Minor Transactions: 07/06/16
A few minor moves were made today to fill out minor league rosters:
- Blues’ prospect Jake Walman will head back to Providence College this season for his third year at the school, according to Lou Korac of NHL.com. After putting up 28 points in 27 games last season, Walman’s year was cut short by a shoulder injury that needed surgery.
- According to General Fanager, T.J Hensick has signed an AHL contract with the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings’ affiliate. Hensick last played in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues in 2010-11, and has 38 points in 112 NHL games.
- Also with the Reign, Paul Bissonnette has signed on after an entertaining social media presence over the last few days. Bissonnette, a veteran of 202 NHL games, let fans in on all his conversations with various clubs and players, even sharing that he’d be tricked by a friend into believing Nashville had offered him a contract.
- Ryan Bourque, son of former NHLer Ray who was in court today, has re-signed with the Hershey Bears after being traded to them midseason last year. Bourque was part of the Calder Cup run that took Hershey all the way to the finals before losing to the Lake Erie Monsters. A former third round pick of the Bruins, Bourque has played one game in the NHL to date. He returns to Hershey to play alongside his brother, Chris. The Bears additionally announced that they had re-signed Dustin Gazley and also that they have inked former Boston College standout goalie Parker Milner.
- The Red Wings have signed goaltender Jared Coreau to a two-year deal, according to a team release. Coreau was one of the 24 players to file for salary arbitration yesterday. The 24-year old spent last season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Best Of The Rest: Defense
We’ve already seen over half a billion dollars given out to free agents since July 1st, and many of the top names are off the board. 34 of our Top 50 Free Agents have already signed with teams, many of them to long-term deals. With the summer months still looming ahead of us, we’ll take a look at who is left on the market. Here are the best of the rest for defensemen on the open market:
(number in parentheses indicates ranking on PHR’s Top 50)
- Kris Russell (12) – There were many reports of Russell allegedly turning down a $17MM offer from the Maple Leafs this weekend, but agent Allain Roy made it clear that they were false. While he’s clearly been affected by the analytical approach many teams are employing, he’ll still likely get a large contract as teams miss out on other blueline opportunities.
- Luke Schenn (30) – How far has Schenn fallen, from being a top-5 pick in the draft, to being traded straight up for James van Riemsdyk. Now it’s hard to see him demand much more than $3MM a season to fill a bottom pair role. His age does help him however, as at just 26 he’s one of the youngest available free agent defenseman.
- Kyle Quincey (44) – Quincey was once an integral part of the Red Wings’ blueline, but after seasons plagued with injury and ineffectiveness he’s now looking to rebuild value on a one-year deal. Quincey is a pretty good bet as a bounce-back candidate on a bottom pair, and will probably be on the market again in 2017.
- Justin Schultz (NR) – Schultz wasn’t given a qualifying offer from the Penguins last month, and became an unrestricted free agent for the second time before his 26th birthday (which happens to be today). The former University of Wisconsin Badger signed with Edmonton after college but still hasn’t found his footing in the NHL. Still with huge upside, teams may look at him similarly to Michael Del Zotto from a few years ago.
- James Wisniewski (NR) – After a knee injury destroyed his entire 2015-16 season, Wisniewski was bought out by the Hurricanes last week. While he’s now 32-years old, the “Wiz” was once heralded as a borderline top pairing defenseman, and might still have some relevant hockey left in him. As the prices steadily increase for right-handed shots, Wisniewski might be a reasonable option for a team on a budget.
Free Agent Focus: Vancouver Canucks
When the Vancouver Canucks entered the 2015-16 season, they were coming off a 101-point season and felt as though they had another strong shot at the playoffs, with Daniel and Henrik Sedin still in the mix and up-and-coming center Bo Horvat showing he was ready for a larger NHL role. What they got instead, was a disastrous season filled with injury and ineffectiveness, leading to a 31-38-13 record and finished ahead of only the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers in league standings. This summer they’ve already started their re-tool, trading 20-year old Jared McCann to Florida for former third overall pick Erik Gudbranson. Here’s a look at what else they have to do this summer:
Key Restricted Free Agent: W Emerson Etem – After a deal that saw Etem move across the continent (for the second time), the former Ranger got into 39 games down the stretch for the Canucks. A prolific scorer in junior – who tallied 143 goals in three seasons for the Medicine Hat Tigers, including a 61 goal effort in 2011-12 – Etem hasn’t been able to find much consistency in the NHL.
Now six years removed from being draft in the first round (29th overall), Etem has to show that he can be the offensive force he was once seen as. Perhaps it will help that Canucks’ coach Willie Dejardins was Etem’s coach in Medicine Hat for two seasons before being hired on with the Dallas Stars.
He’s coming off a one-year deal worth $850,500 and shouldn’t cost much more than $1MM in his first season of arbitration eligibility. With the other young forwards Horvat, Sven Baertschi and Jake Virtanen, Etem could be a long-term piece for the Canucks if he can ever reclaim that scoring touch.
Other RFAs: F Linden Vey, F Michael Zalewski, D Andrey Pedan
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: RW Radim Vrbata – While the Canucks struggle through the last few years of their now 35-year old franchise twins, another veteran is hitting the open market after a terrible season. Vrbata seemed to have found the fountain of youth in 2014-15 after signing a two-year pact with the Canucks; he put up a career-high 63 points and broke the 30 goal mark for the second time.
This season, he lit the lamp only 13 times and collected just 27 points – his lowest mark since 2008 when he played just 18 games before heading back to his native Czech Republic to be with his pregnant wife. He’ll hit the open market as a 35-year old coming off his worst year and will probably have to settle for a one-year deal somewhere; it almost surely won’t be in Vancouver. Vrbata was ranked 27 on our list of the top 50 free agents available this year.
D Dan Hamhuis – After another injury shortened season (this time from a gruesome slapshot to the face), Hamhuis is hitting free agency as somewhat of a risk, given his age and durability issues. While those issues may be somewhat overblown, Hamhuis isn’t going to get the big money deal he did a few years ago.
Even so, he is a strong shutdown defender when healthy and there are many teams who would love to have him in their top-4. If Hamhuis decides to take his talents elsewhere, he’ll try to catch on with a team with deep playoff aspirations as the 33-year old has only progressed past the first round once in his twelve year career.
Other UFAs: LW Ronalds Kenins, D Yannick Weber, D Matt Bartkowski
Projected Cap Room: $9.2MM, 21 players under contract.
The Canucks will continue their tear-down as they wait out the last few Sedin seasons, and look for progression from their young players. If they do sign any free agents, it would have to either be young players or cheap veterans that they’d look to deal closer to the next deadline.
We predicted them to sign both Lee Stempniak and Matt Martin, but look at other players like Sam Gagner or John-Michael Liles that fit in one of those two categories. It should be another long season for Canuck fans.
Anaheim Ducks Nate Thompson Out With Long-term Injury
Anaheim Ducks manager Bob Murray announced Tuesday that Nate Thompson tore his achilles while working out during the off-season. He is expected to miss most of next season, and a return before the trade deadline looks unlikely.
This is Thompson’s second major injury in two seasons. Thompson missed the first 26 games last season with a torn labrum. He scored 3G and 6P during the rest of the season and potted 2G in the Ducks’ first round loss to the Nashville Predators. He was used mainly as a grinding fourth-line forward.