Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Free Agency

Overseas Notes: Toronto Targets, Zubov, Ullstrom

at CDT | by 18 Comments

Free agency is never truly over. NHL executives keep an eye on impending free agents all year long and will take any opportunity to create a positive impression on a possible target. It’s no different when it comes to foreign talent, as recently demonstrated by Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas. KHL insider Igor Eronko reports that while scouting in Russia recently, Dubas met with two recognizable KHLers who are set to hit the open market next summer: Mikhail Grigorenko and Nikita Nesterov. Grigorenko, 25, was a first-round pick of Buffalo in 2012 who played over 200 games with the Sabres and Colorado Avalanche before returning home to Russia in 2017. The power forward was a top-ten scorer in the KHL last season and helped to lead CSKA Moscow to a Gagarin Cup title. He’s picked up right where he left off this season, recording 15 points through his first 16 games, and is likely to be highly sought-after by both KHL and NHL clubs this off-season. Nesterov, 26, is Grigorenko’s teammate for CSKA, coming over with him in 2017 after three NHL seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens. Nesterov is a reliable defensive defenseman, which can often be hard to find in the KHL. He has played an important role for Moscow over the past two years, even if he doesn’t frequent the score sheet. Both Grigorenko and Nesterov are core pieces for CSKA and the team will not let them walk away easily. However, that didn’t stop Dubas from doing his due diligence on the duo in case they do become available. The Maple Leafs have been successful of late in prying talent from the KHL, including the likes of Par Lindholm, Igor Ozhiganov, and now Ilya Mikheyev. He appears to be readying himself for another run at Russia’s elite this summer.

  • While most only think of Sergei Zubov as a former NHL defenseman, and soon a Hockey Hall of Famer, he has continued his hockey career overseas as a coach. After hanging up his skates in 2010, Zubov joined the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg as an assistant coach in 2011. He spent five years as an assistant with St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow before being named head coach of HK Sochi ahead of the 2017-18 season. In two plus seasons, Zubov did not have as much success from the bench as he had on the ice in his playing career. Sochi qualified for the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, but in both years they finished with a negative goal differential, last season they finished below .500 in the regular season, and they were bounced easily in the first round to end both postseason efforts. With just five wins in their first 17 games to begin this season, Sochi has opted for a coaching change. The KHL announced that Sochi has fired Zubov, who will now be left to look elsewhere for coaching work. Perhaps when he is in Toronto for Induction Weekend in November there will be NHL executives with interest in speaking to him about a full-time return to North America. A world-class talent on defense, it’s hard to imagine Zubov staying unemployed for long if he wished to continue coaching.
  • Former New York Islander David Ullstrom is on his way out of the KHL. After spending last season with the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners, under contract with the Arizona Coyotes, Ullstrom returned to Europe this season, signing with Dinamo Riga of the KHL. However, he has already parted ways with Riga after playing in just eleven games. EHC Biel-Bienne of the Swiss NLA has scooped up the free agent forward, announcing that they have signed Ullstrom to a one-year contract. Ullstrom, 30, spent three seasons with the Islanders organization from 2010 to 2013, recording 13 points in 49 NHL games. While his ability was always apparent, the Swedish power forward struggled with puck security and decision-making, leading to a lack of trust at the top level. He has gone on to find success in the KHL and SHL in recent years, but never to the extent expected of him when he was a prospect. Ullstrom performed well with Tuscon last year, recording 23 points in 29 games, and some questioned his decision to return to Europe. He was never recalled by Arizona, but had his foot in the door with the organization. An NHL return seems unlikely now, but a strong season could get him back into AHL or even two-way contract consideration. He likely hopes that his first foray into Swiss hockey will produce a career season and possibly a multi-year deal, as he has played for nine different teams in the seven years since he left the Islanders and has never once spent more than a season and a half in one spot.

Pressure Mounting On Devils To Make A Call On Taylor Hall

at CDT | by 4 Comments

An 0-3-2 start is not exactly what was expected of the revamped New Jersey Devils to begin the season. The team added pieces that they felt would improve the offense in Norris-trophy winning defenseman P.K. Subban, veteran power forward Wayne Simmonds, KHL superstar Nikita Gusev, and No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes. At least on paper, it was supposed to provide a major boost for the Devils, but the results on the ice have not reflected the influx of talent just yet. While the off-season investment was primarily due to the team’s disappointing 15th-place finish in the Eastern Conference last year, GM Ray Shero was also surely looking ahead to next summer and trying to convince the team’s biggest star, 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall, that New Jersey is a good place to be for the next stage of his career. However, if the team continues to struggle and Hall is unconvinced of future success with the Devils, Shero and company need to make a move, and the sooner they do the better return they can command. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Devils’ win-less start to the year has others around the league wondering how patient the team will be on making a decision on Hall.

Should he reach the open market this off-season, Hall would undoubtedly be the prize of free agency. While the likes of Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Pietrangelo could potentially be available as well, Hall will be just 28 years old and already has an MVP performance on his resume. Especially if his injury issues are behind him, Hall represents an opportunity to add a player with 40-goal and 100-point upside perennially over a long-term deal. If he could produce at that level on a very shallow Devils team two years ago, there’s no limit to what he could do finally playing for a true contender for the first time in his career. The Devils would like Hall to think that they have the makings of being that true contender that can surround him with elite talent for years to come. However, if they fail to back up that assertion with continued struggles this season, the last thing that Shero can do is wait too long and allow Hall to walk away without any return.

According to Friedman’s colleague Chris Johnston, Hall’s agent Darren Ferris has had little communication yet with the Devils on an extension. While Johnston doesn’t rule out the two sides agreeing to a new deal, the outcome will grow more and more unlikely with each notch in the loss column. Even if New Jersey fails to put up points, Hall will. He has shown in the past that he can produce at a high level on losing teams and, barring another injury-riddled campaign, his market value is nearly concrete. Ferris and Hall know that New Jersey is not the only team that would be willing to give him the contract he desires and will likely hold out on extension talks until there is more sign of promise coming from the Devils’ results on the ice.

If there is no hope of such a resolution, due to the Devils’ miscues or otherwise, Hall will have to be traded. At a $6MM cap price tag, his contract is hardly an albatross that interested teams would struggle to add, especially as the season wears on. Regardless of when Shero chooses to pull the trigger, the team will get a great return for Hall’s services. Yet, the team would obviously maximize that return by making the decision to deal him before the trade deadline in late February. In fact, the earlier the better, especially in light of Hall’s recent injury concerns. But is this too early? While he reports that there are already rumblings from interested persons across the NHL, Friedman says that it is “way too soon” for the team to talk about moving Hall. He notes New Jersey’s difficult schedule to begin the year and feels that they deserve to give themselves a larger sample size of Hall playing alongside their talented new additions before making any sort of projection on how the season will turn out. Friedman admits that Shero is a bold general manager, but doesn’t expect a move at this point or in the immediate future.

So then just how soon could Hall be dealt if the Devils don’t improve? While Canada celebrates Thanksgiving today, it is American Thanksgiving in late November that is commonly used as a benchmark for the likelihood of success of a team’s season. Over the last six years, more than 70% of teams in a playoff spot at that point have earned a postseason berth. If New Jersey is not in the playoff picture or at least close and there is no alternative reason other than the team continuing to underperform relative to their talent level as they have through five games, that’s likely when the status quo could change on Hall. In the meantime, interest will continue to build in Hall as he remains unsigned and pressure will mount if the Devils don’t begin to win some games with regularity.

Nashville Predators, Roman Josi Hit “Snag” In Extension Talks

at CDT | by 7 Comments

If there is one thing that Nashville Predators GM David Poile is known for other than his penchant for blockbuster trades, it’s getting his core players signed to long-term extensions at reasonable prices. The Predators have locked up names like Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson, Kyle Turris, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis and others to long deals over the past several years, and Roman Josi seemed destined to be next. The Predators’ captain is in the final season of his seven-year deal signed in 2013 that carries a ludicrously-low cap hit of just $4MM (another example of Poile’s work) and is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.

An extension for Josi seems inevitable, given his role and history with the team, especially after the Predators moved P.K. Subban out of town. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet writes in his latest 31 Thoughts column however that the negotiation has “hit a snag” and that “there is surprise it isn’t done yet.” Josi has been one of the most reliable two-way defenders in the league for the last several seasons, receiving Norris Trophy votes regularly. In fact, the 29-year old has finished no lower than 11th in voting in each of the past five years though he has yet to actually be named a finalist.

Not only has the league recognized him, but it is obvious how the Predators’ coaching staff feels about Josi’s ability. Since the start of the 2013-14 season he has logged an average of more than 25 minutes of ice time per game, and even more than that in the playoffs.

Still, with any extension negotiation there are risks involved. Josi will be 30 by the time next season begins and could very well be looking to become one of the highest-paid defensemen in the league. The Predators have a huge amount of money coming off the books next season thanks to the expiring contracts of Mikael Granlund, Craig Smith and others, but also have to consider potential future extensions for Ekholm, Forsberg, Dante Fabbro and young goaltender Juuse Saros. There is also the fact that Poile almost never gives out signing bonuses or no-trade clauses, though both of those rules were bent by Matt Duchene in the recent free agent period.

Obviously it is impossible to know exactly where the “snag” is at this point, but as Friedman points out it is surprising to see the Predators fail to reach an agreement yet with Josi. His case will be one to watch throughout the year as he would be one of the very top free agents available in 2020, though an extension with Nashville still seems the most likely conclusion.

Snapshots: Schenn, Pysyk, Palmu

at CDT | by 1 Comment

While fans continue to show their consternation over the looming free agency of Alex Pietrangelo in light of the St. Louis Blues’ recent acquisition and extension of Justin Faulk, there is another important roster player scheduled to hit the market in the summer of 2020. Brayden Schenn is on the last season of the four-year, $20.5MM deal signed with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2016, and is in line for a substantial raise if he can rebound from a disappointing 54-point season.

The Blues aren’t waiting around to find out if he can according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, who writes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the team is “taking a big run” at a Schenn extension. Before his 17-goal 2018-19 campaign Schenn had recorded three straight years of at least 25 goals, even reaching a career-high in points with 70 in his first season with St. Louis. Add in the fact that he was a key part of the team’s Stanley Cup run and is a versatile piece that can play center or wing and you can understand why GM Doug Armstrong wants to lock him up. Schenn only turned 28 last month.

  • Another interesting nugget from Friedman’s piece is regarding the New Jersey Devils, and how they have shown interest in Florida Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk. The Panthers have multi-year commitments to Aaron Ekblad (six years), Keith Yandle (four), Anton Stralman (three) and Mike Matheson (seven), making it perhaps a little difficult to retain Pysyk in the future. The 27-year old is in the final year of his current deal and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer, but is still a valuable piece on the back end that many teams could use.
  • The Vancouver Canucks signed Finnish prospect Petrus Palmu to a three-year entry-level contract in 2018, but ended up loaning him back to TPS in Liiga for a good chunk of last season. That appears to be a possibility again, as Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet reports that Palmu is close to signing in Finland once again. It has been evident for some time that the young forward wouldn’t be playing for the Utica Comets this season, but it was not clear where he’d end up. Palmu had 18 points in 29 games for TPS last season and has proven to be a capable player at that level, but standing just 5’6″ he’ll have a tough time contributing in the NHL.

Arizona Coyotes Extend Darcy Kuemper

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Just a day after claiming goaltender Eric Comrie off waivers, the Arizona Coyotes have locked up one of their other padded protectors. Darcy Kuemper has signed a two-year extension that will keep him from unrestricted free agency next summer and lock him up through the 2021-22 season. The deal carries an average annual value of $4.5MM. GM John Chayka released a short statement:

We are extremely pleased to sign Darcy to a two-year extension. Darcy had an incredible season last year and established himself as one of the NHL’s best goaltenders. With Darcy and Antti [Raanta], we are confident that we have one of the best goaltending tandems in the League.

It’s hard to argue with Chayka about Kuemper becoming one of the best goaltenders in the league, even if his stardom hasn’t risen quite as high in hockey circles. The 29-year old posted a .925 save percentage through 55 games last season for the Coyotes after Raanta went down to injury, including an incredible .933 in 2019. Finishing fifth in Vezina Trophy voting, Kuemper actually recorded the same save percentage and a better goals against average than the eventual winner Andrei Vasilevskiy.

A $4.5MM cap hit puts Kuemper 17th among goaltenders in the NHL for next season, tied with Mikko Koskinen of the Edmonton Oilers and just ahead of Jordan Binnington’s new deal with the St. Louis Blues. It also takes him just ahead of Raanta, who is under contract through the 2020-21 season at a $4.25MM hit. That duo has shown that they are more than capable of providing excellent goaltending for the Coyotes, but will need to stay healthy in order to get Arizona back to the playoffs.

For a team that has for so long been considered a cheap organization, the Coyotes already now have more than $80MM committed to 2020-21. While some of that is Marian Hossa’s dead contract that will be covered by insurance and can be used as long-term injury relief if necessary, the team has also made substantial investments in their core pieces over the last few years. Kuemper will be considered part of that core now for the next few seasons.

Craig Morgan of The Athletic was first to report that a deal had been reached.

Calgary Flames Sign Matthew Tkachuk

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Calgary Flames have finally found some common ground with restricted free agent Matthew Tkachuk. The young forward has signed a three-year contract worth a total of $21MM, ending a long negotiation and getting him back in the fold before the season begins. Darren Dreger of TSN adds that like Brayden Point, Tkachuk will have a $9MM salary in the third year, securing a large qualifying offer that could take him right to unrestricted free agency.

A deal of this magnitude not only gives Tkachuk the highest three-year bridge deal in history (eclipsing Point, who signed for three years at $6.75MM), it also makes him the highest-paid player on the entire Flames roster. While that has more to do with the bargains that are Johnny Gaudreau ($6.75MM) and Sean Monahan ($6.375MM), it also shows just how good Tkachuk has been throughout his young career.

Still just 21 years old, the sixth-overall pick from the 2016 draft has now amassed 174 points in 224 NHL games and is coming off a 34-goal campaign. His offense has continued to improve while the rest of his game—most notably his physicality and ability to get under the skin of opponents—allows him to make an impact no matter the score. The fact that he is able to compete in that fashion while not taking a ton of penalties (his 62 PIM in 2018-19 put him alongside players like Nikita Kucherov, Blake Wheeler and Ryan Strome) makes him one of the unique talents in the NHL and incredibly valuable to the Flames.

Even so, this deal certainly isn’t a perfect scenario for the Flames. Not only does it keep them in an extremely difficult cap situation this season, Tkachuk could now potentially get to unrestricted free agency as soon as possible by accepting that $9MM qualifying offer. The team will have to open extension talks at some point before that happens or risk their prize hitting the open market. Coincidentally, both Gaudreau and captain Mark Giordano have contracts that expire in 2022 as well, giving the team some real flexibility when it comes to extensions.

There’s no doubt that getting Tkachuk back under contract is cause for celebration in Calgary, but the new structure of these bridge deals is something to be concerned about for many teams. Introduced really for the first time by Timo Meier earlier this year, restricted free agents have found a way to create leverage for themselves as they near UFA status. Meanwhile those who sign long-term and give up UFA years like Mitch Marner are getting huge dollar figures right up front, meaning teams will have to be more and more conscious of leaving enough room to get their young players signed.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Avalanche Notes: Rantanen, Annunen, Zadorov

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Things are all quiet between the Colorado Avalanche and Mikko Rantanen according to Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now, who tweets that there has been “little to no talk” over the last week. There was a prevailing thought in the hockey world that once Mitch Marner signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs there would be some kind of movement with the other restricted free agents, but that’s not necessarily the case in Colorado. Rantanen compares pretty well to Marner after scoring 171 points over the last two seasons, but it is hard to imagine Avalanche GM Joe Sakic was happy when he saw the six-year, $65MM deal come across the wire from Toronto.

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado’s best player, is making averaging just $6.3MM over the final four years of his contract, making it tough to see the Avalanche hand out nearly twice that amount to Rantanen even with his strong performances to date. The 22-year old Finn will almost certainly become the team’s highest-paid player however if he signs any long-term deal, just how high the Avalanche are willing to go is unclear. Colorado has plenty of cap space for this season, but has to worry about potential extensions for Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer and Cale Makar in two years.

  • They won’t have to worry about Justus Annunen for a while however, as the goaltending prospect has signed a two-year extension in Finland that keeps him under contract through 2021-22. While that doesn’t necessarily guarantee Annunen won’t be coming to North America during that time—the NHL does have a transfer agreement with Liiga—it certainly makes remaining overseas a strong possibility. The 19-year old was selected in the third round in 2018 and would see his draft rights expire on June 1, 2022. Annunen was brilliant in his first game for Karpat this season, stopping 23 of 25 shots for a win against HPK.
  • Nikita Zadorov escaped major injury when he left the ice early yesterday and head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic that it is just a lower-body “tweak.” Zadorov is considered day-to-day. It is a big season for Zadorov as he approaches restricted free agency next summer, needing to prove that he can be a top-four option for this team over the long haul.

Several Teams Interested In Ben Hutton

at CDT | by 4 Comments

While several players are simply struggling to find a team that’s interested in them, that doesn’t appear to be the case for defenseman Ben Hutton.  TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that the blueliner is weighing his options at the moment and mentions the Kings, Wild, Rangers, and Red Wings among the teams to have shown interest.

Hutton is coming off an improved season relative to his 2017-18 performance.  After struggling to merely stay in the lineup that year, he wound up logging a career-high in ice time at 22:31 per night, a mark that ranked second on the Canucks.  Despite that and an uptick in his point production from six to 20 points, Vancouver opted to non-tender him over qualifying him at $2.8MM this summer.

That made him one of the better options available on the UFA market but that one has been particularly slow to develop; even Jake Gardiner had to wait until earlier this month to get a new deal.  Nonetheless, Hutton should be able to find a landing spot soon if this many teams are still interested.

The Kings have been linked back to him going back to July.  Their back end isn’t the strongest and he’s young enough that he could be part of the picture for a few years if things went well.  However, GM Rob Blake tried to downplay the idea of them signing him late last month saying they took a look but it didn’t go further than that.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s back end hasn’t undergone any changes this summer but head coach Bruce Boudreau was hesitant to give big minutes to players like Brad Hunt and Nick Seeler.  Accordingly, someone that can log a heavier workload would certainly be appealing to the Wild.

The Rangers are a bit of a surprise on this list.  While they could certainly use Hutton on their back end, they’re unlikely to be able to afford RFA Anthony DeAngelo without having to use some creativity when it comes to the cap and adding Hutton would only compound that.

As for the Red Wings, they lost Niklas Kronwall to retirement earlier this month which would seemingly open up a spot.  However, they added Patrik Nemeth early in free agency this summer and still have veterans Danny DeKeyser and Jonathan Ericsson on the team so there may not be a full-time spot for Hutton to work with.

Nevertheless, although training camps are underway, it appears that Hutton won’t be without a team for much longer.  However, at this stage, it’s hard to envision him getting the $2.8MM that he received last season despite his improved performance.

Vancouver Canucks, Brock Boeser Still Not Close On Contract

at CDT | by 7 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks begin training camp on Friday ahead of a big season with big expectations. Their young core led by Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser is hoping to turn things around push the Canucks into a playoff spot in the Pacific Division. There’s only one thing wrong with that picture—Boeser still doesn’t have a contract. The 22-year old won’t be with the club on Friday without one, and Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet reports that the two sides are still not close to a deal, with a big salary gap even on a short-term deal.

Boeser, who has scored 59 goals through the first 140 games of his career, is absolutely paramount to the Canucks’ chances this season. Though the team has added talent like J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland and Tyler Myers, no one can match Boeser’s pure goal-scoring ability and perfect fit with Pettersson on the top line. His 39 even-strength goals over the last two seasons puts him ahead of other wingers like Patrik Laine, Mitch Marner and Phil Kessel and he ranks 25th in the entire league for goals (of any variety) per game over that time.

The question will be how the two sides finally structure the deal to provide Boeser with the best financial opportunity. There have been reports earlier this year that had the player asking for a number somewhere in the vicinity of $7MM per season, but it would be difficult for the Canucks to fit that in at the moment given their other cap commitments—this is where Roberto Luongo’s recapture penalty is really squeezing GM Jim Benning and the rest of the front office. A comparable player in Timo Meier signed at the beginning of the summer for $24MM over four years, but loaded $10MM of that in salary at the end so that his qualifying offer would be that high in his final year of restricted free agency. The Canucks may not want to do something like that and provide a roadmap for Boeser to get to UFA status so easily, but obviously there is a substantial gap still on shorter-term deals.

It is important to note that unlike other restricted free agents that have played three full seasons on their entry-level contracts, Boeser is not eligible for an offer sheet thanks to making his NHL debut at the end of the 2016-17 season after coming out of college. He only has two options at this point, hold out or sign a deal with the team, since he’s also not arbitration eligible. Boeser must sign before December 1st in order to be eligible to play at all this year.

Latest On Ivan Provorov

at CDT | by 4 Comments

1:25pm: Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the two sides had been working on a six-year deal, but that things may have changed since Werenski’s signing. He adds that Provorov will not sign the same three-year, $15MM contract and noted in response to a reader that a six-year at $7MM per season “may get it done.”

9:35am: After Columbus Blue Jackets’ defenseman Zach Werenski agreed to a three-year bridge deal in order to get a new deal signed before training camp started, heads turned to Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins and Ivan Provorov of the Philadelphia Flyers to see who would be next. Both young defensemen are in similar situations to Werenski, looking for big raises after solid starts to their careers. For Provorov at least, it seems to have moved things along. His agent Todd Diamond spoke to Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet today and reported that they and the Flyers were closer yesterday on a contract than they had been for weeks, and that things are starting to move in the right direction.

Provorov, 22, was taken just ahead of Werenski in the 2015 draft and has played all 246 games for the Flyers over the last three seasons. The former Brandon Wheat Kings superstar took almost no time at all to adjust to the speed of the NHL, recording 30 points and playing 22 minutes a night as a rookie. That ice time has only increased, to the point where Provorov was averaging more than 25 minutes a night in 2018-19, putting him sixth in the league in that category. Unfortunately his offense took a step backwards last season and the left-handed defenseman recorded just 26 points including just two on the powerplay. Granted, Shayne Gostisbehere is the lead dog when the Flyers have a man-advantage, but if Provorov is ever to become that Norris-caliber defenseman that some believed he could be, he’ll need to create more offense in one way or another.

Still, there’s no doubt that he is one of the most important players on the Flyers roster. Depending on term, he very well could become the highest-paid defenseman on the team, eclipsing Matt Niskanen’s $5.75MM cap hit. Whether he follows Werenski down the path of a bridge deal is unclear, but that would at least give the two sides more time to negotiate a long-term deal down the road.

If a bridge deal does come out for Provorov, it will be important to note his salary in the final season. That will determine the qualifying offer that follows the deal, which could—like Werenski—walk him right into unrestricted free agency. Provorov is currently scheduled to reach UFA status in the summer of 2023.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top