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Panthers Aren't Expected To Trade Nick Bjugstad

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Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad has long been in trade speculation but nothing has come to fruition.  Even though his name has popped up in the rumor mill once again as of late, his agent Ben Hankinson told Michael Russo of The Athletic during an interview on KFAN (audio link) that it’s unlikely that his client winds up being dealt:

The 25-year-old adapted well to being shifted to the wing with Florida and posted a career year offensively with 49 points (19-30-49) in 82 games.  However, given Bjugstad’s size and ability to play down the middle, the Panthers are assuredly going to continue to field interest in him but it doesn’t appear that they’re willing to deal him just yet.

Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Barkov, Canadiens

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While the Boston Bruins added a couple of small, but important pieces to their team this offseason in goaltender Jaroslav Halak and defenseman John Moore, their two biggest Atlantic Division rivals seem to be working at a much bigger scale. The Toronto Maple Leafs have already successfully signed superstar center John Tavares to a long-term deal, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are trying hard to acquire superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson.

Those two moves (although nothing is definite about Karlsson going to Tampa) suggest that maybe Boston isn’t doing enough to improve their own team. The team looks like they lost veteran Rick Nash who is still trying to decide if he intends to return to the NHL and hasn’t added much to their forward core this season. No doubt Boston general manager Don Sweeney is trying to work the trade market in hopes of picking up a Jeff Skinner or Artemi Panarin. However, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that there is nothing wrong if the team can acquire such a player, but the team needs to stay the course and not overreact to the whatever the Maple Leafs or Lightning do.

Haggerty writes the team had a plan at the end of the season and they need to stick to it, which means the team must hold onto their talented young players and not consider moving them for big-name players. The team already had a plan in place in hopes to upgrade its team, using prospects and pieces such as Torey Krug and Anders Bjork. However, the team also needs to keep their elite young players like Charlie McAvoy and Jake Debrusk, because they will need them to stay with the organization for the next decade. The team shouldn’t panic and attempt to grab a big-name player if it will cost them their long-term future.

  • The Florida Panthers could be making major shakeups in their lineups next season, according to Matthew DeFranks of the SunSentinel. With the addition of more talent this season, including Mike Hoffman and a host of young talent, coach Bob Boughner has a lot of option for loading up his top line which features star Aleksander Barkov. The talented center has spent much of the last three years playing alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgeni Dadonov, who arrived last season. However, with Hoffman and how well forward Nick Bjugstad played on the top line at times last season, it’s likely Barkov could get all new linemates next season, giving the team more depth on both their second and third lines.
  • Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette writes that the Montreal Canadiens have done nothing to get better this offseason. The scribe writes that when you finished the season as the 28th worst team in the league, you need to make big changes. Instead, the team’s biggest trade of Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi didn’t make the team better, especially since most experts believe that Arizona won the deal, but at best it’s a wash. Then the team’s biggest free agent signing was bringing back Tomas Plekanec, who isn’t the same player he once was and since he spent the majority of the season with Montreal last season, also can’t be anything more than a wash as well. The scribe also points out that if the team was rebuilding then they wouldn’t have tried so hard to go after Tavares or Paul Stastny this offseason. It just looks like another down year in Montreal.

Alexander Petrovic Signs One-Year Deal With Florida Panthers

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The Florida Panthers have re-signed one of their restricted free agents, inking Alexander Petrovic to a one-year $1.95MM contract. GM Dale Tallon had this to say about his defenseman:

Alexander is a dependable young defenseman who adds size and physicality to our lineup. He plays the game with an edge and has grown into a strong shutdown defender. We look forward to Alexander taking the next step in his development with the Panthers and are pleased to have agreed to terms with him.

You could have guessed that Petrovic was close to a deal with the Panthers when he failed to file for arbitration yesterday. The 26-year old defenseman is betting on himself with a one-year deal, as he’ll now be an unrestricted free agent next summer and can’t sign an extension with the Panthers until January 1st, 2019. Whether the Panthers would even want to entertain a multi-year deal isn’t clear, especially after they dramatically cut Petrovic’s minutes this season. Averaging just under 15 per game, the 6’4″ Petrovic was sheltered from many tough defensive matchups and yet still only recorded 13 points on the season. Head coach Bob Boughner instead gave a huge number of the defensive starts to Mike Matheson and Mark Pysyk, while handing Petrovic the lightest zone-start load among any of his defenders.

That middling success for Petrovic always sparks debate and frustration for Panthers fans, given that they chose to protect him in the expansion draft while handing Jon Marchessault and Reilly Smith over to the Vegas Golden Knights. That’s not Petrovic’s fault in any way, but it still will hang over his head while playing in Florida. This could be his last chance to impress the team and bring about a multi-year offer, and he’ll have to perform better than in 2017-18 to do it.

Florida Panthers Sign Jacob MacDonald, Paul Thompson

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The Florida Panthers have signed another pair of minor league players, inking Jacob MacDonald and Paul Thompson to two-year, two-way contracts. Both should add some much-needed depth to the Springfield Thunderbirds lineup, and even add some injury replacements for the Panthers if necessary.

Thompson, 29, is coming back to the Panthers after one year with the Vegas Golden Knights organization. He played 76 games for the Chicago Wolves, scoring 38 points and wearing an “A” as an alternate captain. The former standout University of New Hampshire player and Hobey Baker finalist, Thompson has been a solid professional minor league player for many years.

MacDonald, 25, represents a little more upside after scoring 20 goals and 55 points from the blue line last season. He’s come out of nowhere on the professional scene, after never really finding much offensive success in college or the low minor leagues. Now, as one the AHL’s most dangerous defensemen he should earn a call-up at some point to see if he can do it at the highest level. It may not be this season, but if he continues to produce for the Thunderbirds there’s no reason to not give him a shot. For a late-bloomer like MacDonald, getting a two-year NHL contract is quite an accomplishment.

Washington Capitals Sign Michael Sgarbossa, Jayson Megna

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The Washington Capitals have added some depth to the Hershey Bears, signing minor league veterans Michael Sgarbossa and Jayson Megna to one-year, two-way contracts.

Sgarbossa gives Washington a center to likely replace Travis Boyd who was one of Hershey’s top centers there a season ago. Sgarbossa spent last year with the Winnipeg’s Jets AHL affiliate and put up solid numbers, including 16 goals and 40 points. The 25-year-old was not promoted. Regardless, however, Sgarbossa has 48 games of NHL experience and also provides the Capitals depth options in case of injuries. Sgarbossa did get 29 NHL games in the 2016-17 season with the Florida Panthers, posting two goals and seven points.

The 28-year-old Megna also provides much needed center depth and has even more experience than Sgarbossa. Megna has played in 113 NHL games, but spent much of the season with the Utica Comets, the Vancouver Canucks AHL affiliate. In 25 games there, he scored four goals and 13 points and played in one game for Vancouver.

Panthers To Sign Michael Hutchinson

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  • The Red Wings have agreed to terms with Harri Sateri, reports Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland (Twitter link).  The 28-year-old spent most of last season with Florida’s AHL affiliate in Springfield, posting a stellar .927 SV% with a 2.30 GAA in 29 games.  He got into nine games with the Panthers down the stretch, going 4-4-0 with a 2.92 GAA and a .911 SV%.
  • Replacing Sateri with Florida will be Michael Hutchinson, once again per Strickland on Twitter.  He lost the number two spot in Winnipeg last year after they brought in Steve Mason although Mason’s frequent time on IR allowed Hutchinson to get into a handful of games with the Jets.  He played in 26 games with AHL Manitoba, posting a sterling .935 SV% along with a 2.08 GAA.  With 103 NHL games under his belt, the Panthers should be comfortable using him should one of Roberto Luongo or James Reimer get hurt.

Free Agent Rumor Round-Up: Roussel, Calvert, Hickey, Rieder, Perron, And More

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The Vancouver Canucks are closing in on an agreement with one of their top free agent targets. After Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman revealed that the Canucks were talking to two-way winger Antoine Roussel, colleague Rick Dhaliwal did some digging and discovered that the two sides were close on a long-term deal. Dhaliwal expects Roussel to sign a four-year deal worth more than $3MM per year with Vancouver. The former Dallas Stars brings grit and energy to the Canucks and has previously teased 30+ point potential. If the 28-year-old Frenchman can reach those levels of production while maintaining his notorious physical game, this could be a great signing by GM Jim Benning. However, it is well above what many would have expected Roussel to sign in both term and salary and could just as well be a disaster for Vancouver. Roussel is ranked 38th on PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents list with an estimated contract of two years and just over $2MM AAV.

[RELATED: PHR’s 2018 Top 50 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents]

  • Friedman has also linked the Colorado Avalanche and forward Matt Calvert. TSN’s Darren Dreger is among a few sources who have also heard about that pairing. Calvert, 28, has played his entire career for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but Dreger seems convinced that he is definitely on the move. The versatile, two-way winger would be a nice fit as a bottom-six regular who can fill gaps in the top-six, much like the role that Blake Comeau played for the team.
  • Dreger also reports that interest is high in defenseman Thomas Hickey. A shallow defense market is likely boosting the value of the serviceable defenseman, who is a tough defensive match-up and a dangerous off-the-puck play-maker, but prone to mistake when moving play. Many speculated that the Islanders would turn their attention to re-signing Hickey once the John Tavares situation had sorted itself out, but with Tavares dragging his feet and Hickey in talks with numerous teams, New York may not get that chance. We predicted that Hickey would land with the Montreal Canadiens on a multi-year deal in PHR’s Top 50 Free Agents list.
  • Another player getting a lot of attention is winger Tobias Rieder and the status of his suitors is changing quickly as the price rises. Just earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks were the first team confirmed to be in on Rieder and by now that list has increased dramatically. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports that the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators are also in the running and that the price has gotten so high as to drive the Edmonton Oilers out of the bidding. The Athletic’s Craig Custance confirms the interest from the Canucks, Flames, and Habs and adds the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers to the list of interested parties. All this for a player that the Los Angeles Kings deemed unworthy of a qualifying offer.
  • As expected, David Perron is also one of the hottest names on the free agent market and his former team, the Vegas Golden Knights, are seemingly out of the running. Friedman calls it “very unlikely” that Perron returns to Las Vegas, where he set a career high with 66 points this season. For an idea on the price for Perron, he landed at #5 on the PHR Top 50 Free Agents list with a projected six-year, $32MM contract, which could be a conservative guess.
  • One team that is somewhat surprisingly in talks with Perron is Arizona. Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports details the off-season so far from the Coyotes and lists Perron, James van Riemsdyk, and Michael Grabner as Arizona’s top targets. Morgan also says that the team has not ruled out bringing back veteran forward Brad Richardson as well.
  • The Boston Bruins are moving on from Anton Khudobin and reportedly working fast to find his replacement. Beat writer Matt Kalman and The Boston Globe’s Kevin-Paul Dupont both hear that the team is very interested in Kari Lehtonen as the new backup to Tuukka Rask. With many talented goalies on the market, Lehtonen has flown under the radar somewhat despite incredibly comparable numbers to Khudobin in more starts and superior numbers to the likes of Jonathan Bernier, Cam Ward, Robin Lehner and others. Lehtonen also had the highest Quality Start rate of any of that group in 2017-18. Even here at PHR we may have underestimated Lehtonen, making him our sixth-best goalie among the Top 50 free agents.
  • Unsurprisingly, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that the Washington Capitals have checked in with defenseman Brooks Orpik. A veteran leader and key contributor to their Stanley Cup run, the Capitals faced little choice but to trade Orpik away earlier this off-season in order to clear cap space to maintain their championship roster. Now that he has subsequently been bought out by the Colorado Avalanche, Orpik is fair game and could return to D.C. at a much more affordable rate. However, LeBrun warns that other teams are also in the running and Orpik may not take a discount rate in Washington over more legitimate offers.

 

Panthers Re-Sign Frank Vatrano

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The Panthers have signed their trade deadline acquisition to a new deal, announcing that they’ve signed winger Frank Vatrano to a one-year, one-way contract.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the contract is worth $925K, a nice little bump over his qualifying offer which checked in at just over $787K.  He would have been eligible for salary arbitration.

The 24-year-old was acquired in exchange for a 2018 third-round pick and fit in quite nicely with his new team.  After putting up just two goals in 25 games with Boston, Vatrano picked up five goals and three assists in just 16 games with Florida.  In his career between the Bruins and Panthers, he has 25 goals and 14 assists in 124 games.

Vatrano played in a middle-six role in Florida down the stretch and should do so again in 2018-19 even with their earlier acquisition of Mike Hoffman.  As things stand, he likely slots in on their third line left wing.

With the signing, the Panthers now have three remaining restricted free agents from their NHL roster to re-sign in center Jared McCann as well as defenseman Alexander Petrovic and MacKenzie Weegar.

Toronto Maple Leafs Make Changes To Scouting, Development Staff

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The Toronto Maple Leafs were bound to go through a transition after turning over the keys to Kyle Dubas as General Manager, and today we got some clarity over all the moves. According to James Mirtle of The Athletic, the Maple Leafs have let Jacques Lemaire, Jacques Caron, Nikolai Ladygin, Evgeny Namestnikov and Tommy Albelin go from their respective positions, while the team has announced promotions for several others. Dave Morrison is now the team’s Director of Player Personnel, Troy Bodie is the Director of Pro Scouting, and Wes Clark is an Assistant Director of Player Personnel.

Clark may be the most interesting name on the list at the moment, as he had been working for the Florida Panthers since leaving the Maple Leafs in 2016 but is known to have a close relationship with John Tavares, among other players. He also has a very good relationship with Dubas from their days together with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, and was one of the young GM’s first hires when he was brought in as an Assistant General Manager a few years ago.

Lemaire and Caron are obviously big names as well, but both were special coaching consultants with deep ties to Lou Lamoriello. Whether they’ll move on to the New York Islanders is unclear, but it isn’t surprising that they won’t be with the Maple Leafs going forward.

Red Wings Seeking To Fill Familiar Roles

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According to The Athletic’s Craig Custance, the Detroit Red Wings have special interest in four unrestricted free agents: goaltender Robin Lehner, center Valtteri Filppula, winger Thomas Vanek, and defenseman Mike Green. What all four of these players have in common is that the Red Wings have a very specific role in mind for each player. Detroit is seeking to replace, or in some case retain, players who had success in a certain organizational role.

Lehner, 26, appears to be a priority for the Red Wings. The former Buffalo Sabres starter reportedly visited Detroit today to meet with the Red Wings’ front office and coaching staff. Custance points out that Lehner is still young enough that he could get his game back on track and step into the starter role if and when 34-year-old Jimmy Howard leaves when his contract expires after next season. This was the exact role that the team had planned for Petr Mrazek, ironically the other big-name non-qualified goaltender. Mrazek was ahead of schedule and took Howard’s job for much of 2015-16 and 2016-17, but a drop-off in his performance eventually ran him out of town. The Wings seem to now see Lehner as a second chance at their plan, replacing Mrazek in hopes of landing a young heir apparent behind Howard.

Filppula is a name that Red Wings’ fans are familiar with. The veteran pivot was drafted by the team back in 2002 and spent eight seasons in Detroit. Who better than a wise, capable long-time Red Wing to replace a wise, capable long-time Red Wing? Custance writes that Detroit is worried that injuries may keep Henrik Zetterberg from returning this season and pursuing Fippula gives them a back-up option if their seasoned leader isn’t around. Both players are versatile, two-way centermen who can help the team in many ways. Even if Zetterberg is healthy, Filppula’s return to Detroit could help to groom some of their younger talent.

Vanek and Green are interesting targets in that the Red Wings want them back to avoid having to find another way to replace them. Vanek scored 38 points in 48 games with Detroit in 2016-17, but was traded to the Florida Panthers at the deadline. Almost immediately it was rumored that the Red Wings hoped to bring him back as a free agent. Instead, Vanek signed with the Vancouver Canucks and again was a deadline acquisition, this time by the Columbus Blue Jackets. While Vanek registered 56 points in 80 games, Detroit struggled to make up his production. They are now back in the running for his services this off-season in hopes that he can again provide a spark on offense. They are also trying to avoid losing Green and, like Vanek, immediately regretting the loss due to a difficulty in replacing his ability. Green is the lone high-end offensive defenseman on the free agent market and Detroit is far from the only team in the running. Custance reports that they are willing to match salary, but won’t seem to budge on a maximum two-year term. If the Red Wings were to lose Green to free agency, they would surely have a hard time making up his 30+ points and more than 22 minutes of ice time per game over the past two seasons.

The Red Wings have not been a strong team for the past few years, but there have been some facets of their game play that have worked out well. Detroit is hoping to continue, replace, or revive those successful pieces in hopes of finally returning to a complete, competitive team. Are Lehner, Filppula, Vanek, and Green the right moves? Or should the Red Wings forget about past successes and move on to a new, younger strategy?

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