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Snapshots: Lucic, Campbell, Rasmussen, Red Wings

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ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Kings and forward Milan Lucic have broken off negotiations which means the 28-year-old winger is headed to free agency. LeBrun states that the Kings’ lack of salary cap room, and Lucic’s financial expectations were too far apart. Though he wanted to remain in Los Angeles, Lucic now will become a coveted free agent. PHR listed him as the #3 ranked UFA on our Top 50 Free Agent list. Ian McLaren listed his top three spots where Lucic would likely land with Vancouver topping the list.

In other NHL news:

  • The Chicago Tribune’s Chris Kuc indicates that former Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Brian Campbell is interested in coming back to the Windy City. The longtime Florida Panther is an unrestricted free agent, and has not re-signed with the Panthers. PHR listed him as the 14th best free agent out of the Top 50 UFAs.  Campbell would take a significant pay cut, however, as the Blackhawks still have a number of players to bring back into the fold with Andrew Shaw leading the pack.
  • The Blackhawks re-signed forward Dennis Rasmussen tweets CSN Chicago’s Tracey Myers. The deal is for one-year and approximately $600,000 according to CapFriendly. The 25-year-old forward had 9 points (4-5) for the Blackhawks in 44 regular season games.
  • Pierre LeBrun writes that the Red Wings and Hurricanes have had conversations about Pavel Datsyuk’s contract. Detroit has been looking for a suitor to take the heavy $7.5MM cap hit off its books after Datsyuk bolted for the KHL. LeBrun indicates that the Wings have been reluctant to move the contract because of the high asking price.  LeBrun also states that holding onto the contract doesn’t necessarily eliminate the Wings from going after unrestricted free agent Steven Stamkos should he hit the market. Conversely, he points out that dealing the contract away with high draft picks or prospects without knowing if Stamkos hits the market is very risky. Finally, he adds the Red Wings to a list of teams interested in the services of Lucic.
  • The Grand Rapids Griffins have signed forward Jack Barre to an AHL contract, according to the team site.  The 6’2″ 215 pound winger enjoyed a breakout senior season for the Dartmouth Big Green of the ECAC, tallying 26 points in 29 games – more than he had scored in his first three years combined.  Not thought of as an offensive force, perhaps the Connecticut native has found something to build upon in the coming years.

Snapshots: Sgarbossa Re-Signs In Anaheim, Panthers Fire Trainer

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  • According to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, the Anaheim Ducks have re-signed center Michael Sgarbossa to a 1-year extension worth $0.6MM at the NHL level. Sgarbossa was pointless in one game with the Ducks last season, but scored 17 goals and 27 assists for 44 points in 62 games with the AHL’s San Diego Gulls.
  • The Miami Herald’s George Richards reports the Panthers have fired head athletic trainer Dave Zenobi. Zenobi had been with the team for 10 years and was part of the medical staff that saved Richard Zednik’s life after his neck was cut by Olli Jokinen’s skate in 2008.

Florida Acquires Rights To Keith Yandle

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UPDATE: 7:28 PM CST: Stephen Whyno from AP Sports reports Panthers GM Tom Rowe is expecting Brian Campbell to test free agency, and that he’s “not shopping” Dmitry Kulikov, despite recent reports. Rowe says trading for Yandle is the beginning of the Panthers being a contender, according to Whyno.

UPDATE: 5:00 PM CST: Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the conditional pick will be a 2017 fourth rounder if Yandle signs with the Panthers.

UPDATE 4:50 PM CST: James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail reports that the first pick will be a 6th rounder this season (174th overall), with the value of the conditional pick still unknown.

4:39 PM CST: George Richards of the Miami Herald confirms that the team will acquire his rights in exchange for a draft pick, plus a second conditional pick if he signs with them prior to July 1st.

4:31 PM CST: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Florida Panthers are working hard to acquire the negotiating rights to Keith Yandle prior to him becoming a UFA on July 1st.

Rumor Roundup: Bogosian, Kulikov, Trouba

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Rumor season is alive and well as we head towards the NHL Entry Draft and free agency. While fans salivate at the possibilities, and reporters fight for any scrap of information, here are some of the rumors that are floating around the league right now:

  • In an offseason that will be spent trying to find a number one (not to mention two, three, and four) defenceman, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal hears that the Oilers are interested, at least somewhat, in Buffalo Sabres blueliner Zach Bogosian and have been since last season.  While it doesn’t seem likely that the former third overall pick would be on the move to Edmonton due to his no-movement clause, Buffalo may try to get him to waive it in order to move his contract.
  • Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com hears that the Boston Bruins have interest in Florida defenceman Dmitry Kulikov and have at least been kicking the tires on a possible trade. The 25-year old has just one year remaining on his contract at $4.3MM before he would become a (much sought after) UFA. The Panthers have a lot of young players that they need to get signed over the next year and a half, with Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Reilly Smith and Alex Petrovic all restricted free agents after next season.
  • After rumors swirled this week about the Colorado Avalanche’s interest in Jets’ defenceman Jacob Trouba, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post asked GM Joe Sakic about it: “There’s a lot of speculation out there. All I can tell you is we’ve had conversations with different teams and we want to try to improve our crop.”.  Trouba is sure to be sought after by many teams if the Jets do indeed make him available this summer.  The 22-year old is a former ninth overall pick, is an RFA for the first time this summer and has performed well in his three NHL seasons.

Free Agent Focus: New York Islanders

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The New York Islanders got back to the postseason in 2015-16, making it two straight years they’ve gotten there. The John Capuano coached team went 45-27-10 in the regular season, and advanced past the Florida Panthers before getting knocked out by the Tampa Bay Lightning. As superstar John Tavares continues to crawl toward his eventual free agency – he has two remaining seasons at $5.5MM – the team has quite a few big names to worry about this offseason.  Here’s a look at their upcoming free agents:

Key Restricted Free Agent: C Ryan Strome – The elder Strome brother and former 5th overall pick, Ryan had a somewhat disappointing season for the Isles this year. After putting up 17 goals and 50 points in his sophomore year in 2014-15, Strome only collected 28 this season while seeing less powerplay time and experiencing a drop-off in possession metrics.

Strome will turn 23 in less than a month, and is coming off his entry-level contract; he’ll be looking for a bridge deal like the one Nazem Kadri signed in 2013.  While Kadri was coming off a stronger season, he didn’t have as much history in the league as Strome does now. That deal lasted two years at $2.9MM, and while Strome might not hit that mark he’s expected to get over $2MM.

Other RFAs: Alan Quine, Shane Prince, Scott Mayfield, Christopher Gibson, Jean-Francois Berube

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: RW Kyle Okposo – After putting up a huge season, Okposo is in line for a big pay raise. The former seventh overall pick put up 64 points in 79 games, continuing what has been very strong play since 2013-14. He’s racked up 184 points during that time, ranking him 17th overall in PPG over that span among players with at least 50 GP. Coming in ahead of players like Corey Perry, Phil Kessel and Jonathan Toews, Okposo is going to get a huge contract this offseason.

As reported earlier today, it looks like the Islanders are set to move on from the winger, with GM Garth Snow wishing him luck in the future. For the team, they’ll be losing their second highest scorer and a player who has been a big part of the turnaround in New York. With the third highest, center Frans Nielsen, also being a UFA this summer the Isles are at risk of losing a substantial part of their offense on July 1st.

Other UFA: Nielsen, Eric Boulton, Matt Martin, Steve Bernier, Brian Strait, Marek Zidlicky

Projected Cap Space: $13MM, 18 players under contract.

While the Islanders seem to have their defense corps set up for next year, their forward group will have to rely on some young talent stepping up if they don’t make any big free agent splashes. 24-year old Brock Nelson put up an impressive 26 goals and will be expected to take on an even bigger role with the departures of Okposo and Nielsen.

The goaltending tandem of Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss performed admirably this season, but the team may look to move one of them at some point, with Greiss entering his final contract year and Halak only with two remaining.  As they both enter their thirties, the team may look to move on as they have a number of solid prospects in the system.

Coaching Notes: Groulx, Shaw, Pollock

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After being confirmed earlier this week that Glen Gulutzan would be hired as the Calgary Flames head coach, the team held a press conference Friday to officially announce him. Gulutzan will try to take the Flames back to the playoffs after an underwhelming season in which they 35-40-7 and were surrounded by controversy all season, from Dennis Wideman’s collision with an official and eventual suspension and appeal, to the benching of star players Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for “disciplinary reasons”. He’ll come in as a much different voice than outgoing coach Bob Hartley, and will try to instill a different tone in the locker room.

Here are more coaching notes from around the league:

  • The Ottawa Senators have hired Pierre Groulx as their next goalie coach, replacing the outgoing Rick Wamsley who was jettisoned along with head coach Dave Cameron and the rest of the staff in April. Groulx, formerly the goalie coach in Florida and Montreal, will lead a group that allowed the third most goals in the NHL last season, and had poor performances throughout the season. Number 1 goaltender Craig Anderson should appreciate the familiar face; Groulx was his coach for three years in Florida.
  • Former St. Louis Blues’ assistant Brad Shaw has been brought into Columbus to work with head coach John Tortorella according to Aaron Portzline with the Columbus Dispatch. Shaw spent nine seasons with the Blues, and actually was the New York Islanders’ head coach for half a season in 2005-06, after the firing of Steve Stirling midway through a disappointing year.
  • According to Gary Lawless of TSN, while not as a coach, Richard Pollock has been hired by the Florida Panthers as a pro scout. This comes after the organization has changed direction in scouting, firing long time director Scott Luce and hiring the more analytics-based Cam Lawrence and Josh Weissbock. Former Panther and veteran-NHLer Bryan McCabe, currently the team’s manager of player development, has also taken a larger role.

Free Agent Focus: Chicago Blackhawks

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It’s going to be another painful summer in Chicago, but this time, there’s no Stanley Cup to soothe fans. On Tuesday, the Blackhawks traded promising young forward Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina to dump the salary of Bryan Bickell.

It was a mixed-bag of a season in the Windy City. The team’s Championship defence started out with star forward Patrick Kane under investigation for allegedly raping a woman at his New York home. The charges were later dropped. Kane teamed up with rookie Artemi Panarin to score a career-high 106 points and win the Art Ross Trophy. Panarin, in his first NHL season after six years in the KHL, finished in the top 10 scorers in the league. The Blackhawks finished third in the tightly-contested Central Division and lost to rival St. Louis Blues in 7 games.

Projected Cap Space: $8.4MM, 16 players under contract.

Key Restricted Free Agents: Andrew Shaw – the pesky forward scored 34 points this season, the second highest total of his career. He’s coming off a controversial playoffs where he was suspended for using a homophobic slur towards a referee after making an inappropriate hand gesture. Shaw has been a favourite of coach Joel Quenneville, but was doubtful to return before Tuesday’s trade. Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazerus reported that the Blackhawks fully expect to be able to re-sign Shaw. Expect the deal to be for 3 or more years north of $3MM per.

Other RFAs: Dennis Rasmussen 

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise – the pair of wingers were acquired at the trade deadline as the Blackhawks loaded up for a Cup run. Both players are expected to test the open market as Chicago doesn’t have cap space to sign either at close to their market-value.

Other UFAs: Christian Ehrhoff, Tomas Fleischmann, Michael Leighton, Brandon Mashinter, Michal Rosival.

Outlook: The Blackhawks need at least 5 forwards, a couple defensemen, and a third string goalie. Don’t expect any of those players to have a salary above $1MM.

With $48.78MM invested in their 7-player core of Jonathon Toews, Kane, Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Marian Hossa, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Corey Crawford, money is going to be tight to re-sign Shaw, round out their roster, and prepare for Panarin’s new contract next season.

With regards to the expected expansion draft next summer, the Blackhawks do not have much to worry about, as they will be able to protect all their important pieces. Chicago does not have a first round pick in the upcoming draft.

Free Agent Focus: Florida Panthers

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The Florida Panthers saw drastic improvement in 2015-16, winning the Atlantic Division with a 47-26-9 record. They made the playoffs for just the second time this century, but lost in six games to the New York Islanders. The team was well-rounded, with young forwards Sasha Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, and Jonathan Huberdeau learning under legend Jaromir Jagr up front and franchise defenceman Aaron Ekblad developing nicely on the back-end. Veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo turned in an All-Star performance.

Despite winning their first ever division title on the backs of their young talent, the Panthers fired their head scout in May. Scott Luce had been with the team since 2003. The team also promoted GM Dale Tallon to President of Hockey Operations and replaced him Tom Rowe, the associate GM. The team also made a pair of intriguing trades, sending tough D Erik Gudbranson to Vancouver for picks and getting rid of the contract of Marc Savard.

Projected Cap Space: $20.8MM, 18 players under contract

Key Restricted Free Agent: Vincent Trochek enjoyed a tremendous break-out season with 53 points in 76 games. His 25 goals were tied with Reilly Smith for second most on the Panthers. The two-way centre missed the end of the regular season with a fractured fibula. He returned for game 5 of the post-season, posting a single assist in two losses.

The undersized Trochek will likely be looking for a similar, if not bigger, contract to the one Riley Sheahan signed today.

Other RFAs: Quinton Howden, Greg McKegg

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Defenceman Brian Campbell is no longer the top-pairing offensive dynamo he once was. But he’s still a dependable second or third pairing option to mentor the Panthers young defence core. He’s also in line for a significant pay cut from the $7.142MM annual salary he’s made since 2008.

Other pending UFA Jaromir Jagr has already been extended for another season.

Other Unrestricted Free Agents: Captain Willie Mitchell (retiring), rental wingers Teddy Purcell and Jiri Hudler, and backup goaltender Al Montoya.

The team will be looking for a taker for underperforming centre Dave Bolland, who scored just 5 points in 25 games last season but is making $5.5MM per season until 2019. Any trade involving Bolland would require a big sweetener, so a buyout is more likely. His health is also a potential roadblock in either case.

As well, the Panthers will be looking to acquire another goaltender. The 37-year-old Luongo has played 129 games in the last two seasons, so a solid young goaltender who can play 30 games would ease the workload and allow Luongo to be fresher for the playoffs.

Last year’s 11th overall pick, young power forward Lawson Crouse is expected to be given a long, hard look in training camp, but the team may also choose to acquire a winger to replace trade deadline rentals Purcell and Hudler.

The Panthers have plenty of cap space and new management looking to make a splash. However, new GM Tom Rowe must be wary of cap space heading into next off-season, with 11 players coming off the books including Ekblad, Smith, Huberdeau, Jagr, Dmitry Kulikov, and Alex Petrovic.

Ian McCoshen Signs Deal With Panthers

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UPDATE 10:27 AM CST:  Jimmy Murphy of VICE Sports confirmed that McCoshen has reached a deal is on his way to Florida.  He adds that they are trying hard to re-sign Brian Campbell and bring him back to the Panthers.

10:11 AM CST: According to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com, the Florida Panthers are close to signing Boston College defenceman Ian McCoshen. There have been rumors of McCoshen making the jump to the NHL for a while now, after another strong season for the Eagles in which he put up 21 points in 40 games.  The 20-year old was drafted by the Panthers in 2013, but took his talents to the NCAA to play for the storied BC program.

If McCoshen does indeed make the jump, he’ll be a welcome addition to a back-end that is set to lose Brian Campbell to free agency and has already traded away Erik Gudbranson.  There is also the possibility that 39-year old captain Willie Mitchell calls it a career, which would leave quite the hole on Florida’s blue line. Currently they have Aaron Ekblad, Alex Petrovic, Jakub Kindle and Dimitry Kulikov penciled into their top four, but McCoshen’s left-handed shot and strong physical play would slot in well on the third pairing.

For Florida, it would be the first move of an offseason aimed at keeping their foothold on the top of the Atlantic division, where they won 47 games and tallied 103 points in what was a surprising season.

Buyout Candidates: Bickell, Bolland, Cowen

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With the buyout window opening Wednesday evening, there is speculation as to which players will most likely see their contracts bought out. Luke Fox from Sportnet put together a list of players  who might find themselves a victim of buyer’s remorse. Here are a few:

  • Bryan Bickell: After having the playoff performance of a lifetime during the Chicago Blackhawks 2013 Stanley Cup run, Bickell’s contract has been a thorn in the side of the Hawks constant cap worries. Signed to a 4-year, $16MM deal in 2013, the return on investment has been null for the Blackhawks. Some will point to bench boss Joel Quenneville as one of the reasons Bickell never found sustained success after his magical year. Scott Powers wrote in the Chicago Sun Times back in January that Bickell was resigned to his fate, and that it was ultimately up to the Chicago brass as to how they solved the problem. Bickell was shuttled back and forth to AHL affiliate Rockford, and barely saw ice time even when he was up in Chicago. As Fox points out, with only a year left and $4MM owed, if Bickell isn’t traded, he’s most likely to be bought out.
  • Dave Bolland: Another former Blackhawk, Bolland has been injury plagued and unable to produce like he did when he was in Chicago. Back in December, the Hockey News  speculated that Bolland would be an excellent candidate to be removed from the books with 3 years still left on his deal. However, the average hit on the Cap should Florida choose to do this would be $1.833MM per year through the 2021-2022 season. While the Panthers have historically taken on large contracts to remain above the salary cap floor (Brian Campbell comes to mind immediately), this would be a steep price for six seasons of a nearly $2MM hit. One other caveat: Fox reports that Bolland failed a recent physical, which would disqualify his contract from being bought out per CBA rules.
  •  Jared Cowen: The Maple Leafs are in the midst of an epic purge, and already dealt most of the bad contracts from the previous regime. Cowen’s was acquired in the Dion Phaneuf trade, and as Fox notes, general manager Lou Lamoriello already indicated that Cowen would be bought out. TSN (as well as mentioned in Fox’s article) also writes that the Leafs would get a credit for buying the contract out. Mark this one down as a guarantee.

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