Blake Comeau Will Not Return To Colorado
Fans of Colorado forward Blake Comeau will be sorry to hear that his days with Avalanche are reportedly over. According to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver, the Avs have decided not to offer a contract to the veteran forward. Comeau will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and will be free to sign anywhere, except in Denver apparently.
Comeau, 32, is considered to be an intriguing name in a relatively shallow free agent market this summer. There are not many top-six options available as unrestricted free agents and Comeau should be able to cash in on his elevated value. Perhaps GM Joe Sakic and the Avalanche anticipated this market effect and after initial conversations with Comeau decided that they weren’t willing to bid against the field to retain an older player.
This would be a rational reason why Colorado wouldn’t otherwise want to retain Comeau. The two-way right winger is coming off of his best season with the Avalanche over the course of his three-year deal with the team. Comeau registered 34 points in 79 games and was one of only four regular forwards to finish the season with a positive rating. He also provided sound defensive play, as one of the team’s top checkers and oft-relied upon presence in key defensive zone situations. Comeau was a versatile a dependable presence for the young Avs squad and it is somewhat of a surprise that they will not reportedly not pursue an extension with him. Colorado’s loss is someone else’s gain however; the multi-talented forward is bound to find another good fit in no time on the free agent market.
Joe Thornton Still Expected To Re-Sign In San Jose
The San Jose Sharks have cleared quite a bit of cap room in the recent weeks, and with that are expected to be big players in free agency. They have been confirmed as one of the teams granted a sit down meeting with John Tavares this week, and are considered by some to be the front runner if the superstar center decides to leave the New York Islanders. Even if they do land a big fish on the open market though, the team is still expected to re-sign veteran center Joe Thornton for at least one more year. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that there is “no hurry” to get Thornton’s contract signed, and it will be dependent on what else the Sharks do. That’s a nice luxury for GM Doug Wilson to have, especially given the relatively thin market at center among free agents.
Thornton will turn 39 on July 2nd, is coming off another major knee injury, and played just 47 games last season. That said, when healthy he was still a dominant playmaking force and can still help any team in the league. If the Sharks can get him on a final team-friendly contract, he could become one of the most valuable assets around the league. Last season’s $8MM cap hit will surely come down significantly, and it will likely be just for one season if he stays in San Jose.
If Tavares or another free agent center comes to the Sharks over the next few days, Thornton would likely be pushed down the lineup. The team has plenty of options at center already, but is committed to improving their club this summer and taking another run at the Stanley Cup. Many believe Logan Couture will be extended quickly once he’s eligible next week, but the core of the team isn’t getting any younger. Joe Pavelski will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, while Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are both signed deep into their thirties. The time to win is now in San Jose, and Thornton clearly wants to be a part of it.
Free Agency Notes: De Haan, Bernier, Stastny, Vanek
While early reports that quite a bit of interest has been directed towards John Tavares, another New York Islanders’ unrestricted free agent has garnered attention too. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports defenseman Calvin de Haan has received significant interest from upwards of 10 teams so far.
While Lou Lamoriello has made it clear that it is his mission to convince Tavares to stay with the Islanders, the team has two key defensive free agents to worry about as well, including de Haan and Thomas Hickey. De Haan, however, is an interesting situation as the blueliner has shown a lot of promise over the years since being drafted in the first round back in 2009, which includes some flashes of brilliance at times, but he’s never been able to put it all together in a full season for the Islanders. He did put up career highs in 2016-17 with five goals and 25 points and may well have been on his way to break that this year, but went down with a season-ending injury on Dec. 16. He posted one goal and 11 assists in 33 games.
Many teams feel that a change of scenery and the fact that the free agent is still just 27, would make him an ideal player who could become a quality top-four defenseman.
- The Athletic’s Craig Custance reports that unrestricted free agent goaltender Jonathan Bernier has indicated that he likes Colorado and would like to return to the Avalanche. However, after the team traded for Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer Friday and the fact they still have Semyon Varlamov listed as their starter, that would cause an unusual logjam at the goaltending position. If Colorado would rather have a combination of Grubauer and Bernier, general manager Joe Sakic would have to make another roster move to rid himself of Varlamov, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2019. There would almost undoubtedly be a market for Varlamov if Sakic made him available. Bernier had moments of brilliance last season, but finished the year with a 2.85 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 37 games.
- Fox Sports Andy Strickland reports that their is mutual interest for veteran center Paul Stastny to return to the Winnipeg Jets. Stastny thrived in Winnipeg’s offense alongside Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, but the expected cost of retaining Stastny, who is the No. 2 center on the unrestricted free agent market, is not in the team’s financial plans. Custance writes the Jets are looking for a way to keep Stastny, which would require them to move out a contract to make a deal like that work. The 32-year-old put up 16 goals and 53 points between St. Louis and Winnipeg last year.
- Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal writes that while former Vancouver Canucks forward Thomas Vanek has received some early interest from teams, the Canucks are not one of them. There had been some early talk that the team wanted to bring back the 34-year-old winger after they traded the veteran to Columbus at the trade deadline. The team liked the way he mentored the younger players. His 17 goals for Vancouver (24 total for the season) suggest he still has the ability to put the puck in the net.
Still No Deal Between John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Over the weekend there was plenty of optimism from the Washington Capitals that they would be able to finalize a long-term extension with unrestricted free agent John Carlson, especially after moving out Brooks Orpik‘s $5.5MM cap hit in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche. Carlson is expected to receive a massive contract as the best defensemen scheduled to hit the market, and at one point Capitals GM Brian MacLellan even used the word “close” to describe the negotiations. Today, as the interview period starts for free agents, a deal has still not been announced between the two sides. Bob McKenzie of TSN checked in with Carlson’s agent Rick Curran, who commented on the situation:
As of the moment we do not have a deal in place with Washington and as permitted, I am getting/taking calls from other interested teams.
Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post also tweets that the Capitals have offered a multi-year contract to free agent defenseman Michal Kempny, another key player the team wants to get under contract before they actually hit the open market next Sunday. Carlson is the real target though, and his decision will likely have huge ramifications on the Capitals and the free agent market in general.
If there is any real chance that the 28-year old defenseman is heading to free agency, teams will have to hold onto their cap space in hopes of landing one of the biggest prizes. Carlson could demand in excess of $8MM per season, and for good reason—he’s coming off a career-high 68 points, which led all defenders in the NHL this year. He’s also been given more than 20 minutes of ice time in every season since he was a 20-year old rookie, and almost averaged 26 minutes a night in the team’s recent Stanley Cup run. Though he didn’t get a lot of support as a Conn Smythe winner, his performance in the playoffs could have been worth it. Carlson had 20 points in 24 games, while generating a whopping 80 shots on net.
Every team could use a player like Carlson on their blue line, but fitting him into their salary structure may be difficult. The next few days will be crucial for Washington as they try to convince him to stick around while others are offering him a chance elsewhere. If they can’t retain him, one has to wonder where else the Capitals look to use that cap space and if they’ll suddenly become a player for some of the other top names this summer.
Xavier Ouellet Expected To Be Bought Out
Earlier this month we heard that the Detroit Red Wings were actively shopping defenseman Xavier Ouellet, but now as we close in on free agency it seems they’ve come to a different decision. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Red Wings will place Ouellet on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Ouellet has one year remaining on his contract and carries a $1.25MM cap hit. Since he’s still just 24 though, a buyout would only pay him 1/3rd of his remaining salary, meaning the Red Wings would incur the following cap charges:
- 2018-19: $166,667
- 2019-29: $216,667
They would also save over $860K in real salary, while burying Ouellet in the minor leagues would leave them with a $225K cap charge this season and force them to pay all $1.3MM in salary. Though it was clear that the Red Wings didn’t see a future for Ouellet in Detroit, buyouts for players this young are fairly rare. The 2011 second-round pick hasn’t found a full-time role with the team and with several even younger prospects ready to push for jobs this season there is no longer any room.
The Red Wings had an outstanding weekend, snatching up Filip Zadina after he fell a few spots and collecting Joe Veleno at the end of the first round. Those two were paired with a few other excellent prospects at the start of the second, making quite an impressive haul for the team in this year’s draft. Detroit is in the middle of a rebuild as they try to get out from under some of the bad contracts given out during their playoff run, and are building quite the prospect pipeline in a short amount of time. Defensemen like Dennis Cholowski and Filip Hronek will be competing for roles in the NHL before long, while Zadina could jump into the league right away.
For Ouellet, it’s unclear where his market will land after this buyout. Not many 24-year old defensemen get an opportunity at free agency, but there obviously wasn’t a huge trade market or the Red Wings would have used that instead of resorting to a buyout. He may have to accept a two-way contract and prove himself in training camp, or else try to fight back up from the minor leagues at some point. Regardless, this is hardly the end of his professional career.
Metropolitan Notes: Tavares, Hamilton, Rask, Rangers
In a follow-up story about New York Islanders and John Tavares upcoming free agency, The Athletic’s Arthur Staple (subscription required) writes that the Islanders’ Lou Lamoriello left the draft to fly to Los Angeles to be nearby while Tavares meets with the teams that he and his representatives have invited to speak with him. Lamoriello will meet with Tavares last in hopes of keeping the superstar in the fold.
As reported earlier, it is believed that he will meet with the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars and possibly the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights and the Montreal Canadiens, although that isn’t too clear so far. However, Staples writes that an earlier rumor today that the Islanders made an eight-year, $88MM deal may not be accurate. He believes in the end, whether offered by the Islanders or another team, that Tavares will be making $12MM per year, which Lamoriello has said that ownership has said that money is no object.
- Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported that the Carolina Hurricanes intend to keep defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who the team acquired in the five-player trade earlier today. The scribe said the team had no intention of flipping the blueliner for more assets. Hamilton should provide the team with a No. 1 defenseman to go with their core of young blueliners. The six-year veteran is only just 25 years old and put up 17 goals and 44 points last season.
- Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Carolina Hurricanes were supposedly close on sending winger Victor Rask to the Montreal Canadiens, but the asking price of two second-round picks in this draft (including the No. 35 pick) was too much for the Canadiens. The 25-year-old winger still has four years at $4MM AAV and seems to have regressed somewhat since a 21 goal season back in 2015-16.
- The New York Rangers had three first-round picks in this latest draft with much speculation wondering if general manager Jeff Gorton would use those picks as assets to either acquire a pro-ready player or even to move up in the draft. Instead, the Rangers used all three picks (albeit, they traded up late in the first-round). NHL.com’s Dan Rosen reports that Gorton said he was never close to making a deal this weekend. Gorton said he was ready to change his draft strategy if he got a trade offer he liked, but never got one. “I would say there was probably less conversations than I anticipated,” Gorton said.
John Tavares Will Meet Other Teams During Interview Period
As the second day of the NHL Entry Draft moves along, we finally get an update on John Tavares and his upcoming free agency. Tavares is allowed to start meeting with other teams around the league as early as Sunday, and he apparently will take advantage of the opportunity just as Steven Stamkos did two summers ago. Stamkos ended up re-signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning, the only team he’d ever known, something New York Islanders fans will hope repeats this summer after Tavares gets a chance to see what else is out there.
Larry Brooks of the New York Post and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period both have heard that Tavares will meet with five teams this week, though the New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues are apparently not among them. Aaron Portzline of The Athletic also reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets will not meet with Tavares. Who those teams are is not clear at this point, though there has been plenty of speculation about clubs like the San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tavares, 27, would arguably be the best free agent to hit the market during the salary cap era, and could potentially become the league’s highest-paid player. That distinction currently belongs to Connor McDavid, but his eight-year $100MM contract could be eclipsed should a bidding war start on Tavares. That rules out many teams around the league, but still even those with a small amount of cap space may be interested in meeting and seeing how they could work things out. The Los Angeles Kings for instance were looking at basically every offensive player available, but with the signing of Ilya Kovalchuk today likely don’t have the room to fit in a player like Tavares.
Arthur Staple of The Athletic, who is one of the closest people in media to the situation in New York, believes that Toronto, San Jose and Dallas will “almost certainly” be among the teams afforded a meeting. He mentions Tampa Bay and Vegas—a team Pagnotta also mentions—as well, though no one will really know until Tavares reveals the teams himself, or someone stakes out the meeting spot. Staple adds though that despite taking the meetings “just about everyone” still expects Tavares to re-sign in New York.
Dallas Stars Sign Stephen Johns To Three-Year Deal
Stephen Johns is headed back to Texas. The Dallas Stars have re-signed Johns to a three-year contract that will carry an average annual value of $2.35MM. Johns was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this offseason, and will now be heading to unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2021.
Johns took a major step forward in 2017-18 with career highs offensively and defensively. The 25-year-old blue liner registered 15 points on the year, including eight goals, which tied John Klingberg as best among all Dallas defensemen. John’s +10 rating was also among the best on the Stars, tied for seventh among all skaters. In his own zone, John’s shutdown game garnered league-wide attention this season. His 201 hits and 155 blocked shots were both the top marks in Dallas and top-25 in the NHL. Johns plays a fast, physical style and can be used in many different situations.
At just over $2MM per year through the next three years of the prime of Johns’ career, Stars GM Jim Nill got a great deal on this extension. Dallas has struggled at preventing goals in recent years and the team’s defense is not without significant blame for those issues. However, the Stars began to turn that around this year and the improvement in Johns’ game is a major reason why. If Johns continues to develop a strong two-way game, his contract will be a bargain that allows the Stars to build their roster knowing that they have a dependable veteran on the back end.
Elias Lindholm Generating Interest For Carolina Hurricanes
Friday: LeBrun reports that the meeting between Lindholm and the Hurricanes front office today did not go well, leaving the two sides still far apart on a contract decision. The 23-year old forward is now a real possibility according to LeBrun.
Thursday: Though most eyes are on Jeff Skinner and Justin Faulk, the player generating the most interest in Carolina is Elias Lindholm according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required). LeBrun qualifies the trade speculation by saying the Hurricanes’ first priority is to re-sign the restricted free agent, but that his name continues to be brought up in negotiations with other teams. Yesterday LeBrun mentioned talks between the Calgary Flames and Carolina, and today he expands on that notion saying that even Noah Hanifin and Dougie Hamilton were discussed before things went south.
Lindholm, 23, has been an exemplary player for the Hurricanes since being drafted fifth overall in 2013, Spending time at both center and wing, he has at least 39 points in each of his four full seasons and should be in for another raise on the $2.7MM cap hit he carried the last two years. While not an elite offensive player, he continues to be a positive in the faceoff circle and a reliable two-way player capable of anchoring a middle-six group. With teams so desperate for help at center, it’s no surprise that his name continues to be brought up.
While Skinner has just one season remaining on his contract and Faulk two, Lindholm is a restricted free agent this summer and could be signed to a long-term deal. There are hurdles to jump to do that though, as even his youth won’t keep the price tag down on a multi-year contract. Lindholm already has five seasons under his belt in the NHL, and is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2020 at the age of 25. That means any long-term deal is buying out several free agent seasons and likely driving the price upwards. It also means that a two-year bridge deal is no longer an option, as that would take him right into the waiting arms of the open market as one of the youngest players to ever reach free agency.
Any acquiring team would have to consider this, and likely discuss the contract with Lindholm’s representatives first. If they can get him signed long-term for a reasonable cap hit, he would bring back a considerable package to the Hurricanes. If not, it might not be worth it for Carolina to send out one of their more reliable young players before his 24th birthday.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Latest On The Arizona Coyotes & Phil Kessel
Part of Josh Yohe’s latest piece for The Athletic (subscription required) touched on the fact that Phil Kessel would be willing to play for the Arizona Coyotes due to his solid relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet. The problem, according to Yohe, was that the Coyotes are only looking to stay near the salary cap floor this season and had told the Penguins it likely wouldn’t be possible to take on Kessel’s salary. Now Arizona GM John Chayka wants to dispel any notion that he’d be stopped from going after Kessel because of financial reasons.
On Arizona Sports 98.7 today, Chayka sounded off about the report:
I’d like to know more about it, too. I think it’s terrible reporting. It’s inaccurate across the board from start to finish. I don’t know where some things come up. I’m the one having trade discussions, those discussions with the Penguins haven’t occurred. So unless someone else is making calls that I don’t know about, I’m not sure where his information is coming from.
I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but the basis of that reporting is not coming from anything tied to the Coyotes and certainly not anywhere close to factual.
Chayka by no means confirms that he is pursuing Kessel, but the fact that he reacted so strongly to the suggestion that the Coyotes are limited financially does make them an even more interesting team to follow this offseason. Arizona currently has around $57MM in salary obligations for next season, but that includes Dave Bolland‘s contract that will be mostly covered by insurance and no real important restricted free agents to sign. If they had the full salary cap to spend, the Coyotes could go on a shopping spree in free agency and certainly afford to bring Kessel on board.
More likely though is that Arizona will sit somewhere in the bottom third of the league once again and could even be a landing spot for another bad contract at the draft. Similar to the way they took on Bolland and Pavel Datsyuk in the past, Chayka could use his cap space to take a contract like Marian Hossa‘s off the books of Chicago in exchange for an asset.
It seems in this case as though a source was mistaken or perhaps was speculating on discussions between Pittsburgh and Arizona, though a trade between the two would likely benefit both. The Coyotes are looking to compete next season and could use another veteran star to support their young core, and the Penguins need to create some cap flexibility if they’re to do anything in free agency. Pittsburgh has several RFAs to get under contract, and currently less than $10MM in cap space to do it.