Expansion

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Jared McCann

July 17, 2021 at 2:23 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 28 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs were not expected to be a pre-Expansion Draft buyer given what appeared to be some difficult protection list decisions. However, they have made quite a splash with a deal filed just before the roster freeze set in. As first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Toronto has acquired Jared McCann from the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had long been expected to protect McCann before rumors in recent days suggested otherwise. In exchange, the Penguins receive just a 2023 seventh-round pick and forward prospect Filip Hallander, who the team initially drafted and then dealt to the Maple Leafs last summer in the Kasperi Kapanen trade.

This is a savvy pickup by the Maple Leafs, adding an affordable forward coming off of a career year. McCann, who has always possessed great ability but has struggled with inconsistency, put it all together for Pittsburgh this season with 14 goals and 32 points in 43 games – an 82-game pace of 27 goals and 61 points. If he can replicate those number joining another skilled forward group in Toronto, McCann will be a beloved bargain at $2.94MM. With the ability to play center or wing and solid defensive tendencies, McCann can be utilized throughout the Maple Leafs’ lineup.

One concern for McCann is his lack of playoff scoring in three trips to the postseason. That should be especially alarming for a Toronto team that struggles under playoff pressure as it is. However, it never hurts to add a talented player and hope that his postseason luck turns. Eventually, something has to give for Toronto, right?

In Pittsburgh, this trade has to sting. The rumors swirling around the team suggest that they could be making some unorthodox expansion protection choices and this trade suggests that McCann was not going to be protected, despite a very strong season and a comfortable fit with the team. It also seems like GM Ron Hextall could have gotten more for McCann than a throwaway pick and a recycled prospect. Hallander, a 2018 second-round pick, is not a bad investment by any means, especially after a career year in Sweden. However, he also was deemed expendable by the last Penguins administration and now is back and still not likely to be considered a top-three forward prospect for the team. Yes, Pittsburgh needed to clear salary this off-season, but McCann’s affordable contract seems like the least of their worries and the return does not adequately justify the move.

Vancouver Canucks Trade For Jason Dickinson

July 17, 2021 at 2:18 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

Before the Expansion Draft roster freeze went into effect at 2:00pm CT, it was confirmed that both the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars had a trade waiting in the queue at NHL Central Registry. As it turns out, the deal was with each other. As first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Canucks have acquired center Jason Dickinson from the Stars. The return is a third-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft. Dickinson had been on the fringe of expansion protection consideration for Dallas and the team determined that he was not worth protecting, but was not worth the risk of losing for free either. Vancouver is now of course expected to protect Dickinson from the Seattle Kraken.

Dickinson’s value lies in his versatility, both positionally and on special teams. While it is hard to argue against him not being one of Dallas’ top seven forward to be protected from expansion, he was undoubtedly a top-nine forward for the team. Dickinson has been nothing if not consistent in his scoring over the past three seasons as well; with the opportunity to finally play 82 games this season, one can safely predict at least ten goals and 25 points out of Dickinson this season. Vancouver is a club that cherishes two-way ability and players who can move up and down the lineup. They could use more dependability in their scoring as well. Dickinson unequivocally fits that description and should mesh well with the team. Given the history of GM Jim Benning, it would not be a surprise to see the restricted free agent center sign a multi-year extension this summer before ever suiting up for the team.

The minute that Ben Bishop waived his No-Movement Clause for the Expansion Draft, allowing Dallas to protect veteran goaltender Anton Khudobin instead, Dickinson immediately became the odds-on favorite to be selected by the Kraken if left exposed. The Stars will miss the useful forward moving forward, but at least were able to recoup a small return rather than lose him for nothing. Dallas will likely look to replace Dickinson with a similar versatile, high-floor, bottom-six forward this summer.

San Jose Sharks Acquire Adin Hill

July 17, 2021 at 1:39 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 11 Comments

The San Jose Sharks were believed to be closing in on a goaltender ahead of the Expansion Draft roster freeze and now a deal is done. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that the Sharks have acquired goaltender Adin Hill from their now-former division rival Arizona Coyotes. San Jose will send young goalie Josef Korenar back to Arizona to satisfy exposure requirements for the Coyotes. The ’Yotes will also receive a 2022 second-round pick, while sending their own 2022 seventh-round pick to the Sharks alongside Hill, adds Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

This trade was – obviously – all about the Expansion Draft. The Sharks did not have a goaltender that they felt was worthy of protection from the Seattle Kraken and the Coyotes had two. Arizona had reportedly been listening to offers for both starter Darcy Kuemper and backup Hill, expecting that Seattle would select Hill if he could not be protected. They end up losing the promising young netminder regardless, but get something back from San Jose – a goalie prospect and a high-value draft pick. Meanwhile, the Sharks will expose starter Martin Jones, who has failed to live up to his lofty contract, in favor of Hill. Jones is very unlikely to be selected, although such a decision would be well received by the Sharks anyhow. Kuemper and Hill had been the Coyotes’ only goaltenders eligible for the Expansion Draft, necessitating the return of Korenar to fill the exposure quota of one goaltender under contract or team control.

Hill will be given every opportunity to take the starting job from Jones this season. The 25-year-old’s role in the desert has been increasing in each of the past three years, capped off with a career-high 19 appearances and 17 starts in 2020-21. Hill is a big, positional goaltender who has translated his ability well from the AHL to the NHL. Over the past two seasons, Hill has recorded a .915 save percentage and 2.70 GAA in 32 games. Playing behind a deeper and more talented defense corps in San Jose, those numbers have a chance to improve, which would certainly be an upgrade to Jones’ recent efforts.

With that said, given the desperate position of the Coyotes in this situation, it is fair to wonder if San Jose overpaid. What will very likely be an early second-round pick next year alongside a promising rookie keeper in Korenar is a steep price. Arizona risked losing Hill for nothing and instead added quality building blocks.

Roster Freeze Notes: Sharks, Flames, Dunn

July 17, 2021 at 1:34 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

With NHL Expansion Draft protection lists due at 4:00pm CT today, the league has enacted a freeze in all roster transactions that goes into effect in less than an hour from now at 2:00pm CT and lasts through Thursday morning after the Expansion Draft is complete. NHL teams are not taking this deadline lightly; numerous reports suggest that the trade market is no less than a complete frenzy right now as teams look to use their expansion flexibility (or lack thereof) to make deals before the clock runs out. Bally Sports’ Andy Strickland spoke with an agent who said he has never seen so many players available for trade from so many teams.

One team that seems poised to make a move are the San Jose Sharks. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reports that the Sharks are attempting to add a goalie before the deadline. San Jose is likely to expose expensive, underperforming starter Martin Jones in the Expansion Draft and seemingly would be open to exposing young Josef Korenar as well if they can add another legitimate NHL goaltender worth protecting. Not many teams across the league have the luxury of adding a goalie before the expansion process begins, so the Sharks are trying to take advantage of a goalie market with far more sellers than buyers.

The Sharks are certainly not alone in pushing for a last-minute deal. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch reports that among the most active teams are the Winnipeg Jets, who are shopping Mason Appleton, the Calgary Flames, and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks appear to be specifically targeting a landing spot for restricted free agent defenseman Nikita Zadorov, Garrioch notes. There has been some speculation that Chicago was not enthused about Zadorov’s asking price or potential arbitration award, but don’t necessarily want to expose him to Seattle and lose him for nothing in return. The Flames are far less single-minded; Garrioch calls the roster “unsettled” and believes that many players could be up for grabs.
St. Louis Blues defenseman Vince Dunn is out there in current trade discussions as well, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The 24-year-old has been in trade speculation for the last couple of years now but expansion could be the pressure point to get something completed. Many expect St. Louis to use the standard protection scheme which allows for seven forwards and three defensemen. The three blueliners expected to be protected in that scenario are veterans Colton Parayko, Torey Krug, and Justin Faulk which would leave Dunn unprotected and seemingly a prime target for the Kraken. They could go to eight skaters to protect Dunn but would then leave three more forwards available to Seattle. Accordingly, if the Blues want to get an asset for Dunn, today may be the last chance that can happen.

Chris Driedger Expected To Be Taken By Seattle In Expansion

July 17, 2021 at 12:22 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 12 Comments

The protection lists won’t be finalized for a few hours yet but it appears Seattle knows who they will be taking from the Panthers. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Kraken will select goaltender Chris Driedger from Florida and sign the pending unrestricted free agent to a new contract.

Driedger has definitely been a late bloomer. After Ottawa non-tendered him back in 2018 following a season that saw him post a 4.04 GAA in the AHL, he went to Florida on a two-way deal, doing well enough to earn another two-way contract in 2019, one that just expired now. But instead of serving as their third or even fourth-string goaltender as they intended, the 27-year-old worked his way into an early-season promotion in 2019-20 and has stayed with the Panthers ever since.

He finished off that season with a 2.05 GAA and a .938 SV% in 12 games and while he wasn’t quite able to duplicate those numbers this past season, he came pretty close, posting a 2.07 GAA with a .927 SV% in 23 games. By comparison, Sergei Bobrovsky, who they intended to have as their starter, had a 2.91 GAA and a .906 SV% in his 31 appearances. Bobrovsky carries a $10MM AAV while Driedger made just $850K.

Driedger will certainly be in line for a significant raise on his next deal even though he’s still quite inexperienced in the NHL with all of 38 games under his belt. If Seattle winds up selecting and extending him as expected, he should get an opportunity to push for the number one role depending on which other goaltenders the Kraken pick on Wednesday.

As for Florida, this will be a much different expansion experience for them. Last time, they lost both Reilly Smith and Jonathan Marchessault to Vegas with the two becoming top-six fixtures for the Golden Knights ever since. Now, they appear to be set to lose a player they were highly unlikely to retain anyway with top prospect Spencer Knight also in the mix for playing time between the pipes. Losing someone they weren’t going to be able to keep is basically the best-case scenario for them, a nice reversal of fortune from 2017.

Blue Jackets Considering Leaving Max Domi Unprotected

July 17, 2021 at 10:05 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 14 Comments

The Blue Jackets don’t have much in the way of impact center depth and it has been an area that they have been trying to address for several years now. Last summer, they picked up Max Domi from Montreal in a trade for Josh Anderson to try to help that issue but he had a tough year. Now, TSN’s Darren Dreger is reporting (Twitter link) that Columbus is leaning towards leaving Domi unprotected on their expansion list which is due to the league later today.

The 26-year-old struggled considerably last season, posting just nine goals and 15 assists in 54 games, hardly the type of production they were expecting considering he had at least 38 points in his previous five NHL campaigns. Along the way, he went from playing down the middle to being shifted back to the wing and was dropped down the depth chart as the season progressed.

To make matters worse, Domi underwent shoulder surgery last month to repair a torn labrum. The expected recovery time for that procedure is five to six months which means he will miss at least the first month of next season and potentially more. Perhaps it’s for that reason that GM Jarmo Kekalainen is considering the possibility of leaving him exposed. However, he’s also owed $6MM in salary for the upcoming season which could also serve as a deterrent although Dreger believes Domi would likely be selected by the Kraken.

At any rate, it certainly doesn’t appear as if Domi will be in the long-term plans for the Blue Jackets and he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer which makes him a trade candidate as a rental by either Columbus or Seattle if they do indeed select him. At any rate, Kekalainen’s search for impact centers is sure to continue.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Detroit UFAs, Danault, Penguins Expansion

July 15, 2021 at 9:02 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 24 Comments

Action is heating up quickly in the NHL this week. Trade and free agent rumors are aplenty, all fueled by the tantalizingly close Seattle Expansion Draft on July 21st. But while fans’ adrenaline is running high after today’s Ryan Graves trade earlier, there’s a variety of other news and notes from around the Eastern Conference to look at today.

While most of the hype surrounding the Detroit Red Wings lately has been the trade potential of Tyler Bertuzzi, there’s still decisions that the team needs to make elsewhere on the roster. A Detroit offseason piece from The Athletic’s Max Bultman reports that Detroit is interesting in bringing back a pair of pending UFAs in Jonathan Bernier and Luke Glendening. Bernier’s been a very solid netminder for Detroit since arriving in 2018-19. His best season was undoubtedly this last one, posting a 9-11-1 record and .914 save percentage, both his best numbers since signing with the Wings. He forms a decent pairing with Thomas Greiss, who’s still under contract, and would help the Wings stay afloat. There’s also Glendening, who’s passable defensively and gained positive notoriety for his faceoff prowess. Both extensions, hypothetically, would be affordable and decent moves for the rebuilding Wings.
The Athletic’s Arpon Basu reports that the Montreal Canadiens are likely to let center Phillip Danault test the market. While this may be a shock to some, there’s a sort of backstory to this. It was widely reported last summer that general manager Marc Bergevin had offered Danault a six-year deal with a $5MM cap hit. That’s still Montreal’s offer, according to Basu and others. Montreal and Danault are both keeping the door open in case he can’t receive better offers on the open market, leading one to believe that the relationship is still amicable between the two. However, it’s reasonable to think that Danault would receive a better offer from a variety of teams desperate to improve their center depth, making a return to Montreal anything but certain.
In a piece by The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark examining how recent moves have affected the Seattle Expansion Draft landscape, he notes that the Pittsburgh Penguins will likely be exposing one of either Jeff Carter or Kasperi Kapanen. It comes on the heels of center Teddy Blueger signing a two-year extension, signaling that Pittsburgh plans to protect him. If it’s Carter exposed, that could have ramifications for Pittsburgh’s center depth early on in the season, as Evgeni Malkin won’t be ready to start the season. If it’s Kapanen, that’s an extremely dangerous proposition. They gave up significant assets last year to acquire him from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it’d be inarguably poor asset management to let him walk for nothing.

Expansion Primer: Anaheim Ducks

July 15, 2021 at 7:01 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 2 Comments

Over the last few weeks, we have been breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last expansion draft was one that the Anaheim Ducks likely want to forget. The team protected seven forwards and three defensemen in order to retain their core offense, but doing this left defenders Josh Manson and Sami Vatanen both exposed. While the Ducks tried to extend their competitive window, they dealt up-and-coming defenseman Shea Theodore to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for the team selecting Clayton Stoner instead of Manson or Vatanen. With their roster a shell of itself from four years ago, the Ducks likely won’t have nearly as much to worry about this time around.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:

Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, Rickard Rakell, Danton Heinen, Sonny Milano, Derek Grant, Troy Terry, Nicolas Deslauriers, Isac Lundestrom, Sam Steel, Max Jones, Vinni Lettieri, Sam Carrick, Alexander Volkov, Nick Sorensen

Defense:

Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, Kevin Shattenkirk, Haydn Fleury, Jacob Larsson, Brendan Guhle, Josh Mahura, Trevor Carrick

Goalies:

John Gibson, Anthony Stolarz

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Ryan Getzlaf, F David Backes, F Carter Rowney

Notable Exemptions

F Trevor Zegras, F Max Comtois, D Jamie Drysdale

Key Decisions

Anaheim’s key decision surrounds which protection path they’d like to use. The team is rather well-equipped to use either the 7F/3D route as well as eight skaters, but either way, the team is probably losing a semi-important piece. Anaheim has a glutton of players who are young enough to have promise but too old to be considered prospects, meaning they’re all eligible for selection.

Up front, the Ducks have a group of five forwards in Troy Terry, Isac Lundestrom, Max Jones, Sam Steel, and Alexander Volkov who could all very well be at least reliable middle-six pieces down the line. On defense, there’s Haydn Fleury to be concerned about, who’s oozed potential since locking down a full-time NHL role and was acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline.

Mix in the fact that Anaheim has two valuable trade chips that will almost certainly be protected. While not a part of their realistic long-term plans at this point, Rickard Rakell and Josh Manson are both prime trade candidates either this offseason or at next year’s trade deadline. Anaheim won’t want to lose out on the assets they could recoup for those two, and they’ll be protected in either scheme. Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm are stalwarts on the blueline and arguably their two best veteran skaters at this point and will be protected. It makes Anaheim’s decision rather clear: lose Fleury, or lose one out of the group of young forwards?

In all likelihood, Anaheim leans towards the latter option. Fleury showed legit NHL capability this year, especially down the stretch with the Ducks. He received top-four worthy ice-time, and his possession numbers supported that usage. Meanwhile, both Jones and Steel have struggled to find consistency at the NHL level, while Volkov figures as more of a depth piece anyways.

Projected Protection List

F Rickard Rakell
F Troy Terry
F Isac Lundestrom
F Max Jones

D Cam Fowler
D Hampus Lindholm
D Josh Manson
D Haydn Fleury

G John Gibson

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (5): Adam Henrique, Jakob Silfverberg, Sonny Milano, Derek Grant, Nicolas Deslauriers
Defensemen (2): Kevin Shattenkirk, Jacob Larsson

The Ducks won’t have any trouble hitting either of these thresholds no matter which protection path they choose. They’ve got a large amount of veteran skaters signed through next season, meaning that they’ll have no trouble exposing two forwards and one defenseman. While names like Adam Henrique or Kevin Shattenkirk seem like potential veteran building blocks for the Kraken, they’ll likely be able to find similar players elsewhere that come with a better value proposition. Anaheim should still walk out of the expansion draft with their main roster and core intact.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Ben Bishop Agrees To Waive No-Movement Clause For Expansion

July 15, 2021 at 12:22 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 10 Comments

The Dallas Stars may not have to expose Anton Khudobin to the Seattle Kraken after all. Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News reports that Ben Bishop has agreed to waive his no-movement clause for the expansion draft, meaning the Stars will not be forced to protect him. Bishop’s agent, Allain Roy, explained why his client made the decision:

I thought that was a good move for him and the team. In the big picture, the goal is to win the Stanley Cup, so I think he felt that was the right move for the team to be the best team possible next year. Makes sense.

The 34-year-old Bishop missed the entire 2020-21 season due to injury, but remains an enticing option for the Stars if he can get back to full health. Since arriving in the NHL, the 6’7″ netminder has been one of the league’s best, posting a .921 save percentage over 413 appearances. That number has Bishop sitting fifth in NHL history, with Tuukka Rask the only active netminder ahead of him (Dominik Hasek, Johnny Bower, and Ken Dryden are the other three). A three-time Vezina Trophy finalist, he was outstanding in his first three years in Dallas, posting a .923 in 143 games.

Of course, that success would also make him a very attractive choice for Seattle, if only they knew he would be healthy enough to play. That uncertainty and the $4.92MM cap hit likely keeps him off the Kraken’s radar, but waiving the no-movement still helps out the club. Jake Oettinger, the team’s presumed “goaltender of the future” is still exempt from selection, meaning the team can protect Khudobin and keep their depth intact.

Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Dylan Wells

July 14, 2021 at 11:18 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes have acquired goaltender Dylan Wells from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for future considerations. This move is designed to help the Hurricanes expansion situation, as Wells can fill the exposure requirement if tendered a qualifying offer this week. Wells is a pending RFA coming off a season as a taxi squad netminder.

Wells, 23, didn’t play a single game at any level during the 2020-21 season, and suited up only seven times for the Oilers AHL affiliate in 2019-20. Most of his professional career to this point has been in the ECHL, but perhaps he will get a bigger chance in the Carolina organization. The 6’2″ netminder was selected 123rd overall in 2016 but has struggled in his AHL chances, posting an 0-4-1 record in 2019-20 with a .878 save percentage.

Future considerations, in this case, are likely either nothing or a minor league trade that will be completed in tandem. Players on AHL contracts cannot be included in NHL deals, and the Oilers just recently did something similar in the Duncan Keith deal. A second AHL trade was completed the same night, sending a minor league forward to the IceHogs to replace Tim Soderlund.

The Hurricanes are set to protect Alex Nedeljkovic in the upcoming expansion draft and could have used Jeremy Helvig for the exposure requirements if they intend on extending him a qualifying offer. If not, Wells can now slide into that role as expansion draft fodder, without any real risk of being selected by the Kraken.

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