Arizona Coyotes Shopping Taylor Hall’s Negotiating Rights
With just a few days remaining before Taylor Hall becomes an unrestricted free agent, the Arizona Coyotes are trying to recoup some of the value they spent to acquire the star forward. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Coyotes are shopping Hall’s negotiating rights, which would give a team the chance to try and sign him before he even reaches the open market.
Just recently, reports surfaced that Hall would consider signing a short-term deal with a contender instead of trying to land the biggest deal possible in free agency. After a frustrating season that resulted in another early playoff exit, Hall has now played in just 14 postseason games over his ten-year career.
Earlier this summer we saw the Montreal Canadiens trade a fifth-round pick for the negotiating rights of defenseman Joel Edmundson, before eventually signing him to a four-year, $14MM deal. Given Hall’s status as the 2018 Hart Trophy winner and a top offensive winger, one would imagine the trade cost would be higher than that of a depth defenseman.
Still, it’s hard to know if acquiring him early would even be beneficial for a team interested in his services. Sitting just a few days away from the free agent market opening, Hall could easily just wait to see what kind of offers come from around the league. Negotiating with just one team would limit his options unless of course, he has a destination in mind that has already expressed interest to the Coyotes.
Hall, 28, scored 52 points in 65 games this season split between the New Jersey Devils and Coyotes. After reaching the 93-mark in 2018 and carrying the Devils to the playoffs, it’s been another few disappointing seasons. The first-overall pick in 2010, Hall has scored 563 points in 627 games but has played playoff matches in only two seasons.
Sami Vatanen And Trevor Van Riemsdyk Expected To Test Free Agency
Hurricanes defensemen Sami Vatanen and Trevor van Riemsdyk are expected to test free agency when the market opens up on Friday, GM Don Waddell told reporters, including NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Waddell did indicate that Carolina is interested in retaining them and the players could still potentially circle back once they’ve seen what other offers are out there:
We’ve made it real clear that we’d like both guys, but we also understand that we’re under a little bit more of a scrutiny with our salary cap. So if they go out to the market, whatever the market will bear, it might be something that if they do come back to us that we can talk about.
As things stand, the team has less than $8MM in cap space with only 17 players signed and while winger Warren Foegele and blueliner Haydn Fleury aren’t going to break the bank as restricted free agents, by the time they’re signed, there won’t be enough room to keep both UFAs by the time you factor in spending to fill out the rest of their roster.
Vatanen is the more intriguing of the two situations. The 29-year-old was brought in by Carolina at the trade deadline despite being injured at the time with the hopes that he’d help them down the stretch and in the playoffs. Of course, the pandemic shut things down and he was only able to play in seven playoff games.
While Vatanen’s offensive production has dipped in recent years compared to the 37 and 38-point seasons he put up in 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, he’s still an intriguing top-four option that can help run a power play. He does, however, carry considerable injury risk as he has yet to play more than 72 games in a single season. With a thin UFA market though, there still should be a large number of teams interested in him and a deal around the $4.875MM AAV that he had the past four seasons could still happen even with the salary cap flattened out.
As for van Riemsdyk, the 29-year-old was in a limited role for most of this season, playing in just 49 games during the regular season and only two of their postseason contests. It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to command the $2.3MM AAV he played under the last two years but if he’s willing to sign for less, it’s plausible that he could be brought back at a rate that’s more commensurate with a sixth or seventh role.
Waddell also has to be mindful of two big-ticket deals on the horizon for 2021-22 in winger Andrei Svechnikov and defenseman Dougie Hamilton. Svechnikov is a restricted free agent next offseason and Waddell indicated that extension talks are ongoing while allowing for the possibility of the 20-year-old’s next contract being a short-term bridge. As for Hamilton, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency after next season, no talks have been held yet but he’ll be in line for a significant raise on his current $5.75MM AAV. Knowing that those contracts will be coming sooner than later will certainly affect Waddell’s willingness to spend big on multi-year deals in the weeks ahead which could very well take Vatanen off the table for them.
Fortunately for Carolina, even if both of their UFA blueliners don’t return, they’ll still be well-positioned for next season with Hamilton anchoring a top-four that also features Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei. Veteran Jake Gardiner is also in the mix as well as Fleury so the Hurricanes will still have a strong back end without Vatanen and van Riemsdyk in the mix.
Canadiens Tender Qualifying Offers To Five Players
While the deadline for qualifying offers isn’t until Wednesday shortly after the draft ends, the Canadiens opted to take care of them early, announcing that five players have received offers. Players receiving offers are center Max Domi, winger Charles Hudon, and defensemen Victor Mete, Noah Juulsen, and Xavier Ouellet.
Of the group, Domi is the most notable. The 25-year-old is coming off of a quieter second year with the team as he posted 17 goals and 27 assists in 44 games, numbers that were well below his output in 2018-19 when he set career highs with 28 tallies and 44 helpers. Shortly after their elimination at the hands of Philadelphia, he changed agents to Darren Ferris of Quartexx which led to some speculation of him being unhappy with his situation although Ferris made it known last month that Domi hopes to remain with Montreal. A position change may be in order for that to happen, however, as Nick Suzuki, Phillip Danault, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi figure to be Montreal’s top-three centers next season. Domi’s qualifier was set at $2.9MM.
Mete’s entry-level contract has come to an end but his role with the Canadiens has decreased as it has progressed. He spent a lot of this season on the third pairing and in the playoffs, his ATOI dropped to just 12:30 per game from 16:00 during the year. With Joel Edmundson being acquired and signed already this summer, his spot in their top six may be in some jeopardy. He isn’t eligible for salary arbitration.
Hudon and Ouellet spent the majority of the season with AHL Laval but were up for the stretch run and playoffs with Ouellet being a regular in the postseason. Both players are eligible for salary arbitration in their final year before UFA eligibility. As for Juulsen, the 2015 first-rounder has missed most of the last two seasons with recurring migraine issues stemming from taking two pucks to the face in the same game back in 2018-19. He was able to play in Laval late in the year and was on Montreal’s playoff roster although he didn’t get into any game action.
The team confirmed that three players – center Aaron Luchuk plus wingers Andrew Sturtz and Antoine Waked – did not receive offers. The three spent all of last season in the minors and will become unrestricted free agents on Friday.
Philadelphia Flyers Re-Sign Brian Elliott
Veteran goaltender Brian Elliott will be back in the Philadelphia net for a fourth season in 2020-21. The Flyers have announced a new one-year contract for Elliott, who was set to reach free agency on Friday. Elliott will play for an AAV of $1.5MM this coming season, a savings of $500K for Philly from the one-year extension he signed last off-season.
Elliott, 35, hasn’t exactly been sharp over his time with the Flyers, but he has been a great mentor to young Carter Hart, who has supplanted him as starter and should see his workload increase even more this year. Elliott avoided injury this season after missing 41 games in 2018-19 and did see a slight improvement in his goals against average. He also impressed in two postseason appearances. However, the former All-Star still recorded a lowly .899 save percentage in 31 appearances. With many options in goal on the free agent and trade markets to upgrade the backup position, admittedly at a high price with many needy teams, Philadelphia’s decision means they clearly feel comfortable with their current tandem and Hart’s ability to take on a greater role so as to limit the pressure on the aging Elliott.
Speaking to the intangibles of the veteran netminder, GM Chuck Fletcher stated the following in the team’s release: “Brian is a quality, veteran goaltender who is also an important part of our leadership group. His preparation and work ethic are exemplary. With Brian and Carter, we believe we have a strong goaltending duo who have each had success and work very well with each other.”
Panthers May Pursue Mark Borowiecki In Free Agency
After trading Josh Brown to the Senators today, it appears as if the Panthers are looking to replace him with a soon-to-be-former Ottawa blueliner. Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggests that Florida may take a run at signing veteran defenseman Mark Borowiecki when the free agent market opens up next Friday.
The 31-year-old is coming off of his best offensive year after he picked up 18 points (5-13-18) in 53 games while also seeing his ice time climb to 17:56 per contest, the highest of his career. Of course, that’s not what prospective suitors will be counting on as instead, Borowiecki is known for his physicality and willingness to block shots, elements that many teams still look for on their bottom pairing.
For all of the talent they have on paper including Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, and Anton Stralman, Florida’s back end has been an area of concern in recent years and the signing of Sergei Bobrovsky last summer didn’t help stop the bleeding. While Borowiecki wouldn’t play in their top four, he’d at least bring a bit of stability to the third pairing and while he’s likely to land a raise on the $1.2MM he made in each of the last two seasons, a deal for him wouldn’t be big enough to significantly impact their offseason spending plans.
Free Agent Focus: Edmonton Oilers
With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Another disappointing exit awaited the Edmonton Oilers when the NHL came back this summer, making it another busy offseason for their front office as they try to capitalize on their superstar duo.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Ethan Bear – If you weren’t watching closely you might have missed the fact that another rookie defenseman was logging huge minutes in the Pacific Division. Bear, a fifth-round pick in 2015, ended up averaging just under 22 minutes a night in his 71 games for the Oilers this season, coming in only behind Darnell Nurse in terms of even-strength ice time. That was good enough to earn Bear some votes for the Calder Trophy and perhaps an even bigger role next season. Now 23, Bear is still not arbitration-eligible but could be critically important to the Oilers, especially if Oscar Klefbom‘s injury keeps him out long-term.
F Andreas Athanasiou – The Oilers used two second-round picks to acquire Athanasiou at the deadline this year, but may end up being forced to leave him unqualified this offseason. A qualifying offer for the 26-year-old forward would cost the team a minimum of $3MM for next season and potentially even more through arbitration. That blazing speed didn’t end up working as well as hoped in Edmonton, with Athanasiou scoring just a single goal in his 13 games for the team. Just a year removed from his breakout 30-goal campaign though, he’s one of the toughest decisions that GM Ken Holland (who happened to draft Athanasiou in Detroit) will have to make in the coming days.
Other RFAs: D Matt Benning, F Cameron Hebig, F Ryan Kuffner, F Nolan Vesey, D Logan Day, D Ryan Mantha, D William Lagesson, G Angus Redmond
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
G Mike Smith – Like so many other teams, the Oilers are on the lookout for an improvement in net this offseason and could be ready to move on from the veteran goaltender. Smith is now up to 610 games played in his 14-year career, good enough for 47th all-time among netminders. The puck-handling wild child recorded a .902 save percentage in the regular season, the second straight year he has been ineffective. With so many other goalies available, it’s hard to find a market for a 38-year-old Smith, even if he has been a consistent presence in the league since 2007.
F Tyler Ennis – While Athanasiou cost two seconds and never seemed to click in Edmonton, Ennis cost just a fifth and fit in right away. That seems to be the story with the undersized forward in recent years as he bounces around the league taking bargain-basement deals but performing whenever given the chance. 12 goals in 51 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19 playing fourth-line minutes and another 16 in 2019-20 splitting the year between Ottawa and Edmonton, all for the combined two-year total of $1.45MM in salary. If Ennis is still looking at a limited market, why not bring him back on another short-term deal?
Other UFAs: F Riley Sheahan, F Brad Malone, F Josh Currie, F Tomas Jurco, D Keegan Lowe, D Brandon Manning, G Shane Starrett
Projected Cap Space
Here’s the problem for the Oilers. The team has just $8.77MM in cap space for next season and still need to upgrade the roster. Spending a good chunk of that on Athanasiou’s qualifying offer or a long-term Bear extension would seem foolish, unless they can make room elsewhere by moving bad money out. If Klefbom does need surgery and can be put on long-term injured reserve it would provide some extra flexibility, but right now Holland’s hands are tied pretty tightly.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Dillon, Jankowski, Devils
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet the Washington Capitals are trying to move some money in order to free up enough space to keep Brenden Dillon from hitting unrestricted free agency, but if he does hit the open market a return home would be of interest to him. Dillon told TSN radio today that “any Surrey kid would love to play in Vancouver” and that he would be interested in signing with the Canucks should it fall that way.
While there is still so much to happen in the next few days that could complicate a move like that, the Canucks are obviously interested in adding a defenseman given the work they’ve done to try and acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson so far. Perhaps Dillon, who is coming off a five-year deal that carried a $3.27MM cap hit, could be a potential fallback option through free agency.
- Not only do they have a draft and free agency to navigate, but the Arizona Coyotes are still busy building out their front office again after hiring GM Bill Armstrong to change the direction of the franchise. Yesterday they added Darryl Plandowski from the Tampa Bay Lightning and today the Coyotes have hired Ryan Jankowski as the new associate director of amateur scouting. Jankowski has worked with the Buffalo Sabres for the past two seasons after a lengthy stint with Hockey Canada.
- Speaking of filling out a staff, the New Jersey Devils are still looking for a goaltending coach and third assistant coach, according to GM Tom Fitzgerald who spoke to reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic today. Mike Grier was given a chance to return but declined, while Alain Nasreddine will be returning to his position as an assistant coach.
Goalie Notes: Sharks, Ustimenko, Bachman
The San Jose Sharks have been linked strongly to Devan Dubnyk in recent days, meaning Pierre LeBrun’s latest report for The Athletic should come as little surprise. LeBrun writes that the Sharks are on the lookout for a “1B” to install behind Martin Jones, with Dubnyk, Braden Holtby and James Reimer all candidates.
Short-term is the key part of the Sharks search, leaving Holtby as an interesting inclusion. The former Washington Capitals starter is about to hit free agency after his worst season in the NHL and perhaps could be looking at a shorter deal to rebuild his value. Still, signing to serve as the backup, even if it is in a tandem role, may not be the best way to accomplish that.
- Sometimes when a team has a young goaltender starring in the NHL, it’s easy to forget about their other prospects. That’s the case in Philadelphia where Carter Hart steals all the headlines, but the pipeline is filled with other interesting names. One of those, Kirill Ustimenko, is headed overseas for the time being, loaned to HC Gomel of the Belarusian Extraliga. That’s Ustimenko’s hometown team, where he can continue to develop his game before eventually returning to North America. The 21-year-old was a third-round pick in 2017 and posted a .919 save percentage in 31 starts at the ECHL level in 2019-20.
- Former NHL goaltender Richard Bachman‘s playing days are over, as the Iowa Wild of the AHL has announced his hiring as goaltending coach. Bachman, who suited up in the AHL and SHL just this season, played in 49 NHL games over a long professional career.
Dallas Stars Trying To Re-Sign Anton Khudobin
With just a few days left before free agency opens, the Dallas Stars front office have licked their Stanley Cup wounds and are back to work. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that GM Jim Nill has reached out to pending free agent goaltender Anton Khudobin‘s camp, letting them know that the team wants to re-sign him. LeBrun notes that the “feeling is mutual” for Khudobin.
If you thought that Khudobin playing well and leading the Stars to the final was just a miraculous bubble hockey story, you haven’t been paying attention. The 34-year-old goaltender has been one of the best tandem options in the league for years now, even leading the entire NHL in save percentage during the 2019-20 regular season. Over the last three years he has posted a .922 save percentage, good enough to compete with the best in the league over that span. Sure, it came in just 102 appearances, but it is clear that Khudobin can be an elite backup or 1B option for a team looking to go deep in the playoffs.
Given the 2020-21 schedule is expected to be considerably condensed, a goaltender like Khudobin could have even more value.
Still, this is the year of the goalie in terms of offseason availability. Seemingly everywhere you turn a team is shopping a young netminder or allowing a veteran to reach free agency. If Khudobin wants to avoid that whole musical chairs routine, re-signing with Dallas would certainly be a comfortable fit.
Remember, this is a goalie who has already bounced around the league. Originally selected in the seventh round by the Minnesota Wild, he would play just six games for that team before ending up in Boston. He then went to Carolina, Anaheim, and back to Boston before heading to Dallas, where he has found a home and played his most consistent hockey.
The Stars do already have Ben Bishop in place at a $4.9MM cap hit, but should have some extra room as long as they don’t go huge with some of their restricted free agents. Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov all need new contracts, but unless they all take huge long-term deals there should be a little bit of room left over for the Stars to spend on their Russian bear.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings
With free agency now just a few days away, teams are preparing for a frenzy of action. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. After one of the worst seasons in NHL history, the Detroit Red Wings have a ton of work to do in order to continue their drastic rebuilding process.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Anthony Mantha – It’s hard to fathom that Mantha is already 26 years old, but here he is just days away from becoming a restricted free agent for the second time after his two-year bridge deal expires. While a long-term deal may be the best way to keep him in Detroit and avoid unrestricted free agency, Craig Custance of The Athletic wrote yesterday that a shorter-term deal is more likely in this case. Custance suggests a three-year contract could work, which would cover Mantha’s age-27, 28, and 29 seasons. The big winger has become an integral part of the Red Wings attack, tallying 82 goals in just 250 games over the last four seasons.
F Tyler Bertuzzi – If Mantha is going to come in on a three-year deal, where does that leave Bertuzzi, who actually led the Red Wings in goals this season. The scrappy, in-your-face forward is arguably the second most important player on the team currently and will be arbitration-eligible this offseason. Bertuzzi will turn 26 next season despite having fewer than 200 NHL games on his resume but is negotiating after back-to-back 21-goal seasons. A player bred for the playoffs, he hasn’t seen a sniff of the postseason yet in his career.
F Brendan Perlini – In his first three seasons, Perlini scored 45 goals in 199 games. Last year for the Red Wings, he scored one. The 12th overall pick from 2014 has almost completely fallen off the map as an NHL player and is on his third organization in two years. Still just 24 there are so many measurables you can fall in love with when you look at the 6’3″ winger, but he just hasn’t been able to put it together on the ice recently. At this point, given he is arbitration-eligible with a history of success in the NHL, it’s not even clear if the Red Wings will issue him a qualifying offer. Perhaps they take another chance on him because they’re not expected to compete this season, but time is ticking for his goal-scoring ability to reappear.
Other RFAs: F Adam Erne, F Dmytro Timashov, F Christoffer Ehn, D Madison Bowey, F Taro Hirose, D Kyle Wood
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
Frankly, the Red Wings don’t have any key free agents this offseason. GM Steve Yzerman has already been quite forthcoming with the fact that he doesn’t plan on re-signing Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson or Jimmy Howard, three veterans who will have to try and find work elsewhere.
Daley, 36, has been a steady two-way defenseman in the league for years but is showing his age and is coming off a forgettable three-year stint in Detroit. He scored just seven points this season and saw his minutes drop to less than 16 minutes a night.
For the 36-year-old Ericsson things are arguably even worse, despite a long history of solid play in Detroit. He played just 18 games this season and failed to register a single point. Instead, he spent time in the minor leagues for the first time in over a decade.
Howard, who Yzerman confirmed today would not be re-signed by the team, is a goaltender won just two of his 27 appearances in 2019-20 and will turn 37 in the middle of next season. The decision to not bring any of them back is understandable for a team that wants to transition to the next wave of talent.
Other UFAs: F Kyle Brodziak, F Cody Goloubef, F Matt Puempel, F Chris Terry
Projected Cap Space
Now here’s the fun part for Red Wings fans. Even after acquiring Marc Staal and his $5.7MM cap hit (landing a second-round pick in the process), Yzerman has more than $27MM in cap space to play with. Even more, considering that $6.08MM of the $54.1MM he has committed to next season is for Henrik Zetterberg, who won’t play again and sits on long-term injured reserve. The Red Wings don’t have a single contract that extends past 2022-23, meaning he can pretty much build this team in any way he pleases. The Stanley Cup isn’t going to come next year, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it keeps growing brighter.
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