Minnesota Wild Sign Mikael Granlund To Three-Year Deal
The Minnesota Wild have signed restricted free agent Mikael Granlund to a new three-year, $17.25MM contract. Granlund was scheduled for a salary arbitration hearing on Friday, and would have exchanged figures with the team tomorrow morning. While the deal will carry a $5.75MM average annual value, it breaks down as follows:
- 2017-18: $5.25MM
- 2018-19: $5.5MM
- 2019-20: $6.5MM
Granlund’s deal comes in an average of $500K more each season than fellow Wild RFA Nino Niederreiter, despite only giving up one year of unrestricted free agency. The 25-year old broke out this season after a move to the wing, scoring 26 goals and 69 points in 81 games. He followed that up by garnering both Selke and Lady Byng votes, and is a big part of one of the best two-way forward groups in the NHL.
The $5.75MM cap hit comes in fairly high for a player who only has one season with more than 45 points, though the Wild clearly believe in Granlund’s ability to repeat his performance. Ondrej Palat, who gave up four UFA seasons and has a longer track record of offensive success received just $5.3MM per season, though he doesn’t have the same versatility. At Granlund’s hit, he’ll come in as the third-highest paid forward on the Wild behind just Zach Parise ($7.54MM) and Mikko Koivu ($6.75MM). That will come with some added responsibility, and there is some risk to the deal.
Granlund enjoyed a shooting percentage almost twice as high as his previous career total, and rode that to an easy career-high in goals. Regression even to 10% (which would have still been a career-high) would have lost him nearly 10 goals. If he’s discovered a way to put the puck in the net more frequently (which is entirely possible) he’ll likely fulfill the contract with ease, but if he takes a small step backwards it could backfire. The two sides agreed upon a relatively short-term deal for likely this exact reason; Minnesota is minimizing risk, while Granlund believes he’ll be worth even more when he hits free agency.
The Wild now have just Marcus Foligno left to sign, acquired in a trade with Buffalo for Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville. While he’ll likely only command a salary somewhere between $2-3MM per season, the team is getting very close to the salary cap ceiling for the upcoming season. Even with Foligno signed they have just 11 forwards listed on their CapFriendly page, meaning they’re actually at least $650K closer to that ceiling when they bring up a young player to fill the last spot. That’s without carrying a 13th forward or 7th defenseman, either of which will put them right up against the cap—they also have a third goaltender listed currently, which won’t be there when the season begins.
Calvin de Haan and Nate Schmidt remain as the final two players scheduled for arbitration hearings, and both have exchanged figures already.
Michael Russo of the Star Tribune was first to report the contract details on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
OHL Trade Notes: Rippon, Stanley, Lodnia
Every summer top prospects in the CHL are moved around to various teams as the franchises work in a dance of preparing for Memorial Cup hosting opportunities while trying to maintain relevancy in the interim. Timing your team to be a powerhouse when the tournament is coming to your city is a big part of junior hockey, and can help build your fan base. Since the home team gets automatic admission to the tournament regardless of their season record, fans don’t want to see their home squad get pummeled by the other powerhouses of the leagues.
This year, Windsor loaded up for the tournament and despite not doing well in the OHL playoffs, won the Memorial Cup with a rested and exciting squad. They took down an Erie Otters team that was widely considered the favorite, boasting a top line of Taylor Raddysh, Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat. Now, as Jeff Marek of Sportsnet reports several moves are being made to prepare teams for the upcoming season and beyond.
- The Kitchener Rangers have traded Merrick Rippon to the Mississauga Steelheads for two seconds (2018, 2021) and one conditional third-round pick (2023) in the bantam draft. Rippon has already committed to Providence College for 2018-19, so it’s unclear if he’ll now suit up for the Steelheads instead. The NCAA considers the CHL a “pro” league because some of its players have already signed NHL contracts, meaning if Rippon suited up for even a single game he would lose college eligibility. The smooth skating defenseman is eligible for the 2018 NHL draft.
- The Windsor Spitfires are likely moving top Winnipeg Jets prospect Logan Stanley after he returned just in time from injury to help the team win the Memorial Cup. Stanley was selected 18th-overall by the Jets in 2016, but missed most of the season to a knee injury and will return to junior hockey to continue to develop his 6’7″ frame. Marek believes Stanley is heading to Kitchener, a place where he could immediately be inserted on the top pairing.
- Ivan Lodnia may be on the move from Erie, where he had been stuck in a shutdown role behind the older offensive weapons. Lodnia dropped to the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round this draft after disappearing in the OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup, but still has tremendous talent and could break out this season if given a larger role.
- The Sudbury Wolves are expected to trade Owen Lalonde, a 17-year old defenseman who already has a chance to go in the late first/early second round at next year’s draft. Lalonde was picked second-overall in the 2016 bantam draft, but was a little over-matched in his first season in the league. That should change this year as his body grows and he’s given a bigger opportunity, as he possesses some incredible offensive instincts and could be a powerplay quarterback as soon as this year.
Minnesota Wild Sign Jack Walker To AHL Contract
- According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, Jack Walker has signed an AHL deal with the Minnesota Wild organization after impressing in development camp. Walker was actually a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs as recently as 2016, but was not extended a “Bona Fide Offer” by the team and became an unrestricted free agent. That likely had to do with the combination of Walker being too old to return to junior and the Maple Leafs not having enough contract slots left—the team is currently at 49/50 with Connor Brown still to sign. Walker was a solid scoring threat in the WHL, and will try to improve his all-around game in the minor leagues.
- The Arizona Coyotes have announced a one-year affiliation with the Fort Wayne Komets of the ECHL, replacing the Rapid City Rush who have moved on to partner with the Wild. The Komets operated independently last season after ending a partnership with the Colorado Avalanche a year early, but will now house the lower Arizona prospects. Even without a parent organization the Komets reached the postseason for the fourth straight year, and will try to get back there this season. Interestingly, Brett Perlini, the older brother of Coyotes’ forward Brendan Perlini was traded to the Komets mid-season last year, where he scored 26 points in 33 games.
Nino Niederreiter’s New Contract
The Minnesota Wild signed RFA Nino Niederreiter to a five-year deal worth $5.25MM a year and $26.25MM overall. First reported by the StarTribune’s Michael Russo, the contract comes four days before both parties’ scheduled salary arbitration hearing.
Michael Russo tweets the following contractual breakdown:
2017-18: $4.6MM
2018-19: $6.075MM
2019-20: $5.85MM
2020-21: $4.25MM
2021-22: $5.475MM
The contract values falls right on the spectrum of this off-season’s forward RFA signings. Niederreiter receives more money than Viktor Arvidsson ($4.25MM) and Conor Sheary ($3MM), and slightly less than Tomas Tatar ($5.3MM), Ondrej Palat, and Mika Zibanejad ($5.35MM). The contract does not include any NMCs or NTC, and it does not include any signing bonuses.
If Niederreiter maintains his current production, the Wild should be happy with the contract. The above contracts around the 5.3MM mark all have movement limitation clauses, implying that those players may have received more money had they not sought NTCs and NMCs. Moreover, this contract leaves approximately $10.5MM for the Wild to sign RFAs Mikael Granlund and Marcus Foligno.
Nino Niederreiter Re-Signs With Minnesota Wild
[Update 6:14pm]: Michael Russo reports that Niederreiter signs 5 year deal worth $5.25MM AAV
Michael Russo of the StarTribune reports that the Minnesota Wild and forward Nino Niederreiter are closing in on a new contract. Both player and team are currently scheduled for an arbitration hearing this Thursday.
The 24 year-old Swiss is due for a significant raise after scoring 25G and 32A in 82 games last season. It is Niederreiter’s third straight 20 goal season, and he has increased his point total every season since joining the Wild. Niederreiter’s previous contract paid him an average of $2.66MM a year for three years.
The contract amount will depend on how many UFA years the Wild lock up. Michael Russo believes that the Wild will settle on a 3–5 year contract. Given recent signings, expect this contract to be in the $5.5MM–6MM range. The Nashville Predators locked up Ryan Johansen for $8MM a year, and the center only scored 4 more points than Niederreiter this season. At the other end of the spectrum, the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings signed RFAs Mika Zibanejad and Tomas Tatar to $5.35MM and 5.3MM contracts, respectively. Niederreiter playing on the wing will depress his value slightly, but he should receive at least what Tatar and Zibanejad received.
Detroit On Top Of NHL In No-Trade Clauses
No trade clauses seem to have become the “in-thing” in negotiations as NTC’s are more prevalent than ever. Many general managers are forced to offer them to entice free agents to come to their teams. Other teams just give them to their top players to prove their loyalty to that player. For instance, the Tampa Bay Lightning have eight no-trade clauses on their roster, but that’s normal for a team that is expected to contend for a Stanley Cup.
However, what about the Detroit Red Wings. The struggling franchise is tied with Ottawa for a league-high 10 no-trade clauses on their roster for a team that’s already capped out with nothing to show for it but a roster of aging, overpriced veterans. The best option for Detroit and general manager Ken Holland, who handed out those no-trade clauses would be to trade off their veterans and start a massive rebuild. Can’t do that, according to Yahoo Sports Greg Wyshynski, who writes that Detroit is in a tough situation compared to other teams. One key to the way general managers use no-trade clauses is how they are utilized and with all of their no-trade clauses, the team will be hamstrung for many years.
Holland and the Red Wings have given full no-trade clauses to Justin Abdelkader, who has three more years of a no-trade clause before it becomes a modified trade clause, but the 30-year-old is locked up for another six years. Gustav Nyquist has a full no-trade clause for the two years remaining on his contract. Darren Helm also has a full no-trade clause through next season, although that can be voided beyond that if he fails to be among the team’s top-nine forwards or if the team doesn’t make the playoffs. However, again, he has a four-year deal. Four defensemen have full no-trade clauses, including Mike Green, Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson and newly signed Trevor Daley. Other than Green, all of them possess full no-trade clauses for the next year, but eventually turn into modified no-trade clauses in 2018-19 or later. To make matters even more difficult, Detroit also has three players with modified no-trade clauses, including Frans Nielsen, Niklas Kronwall and goaltender Jimmy Howard, that will only make a rebuild more challenging for the Red Wings.
Perhaps the biggest problem, according to Wyshynski, is that seven of the 10 no-trade clauses are in the hands of players that are 30 or older and whether there was a need to give one this offseason to Daley, who many viewed as a questionable acquisition in the first place, let alone that they gave him a two years worth of a full no-trade clause to go with his three-year, $9.5MM contract at age 33.
While some no trade clauses are unavoidable and even necessary to get a player to sign on the dotted line, it’s critical to know when to offer one and when not to. Wyshynski uses the Minnesota Wild as an example of a team who has six no-trade clauses on their roster and used them wisely. They handed ones out to Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Ryan Suter, where they were critical in negotiations and are franchise-type players. They used one on veteran Eric Staal to convince him to come to Minnesota last year, which worked out quite well. Finally, defenseman Jared Spurgeon and goaltender Devan Dubnyk each received modified no-trade clauses, but again, both are key pieces to the team’s success. That’s how it should be done.
The question is, how long will it take for Detroit to recover from these long-term contracts with all these no-trade clauses in place. Of course, after the Daley deal, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Detroit has learned from its mistakes anyway.
Dallas Stars To Host 2018 NHL Draft
The Minnesota Wild didn’t make too many changes to a team that finished with 106 points in the Western Conference last season. However, one major move was to move defenseman Marco Scandella and veteran Jason Pominville to Buffalo for Marcus Foligno and Tyler Ennis. While the team has high hopes for the 25-year-old Foligno, still a restricted free agent, could have a breakout year and he has predicted a 20-goal season, the team is even more focused on Ennis returning to form.
Ennis, who has battled the injury bug for the last two years has only played in 74 games during that time. Last year, he missed time due to groin surgery and only played in 51 games. Before those injuries, the 27-year-old wing scored 41 goals in two seasons between 2013-15. However, since then, he has tallied just eight goals. NBC Sports Adam Gretz writes that Minnesota Wild coach Bruce Boudreau has high expectations for Ennis this year and believes that if Ennis can remain healthy, he expects to see a resurgence like the one that veteran Eric Staal did last year.
Staal scored 28 goals last year for the Wild a year after he was coming off a lackluster 13-goal season between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers. Yet Boudreau believes Ennis could duplicate that kind of comeback performance in Minnesota.
Upcoming RFA Arbitrations
Next week is the last week for scheduled RFA arbitrations. So far no team or player has managed to actually make it to arbitration. Rather, parties have settled in every arbitration case prior to the arbitration hearing date. The same fate may await the following six players who make up the final set of arbitration dates.
August 2nd: Calvin de Haan – New York Islanders
The New York Islanders defenseman had a $1.97MM cap hit last season, and put up 5G and 20A in 82 games.
August 3rd: Nate Schmidt – Vegas Golden Knights
The former Washington Capitals defenseman—selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL expansion draft—put up 3G and 14A in 60 games last season. His previous cap hit was $812K.
August 3rd: Nino Niederreiter – Minnesota Wild
The 24 year-old Wild forward had a previous cap hit of $2.66MM and scored 25G and 32A in 82 games last season. Expect a significant raise.
August 4th: Mikael Granlund – Minnesota Wild
The 25 year-old Wild forward put up even better numbers than Neiderreiter with 26G and 43A in 81 games. Expect a significant raise over his previous $3MM cap hit.
August 4th: Conor Sheary – Pittsburgh Penguins
Fresh off a career season and a Stanley Cup victory, Sheary looks for a significant raise over his $667K contract. Sheary put up 23G and 30A in 61 games last season.
August 4th: Nathan Beaulieu – Buffalo Sabres
The 24 year-old defenseman scored 4G and 24A in 74 games last season. His previous cap hit was an even $1MM.
Arbitration Dates Still To Come
While the league continues to try and lock up their young players, several arbitration dates remain on the docket for the next few weeks. Arbitration hearings have started, but only two have actually taken place and none have resulted in an actual decision. Both Tomas Tatar and Viktor Arvidsson reached agreements after their hearing, signing for four and seven years respectively.
There are very few remaining dates scheduled, though still some big names on the docket. For more information on how the arbitration process works, check out Mike Furlano’s two part breakdown of the system from last summer.
The remaining arbitration dates are as follows:
July 27 – (none)
Originally scheduled: Marek Mazanec (Nashville) who signed a one-year, two-way, $650K contract. Robin Lehner (Buffal0) who signed a one-year $4MM contract.
July 28 – (none)
Originally scheduled: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa) who signed a three-year, $9.3MM contract.
July 31 – (none)
Originally scheduled: Matt Nieto (Colorado) who signed a one-year, $1MM contract.
August 1 – (none)
Originally scheduled: Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg) who signed a one-year $2.25MM contract. Reid Boucher (Vancouver) who signed a one-year $688K contract.
August 2 – Calvin de Haan (NY Islanders)
Originally scheduled: Kevin Gravel (Los Angeles) who signed a one-year, two-way, $650K contract.
August 3 – Nate Schmidt (Vegas), Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota)
August 4 – Mikael Granlund (Minnesota), Conor Sheary (Pittsburgh), Nathan Beaulieu (Buffalo)
Minnesota Wild Still Trying To Sign Niederreiter, Granlund Long Term
The Minnesota Wild still have three very important restricted free agents to sign, and while Marcus Foligno didn’t file for arbitration and can slowly work on a deal the deadlines for Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund are fast approaching. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reports that the team is still trying to get both of them under contract for three to five years, but have only 10 days to do it. The pair go to arbitration on August 3rd and 4th respectively, with an arbitrator’s ruling coming down 48 hours after the hearing is completed.
You can still work out a deal after going through the hearing process, like Tomas Tatar and Viktor Arvidsson have already this year. That wouldn’t be ideal, but the Wild could get deals done as late as next weekend. Niederreiter has turned into an elite two-way player, while Granlund broke out and led Minnesota with 69 points last season, showing off his offensive chops after a move to the wing. The team has $15.8MM in cap space to work with for the trio of RFAs, and they’ll need most if not all of it depending on how many years of free agency they can buy out.