Free Agent Focus: Arizona Coyotes
Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. That’s not really the case for Arizona this summer as there are few big names for them to sign, but here is a breakdown of their free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agent: F Lawson Crouse – While the team may not have any truly elite players who will be restricted free agents, the team will make it a priority to sign Crouse, who put together an impressive season with Arizona as a key member of the team’s fourth line. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound winger took off in his third season with the Coyotes. The former 11th overall pick in 2015 by the Florida Panthers, the Coyotes acquired Crouse along with the hefty contract of Dave Bolland, and finally are starting to the move pay off. Crouse, not only 11 goals and 25 points for Arizona this year, more importantly, he contributed 288 hits, giving the team some much-needed physicality.
G Adin Hill – While he isn’t likely to be considered among the starting tandem next year in Arizona, the team saw quite an improvement by the 23-year-old Hill, who was recalled after the injury to both Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper mid-year, and fared well in a stint as the full-time starter as he won seven games for the Coyotes. While teams eventually started to figure him out, it was a good sign that Arizona has a young netminder ready to fill in, especially considering the injury history of both goaltenders. Hill finished the season with 2.76 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 13 appearances and will need to be re-signed to continue his development and he could eventually replace Kuemper once his contract runs out after the 2019-20 season.
Other RFAs: F Josh Archibald, F Michael Bunting, F Nick Cousins, F Hudson Fasching, D Ilya Lyubushkin, D Dysin Mayo, G Hunter Miska, F Emil Pettersson.
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Richard Panik – The Coyotes picked up Panik back in 2018 in hopes of adding a 20-goal scorer to their middle lines after he posted a 22-goal campaign with Chicago during the 2016-17 season. While Panik showed some flashes of offense, he has scored just 14 goals per season over the last two years. His ice time has also increased this year as he averaged a career-high 16:37. However, assuming general manager John Chayka continues to turn over his roster, Panik could be the odd man out and be a target for many teams looking for bottom-six production and a contract that goes with it. That doesn’t rule out a reunion, but when it comes to unrestricted free agents, the team doesn’t have too much to worry about.
Other UFAs: F Mario Kempe, D Dakota Mermis, G Calvin Pickard, D Robbie Russo, F David Ullstrom.
Projected Cap Space: The Coyotes have more than $74MM tied up in 20 layers for next season, per CapFriendly. Even with the projected bump in the Upper Limit, the Coyotes don’t have as much room to maneuver as in previous seasons. The team does have two years remaining on the Marion Hossa contract, which should give the team an extra $5.275MM once the team places him on LTIR at the start of the regular season in October, but the team now has bigger contracts than in years past after new extensions for Nick Schmaltz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Christian Dvorak, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jacob Chychrun kick in this summer. Many assume the team will try to get involved in the Phil Kessel discussions as Arizona is a team that Kessel has indicated he’d like to go to, but then Chayka may have to manipulate the cap again to free up some space. Regardless, don’t be surprised if Chayka doesn’t make several more moves to shake up this team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Maple Leafs Hire Paul McFarland As Assistant Coach
One assistant out, one assistant in for Mike Babcock and his staff. Sources including both Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported earlier that the Toronto Maple Leafs were expected to announce that Paul McFarland has been hired by team, and the team did just that not long after. This news comes soon after the official announcement that D.J. Smith has been hired away from the team to become the new head coach of the Ottawa Senators.
While these two hires come in close proximity, they may not actually be connected at all. Smith worked with defensemen and the penalty kill units for Toronto, while McFarland ran the power play for the Florida Panthers last season. In fact, McFarland played for the Windsor Spitfires when Smith was an assistant and later served as an assistant himself under Smith with the Oshawa Generals to begin his coaching career. McFarland was likely set to re-join his mentor with the Maple Leafs before Smith made the decision to depart for Ottawa. The real driving force behind McFarland’s hire is the anticipated departure of Jim Hiller, who ran Toronto’s power play this season. Hiller was given permission to seek other opportunities and as of earlier this month was linked to the Nashville Predators. Regardless of where he ends up, he was not expected back in Toronto and certainly won’t be now that McFarland is in the fold.
McFarland, 33, is more than just the beneficiary of opportunity in this situation, though. The former head coach of the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks and his dismissal from the Panthers was tied more to his connection to former head coach Bob Boughner than his performance. Actually, Florida ranked second in the NHL this season on the power play at 26.8% and received a greater proportion of their goals man-up than any other team in the league. McFarland did an excellent job, but seemingly didn’t fit into the plans of new head coach Joel Quenneville. Florida’s loss is Toronto’s gain, as the Ontario native returns home and brings his power play expertise with him to a roster chock full of potent offensive talent.
Even with McFarland’s addition, there will still be speculation that the departures of Smith and Hiller will leave the Maple Leafs in need of another coach. The most obvious option would be current AHL head coach Sheldon Keefe, a popular name in coaching circles who is currently guiding the Toronto Marlies through another deep playoff run. Toronto does not want to let Keefe leave the organization, which could mean they choose to promote him to Babcock’s staff, where he can take over some of the duties left behind in Smith’s absence.
Snapshots: Free Agency, Nash, PWHPA
Free agency is just around the corner and speculation has already begun regarding the landing spots of some top talent. Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) released his early list of the top 20 unrestricted free agents, and Artemi Panarin‘s name lands on top with little surprise. The Columbus Blue Jackets’ superstar is expected to have many suitors this offseason, but Custance and others have suggested there may be a deal coming earlier than July 1.
The scribe writes that “it would be a bit surprising” if Panarin makes it that far, instead examining a potential sign-and-trade scenario in order to secure an eight-year contract. That would get Columbus some assets back, though given the lack of historical precedent it is not clear how valuable a move like that would be. Once again Panarin is linked to former head coach Joel Quenneville, who is now with the Florida Panthers.
- Rick Nash may not be playing professional hockey anymore, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely given up the game. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription required) details how Nash has been shadowing Blue Jackets’ GM Jarmo Kekalainen for some time, including attending the current IIHF World Championship. Nash will also attend the NHL Entry Draft with the Columbus contingent, though there is no official word on what his role with the organization will be moving forward. The former star forward was forced to retire due to health concerns stemming from several concussions over his long career.
- Kendall Coyne Schofield, Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin and many other players have announced the formation of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association. The organization “will serve as a vehicle dedicated to promoting and supporting the creation of a single, viable women’s professional league in North America.” Earlier this year more than 200 top players announced a boycott of the NWHL and other leagues for this season, as they seek a more financially sustainable league that can provide the resources required for them to play at a high level.
Offseason Keys: Florida Panthers
With the postseason down to just three teams, many squads are well into their offseason planning. What storylines lie ahead around the league in what is shaping up to be a likely busy NHL offseason? Next up in our Offseason Keys series is a look at the Florida Panthers.
While Florida missed the playoffs last season, they were a popular pick to take a step forward in 2018-19. Not only were they coming off a strong finish the year before, they also added some help offensively in Mike Hoffman over the summer in one of the stranger moves of the offseason that saw him get dealt twice in mere hours. Between that and another year of development of a promising young core, things were supposed to be looking up. It didn’t quite work that way. While Florida had minimal issues scoring, keeping the puck out of the net proved to be too insurmountable of a challenge and the end result was a 10-point drop in the standings and a quick coaching change at the end of the season to bring in Joel Quenneville. With that move taken care of, here are the on-ice keys to Florida’s offseason.
Add A Core Defenseman
Between Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, and Mike Matheson, the Panthers have some serviceable pieces on their back end. While Ekblad may not become the true number one that his draft billing would suggest, he’s a capable two-way player. Yandle remains one of the better offensive threats on the blueline while Matheson has shown flashes of potential as well.
Beyond that, the depth gets thin quite quickly. Mark Pysyk is miscast in a top-four role while youngsters Mackenzie Weeger, Josh Brown, and Ian McCoshen are all depth players. That will need to change if they want to turn things around.
They have been linked to Artemi Panarin given his history with Quenneville but they would be better off finding another legitimate top-four blueliner. Unfortunately, there aren’t many of those available in free agency so they may have to go the trade route to get one. If Florida wants to get back into the playoffs, they’ll need more from their back end than their top three can provide.
Find A Starting Goalie
Everyone knew that this moment was coming eventually. At the age of 40, Roberto Luongo has shown signs of breaking down and isn’t a legitimate starting goalie anymore. James Reimer was brought in to provide some stability as someone that could play a lot more than a typical starter. However, he too has had injury issues and when he has played, he was no better than Luongo.
Both goalies are signed for multiple years still. Luongo has three years at $4.533MM (with Vancouver paying another $800K) and Reimer checks in at $3.4MM for two more seasons. That’s a fair bit of money tied into their goalies.
However, they don’t have a choice anymore. A new number one goalie is a must-get this summer, even if it means they wind up spending more on that position than any other team. There isn’t much hope in the system – Sam Montembeault could be a future backup but not a starter – so they can’t afford to wait it out. The Panthers are clearly not rebuilding and are in win-now mode and a tandem of Luongo and Reimer won’t get them there.
Sergei Bobrovsky is by far the best goalie in free agency and given Florida’s cap space, he could very well be the perfect fit for them. If that doesn’t happen though, they’ll need a Plan B in place. Is that Semyon Varlamov or another lower-tier starter? Or do they try to trade for a young goalie in the hopes that he’ll develop quickly? There will be plenty of questions over the next six weeks until July 1st comes around and they find out who their next starter will be.
Extension Talks
Hoffman wound up being a great addition. He fit in quite well with Florida’s high-end attack and responded with a career year, posting 36 goals and 34 assists. He will be entering the final year of his contract in 2019-20 and will be looking for a sizable raise on his current $5.1875MM AAV. The same can be said for winger Evgenii Dadonov. His three-year, $12MM deal was viewed as a big gamble given how he fared in his first NHL stint but he has more than lived up to his contract and put up a 70-point campaign of his own this past season.
The good news for Florida is that their other core forwards are all locked up through at least 2021-22 so there aren’t some other big-ticket contracts coming due in the next little while. Depending on how much they opt to spend in free agency (they have plenty of cap room but have been a budget team the last couple of years), they should be able to keep at least one of them around if not both. If they can get new deals done for these two and shore up the goaltending situation at the very least, it could be a very quick turnaround for the Panthers heading into 2019-20.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Eastern Notes: Williams, Canadiens Trade Options, Pettersson
With the Carolina Hurricanes season over a little quicker than they would have hoped for after a quick four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference champ, there are now a bunch of questions surrounding the Carolina Hurricanes, with one question about what to do with soon-to-be unrestricted free agent Justin Williams.
The veteran captain will turn 38 years old early on in the season next year, but he was a key piece for Carolina’s success, posting 23 goals and 53 points last season as well as four goals and seven points in 15 playoff games. The News & Observer’s Chip Alexander writes that after signing a two-year deal at $4.5MM turned out great for Carolina two years ago and believes that Williams would be willing to come back on a one-year deal at roughly the same price.
“I know how much he’s put into this and I know there’s only so much gas in the tank, Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I’m going to make sure he takes a couple of months before he makes a decision.”
- Eric Engels of Sportsnet writes that with the top two free agent defensemen that Montreal Canadiens’ Marc Bergevin can add this offseason in Jake Gardiner and Alexander Edler (both of whom may not be worth the money it would take to sign them), the Canadiens might have to solve their need for a top-four defensemen via trade. The scribe suggests the team might have to move some of their top young prospects to improve its blueline and might have to consider moving either Nick Suzuki, Ryan Poehling, Cayden Primeau, Jesse Ylonen or Alex Romanov for help. One idea would be to try to pry Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere away with one of those top prospects as the 26-year-old could be moved to add more long-term help. Gostisbehere might immediately upgrade a defense which still needs help on their top-four. The scribe adds that Florida’s Mike Matheson could also be a candidate if the Panthers need to move out some salary to sign top free agents, which is expected.
- TribLive’s Jonathan Bombulie writes that with Jake Guentzel‘s new contract kicking in this season as his salary goes from $925K to $6MM next season, the team must be real careful in their negotiations with their five restricted free agents. The team expects that defenseman Marcus Pettersson should walk away with the biggest raise, as the team projects that Pettersson’s salary should increase from $794K to somewhere under $2MM per season. The 23-year-old defenseman established himself in Pittsburgh’s crowded defense after the Penguins acquired him in December for forward Daniel Sprong. Pettersson had two goals and 19 points in 57 games in Pittsburgh and had a plus-13 ratio on the ice.
Overseas Notes: Cannata, Praplan, Niederreiter
It’s not clear who will be the Colorado Avalanche backup goaltender next season, but it certainly won’t be Joe Cannata. The 29-year old goaltender will not re-sign with the Avalanche after spending the last two seasons in their minor league system, as he is headed overseas to play in the Swedish second league. Cannata was originally selected by the Vancouver Canucks in 2009 but never ended up playing an NHL game after his college career ended in 2012.
The Avalanche have just two goaltenders under contract for 2019-20 in the whole organization, meaning they’ll need to ink another one before long. While Philipp Grubauer can handle a large role in the NHL, Adam Werner has very little experience in North america and surely won’t be used as the primary backup this season. Pavel Francouz and Semyon Varlamov are scheduled for unrestricted free agency, while Spencer Martin is an RFA once again.
- Vincent Praplan‘s time in North America is coming to a quick end. The Swiss forward is headed home to play for SC Bern this season after just a single year in the AHL. Praplan was originally signed by the San Jose Sharks in 2018 but was flipped to the Florida Panthers in a deadline deal. While he’s only 24, Praplan signed in Switzerland for another four years, effectively ending any thought of returning to Florida. The restricted free agent’s rights will be retained with a qualifying offer, but would expire before his new deal with Bern.
- Speaking of Switzerland, their IIHF World Championship team has received some good news today as Nino Niederreiter is on his way to help. The Carolina Hurricanes forward will give the team another offensive threat as they try to continue their perfect tournament so far. The Swiss are currently 4-0 after dispatching Italy, Latvia, Austria and Norway with relative ease. Their big tests will come over the next two days when they take on Sweden and Russia, hopefully with a new face in the lineup.
East Notes: Schoenfeld, Bystrom, Hurricanes
Jim Schoenfeld has stepped down from his position as New York Rangers assistant general manager, ending a 17-year run with the organization. The executive was the GM of the Hartford Wolf Pack for 14 years, but the team decided to hand over the minor league affiliate to Chris Drury in 2017. Rangers president Glen Sather released a statement:
In nearly two decades with the Rangers, Jim made an impact on every level of the organization. His tireless efforts and contributions were vital to the extended run of success we experienced during his tenure in New York.
Prior to his tenure in New York, Schoenfeld had worked as a head coach for the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals and Phoenix Coyotes but achieved mild success. His overall record was 256-246-78 as an NHL coach, with a losing record in 57 playoff contests. His departure leaves Drury as the only assistant GM on staff for the time being.
- Florida Panthers prospect Ludwig Bystrom is heading to Finland, signing a two-year contract with Karpat. The 24-year old defenseman was scheduled to be a restricted free agent this summer after spending the last two seasons with the Springfield Thunderbirds. Bystrom recorded 30 points in 71 games this season for Springfield, but still hasn’t made his NHL debut. The Swedish defenseman was originally drafted 43rd overall by the Dallas Stars in 2012.
- The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to have Curtis McElhinney in net once again as they try to stay alive in their Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Bruins. McElhinney stopped 29 of 31 shots on Tuesday night in a losing effort, and will try to find some magic to keep the Hurricanes in the series. Regardless of what happens tonight the Hurricanes will have to make some tough decisions on their goaltending situation next season, as both McElhinny and Petr Mrazek are pending unrestricted free agents. Top prospect Alex Nedeljkovic was recently named AHL Goaltender of the Year, but has just two games of NHL experience.
Prospect Notes: Comrie, Ollas Mattsson, Praplan
Less than two weeks after acquiring his WHL rights, the Kelowna Rockets have convinced defenseman Sean Comrie to leave the college level and join the junior ranks. The Rockets announced that the 19-year-old has signed on with the team beginning next season, leaving behind the University of Denver. Comrie, an Edmonton native, has always been a well-regarded prospect. He was initially drafted by the Brandon Wheat Kings in the second round of the 2015 WHL Bantam Draft. However, he opted to go the college route and committed to Denver instead of the WHL. Prior to heading to school, Comrie had a breakout campaign with the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints in 2017-18, recording 34 points in 54 games. Many scouting sources projected Comrie to be a late-round draft pick last year, but he was surprisingly passed over. Joining the Pioneers as a freshman, the young blue liner likely hoped a strong NCAA campaign could get him back on the draft radar this year. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way; Comrie was used sparingly at Denver and did little with the ice time he did get, recording one lone point in 18 games. Looking to get his development back on track, it is no surprise that Comrie has decided to leave the college game to try his hand in juniors instead. The Rockets clearly still believe in his potential, as they moved back five spots in the first round of the WHL Draft earlier this month to acquire his rights. The next question now is whether an NHL team still sees enough in him to take a chance in the draft this season despite a down year.
- Adam Ollas Mattsson seemingly did enough this season to finally earn an NHL contract from the Calgary Flames. Instead, he is back in his native Sweden visiting the Malmo Redhawks and is expected to sign, reports Swedish news source Kvalls Posten. Ollas Mattsson, 22, was a sixth-round pick by the Flames back in 2014 and stands out on the ice at 6’5″ and nearly 220 lbs. However, concerns about his skill level and skating led Calgary to refrain from signing him to an entry-level contract. Instead, Ollas Mattson chose to prove himself by signing an AHL contract with the Stockton Heat in 2016. After two seasons of being a little-used depth option, Ollas Mattson broke out this year, skating in 65 games for Stockton and recording 18 points and +22 rating. Not only was this campaign a career best across the board for Ollas Mattson, it was among the best seasons for any Heat players. The big Swede led the team in plus/minus by a drastic margin, led all defenseman in games played, and finished third among defensemen in scoring. Admittedly, even a season like that was unlikely to push Ollas Mattson into the NHL ice time conversation on a crowded Calgary blue line, but it should have at least earned him an NHL contract. Whether he made the choice to return to Sweden willingly or felt the Flames and their NHL competitors had no interest, Ollas Mattson heads back to his homeland a much better player who may still yet draw NHL interest down the road. The former Djurgardens junior standout will switch teams, joining a Malmo squad that will get a big boost from the big defender.
- Swiss forward Vincent Praplan is at least considering following in Ollas Mattson’s footsteps. The Florida Panthers prospect, who is a restricted free agent, has been linked to SC Bern of the Swiss NLA already this off-season, after just one season in the NHL. Praplan, 24, signed a one-year entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks last summer and hoped to compete for a roster spot. Instead, he played exclusively with the AHL’s Barracuda until a deadline deal that sent him to the Panthers for only “future considerations”. Florida also sent Praplan to the AHL, where he finished out the season with the Springfield Thunderbirds. Now, Swiss news site Berner Zeitung writes that he is prepared to return to Switzerland if he does not receive a qualifying offer, or perhaps even a guarantee of NHL action, from the Panthers. Given the Panthers’ deep forward corps and their willingness to be active in free agency this summer, odds are Praplan plays in more games in Bern next season than in Sunrise.
Florida Panthers Sign Aleksi Heponiemi
The Florida Panthers have big plans for this offseason, and it started today by getting a top prospect under contract. The team announced they have agreed to terms with Aleksi Heponiemi on a three-year entry-level contract. GM Dale Tallon released a statement regarding his new prospect:
We are thrilled to have agreed to terms with Aleksi. He is an immensely skilled and dynamic player with excellent vision and hockey IQ. Aleksi has been an elite player at every level and a leader on winning teams on the junior and international stages. We look forward to Aleksi’s development with the Panthers and believe he will be an important part of our organization’s success for years to come.
Heponiemi, 20, was selected 40th overall in 2017 but with hindsight may have deserved to go even higher. The Finnish forward oozes offensive potential, and showed it off in 2017-18 by scoring 148 points in 83 games with the Swift Current Broncos. After dominating the WHL he left for Finland this season and ended up with 46 points in 50 regular season games for Karpat, good for 12th in the entire league. While he struggled in the playoffs, there’s good reason to believe that Heponiemi will turn into a productive player for the Panthers down the line.
That 2017 draft also produced Owen Tippett for the Panthers, another top offensive player that could make waves for them in the near future. Add those two to others like Henrik Borgstrom, Grigori Denisenko and Serron Noel and you have the makings of another wave of forward talent for new head coach Joel Quenneville to mold. With stars like Aleksander Barkov already in their prime for the NHL club, and the Panthers expected to go hard after some top free agents this summer, things are looking up in Florida.
Snapshots: Mrazek, Olofsson, Panthers
When the Eastern Conference Final resumes on Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes may have a different starting goaltender. NHL.com’s Shawn P. Roarke relays that Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour would not commit to starting Petr Mrazek again in Game Three. The Boston Bruins have scored 11 goals in the first two games of the series, all but one of which were attributed to Mrazek. He had only allowed allowed on goal in his previous two games and only 20 total in nine playoff games this season before arriving in Boston. Clearly, the Bruins have him figured out right now and it may be time for Carolina to give Curtis McElhinney a shot. Brind’amour approached Mrazek about coming out of Game Two, but the 27-year-old keeper wanted to stick it out, a right that the coach said he had earned. However, as Mrazek’s play did not improve as the game went on, he has likely lost that right to determine when he plays. McElhinney, who turns 36 next week, may have tread on the tired but is well-rested after making only three appearances so far in the playoffs. In those game, he has been stellar as well, posting a .947 save percentage and 1.56 GAA. If the Hurricanes are to win four of their next five games to come back and beat Boston, they’ll need some magic and Mrazek appears to be all out. Perhaps McElhinney has been saving some up for the first postseason run of his 12-year NHL career.
- Chicago Blackhawks prospect Fredrik Olofsson is heading home to Sweden. Olofsson, who made his pro debut last month with the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs, has signed with MODO of the Swedish Hockey League, according to Swedish news source Kvalls Posten. This could be the end of Olofsson’s days in North American hockey, as he wraps up a solid NCAA career only to immediately bolt. Olofsson was a fourth-round pick by the Blackhawks in 2014 and played four seasons at the University of Nebraska – Omaha, leading the team in scoring in his senior season. The 22-year-old forward played in a pair of games with the Blackhawks’ affiliate, but has not been offered an NHL contract. He will thus become a free agent in August when his NHL rights expire, but doesn’t seem optimistic about his market. Interestingly, while Olofsson has represented Sweden on the international stage, he has never played competitively in his home country. Olofsson played his midget, junior, and college hockey in the U.S., but is now finally ready to return home.
- The Florida Panthers are expected to be major players on the free agent market this summer, with much of the speculated centered on their interest in top free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. While goaltending was certainly an issue this season and Bobrovksy would help immensely, defense was also a major concern and wouldn’t be addressed by grabbing only those two. Unsurprisingly, GM Dale Tallon tells The Athletic’s George Richards that a top-four right-handed defenseman is also on his wish list this summer. However, cap space is going to be tight for the Panthers and top righties like Erik Karlsson and Tyler Myers are likely out of their price range. Richards lists Anton Stralman and Adam McQuaid as right-side free agent options, while Ben Lovejoy, Dan Girardi, and Roman Polak would be other possibilities. If those aren’t impressive enough to be considered a top-four solution, Florida could be an intriguing trade partner for the Winnipeg Jets or Ottawa Senators for Jacob Trouba and Cody Ceci respectively.