High Likelihood Of Free Agent Class Shrinking Further
Let’s state the facts: the 2017 unrestricted free agent class is really weak. Even before the season started it wasn’t full of household names, but with Brent Burns, Patrik Berglund, and, most recently, Ben Bishop agreeing to extensions already, the list has shrunk even further. The 2017 class has few impact players available, so much so that the New York Islanders easily have single-handedly deprived the rest of the league of three of the top fifty free agents simply by re-signing the likes of Thomas Greiss, Dennis Seidenberg, and Cal Clutterbuck.
Unfortunately, the trend of teams retaining their own talent and further forecasting a dull summer may not be done. The Washington Capitals have four of the best free agent names out there in T.J. Oshie, Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, and Justin Williams and even given their tight cap space, it is reasonable to assume that at least one or two of that group will re-up with the President’s Trophy winners. Initially, many felt that the San Jose Sharks would not bring back both of their aging stars, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, and possibly even neither. However, after a strong season from career-Shark Marleau, the team will likely look to retain him, and with Thornton turning 38 soon and facing significant injury questions, he simply might take a hometown discount to stay in San Jose as well. In Montreal, revelation Alexander Radulov and key veteran Andrei Markov are impending free agents, but many assume in name only as handshake agreements seem to have been made on new deals following the Expansion Draft. Anaheim Ducks trade deadline acquisition Patrick Eaves has been a great fit and has expressed an interest in extending his stay. Same goes for Drew Stafford and the Boston Bruins. Even veterans like Radim Vrbata, Mike Fisher, and Jaromir Jagr seem likely to stay put in their current homes.
This does seem to be an awful lot of deals to be made in less than two months before free agency opens on July 1st, but don’t rule it out. Many teams are wary of the Expansion Draft ramifications of re-signing their impending free agents too early and may instead act swiftly in the waning days of June. Most, if not all, of these names could be off the table by the time free agency opens. Could we be looking at a free agent class highlighted by the likes of Sam Gagner, Martin Hanzal, and Michael Del Zotto? Let’s hope not.
Morning Notes: Okposo, Shattenkirk, Capitals
When Kyle Okposo was hospitalized last month, it was a scary moment for friends, family and fans of the Buffalo Sabres forward, unsure of exactly what had happened. John Vogl of Buffalo News has a heartening update though, saying that Okposo is still likely to be ready for training camp in September.
According to teammate William Carrier, Okposo had suffered a concussion and was receiving treatment for it, which according to other sources then led to a bad reaction to medication. Okposo would end up in the neuro-intensive care unit, but was released on April 7th.
- The Washington Capitals cleaned out their lockers today, and Kevin Shattenkirk was front and center talking to the media about his upcoming free agency. Though he told Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post that he’d talk to the Capitals first about a possible extension, he also admitted that he wants a bigger role wherever he goes. While the Capitals are likely losing Karl Alzner as well, it’s clear that Shattenkirk wouldn’t be the #1 on that team should he re-sign, which means he’s likely played his last game there for the time being. Which teams would be interested in making him their top defender is still up for debate, after an up-and-down playoff run.
- The rest of the Capitals also talked about their free agency, with T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams and Daniel Winnik all indicating their preference to return. Oshie especially will be a tough case, as he likely would enter the market as one of the top-3 free agents this summer. With the Capitals needing to re-sign several key restricted free agents, Oshie would be tough to fit into their cap structure.
Snapshots: Ovechkin, Sharks, Panik
While Alex Ovechkin has been the butt of many jokes since his Washington Capitals were once again eliminated in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Pittsburgh Penguins, it turns out that it’s not just his pride that has taken a beating this spring. The superstar forward will not join Team Russia at the World Championships because of a lower-body injury. Ovechkin apparently had been taking “pain numbing injections” just to stay on the ice for the Capitals, possibly because of the low hit he took from Nazem Kadri in the first round.
Ovechkin has played in the World Championships an amazing twelve times over his career, and has always been willing to suit up for his country on the international stage. Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetsov will join Team Russia for the tournament. The pair are both restricted free agents this summer, and will be a big part of the introspective offseason Washington has ahead of them.
- Henrik Lundqvist will also be attending the tournament to play for Sweden, who desperately need his help. The team is currently going with a duo of Viktor Fasth and Eddie Lack in net, a clear weakness on their otherwise impressive squad. With defenders like Victor Hedman, Jonas Brodin and Oliver Ekman-Larsson in front of him, Lundqvist should help the Swedes become a medal favorite if they weren’t already. He’ll also be joining brother Joel on the team, who is captaining this group.
- According to Paul Gackle of the Mercury News, the San Jose Sharks are getting close to new contracts with restricted free agents Joonas Donskoi and Melker Karlsson. The pair represent two of the Sharks’ biggest tasks for the offseason, along with decisions on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Donskoi and Karlsson both didn’t perform up to the lofty expectations they had after their early success in the league, with just 17 and 22 points respectively. It will be interesting to see where they both land salary wise, as the Sharks have Brent Burns‘ extension kicking in along with upcoming deals for Martin Jones, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Tomas Hertl to contend with next summer.
- Richard Panik apparently was surprised by the Chicago Blackhawks’ first contract offer, and didn’t need to negotiate according to Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. That offer was the two-year, $5.6M deal he signed earlier today, which will see the team keep a 20-goal man for under $3MM. Panik knows that playing with Jonathan Toews is likely the best scenario he’ll find anywhere in the league, but that he could earn a much bigger contract in two years when he hits unrestricted free agency. He’ll hit the open market at just 28, and if he has three 40-50 point seasons under his belt people will be lining up to hand him a long-term deal.
Ben Bishop Traded To The Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have acquired Ben Bishop from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Bishop is a pending unrestricted free agent and is still not under contract for next season. The pick originally belonged to Montreal, and was acquired by the Stars in the Jordie Benn deal from earlier this year.
After being dealt mid-season from Tampa Bay to Los Angeles, Bishop is heading into free agency coming off just 39 games played and a .910 save percentage. Neither of these numbers show the lofty heights that Bishop is capable of, as prior to this season he received Vezina votes two out of the last three years. If Dallas could get him signed, he’d easily become the best goaltender in town, even if it is a quite crowded crease.
The Stars already have Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi under contract for next season at a combined cap-hit of $10.4MM, meaning at least one goaltender will have to be either bought out or traded before the start of the season. The pair put up very substandard goaltending this season, a big reason why the Stars dropped right out of the playoff picture just a year removed from leading the Western Conference.
Bishop represents a potential huge upgrade in the crease, but doesn’t come without his own warts. He’ll turn 31 this season and has a lot of leverage now that Scott Darling has been taken off the market. Bishop would hit free agency as the clear #1 available goaltender even after his down year, and likely demand a contract in excess of $5MM per season on a multi-year deal. If he were to repeat the season he had this year the Stars would be in exactly the same situation but with a longer term deal on their hands.
In the end though, the Stars had to do something to improve the situation as they start a new era under a familiar face. Ken Hitchcock is back behind the bench and the team will be expected to have some immediate success as they continue through the primes of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The latter is only under contract for two more seasons, after which he could legitimately bolt for a cup contender if there isn’t any improvement on the ice in Dallas.
For Los Angeles, they recoup some of the value they sent to Tampa Bay at the deadline and move Bishop out before he left for nothing. Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times reports that former Kings GM Dean Lombardi had been interested in keeping Bishop, though that would have been difficult considering Jonathan Quick is firmly entrenched as the starter. The team will now look around at other backup options for next season, including Jack Campbell a former Stars’ prospect that has had a renaissance of sorts with Ontario of the AHL.
Multiple reports have the two sides ready to start talking contracts over the next few days, though they haven’t actually discussed anything yet. Had Bishop hit the open market, Dallas would likely have been an attractive landing spot given their recent success and lack of goaltending competition—despite the big salaries. John Shannon of Sportsnet seems to confirm this, reporting that Bishop told the Kings that he preferred certain teams including Dallas. If they can get a deal done, the biggest losers of this deal may be much further north as both Calgary and Winnipeg (among others) would have likely had interest in the 6’7″ netminder. Unfortunately Calgary was on his no-trade list, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he wouldn’t have been interested. They’ll now have to look elsewhere to find an upgrade in net, and with options dwindling in free agency, perhaps it will have to be through trade.
Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News was first to hear about the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Capitals Have Four Of Top Eight Unrestricted Free Agents
The 2017 free agency class may not be the strongest, but the Washington Capitals have the most to gain (or more likely lose) if free agency doesn’t go their way. The Capitals, currently on the ropes, down 3-1, to the Pittsburgh Penguins (Game 5 tonight), have four of the top eight unrestricted free agents, according to Matt Larkin of the Hockey News, as he posts his Top-30 unrestricted free agents this summer.
Unlike previous years, Larkin writes that this year’s class falls short of firepower, which the scribe points out is bad news for the expansion Las Vegas Golden Knights, who get a 48-hour window to negotiate with any free agents before any other teams. Regardless, it’s the Capitals who will find themselves on the clock as defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk is listed as the number one free agent on the list, while winger T.J. Oshie is third. Defenseman Karl Alzner is ranked fifth, while veteran wing Justin Williams is eighth on their list.
Larkin adds that he believes the Capitals will only be able to ink two of those players and will be forced to let two go. Shattenkirk, who was acquired in a February trade from the St. Louis Blues for their playoff run, has struggled in the playoffs this year, but is listed first due to the fact that blueliners in the prime of their careers, who can play 20 minutes a night, are always rewarded. Whether Washington can keep him at a high price tag is the tough question.
The team is likely to do everything to sign Oshie, however. The 30-year-old winger has had a breakout season with Washington on the first line with Alex Ovechkin and Niklas Backstrom. He has tallied 59 regular-season goals in the two seasons he has played for the Capitals since being acquired by trade from the Blues.
The Capitals then have to look at Alzner, a rugged blueliner who at age 28, could get a large contract in a weak year of free agent defensemen, while Williams playoff success could make him a well-paid second-liner as well. The Capitals have to decide what priorities they have as it’s unlikely they can afford to keep all four players.
Montreal Canadiens veteran winger Alexander Radulov, who returned to the NHL last year after a long stint in the KHL, is ranked second on the list, although he has said he would like to resign with the Canadiens. Goaltender Ben Bishop is listed fourth on that free agent list and the 30-year-old netminder should be in high demand. Veterans Martin Hanzal (No. 6), Joe Thornton (No. 7), Radim Vrbata (No. 9) and Patrick Eaves (No. 10) round out the first ten on that list.
Snapshots: Bruins, World Championships, Oilers – Ducks
CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty cautions the Boston Bruins brass to stay away from free agency this offseason. He reports that Cam Neely doesn’t plan to make any signings, as he indicates that he doesn’t foresee the Bruins making any significant splashes in free agency. Haggerty sees this as a good thing, recalling the signings of both David Backes and Matt Beleskey, who he writes have struggled to live up to the pricey expectations. Though Neely defends both signings, he admits that both players have not played as the Bruins envisioned they would. Backes, according to Neely, struggled to acclimate at first in Boston while Beleskey has struggled to stay healthy. Both signings, Haggerty reports, should be reminders to approach the offseason with caution.
- It was a rough day for the American squad in the World Championship as they dropped their opener 2-1 to Germany. USA Today’s Kevin Allen writes that Thomas Greiss bacstopped the German victory, and only Connor Murphy managed to get a puck past him. Head coach Jeff Blashill didn’t seem too concerned, believing that a lack of familiarity with one another also played a role in the Americans’ struggles.
- TSN’s Frank Seravalli previews the Oilers-Ducks matchup tonight, reporting that Oilers forward Milan Lucic believes that it’s about “taking the play” to the Ducks. After dropping the first two games at home, Anaheim rallied back from a 2-0 series deficit to force the series into a best of three. Seravalli writes that Ryan Getzlaf has been the series’ most dominant “force,” notching 13 points in eight playoff games, including four points in the Ducks’ series tying victory on Wednesday. Also playing a role in the shift in series momentum? The Ducks’ smooth, puck moving defensemen. Oilers head coach Todd McLellan had this to say: I don’t think there’s a team that throws six skaters out there like that. It’s as good as there is in the [NHL] in my opinion. It’s not like you’re running up against somebody that’s a little slow in the retrieval or doesn’t have the ability to maneuver. All six do. Our work is cut out for us.
Snapshots: KHL, Surgeries, Bjork
Several pieces of news out of the KHL today, including the signing of a three-year contract for Nikita Tryamkin with Yekaterinburg. The news that Tryamkin had left the Vancouver Canucks has been out for a while, but now we know how long the team will have to wait until they get a chance to bring him back to the NHL. The Canucks will hold his rights until 2021-22 season since they plan to qualify him this offseason, meaning that perhaps a reunion is possible after this three-year deal expires in 2020.
Viktor Antipin has officially terminated his deal, meaning he’s allowed to sign with the Buffalo Sabres (or anyone else) as soon as he wishes. Antipin’s teammate and former NHLer Alexander Semin will not be offered a new contract by Magnitogorsk, despite scoring 30 points this season. Semin could potentially return to the NHL should someone want to take a chance on the former 40-goal man, though at 33 his most effective years are likely behind him.
- SKA St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow were involved in a trade, swapping the rights to Nail Yakupov and Nikita Kucherov for those of Marcus Johansson and David Musil. While Kucherov and Johansson are both under contract and thus unable to be wooed by the KHL, both Yakupov and Musil are restricted free agents this summer. They could theoretically leave for greener pastures, as neither have been able to make much of an impact at the NHL level recently (or ever, in Musil’s case).
- The Minnesota Wild have announced that both Marco Scandella and Christian Folin have undergone surgery to repair hip and shoulder injuries respectively. Both are expected to be ready for training camp, though it obviously sets some of their offseason work back.
- Joe Haggerty of CSNNE reports that NCAA prospect Anders Bjork has told the Bruins he’ll make a decision on turning pro after the World Championships. Bjork is currently playing with Team USA at the tournament, which starts on May 5th. The 20-year old fifth-round pick blew up at Notre Dame this year, and Boston has made it clear that they want him to turn pro this summer instead of returning for his senior season. If he were to return, he’d be just a few months away from free agency when he graduated with most of the league ready to put his name on a contract.
Teams Asking About Ben Bishop’s Rights
Pierre LeBrun of TSN is reporting that teams have been asking the Los Angeles Kings about the rights to Ben Bishop, in order to try and get a chance to sign the goaltender before he hits free agency. Like Carolina with Scott Darling, a team would be giving up an asset—likely a draft pick—just for the chance to speak with him, with no guarantee of a contract.
Bishop is one of the more polarizing figures on the market this summer, as some believe he still can be an elite goaltender while others wonder if he hasn’t already seen his best years pass by. The fact remains that at 30-years old he’ll head into the summer as one the best options on the market, especially if Darling indeed signs with Carolina. The other top goaltenders on the market include a 36-year old Ryan Miller, a resurgent Jonathan Bernier and the extremely unpredictable Steve Mason. Bishop was a Vezina finalist as recently as 2016, but wasn’t off to a good start in Tampa Bay even before being injured this season.
Calgary, Winnipeg, Philadelphia and Carolina (should they not sign Darling) and many other teams will have some interest in the free agent if he makes it to July 1st, and Vegas has been considered a landing spot since their announcement. The Golden Knights may not need him though, depending on who they select in the expansion draft. They could acquire several young goaltenders to develop, while offering Bishop a big deal to be one of the core members of their first few years but it will require them fighting off several other interested teams. Bishop also currently has an eight-team no-trade list, though it’s unclear which teams appear on it.
Eastern Notes: Shattenkirk’s Struggles, Shalunov
While the Washington Capitals have received nothing but praise from the press since they made their trade deadline deal to acquire veteran defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, his presence during the playoffs so far have been far from impressive. The veteran defenseman, who was picked up from the playoff-bound St. Louis Blues for a host of picks and players, including their 2017 first-round pick, has struggled in the playoffs with no goals and three assists in eight games this season. He also has a minus-seven rating in that span. Yesterday, he lost a race to 40-year-old Matt Cullen, which allowed the veteran to score a short-handed goal against the Capitals. Later, he took a delay of game penalty to allow Phil Kessel to score in the third period.
Coach Barry Trotz was also disappointed in the 28-year-old blueliner’s performance as he called him out this morning. “That’s not good enough for what we need in that third pairing right now. Minus-7 is hard to recover from,” Trotz said. Shattenkirk and defensive partner Brooks Orpik have struggled together as that third defensive line. In the first series against the Maple Leafs, the two allowed five goals in the series, the most of all the defensive pairings.
These mistakes have been costly enough with the Capitals now down two games and having to travel to Pittsburgh for the next two, but it also may not help him in the offseason when he is an unrestricted free agent, according to Adam Gretz of NBC Sports. While he will undoubtedly will receive a raise from his $2.592MM contract that ends this year, a good playoff performance or a long playoff run by Washington could have improved his value in the free-agency market. However, his struggles will likely not help him if things continue to stay the course.
So, if things don’t continue to improve, could Washington let Shattenkirk walk in free agency? Only time will tell.
- Chicago Blackhawks prospect Maxim Shalunov will not be coming to the NHL any time soon as the 24-year-old wing will sign a three-year contract with Sibir Novosbibitsk of the KHL, according to his agent Shumi Babayev yesterday, according to Scott Powers of The Athletic. That means the Blackhawks’ couldn’t bring Shalunov over to the U.S. before the 2020-21 season. He will, however, remain a Blackhawk as long as he stays on their resevered list. The fourth-round pick from the 2011 NHL draft is coming off a season in which he scored 19 goals for Sibir Novosbibitsk this past year. Babayev warned that Shalunov would cut off negotiations with the NHL a few weeks ago after the NHL announced that it would not restructure its season around the 2018 Olympic Games.
Atlantic Division Snapshots: Pastrnak, Brassard, Red Wings
Despite a first round elimination at the hands of the Ottawa Senators, the 2016-17 campaign has to be considered a success for the Boston Bruins organization. The team returned to the postseason after back-to-back non-playoff seasons and showed tremendous resilience during their six-game series loss, nearly overcoming injuries to key regulars Brandon Carlo, David Krejci, Torey Krug and Adam McQuaid to push Ottawa to OT in game six. Perhaps the silver lining to the season was the development of young Czech winger David Pastnak, who in his third year saw a marked increase across the board in terms of offensive production, setting career-highs in goals (34) assists (36) and points (70). Pastrnak stuggled some in the postseason, finishing with just five shots on goal and regularly turning the puck over, but as Joe Haggerty of CSNNE writes, the 20-year-old will be a better player long term in part because of the playoff experience.
Pastrnak also wrapped up his ELC, making him a RFA this summer. Boston will have a decision to make; do they try to lock up the talented offensive right wing to a long term deal or employ a short term bridge contract to keep the AAV down? Should the team choose the latter, Haggerty speculates a deal similar to that given by Chicago to Artemi Panarin (two years, $12MM) could work for both sides. If Boston chooses the former, they might have to approach the value of the accord signed by Calgary winger Johnny Gaudreau last summer, in Haggerty’s estimation. According to Cap Friendly, the Bruins are projected to have around just $10MM in cap space available with Drew Stafford set to hit unrestricted free agency and Ryan Spooner joining Pastrnak as a RFA. The team should have room as it stands to accommodate a new Pastrnak contract regardless of whether it’s a lucrative long term pact or a shorter term bridge deal. Still, what Boston does will likely have a great impact on what other moves the team can make this summer to fill holes on the roster.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- One of the second round’s more interesting subplots involves Ottawa center Derick Brassard facing his old team, the New York Rangers, and the player for whom he was acquired just last July, fellow pivot Mika Zibanejad. Expecting to contend for the playoffs in 2016-17, Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion wanted to add the more experienced and established Brassard to his lineup. It also didn’t hurt that the skilled center from Hull, Quebec is a proven playoff performer known in some circles as “Big Game Brass.” For their part, the Rangers needed to get bigger and younger and did so by adding the talented Zibanejad to the team. Neither player had the regular season they hoped – Brassard finished with just 14 goals and 39 points while Zibanejad missed time with a broken leg and scored 37 points in 56 contests. With scoring expected to be at a premium in the series between Ottawa and New York, it was widely felt whoever performed better between the two would give their team a significant edge. Well, after one game, Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun has the two players even, though the Senators are up in the series. As Brennan noted, neither player registered a point and both finished with roughly 17 minutes of ice time. Brassard was credited with five shots on goal, Zibanejad with four. While it would be unfair to paint the winner of the series as also the winner of last summer’s trade, it’s evident the two players will be heavily relied upon to help their respective team advance to the Eastern Conference Final and at this point in the season that’s really all that matters.
- With their 25-season playoff streak broken, the Detroit Red Wings enter the offseason with a lot of work to do to reshape their roster into a contender, and without the resources (i.e. cap space) to easily tackle the challenge. In all probability, the team will be forced seek roster improvement via the trade market and with limited chips the team can afford to move, it’s likely Detroit will have to deal one of their starting-caliber goalies, if for no other reason than to open up much-needed cap space. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press expressed the same belief in a recent mailbag feature. As the scribe notes, the Wings are currently projected to have less than $6MM in cap space with key forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Tomas Tatar scheduled to be RFA’s. The offseason goalie market is expected to be full of starting options, with Pittsburgh likely to entertain a trade of Marc-Andre Fleury rather than risk losing Matt Murray in the expansion draft. Ben Bishop, Brian Elliott, Jonathan Bernier and Ryan Miller headline the UFA crop of netminders and could represent viable starting options for any team looking for a #1. Those factors will hamstring the Red Wings in their attempt to move either Jimmy Howard or Petr Mrazek in return for fair value. In all likelihood, the team will have to be satisfied primarily with cap relief as opposed to acquiring young assets to further their retooling effort. Although St. James does offer up one intriguing possibility, noting that current Stars GM Jim Nill, formerly an assistant GM in Detroit, knows Mrazek and Howard well from his time with the Wings and could pursue one in an effort to upgrade his options between the pipes.