Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Expansion

Evening Notes: Blackhawks, Flyers, Palmquist

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Minnesota Wild have locked up 26 year-old defenseman Zach Palmquist to a one-year, two way contract, per Renaud Lavoie. The NHL value of the contract is $725,000. Palmquist has not yet played an NHL game, but played in 72 games for the AHL affiliate Iowa Wild last season. Palmquist is a low-scoring two-way defender, but at barely 6 foot tall, relies more on his skating and stick-checking to find success. He has a decent, accurate pass but cannot be relied upon for consistent offensive production. Still, he was trapped in a gigantic logjam with the glut of defensemen in the Minnesota system. Perhaps he finally gets his cup of tea as a bottom-pairing defender in 2017-18.

  • Mark Lazarus of the Chicago Sun-Times contemplates the effect the Chicago overhaul will have on on-ice performance next season. He’s quick to point out that the 2016-17 Blackhawks had the second-best record in franchise history, which is quite storied. That said, it seems unlikely that the Hawks will be able to replicate that regular season success with such incredible turnover. Lazarus may be a little premature in his worry about post-season contention or management firings, but GM Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville will undoubtedly start feeling heat if the season starts off on a sour note. Losing Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson in particular have drawn ire from the fanbase, and it will be interesting to see how much faith ownership maintains if Chicago struggles early in the incredibly deep Central division. Although many of the moves were made out of salary cap necessity, the expectation is to win.
  • The Flyers never do seem to fully alleviate their goaltending troubles. Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer is quick to point out that free-agent acquisition Brian Elliott is not the answer to all their woes in between the pipes. He points out with particular concern the unlikelihood of Michal Neuvirth playing a full 40+ game split, which he hasn’t done outside of one season. Ford also attacks the tandem goaltending model, stating that it rarely finds success – though that is certainly a matter of debate. Elliott himself had his best season of his career for the 2011-12 Blues in a tandem with Jaroslav Halak. Ultimately, the franchise seems to be pinning its long-term hopes on either Carter Hart,18  or Felix Sandstrom, 20 – but neither is a sure thing. GM Ron Hextall is still not sold on Anthony Stolarz (even after protecting him in the expansion draft) and will watch his progress closely next season with the AHL Phantoms in Lehigh Valley.

Kings Looking To Shift Course

at CDT | by 9 Comments

After missing the playoffs two seasons in a row, the L.A. Kings have fallen pretty hard from grace. After winning the cup twice in three years, it’s been one bad story after another for the team from Hollywood. Dustin Brown was stripped of the captaincy and relegated to bottom-six duties, not long after former key contributor Mike Richards found himself terminated due to a combination of on-ice, off-ice, and salary issues. Matt Greene had to be bought out entirely. Marian Gaborik is 35, signed for four more seasons, and just put together two underwhelming performances back-t0-back. The defense has gotten more top-heavy, and after losing Brayden McNabb to Vegas in the expansion draft, is set to lose another valuable piece. The head coach who earned the franchise its two rings was fired and a re-tread coach from Philadelphia will get his opportunity in 2017-18.

In an article with the L.A. Times written by Helene Elliotts, GM Rob Blake details the change in philosophy the Kings will need to adopt if they are going to find success in the near future. Ultimately, he wants to predicate the team’s identity more on speed, while staying true to their defensive style. Los Angeles has played a heavy, physical, stifling game to get their championships, and it appears that Blake is shifting away from that mantra next season. He isolated the “core” of the team as Anze Kopitar, Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, and Jonathan Quick. It might be drawn from his sentiment thatt other, more expendable pieces that may be available if the Kings continue to merely tread water.

Los Angeles did make a decent bargain-bin signing in Mike Cammalleri, who was sunk by a capsized New Jersey Devils squad last season. The potential for him to rebound and be productive is quite high, but it may not be nearly enough. The Kings beat out only Philadelphia, Colorado, New Jersey and Vancouver in terms of fewest goals scored. Carter and Pearson were the only twenty-goal scorers on the team. Guaranteed offense is an absolute need, and although former coach Darryl Sutter’s systems were a component of the struggles, the team needs more reliable production. Their defense is still the team’s greatest organizational strength, but it does strike some as odd that a player like McNabb wasn’t shuffled elsewhere for scoring help rather than being sacrificed for nothing to expansion.

If the Kings decide at this late stage to go the free agency route, their options are solid if a bit older. If speed is the determinant factor, that may seem to rule out the likes of Jaromir Jagr and Jarome Iginla, while leaving the possibility of a Thomas Vanek signing open. More likely, however, the Blake and the Kings will need to probe the trade market. From there, the team will likely need to surrender future assets if they hope to receive solid scoring in a returning package. The team could take a lot of offensive pressure off of Kopitar (who himself is more of a two-way player) if they could swing a trade for a solid center. Matt Duchene is likely out of their price range, and Alex Galchenyuk’s value just skyrocketed. The bottom-six wingers are dreadfully lacking in experience, so an upgrade to the third line couldn’t hurt. Cap space is tight, however, as the team will only have over $5.5 MM after re-signing RFAs Nick Shore and Kevin Gravel. It may take outside-the-box thinking to bring the Kings back into contender status, but Blake seems primed to make moves, albeit on his own timeline.

Red Wings Acquire Keeper Tom McCollum

at CDT | by 1 Comment

On the biggest signing day of the year, the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings have instead been talking trade. The Flames have agreed to send goalie Tom McCollum, extended only for Expansion Draft purposes, to the Detroit Red Wings for a conditional seventh-round draft pick, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The Flames, who have recently added both Mike Smith and Eddie Lack in net and have to also accommodate prospects Jon Gillies and Mason McDonald, were reportedly working to loan McCollum out to another AHL team anyway. Instead, McCollum will head back to Detroit, the organization who drafted him and where he spent the first seven years of his career, presumably to back up Jared Coreau in the AHL.

Dion Phaneuf Expected To Stay In Ottawa

at CDT | by 2 Comments

After rumors of his availability have been passed around ever since the end of the season, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Dion Phaneuf should now be expected to stay with the Ottawa Senators. The 32-year old has a partial no-trade clause and clearly doesn’t want to leave Ottawa for just anywhere, as implicated by his refusal to waive his no-movement clause prior to the expansion draft. While nothing is ever off the table entirely, Phaneuf should be suiting up for the Senators on opening night in 2017-18.

The former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been the target of some ire in Ottawa, mostly due to his contract that will see him cause a cap hit of $7MM for the next four seasons. Though the actual salary drops incrementally to $5.5MM by the last season—an important thing to note for a budget team like Ottawa—Phaneuf’s deal is extremely difficult to trade. His play, though not completely unacceptable, isn’t close to the high-flying offensive defensemen of his youth and not nearly impactful enough to justify his salary. His skating has deteriorated over the years, but he’s still a 30+ point defender capable of logging big minutes in every situation.

Ottawa still definitely has some use for him, especially after Marc Methot was selected and flipped by the Vegas Golden Knights, but a transition to the younger options will need to be done at some point. As players like Thomas Chabot, Ben Harpur and Fredrik Claesson become more and more reliable in the NHL they will draw minutes away from the big defender. Though he may be staying put for now, that doesn’t mean he won’t be on the move in the future.

For now, the Senators and their defensive, trapping coach Guy Boucher will likely employ Phaneuf and Cody Ceci as a sort of shutdown unit once again, freeing up Erik Karlsson and whoever his new partner is (assuming it’s not Phaneuf himself) to contribute more offensively against weaker opposition. It will be interesting to see if Chabot, should he make the team out of camp, is given any powerplay time right off the bat. Phaneuf was a big part of their second unit, but could give way if the younger, more dynamic player is to make an impact.

Vegas Golden Knights Can Technically Trade Players Back

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Though it had been thought for quite some time that there was a rule preventing the Vegas Golden Knights from trading any player selected in the expansion draft back to his original team until January 1st of 2018, Pierre LeBrun of TSN clarifies the rule. There is no rule to block those trades, and teams are free to reacquire the players lost in the draft should they come to an agreement with Vegas.

Instead, the rule in place which was misunderstood is one blocking teams from reacquiring players they traded to other teams just before the draft. That would have stopped teams from just moving pieces around to block Vegas from selecting them, only to move everyone back after the draft. The new understanding though adds some wrinkles to the next few months, as teams like Nashville or Ottawa could potentially bring back players like James Neal or Marc Methot.

While there likely won’t be many instances of players being sent back, it could come into play for some teams who can’t seem to fill the new hole in free agency. For teams like Washington, who lost Nate Schmidt and may have trouble finding a suitable replacement after also losing both Kevin Shattenkirk and Karl Alzner to free agency, having at least the option of bringing him back is helpful. This is just another way in which the league can help Vegas, by opening up another team for them to negotiate with as they try to flip their selections.

New York Rangers Have Plenty Of Holes To Fill

at CDT | by 6 Comments

The New York Rangers are a team with multiple holes to fill during the offseason as they have lost two key players in center Derek Stepan, who they traded to Arizona on Friday and blueliner Dan Girardi, who they waived before the expansion protection rosters were due a week ago, to protect younger players. On top of that, both proved to be among the team’s top defenders against opposing teams’ top lines. They must be able to replace that.

Both holes, not including the backup goaltending spot that was vacated after the team moved Anttii Raanta to the Coyotes as well, must be filled from without and the franchise didn’t get much immediate help in return from Arizona. The team received 21-year-old defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who played 39 games for the hapless Coyotes. While the former 2014 first-rounder fared well in those games, putting up five goals and nine assists in that span, that doesn’t translate that he will make the roster outright with the Rangers. The other asset they received in the trade was the No. 7 pick in the 2017 draft, which turned into 18-year-old center Lias Andersson, who will likely need a few years to reach New York.

According to New York Posts’ Larry Brooks, the team should look into acquiring two veterans who can fill those roles for the next year or two until some of their younger players are ready for bigger roles. The scribe lists 37-year-old center Joe Thornton as the perfect player to take over as the team’s top center. He could play next to his friend Rick Nash and form a solid line. A second option would be to trade for New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk to fill that same spot, despite the possibility that New Jersey’s general manager Ray Shero may force the team to move a quality player. If the team promotes from within, there should be a lot of pressure of 2010 first-rounder Kevin Hayes, who at 25, might be ready to take his game to the next level. Hayes has had three solid seasons with the Rangers, putting up nearly 50 points this last year and might be ready for an increased role.

On defense, the team should have close to $20MM in cap space and are expected to be players in the free agent market. They’ve already been linked to Washington Capitals’ unrestricted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk, but the team also hopes to have their own unrestricted free agent, Brendan Smith, locked up as well. Otherwise, they will have double the problems behind the line. Brooks adds the team attempted to move up from the seventh pick Friday to get Dallas’ third overall pick, likely to take top defensive prospect Cale Makar, but were not willing to pay the price for it. Makar ended up going fourth to the Colorado Avalanche.

Draft Day Notes: Ruff, Markov, Phaneuf

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While the New York Rangers continue to select the next wave of talent in the NHL draft, the front office is also busy working on the NHL coaching staff. Larry Brooks of the New York Post is reporting that Lindy Ruff will join the team as an assistant coach, replacing Jeff Beukeboom who will move into a scouting role with the club.

Ruff of course has decades of experience as a head coach in the league, with his latest stint ending in Dallas at the end of the year. This will be the first time he takes an assistant role since 1997, and will be mostly in charge of the defense group.

  • Though it’s been clear there is interest between Andrei Markov and the Montreal Canadiens, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that Markov now wants a two-year contract. That could be too long for the Canadiens, who are set to give Carey Price a huge raise next summer and have to make sure they spend every dollar appropriately. That’s not even mentioning that Markov will turn 39 this season, and at any point could fall off a cliff in terms of production. The cap hit would have to be very reasonable for the long-time Montreal defender to get those two years.
  • Before the Travis Hamonic deal went down, Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted out some details about Dion Phaneuf continuing to draw trade interest from teams that aren’t on his approved list. Remember that Phaneuf would not waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft, and though Pierre Dorion has had chats with his representation, there is no movement on the trade list as of yet.

Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Ben Chiarot

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Winnipeg Jets were professional multi-taskers last night. Not long after drafting Kristian Vesalainen 24th overall in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, the “True North” locked up one of their own in defenseman Ben Chiarot. Renaud Lavoie of TVA reported the extension close at close to 11 PM CT in Chicago, as the Jets’ brass were working into the wee hours of the night. Chiarot, an impending restricted free agent, will return for two more years at $1.4MM per season.

Winnipeg has already been masterful this season at keeping their defense intact. They first convinced veteran Toby Enstrom to waive his No-Movement Clause, allowing him to be exposed in Wednesday’s Expansion Draft so that Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, and Jacob Trouba could be protected. Then, upon hearing rumors that the Vegas Golden Knights were considering selecting Enstrom, the Jets struck a deal to move down 13 spots in the NHL Draft, swapping their #13 overall pick with Columbus’ #24 overall pick, which Vegas had already acquired. Now, having survived Expansion with all of their top-four defenseman, Winnipeg has locked up their #5 at a reasonable rate over the next two years of the 26-year-old’s career. With youngster Josh Morrissey  and veteran Mark Stuart also in the fold, it seem that the Jets will enter free agency next week with a solid seven on the blue line and no need for concern.

Chiarot, a big stay-at-home defenseman, also put up a career-high 12 points in Winnipeg last year. In 59 games, the 6’3″, 219-lb. blue liner registered two goals and ten assists, all at even strength. While Chiarot may not be an asset on the power play, he is one of the team’s top penalty killers. Chiarot can check and block shots very well, though the Jets wouldn’t mind if he did more of both. They have two more years to work on rounding out the still-developing defender’s game before he hits unrestricted free agency in 2019. Don’t be surprised to see Chiarot on a short leash over the course of this new contract, as Winnipeg already sports strong depth on defense with top prospects Logan Stanley and Luke Green on their way up sooner rather than later as well.

Toronto Maple Leafs Showing Interest In Nate Schmidt

at CDT | by 1 Comment

According to Louis Jean of TVA Sports, the Toronto Maple Leafs have shown interest in Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt. Picked from the Washington Capitals at last night’s expansion draft, Toronto had an up-close look at Schmidt in their first-round playoff series at the end of the year. Nate Schmidt

With Toronto on the lookout to upgrade their defense corps on both sides, Schmidt would represent a substantial upgrade over Martin Marincin who is currently penciled in to battle with newly signed Calle Rosen and perhaps prospect Travis Dermott for the bottom pair. Before the draft, when George McPhee admitted that he was still talking to Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello even after his self-imposed deadline, it was speculated that it could be about the acquisition of a young defender.

Schmidt fits that bill and though he’s a restricted free agent could command a similar return to the earlier-traded Trevor van Riemsdyk. TvR went for a second-round pick to Carolina, though that may have also been linked to the trade they made during the draft for certain protection assurances. Schmidt is the same age, has had very similar production and was also signed as a college free agent after three years at a top school.

An elite skater, Schmidt is a bit more dynamic than van Riemsdyk and would fit into an increasingly mobile defense group in Toronto. The team doesn’t have a ton of cap room to operate with this summer due to several LTIR-bound contracts, but as Scott Wheeler of the Toronto Star notes, Schmidt has been a long time target of the Maple Leafs. He was involved in the talks that resulted in the acquisition of Brooks Laich and Connor Carrick, the second straight time Toronto dealt Daniel Winnik.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Trevor Van Riemsdyk Traded To Carolina

at CDT | by 3 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes have made the first big post-expansion deal, acquiring Trevor van Riemsdyk and a 2018 seventh-round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights will receive Pittsburgh’s 2017 second-round pick in return, originally acquired for Ron Hainsey at the trade deadline."<strong

As noted last night, there was immediately chatter among insiders that the Golden Knights would immediately flip van Riemsdyk to Carolina, though nothing was certain after the fireworks that went on last night in terms of trades. This is one of the more interesting flips, as Carolina already has an excess of defenders on the roster and has been looking to move at least one for scoring help. Bringing van Riemsdyk aboard gives them even more leeway to make an upgrade at forward, with Justin Faulk perhaps being the most likely candidate to be on the move.

van Riemsdyk was selected from the Chicago Blackhawks last night in what was expected to be half of a side deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. We’d heard for weeks that the Blackhawks would send Marcus Kruger to Vegas as well, but with news breaking yesterday that Marian Hossa would not be able to play next season, suddenly things shifted. Chicago was no longer in such dire need of cap relief, though there is no guarantee things will stay that way. Kruger may still be in play at some point, especially if the league decides Hossa can’t stay on LTIR.

For Vegas, this was the plan all along. Pick many more valuable assets than needed—in this case defensemen—and immediately flip them for prospects and picks that will benefit the team more down the road. Though van Riemsdyk is only 25 and could help the Golden Knights immediately, he’s also a restricted free agent next summer and is likely due to get a hefty raise. His current contract—$825K this year—is so appealing to teams around the league that there were likely several suitors once Vegas got their hands on him.

In three seasons since turning pro out of the University of New Hampshire, van Riemsdyk has developed into more than just another NCAA free agent. He registered 16 points in 56 games this season (all at even strength), and was a solid possession contributor. He’s clearly good enough to log more than the average bottom-pairing defenseman, but behind both Faulk and Brett Pesce there won’t be much opportunity for that should they both remain.

Frank Seravalli of TSN was first to break the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top