Poll: Which PTO Has The Best Chance Of Making An NHL Roster?
Teams all over the league are starting to hand out professional tryouts, with Jyrki Jokipakka being the latest with the Washington Capitals. Every year we see some veteran players looking for one last chance, and AHL tweeners trying to claw their way into the NHL. Many of the names that have been given PTOs already won’t play in the NHL this season, and some of them may not play professional hockey at all.
Still, there are almost always a few that earn themselves an NHL contract either with the team whose camp they’re attending, or somewhere else around the league. Kris Versteeg parlayed a PTO with the Edmonton Oilers into a contract with the Calgary Flames last year, and was important enough that he warranted an extension this summer.
17 tryouts have officially been handed out up to this point, with some interesting names among them. Players like David Booth and Ryan Malone have had a lot of success at the NHL level but have been away for several years, while others like Chris Lee are trying to prove that they’ve been overlooked for some time. Who do you think is the most likely to earn a contract at the end of training camp? You can select as many players as you want from the list of names, and leave a comment if you think they’ll sign somewhere else around the league.
Which PTOs have the best chance at earning NHL contracts?
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Jimmy Hayes (NJD) 18% (213)
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Brandon Pirri (FLA) 16% (195)
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Jay McClement (PIT) 9% (109)
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Jared Cowen (COL) 9% (107)
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Ryan White (VAN) 8% (96)
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Jyrki Jokipakka (WSH) 7% (78)
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Chris Lee (LAK) 6% (66)
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R.J. Umberger (DAL) 5% (63)
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Tanner Glass (CGY) 5% (62)
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Eric Gelinas (MTL) 4% (43)
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David Booth (DET) 3% (41)
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Ryan Malone (MIN) 3% (34)
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Andrei Loktionov (LAK) 2% (29)
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Harry Zolnierczyk (FLA) 2% (25)
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Bobby Farnham (NYR) 2% (19)
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Nikolai Belov (FLA) 1% (10)
Total votes: 1,190
[Mobile users click here to vote!]
Jack Skille Expected To Sign In KHL
Running out of time to find an NHL contract before the puck drops on the 2017-18 season, another veteran has taken the quiet off-season as a sign to move on. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that free agent forward Jack Skille is expected to sign with Dinamo Minsk of the KHL in the coming days. The 30-year-old’s decision to continue his career overseas comes a decade after making his NHL debut in 2007.
Skille was selected #7 overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2005 and made the jump to the NHL two years later after a short stint with the University of Wisconsin. Although Skille has never lived up to his draft slot, the two-way winger has nevertheless found an NHL contract in each of the last ten seasons. After three seasons in Chicago, spent mostly with the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs, Skille was traded to the Florida Panthers in 2011 and there developed into a bona fide NHLer. Skille has only played in 22 AHL games since his trade to Florida, instead spending parts of three seasons with the Panthers, two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and most recently a year apiece with the Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks. Through 368 NHL games, Skille registered 84 points, including a career-high eight goals with the Avs just two years ago, but made his name not by his offense, but by his grit and toughness, his ability to win battles along the boards, and his quickness and tendency to always be in position to make a defensive play. Skille’s impressive ability to find an NHL gig as a reliable depth player is over for now, but may not be over for good, depending on his play in Europe.
With Minsk, Skille steps into a position where he will be relied on more for offense than any other time in his pro career and could also fill a leadership role. He also won’t be alone in Belarus though; he joins a squad with several NHL veterans such as Rob Klinkhammer, Quinton Howden, Justin Fontaine, Marc-Andre Gragnani, and new starting goalie Jhonas Enroth. The team is set to make some moves this season and Skille adds yet another talented contributor to the mix. If Minsk makes a leap up the standings in 2017-18 with Skille leading the charge in all three zones, there is little doubt that he will again draw interest from NHL teams next summer and beyond as a dependable and versatile depth option.
Thomas Vanek Considering Several Options
We haven’t heard much about the interest in Thomas Vanek this summer, as the talented offensive forward remains unsigned now through August. Today though, Michael Russo of the Star Tribune caught up with Vanek, who says he’s looking at a few options including waiting for the Detroit Red Wings. Vanek admits that he’ll have to make a final decision soon.
As we’ve looked at in the past, Vanek doesn’t have the same incentive to delay a signing in order to play in the Olympics, as Austria didn’t qualify for the event. He told Russo that he’s not used to waiting this long for a contract, and it’s true; both of his last UFA contracts were signed on July 1st. There is likely several teams with interest, but it’s unclear what kind of guarantee the 33-year old will receive.
Remember that since Vanek played all of last season and isn’t 35 yet, he’s ineligible for any incentive-based contract, meaning he’ll have to settle for whatever salary is offered to him. Though teams are well aware of his offensive upside, he isn’t a strong skater and comes with considerable defensive deficiencies. Teams that have considerable depth could likely shelter his minutes to get out positive production, or rebuilding squads could use him as trade deadline bait like Detroit last season. The Red Wings received a third-round pick and Dylan McIlrath for Vanek at the deadline last season, and could pull off a similar deal this year should he sign with them once again.
John Tavares & The Islanders’ Arena Deal
John Tavares will be one of the most polarizing figures in hockey this season, as fans all around the league wait to see if he will re-sign with the New York Islanders. Tavares has only ever expressed his desire to stay in New York, but has been clear he wants to see what happens with the team’s new arena bid before making a long-term decision. The Islanders moved to Barclays Center in 2015, a decision that has been widely regarded as a failure both in terms of location and interior aesthetics and sight lines. The team has been looking for a new home to move into that would provide some stability, the leading option being Belmont Park in Elmont, NY.
Arthur Staple of Newsday updated us on the Tavares negotiations today, shooting down a rumor that the star center had turned down an offer of $84MM. Tavares and the Islanders have “barely talked numbers” and are just waiting on the arena news before really beginning negotiations. The problem, is that Randi Marshall of Newsday, who has been covering the Belmont Park news from the start, jumped in by saying that proposals won’t even be submitted until September 28th, and a decision isn’t expected for at least four months after that (though that last bit of information is just an educated guess from Marshall).
That wait will be torturous for the Islanders, as it puts them very close to the trade deadline of March 1st. If there is no immediate answer on where the Islanders will play long-term holding onto Tavares through the end of the season is a huge risk. For a team that would need to start a rebuild without their superstar, letting him walk in free agency without recouping any value would be devastating. While there is no reason to get ahead of ourselves, the Belmont Park is one to keep a close eye on in a months time. If there are realistic competing bids for the site—which Marshall believes is a certainty—you’ll start to see more and more trade speculation surround the 26-year old.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Ratelle, Butcher, Lehner
After the Philadelphia Flyers announced this morning that Eric Lindros would see his number retired to the rafters this season, the New York Rangers are also making plans to honor one of their greatest players. Jean Ratelle‘s #19 will be retired in February, joining Ed Giacomin (#1), Brian Leetch (#2), Harry Howell (#3), Rod Gilbert (#7), Adam Graves and Andy Bathgate (#9), Mark Messier (#11), and Mike Richter (#35) in the rafters of Madison Square Garden.
Ratelle played 16 seasons for the Rangers during his career, scoring 817 points in 862 games for the franchise. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 and has been waiting a long time to see his number retired in New York. Jesper Fast, who wore the number last season, will have to change for 2017-18. The ceremony is scheduled for February 25th, before a game against the Detroit Red Wings that will be deemed “Jean Ratelle Night.”
- Will Butcher held a conference call with reporters today to explain why he chose the New Jersey Devils, and spoke mostly about his new head coach John Hynes and the effect he had even in just a short meeting. Butcher explained that his final four teams were indeed Vegas, Los Angeles, Buffalo and New Jersey, before eventually settling on the Devils. Butcher could step right into an NHL role in New Jersey, and he has the confidence if nothing else; he compared himself to Duncan Keith in terms of style of play.
- Bill Hoppe of Buffalo Hockey Beat has a great piece on the thought process of Robin Lehner in this summer’s contract negotiations with the Sabres, writing that Lehner wanted a long-term deal even though his agents disagreed. Even though his representatives explained that with a one-year deal he could set himself up for a big raise in what will be his final summer of restricted free agency, Lehner wanted to sign long-term in Buffalo. Hoppe writes that former Sabres GM Tim Murray may have been open to that, but the new regime wasn’t. Lehner has had extreme ups and downs since coming to Buffalo, but clearly has the talent to be one of the very best goaltenders in the league. In a year where almost everything went wrong for the Sabres, Lehner made a career-high 58 starts and maintained an excellent .920 save percentage. Next summer any long-term contract will be buying out almost exclusively UFA seasons, and will push much higher than the $4MM salary he’ll earn this season.
Latest On Cody Franson
Following up on a report from last week that there had been increased interest in free agent defenseman Cody Franson, Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 reports that the former Buffalo Sabres player could “possibly sign this week.” While that doesn’t sound like much, it does put the spotlight back on an interesting offseason case.
Franson went through a long period of free agency in 2015 before finally signing with the Sabres, and again this summer hasn’t seemed to be able to drum up much interest. The 30-year old defenseman has vocal supporters and detractors among hockey fans, but does have a history of putting up points at the NHL level. In 527 career games, Franson has registered 205 points, a better per-game rate (0.39) than players like Morgan Rielly, Hampus Lindholm and Matt Niskanen. Though he’s obviously not as mobile as those three, his overall possession contribution is still quite high.
The question is how effective Franson can be in his own end or without receiving much powerplay time. With most rosters all but set for their special teams contributors, Franson faces a similar situation as Thomas Vanek: able but not needed. It will be interesting to see what kind of guaranteed money a team gives him, or if he has to settle for a professional tryout. Drew Stafford recently settled for just $800K, but will be expected to play a fairly substantial role on the New Jersey Devils. A training camp injury could help Franson’s case, but waiting that long puts him in jeopardy of not finding any work in the NHL this season.
Poll: Where Will Thomas Vanek Wind Up?
The results of yesterday’s poll, “Will Jaromir Jagr or Thomas Vanek Play in the NHL This Year?“, have been an overwhelming “yes”. So far, more than 71% of voters think both will play, while the next highest scoring option was that Vanek will play, with close to 14%. While the idea of Jagr’s NHL career being over seems impossible to many, it has been relatively quiet for the future Hall of Famer this off-season, with the only recent news being whispers of interest coming out of Calgary. Vanek, on the other hand, has reportedly seen an uptick in interest of late and has ties to many teams across the league. So, the question then becomes, assuming Vanek plays in the NHL this year, where will he end up?
The most recent rumors have connected Vanek with the Vancouver Canucks. A team that seems unsure of its direction, the Canucks have added several veteran pieces this off-season, like Sam Gagner and Michael Del Zotto, and seem determined to make a playoff push with the soon-to-be 37-year-old Sedins set to hit free agency next summer. Loui Eriksson did not work out on the top line with Henrik and Daniel last year, and trying Vanek out could make some sense. On the other hand, Vancouver has some young talent that could use a shot and, even with Vanek, the team stands little chance of reaching the postseason. The Canucks should be in full rebuild mode, but until management realizes that, adding a veteran like Vanek is a real possibility.
The other team who has long been rumored to be in contact with Vanek are the Detroit Red Wings. Another team that probably shouldn’t be adding veterans, the Red Wings also simply may not have the capacity to sign the veteran scorer, given their current cap overage and unfinished business with Andreas Athanasiou. Nevertheless, the rumors have hung around, as Vanek did seem to fit in nicely in Detroit last season. A return could be best for him, but it wouldn’t be the most logical decision for the team.
The Boston Bruins seem intent on giving their young players the opportunity to make the team this year. However, the team also kept in touch with free agent Drew Stafford this summer and seemed likely to offer him a contract or tryout deal once they had the David Pastrnak negotiations wrapped up. Pastrnak remains unsigned, but now Stafford is off the market, signing in New Jersey. The Bruins could now turn their attention to Vanek, who has historically been a thorn in the team’s side, to provide some depth and insurance on the wings if the prospects aren’t ready for regular roles just yet.
Then there’s the Arizona Coyotes, who are in desperate need of a right-shot winger, and could use some more veteran leadership up front as well. Yes, the ‘Yotes are still rebuilding, but they need to take the next step sooner or later. Vanek would bring a scoring boost and most of all some balance to the lineup and, with a league-high $19.3MM in cap space remaining, Arizona can certainly take a chance and pay Vanek what he’s asking. The fit makes sense, but does Vanek want to go to the desert? Will he have any other choice?
Finally, the San Jose Sharks lost Patrick Marleau this summer and his 46 points from last season and have only added Brandon Bollig and his zero points from last season to make up for it. That speaks for itself. Vanek would immediately be the Sharks’ biggest off-season acquisition and a great candidate to step in and replace Marleau in the top six.
So, what do you think? The response has been near total agreement that Vanek is staying in the NHL, but where exactly will he play?
Where Will Thomas Vanek Wind Up?
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Detroit Red Wings 24% (116)
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San Jose Sharks 21% (103)
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Other 21% (101)
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Vancouver Canucks 14% (71)
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Boston Bruins 11% (53)
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Arizona Coyotes 10% (47)
Total votes: 491
Poll: Will Jaromir Jagr Or Thomas Vanek Play In The NHL This Year?
With Drew Stafford signing this morning, many fans are turning their sights to Jaromir Jagr and Thomas Vanek, arguably the top two names left on the open market. Both have had rumors recently about renewed interest, but it’s now late August and neither has found a team.
As we’ve looked at in the past, Jagr is one of several players from the Czech Republic who could give his country a huge boost for the upcoming Winter Olympics. The NHL isn’t going, and Jagr could play in Europe until after the international tournament. Thomas Vanek is not so lucky.
Vanek is Austrian, and though he captained his country’s team in the 2014 Games he won’t get the same chance in 2018 regardless of where he plays his hockey. Austria—playing without Vanek—got crushed by Latvia in Olympic qualifying 8-1 and then again by Germany 6-0 last summer to get knocked out of contention, despite ranking nearly ten spots higher than the host South Korean team in the world rankings. There’s no Olympic incentive for him, making his continued free agency something of a mystery.
So, we ask you reader what you think will happen this season. Coming off 46 and 48 point seasons respectively will Jagr and Vanek both suit up for an NHL game in 2017-18? Or depart for the professional leagues abroad?
Will Jaromir Jagr And Thomas Vanek Play In The NHL This Season?
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Both will play 70% (267)
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Vanek will play 14% (53)
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Jagr will play 12% (47)
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Neither will play 4% (17)
Total votes: 384
[Mobile users click here to vote!]
Cale Makar Expects To Play Just One Or Two Years At UMass
Over the last few weeks, teams around the league have been experiencing what it’s like to lose a draft pick to free agency after he completes college. After watching him develop into an exciting prospect, they’re unable to sign him and end up having to watch other teams pursue him on the open market. As one reader asked in our live chat last week, there could be some hesitation for teams picking players that are headed into the college ranks with the fear that they could lose them down the road.
It doesn’t sound like the Colorado Avalanche—one of the teams burned recently by Will Butcher‘s free agency—will have to worry about that with the fourth-overall pick from this summer. Cale Makar, the dynamic defenseman from the Alberta Junior Hockey League is set to attend UMass-Amherst this season but spoke to the NHL Network yesterday about his future.
I think in my mind it’s a process and I think in terms of my development it’s going to be very beneficial for me to go to college for one or two years, or however long it’s going to take for me to be ready to make the jump to the NHL.
There’s no doubt that Makar does need some seasoning against top players, as the AJHL isn’t quite on the level many other prospects played at. That said, Makar has shown well on the international stage at the recent World Junior Summer Showcase and possesses remarkable talent. There should be little worry that it will take him more than a year or two to adapt to the higher level and be ready to make the jump.
There is some level of protection against a player drafted as high as Makar waiting for free agency, but it’s not exactly worth the fourth-overall pick. The Avalanche would be given a compensatory pick in the second round, similar to the situation Arizona faced when they did not sign Conner Bleackley—who was originally a Colorado draft pick as well—in 2016. Colorado should also be familiar with the risk and reward of choosing a college-bound player; last year saw Tyson Jost refine his game for the University of North Dakota before making the jump to the NHL near the end of the season. Jost got ample experience in big game situations against older players in the NCAA tournament, and is expected to make an impact in the NHL this year.
Will Butcher Expected To Take Another Week To Sign
Yesterday Kevin Allen of USA Today reported that it might take up to a week for Hobey Baker winner Will Butcher to make a decision, something that his agent Steve Bartlett confirmed today. Bartlett took to the airwaves to discuss Butcher’s free agency with WGR 550, and told The Instigators that it would be another week before any decision is made. Butcher is taking his time to determine where his future lies, and is willing to sign with a team that doesn’t have an immediate NHL opportunity.
Bartlett also said that Butcher would have to sign a three-year entry-level contract, though that seems like a simple mistake. Because of Butcher’s age (22), he’ll be required to sign a two-year ELC and will become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2019. That shortened ELC is important, as Butcher will want to have NHL experience by the time he’s negotiating his next contract.
The undersized defenseman is an offensive threat, but there are still doubts about his ability to contribute consistently at the NHL level. His greatest attribute, quarterbacking a powerplay, is a much different animal at the professional level when everything speeds up. Wherever he signs it will be interesting to follow his career to see if he can make the same impact as some of the other recent NCAA free agents.