Poll: Where Will Max Pacioretty End Up?
The Montreal Canadiens are looking to move Max Pacioretty as soon as possible. The captain’s contract expires at the end of the coming season and there will not be an extension. The Habs are also unlikely to be contenders this year. As such, Pacioretty is on the trade block and probably on the move soon.
Where could he end up? The first thought is the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks were reportedly close to a deal for Pacioretty at the NHL Draft but couldn’t get it done. Since then, they missed out on John Tavares and are still in need of scoring with cap space to spare.
San Jose was not alone in losing out in the Tavares sweepstakes. Assuming the Boston Bruins are an unlikely destination given their status as Montreal’s biggest rivals, that still leaves teams like the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders as possibilities. The Islanders in particular are in major need of a boost up front and have the young assets to make a deal.
Teams that have previously shown interest in Pacioretty include the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators. The Panthers already landed Mike Hoffman this off-season and are lacking cap space, but could still potentially make it work. The Predators have significantly more space and some intriguing young pieces to offer and would be a team that Pacioretty certainly wouldn’t mind ending up with long-term.
As always, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks cannot be ruled out. Their respective GM’s are always in on the action and both teams are known to be looking for offensive depth. Would Pittsburgh consider swapping Derick Brassard in a deal for Pacioretty? Could Chicago use their newfound cap space from the Hossa trade to bring in a similar scorer? The answer to both of these questions is a definitive maybe.
Who do you think needs Pacioretty most or can put together the best offer?
Where Will Max Pacioretty End Up?
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Chicago 23% (817)
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NY Islanders 16% (593)
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San Jose 13% (461)
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Pittsburgh 12% (447)
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Other - comment below 12% (430)
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Dallas 10% (371)
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Florida 9% (327)
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Nashville 5% (169)
Total votes: 3,615
Joel Armia Signs One-Year Contract With Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens have avoided arbitration with Joel Armia, signing the restricted free agent to a one-year deal worth $1.85MM. Armia was scheduled for a hearing on July 25th, but will no longer need to travel to Toronto to negotiate with his new team. Armia was acquired earlier this offseason along with Steve Mason from the Winnipeg Jets, and will get an opportunity to prove himself with the Canadiens in 2018-19.
Armia, 25, was originally selected in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres in 2011 but only just finished his first season as a full-time player. In 79 games for the Jets last season he scored 29 points despite playing fewer than 13 minutes a night, and just ten of those were at even-strength. The big winger can contribute on the powerplay and penalty kill, and in Montreal could get an even bigger opportunity to show off his offensive skills. The Canadiens could be without both Paul Byron and Andrew Shaw to start the year, leaving ice time for other players like Armia to step into a brighter spotlight. A potential Max Pacioretty trade would only push the offensive burden even further down the lineup.
Whether Armia can handle an increased offensive role isn’t clear. Though he did perform well in Finland even as a junior-aged player in the highest league, he failed to post outstanding numbers in the minor leagues and has just 58 points in 180 NHL games. Luckily, Montreal isn’t paying him enough to demand huge offensive numbers, making a bottom-six role more than reasonable. There is obvious reward here if the 6’3″ forward can develop into a top-six option, but the risk is extremely minimal. Armia will also still be a restricted free agent at the end of the contract, keeping him under Montreal control for another year.
Montreal Canadiens Invite Simon Despres To Training Camp
The Montreal Canadiens will take a chance on a former top prospect, as they have signed Simon Despres to a professional tryout and invited him to their training camp. Despres played last season in the KHL, but indicated he would like another chance at an NHL career at some point. That chance is now, and the Canadiens may represent his best option while they deal with an injury to Shea Weber and need defensive depth.
Despres, 26, is from nearby Laval and is a worthwhile gamble for Montreal after recording 11 points in 44 games for Bratislava Slovan. Though he didn’t end up making the cut for the Canadian Olympic team, he did play some international games during the season and effectively proved his health on the ice. That health will obviously be the biggest factor in any potential NHL return, but the former QMJHL Defenseman of the Year was highly regarded in the early part of his career as a shutdown defender who used his long reach and good positioning to stifle offenses in his own end.
The Canadiens have already brought in other depth options like Xavier Ouellet and Mike Reilly over the last few months and could get a bigger contribution from Noah Juulsen this season, but are still looking for any way to upgrade their blue line after a disastrous 2017-18. With Weber missing a good chunk of last season, the team struggled at both even-strength and on the penalty kill. Despres doesn’t exactly fit their need of a puck-moving option, but if he can show he’s healthy enough to contribute the team could certainly use the depth.
Montreal Canadiens To Trade Max Pacioretty “As Soon As Possible”
There has been speculation around Montreal Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty for months, with a trade out of town being the most likely final scenario for the scoring winger. Recently though there had been some who wondered if the Canadiens would re-open talks for an extension, something that now appears completely off the table. Marc Antoine Godin of The Athletic (subscription required) has been told that the Canadiens will not negotiate a new contract with Pacioretty, and in fact intend to work out a trade “as soon as possible.” GM Marc Bergevin has in fact communicated that to his captain, though Pacioretty does not have any trade protection in his current contract.
That contract expires at the end of next season, and has vastly underpaid Pacioretty over its duration. Carrying a $4.5MM cap hit this year, the 29-year old forward would be welcome on almost any team in the league. Still, the Canadiens know that their best chance at a big return is if Pacioretty works out an extension right away with the acquiring team. That reportedly almost happened at the June draft, but a contract couldn’t be worked out with the Los Angeles Kings and instead Pacioretty changed agencies and signed with Allan Walsh of Octagon Hockey.
Walsh is the one who now will negotiate any extension, and one would have to believe that several teams who missed out on some of the bigger free agents will be inquiring on the five-time 30-goal scorer. San Jose, Dallas, Tampa Bay and Boston were all given the opportunity to sit down with John Tavares, and though Pacioretty is obviously a different talent there would likely be some crossover. It’s not just those squads that could use some added scoring punch though, something that the Montreal captain can still provide even despite his down season in 2017-18.
Pacioretty scored just 17 goals in 64 contests last season, but can be expected to improve on that number going forward. While a long-term deal may not turn out to be an exceptional value, it’s definitely a worthwhile risk for a player with his track record. The question now becomes what Montreal is looking for in return, and how an extension would change that ask. The Canadiens are still trying to compete right away as Carey Price enters his eight-year $84MM contract, but will have to seriously consider a package of young or future assets in exchange for their captain.
Poll: Who Will Be The Centerpiece Of The Next Big Trade?
Given the players remaining on the free agent market, any further fireworks this summer will likely come via a blockbuster trade. It certainly seems possible too, with more than a few major names being floated around. Who will be the first to go?
The biggest fish available for a lucky team to catch is obviously all-world defenseman Erik Karlsson. With one year remaining on his contract and on a sinking ship in Ottawa, the Senators have little choice but to trade the Norris Trophy winner. However, finding the right deal to get a fair return on a player of Karlsson’s caliber is proving difficult and talks between Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion and both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Dallas Stars have reportedly broken down. The noise surrounding a potential Karlsson trade has died down significantly over the past few days.
Another trade target whose apparent availability is being downplayed in Edmonton Oilers winger Milan Lucic. Early in the off-season, there was rampant speculation that a Lucic trade was inevitable. Some said that the team wanted to move on from the remaining five years and $30MM of the underachieving forward’s contract, while others said that it was Lucic who was unhappy in Edmonton and was seeking a trade. Both sides have denied claims that they are seeking a separation, but as most trade rumors go – where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
There’s also Max Pacioretty, who was close to being traded during draft weekend but ended up remaining with the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs captain is coming off of a down year and is in the final year of his contract, making his trade value the lowest that it has been in years. Yet, it has continually been reported that the Canadiens are listening on offers. Those reports have grown quiet over the last week or so and it could be that Montreal has simply opted to retain one of the faces of their franchise, but don’t rule out the possibility of a deal just yet.
As potential Karlsson, Lucic, and Pacioretty deals have lost some steam, Columbus Blue Jackets’ star Artemi Panarin has emerged as a popular trade target. Panarin, to his credit, was honest with the organization that he remains unsure if he will be willing to sign a long-term extension to stay in Columbus before his contract expires after next season. As a result, GM Jarmo Kekalainen and company have begun to explore any possible trade scenarios should they choose to mitigate the risk of losing Panarin for nothing as a free agent by dealing him away. However, Panarin is still a young and highly productive player who hasn’t flat out said he won’t resign with the Blue Jackets and the team may be understandably cautious in making a decision on what to do with him.
Another situation playing out between a team who would rather hold on to their asset is the Minnesota Wild and winger Jason Zucker. Zucker filed for salary arbitration this off-season and, after a career season, is due a major bump on his previous $2MM salary. However, the Wild have a surplus of NHL-caliber forwards and a likely shortage of cap space needed to sign both Zucker and young defenseman Matt Dumba. Dumba and the blue line are the priority, potentially making Zucker expendable. Minnesota will do what they can to keep him, but may not have a choice but to get what they can for the 26-year-old scorer.
Finally, there are the Carolina Hurricanes. Last month, there was not hotter name on the rumor mill than forward Jeff Skinner. Approaching the NHL Draft, several insider went so far as to guarantee that he would be traded in the coming days. More than two weeks later, Skinner remains a Hurricane. There is surely a market for Skinner, but the team and new GM Don Waddell have stated that they simply haven’t received an offer yet that they were comfortable with. Carolina clearly values what Skinner brings offensive and the Hurricanes need to be better at scoring next season. Where they have strength and depth is the blue line, yet they have managed to add both Dougie Hamilton and Calvin de Haan this off-season. The team is now overloaded with talented defensemen, especially on the right side, and there is an expectation that veteran leader Justin Faulk is likely going to be odd man out and interest is high in the All-Star.
There are many trade possibilities available, including deals that include more than one of these players, but assuming otherwise: Who is most likely to be the next big name traded this off-season?
Poll: Who Will Be The Centerpiece Of The Next Big Trade?
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Erik Karlsson 41% (871)
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Artemi Panarin 16% (340)
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Max Pacioretty 15% (307)
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Justin Faulk 14% (291)
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Jeff Skinner 8% (171)
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Jason Zucker 4% (79)
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Milan Lucic 2% (50)
Total votes: 2,109
Mobile users, click here to vote.
Morning Notes: Richardson, Wiercioch, Bourque
The Montreal Canadiens have hired Luke Richardson as an assistant coach, bringing him over from the New York Islanders where he worked under Doug Weight last season. With Barry Trotz coming in for that team it wasn’t clear where Richardson would end up, but his impressive coaching record has landed him a new role right away. Richardson retired less than a decade ago, and already has four years as an AHL head coach, four years as an NHL assistant and several appearances with Team Canada’s staff at the international level.
Richardson also had a very long and successful playing career that spanned 1,417 regular season games. Never much of an offensive threat, he was nevertheless a reliable defenseman who could log big minutes and play the penalty kill. He’ll try to help the Canadiens defense corps deal with another injury to Shea Weber which is expected to keep the star defenseman out until December. The blue line struggled without Weber last season, and will have to find a way to keep the Canadiens in the hunt through the first half of the season if Montreal expects to challenge for a playoff spot.
- Patrick Wiercioch, who played last season with the Utica Comets of the AHL, has signed with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL. Wiercioch played 57 games for the Colorado Avalanche in 2016-17, but couldn’t find an NHL role this past season. He’ll try to build up his value in Russia, where he should receive regular minutes and a good opportunity. The 27-year old could try to make a return to the NHL at some point down the road, but for now is off the North American radar.
- The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have signed several veteran minor league names, including Chris Bourque the league’s active points leader. Bourque, son of NHL legend Ray Bourque, has won nearly every award possible in the AHL including the Calder Cup three times. He’s coming to Bridgeport to play alongside his brother Ryan Bourque, who spent last season with the team and has re-signed on an AHL deal. Chris Bourque played for the US Olympic team this past spring, notching two points in five games during what was likely his only chance to suit up in the tournament.
The Salary Cap Implications Of A Shea Weber Early Retirement
When Shea Weber signed a 14-year, $110MM offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers in 2012, everyone knew right away that it would end badly. Yes, Weber was 27 years old and one of the top defensemen in the league, but the contract was top-heavy and carried a $7.86MM cap hit through his age-40 season. The chances of him playing to a level matching that value over a full 14 years was very slim. The Flyers knew this and specifically structured it in a way that they hoped would scare the Nashville Predators and frugal GM David Poile away – it didn’t. The Predators had just watched Ryan Suter walk in free agency and couldn’t afford to let Weber leave as well. They matched the deal and held on to their superstar defenseman.
When Weber was then traded to the Montreal Canadiens for P.K. Subban in 2016, the risk in Weber’s contract increased exponentially. The league had since banned all similarly long-term contracts – setting a limit of seven years on the open market and eight years for an extension – nevertheless the front-loaded, cap-circumventing type that Weber had signed. To combat teams continuing to front-load contracts, the NHL implemented salary cap recapture penalties. This system punishes teams for lengthening contracts with low-salary seasons in order to lower the cap hit during prime years by issuing a salary cap charge if the player retires prior to the end of the contract, thereby negating the years that lowered his cap hit. The calculation is the difference in total salary and total cap hit over the course of the contract with which the player played with the team, divided by the number of years remaining on the contract after retirement. In Weber’s case, the scenario looks like this:
Year Team Cap Hit Salary Difference
2012-13 NSH $7.857MM $14MM $6.143MM
2013-14 NSH $7.857MM $14MM $6.143MM
2014-15 NSH $7.857MM $14MM $6.143MM
2015-16 NSH $7.857MM $14MM $6.143MM
2016-17 MTL $7.857MM $12MM $4.143MM
2017-18 MTL $7.857MM $12MM $4.143MM
2018-19 MTL $7.857MM $6MM -$1.857MM
2019-20 MTL* $7.857MM $6MM -$1.857MM
2020-21 MTL* $7.857MM $6MM -$1.857MM
2021-22 MTL* $7.857MM $6MM -$1.857MM
2022-23 MTL* $7.857MM $3MM -$4.857MM
2023-24 MTL* $7.857MM $1MM -$6.857MM
2024-25 MTL* $7.857MM $1MM -$6.857MM
2025-26 MTL* $7.857MM $1MM -$6.857MM
So far over the course of Weber’s contract, both Nashville and Montreal have paid him far beyond what his cap hit would suggest. If Weber was to retire today, they would both be penalized. Nashville’s total penalty is $24.572MM, while Montreal’s is fluid. However, next season marks a drop for Weber below his cap number for the remaining eight years of his contract. Now, Weber is not going to retire this off-season. However, the chances that he retires early are very high. Earlier this week, it was reported that Weber had undergone a second off-season surgery and would likely be out until mid-season. Many expected when Weber was traded to Montreal that he still had many years left of strong play in him, but it appears that the deterioration of his body has already begun. Facing a decreasing salary for the remainder of his contract and concerns about his long-term health, it would be no surprise to see Weber retire in the next two years or so nevertheless by the end of the remaining eight years. By year, here is how the penalties would play out for both Nashville and Montreal:
If Weber retires before: Penalty per year – NSH Penalty per year – MTL
2019-20 $3.51MM $918K
2020-21 $4.1MM $762K
2021-22 $4.91MM $543K
2022-23 $6.14MM $215K
2023-24 $8.19MM None
2024-25 $12.29MM None
2025-26 $24.57MM None
Obviously, the Predators have a lot to lose if Weber retires early. It is very unlikely that Weber, if he makes it that far, is likely to retire with one or even two years left on his contract. At that point, it is likely the Canadiens would just place him on long-term injured reserve to finish his career, as has become a growing trend in the NHL. However, if Weber is unable to get over the injuries that have plagued him in Montreal, could he call it quits within the next few years and stick Nashville with a $3.5-$5MM yearly penalty? Absolutely. It is a scary possibility for the Predators and a situation worth watching as Weber battles back from injury yet again next season and beyond.
All salary and cap figures are approximations. Data courtesy of CapFriendly.com.
Atlantic Notes: Bruins, Barkov, Canadiens
While the Boston Bruins added a couple of small, but important pieces to their team this offseason in goaltender Jaroslav Halak and defenseman John Moore, their two biggest Atlantic Division rivals seem to be working at a much bigger scale. The Toronto Maple Leafs have already successfully signed superstar center John Tavares to a long-term deal, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are trying hard to acquire superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Those two moves (although nothing is definite about Karlsson going to Tampa) suggest that maybe Boston isn’t doing enough to improve their own team. The team looks like they lost veteran Rick Nash who is still trying to decide if he intends to return to the NHL and hasn’t added much to their forward core this season. No doubt Boston general manager Don Sweeney is trying to work the trade market in hopes of picking up a Jeff Skinner or Artemi Panarin. However, NBC Sports Joe Haggerty writes that there is nothing wrong if the team can acquire such a player, but the team needs to stay the course and not overreact to the whatever the Maple Leafs or Lightning do.
Haggerty writes the team had a plan at the end of the season and they need to stick to it, which means the team must hold onto their talented young players and not consider moving them for big-name players. The team already had a plan in place in hopes to upgrade its team, using prospects and pieces such as Torey Krug and Anders Bjork. However, the team also needs to keep their elite young players like Charlie McAvoy and Jake Debrusk, because they will need them to stay with the organization for the next decade. The team shouldn’t panic and attempt to grab a big-name player if it will cost them their long-term future.
- The Florida Panthers could be making major shakeups in their lineups next season, according to Matthew DeFranks of the SunSentinel. With the addition of more talent this season, including Mike Hoffman and a host of young talent, coach Bob Boughner has a lot of option for loading up his top line which features star Aleksander Barkov. The talented center has spent much of the last three years playing alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgeni Dadonov, who arrived last season. However, with Hoffman and how well forward Nick Bjugstad played on the top line at times last season, it’s likely Barkov could get all new linemates next season, giving the team more depth on both their second and third lines.
- Brendan Kelly of the Montreal Gazette writes that the Montreal Canadiens have done nothing to get better this offseason. The scribe writes that when you finished the season as the 28th worst team in the league, you need to make big changes. Instead, the team’s biggest trade of Alex Galchenyuk for Max Domi didn’t make the team better, especially since most experts believe that Arizona won the deal, but at best it’s a wash. Then the team’s biggest free agent signing was bringing back Tomas Plekanec, who isn’t the same player he once was and since he spent the majority of the season with Montreal last season, also can’t be anything more than a wash as well. The scribe also points out that if the team was rebuilding then they wouldn’t have tried so hard to go after Tavares or Paul Stastny this offseason. It just looks like another down year in Montreal.
Montreal Canadiens Sign Jacob De La Rose
After some bad news this morning, the Montreal Canadiens are having a better afternoon. The team has announced a two-year contract for promising young forward Jacob de La Rose, which will carry an average annual value of $900K. de La Rose had arbitration rights, but came to an agreement to avoid the process altogether before the deadline for filing came down today.
The 23-year old de La Rose scored just 12 points in 55 games for the Canadiens this season, but finished his year with a gold medal at the World Championships as a checking center for Sweden. That is likely his future role in the NHL with Montreal as he doesn’t possess high-end offensive ability, but a reliable defensive presence is still a valuable asset for the team. As the Canadiens hope that Jonathan Drouin takes to the position this year, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi turns into a high-end option, de La Rose will give the team depth down the middle for years to come. For the small price of $900K, they now have a full-time player locked up for the next two seasons.
It’s not clear what Montreal will do with the rest of their cap space, as they now have just over $12MM with only Phillip Danault and Joel Armia to re-sign as restricted free agents. The unrestricted free agent market is picked fairly clean, meaning if they intend on improving the roster before the season begins it will likely have to be through trade.
Shea Weber Out Five To Six Months Following Knee Surgery
The Montreal Canadiens have been hit with injury after injury that will take several players out for the beginning of the 2018-19 season. What they didn’t need was another surgery for one of their best players, and yet today announced that Shea Weber will be out for five to six months. Weber underwent knee surgery to repair a meniscal tear on June 19th, and will be out until mid-December. The team had already announced earlier this offseason that Paul Byron would miss six months after shoulder surgery, prospect Joni Ikonen needs six months to come back from a knee injury, and Andrew Shaw won’t be ready for the start of the season due to his own knee surgery in April.
While all three of those prior injury updates hurt, the Weber news is crushing for the Canadiens as they try to bounce back in 2018-19. The team struggled tremendously without Weber in the lineup last season, and simply don’t have anyone on the roster who can provide the kind of impact expected of him. The blue line will have to rely on veterans like Karl Alzner and Jeff Petry, while hoping young Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen can make an impact right away. Weber will be 33 when he makes his return, and played just 26 games last season while dealing with a foot injury.
The Canadiens maintain that they’re trying to make the playoffs this season, and goaltender Carey Price is just entering his eight-year $84MM contract extension. Still, after holding onto the third-overall pick to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi and with rumors persisting about a potential Max Pacioretty trade, the team seems to be headed into a sort of mini-rebuild. After spending very little on the free agent market—bringing back Tomas Plekanec on a $3.5MM performance bonus-laden deal was their biggest commitment—the team still has nearly $13MM in cap space with some restricted free agents left to sign.
The most frustrated in the whole situation is likely Weber, who last played on December 16th, 2017 meaning it may be an entire year before he’s back on the ice for Montreal. That’s an enormous weight to carry when earning a huge salary, though as of this season the Canadiens financial burden did reduce some. Weber is owed just $6MM this season and $30MM over the next eight years, despite carrying a cap hit of just under $7.86MM through 2025-26.