Minnesota Signs Michael Liambas And Matt Bartkowksi
The Minnesota Wild continue to add depth pieces today. The team has agreed to a two-year, two-way contract with forward Michael Liambas as well as a one-year, two-way contract with defenseman Matt Bartkowski. Both Liambas and Bartkowksi are set to make $650K at the NHL level next year, with Liambas getting a bump to $700K in his second year.
More to come…
Matt Cullen Returning To Pittsburgh Penguins On One-Year Deal
The Pittsburgh Penguins tried hard to bring Matt Cullen back in 2017-18 after consecutive Stanley Cups, but lost out on him to the Minnesota Wild. That won’t be the case this season, as Cullen is heading back to the Penguins on a one-year contract worth a league minimum $650K.
Cullen, who spent two years with the Pittsburgh Penguins and coincidentally coincide with their two Stanley Cup Championships, left the Penguins after the 2016-17 season and opted to sign with the Minnesota Wild, his hometown team. While he fared reasonably well in a fourth-line role with the Wild, the 41-year-old center was still deciding if he was willing to go through the rigors of another season.
He ended up putting up 11 goals and 11 assists for Minnesota, which is less production than his two years in Pittsburgh. However, the main reason Pittsburgh is bringing Cullen back is for his leadership as well as providing extra center depth for the team.
Greg Pateryn Expected To Sign With Minnesota
July 1: The Wild have officially announced the signing, inking Pateryn to a three-year deal worth $6.75MM.
June 30: While the contract can’t be made official until Sunday, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports (Twitter link) that Minnesota is expected to sign defenseman Greg Pateryn. He adds that the Rangers had shown interest in signing him as well.
After spending the past few years as a depth defender who was in and out of the lineup, the 28-year-old got to play more of a regular role with Dallas in 2017-18 and made the most of it. He set career highs in games played (73), points (13), and ATOI (19:37) while ranking second on the team in blocked shots with 155 (also a career best).
With the Wild, Pateryn should slot in on the third pairing as he would fall in behind the currently-injured Ryan Suter and pending RFA Mathew Dumba on the right side. While financial terms of the deal aren’t known, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Wednesday that he could fetch around $2MM per season as several teams had already shown interest at that time.
In our Top 50 UFA list, Pateryn was ranked 36th overall with a projected contract of two years worth a total of $3.6MM to the Wild.
J.T. Brown Signs With Minnesota Wild
Enforcer J.T. Brown is heading home to Minnesota, as the veteran forward has signed with the Wild. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that it is a two-year deal and adds that he will make $675K this year and $700K next year for an AAV of $687.5K.
Brown spent 2017-18 playing for two teams as he began the year with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he had played for the previous five years of his NHL career. This year, with the Lightning overflowing with depth and his role declining, Tampa Bay placed him on waivers, hoping he could be sent to the AHL, but was claimed by the Anaheim Ducks. He played 23 games for an injury-ravaged Anaheim team, producing three points.
With Minnesota, the 27-year-old should provide more depth for the team’s bottom line, which Minnesota is re-designing. The team already locked up bottom-line center Eric Fehr, signed veteran Matt Hendricks and allowed veteran Matt Cullen to move on to Pittsburgh.
Tyler Ennis, Steve Mason Officially Bought Out
The Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens have taken some money off the books, announcing the buyouts for Tyler Ennis and Steve Mason respectively. Both players now become unrestricted free agents and can sign with any club.
In Ennis, the Wild free up $2.2MM from their salary cap for this year. Ennis was in the last year of his deal in which he was going to receive $4.6MM. Acquired from Buffalo last offseason, Ennis got in almost a full season, but failed to put up impressive numbers as he finished the year with eight goals and 22 points. With new GM Paul Fenton in charge, he didn’t waste too much time determining that Ennis’ deal wasn’t worth Ennis’ inability to put up points.
As for Mason, the Canadiens picked him up Sunday in a trade in which they acquired Mason, Joel Armia and two draft picks for AHL prospect Simon Bourque. Mason also one year on his deal at $4.1MM, but with Antti Niemi and Charlie Lindgren along with talent in their system, Mason was expendable. The team will take a cap hit of $1.367 over the next two years.
Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Nick Seeler
The Minnesota Wild are ready to make a splash or two on the unrestricted free agent market, but they have also come to terms on a new deal with one of their restricted free agents. Defenseman Nick Seeler has signed a three-year, $2.175MM extension, the team reports. The Athletic’s Michael Russo adds that the salary increases after year one from $675K to $750K for an AAV of $725K.
Seeler’s numbers of four assists in 22 games may not be that impressive, but the 25-year-old made a name for himself in the second half of the season among Wild players. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, he adds a much-needed physical presence to the team and received countless praise for his blocking shots, battling in the corners and even throwing a few punches.
The fifth-round pick in 2014, Seeler went to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for two years before transferring for one year to the University of Minnesota. He then played two years with the AHL’s Iowa Wild before finally getting what looks to be a permanent callup late in the season as he was averaging more than 20 minutes per game over the last few games of the season.
Matt Hendricks Expected To Sign With Minnesota
After agreeing to terms with Eric Fehr earlier, Minnesota is set to add another depth forward. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they have agreed to terms with center Matt Hendricks on a one-year contract. Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that the deal is worth $700K.
The 37-year-old spent last season in Winnipeg where was a depth forward that was in and out of the lineup. He played in 60 games for the Jets, scoring five times while adding eight assists along with 39 penalty minutes. He also won 49.4% of his draws although that number was below his career average of 52.9%.
Hendricks has been a fourth liner for several teams in recent years, including Colorado, Washington, Nashville, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. He will likely reprise that role in 2018-19 with the Wild who appear to be targeting size and some grit for their fourth line. In his career, Hendricks has played in 581 games, scoring 54 goals and 59 assists.
Wild To Sign Andrew Hammond
- Minnesota is set to have a competition for their number two spot as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Wild have agreed to terms with Andrew Hammond. The 30-year-old spent most of the season with Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Belleville (even after his NHL rights were moved to Colorado as part of the Matt Duchene trade) but he did get into three postseason games with the Avalanche after their top two goalies went down with injuries. He will battle with Alex Stalock to back up Devan Dubnyk next year.
Wild To Sign Eric Fehr
Minnesota continues to add depth to their group. After agreeing to terms with defenseman Greg Pateryn on Saturday, they are poised to sign center Eric Fehr to a one-year contract, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link). Postmedia’s Ken Wiebe reports (via Twitter) that it’s a one-way deal worth $1MM.
Fehr spent most of 2017-18 in the minors as a salary cap casualty of Toronto. Instead of joining their AHL affiliate in Toronto, he was loaned to Anaheim’s affiliate in San Diego where he collected 17 goals and 11 assists in just 34 games. That caught the eye of San Jose, who flipped a 2020 seventh-round pick to the Leafs to get him late in February.
He played a largely regular role down the stretch for the Sharks as he suited up in 14 regular season games where he picked up four points (3-1-4) and ten postseason contests. Now, after holding down a fourth line role with them, he will likely be asked to hold down a similar position with the Wild next season.
Western Notes: Winnipeg Goalies, Seguin, Lehtonen, Fehr, Beagle
With the trade of goaltender Steve Mason this morning to open up some cap space, the Winnipeg Jets find themselves with a sudden hole in their lineup as the team no longer has a viable backup goaltender behind starter Connor Hellybuyck. Their top goalie out of the AHL, Michael Hutchinson, is already an unrestricted free agent and likely to move on, while the next in line is Eric Comrie, who has a total of four NHL games to his name.
That will force the cap-saving Jets to find a cheap solution on the free agent market. A few days behind in the recruiting market, many of those backup options are already off the board, such as Carter Hutton (Buffalo), Jonathan Bernier (Detroit) and Cam Ward (Chicago).
The Winnipeg Sun’s Ken Wiebe writes there are options out there, suggesting the team look at some under-the-radar goaltenders who struggled a year ago. Tops on his list is former Buffalo Sabres netminder Chad Johnson, who struggled last year in Buffalo with a 3.55 and a .891 save percentage. However, the 32-year-old was behind one of the worst defenses in the league, while the Jets’ offense could easily protect Johnson better.
- Sean Shapiro of The Athletic writes that extension talks between the Dallas Stars and Tyler Seguin can’t even start until after John Tavares signs a contract and sets the market. Whatever Tavares gets will be the starting point for negotiations between the two parties. Seguin, who is eligible to sign an extension starting tomorrow, put up a career-high 40 goals for the Stars. However, the 26-year-old can also opt to become a free agency next year in a similar fashion to what Tavares is doing now. Dallas has made it clear they want to lock the center up long-term.
- Former Dallas Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen and current unrestricted free agent could be an interesting watch, according to Fox Sports Andy Strickland. The 34-year-old backup was interested in joining the Boston Bruins as a backup to Tuuka Rask, but now doesn’t seem likely. While there has been some interest from some Western Conference teams, he could choose to retire if the right opportunity doesn’t present itself. Lehtonen finished last season with a pedestrian 2.56 GAA and a .912 save percentage as a backup for the Stars.
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo writes the Minnesota Wild have had conversations with free agent center Eric Fehr. The 32-year-old veteran had trouble cracking the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup this year and was eventually traded to the San Jose Sharks for a 2020 seventh-round pick, but made an impression centering the team’s fourth line. He put up three goals in 14 games and played in 10 playoff games. The scribe also writes that he doubts Fehr ends up in Minnesota.
- Despite rumors that the Vancouver Canucks were closing in on an agreement with unrestricted free agent center Jay Beagle yesterday, Rick Dhaliwal of Sportsnet reports that the market for Beagle is increasing and driving up his pricetag. Vancouver remains quite interested in signing the veteran and are very, very much in the race to acquire him.