Florida Panthers Sign Brady Keeper
The Florida Panthers have signed college free agent Brady Keeper to a two-year entry-level contract. Keeper just finished his sophomore season at the University of Maine, but will give up his final two years of eligibility in order to jump to the professional level. The deal will begin this season, and GM Dale Tallon expressed his excitement about bringing in the young defenseman:
Brady is a promising puck-moving defenseman who possesses strong offensive instincts and plays a physical game. He has been a leader for the University of Maine and found success as one of the team’s top defenders. We are excited for Brady to join the Panthers and continue to grow his game.
Keeper, 22, was a star in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League before going to Maine, recording big point and big penalty minute totals as part of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) Blizzard. Back in 2016, Sam Laskaris of Windspeaker.com reported that Keeper, who is Cree, was recruited by several teams in the NCAA and USHL but decided on Maine because of goalie coach Alfie Michaud, a former First Nations (Ojibwe) professional hockey player himself.
The 6’2″ defenseman may have toned down his rough play somewhat since his first few years of junior, but Keeper still doesn’t shy away from engaging physically. That’s just a part of his well-rounded game now though, one which resulted in 44 points across 73 games in his collegiate career. He’ll jump into a Panthers organization that has plenty of depth on defense but has shown a willingness to give young players an opportunity at the NHL level.
Panthers, Islanders Expected To Be Active This Off-Season
With the New York Islanders sitting in second place in the Metropolitan Division and the Florida Panthers not yet out of postseason contention, eight points back of the final wild card slot with a game in hand, fans are not yet looking toward next season with plenty of meaningful games left this season. Yet, the two Eastern Conference teams are expected by many to be some of the most active players in the upcoming off-season. The Islanders could have more cap space entering the summer than just about any other team, while the Panthers have not won a playoff series since 1996 and are desperate to take a step forward. Both teams have needs and could look to fill them in explosive fashion this off-season.
Things have gone as well as they possibly could have this season for the Islanders. Despite losing John Tavares and entering the year with an unproven goalie tandem, the team is not only playoff-bound, but also the league leader in goals against average. Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss have been stellar in net, the team’s young defensemen have taken a major step forward under new head coach Barry Trotz, and the offense has picked up the seemingly insurmountable slack that Tavares left behind. Yet, much of their success could be undone by free agency, which would leave the team in need of making several big additions. Lehner is an impending free agent and the Isles must decide whether or not to commit to the young reclamation project or else seek a long-term replacement, with 33-year-old Greiss only signed for one more year. Yet, the net is not even the greatest of their concerns. Captain Anders Lee and fellow top forwards Brock Nelson and Jordan Eberle are approaching free agency without new contracts. After losing Tavares last summer, it seems almost impossible that New York could also let Lee slip away. But can the same be said for Nelson and Eberle, who are also top-five scoring forwards for the Isles. The team may be in a position where they need to add considerable talent up front, as well as replenish depth.
Currently projected to have the fourth-most cap space of any team this summer, the Islanders could hypothetically re-sign Lehner and their trio of forwards without issue or else find free agents on the market. However, if spending power is not enough to bring in top free agents – like say Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky – GM Lou Lamoriello could explore the trade market. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple writes that the Islanders’ newfound depth on the blue line could help to facilitate a major trade. He believes that the team wants to move forward with a young core of Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield, and Devon Toews on the blue line. He also mentions AHL All-Star Sebastian Aho as another key piece, while recent high draft picks Noah Dobson and Bode Wilde also deserve consideration. This youth movement has made top defenseman Nick Leddy expendable and Staple believes that he is a talent that could bring back an established top-six forward. The Islanders could also look to move veterans Johnny Boychuk and Thomas Hickey instead of or in addition to Leddy. That trade flexibility paired with ample cap space make the Isles a dangerous player on the trade market this summer, if not all of their problems can be fixed via free agency.
In fact, the Panthers could wind up being an ideal trade partner for the Islanders. Florida leads the NHL this season with five 20-goal scorers and has an offensive game and potent power play that few in the league can rival. However, their defense and their goaltending both leave a lot to be desired. The Panthers don’t have the cap space that the Islanders do, but The Athletic’s George Richards believes that the team plans to make trades to free up cap space in order to hit the free agent market with more bargaining power. Florida is another team that has been linked to the Panarin/Bobrovksy package, while they are also a team that could greatly benefit from adding Erik Karlsson. Richards writes that the team will be “aggressive” in pursuing top free agents, but that doesn’t mean they will succeed in drawing targets to a non-traditional hockey market.
As such, Florida could also wind up making noise on the trade market and a name like Leddy would be the caliber of player they would like to add. Mike Hoffman and Evgenii Dadonov have enjoyed strong seasons with the Panthers this year, but both have just one season remaining and could be on the trade block this summer. There were also rumors that Jonathan Huberdeau was a player that GM Dale Tallon listened to offers for at the trade deadline again and he could do so again for the team’s highest-paid forward. These are names that will move the needle for other NHL clubs. Veteran goaltenders Roberto Luongo and James Reimer? Not so much. However, the team needs to improve on its poor goaltending and to do so would need to move one (or both) of the tandem costing them a combined $7.933MM. This may involve Florida moving picks or prospects as well. There are many layers to the trade possibilities for the Panthers this off-season, making them a fascinating team to watch.
With weeks remaining in the regular season and the unknown of the postseason yet to come, the status quo could change for either one of these teams. As things stand though, there are major question marks for both squads that at this point don’t look like they can be answered until after the playoffs have ended. As soon as that happens, the Islanders and Panthers will become must-watch teams in how they approach the NHL Draft, the start of free agency, and the summer trade market. Both clubs could look drastically different in 2019-20 by way of an active off-season.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Rasanen, Free Agents
The NHL has released their three stars for last week and a few new faces have finally received some recognition. Jonathan Huberdeau is the league’s top performer after putting up nine points in just four games. Though it may not be enough to push the Florida Panthers to the postseason this year, Huberdeau is having an outstanding season and has already recorded a career high 74 points in 69 games. That’s the kind of performance the Panthers were hoping for when they selected him third overall in 2011.
Second place last week went to Ben Bishop, who didn’t allow a single goal in his two appearances. Bishop has had an outstanding season and is actually carrying the best save percentage of his career at .930. The big goaltender also leads the league in goals against average, and has helped push the Dallas Stars into a playoff position. While Bishop has had plenty of recognition over his career, the third place spot went to a fresh face in Troy Terry. The young Anaheim Ducks forward put up seven points in four games and now has ten in 23 games on the season. Terry, 21, will be a huge part of any rebuild in Anaheim.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs were already expected to soon sign forward Yegor Korshkov to an entry-level contract, and now may be bringing another prospect over from the KHL. A report out of Finland notes that Eemeli Rasanen has terminated the remainder of his contract with Jokerit—which only ran until the end of April—in order to sign an entry-level contract with the Maple Leafs. Rasanen was a second-round pick two years ago but returned to the OHL in 2017-18 before jumping to the KHL this season.
- Speaking of unsigned prospects, Corey Pronman of The Athletic (subscription required) ranked the top free agents from various leagues around the world including those undrafted young players from the CHL and college ranks. Nico Sturm from Clarkson University comes in as the top unsigned option after putting up 41 points in 34 games this season. Sturm, a 6’3″ center, likely has a bottom-six ceiling in the NHL but is considered relatively pro ready.
Denis Malgin And Colton Sceviour To Return This Week
- Florida is set to get a pair of forwards back in the coming days. Jameson Olive of the Panthers’ team website notes (Twitter link) that forwards Denis Malgin and Colton Sceviour are likely to return this week. Malgin (lower body) is expected to return on Thursday while Sceviour (wrist) has had his cast removed and could be back over the weekend.
Florida Panthers Sign Serron Noel To Entry-Level Contract
The Florida Panthers have inked one of their top prospects, signing Serron Noel to a three-year entry-level contract. Noel is currently playing with the Oshawa Generals in the OHL after being selected 34th overall last June. Unlike some of the other prospects being signed right now, Noel is still young enough to potentially see the contract slide forward a year and not kick in until 2020-21.
That all depends on whether the Panthers believe he could help in the NHL next season, and after the strong year he’s had for Oshawa he’ll likely get a chance to battle for a spot in the fall. The 6’5″ winger has 75 points in 62 games and is already an excellent skater for his size. GM Dale Tallon expressed exactly that sentiment when speaking about his newest forward:
Serron is a highly skilled, hard-working, young player who we believe has the potential to be an excellent power forward for the Panthers for many years to come. At just 18 years of age, his impressive combination of size, speed and character are qualities that have helped him excel this season in Oshawa. We are thrilled to have signed Serron and look forward to his development with the Panthers.
If he doesn’t make the Panthers out of camp, which is still an extreme long shot at this point, Noel will not be allowed to play in the AHL and would be expected to return to the OHL for another season. That could very well come with an invitation to compete at the World Juniors with Team Canada, given he has already taken part in international tournaments like the Hlinka-Gretzky and the World Junior Summer Showcase.
Minor Transactions: 03/02/2019
As always, Saturday is a busy night on the NHL schedule with ten games on tap (including the 1,000th game of the year and Jarome Iginla’s sweater retirement in Calgary) and most of the teams battling for Wild Card spots in action. Accordingly, there should be quite a bit of roster movement today. We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.
- The Coyotes announced the recall of winger Hudson Fasching from Tucson of the AHL. This will be his first stint with Arizona after they acquired him in the offseason from Buffalo. Coming out of college, the 23-year-old looked like a legitimate power forward in the making but his offensive prowess has yet to translate to the pros as he has just 25 points in 48 games with the Roadrunners this season.
- With Justin Faulk able to return last night, the Hurricanes have returned defenseman Jake Bean to AHL Charlotte. He had been recalled on an emergency loan on Thursday but he had to be sent down for it to not count against the four post-deadline regular recalls allowable. Bean has had a strong rookie campaign with the Checkers, collecting 33 points in 56 games while getting into a pair of games with Carolina as well.
- Sammy Blais is back with the Blues as he has been recalled under emergency conditions from San Antonio of the AHL. It’s already the second time this week he has been brought up under these conditions. The winger is needed with the uncertain situations regarding center Brayden Schenn and winger David Perron who are both currently on IR and are questionable to play tonight. Blais has played in 27 games with St. Louis this season, picking up three points along with 80 hits. When the team announced that Blais was replacing an uninjured Robby Fabbri in the lineup later in the day, however, the Blues announced that they have terminated the emergency recall and have opted to make Blais one of the team’s four regular recalls.
- CapFriendly reports that the Detroit Red Wings have recalled rookie forward Christoffer Ehn from the AHL on an emergency basis. Ehn, a big defensive center, has been a nice piece for the Red Wings in his first season in North America. The 2014 draft pick has skated in 44 games and notched seven points and has been trusted with key defensive assignments. However, that hasn’t kept him out of the minors entirely; he has six points through 13 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. For now, he’ll return to Detroit as an injury replacement and work to show that he should finish out the year in the NHL. With Anthony Mantha healthy enough to return, the Red Wings announced they have re-assigned Ehn back to Grand Rapids before their Saturday game even started.
- CapFriendly also adds that the Los Angeles Kings have reassigned forward Matt Luff to the nearby Ontario Reign of the AHL. Luff, 21, has been a frequent fixture of the minor news cycle this season, going between the Kings and Reign with regularity. The second-year pro has ten points in 31 games with L.A. and an impressive 21 points in just 18 games with Ontario. The big wingers is making it hard for the Kings to keep him out of the NHL, but they’ve done so again. Using his size to his advantage as a more physical player would help Luff to stay at the highest level more frequently.
- The Florida Panthers announced that they have returned defenseman Riley Stillman to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Stillman, the son of former NHLer Cory Stillman, made his NHL debut on this latest recall, skating for 11 minutes against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. The 2016 fourth-round pick has added NHL experience to a strong first AHL campaign in Springfield and has established himself as a depth option for Florida. The young blue liner could push for a more regular role with the team next season.
- Denis Gurianov is on his way down to the minors yet again. The enigmatic Dallas Stars winger has been reassigned to AHL Texas, the team announced. With the size, skill, and skating to be an NHL regular, as well as point-per-game AHL numbers that suggest he his time in the minors has run its course, Gurianov nevertheless continues to find it hard to stick in Dallas. He has just four points in 21 games with the Stars this year, compared to 37 in 39 with their affiliate. With the team pushing for a playoff spot and in need of all the offense they can get, it’s fair that they again reassign Gurianov if he’s not producing. However, one has to wonder if the young forward needs a change of scenery if he can’t get an extended look in Dallas in his third season with the club.
- The New Jersey Devils announced they have recalled forward Joey Anderson from the Binghamton Devils of the AHL. Despite an injury, Anderson had spent much of the season with New Jersey, playing 19 games after signing out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth last offseason. He has just two goals and three points in that span before being sent down last week before the trade deadline.
Panthers Hope To Keep Riley Sheahan Beyond This Season
While some expected the Panthers to flip recently-acquired center Riley Sheahan by the trade deadline, they opted to keep him around instead. GM Dale Tallon told Walter Villa of the Miami Herald that he’s quite pleased with how the 27-year-old has performed so far and that they hope to bring him back for next season. Sheahan is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July and is making $2.1MM this season. With just 14 points in 62 games between Pittsburgh and Florida, it’s hard to imagine that it will cost considerably more to keep him around although his positional versatility certainly adds to his value.
Florida Panthers Tried To Acquire Mark Stone
The Florida Panthers have cleared a large amount of cap room this season by trading away players like Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann, and many have speculated that they’ll use it in free agency on targets like Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky. While that may be true, it didn’t stop the team from going after another big fish at the trade deadline. Head coach Dale Tallon tells George Richards of The Athletic (subscription required) that the team made a “good offer” to the Ottawa Senators to try and get Mark Stone before the talented winger eventually went to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Stone is expected to sign a long-term extension with the Golden Knights, something Richards believes the Panthers were also willing to do if they could acquire the 26-year old. It makes sense, given the cap room that Florida has and already exceptional talent up front to surround Stone with. Interestingly though the team already has Mike Hoffman in the fold, who was unceremoniously ushered out of Ottawa after a very public feud with former Senators captain Erik Karlsson. It’s obviously not clear where Hoffman and Stone stand, but it didn’t stop the team from trying to acquire the latter.
Tallon admits that the team will be “very aggressive” at the end of the season, using their draft capital and cap space to improve the team. With a forward core already consisting of Hoffman, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Evgeni Dadonov the team has some real scoring punch. Adding a player like Stone or Panarin would make them even more dangerous, and with somewhere around $22MM in cap space (depending on where the ceiling lands) they have the room to do it and other things. The Panthers also own nine picks in the upcoming draft and could flip those for some more help.
At the very least, the fact that the Panthers were going hard to try and land a player of Stone’s caliber should be encouraging to the fan base. While this season hasn’t gone as hoped, there should be real excitement for an offseason that should be filled with fireworks.
Minor Transactions: 02/26/19
The trade deadline has come and gone, meaning roster limits are no longer in effect for the NHL. Teams are allowed to carry as many players as possible, though hold just four non-emergency recalls through the end of the season. While many teams used those recalls to complete paper transactions in order to maintain minor league playoff eligibility for their young stars, others will use them over the next few weeks. We’ll be right here to keep track of all the minor moves.
- The Florida Panthers have recalled Riley Stillman from the minor leagues, giving them another defenseman down the stretch. Stillman, the son of former Panthers alternate captain Corey Stillman, has 11 points in 46 games for the Springfield Thunderbirds in his first year of professional hockey.
- Zach Trotman has been recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins, another healthy defenseman to fill in while they assess the injuries to Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin. The team acquired two defenders yesterday, meaning Trotman likely won’t stay with the club through the end of the season. The 28-year old has 70 games of NHL experience under his belt.
- Justin Bailey was sent back to the minor leagues by the Philadelphia Flyers, a move that means he won’t get to face off against his old team tonight. The Buffalo Sabres are in Philadelphia and will also not have to face Wayne Simmonds after the power forward was dealt yesterday.
- The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Danny O’Regan from the minor leagues after their loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. O’Regan had been with the team already and was involved in a paper transaction to make him eligible for the AHL playoffs.
- Kurtis MacDermid is up with the Los Angeles Kings and is expected to play against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight. MacDermid hasn’t played a game in the NHL this season but suited up 34 times for the Kings last year.
Colorado’s Matt Nieto Out 6-8 Weeks
What was originally considered to be a minor injury has turned out to be anything but for Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Nieto. Just days after stating Nieto was “dinged up” and would miss Saturday night’s game, BSN Denver’s AJ Haefele relays news from GM Joe Sakic tonight that Nieto is expected to miss six to eight weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.
The timeline leaves little to no chance that Nieto will return in the regular season. If the Avalanche make the playoffs, his availability would be in question through at least the first round, if not longer. It’s a tough blow for both the team and the player in what has been a career year for Nieto. The 2011 second-round pick has been nothing if not consistent over his NHL career as a bottom-six forward. Including this season, Nieto has recorded at least double-digit points in 58 or more games in each of his six seasons. His best year to date came in his sophomore campaign with the San Jose Sharks, when he registered 27 points in 72 games, although he nearly matched that total last season in Colorado. However, with 22 points already through 58 games this year, Nieto was on pace to finish the 2017-18 season with 30 points. This injury ensures that won’t happen, robbing Nieto of a new career best and the Avalanche of one of their top-nine scoring forwards.
Fortunately, Sakic and company did manage to add Derick Brassard from the Florida Panthers at the deadline at a relative bargain rate and he will be in the lineup right away tonight when the Avs face those same Panthers. Even amidst a miserable season for the veteran forward, Brassard is a major addition for Colorado and should arguably be considered the best non-first line forward on the club the rest of the way. If he plays up to that expectation, he will more than make up for Nieto’s absence and could be the key to the Avalanche winning a playoff spot and Nieto seeing the ice again this season. Beyond Brassard, Tyson Jost, Sven Andrighetto, and Sheldon Dries are among the others who could be asked to step up in Nieto’s stead. The fate of the Avs’ season may rest in their ability to emulate their fallen teammate’s work ethic and tenacity on the ice.