Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Marcus Bjork
The Columbus Blue Jackets have entered the early free agency mix, adding to their blue line with an overseas addition. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch relays a team press release announcing that Swedish defenseman Marcus Bjork has signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Blue Jackets. The 24-year-old has spent the past four seasons in the SHL.
Bjork will not be entirely new to North American hockey when he arrives in Columbus next season. In 2016-17, the young defender began the season with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers. However, he returned to Sweden after just eight games. The following year, Bjork played in Sweden’s second-tier pro league, the Allsvenskan, and earned Defenseman of the Year honors by leading the league’s defensemen in goals and points. The breakout campaign earned him a contract in the SHL, but he didn’t immediately continue his upward trajectory. Bjork has found more success in recent years with Brynas IF however, recording 39 points in 116 games over parts of three seasons.
The Blue Jackets clearly like what they have seen from Bjork, whose game has balanced out since his younger years as well. At 6’3″ and over 200 lbs., Bjork brings good size and physicality to go with his offensive game. While he may take some time to adjust to the NHL – or perhaps more likely the AHL – Bjork could become a nice two-way piece for Columbus. He joins a young blue line that includes Zach Werenski, Andrew Peeke, Jake Bean, Adam Boqvist, Nick Blankenburg, and Jake Christiansen as NHL options under 25.
Detroit Red Wings Extend Taro Hirose
The Detroit Red Wings have reached an agreement with Taro Hirose on a two-year contract extension, keeping him in the organization and away from unrestricted free agency. The financial details of the deal have not yet been released.
Hirose, 25, would have qualified as a Group VI UFA this summer, after playing just 57 games to this point in his NHL career. Just 15 of those came this season but the young forward showed just how dangerous he could be at the minor league level.
In 59 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, Hirose had 15 goals and 53 points. He’ll likely spend a good chunk of this new contract in the minor leagues as well, though he’ll have to clear waivers in order to do it.
A highly sought-after undrafted free agent in 2019 out of Michigan State University, Hirose has 20 points in his 57-game NHL career to this point, suggesting that there actually is some upside at that level if he ever gets a more prolonged opportunity. If not, he still represents a strong injury replacement for short-term stints, as he can step into a top-six or powerplay role if necessary.
There’s also always a chance that he catches the eye of the new coaching staff, with Jeff Blashill not returning. That battle will happen in training camp now that the contract negotiations are complete.
Looking At The Impending Vegas Cap Crunch
To say the 2021-22 season was a gigantic disappointment for the Vegas Golden Knights would also be a massive understatement. After mortgaging a large part of their future to acquire superstar center Jack Eichel, albeit for the long term, the team missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and fired head coach Peter DeBoer earlier this week.
Now, general manager Kelly McCrimmon has an arduous offseason to retool the roster and find a new head coach. Both will need significant attention, however, the Knights are already entering free agency with the pressing need to shed cap space. With a roster size of 23, the team is already in a salary deficit of about $500,000, even with the small cap increase to $82.5MM next year (CapFriendly).
While some of those players may be sent to AHL Henderson when the team is fully healthy, the team needs to make a decision on RFAs Nicolas Roy, Brett Howden, Keegan Kolesar, and Nicolas Hague, who have all been extremely valuable to the team in their depth roles. It’s clear that unless the Knights somehow make a move to acquire significant long-term injury relief (Shea Weber?), the team needs to move on from a decent chunk of cash to be comfortable under the cap in 2022-23.
Obviously, the choice that jumps off the page is forward Evgenii Dadonov. Signed just through next season at $5MM, the veteran forward was already involved in a trade intended to dump his salary but was reversed due to his limited no-trade clause. He did hit the 20-goal mark again this year and could do so again if given good support. It’s a low-risk acquisition for teams looking for scoring depth, especially with his contract expiring at the end of the year. However, Vegas has absolutely no leverage in this situation given the failed trade in March. If that incident didn’t happen, the Knights could probably have made a decent deal involving Dadonov this offseason. They’ll likely still be able to make a trade, but it won’t involve much benefit for the team other than cap space.
Another potential option is William Karlsson. Given his offensive upside and defensive acumen, teams would probably like to have a top-six centerman under a $6MM cap hit. With the Eichel acquisition and solid play from the cheaper Chandler Stephenson, there is no longer a pressing need for Karlsson in the lineup. He had a very tough season putting pucks in the net, though, and his 40-goal 2017-18 campaign seems like decades ago for him now. He’s scored just 15, 14, and 12 goals in the past three years, and while he still puts up points, he’s signed through 2027. It would clear a tad more cap space than Dadonov, though, and the wing is more a position of need for the Knights. Yet, the relationship between Dadonov and the Knights must be considered. If the relationship is irreparably severed, the team might have no choice. That’s not to say they still couldn’t entertain the idea of moving Karlsson, however.
Lastly, there’s backup netminder Laurent Brossoit and his $2.3MM cap hit. He’s almost surely gone considering the incredibly strong play of youngster Logan Thompson down the stretch. It’s not much cap relief, though, and the team likely needs a little more wiggle room to adjust the roster as desired.
Looking Ahead To Nick Leddy’s Impending Free Agency
Despite being with his third team in the last year, Nick Leddy is back in a familiar place: the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A veteran of 12 NHL seasons, Leddy has been to the playoffs in 10 of them, suiting up for 125 playoff contests, four of which have come this postseason as a member of the St. Louis Blues, the first playoff games he has played not wearing a Chicago Blackhawks or New York Islanders jersey. Once Leddy’s season is over, whenever that may be (St. Louis currently trails Colorado 1-0 in their second round series), Leddy will find himself in uncharted territory: unrestricted free agency.
At 31-years-old, Leddy has never had the opportunity to hit the open market, initially signing extensions as a RFA with the Chicago Blackhawks, and then the New York Islanders after an October, 2014 trade. Leddy’s expiring contract, a seven-year, $38.5MM deal, was signed with the Islanders in 2015 before Leddy was set to become a RFA. That contract proved to provide good value to the Islanders, for whom Leddy played 518 regular season games and 67 playoff games, many of which were as one of the team’s top defensemen. However, with cap concerns creeping up this past offseason, Leddy would find himself once again traded, this time to the rebuilding Detroit Red Wings. The veteran was tasked to be a leader in a young dressing room, with the organization hoping they could take the next step. On the outside of the playoff picture once again, Detroit dealt Leddy at the trade deadline, where he would become a key piece on the blueline for the St. Louis Blues, who have their eyes set on their second Stanley Cup in four seasons.
Now an UFA, Leddy will look to parlay his experience into another contract to cover his early and mid-30’s. What Leddy’s next contract will look like is an interesting discussion however, as he has plenty to admire, but does pose some concerns for a team that would be committing to him. First, looking at the positives, Leddy can be described as a durable defenseman who skates and moves the puck well, and who has developed his defensive game nicely in the past few seasons. Over the course of his career, Leddy has missed very few games and would average over 40 points-person-season in his prime. After a tough 2017-18 season which would see Leddy accumulating a minus-42 rating despite having 42 points of his own, Leddy was able to reinvent his game under coach Barry Trotz. Though the strong point totals did not come back to their previous form, the defenseman showed his ability to work diligently in his own end and move the puck out routinely.
On the other hand, after being traded to Detroit and away from the system that saw him take steps forward defensively, Leddy again struggled in his own end, and played to a minus-33 rating in Detroit before being traded to St. Louis. With the Blues, Leddy would rebound, posting eight points to go with a plus-3 rating in 20 regular season games down the stretch. Still, as a 31 year old defenseman who relies heavily on his skating, Leddy’s prime is likely behind him and even with the steps he has taken to round out his game, his occasional struggles defensively do raise concern.
All of this is to say, Leddy is more than a capable NHL defenseman, but these factors will play into what his next contract looks like. He almost certainly will not receive the seven-year term he has on his current contract, and the $5.5MM AAV it carries is potentially out of the question too. However, on a shorter-term contract of three or four years, Leddy could push a number that is close to his previous salary even if he cannot reach it.
One name to look at as a potential comparison for Leddy is Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman T.J. Brodie. The former Calgary Flames blueliner signed his four-year, $20MM contract with Toronto just after turning 30 years of age, a year younger than Leddy is now, but on a similar trajectory. Brodie, like Leddy, made a name for himself in his mid-20’s as a smooth skating, puck moving defenseman who could regularly provide point totals in the mid-40’s. Then, like Leddy, Brodie’s defensive struggles would become apparent before making adjustments to solidify his defense.
Unlike Leddy, when Brodie’s defensive game took a change for the better between 2017-18 and 2018-19, his offensive output would stay the same. However, the next season, 2019-20, Brodie’s offensive numbers would dip severely, albeit still playing a sound game in his own end. It was after this season that Brodie hit the UFA market and signed with Toronto. Now for Leddy, much as it was for Brodie after making impressive changes to his defensive game, but hitting some bumps in the road, he will hit the UFA market.
Ultimately, Leddy’s market should come down to a combination of factors that should include the flat salary cap, how teams believe his game will fit in their system, and perhaps most importantly, how those teams feel his game, which is particularly skating-reliant, will age over the life of the contract. What may be his biggest selling point, however, is something mentioned in the beginning of this article: his 125 games, and counting, in the Stanley Cup playoffs, accumulated over 10 of his 12 NHL seasons, including a Stanley Cup, experience which, of course, cannot be taken away with age.
Update On Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang
Earlier today Evgeni Malkin addressed his pending unrestricted free agency and future with the Pittsburgh Penguins, stating that he hopes to retire in Pittsburgh. For that to be possible, he must ink a contract extension with the only team he has ever known. Malkin, 35, has remained consistently productive as he has aged (42 points in 41 games this season) but has also struggled to remain in the lineup on a regular basis. So, his importance to the franchise and his strong production square up against the declining reliability of his health to make his upcoming contract situation an especially intriguing one.
Just as Malkin’s contract is expiring, so is the contract of another Penguins franchise icon: Kris Letang. Letang, who is also 35, is coming off a season where he posted a career-high in points (68) and managed to stay in the lineup for 78 games, his most since the 2017-18 season. With Malkin and Letang both up for new contracts, the Penguins’ front office (and new ownership group) has a fork-in-the-road opportunity to change the direction of the franchise.
Rob Rossi of The Athletic reported yesterday that the Penguins had offered Malkin and Letang matching three-year, $15MM extensions, offers that “did not sit well” with Sidney Crosby. While that is certainly a major development, if true, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet added some context to the situation in his recent 32 Thoughts blog. Friedman supported Rossi’s reporting on the Penguins offering Malkin a three-year term on his extension, stating that the team has symmetry with the three years left on Sidney Crosby’s contract in mind. He also reported that Malkin’s camp and the Penguins were “far, far apart” on the actual dollar value of the extension, a separation that could make Malkin’s return more challenging.
As for Letang, Friedman reported that his offer was larger than the one mentioned in Rossi’s report. Friedman says that the “last he heard” was that Letang was offered a four-year contract carrying an average annual value just “a bit less” than his current AAV of $7.25MM. Given the annual values of contracts other high-end defensemen have received (Seth Jones, Darnell Nurse, and Dougie Hamilton, as comparables, got at least $9MM AAV on deals with significantly more term) it’s an open question as to whether that reported offer will be sufficient to retain Letang’s services.
Letang did say, per Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that his “main goal” is to stay in Pittsburgh, so perhaps he will not enter the market eyeing a deal comparable to those other elite defensemen. But one does have to keep in mind that this very well could be Letang’s last chance at a massive contract, due to his age. At the very least, it seems from Friedman’s reporting that while the Penguins are apparently undertaking an earnest effort to retain their two franchise legends, there are still obstacles in the way.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Wild Notes: Goaltending, Johansson, Free Agency
The Minnesota Wild look set to begin an offseason where major decisions will have to be made. One of the biggest question marks for this Wild offseason has been their goaltending situation, with much discussion devoted to the feasibility of a Cam Talbot–Marc-Andre Fleury tandem for next season. But yesterday, Fleury spoke on that possibility, stating that a return to Minnesota would be “very appealing,” and it seems that Wild GM Bill Guerin agrees with that sentiment. He was very straightforward when addressing the goaltending, saying that they “want both back,” and that the team “likes both goalies.”
While the Wild’s precarious salary cap situation thanks to the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts will likely be the determining factor in whether or not a reunion actually comes to fruition, it’s clear that all parties involved are interested in getting it done. Playoffs aside, both Fleury and Talbot were great this season, combining for a 41-14-4 record, leading the Wild to one of their most impressive regular seasons in franchise history. It remains to be seen if a Fleury-Talbot tandem can be sustainable for an entire playoff run, of course, but it seems given today’s comments that they will likely get another chance to prove it can work.
Now, for some other notes regarding the Wild:
- The Wild have a decision to make regarding defenseman Filip Johansson, the team’s first-round pick from the 2018 draft. The team can either sign Johansson to an entry-level contract before July 1st or see their exclusive rights to sign him expire. Johansson, 22, has been getting regular minutes for SHL club Frolunda HC for the past two seasons, and just five months ago signed a two-year extension to stay there. What makes this choice interesting is the fact that the Wild stand to gain a second-round pick, 56th overall, as compensation should they choose not to sign him. Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that “they’re not” signing Johansson, meaning the team has chosen the pick over the prospect.
- As previously mentioned, the cost of the Suter and Parise buyouts will cast a shadow on everything the Wild plan on doing this summer. Naturally, the team’s approach to free agency would also be altered, and today Guerin shed some light on his strategy regarding this summer’s open market. Guerin said: “Honestly, we’re pretty set. I don’t know how active we’ll be in the free-agent market.” So, with Kevin Fiala a potential cap casualty, it seems Wild fans should not expect Guerin to target any major free agents when the market opens.
Kevin Fiala’s Future Remains Uncertain
The Minnesota Wild had a heck of a season, recording a franchise-high 113 points and securing home ice advantage in the first round. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in any postseason success, as they were eliminated in six games by the St. Louis Blues.
Despite the fact that they haven’t been together for very long, many were pointing to this season as a sort of “last dance” for the current Wild roster because of cap penalties coming next year. Minnesota will carry a $12.74MM cap charge in 2022-23, and a $14.74MM cap charge in the following two years because of the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. With a penalty that amounts to close to 16 percent of the cap ceiling, it’s extremely hard to build a competitive roster, at least when your goal is the Stanley Cup.
That means this offseason, general manager Bill Guerin will have to make some significant changes.
Most notable is the restricted free agent status of Kevin Fiala, who set a career high with 33 goals and 85 points this year after finding immediate chemistry with rookie Matt Boldy. Fiala’s platform year was an outstanding example of the dynamic five-on-five player many have always known he can be, as 67 of those points came at even-strength. Now, as he heads into the summer as an RFA for the final time, the Wild could very well have to move on from their Swiss star. Guerin was clear about that at his press conference today:
There’s uncertainty. We’d love to have Kevin back. I don’t know if it’s going to be possible. We have to dig into it a little bit, to see what we could possibly do. But there is uncertainty, that’s a good word for it.
I’m uncertain. I am. Look, we can do anything–but at what cost?
Guerin explained that there have not yet been discussions with Fiala’s agent but there is no rush at the moment. As an arbitration-eligible RFA, the team still has control over the 25-year-old through the summer and doesn’t necessarily have to rush to get a new contract or a trade completed in the coming weeks.
Importantly, the Wild already have more than $75MM committed to next season with the buyout penalties, and other roster holes to address. That includes the goaltending position, where Cam Talbot is under contract, but Marc-Andre Fleury is a potential candidate for a short-term extension. They also will have several forward spots open even beyond Fiala, with Nicolas Deslauriers and Nick Bjugstad both scheduled for unrestricted free agency.
There are some internal candidates for those spots, with Marco Rossi leading the way after he returned from illness to have an excellent minor league season. The 20-year-old forward is expected to compete for a spot in training camp and likely has an inside track, given his relatively inexpensive entry-level contract. Rossi’s offensive upside could help to soften the blow of losing Fiala, and a trade could net the Wild other pieces to help build their club into a contender once again. It will be difficult, however, which makes this first-round loss likely sting all the more for fans in Minnesota.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Calgary Flames Sign Adam Klapka
While the Calgary Flames are preparing for a high-stakes second-round playoff series against their historic rivals, the Edmonton Oilers, that hasn’t stopped the Flames’ front office from conducting business in the interest of improving the team. Today, that work comes in the form of a two-year entry-level contract for Czech winger Adam Klapka.
Klapka, 21, is an undrafted player who has experience playing in North America. He spent two seasons playing for the Tri-City Storm of the USHL, where he had 15 goals and 25 points in 57 games from 2019-20 to 2020-21. Klapka has spent this past season playing for Bílí Tygři Liberec in the Czech Extraliga. There, he was a teammate of former Flames defenseman Ladislav Smid, and scored six goals and 18 points to go along with 72 penalty minutes. He added four points in ten playoff games for the team as well.
Klapka is an intriguing player due to his size more than anything else. Standing at six-foot-seven, 245 pounds, Klapka offers rare size and physical tools that set him apart from the rest of the Flames’ prospects. Coach Darryl Sutter has constructed his Flames to be among the NHL’s biggest teams, ranking fifth in average height and sixth in average weight. The signing of Klapka, should he end up making the NHL in the future, will help the Flames maintain that position when the team’s current heavyweights such as Milan Lucic eventually age out of the roster.
Bruins Notes: Bergeron, Marchand, Grzelcyk
After the Boston Bruins fell in seven games to their first-round opponent Carolina Hurricanes, the conversation surrounding the team and its future has centered around its captain: Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron, who turns 37 on July 24th, is one of the franchise’s biggest stars and one of the most widely respected players in the modern history of the game. He’s also set to become an unrestricted free agent at the beginning of the new league year, as the eight-year contract extension he signed in 2013 is expiring. So, naturally, given his age and contract situation, there is a significant amount of attention fixated on Bergeron’s future with the only NHL club he has ever known.
There is at least some uncertainty here. As relayed by The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, Bergeron said today that he will need time to make a decision about his future and whether he will continue playing. But, with that in mind, when asked if he could imagine playing for another team if he chooses to continue his career, there was no hesitation from Bergeron. He gave a simple answer: “no.” While Bergeron may be now well into his late-thirties, his game is still at an elite level. He is expected to be among the top contenders for a Selke Trophy once again, and he was productive offensively, scoring 25 goals and 65 points in 73 games. So, he would likely have many suitors on the open market if he sought to explore other options. But based on his comments today, it seems that he is making it clear to the hockey world that he will remain a Boston Bruin for the rest of his playing days.
Now, for some other notes regarding the Bruins:
- It seemed that Bergeron’s longtime partner in crime Brad Marchand was his normal self in the team’s playoff series versus the Hurricanes, agitating opposing players and fans while stuffing the net to the tune of eleven points in seven games. But in reality, despite that production, Marchand was not his normal self, at least regarding his health. Marchand revealed today, per Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now, that he had been playing through an injury to his shoulder since suffering the ailment due to a hit from Capitals forward Garnet Hathaway in the regular season. While he remained productive throughout the rest of the regular season and the playoffs, Marchand did say that there was the possibility that he may require surgery this summer. He noted that he would need to “get it checked” with doctors first, though.
- Marchand is not the only Bruin who was playing through an injury in the first round. Today Matt Grzelcyk revealed (per Matt Porter of the Boston Globe) that he had been playing through a dislocated shoulder, and that he would need surgery this offseason. He also noted that his recovery from that surgery could cause him to miss the start of next season. Grzelcyk only got into five games against the Hurricanes and did not manage to score a point, play that could be reflective of the toll the injury was taking on his game. Grzelcyk did have a productive regular season, though, and ranked second among Bruins defensemen in points. He has grown into one of the more important defensemen the Bruins have, so getting him back to health will be crucial if Boston wants to hit the ground running at the start of next season.
Capitals Notes: Goaltending, Wilson, Laviolette
Today was exit day for the Washington Capitals, and as part of that, Capitals GM Brian MacLellan spoke with the media. The biggest revelation coming from his media appearance regards the team’s goaltending situation, as he shed some light on how the team views their current tandem of goaltenders and what strategy they will take towards the position in the offseason. MacLellan said, as relayed by Samantha Pell of The Washington Post, that the team’s “top priority” regarding their goaltending is to acquire a veteran netminder. MacLellan also added that it’s “possible” that both of the team’s current goalies, Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek, (who are each eligible to become restricted free agents with arbitration rights) return next season, but that the priority is to add a veteran to the team.
Both Samsonov and Vanecek, who are 25 and 26 years old, respectively, had seasons to forget. For Vanecek, his regular season was solid (42 games played at a .908 save percentage) but he unraveled in the playoffs, not even making it to the end of game two before being pulled for Samsonov. Samsonov, on the flip side, had a poor regular season, posting only an .896 save percentage in 44 games. Although he did better in the playoffs (.912 in five games) he still failed to make the saves required for the Capitals to defeat the Florida Panthers. By virtue of both goalies needing a new contract, this offseason the Capitals are afforded the financial flexibility to choose a new direction in net. The Capitals intend on remaining competitive during the remaining years of Alex Ovechkin‘s career, and MacLellan’s statements make it clear that the organization deems a veteran goaltender necessary to give their captain a chance at winning a second Stanley Cup. If their prior courtship of Marc-Andre Fleury is any indication, it seems MacLellan and the Capitals will be going fishing for a major addition to their crease this offseason.
Now, for some other notes regarding the Capitals:
- Tom Wilson, one of the Capitals’ most important forwards, did not play very much in their short playoff run. He scored a goal but suffered a knee injury that MacLellan today said would have cost him the entirety of the Capitals’ playoff run, should they have made it into the next few rounds. Per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, the team will make a decision in the next few days on whether Wilson needs surgery. Even with a potential surgery in mind, MacLellan did express optimism that Wilson would be ready to play by the start of next season. The Capitals rely on Wilson’s goal-scoring and physicality to win games, so if they want to hit the ground running for next season’s campaign getting Wilson back to full health will be a major priority for the team.
- This season marks coach Peter Laviolette‘s second behind the bench in Washington, and his combined 80-41-17 record over those two seasons is reflective of how well he has done in getting the most out of the Capitals’ players. But despite that regular-season success, the Capitals have bowed out in the first round in both years of his tenure, and as a result, with Laviolette set to enter the final season of his contract, MacLellan was asked about Laviolette’s future in Washington. Per Gulitti, MacLellan made the point that he wanted to keep conversations regarding Laviolette’s contract situation private, but was complimentary about his coach’s work during this regular season and playoffs. While some more frustrated Capitals fans may want to see a change behind the bench after two straight early playoff exits, it seems that the organization has full faith in Laviolette being the right coach to bring the Capitals their second Stanley Cup.