Canadiens Sign Liam Hawel To AHL Deal
- The Canadiens’ AHL affiliate in Laval announced that they’ve signed center Liam Hawel to a one-year, one-way AHL deal. The 21-year-old wrapped up his junior career this season with OHL Kitchener, recording 23 goals and 48 assists in 54 games to sit second on the team in scoring. Hawel was a fourth-round pick (101st overall) of Dallas back in 2017 but was not signed to an entry-level contract.
Alexander Romanov Agrees To Terms With Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have made it official, Alexander Romanov is coming. The question now becomes when. The team has announced that Romanov agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract, though the start date is still dependant on whether or not the season resumes. Montreal GM Marc Bergevin was obviously excited about his newest prospect:
We are very happy to confirm that we have come to an agreement with Alexander Romanov. Alexander is a young, solid, and very reliable defenseman who is determined to pursue his career in the NHL. He is part of our group of young prospects, and we strongly believe he will become an important asset of our defensive squad for years to come.
Romanov, 20, is one of the most exciting defense prospects in the entire league, after finding his footing in the KHL and dominating players his own age (or older) at the World Juniors. The two-way defenseman has a bronze and silver medal at home from the tournament, along with two All-Star nominations and a “Best Defenseman” award from 2019. Basically, it was hard to watch any Russian game at the event without noticing Romanov, whose poise and awareness is almost unmatched among defensemen his age.
For the Canadiens, the expectation is that Romanov will move directly into the NHL lineup when he arrives (even if that is potentially a resumed season this summer). The team does have five defensemen already signed for next season, but one of them is Karl Alzner who has only played a handful of meaningful NHL games over the last year.
Even the other more veteran options on the roster may not be standing in Romanov’s way very long, as long as his performance continues.
Arsen Khisamutdinov Agrees To Terms With Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have convinced one of their draft picks to join the organization, agreeing to terms with Arsen Khisamutdinov on a two-year entry-level contract. Khisamutdinov had been playing in Russia, splitting the 2019-20 season between the KHL and VHL.
Despite being selected in 2019, Khisamutdinov is already 22 years old and was only eligible for a two-year contract. The 6’3″ forward had just three points in his 31 KHL contests after being selected in the sixth round last year.
There’s still a long way to go for the 22-year old Russian, who is still more of a lottery ticket or “project” for the Canadiens development system. While he was a dominant offensive player in junior, it’s difficult to know if that skill will translate to the professional ranks. Montreal obviously believes they can work with him and make him into an asset for the organization, but it may be some time before you hear Khisamutdinov in the NHL lineup.
Dale Weise Considering Signing In Europe For Next Season
- Canadiens winger Dale Weise has spent a good chunk of the season in the minors and it appears he knows that his NHL time may be numbered. In an appearance on Sportsnet 650 (audio link), the 31-year-old acknowledged that he is considering playing in Europe next season, a prospect that could be complicated by the resumption of the NHL’s season. The pending unrestricted free agent has played in 23 games with Montreal this season where he has a goal and four assists in 23 games and wasn’t much more productive with AHL Laval, tallying three goals and four helpers in 27 contests.
Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Stamkos, Romanov
With plenty of cap room and a major need in the net, many feel that the Detroit Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman might make a splash into the free-agent market this offseason. Longtime goaltender Jimmy Howard is 36 years old, coming off his worst season and is an unrestricted free agent, meaning that a return is extremely unlikely. Throw in the fact that there are several big names that could become available at the time, including Braden Holtby and Robin Lehner, and it’s very likely the Red Wings will be exploring that market.
However, the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes neither Holtby or Lehner are likely candidates to come to Detroit next season. Holtby might not be too interested in joining a rebuilding team and the scribe believes that both players’ price tags are likely to be too rich for what the Red Wings are going to be interested to pay. Holtby is currently making $6.1MM per season, while Lehner is currently on a one-year deal at $5MM. Neither is likely to be willing to take much of a pay cut.
James suggests the team is likely going to look for a player to join Jonathan Bernier in more of a tandem role on a short-term deal, including players like Cam Talbot, Anton Khudobin and Jaroslav Halak.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning suffered a major loss back in early March when it was announced that captain Steven Stamkos would miss six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury. The recovery time would likely have forced him to miss at least the first-round of the playoffs. However, the suspension of play due to COVID-19 has allowed Stamkos the time he needed to get healthy and recently told Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required), that he’ll be ready to go when play resumes. “With the timing of all this, it was devastating at the beginning because I thought I would possibly be missing some playoff games,” Stamkos said. “And the stoppage happened, and we didn’t know how long it was gonna be. So the silver lining in that was I’ll be ready when we resume. So I’ve been able to still use this time to rehab. I’ve been going to the rink … about three times a week to skate and just start feeling normal again.”
- Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that while Montreal Canadiens fans are waiting for top prospect Alex Romanov to sign on the dotted line in the next few days, that might have to wait. Despite that fact that his KHL contract will expire on April 30, Romanov doesn’t intend to sign a contract until he knows what is happening in regards to the NHL’s 2019-20 season. He does intend to sign once play is expected to resume, but the 20-year-old wants to make sure he doesn’t sit for a lengthy amount of time. The defenseman has already played two full seasons in the KHL and many hope that Romanov is ready to step into Montreal’s lineup as soon as next season.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Vasili Demchenko
The Montreal Canadiens have added some more goaltending depth to the organization, agreeing to terms with KHL netminder Vasili Demchenko on a one-year entry-level contract. The deal is for 2020-21. Demchenko recently finished his sixth season in the KHL.
The 26-year old goaltender has a .925 career save percentage through 212 regular season KHL contests, but posted his worst number at .907 in this most recent campaign.
Eric Engels of Sportsnet believes that the team is bringing in Demchenko to give top prospect Cayden Primeau some more time at the AHL level, and expects the team to bring in another NHL veteran as well to compete for time behind Carey Price. Currently, the team is looking at a Price-Charlie Lindgren tandem for next season, but given that Keith Kinkaid will be an unrestricted free agent there wouldn’t be much NHL experience in the system.
Demchenko is certainly experienced, even if it isn’t at the NHL level, but it is also unclear how much real upside he possesses at this point. The 6’1″ goaltender has never really been the best in the KHL and saw all of his numbers really take a hit this season. Perhaps he can take another step in the Canadiens’ system, but given that he does not have a European Assignment Clause in his contract it seems likely he’ll end up filling out the depth chart in the minor leagues.
Potential Compliance Buyout Candidates: Part II
As the current Coronavirus crisis wears on, it seems more and more likely that the NHL will not return to action soon and when play resumes, it will almost certainly not be the full remaining regular season schedule. That lost revenue is expected to impact the 2020-21 salary cap, perhaps even keeping the current $81.5MM upper limit in place. Given that teams expected an increase, initially projected to be between $84-88.2MM, this stagnation could have a harsh impact on a number of clubs’ cap situations. As such, many expect that compliance buyouts will return in some form or fashion to ease that pain. These buyouts, which do not count against the salary cap, would allow for teams to open up space that they otherwise expected from a cap increase.
After taking a look at the first ten teams, we move on to the middle third of the NHL:
Detroit Red Wings: Justin Abdelkader
– When Abdelkader signed a seven-year extension with an AAV of $4.25MM following his career-best season in 2014-15, it was perceived to be a bargain at the time and few expected that it would turn out poorly. Yet, with three years still to go Abdelkader has failed to impress in each of the first four seasons, recording a total of just 78 points and consistently missing time due to injury. On a young rebuilding team, the 33-year-old forward’s slow, plodding game is not a fit and his salary is not commensurate to his role on the club. New GM Steve Yzerman wouldn’t hesitate to buy out the career Red Wing if given the opportunity.
Edmonton Oilers: James Neal
– Last summer’s swap of Neal for Milan Lucic was labeled as two teams exchanging bad contracts. However, Neal got off to a hot start and ended up with 19 goals and 31 points despite being limited to just 55 games due to injury. That being said, the 32-year-old forward, who was a -20 this season, is still probably the worst contract on the team. The likelihood of Neal playing up to his remaining $17.25MM over three years seems slim and the Oilers could use the cap space to add a younger, better winger. If Neal has earned the trust of the team, Kris Russell could be bought out before his final year at $4MM.
Florida Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky
– Would the Panthers move on from Bobrovsky just one year after handing him a seven-year, $70MM deal? That could be the biggest question of the off-season if compliance buyouts become reality. The star goalie’s first season in Florida could not have gone worse as he posted a career-worst GAA and didn’t boast a shiny save percentage either. Expected to be the Cats’ savior in net, Bobrovsky was anything but. If they hesitate to cut ties with Bobrovsky and his play does not improve, he would undoubtedly become the worst contract in hockey. Though on the other hand, if Bobrovsky goes elsewhere and succeeds and Florida cannot find a suitable location, some would surely say that they didn’t give him enough of a chance.
Los Angeles Kings: Jonathan Quick
– The rebuilding Kings have been trying to move Quick for a couple of years now and it would be a surprise if they did not take advantage of a compliance buyout opportunity. A holdover contract from the days of yore, Quick’s ten-year, $58MM deal signed in 2012 remained a bargain for the first half of the term until Quick hit a wall last year. While his play rebounded this season, Quick is still not playing up to the all-world level that had become the norm. L.A. is still a ways away from contending and can make more use of extra cap space over the next three years than a goalie who is past his prime.
Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise
– The Wild and new GM Bill Guerin came awfully close to trading Parise at the deadline this season and in recent years players who have been rumored to be leaving Minnesota are always eventually dealt. However, the potential trade included the team taking back bad salaries to facilitate the movement of Parise’s remaining five years and $37.69MM. Although Parise showed a return to form somewhat over the past two years, he has never been able to replicate his numbers from earlier in career and the team has generally been unhappy with the results of their 13-year gamble. If the possibility to dump the 35-year-old Parise without any cap repercussions opened up, it would become a serious conversation. More interesting would be if the Wild also discuss Mats Zuccarello as a buyout candidate after he was a bust in the first of a five-year, $30MM deal.
Montreal Canadiens: Karl Alzner
– While there will be those that find some of the bigger names on Montreal as intriguing buyout candidates, Alzner seems like an obvious choice that will improve the roster without any risk of releasing a good player or upsetting team chemistry. Few players in recent history have had their team turn on them following a major contract as quickly as the Canadiens did with Alzner. After signing the physical defenseman as a top free agent in 2017, the Habs decided just a year later that he was not worthy of an NHL roster spot following a difficult first season. Alzner has played just 13 NHL games over the past two years, buried in the AHL for the remainder. With two years at $4.625MM remaining, Montreal would be happy to be completely rid of Alzner’s contract rather than receiving just minor saving from sending him to the minors instead.
Nashville Predators: Kyle Turris
– For a long time, Nashville GM David Poile was opposed to handing out expensive, long-term contracts. That policy served him well for quite a time, as the Predators ended up with a number of tremendous values on the roster. Since the team has started to move away from that practice, things have not gone so well. Turris is the poster boy for this statement. He signed a six-year, $36MM extension with Nashville not long after being acquired by the club early in the 2017-18 season and has never lived up to the expectations. His 54 total points over the past two years is less than the one-year total the season prior to his joining Nashville. Turris has become an expendable player, not only missing time due to injury but also as a healthy scratch. The team has been eager to move him and they likely wouldn’t hesitate to do so with a compliance buyout.
New Jersey Devils: Cory Schneider
– An overpaid, under-performing starting goalie is one thing; an overpaid, under-performing backup is another. It has been quite a time since Schneider was the top man in net in New Jersey and young Mackenzie Blackwood has now taken the reins. However, Schneider’s horrific numbers over the past two year suggest that he isn’t even capable of being an NHL backup at this point in his career. With two years remaining at $6MM, Schneider’s might be the worst goalie contract in the league and a rather obvious buyout candidate.
New York Islanders: Andrew Ladd
– Ladd, part of the infamous 2016 class of terrible free agent contracts, Ladd has never provided adequate value to the Islanders compared to his $5.5MM AAV. The team finally buried him in the AHL this season after recording just 71 points through his first three years. With the majority of their forwards signed to substantial long-term deals, there is almost no chance that Ladd can ever work his way back into the NHL mix for the Islanders. New York was ready to move him at the trade deadline and would be quick to buyout the final three years of his deal rather than continue to pay major money for him to play in the minors.
New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist
– While it would be a sad day for the Blueshirts and their fans, the reality is that Lundqvist is the best use of a compliance buyout on the team. New York was considering moving young Alexandar Georgiev at the deadline rather than continue to carry three goaltenders, as Igor Shesterkin looks like the starter of the future and King Henrik has become an immovable contract. However, the team would be far better off retaining both young goalies and moving on from Lundqvist, who at 38 years old had the worst season of his career and still has a season remaining at $8.5MM. That’s a hefty salary to pay the man who would be your third-string goalie next season if Georgiev is not moved. The Rangers have no shortage of options though if they cannot overcome the loyalty they feel toward Lundqvist. Defensemen Marc Staal, $5.7MM AAV, and Brendan Smith, $4.35MM AAV, have both outworn their welcomes in New York and would not be missed in the final years of their respective contracts.
Stay tuned for Part III coming soon.
Andrei Markov Announces Retirement
Andrei Markov never will get the chance to reach 1,000 games played in the NHL. The 41-year old defenseman has announced his retirement today, his agent reaching out to various reporters including Richard Labbe of La Presse. Markov hasn’t played in the NHL since 2017 when he left for the KHL, but had been reportedly interested in a return to North America and the Montreal Canadiens as recently as last summer.
It’s hard to climb up the mountain of elite NHL players that have come through Montreal in the history of the Canadiens, but Markov certainly tried. The sixth-round pick from 1998 played his entire career with the organization, racking up 990 games played–second to only Larry Robinson among Montreal defensemen. His 572 career points for Montreal ties him with Guy Lapointe for second (also behind Robinson) and his 119 goals come in third.
Sure, Markov didn’t have anywhere near the postseason success of those two—Lapointe and Robinson each raised the Stanley Cup six times as Canadiens—but he’ll still be remembered as one of the most impactful blueliners the franchise has ever had.
His exploits extended further than the NHL however. Markov suited up at three different Olympics, five World Championships and two World Cups for Russia over his long career. He also won the Russian league title three times, including the KHL’s Gagarin Cup in 2018, the first year back following his return from the NHL.
A savvy, cerebral player that could set up a teammate in the blink of an eye, he received Norris Trophy votes on six different occasions.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Konstantin Okulov Re-Signs In KHL
It wasn’t so long ago that news about a 25-year old KHL forward re-signing in Russia would be easily swept aside by daily NHL updates, but such as it is, Konstantin Okulov‘s new contract is one of the top stories of the day. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express reported earlier today that the free agent had re-signed with CSKA Moscow for another year, ending (for now at least) any interest from NHL clubs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens had been the leading pursuers earlier this year and were considered aggressive enough at the time that other teams had hesitated to invest any time in the recruitment of Okulov. The undrafted forward recorded 17 goals and 38 points this season for CSKA, putting him fifth on the team in scoring behind familiar names Kirill Kaprizov, Linden Vey, Anton Slepyshev and Mikhail Grigorenko. It was the third season in four years that he has scored at least 17 goals, actually a relatively impressive accomplishment in the shorter-seasoned KHL.
Perhaps the Maple Leafs’ recent acquisition of Alexander Barabanov spoiled their interest in Okulov, or perhaps he just decided to remain in Russia for another year. His name will surely come up again next spring when he is a free agent once again, though it’s not clear which NHL teams—if any—would be interested at that point.
Charles Hudon Receiving Interest From The KHL And NLA
- Agent Allain Roy confirmed to Guillaume Lefrancois of La Presse that Canadiens winger Charles Hudon has received interest from the KHL and the NLA for next season. However, Hudon’s preference is to try to remain in the NHL. It has been a tough year for the 25-year-old as he has struggled with Montreal, picking up just one goal and one assist in 15 games. However, he is in the top-five in AHL goals with 27 in just 46 games with Laval which is helping to generate his interest from those other leagues. He will be a restricted free agent this offseason with arbitration eligibility.