Ian McCoshen Signs Deal With Panthers
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
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.
Friedman’s Latest: Hartnell, Eriksson, Barrie
Although the Montreal Canadiens failed to move up in the lottery last month, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they may try to make a deal to improve on their ninth overall pick. After picking late in the first round the last three seasons, Montreal will try to replicate the success they’ve had with their last couple of top-10 picks. In 2012 they selected Alex Galchenyuk third overall, and nailed Carey Price at number five way back in 2005. If Montreal wants to get back to the playoffs and have any chance at contention, they’ll have to improve through the draft. Here’s more from Friedman’s latest 30 thoughts:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets interviewed quite a few players ahead of selecting third overall in the upcoming draft. With rumors swirling that they are already getting offers for the pick, perhaps they’re just covering their bases before one of these deals blows them away.
- Still with Columbus, Friedman hears that there are trade rumblings around Scott Hartnell and that he is willing to waive his no-movement clause for several teams. Hartnell has three seasons at $4.75MM left on his deal, but put up another 20-goal season in 2015-16 and is a near-lock for 40 points at least for the immediate future.
- On Loui Eriksson, Friedman says that Boston will take one final run at re-signing the winger before he becomes a free agent on July 1st. If he makes it that far, expect a long list of suitors for the 30-year old after putting up an excellent 63 point campaign. He’s coming off a contract that earned him $4.25MM a season, and will look to improve on that number.
- It seems certain that Avalanche defenceman Tyson Barrie will be on the move this summer, but perhaps not until Colorado secures some help on the back-end. Their top target is Winnipeg Jets’ Jacob Trouba, who has played well since being drafted in 2012 and would take a fairly large ransom to pry away from GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.
- After acquiring Marc Savard‘s cap hit on Friday, the New Jersey Devils are no longer a landing spot for the Pavel Datsyuk dilemma should he decide to go back to Russia. According to Friedman this leaves only Carolina and Arizona as potential takers for the $7.5MM cap-hit he’ll incur since he signed his deal after he turned 35.
- Since Florida now has some room following the jettison of Savard’s hit, they’ve turned their attention to extending Vincent Trocheck. The 22-year old is a restricted free agent this summer, and is coming off an impressive 53 point season. With extensions for Aaron Ekblad and Reilly Smith due next year, Florida will have to keep Trocheck’s hit as low as possible if they’re to fit in all their young talent.
- Arizona is reluctantly looking at options with C Martin Hanzal as he nears free agency. While the Coyotes would like to re-sign him before he hits the market next summer, they are considering moving him and have asked for his list of teams he would accept a trade to.