. Should Athanasiou return quickly, perhaps the young guns in Detroit are better positioned to push this team close to a playoff spot than many believed before the season began.
Still, the Red Wings are in tough with the salary cap. According to CapFriendly, the team has used all of the space provided by Johan Franzen‘s LTIR status and currently project to be over the cap by the end of the season. That means, in order to sign Athanasiou and bring him onto the active roster they’d need to make a corresponding move. If the reported $1.9MM (two years for $3.8MM in actuality) price tag is true, it’s a lot of room to move quickly. One option would be the much speculated Riley Sheahan, who comes in at just under $2.1MM, or sending at least two players down to the minor leagues. Detroit is already operating with just 22 players, one fewer than the maximum allowed for an NHL roster.
Leon Draisaitl Placed On Injured Reserve
The Edmonton Oilers have placed star forward Leon Draisaitl on injured reserve following an evaluation, and will not be available to the team during the upcoming road trip. Draisaitl is dealing with an eye injury and now a concussion, and has no timetable on his return.
For the Oilers, this is just another setback in what has been a tough start to the year. With just one win in their first four games and coming off a blowout loss against the visiting Ottawa Senators, the team hasn’t been able to find their identity early in the year. Though Connor McDavid has five points in four games, the team as a whole has only scored seven even-strength goals and just a single tally on the powerplay. Losing Draisaitl—one of only two other players with at least three points on the year—for any length of time won’t help those numbers improve.
With Draisaitl out, the team went with Kailer Yamamoto on the first line with McDavid at practice today, with Ryan Strome moving from center to the second line wing. While Yamamoto registered his first NHL point against Ottawa, and has generally impressed early in the season, putting a 154-lbs, barely 19-year old player out for nearly 19 minutes a night is a lot to ask. While Yamamoto definitely has the skill to stick in the NHL, it’s hard to rely on him that heavily in the face of the “Stanley Cup Contender” expectations.
Drake Caggiula Placed On IR
The Oilers announced that they have placed forward Drake Caggiula on injured reserve. The 23-year-old last played on October 7th so assuming they back-dated the placement, he will be eligible to be activated at any time but this frees up a spot on the 23-man roster.
With center Leon Draisaitl now in concussion protocol, some speculated that the Oilers would turn around and sign center Chris Kelly, who has been skating with the team despite being released from his PTO at the end of training camp. However, the team instead opted to recall veteran Brad Malone from Bakersfield of the AHL to take Caggiula’s roster spot. The 28-year-old has three points in three minor league games this season and has 176 career NHL games under his belt between Colorado and Carolina.
Draisaitl Out For Saturday, Potentially Longer
Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl will miss Saturday’s game against Ottawa and possibly longer with an eye injury and a potential concussion, head coach Todd McLellan told reporters, including Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski. Draisaitl has missed the last three practices with his eye being swollen to the point where it was impairing his vision but McLellan suggested there could be more to the injury, noting that they are waiting to hear more about his condition and how it might affect his head. Fresh off his eight-year, $68MM contract, the 21-year-old has played a big role once again early on for Edmonton with three points in as many games while averaging over 20 minutes a night of ice time.
Pacific Notes: McDavid, Sutter, Boeser, Kempe
Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid rejected the idea outright. Without blinking, the young superstar made it very clear that scoring 100 goals is impossible. Just days ago, Jaromir Jagr predicted that McDavid could score 100 goals someday, but McDavid would have none of that., according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.
“It’s not possible at all … no one’s ever done it,” said the 20-year-old McDavid, who scored 30 goals a year ago. “Not going to happen.”
The closest anyone has ever come was by Wayne Gretzky, who scored 92 goals in the 1981-82 season. Gretzky also had 87 goals in 1983-84. Alex Ovechkin, who has seven goals in the Capitals first two games might have a better shot at it than McDavid. However, the 32-year-old’s best season was 65 goals in 2007-08.
- In the same article, Matheson pointed out that McDavid played his first game without taking a faceoff in Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. The center yielded to linemate Leon Draisaitl, who is a better faceoff specialist, having won 49 percent of his faceoffs (out of 972 attempts) in the 2016-17 season, while McDavid won just 43 percent (806 attempts). “People know that I’m not that good on faceoffs,” McDavid said. “It’s one of the perks of having Leon on the line.”
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Sun writes that a lot of the credit that goes towards the Canucks 3-2 victory Saturday was the play of Brandon Sutter. The 28-year-old center and his line of Markus Granlund and Derek Dorsett shutdown McDavid, who didn’t register a point in the game and finished with a plus/minus of -1 in 24:38 of ice time.
- In the same article, Botchford writes that the public outcry that top prospect Brock Boeser was scratched due to the team focusing more on shutting down Edmonton’s offense. “I know it’s a hot topic,” Vancouver head coach Travis Green said. “He’s going to play. He’s going to get his chance. We set our lineup against a very strong Edmonton team. He’s not going to sit here for a month.”
- Curtis Zupke of the Los Angeles Times writes that Los Angeles Kings’ Adrian Kempe‘s role on the forward line is already beginning to diminish. The former 2014 first-round pick only played two shifts in the third period for the second straight game and it looks like Alex Iafallo has taken his place on the second line of the power play. Kempe has struggled to break through as a wing on the professional level. He scored 12 goals in 46 games for the Ontario Reign of the AHL last year and scored just two goals for the Kings in 25 games.
Andreas Athanasiou Heading To Switzerland
Detroit Red Wings restricted free agent forward Andreas Athanasiou remains unsigned… for now. The latest news on the league’s last remaining RFA comes from TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who shares that Athanasiou is on his way to Switzerland to skate with HC Lugano of the NLA. McKenzie was quick to add that Athanasiou has not signed Lugano and is still evaluating his options, but his commitment to going overseas for the time being raises more doubts that he will suit up in the NHL this season.
A recent poll revealed that most fans felt Athanasiou and former holdout Josh Anderson would each re-sign with their respective teams. The second most popular answer was that the pair would both play overseas. Anderson has done his part to prove true the majority, re-upping with the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Athanasiou has not made any similar progress with Detroit and seems more likely to join in the dissenting opinion. Interestingly, it was Anderson who had been connected to the NLA this off-season, with Athanasiou reportedly fielding offers from the KHL. Athanasiou may still end up in Russia, but with an influx of talent heading to the NLA in recent years and the the past success of Lugano, who has not missed the playoffs in six years, the team is far from a poor fit. Athanasiou would be skating alongside former Red Wing Damien Brunner, as well as NHL veterans Maxim Lapierre and Bobby Sanguinetti should he sign with Lugano and the talented group could very well make a title run in 2017-18.
Still, the best thing for Athanasiou and for hockey is for the skilled 23-year-old to stay in North America. In just his second NHL season, the young center scored 18 goals and defied expectations for a Detroit team with few bright spots. The Red Wings may not want to overpay – in salary or term – for Athanasiou, who did have an unsustainable 15% shooting percentage in 2016-17 and is only in the early stages of developing a defensive game, but the best decision is always to work things out. Just ask the Dallas Stars, who missed the playoffs last season and had to go on a spending spree this summer in hopes of righting the ship. They would love to have Valeri Nichushkin back, the talented young winger who left the team in the summer of 2016 to head to the KHL, where he remains, after failing to come to terms in restricted free agency. Maybe the Red Wings would rather trade Athanasiou or maybe they’ll realize their mistake and work out a contract. Either way, there seems to be little upside to simply losing the scoring youth for this season (or longer). Athanasiou skating with Lugano may just be the straw that finally breaks Ken Holland‘s back.
Minor Transactions: 10/05/17
We’ll keep track of all the assignments around the league right here, as teams fine tune their rosters.
- The Golden Knights assigned Brandon Pirri to the Chicago Wolves after clearing waivers. The 26-year old forward was just signed to a contract yesterday, after failing to earn on in Florida’s training camp. For the Golden Knights, there is no risk to signing a former 20+ goal scorer to see if he can still compete at this level. The team may be weak on offense all year, and could look to Pirri to infuse some scoring touch on the powerplay at some point.
- The Boston Bruins sent Emil Johansson back to Providence, and will go with the more veteran Paul Postma as their extra defenseman. Johansson joined the organization last year after his European season was over, and played in six games for the P-Bruins down the stretch. A seventh-round pick, Johansson is highly regarded by the Bruins staff and could get his shot at the NHL at some point this year.
- The Calgary Flames made another move, sending Garnet Hathaway to the minor leagues in order to clear room for Jaromir Jagr. Jagr was introduced yesterday at a press conference but likely won’t suit up for the team until he gets a few practices under his belt. The Flames could have used his offense last night as they were shutout by the Edmonton Oilers, in a game where Hathaway played just 11 minutes.
- The Washington Capitals have loaned Chandler Stephenson to Hershey after clearing waivers, meaning the 23-year old will have to wait patiently for his next NHL opportunity. Since being drafted in the third round, Stephenson has only been given short chances at a job with the Capitals, playing in 13 games over the past two years. Still looking for his first NHL point, he’ll have to prove it at the AHL level once again.
- Grand Rapids will be getting some help, as the Detroit Red Wings have assigned Matt Lorito and Eric Tangradi to the AHL. Tangradi cleared waivers today, and will return to the team he helped take to the Calder Cup championship a year ago. In the playoffs for Grand Rapids, Tangradi scored 19 points in 19 games, and will try to do the same this year. The Griffins have also signed Matt Carey to a professional tryout, and sent Matej Machovsky to the ECHL.
- According to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, the Avalanche have indeed sent Joe Colborne to San Antonio to begin the season. Colborne was among those who cleared waivers today, and will have to work his way up from the minor leagues if he wants to return to the NHL. It’s a far fall for Colborne, who was a 19-goal scorer in the league just two seasons ago with Calgary, but suffered the same fate as many Avalanche players and posted a career-low in points last season. Scoring just eight all year, his $2.5MM salary looks like a dreadful overpay.
- The Blue Jackets have assigned defenseman Markus Nutivaara to the AHL (via the Cleveland Monsters website). For the former seventh-round pick appeared in 66 games during his rookie campaign, collecting two goals and five assists. He also made his way into a pair of playoff games, compiling one goal and one assist.
Ben Levine contributed to this post.
Chris Kelly To Remain With Oilers As A Practice Player
- The Oilers have asked center Chris Kelly to remain with the team as an unsigned player, notes Paul Gazzola on the Oilers’ team website. While he won’t be able to play in any games, he’ll be able to practice with the team and can continue to battle for a roster spot that way. This is the same approach that Toronto had with Brandon Prust last season while Brooks Laich has a similar arrangement with the Kings this year.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Edmonton Oilers
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Edmonton Oilers
Current Cap Hit: $65,647,000 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Matt Benning (One year remaining, $925K)
F Drake Caggiula (One year remaining, $925K)
F Connor McDavid (One year remaining, $925K)
F Jesse Puljujarvi (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Anton Slepyshev (One year remaining, $925K)
F Kailer Yamamoto (Three years remaining, $925K)
D Darnell Nurse (One year remaining, $863K)
Potential Bonuses
McDavid: $2.85MM
Puljujarvi: $2.5MM
Nurse: $850K
Slepyshev: $600K
Caggiula: $425K
Benning: $300K
Yamamoto: $230K
Total: $7.755MM
Believe it or not, McDavid is still on the list as the Art Ross Trophy winner, Hart Memorial Trophy winner, and Ted Lindsay Award winner is on the last year of his entry-level deal. McDavid will also be listed later in the story under four year and more as McDavid signed his eight year, $100MM extension this summer and will be locked up long term regardless. More on him later …
The Oilers have high expectations for both Benning and Nurse to take that next step. With injuries mounting, both should be vaulted into bigger roles than they were last year. The 23-year-old Benning played in 62 games last year and played solidly while filling in for injured players. The 22-year-old Nurse also had a solid showing in 44 games this year. Both may be asked to jump onto top-four pairings on defense throughout the year.
Slepyshev, who suffered an ankle injury in the offseason looks close to being ready. He had 10 points in 41 games a year ago, but also scored three goals in the playoffs for Edmonton last year and many feel the 23-year-old is ready to take that next step. Caggiula, a big college player from the University of North Dakota, had seven goals and 18 points in 60 games a year ago in his first year with Edmonton and is also thought to be a player ready to make a jump.
Both Yamamoto and Puljujarvi (Edmonton’s 2017 and 2016 first-round picks, respectively) went head-to-head and battled it out for a final roster spot this training camp with Yamamoto getting the edge and Puljujarvi getting sent to Bakersfield, but don’t be surprised if Puljujarvi is back up at some point during the season.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Mark Fayne ($2.6MM, UFA – team saved $1.025MM in cap relief by sending him to AHL)
F Ryan Strome ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Mark Letestu ($1.8MM, UFA)
F Patrick Maroon ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Jussi Jokinen ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Laurent Brossoit ($750K, RFA)
F Iiro Pakarinen ($725K, RFA)
Perhaps the most interesting player the team must focus on will be Maroon, who had a breakout year playing next to McDavid. The 29-year-old wing scored 27 goals and has proven to be one guy who seems to play well next to McDavid. He is a presence in front of the net and a physical force for the team.
Letestu, is another player the team will have to consider. Likely to be the team’s fourth-line center, Letestu put up 16 goals last year, although that was a career high and he’s already 32 years old. Jokinen, who signed a one-year deal this offseason, put up 11 goals last year in Florida, but at 34 years old is likely not a priority to the team.
As for restricted free agents, the team will take a long look at Strome, who the team acquired in the Jordan Eberle deal. The 24-year-old center has had an inconsistent career with the New York Islanders, but put up 13 goals and 30 points last year. The Oilers hope he can keep improving on those numbers. Brossoit will get his first chance to be Talbot’s backup. The 24-year-old looked promising in eight appearances last year.