Central Division Offers Veteran Scoring, Risky Prospects
The Central Division has quite a bit to offer the Las Vegas Golden Knights from prospects to veteran scorers as they sift through the recently exposed rosters of every NHL team. Several team offer quite a bit of challenging option that the inaugural team can either take, trade off or just work out a deal for some picks. Once again, while some of these players may be available, trades may have already been worked out to persuade Las Vegas to look the other way on a few of them. So don’t be surprised if they don’t take them.
The Minnesota Wild have offered the most intriguing options in the draft after having exposed several interesting players. Due to their defensive depth, the team left several defensemen exposed, including 22-year-old Mathew Dumba, a promising defenseman who has already been in the NHL for three years since being the seventh-overall pick in 2012. Dumba’s 11 goals make him a key defenseman to build their franchise around, assuming the team doesn’t have a side deal set up or the Golden Knights are considering flipping him to another desperate team needing defense. Veteran forward Eric Staal was also left unprotected, leaving Las Vegas with even a tougher decisions to make. The 32-year-old veteran had one of his better season with the Wild this past year, putting up 28 goals. His price tag is even reasonable at $3.5MM for the next two years. Defenseman Marco Scandella is an afterthought here, but on any other team, would be an intriguing option for the Golden Knights.
The Nashville Predators have one obvious candidate in veteran scorer James Neal, who helped lead the team to the Stanley Cup Finals. Neal finished the season with 23 regular season goals and the 29-year-old has tallied 80 goals in the last three seasons combined. Whether the Predators have worked out a package in order to keep Neal for their run next year is unknown as of yet. If that’s the case, another interesting name could be 23-year-old winger Pontus Aberg, who has showed a lot of promise in the AHL, including a 31-goal season this past year. He still played 15 games for the Predators, but managed just one goal and had a tough time cracking their rotation. Perhaps the least surprising options go to the Chicago Blackhawks. Long-standing rumors that Chicago has exposed 25-year-old defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk with the supposed agreement they would also take on the contract of Marcus Kruger and his 3.083MM for the next two years for additional costs suggest that Las Vegas already knows what they’re getting.
The Dallas Stars might hope that the Golden Knights take 26-year-old center Cody Eakin. The veteran had an off year after putting up three goals in 60 games, but had tallied 51 goals in the three years before that. The problem with Eakin is the three years he has left at $3.85MM per season. He was originally drafted by McPhee, so maybe the GM would be willing to take his chances with him. Dan Hamhuis could be a solid option as well if the Golden Knights are looking for a 34-year-old veteran defensive-minded blueliner. The Winnipeg Jets did expose 32-year-old Toby Enstrom after he waived his no-movement clause. The veteran could be the perfect person to lead a group of young Golden Knight defenders. Enstrom, despite starting to slow down, is still considered a solid defenseman. However, Winnipeg also left 22-year-old center Marko Dano available to Las Vegas. The former first-round pick in 2013 hasn’t been able to put together a full season, but is still young enough to put it all together. He put up four goals and seven assists last season in 38 games, but missed time due to a lower body injury and never regained his playing time after that.
While the St. Louis Blues exposed Jori Lehtera with the hopes they can package the veteran along with some picks to remove his contract off their books, which still has two years at $4.7MM per season, Las Vegas might be more enamored with 23-year-old Nail Yakupov, who is the former first-overall pick in the 2012 draft. While his career hasn’t exactly gone as planned, he has still shown some glimpses of potential and Las Vegas might be willing to take a chance on him. The Colorado Avalanche surprised a few by exposing goaltender Calvin Pickard. The 25-year-old didn’t have the greatest season last year, evidenced by his 3.02 GAA, but it was behind a weak defense. However, considering the amount of goaltending depth offered from the Eastern Conference, the team might ultimately pass on him considering there are other key goalies available ranging from Petr Mrazek to Marc-Andre Fleury to Philipp Grubauer to name just a few. They may have exposed Pickard to keep 29-year-old Semyon Varlamov away from McPhee, who also drafted the goaltender in Washington back in 2006. Besides that, Colorado left little else exposed.
Early Expansion Protection News: Capitals, Kings, Flames, Predators, And More
The 2017 NHL Expansion Draft is an exciting process. If you’re too riled up to wait until the lists are officially submitted in the morning, you’re in luck. As could be expected, information leaks are flooding in on who was and wasn’t protected by their teams ahead of the deadline this afternoon. This list will be updated all night long as more news comes in:
- Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post was the first reputable source to release her team’s protection list, as she confirmed the Washington Capitals’ names not long after the 5:00 PM ET deadline. The lists includes the expected names: Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Marcus Johansson, Lars Eller, Tom Wilson, Matt Niskanen, John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, and Braden Holtby. While not surprising, the list does not include long-time Jay Beagle, promising young players Nate Schmidt and Brett Connolly, and a oft-rumored target of the Golden Knights, backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer.
- L.A.-based hockey writer John Hoven got the list of protected players for the Los Angeles Kings, which confirms that they will indeed protect eight-skaters, including four defenseman, rather than the 7/3 protection scheme. Among the safe are Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Tanner Pearson, Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin, Alec Martinez, and the key decision, Derek Forbort. Star goalie Jonathan Quick was also obviously protected. While the Kings succeeded in protecting the most valuable players on the roster, they still have left defenseman Brayden McNabb and a large assortment of forwards including Trevor Lewis, Nic Dowd, and Nick Shore open to selection.
- Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, who covers the Calgary Flames, has some key names for his team as well. Francis confirmed that the Flames did not protect 2016 free agent acquisition Troy Brouwer, but did opt to save younger assets like Sam Bennett, Micheal Ferland, and Curtis Lazar. Although Francis stops there, the rest of Calgary’s list is somewhat self explanatory with newly-acquired goalie Mike Smith, defensive core of Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, and Dougie Hamilton, and cornerstone forwards Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Michael Frolik, and Mikael Backlund as obvious choices.
- One not so obvious choice has been made in Nashville. Adam Vingan of The Tennessean answered a question on the minds of many, reporting that the Predators did in fact protect forward Calle Jarnkrok. With the rest of the eight-skater list all but set in stone with goalie Pekka Rinne, defensemen Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm, and star forwards Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen, and Viktor Arvidsson, the final forward spot came down to Jarnkrok, signed long-term, or James Neal, an elite scorer with just one year remaining on his contract. It seems that Neal will be open for selection, alongside names like Colton Sissons, Colin Wilson, and Craig Smith. Vignan adds that no deal has been struck between Vegas and the Predators to protect any of those players, with Nashville especially liking to retain Neal and Sissons.
- Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that, interestingly enough, young Detroit Red Wings defenseman Xavier Ouellet was not protected by his team. This is the first real surprise of the expansion process and the first protection news that doesn’t match up with PHR’s Expansion Primer projections. The 23-year-old skated in 66 games this season for Detroit, third most among defenseman, and his 12 points tied that of top-pair man Danny DeKeyser. Yet, Ouellett will not join DeKeyser and Mike Green in protection, instead beaten out by another teammate. GM Ken Holland, who has gotten the reputation of perhaps being too loyal, possibly chose aging veteran Niklas Kronwall over Ouellet. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite the rebuilding Red Wings.
- Another name confirmed to be unprotected is young Vancouver Canucks center Brendan Gaunce. Vancouver sports anchor Rick Dhaliwal was told that that Gaunce, a 2012 first-round pick, did not make the protection list for the Canucks, expected to be a 7/3 format, meaning that the team saw him as outside the top seven forwards on the team. The 23-year-old two-way specialist has upside, but after registering just five points in 57 games last season, no one will blame Vancouver for that choice.
West Trade Talk: Brodin, Stepan, Gaborik, Predators
One team to watch for in advance of today’s roster freeze is Minnesota who have more quality blueliners than protection slots available. Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune reports that several teams, including Dallas, Montreal, Tampa Bay, and Toronto have all shown interest in blueliner Jonas Brodin.
The 23 year old has four years left at a cap hit of $4.17MM, a solid rate for a player who has averaged more than 22 minutes of playing time per game in his career. He’s also coming off a career year offensively with 25 points in 68 games.
Brodin isn’t the only blueliner that the Canadiens have shown interest in as Russo notes that Marco Scandella’s name has come up in trade discussion as well as part of talks regarding forward Alex Galchenyuk. However, given their situation when it comes to protecting forwards in expansion, making a deal work where the Wild take a forward back that requires protection may be a bit too challenging in these final hours before the freeze.
Other trade rumblings from the West:
- The Coyotes are showing “serious interest” in Rangers center Derek Stepan, TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link). The deadline to watch for here is more July 1st than today as the turn of the calendar marks the beginning of Stepan’s no-trade clause. The soon-to-be 27 year old had 55 points (17-38-55) in 81 games this past season and has four years left on his contract with a $6.5MM cap hit.
- The Kings held discussions with the Golden Knights about potentially taking on winger Marian Gaborik’s contract, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes (Twitter links). However, talks didn’t progress as the asking price to do so was too high for their liking. The 35 year old Gaborik has four years left on his deal with a $4.875MM cap charge but has seen a significant drop in his production in recent years. In 2016-17, he had just 10 goals and 11 assists for a career low 21 points in 56 games while also spending time as a healthy scratch.
- Nashville is continuing to try to reach a side agreement with Vegas on a deal for them to avoid a prominent unprotected player but talks are not progressing, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports via Twitter. It’s expected that the Predators will utilize the 8/1 strategy in order to protect their top four defensemen. However, that means that one of wingers Calle Jarnkrok or James Neal would be exposed and would certainly interest the Golden Knights.
Nashville Predators Unable To Reach Deal With Vegas Golden Knights
- Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that despite trying to reach a deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in order to protect both James Neal and Calle Jarnkrok from selection in the upcoming expansion draft, the two sides have yet to come to an agreement. As we discussed in our Nashville Expansion Primer, the Predators are at real risk of giving up the most talented player in the entire draft. LeBrun suggests they’ll look elsewhere for a deal, but protection lists are due tomorrow evening and they’re running out of time.
Penguins, Predators Make Minor Signings
Both Stanley Cup Final teams have made a minor signing today, as teams start to get their roster in order for the upcoming offseason. According to CapFriendly, the Nashville Predators have signed Joonas Lyytinen to a two-year entry-level contract, while the Pittsburgh Penguins have inked Filip Gustavsson to a three-year ELC.
Lyytinen’s deal is worth $740K per season, but there is still a long way to go before he ever sees an NHL ice surface. Selected in the fifth round (132nd overall) Lyytinen broke out this year in his native Finland, scoring 24 points in 54 games. Though his two-way play is commendable in the European league, he’ll be hard-pressed to make an impact at the NHL level without significantly increasing his size.
Listed sometimes as low as 150-lbs, but more likely sitting somewhere above that, Lyytinen is still too small for the league at this time. If he can continue to fill out, and use his excellent skating ability to its full potential, perhaps the Predators have another mid-round steal on their hands. He’ll likely come over from Europe next season to suit up for the Milwaukee Admirals.
The Penguins on the other hand will pay Gustavsson $776K per season on his deal should he play in the NHL, and the second-round pick from last summer has a chance at some point. An incredibly athletic goaltender, Gustavsson put up solid numbers in both the Swedish junior league and the SHL this year. Though he’s not ready to step in as the backup to Matt Murray just yet, he does have a chance to crack the NHL in a couple of years when his play starts to adjust to the North American game. He’ll stay in Sweden for the 2017-18 season, after which this contract will kick in.
Buffalo Sabres Hire Phil Housley As Next Head Coach
In one of the worst-kept secrets of the past few months, the Buffalo Sabres have hired Phil Housley as their next head coach. Housley has been linked to the Sabres ever since the team hired Jason Botterill, but they needed to wait for the Nashville Predators’ Stanley Cup run to finish before officially announcing him. Just as Housley was celebrating his 32nd wedding anniversary, he’ll head into a brand new chapter in his hockey life as a head coach for the first time. 
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Housley was drafted sixth overall by the Sabres in 1982 and immediately jumped into the NHL to outstanding success. With 66 points as an 18-year old defenseman in his rookie season he finished second in Calder trophy voting behind Steve Larmer for Rookie of the Year. He would go on to a Hall of Fame career scoring 1,232 points in 1,495 regular season games, but was hard-pressed to find any success in the playoffs. He still holds the record for the most points from an American-born defenseman, and ranks fourth among those born anywhere. His career is legendary and it returns to the place it all started almost exactly 27 years after he was first traded away (June 16th, 1997 Housley was sent to Winnipeg in a package for Dale Hawerchuk).
The 53-year old Housley has spent the last four seasons as an assistant behind the Nashville bench, helping grow and develop their defense corps into one of the best in the league. His experience and knowledge of the game is almost unmatched, though he will now have to prove he can control an entire roster of players. The Sabres need him to help them take the next step and start building some organizational confidence after a long stretch of disappointment. Even with the young talent the last few drafts have brought in, they were still a long way from competing this season.
That’s not to say he won’t have a chance at the playoffs right away, as a return to health for Jack Eichel paired with the development of other young players could turn around Buffalo’s fortune quickly. With Botterill at the helm in his first stint as a full-fledged GM and Housley installed as coach, the team is putting a lot of faith in the next wave of management to bring a new era of success to the Sabres. In their 46 seasons to date, the Sabres have only made it to two Stanley Cup final appearances, and have yet to hoist the trophy as the winning club. As something Housley can relate to, there won’t be any lack of drive to get back into contention from him or anyone else on the roster.
In terms of assistant coaches, there are rumblings that former New York Islanders coach Jack Capuano could be in the running, while Clark Donatelli remains close with Botterill and could be in contention. Other names will surely pop up as the days go on, but there is at least a name at the top of the coaching depth chart in Buffalo.
Darren Dreger of TSN was first to announce the hiring was official.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Buffalo Did Not Interview Rick Tocchet; Will Decide On Coach By Monday
Though it was expected that the Buffalo Sabres were waiting for the Stanley Cup Finals to finish before jumping on the chance to interview the excellent group of assistant coaches on both teams, Darren Dreger of TSN reports that they actually did not reach out to Rick Tocchet in consideration for the head coaching vacancy. It is still expected that they will interview Phil Housley from the Nashville Predators, though Dreger also tells us that they’re close enough to expect a decision by Monday.
Tocchet is currently an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has been since being fired from his first head coaching gig with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In a season and a half behind the bench in Tampa, Tocchet compiled a 53-69-26 record, but is expected to get another job at some point in the future. It won’t be in Buffalo, and that’s just fine with the Penguins as they’ll look to keep their excellent staff—Tocchet, Mike Sullivan and Jacques Martin—in tact for a run at a third straight cup next season.
Buffalo on the other hand will go with someone else, perhaps Housley or another name that has been linked in the past. Todd Reirden and Clark Donatelli are also still options, though Bob Boughner is now off the market after being hired by Florida for their open job. Whoever it is will be announced soon, as GM Jason Botterill has long said he wanted to have a coach in place by the entry draft.
James Neal Played With Broken Hand In Playoffs
- James Neal played most of the playoffs with a broken hand, according to Nashville Predators GM David Poile at the final team press conference (via Thomas Willis of the team site). The power forward broke it in game one of the Western Conference final, and came back to score the overtime winner that game. Neal has just one year left on his contract and could potentially be exposed by the Predators in the upcoming expansion draft, something Poile is trying his hardest to avoid.
Expansion Primer: Nashville Predators
We’re continuing to break down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, coming up next week: which players are eligible, and which will likely warrant protection or may be on the block. Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4pm CDT on June 17th. The full rules on eligibility can be found here, and CapFriendly has provided a handy expansion tool to make your own lists.
Two days ago, the Nashville Predators’ dream season came to an end. A goal scored from nearly behind the net (after a much disputed quick whistle earlier in the game) put the Pittsburgh Penguins up 1-0 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, a lead which they would not relinquish. The Predators would have to watch on home ice while the Penguins celebrated winning the trophy, before saluting a crowd that had witnessed the longest playoff run in team history.
Now, they’ll head into the offseason with a bittersweet taste in their mouths from getting so close, and with some huge decisions to make with regards to the future of the team. Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson lead a large crop of restricted free agents that need new contracts, while both James Neal and Juuse Saros could be up for extensions as they have just one year left on their respective contracts. The Predators are one of the most interesting teams when it comes to the expansion draft, as their glut of defenders will likely force them to leave some other intriguing players available to Vegas.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Filip Forsberg, James Neal, Craig Smith, Colin Wilson, Calle Jarnkrok, Cody McLeod, Colton Sissons, Miikka Salomaki, Cody Bass, Trevor Smith, Austin Watson, Ryan Johansen, Pontus Aberg, Viktor Arvidsson
Defensemen:
P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Andrew O’Brien, Matt Irwin, Yannick Weber, Anthony Bitetto, Petter Granberg, Jaynen Rissling
Goaltender:
Pekka Rinne (NMC), Marek Mazanec
Notable Exemptions
Kevin Fiala, Victor Ejdsell, Vladislav Kamenev, Emil Pettersson, Frederik Gaudreau, Juuse Saros
Key Decisions
One of the tough parts about being a Stanley Cup contender is usually most of your core players are in or entering their prime and thus would be eligible for expansion. That’s the case in Nashville, where virtually all of their key players will need protection in the draft. The first decision they have to make is whether to use the 7-3-1 (seven forwards, three defensemen, one goaltender) or 8-1 (eight skaters, one goaltender) protection scheme. The Predators will most likely choose the latter, because of their deep defense corps. 
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Sometimes called a group of four #1 defenders, hyperbolic superlatives aside the Predators have one of the best groups among any blueline in the league. P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm and Ryan Ellis all have incredible value, mostly because of the relatively low cap-hits held by the latter three. Leaving any of them available for Vegas would assure they were the selection, meaning that the team will likely only have four slots remaining for the forward group.
Beyond those four, only Matt Irwin holds any real value. The 29-year old defenseman has played well at times in a sheltered role in the NHL, developing into a legitimate option for any third pair in the league. Despite this, he would be an extreme long-shot to be selected by Vegas. Yannick Weber, re-signed just earlier today is even further removed from consideration.
Up front, four slots would leave several players available for the Golden Knights to pounce on. Three will undoubtedly go to Johansen, Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg while the last spot has several options. Today, Pierre LeBrun of TSN speculated on this decision, saying the team could potentially leave Neal unprotected and use it on Calle Jarnkrok instead. Neal is a 29-year old power forward who has scored at least 20 goals every season of his nine-year career. Earlier this year we looked at just how rare his career performance has been, making him an incredibly appealing option for Vegas should he be left exposed. Even though Neal has just one year left on his contract, he would likely be the most talented forward that the Golden Knights could acquire.
Jarnkrok on the other hand is an intriguing option, given the inexplicably cheap contract he signed last summer. At the age of 24 and coming off a 16 goal season, Jarnkrok signed a six-year $12MM contract that bought out several free agent years. Clearly it seems to matter more to him where he plays than how much he earns, as he easily could have made more on the open market when he reached unrestricted free agency. That cost-certainty is appealing to Vegas, as is his ability as a middle-six center that can contribute at both ends of the rink. Centers will likely be the most difficult thing for the Golden Knights to acquire through the draft, and they would likely jump at the opportunity to acquire one that just averaged 17 minutes a night on a team that made it to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.
There is also the problem of Colton Sissons, who before the playoffs would have been an afterthought in the expansion draft plans. When Ryan Johansen and Mike Fisher went out with various injuries though, Sissons stepped up and scored more points in his 22 playoff games than he did all season. He showed that there may be more to him than a bottom-six center, and given the right opportunity could thrive with more responsibility.
In net, Pekka Rinne would likely be protected even if he didn’t have the no-movement clause that makes it automatic. Rinne was a big part of how the Predators did so well in the playoffs, and at 34 put up another solid season. Though he’s owed a lot of money—$7MM per season for the next two years—he’ll likely enter next season as the starter once again as the team eases Saros in as the future in net. Saros’ exemption is a big plus for the team, as the 22-year old looks like one of the best young goaltenders in the league after posting a .923 save percentage as a rookie in 19 starts this year.
Among free agents that the Golden Knights may be interested in negotiating with during their exclusive window, only Mike Fisher really stands out. The captain of the Predators is 37 now and though he had a fantastic season for his age—18 goals and 42 points—wouldn’t provide much value for the Golden Knights who figure to struggle the first few years. Other than that, the team could try to negotiate a long-term deal with someone like Pontus Aberg, who showed he may have a future in an NHL top-six and could be tempting should they have a contract in hand by the end of the window.
Projected Protection List
F Filip Forsberg
F Viktor Arvidsson
F Ryan Johansen
F Calle Jarnkrok
D P.K. Subban
D Roman Josi
D Mattias Ekholm
D Ryan Ellis
The Predators are another team that is likely desperately trying to work out a deal of some sort with the Vegas Golden Knights or any other team, as letting Neal walk for nothing would be foolish. He’s still young enough that he can provide value for basically every team in the league, and wouldn’t be hard to find a suitor even on the last year of his contract. He does hold a limited no-trade clause, but it only allows him to block trades to eight teams around the league. Along with Sissons, Craig Smith, Colin Wilson and others, the Predators are ripe for the picking up front and could easily provide the Golden Knights with one of their best players.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nashville Predators Re-Sign Yannick Weber
The Nashville Predators have re-signed defenseman Yannick Weber to a one-year contract. The contract is worth $650K, the league minimum in 2017-18. Weber would have been an unrestricted free agent this summer, but instead will come back to the team that he just helped get all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
Weber played in 73 regular season contests with the Predators, but logged an average of fewer than 12 minutes a night. Sheltered extensively along with Matt Irwin, he nonetheless suited up for 22 postseason games for the team. Weber was signed to a minimum contract last summer as well after playing three seasons with Vancouver, making him a valuable member for the Predators just in way of his relative inexpensiveness.
Though he likely won’t play a big role for Nashville again next year, getting an NHL-capable defender for the league minimum is always a good deal. Even if the team brings in a different player to pair with Irwin on a regular basis, he is a solid depth option for the club. The team is heading into the expansion draft chock-full of defensemen, and his signing has little to do with filling the requirements for the process.