Washington Capitals Sign Devante Smith-Pelly
After trading one of their key forwards to the New Jersey Devils yesterday, the Washington Capitals have brought in a potential roster replacement. The team has signed Devante Smith-Pelly to a one-year, two-way contract worth the league minimum. The team also announced a one-year, two-way contract for forward John Albert.
Smith-Pelly, 25, was bought out by the Devils last week after failing to provide much value on his $1.3MM cap hit. In 53 games last season, he registered just nine points and had a -18 rating.
Selected in the second round by the Anaheim Ducks, it was hoped that Smith-Pelly could carry over some of his goal scoring talent from junior into the NHL. Entering the league almost right away, he found a role as a bottom-six energy player instead, something he’ll try to fill on the Capitals next season.
While obviously not an offensive replacement for Marcus Johansson, Smith-Pelly could provide some depth to the Washington group while costing very little. The Caps, struggling to re-sign all of their current restricted free agents after giving out huge contracts to T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov, need players on minimum contracts to contribute next season.
Albert, a 28-year old forward who spent last season in Finland, hasn’t played in the NHL since 2013-14 when he suited up for nine games with the Winnipeg Jets. Unless he’s found another gear in his time overseas, he’ll be used mostly as a minor-league addition next year.
Devils Acquire Marcus Johansson From Capitals
After re-signing Evgeny Kuznetsov earlier tonight, the Capitals had to make some cap-clearing moves. They’ve gone ahead and made one of them, announcing that they’ve dealt forward Marcus Johansson to New Jersey for Florida’s 2nd round pick in 2018 and Toronto’s 3rd round pick in 2018.
Johansson had spent his entire NHL career with the Capitals, spanning 501 games after being a first round pick (24th overall) in 2009. This past season, he set a career high in goals (24) and points (58) while playing in all 82 games for the first time in his career. He also was productive in the postseason, collecting eight more points (2-6-8) in 13 games.
The 26 year old has two years remaining on his contract with a cap hit just under $4.6MM, a good price tag for a player who has had at least 44 points in each of the last four seasons. However, the Kuznetsov signing forced them to clear out some salary and New Jersey becomes the beneficiaries.
With the Devils, Johansson should comfortably slot in as a top line forward; his point total would have led all New Jersey skaters. He has experience at all three forward positions so head coach John Hynes will have plenty of flexibility in assembling his top six for next season.
Even with the trade, the Caps will still have some work to do on their salary cap. They now sit with $9.2MM in cap space per CapFriendly but now only have 14 players under contract. As for the Devils, they still have $20MM in cap room to work with but are expected to have a budget somewhat below the $75MM upper limit.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
New Jersey Notes: Kovalchuk, Kerfoot, McLeod
NHL Network analyst Brian Lawton tweets that Devils Ilya Kovalchuk has told several clubs that he wants a three-year deal worth at least $6.5MM if he will consider returning to the NHL. Many teams have expressed interest and the belief is that the Devils’ Ray Shero wants to move Kovalchuk in hopes of bringing back a young player and a pick. He scored 32 goals last year in the KHL and has previously expressed interest in staying in the New York area, although not likely for the Devils, or to play in Florida. However, that hasn’t stopped most teams from inquiring with New Jersey. The New York Rangers and the Columbus Blue Jackets both have expressed interest in acquiring the 34-year-old wing.
International reporter Slava Malamud tweets that Kovalchuk’s demand is in line with what he is making in the KHL. He made $5.5MM with his team, St. Petersburg SKA last season and, according to Malamud, he is being offered $6.5MM now to stay in Russia.
- The Record’s Andrew Gross tweets that New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero is still looking to sign Harvard University center Alexander Kerfoot. The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick by New Jersey in the 2012 draft and just wrapped up his final season for the Crimson. He finally had a breakout season this year, putting up 16 goals and 29 assists as a senior. The problem is that since he’s a fourth-year college player, there is a loophole that allows four-year players to become free agents on Aug. 1. Some believe the Vancouver native may choose to sign with his hometown team instead.
- The Devils have high hopes that not only will 2017 first-overall pick Nico Hischier make the opening night roster for New Jersey, but the team also hopes that 2016 first rounder Michael McLeod might join him. The 12th-overall pick scored 27 goals for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads and Gross tweets that the team hopes he could take over as the team’s third-line center.
Sabres Sign Jacob Josefson
The Buffalo Sabres have signed 26-year old center and former Devil Jacob Josefson to a one-year deal, according to TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. The contract is worth $700,000 and is a one-way contract.
Josefson struggled to find his place on a floundering New Jersey Devils squad, only playing for 38 total games and netting only 1 goal to accompany 9 assists. Josefson is a former first round pick from 2009, and has played his entire career in Jersey. His career offensive totals are very unimpressive, but he can provide solid two-way depth to a fourth line. He generally finds himself starting in the defensive zone and until last year had always been a positive Corsi asset.
Buffalo is looking to fill out their lineup with players who are appealing in terms of advanced stats. Josefson is not going to be a negative influence on the ice and comes cheaply. Newly appointed GM Jason Botterill has been quite busy today with sneaky good signings, loading up his AHL affiliate Rochester Americans with a number of players. Josefson will likely find a home as a 13 or 14th forward and will need to fight yet again for his icetime. Last season, he averaged only 12:15. His versatility will be a plus, as he can shift from center to wing with little difficulty.
Minor Transactions: 7/1/17
Some additional signings that happened today:
- The Carolina Hurricanes added Brenden Kichton to a one-year, two-way contract. The Hurricanes announced that the deal is for $700K in the NHL and $235K in the AHL. Kichton played 63 games with the Manitoba Moose last season, recording 23 points (1-22). Dennis Robertson and Jeremy Smith also signed deals with the Hurricanes.
- The Canucks inked Anton Rodin to a one-year, $700K deal according to Sportsnet. Rodin struggled with injury last year, playing only three games for Vancouver.
- The Detroit Red Wings brought Luke Witkowski into the fold for a “toughness” aspect. Witkowski is a Michigan native and was added with a two-year, $1.4MM deal. Interestingly, it appears that he will shuffle between defense and forward for Detroit. Despite a glut of forwards, Detroit may want him to play the role that Steve Ott did last season, especially since it was Witkowski who broke Anthony Mantha‘s finger in a scuffle last season while with Tampa Bay.
- Winnipeg inked Michael Sgarbossa to a one-year, $650K deal. Last season, he was with both the Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers. The 24-year-old had a combined nine points (2-7) with both teams. The Jets also added Buddy Robinson with a one-year deal worth $650K. It’s a two-way contract.
- Defenseman Seth Helgeson signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Islanders. The former New Jersey Devil played nine games with the big club last season, and spent 48 games with the AHL Albany Devils, scoring two goals and adding seven assists.
- Patrik Nemeth re-upped with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, $945K deal. Nemeth had three points last season with the Stars in 40 games. Brian Flynn also hammered out a deal with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract for $700K. Flynn spent last season with Montreal. Mike McKenna also signed on with the Stars, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract. Dallas also agreed to terms with Brent Regner, who signed a one-year, two-way deal.
- The Sabres signed Matt Tennyson to a two-year deal, with the first year being on a two-way contract while the second is a one-way deal. Tennyson spent last season with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played 45 games. He had six assists. Seth Griffith and Adam Wilcox also inked deals with the Sabres. Griffith agreed to a one-year, $650K deal while Wilcox’s one-year deal is a
- The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver reports that Jordan Szwarz signed a two-way deal with the Boston Bruins. Szwarz spent all of last season with the Providence Bruins, where he had 54 points (22-32) in 65 games.
- Derek Grant is on the move according to Darren Dreger, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks for $650K. It’s a one-way contract for Grant, who spent the majority of his time last season with the Buffalo Sabres. He also saw six games with Nashville.
- Montreal and Joe Morrow agreed to a one-year, one-way contract. Formerly with the Bruins, Morrow had one assist with the B’s, but only appeared in 17 games, as opposed to the 33 he saw a season prior.
- Ottawa made a slew of signings, adding Ben Sexton Max Reinhart, Tyler Randell, Erik Burgdoerfer, and Danny Taylor to deals. Reinhart, Taylor and Randell all signed one-year deals, while Burgdoerfer and Sexton agreed to two-year deals.
- Mat Bodie signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bodie appeared in a combined 62 games for Rochester and Hartford of the AHL last season. The Bolts also added Alex Gallant with a one-year deal. Gallant spent last year with the San Jose Barracuda. Finally, Michael Leighton and Jamie McBain both agreed to one-year, two-way deal as well.
- Kyle Rau and Minnesota came to terms on a one-year, $700K deal. Rau’s deal is a two-way deal and brings him back to his home state.
- TSN’s Aaron Ward tweets that Paul Carey agreed to terms with the New York Rangers. Ward reports that the deal is for one-year, and is worth $650K. The Blueshirts also added Cole Schneider to a one-year, two-way contract.
- The Flames brought Marek Hrivik aboard, signing him to a one-year, two-way deal. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets the move is for organizational depth. According to Fox Sports West’s Jon Rosen, the Flames have also signed their 2016 seventh-round pick Stepan Falkovsky to a three-year entry-level contract.
- The Oilers signed Eddie Pasquale to a one-year, two-way deal. Pasquale was allowed to walk away from the Red Wings organization. Another player signed away from the Red Wings organization was Mitch Callahan, who agreed to a two-year, two-way deal. Both were reported by Ryan Rishaug. Keegan Lowe also inked a one-year, two-way deal. The Oilers weren’t done, also adding Ryan Stanton with a $700k deal. The deal is for two years, and is a two-way contract. Edmonton also inked forwards Brian Ferlin, Grayson Downing and Ty Rattie to one-year deals.
- Nashville agreed to terms with Pierre-Cedric Labrie, who came from the Blackhawks organization. Labrie agreed to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $650K.
- The Stanley Cup Champion Penguins added some names today, all on one-year deals. Jarred Tinordi, Zach Trotman and Greg McKegg all agreed to a single-year deal. Chris Summers signed on for a two-year deal. In an additional release, the team has re-signed Tom Sestito, Frank Corrado to one-year two-way deals, and goaltender Casey DeSmith to a two-year two-way deal. All three will earn $650K in the NHL.
- The Sharks and goalie Antoine Bibeau signed off on a one-year, two-way deal. Bibeau was not offered a qualifying deal with his former team in Toronto.
- The Maple Leafs weren’t done, as they announced the signings of Colin Greening to a one-year deal (two-way, $750K), and Chris Mueller (two-way, $650K) and Vincent LoVerde (two-way, $725K) to two-year deals.
- The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Cameron Schilling to a one-year, two-way contract. Schilling was with the Rockford IceHogs and Ontario Reign last season, where he scored 26 points.
- The Colorado Avalanche have signed three more players, inking Andrew Agozzino and David Warsofsky to two-year deals while bringing in Joe Cannata for just one season.
- Arizona has signed Zac Rinaldo, Michael Sislo, Andrew Campbell and Joel Hanley to one-year two-way contracts. It’s a fall for Rinaldo, who was once traded for a third-round pick.
- Chase Balisy, Connor Brickley, Reece Scarlett, Harri Sateri and Curtis Valk have all signed one-year contracts with the Florida Panthers. Interestingly, Brickley was the Vegas Golden Knights’ selection from the Hurricanes during the expansion draft but was a Group VI free agent this summer.
- The Devils have added Brian Strait, Bracken Kearns and Brian Gibbons on one-year two-way deals, bringing in the veterans for $650K at the NHL level.
- The Vegas Golden Knights have signed six players. They have signed forward T.J. Tynan and defenseman Brad Hunt to two-year deals at $650,000 per season. They inked forward Paul Thompson, forward Stefan Matteau, defenseman Chris Casto and goalie Maxime Lagace to one-year contracts at $650,000.
2017 NHL Free Agency Tracker
Stay with PHR for all of the free agency signings this off-season. As of noon ET on July 1st, unrestricted free agency is open, but not before many extensions earlier in June. This page serves to organize everything in one spot, and are linked to the PHR story that corresponds with the signing. All July signings will be separated by date while June signings are organized alphabetically by team. It will be updated as soon as stories post.
Please note that signings on this list start on June 12.
July 1st:
- Anaheim re-signs Cam Fowler (8 years/$52MM)
- Anaheim signs Ryan Miller (2 years/$4MM)
- Arizona signs Adam Clendening (1 year/$650K)
- Boston signs Paul Postma (1 year/$725K)
- Buffalo signs Benoit Pouliot (1 year/$1.15MM)
- Buffalo signs Chad Johnson (1 year/$2.5MM)
- Carolina signs Justin Williams (2 years/$9MM)
- Chicago signs Patrick Sharp (1 year/$1MM)
- Chicago signs J-F Berube (2 years/$3MM)
- Chicago signs Jordan Oesterle (2 years/$1.3MM)
- Colorado signs Jonathan Bernier (1 year/$2.75MM)
- Dallas signs Martin Hanzal (3 years/$14.25MM)
- Dallas signs Tyler Pitlick (3 years/$3MM)
- Detroit signs Trevor Daley (3 years/$9.534MM)
- Florida signs Radim Vrbata (1 year/$2.5MM)
- Los Angeles signs Mike Cammalleri (1 year)
- Los Angeles signs Cal Petersen ( 2 year ELC)
- Los Angeles signs Christian Folin (1 year/$850K)
- Minnesota signs Ryan Murphy (1 year/$700k)
- Minnesota signs Landon Ferraro (2 years/$1.4MM)
- Minnesota signs Kyle Quincey (1 year/$1.25MM)
- Minnesota signs Cal O’Reilly (2 years/$1.4MM)
- Montreal signs Kyle Alzner (5 years/$22.5MM)
- Montreal signs Byron Froese
- Montreal signs Peter Holland
- Nashville signs Nick Bonino (4 years)
- Nashville signs Scott Hartnell (1 year/$1MM)
- Nashville signs Anders Lindback (1 year/$650K)
- Nashville signs Matt O’Connor (1 year/$650K)
- New Jersey signs Brian Boyle (2 years/$5.1MM)
- NY Rangers sign Ondrej Pavelec (1 year/$1.3MM)
- NY Rangers sign Kevin Shattenkirk (4 year/$26.6MM)
- Ottawa signs Nate Thompson (2 years/$3.3MM)
- Philadelphia re-signs Mike Vecchione (2 years/$1.88MM)
- Pittsburgh signs Antti Niemi (1 year/$700K)
- Pittsburgh signs Matt Hunwick (3 years/$6.75MM
- San Jose re-signs Martin Jones (6 years/$34.5MM)
- San Jose re-signs Marc-Edouard Vlasic (8 years/$56MM)
- San Jose re-signs Joe Thornton
- St. Louis signs Beau Bennett (1 year/$650K)
- St. Louis signs Chris Thorburn (2 years/$1.88MM)
- St. Louis re-signs Oskar Sundqvist (1 year/$650K)
- Tampa Bay signs Dan Girardi (2 years/$6MM)
- Toronto signs Ron Hainsey (2 years/$3.25MM)
- Toronto signs Curtis McElhinney (1 year/$850K)
- Toronto signs Dominic Moore (1 year/$1MM)
- Toronto signs Garret Sparks
- Winnipeg signs Dmitri Kulikov (3 years/$13MM)
- Winnipeg signs Steve Mason (2 years/$8.2MM)
- Vancouver signs Sam Gagner (3 years/$9.45MM)
- Vancouver signs Michael Del Zotto (2 years/$6MM)
- Vancouver signs Anders Nilsson (2 years/$5MM)
Brian Boyle Signs With New Jersey Devils
Bob McKenzie of TSN reports that the New Jersey Devils will likely sign Brian Boyle, and that it will be a two-year contract. The deal is worth $2.55MM per season. Pierre LeBrun of TSN adds that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boyle’s former team, did not make an offer.
The 32-year-old center had been a bottom-6 center for the Tampa Bay Lightning for several years before they traded him at the deadline for Byron Froese and a second round pick in the 2017 draft. He was having one of his better season for the Lightning at the time, scoring 13 goals and nine assists in the first 54 games of the season, which almost equals his totals for the previous two. However, partially dealing with an injury, he struggled fitting into the Maple Leafs lineup and only tallied three assists in 21 games.
At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, the physical forward could be of major use to a young Devils’ squad. The big center even scored 21 goals for the New York Rangers in 2010-11. His specialties—defense, faceoffs and penalty killing—will be a big boost to the Devils as they look to return to relevancy. Hoping to compete for the playoffs this year, Boyle brings ample experience in the postseason with multiple teams.
Prospect Notes: Liljegren, Hischier, Makar
The Athletic’s Sunaya Sapurji reports that defenseman Timothy Liljegren, Toronto’s 17th overall pick, will continue to play in the Swedish league and not join the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara IceDogs, who selected him 12th in the CHL Import Draft. His North American agent, Peter Wallen, said that Liljegren’s camp felt that time with Niagara wouldn’t be the “perfect spot” to develop his talent. Wallen doubles down, saying that his client will “never play for Niagara.” Stating that the Leafs are “100 percent” in Liljegren’s plan to stay in Sweden, Wallen adds:
“He’s not coming to play for Niagara. It’s not even a question. And even if it was a question we would still need Toronto to sign him and then for Rogle to release him for him to play for anyone else but the Maple Leafs.”
Should the 18-year-old defenseman sign with the Leafs, he would be able to play for the AHL affiliate Marlies midseason due to the fact that he played in the Swedish Hockey League and not the junior leagues. Playing junior hockey would have restricted him from seeing time in the AHL or NHL due to an agreement between the NHL and CHL regarding the “jump” to the pros. Sapurji points out that Liljegren expressed his desire to stay in Sweden–regardless of where he was taken–prior to the draft.
- First overall pick Nico Hischier was featured in a New York Times article yesterday, chronicling his journey to the NHL. The Times’ Dave Caldwell reports that the Swiss native saw his stock skyrocket after a strong world juniors performance while quietly sneaking up the ranks throughout the season. His strong play continued in the QMJHL with the Halifax Mooseheads. Described as being “very grounded,” by New Jersey Devils general manager Ray Shero, Hischier could very well take the NHL by storm as quietly–and quickly–as he did in juniors and on the world stage.
- Some had Cale Makar as a possibility to go first overall, but he ended up going fourth to the Colorado Avalanche, which could be considered a steal down the road. Next on the list for the 18-year-old defenseman is time at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he will continue to hone his skills for a shot at the NHL. Makar calls it a “reality check” when speaking with NHL.com’s Rick Sadowski, and adds that it doesn’t matter what happened before in terms of his career. Saying that he wants to “round out” his game, Makar is confident that he is an eventual NHL product and that belief is shared by the Colorado brass. Alan Hepple, the Director of Amateur Scouting for Colorado, goes as far to say that Makar is the “generational player” teams seek in a defenseman.
All photographs courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Keith Kinkaid Signs Two-Year Deal With New Jersey
The New Jersey Devils are bringing back their backup goaltender. Keith Kinkaid as agreed to a two-year deal that will take him off the market just a few days before hitting free agency. Kinkaid fell just outside our Top 50 Free Agent list, but would have definitely had interest around the league should he have made it to the open market. The deal will pay him an average salary of $1.25MM.
In 26 games for the Devils last season, Kinkaid registered a .916 save percentage and actually looked better in net than incumbent Cory Schneider at times. There’s no doubt that Schneider—who posted just a .908 mark—will return as the full-time starter, but Kinkaid offers an experienced backup for a team who wants to get back to the playoffs sooner than later. At 27-years old, Kinkaid has only ever played for the Devils organization. Signing out of Union College, Kinkaid worked for several years as the starter in Albany before making a mark at the NHL level.
Interestingly, the Devils still have Scott Wedgewood in the system as a restricted free agent, and did issue him a qualifying offer. The young goaltender had shoulder surgery that robbed him of most of 2016-17, but does seem to deserve a chance at the NHL before long. His numbers in the minor leagues have steadily increased, and he’s at risk of becoming a Group VI free agent next summer if he still doesn’t have a good amount of NHL experience. That doesn’t seem likely now with Kinkaid in the fold, meaning they may lose him without ever giving him a fair shake. That said, they already exposed Wedgewood to waives at the beginning of last year and he went unclaimed, so perhaps any risk is overblown.
For now, the Devils have set themselves up with problem to worry about heading into an important free agency. Though they didn’t issue qualifying offers to Beau Bennett or Jacob Josefson, it’s expected they are at least trying to retain them. Damon Severson needs a new contract, and as arguably the Devils best defenseman his cap hit will greatly influence how they go after free agents. The team has tons of space, but still needs to stick to a salary structure and can’t go handing out big term and cap hits for just anyone.
According to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports was first to break the deal.
New York Rangers Have Plenty Of Holes To Fill
The New York Rangers are a team with multiple holes to fill during the offseason as they have lost two key players in center Derek Stepan, who they traded to Arizona on Friday and blueliner Dan Girardi, who they waived before the expansion protection rosters were due a week ago, to protect younger players. On top of that, both proved to be among the team’s top defenders against opposing teams’ top lines. They must be able to replace that.
Both holes, not including the backup goaltending spot that was vacated after the team moved Anttii Raanta to the Coyotes as well, must be filled from without and the franchise didn’t get much immediate help in return from Arizona. The team received 21-year-old defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who played 39 games for the hapless Coyotes. While the former 2014 first-rounder fared well in those games, putting up five goals and nine assists in that span, that doesn’t translate that he will make the roster outright with the Rangers. The other asset they received in the trade was the No. 7 pick in the 2017 draft, which turned into 18-year-old center Lias Andersson, who will likely need a few years to reach New York.
According to New York Posts’ Larry Brooks, the team should look into acquiring two veterans who can fill those roles for the next year or two until some of their younger players are ready for bigger roles. The scribe lists 37-year-old center Joe Thornton as the perfect player to take over as the team’s top center. He could play next to his friend Rick Nash and form a solid line. A second option would be to trade for New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk to fill that same spot, despite the possibility that New Jersey’s general manager Ray Shero may force the team to move a quality player. If the team promotes from within, there should be a lot of pressure of 2010 first-rounder Kevin Hayes, who at 25, might be ready to take his game to the next level. Hayes has had three solid seasons with the Rangers, putting up nearly 50 points this last year and might be ready for an increased role.
On defense, the team should have close to $20MM in cap space and are expected to be players in the free agent market. They’ve already been linked to Washington Capitals’ unrestricted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk, but the team also hopes to have their own unrestricted free agent, Brendan Smith, locked up as well. Otherwise, they will have double the problems behind the line. Brooks adds the team attempted to move up from the seventh pick Friday to get Dallas’ third overall pick, likely to take top defensive prospect Cale Makar, but were not willing to pay the price for it. Makar ended up going fourth to the Colorado Avalanche.