Metro Notes: Strome, Flyers, Hanus
It was obvious to anyone watching the Eastern Conference Final that New York Rangers forward Ryan Strome wasn’t playing fully healthy. During his end-of-season availability today, Strome revealed that he had suffered a pelvic injury midway through the regular season and managed it all the way through the rest of the season and playoffs.
What’s unclear at this point is whether surgery will be required or not. It’s bad timing for Strome, who could hit unrestricted free agency on July 13 if he’s not re-signed by the Rangers. Strome did express his interest in re-signing today, but it’s anyone’s guess whether or not that will come to fruition. With the bevy of Rangers prospects finally starting to emerge through the cracks, the team will have to make space for those kids somewhere. It seems logical from an organizational perspective that Strome wouldn’t be retained, especially with the acquisition of Andrew Copp.
- The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco refutes the reports that the Philadelphia Flyers have narrowed down their coaching search. He does go so far as to say that the three rumored finalists of Barry Trotz, John Tortorella, and Peter DeBoer are still under consideration, but he makes the distinction that the Flyers have just two or three names remaining on their coaching search list. Whether or not an outsider to those three ends up with the job remains to be seen.
- The ‘Baby Penguins’ made some news today, as AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton announced the signing of defenseman Clay Hanus from the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks for 2022-23. The Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate will add some solid defensive depth, as Hanus exploded for 74 points in 68 games this year. He’ll look to continue his development as an undrafted free agent with WBS and hopefully receive an NHL deal from Pittsburgh at some point down the road.
Mikko Koskinen Heading Overseas For 2022-23
June 13: With the Edmonton Oilers now out of the playoffs and their season over, it’s now confirmed that Koskinen will be heading to Switzerland next season. HC Lugano has signed the veteran netminder to a two-year contract, keeping him in Switzerland until age 35. Koskinen joins a Lugano team with Carolina reserve list defenseman Oliwer Kaski, former NHLers Mirco Mueller, Mark Arcobello and Daniel Carr, as well as Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Calvin Thurkauf.
May 20: Despite currently serving as the backup for the Edmonton Oilers and even seeing game action in Game 1 of the Second Round, there appears to already be some clarity on goalie Mikko Koskinen‘s future for next season. Former NHL head coach Bob Hartley spoke today, saying that Koskinen has already accepted an offer to play for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League next season.
If true, it will likely mark the end of Koskinen’s second and final stint in North America. The Finnish netminder, drafted 31st overall by the New York Islanders in 2009, had one stint in North America from 2009-2012 in the Islanders organization, playing in four NHL games. He returned to the NHL as a free agent with Edmonton in 2018, serving as a solid tandem netminder for them for the past four seasons. As uncertainty mounts in the Oilers crease moving forward, though, it looks like Koskinen has opted to take himself out of the picture for their second goalie next season.
40-year-old Mike Smith is (somehow) still under contract with the team for next season, and they do have a solid internal option in Stuart Skinner as the backup. However, with such a gigantic question mark with Smith as a 41-year-old starter, Edmonton will surely attempt to make a significant acquisition in free agency to shore up the crease.
Looking At Kaapo Kakko’s Restricted Free Agency
In what would prove to be their final game of the season last night, a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Rangers made the surprising choice to list forward Kaapo Kakko as a healthy scratch in favor of Dryden Hunt. It would be fair to say Kakko, the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, has not played up to projections so far in his young career, however given the team’s choice to scratch forward Ryan Reaves and the apparent severity of Ryan Strome‘s injury, along with the developing chemistry between Kakko and linemates Alexis Lafreniere and Filip Chytil, seeing Kakko sit was a surprise to say the least.
The New York Post’s Larry Brooks, who covers the Rangers, wrote this morning examining an interesting parallel between Kakko and another Finnish forward, Jesperi Kotkaniemi (link). Brooks looks at the similarities between the two players from being drafted, the hype around them, and their young careers, Kakko’s with the Rangers, Kotkaniemi’s with the Montreal Canadiens. Brooks also addresses Kotkaniemi’s healthy scratch in Games Four and Five of last year’s Stanley Cup Final in comparison to Kakko’s healthy scratch last night.
At the conclusion of Montreal’s season, Kotkaniemi would hit the RFA market, where he would sign a one-year, $6.1MM offer-sheet with the Carolina Hurricanes which Montreal declined to match, ultimately costing the Hurricanes a first and third round draft pick. After the two healthy scratches in the Cup Final, it didn’t appear that the relationship between Kotkaniemi and the Canadiens was irreparable, however Kotkaniemi was quick to sign the offer sheet, one that Montreal was very unlikely to match. As Brooks points out in his article, Kakko could feel a similar sentiment towards the Rangers.
None of this is a given of course, but if Kakko was interested in a change of organization, choosing to shop his talents when free agency opens on July 13th, the Rangers would be put in an awkward position if Kakko were to be offered a deal like Kotkaniemi. The Rangers have just under $13.5MM in available cap space this offseason, needing to re-sign the likes of Strome, Andrew Copp, and Frank Vatrano, amongst others. Brooks suggests a two-year bridge deal worth $2MM to $2.5MM per season is appropriate for Kakko this offseason, but if he were to get an offer in the range of $4.2MM to $6.3MM per season on the open-market, that would net the Rangers only the same first and third round draft picks Montreal received for Kotkaniemi.
Circling back, the Rangers could afford to match that number, but they have K’Andre Miller and Lafreniere as expiring RFAs next offseason, both of whom would be due significant raises over their ELC contracts. If the Rangers were put in this position, the one Montreal faced last offseason, they may be forced to take the draft picks.
All of this to say, with the Rangers offseason less than a day old at publishing, things are unknown and the ultimate reason for Kakko’s scratch remains a mystery, and any hurt feelings could be a moot point. Interestingly, when ESPN’s Emily Kaplan asked Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant to elaborate on why he scratched Kakko, Gallant refused to give an answer. Kakko’s future is his own, and to an extent the Rangers’ too, but the parallel to Kotkaniemi’s situation, in recency, in on-ice performance, in being healthy scratched for the team’s biggest game of the season, and now contractually, is incredibly interesting and something to keep an eye on.
Latest On Johnny Gaudreau
Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau could very well be the top free agent on the market when the frenzy kicks off on July 13. That is of course unless the Flames are able to lock up their offensive dynamo before then. The team is putting the “pedal down” according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, as they try to beat the clock.
Seravalli points out something that is important to remember in cases like this. The Flames’ advantage of being able to offer Gaudreau an extra year will disappear once free agency begins, meaning they have just over a month left to offer him an eight-year deal. If he reaches July 13 without a contract, the 28-year-old forward will only be able to sign a seven-year contract, no matter where he chooses to go.
Every time that general manager Brad Treliving has spoken about Gaudreau, he’s made clear that Calgary hopes to retain the services of their 115-point man. Despite that, speculation continues to swirl around the New Jersey native, suggesting he might be interested in returning to the east coast. As always, any contract talks will likely be determined by overall salary first and foremost, as it does with almost every player that hits the market.
On that end, the Flames certainly have enough cap space to win a bidding war, though there are other players who could be affected by where Gaudreau lands. Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane are both restricted free agents just a single year from unrestricted free agent status, and could simply use the arbitration system to get to the open market in 2023. Any long-term extensions with them will be buying out almost exclusively UFA years and would be expensive.
The focus is obviously on Gaudreau though, as there is a lot more time to talk to the RFA forwards after the free agent period begins. If they don’t get the first domino in place by then, things could be drastically different in Calgary next season.
Tyler Lewington Signs In Austria
After spending most of the past seven seasons in the minors, pending UFA Tyler Lewington has opted for a change of scenery as EC Salzburg of Austria’s ICE HL announced they’ve signed the defenseman to a one-year contract.
The 27-year-old signed a two-way deal worth a guaranteed $400K with Boston last summer on the opening day of free agency, giving the Bruins some veteran depth in the minors that could be called upon when injuries arose. However, Lewington only suited up in two games at the top level and instead spent the bulk of the year with AHL Providence where he had nine points and 66 penalty minutes in 55 games.
Over his career, Lewington has suited up in a dozen NHL contests between Washington, Nashville, and Boston with most of his playing time coming in the AHL where he has 341 career regular season appearances under his belt. The games he played this season qualified him for veteran status in the minors and AHL teams can only dress five of those in a game so having that designation likely would have negatively affected Lewington’s market this summer. Knowing that, he got a head start on the market with this move, one that should see him have a chance to play a bigger role next season with the Red Bulls and if all goes well, he could still return to play in North America down the road.
Latest On Andrei Kuzmenko
The waiting game on Russian free agent Andrei Kuzmenko continues, as no decision has been made yet for where he’ll start his NHL career. Thomas Drance said today on Sportsnet radio that he has heard Kuzmenko is now circling back for second interviews, and Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV has heard the same. Dhaliwal tweets that the Vancouver Canucks remain “very very high” on Kuzmenko’s list.
It’s been quite a while since reports first emerged that the 26-year-old winger was considering coming over to North America, and yet his pursuit seemingly hasn’t generated the buzz that some other KHL free agents have in the past. Some of that perhaps is due to the ongoing geopolitical situation that Russia has put itself in but more than that, hockey fans may be starting to get a “fool me once” attitude in these situations.
Over the last several years several free agent forwards have made the jump from the KHL and found little success on NHL ice, though there have also been some successful transitions. Alexander Barabanov and Ilya Mikheyev have both carved out significant roles on this side of the ocean, with the former recently inking a new two-year, $5MM contract with the San Jose Sharks. Mikheyev is also set to hit unrestricted free agency and is looking at a big pay raise after scoring 21 goals in 53 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
When compared to those two, in particular, it’s easy to see why fans should be excited about Kuzmenko. His 2021-22 was better than any season Barabanov or Mikheyev put up in the KHL, as he scored 20 goals and 53 points in just 45 games. His playoff performance was better too, with seven goals and 14 points in 16 games this year for SKA St. Petersburg.
Still, the specters of players like Vadim Shipachyov and Nikita Gusev hang in the air of scenarios like this; elite KHL players who found it very difficult to make the transition to North America and become a consistent NHL presence. Both of those two have had more success in Russia than Kuzmenko likely ever will, earned huge contracts before even playing here, and yet managed a combined 100 games in the NHL.
Whether Kuzmenko lands in column A or column B remains to be seen, but the Canucks and plenty of other teams are willing to find out.
James Neal Hopes To Play Next Season
Because of his performances the last few seasons, it’s easy to forget that at one point, James Neal was among the most consistent offensive players in the league. For ten straight seasons, starting when he entered the league in 2008, Neal recorded at least 21 goals. He has 296 all-time, over a near 900-game NHL career. For a player with so much success at the highest level, a demotion to the minor leagues might mean it was time to call it quits. Not so for Neal, who has rediscovered his passion for the game while helping the Springfield Thunderbirds chase a Calder Cup.
In Elliotte Friedman’s latest column for Sportsnet, Neal explains that it’s not just this year that he is playing out, but hopes to keep going in 2022-23. The veteran winger will be 35 by the time next season begins and is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency when his one-year, $750K contract expires this summer. Whether he’ll be able to land another NHL deal remains to be seen but he might not even need it, given how he has embraced the Thunderbirds, scoring 26 points in 28 regular season games and five more in five postseason matches so far.
It’s uncommon, but not entirely unprecedented for a successful NHL player to end up signing an AHL contract at the end of his career. Matt Moulson, for instance, has been playing on minor league contracts for three seasons, despite his history as a three-time 30-goal scorer in the NHL. While he didn’t have quite the same consistency as Neal, Moulson similarly embraced his transition to the AHL.
That’s not to say there won’t be a market for Neal this summer, especially if he’s willing to stay stashed in the minor leagues. A contender may want to keep him on an NHL contract in case they need a call-up, perhaps one that can play the net front on the powerplay or add some scoring punch in a limited role.
If not, and Neal doesn’t score another goal at the NHL level, it’s still been quite a career. His 296 goals put him just outside the top-200 all-time and his 33 postseason tallies have him quite a bit higher than that.
Springfield, meanwhile, will kick off the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Laval Rocket tomorrow night.
Latest On Jack Campbell
The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t currently have a starting goalie for next season. Petr Mrazek is signed but has already worn out his welcome with fans after struggling through injuries and poor play in his first go-round with the team. Handing him the majority of the starts would be flirting with disaster after his .888 save percentage in 2021-22. Erik Kallgren and Joseph Woll are both on two-way deals for next year and have shown at least some ability to contribute at the NHL level, but again aren’t really options to start.
That situation has always suggested that the team would bring back Jack Campbell, an unrestricted free agent this summer after finding his game in Toronto. Perhaps that shouldn’t be assumed, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 32 Thoughts column that the two sides were far apart the last time they talked, and Campbell’s agent tells him there has been “no material contract conversation” since the end of the season.
While that certainly doesn’t guarantee a split between Campbell and the Maple Leafs, it would be easy to understand why, if it did happen. Even with Mark Giordano giving the team a substantial discount on his new deal, Toronto is still in a very tight cap situation for next season, partially because of the $3.8MM that Mrazek carries. If the team can’t get rid of that number somehow, it stands to reason that they will be forced to rely on him as at least a tandem option.
There are still several weeks before free agency opens, and things like contract negotiations can change dramatically with one phone call, but the Maple Leafs goaltending situation is an interesting one to watch. With the market looking rather scarce on starting options, it’s hard to know what direction the team will take if they can’t get a contract worked out.
For Campbell himself, this is likely the best chance he’ll ever have at a substantial payday in the NHL. The 30-year-old goaltender has posted a .916 save percentage in 77 appearances with Toronto, including a career-high 49 this season. While there have certainly been rocky periods, he has also shown brilliance for stretches and confirmed that he can at least be an above-average option at the NHL level. A multi-year contract with a significant raise on the $1.8MM he made this season seems likely. Whether it will be in Toronto remains to be seen.
Vincent Trocheck Hoping To Return To Carolina
The Carolina Hurricanes, like many of the Stanley Cup contenders that fell short this season, have some tough decisions to make in the summer. Four roster forwards and two defensemen will be unrestricted free agents, including second-line center Vincent Trocheck. The veteran pivot is coming off a six-year, $28.5MM deal that he signed with the Florida Panthers and is likely looking at a raise from the $4.75MM cap hit he has carried since 2016.
When asked today about whether he’d like to stay in Carolina, Trocheck told reporters including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer that the team has “some unfinished business” and that he would welcome a return to the Hurricanes. The two sides apparently did have some conversations about a new contract during the season but no decision was reached.
Trocheck, 28, arrived in Carolina at the 2020 trade deadline and has been a nice counterpoint to Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal, giving the team three centers that are all capable of filling various roles. All three average substantial penalty killing time, while Trocheck and Aho are both leaders on the powerplay. Combined, they give the Hurricanes a strong advantage in the faceoff circle and lengthen the lineup considerably. Trocheck’s 96 points in 135 games has been strong production, and he added another ten in 14 playoff appearances this year.
Still, there are some real critiques about the play of the former Panther as well, and the idea of bringing him back on a long-term deal may have some Hurricanes fans squirming in their seats. While Staal’s contract is set to expire after next season, the team is about to have several younger players–including Aho himself–that need new deals. Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, and Brett Pesce are all scheduled for unrestricted free agency in 2024, while Seth Jarvis will also need a new contract that summer as he comes off his entry-level deal.
The fact that Nino Niederreiter (and maybe Ian Cole) also needs a new contract this summer could also have an effect on the Trocheck negotiation, as there will only be so much money to go around. If the team feels as though they want to take another crack at it with the entire group, bringing everyone back will be an expensive proposition.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On David Perron
May 31: There is certainly mutual interest, as Armstrong came right out and told reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic that he wants to bring Perron back. In what can often be a difficult period for pending free agents, this appears to be a relatively easy situation for both sides.
May 30: With the St. Louis Blues’ season now over, the focus of the team can now shift more fully towards their offseason. This summer looks like it will be a reasonably busy one for GM Doug Armstrong. He has several notable players hitting either restricted or unrestricted free agency and potential extensions to ponder for players approaching their own free agencies a year from now. One of the most important players now out of a contract is winger David Perron.
Perron, 34, has spent the past four seasons in St. Louis and that stretch represents his third separate tenure as a Blue. These past four years have been the most productive of his career, and this has led people to wonder if he would depart St. Louis once again to cash in on what could be his last guaranteed chance at a long, lucrative contract. While that speculation is reasonable, it appears that Perron has different priorities. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, Perron “wants to go back” to St. Louis. He states that he expects Perron to sign an extension to remain a Blue “unless [Friedman] is told otherwise.”
As has been previously mentioned, Perron has enjoyed some of the best seasons of his career in these past four years, and he plays a major role on a team intent on winning another Stanley Cup. Perron had 70 points in 79 games this season (including the playoffs) and is part of the core group of players that led the team to its first championship. While the allure of a bigger contract or new opportunities attracts many players towards departing their teams as free agents, it seems from this report that Perron values continuity and familiarity over the unknown of the open market. It’s an entirely reasonable preference that should, in theory, help the Blues as they negotiate his extension.
From the perspective of rival clubs, the free agent market this summer may have lost one of its most talented scorers. So for other teams in need of offensive talent, the market for those players may have just gotten a little bit thinner.