- The New York Islanders have re-signed Alan Quine to a two-year deal tweets Arthur Staple. Staple reports that it’s a one-way deal with a $612.5K AAV. Andy Graziano reports that the deal is a total of $1.225MM. Quine played in 10 playoff games with the Islanders, notching five points (1-4).
- The Canucks officially announced the signings of goalie Richard Bachman and forward Michael Zalewski. Zalewski was inked to a one-year, $632.5K deal. Bachman signed a one-year, $575K deal. Jason Brough tweets that Bachman may be the goalie Vancouver leaves exposed in next year’s expansion draft.
- The Lightning signed Cory Conacher to a one-year, $575K deal. Conacher will return to the team he last played for in 2012-13 before bouncing around the league. Conacher was traded to the Senators for Ben Bishop in 2013. At the time, it was considered a win for both teams, but would turn out a heist for the Lightning. Conacher played for Bern in the Swiss National League last season, and had 52 points (20-32) in 48 games.
- The Panthers have re-signed F Logan Shaw to a one year, two-way deal according to General Fanager. Shaw played in 53 games with Florida last season, picking up seven points (5-2). He also played in 19 AHL games, collecting 14 points (11-3). Shaw will earn $660K in the NHL and $70K in the AHL.
- Ducks UFA Charlie Sarault has signed a one year deal with Dornbirner EC of the EIHL, the Austrian team announced on their Facebook page. Sarault had 62 points in 67 games with Utah of the ECHL last season.
- Los Angeles has signed Patrick Bjorkstrand to a one year, entry level contract, reports General Fanager. Bjorkstrand, the older brother of Columbus prospect Oliver Bjorkstrand, spent last season with Zagreb of the KHL, scoring 22 points in 57 games. He will have a cap hit of $667K in terms of base salary and a signing bonus and can earn up to $257K in performance bonuses.
Islanders Rumors
Snapshots: Blackhawks, Islanders, Blue Jackets
The Chicago Sun Times’ Mark Lazerus writes about the new young talent in Chicago, one of which includes an un-signed and undrafted gem. Alexandre Fortin, the nephew of former NHL netminder Jean-Sebastien Giguere, has turned some heads in camp. Fortin leads all scorers with five goals in three scrimmages, and the 19-year-old forward could be another great find by the Hawks front office. Fortin had 19 goals last season with Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL. Lazerus reports that the center posted 43 points but struggled with confidence and injuries. Lazerus also writes about towering goalie Wouter Peeters, who stands at 6 foot 5. Peeters was a third round pick of the Hawks, and is only 17-years-old. He will play in Sweden during the 2016-17 season, but is a prospect Lazerus believes the Hawks will be watching closer than others as their goaltending depth is thin.
In other news:
- NBC’s Jason Brough reports that the New York Islanders ownership will spend every dollar they can in order to win a Stanley Cup. New owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin assumed control of the team July 1 from Charles Wang and Ledecky started by telling Peter Motte of the Daily News that they would not only be a “cap-max” team if necessary, but that the Isles would be staying in Brooklyn for the time being. Ledecky also stated that the focus would be on the fan experience as the ownership team works to bring a consistent Cup contender in.
- The Bluc Jackets have hired Cameron Scholvin as a senior vice president and Chief Revenue Officer according to Aaron Portzline. Portzline adds that Scholvin served as the senior vice president of corporate development for the Jackets from 2008-12. Scholvin was working with IMG College as a Regional Vice President prior to his new position with Columbus.
Western Conference Notes: Schmaltz, Subban, Larsson
Evidently the new Las Vegas expansion team is wasting little time getting up and running. As we mentioned yesterday, the newest entry in the Western Conference was closing in on naming the first GM in franchise history. Today we learned a press conference has indeed been scheduled for tomorrow at 1 pm PST where club owner Bill Foley is expected to announce his choice. Speculation, and that’s all it is at this point, is that George McPhee, formerly the longtime GM of the Washington Capitals and currently serving as an adviser with the Islanders under Garth Snow, will be named Las Vegas’ inaugural GM.
More from the wild, wild West:
- Chicago GM Stan Bowman deserves a lot of credit for maintaining the Hawks presence as a Stanley Cup contender despite annual salary dumps, including this summer’s trades of Teuvo Teravainen and Andrew Shaw. His ability to constantly juggle his roster while remaining cap compliant is due to the constant infusion of affordable young talent the organization continues to find and develop. Mark Lazarus of the Chicago Sun Times profiles several youngsters who aim to make the Hawks roster for the 2016-17 season.
- Addressing questions from the reader mailbag, Adam Vingan of the Tennessean speculates how the Predators will employ shiny new toy, P.K. Subban. Like many, I thought the Predators got the better end of the Subban-for-Shea Weber trade. Subban is an electrifying talent still in his prime at 27 while Weber would seem to be on the downside as he approaches his 31st birthday. Plus with another decade remaining on Weber’s contract with a cap hit in excess of $7.8MM per, the Canadiens took on a healthy amount of risk on the back end of his deal.
- From the same mailbag, Vingan also deals with the same tough choices every NHL GM will have to face between now and the expansion draft; namely which quality NHL player or players will they leave exposed. The league certainly went out of its way to ensure Las Vegas will be able to add legitimate talent and a lot of teams will be in the unenviable position of allowing a good player to leave for nothing.
- The Subban deal wasn’t the only blockbuster trade completed this summer and it may not even by the one most panned by critics. Nearly every pundit thought the Devils pilfered LW Taylor Hall from Edmonton with Adam Larsson the return going to the Oilers. But it may not be as bad as it seems. Bottom line is GM Peter Chiarelli absolutely needed to upgrade his defense corps and likely didn’t have a lot of palatable options with which to do so. Plenty of young, RFA defensemen have been rumored to possibly be available via trade but exactly none have been moved to date despite the abundant need for quality blueliners around the league. Plus, unlike those RFA’s who would need new contracts with salaries inflating, Larsson comes at the beginning of a freshly inked deal that pays him a shade over $4.1MM on average for the next five seasons. That cost control has value. Fact is, Chiarelli might have made the best deal possible at the time, even if it ends up being a net negative in the long run.
Isles Re-Sign Scott Mayfield To Two-Year Contract
According to this tweet from Arthur Staple of Newsday, the New York Islanders have re-signed RFA defenseman Scott Mayfield to a two-year, one-way deal. The contract comes with a guaranteed AAV of $650K per season.
With Mayfield on board, the Isles would now seem to have a bit of a logjam at the defense position as according to their depth chart on Roster Resource, the club has eight blueliners on their roster. Although it’s likely Mayfield will be used as a depth piece, available to be called up from the AHL in the event of injury to a regular defenseman.
Mayfield saw action in just six NHL games this past season but did notch his first career goal on April 29th against Buffalo. For his career he has appeared in just 11 contests, netting only the one point and adding 18 PIMs, further suggesting the Islanders intend to utilize Mayfield in a depth role and experienced hand for their farm team in Bridgeport.
Securing a one-way, guaranteed deal is a nice piece of work by Mayfield’s representation. It’s also a smart move by the Islanders to add to their organizational depth. Clearly the club is comfortable with Mayfield and as they say, you can never have too many NHL-quality defensemen.
Development Camp Notes: Matthews, Bertuzzi, Pokka
After two crazy weeks in the NHL that saw blockbuster trades and nearly a billion dollars spent on the free agent market, teams now hold development camps for their young prospects, evaluating what they have and allowing the recent draftees to get their first taste of an NHL organization.
In Maple Leaf camp, much of the speculation has been around Auston Matthews and his yet-to-be-signed contract. With GM Lou Lamoriello being staunchly against performance bonuses, it’s been opined many times that this is the sticking point. Lamoriello tried to put and end to that today, speaking with Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: “We’re certainly talking to his representative. I don’t think this is something that’s going to take long. I have total confidence that he’ll be under contract. He’s an elite player and will be (in the NHL). No one’s going to be rushed here.”
As we outlined this past week, Matthews could earn upwards of $3MM if he were to max out all the usual bonuses given to top draft picks. Here’s more from around the league’s development camps:
- Tyler Bertuzzi, nephew of former Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi is absent from camp today due to overall soreness, reports Brendan Savage of MLive. The former second-round pick is the elder statesman at Detroit’s camp as he tries to work his way into a bottom-six role in the NHL. After putting up 98 points in his last year of junior, Bertuzzi made an impact at the AHL level last season, scoring 12 goals and 30 points in 71 games.
- In Chicago, the Blackhawks are holding camp without one of their top prospects in Ville Pokka, reports Scott Powers of The Athletic. The Finnish defenseman was injured during the World Hockey Championship (in which Finland earned a silver medal), after spending last season with the Rockford Icehogs of the AHL. With 75 points in 144 games at that level, Pokka has turned into the puck-moving defenseman the Islanders hoped for when they made him their second-round pick in 2012. He joined the Chicago organization after being the centerpiece of a deal for Nick Leddy in 2014.
Snapshots: Matthews; Tavares; Senators
Number one draft pick Auston Matthews remains unsigned by the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite the rigidity of an entry level contract. As reported by Toronto Star writer Kevin McGran, and touched on by us earlier, the signing delay may stem from Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello’s aversion to contract bonuses. Entry level contracts are fairly straightforward, with base salary capped at $925,000. The wiggle room comes in the form of performance bonuses.
The CBA allows for two types of ELC bonuses, creatively called Individual “A” and “B” bonuses. “A” Bonuses are capped at an aggregate total of $850K, and “B” bonuses are capped at an aggregate total of $2MM. Thus, a player could theoretically earn up to $3.77MM in base salary and bonuses.
For reference, the last two number one picks—Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Florida’s Aaron Ekblad—received the max base salary and bonuses available. Patrik Laine, the number two pick this year, received a full base salary and $2.65MM in potential bonuses while the third pick Pierre-Luc Dubois received a full base salary and $2.5MM in potential bonuses.
Other notes around the league:
- The New York Islanders hope to sign John Tavares to an extension next summer, according to GM Garth Snow. The Islanders captain has two more years left on his deal that pays him $5.5MM a year. GM Snow would want to avoid the controversy and uncertainty that surrounded Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer. Unless Tavares’s play declines significantly, the centerman is in line for a hefty raise.
- Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion spoke to the media today regarding signing Chris Kelly and other future transactions. Dorion is confident that the Sens will get a deal done with RFAs Cody Ceci and Mike Hoffman. Hoffman elected for salary arbitration—his second time in two years—while Ceci is not yet eligible. Dorion also intimated that the Senators will not pursue any more free agents, which corroborates the popular conception that the team operates under a restrictive internal budget.
Snapshots: Islanders, Dumba, Fischer, Penguins
The Islanders are likely finished with their free agent shopping this offseason, reports Newsday’s Arthur Staple. The team still has to re-sign Ryan Strome, Alan Quine, and Scott Mayfield which should pretty well eat up the remainder of the roughly $4.9MM they have in cap space, as per Cap Friendly.
Still from Staple, he notes that the Islanders currently have a bit of a goalie logjam with Jaroslav Halak, Thomas Greiss, and J-F Berube all on one-way contracts. That situation isn’t likely to be resolved until training camp and further throwing a wrench into that battle is the fact that Halak and Greiss are two of the three netminders for Team Europe at the upcoming World Cup and won’t be with the team most of the preseason. That should allow Berube to see a lot of exhibition action for the Isles.
More news and notes from around the league:
- In a radio interview this morning and transcribed by Chris Nichols of Today’s Slapshot, Minnesota GM Chuck Fletcher characterized discussions with RFA defenseman Mathew Dumba as fine and that they will “be able to come up with a deal here sometime in the next few weeks”. The 21 year old Dumba had 10 goals and 16 assists in 81 games with the Wild last season.
- Arizona prospect Christian Fischer could pose an interesting dilemma for the Coyotes this coming season, writes Craig Morgan of ArizonaSports.com. Fischer made a strong impression at development camp and if he doesn’t crack Arizona’s roster, the 19 year old has the option of being assigned back to junior or to the AHL as he wasn’t drafted out of the CHL and there are certainly pros and cons to each route.
- Pittsburgh has spent $1.65MM in guaranteed money for seven depth offseason additions, a trend that reflects the rising AHL salaries across the league, writes Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Of course, the trade-off for giving those players a higher minor league salary is the willingness for them to take an NHL salary for $575K, the league minimum which provides teams like the Penguins greater salary cap flexibility with the players towards the end of their rosters.
Islanders Re-sign J-F Berube
Arthur Staple of Newsday tells us that the New York Islanders have re-signed restricted free agent goaltender Jean-Francois Berube to a one-year deal worth $675K.
Berube made his NHL debut last season with the Islanders, getting into seven games throughout the year. He essentially spent the season as the team’s third goaltender though, spending most of his time in waiver-limbo between the club and it’s AHL affiliate.
In 2014-15 he was an outstanding performer on the Calder Cup winning Manchester Monarchs, but he’ll try to catch on this season and establish himself as a capable backup at the NHL level.
Panthers Extend Reilly Smith For Five Years
Clearly the biggest players in free agency this year, the Florida Panthers are close to another move to lock up their young core. Gary Lawless of TSN was first to report that the team was close to an extension with forward Reilly Smith that would pay him $5MM a season for an additional five years. The team has since confirmed the length of the deal, though not the financial details.
In just the past few weeks, the team has traded for then signed Keith Yandle, dealt away Dmitry Kulikov, given extensions to Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck, signed free agents Jason Demers and James Reimer, and pretty much owned the hockey world.
Smith, 25, had an excellent season last year with the Panthers, scoring 25 goals and 50 points. The former third round pick has had quite a start to his career, putting up at least 40 points in each of his first three full seasons. The talented young winger came over to Florida in the deal that saw them take on Marc Savard’s cap-hit from the Bruins, one that they recently dealt to New Jersey for some cap relief of their own.
The Panthers have been on quite a clear path lately, trying to push past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the year they lost in the Cup finals to Colorado. After being knocked out by the New York Islanders last season, the team has made clear upgrades to their defensive group, and should have one of the better top pairings in the league with Ekblad and Yandle signed long-term.
Smith is still under contract for next season at a $3.43MM cap hit, meaning that a five-year extension would take him through the 2021-22 season. Perhaps not coincidentally, that is also when Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov will hit free agency, giving the team a chance to re-tool if they need to at that point.
If the financials are true, it would mean the Panthers have four young forwards under contract long-term for less than $6MM apiece in Barkov, Trocheck, Smith and Nick Bjugstad. All 25 or under, that quartet scored 93 goals last season. Next on the to-do list would be Jonathan Huberdeau, the former third overall pick who put up 20 goals of his own last season. He’s due $3.25MM next year before becoming an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.
Vesey Remains Committed To Free Agency
Jimmy Vesey will wait a little longer before deciding his future.
The Harvard grad says he’s committed to becoming an unrestricted free agent, but that won’t happen until August 15. The end-of-summer signing period won’t prevent him from being heavily sought-after. While Vesey has never publicly revealed his shortlist, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe reports Toronto, Boston, Buffalo, both New York teams, New Jersey, and “potentially” St. Louis and Philadelphia having potentially having major interest.
Vesey was drafted 66th overall in 2012 by the Nashville Predators. He played 4 seasons post-draft at Harvard, posting 144 points in 128 games. But when it came time to sign his entry-level contract with the Predators, Vesey declined to put pen to paper, despite allegedly saying he would. Not wanting to lose a good prospect for nothing, the Predators traded Vesey to Buffalo for the 70th pick in this year’s entry draft, recouping the draft pick they spent on Vesey but not the four years of development.
According to Frank Seravalli of TSN, the Sabres plan on making their pitch to Vesey sometime this week, with hopes of convincing him to sign and play with his good friend, Jack Eichel. Vesey and Eichel have been playing together on a summer league team for years now, and Eichel has already given Vesey the talk about Buffalo. However, Vesey’s agent confirmed that free agency is still the plan.
Despite being done school, Vesey will spend his summer doing homework on where he wants to sign. He has family connections in Toronto, with his dad working with the Maple Leafs and his brother being drafted by them. He’s spent four seasons playing in Massachusetts. His good friend plays with Buffalo.
All of the above-listed teams have room for Vesey in their top 6 forwards, and will be getting a highly-motivated player.