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Snapshots: Off-Season, College Free Agents, Bratislava

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Three weeks into free agency, it’s fair to begin analyzing how teams have improved this off-season, even though there are still several notable UFA’s who remain unsigned. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn did just that, using his predictive model to look at which team has done the most this summer. Topping the list, unsurprisingly, are the New York Rangers, who have added Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kaapo Kakko, and Adam Fox among others. Although some have been critical of their contract details, the Florida Panthers come in a close second after adding Sergei Bobrovsky, Anton Stralman, Brett Connolly, and Noel Acciari. The Vancouver Canucks (Tyler Myers, J.T. Miller, Micheal Ferland), Chicago Blackhawks (Robin Lehner, Calvin de Haan, Olli Maatta), and Washington Capitals (Radko Gudas, Richard Panik, Garnet Hathaway) round out the top five off-season performers, per Luszczyszyn. His bottom team, very obviously, is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who faced an almost-impossible task of improving with Panarin, Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel all hitting the open market. The addition of Gustav Nyquist is a nice move, but not enough to keep them from being the team that was hurt the most this summer. Even the nearest team, the San Jose Sharks, are not that close in terms of projected wins lost, and they have added no new players of note this summer. Fortunately, for Columbus and several other teams who have failed to improve but have the cap space to do so, there are a number of good players still available in free agency and salary cap crunches and restricted free agent dilemmas across the league will likely force substantial talent onto the trade block before the new season gets underway.

  • Another way that teams may be able to improve this summer is by adding some soon-to-be-available college free agents next month. While it’s not the most talented class and lacks any star standouts like years past, the August NCAA group could provide some minor league depth a potential NHL upside to a number of teams. Expect Quinnipiac offensive blue liner Chase Priskie to be the most sought-after target. The following are the players set to become free agents on August 15th, along with the team that drafted them:

F Brent Gates, University of Minnesota (ANA)
D Steven Ruggiero, Lake Superior State University (ANA)
F Christopher Brown, Boston University (BUF) – signed to AHL deal with WBS
D Ivan Chukarov, University of Massachusetts (BUF)
F Max Willman, Boston University (BUF)
F Beau Starrett, Cornell University (CHI)
G Chase Perry, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (DET)
D Vincent Desharnais, Providence College (EDM) – signed to AHL deal with Bakersfield
F J.D. Dudek, Boston College (EDM)
G Hayden Hawkey, Providence College (EDM)
F Joe Wegwerth, University of Notre Dame (FLA)
D Nick Boka, University of Michigan (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Jack Sadek, University of Minnesota (MIN) – signed to AHL deal with Iowa
D Nikolas Koberstein, University of Alaska-Fairbanks (MTL)
F Thomas Novak, University of Minnesota (NSH) – signed to AHL deal with Milwaukee
D Miles Gendron, University of Connecticut (OTT) – signed to AHL deal with Belleville
F Brendan Warren, University of Michigan (PHI) – signed to ECHL deal with Indy
F Jacob Jackson, Michigan Tech University (SJS)
G Jake Kupsky, Union College (SJS)
F Marcus Vela, University of New Hampshire (SJS)
D Chase Priskie, Quinnipiac University (WSH)
F Steven Spinner, University of Nebraska-Omaha (WSH)

  • HC Slovan Bratislava is enjoying an active off-season, signing eight players, but it’s still unclear where they’ll be playing next season. Bratislava announced in May that it would be leaving the KHL and re-joining the Slovakina Extraliga. However, Slovakian news source Sport.SK says that it’s not that simple. The club owes a total debt of $3MM to 60 players who were not fully compensated when Bratislava last played for their national league. Until that debt is square, the league could block their re-entry. As of now, Bratislava has offered to pay 30% of the debt up front and then negotiate payment schedules with the former players to cover the rest of the outstanding debt. The league has until August 7th to make a decision about the team’s future, either granting them a license to participate or not, but in the meantime they have officially signed eight players with the expectation of playing this season and Sport.SK reports that at least seven more are waiting to sign on. One such player waiting to see how things play out is former NHL defenseman Andrej Meszaros, who captained the team over the past three years in the KHL. One would expect the most well-known pro team in Slovakia to gain entrance back into the top native league, but unpaid player salaries is a sensitive issue in Europe and there could be more hoops to jump through before anything becomes official.

Jacob Trouba Agrees To Terms With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers are going to avoid arbitration with new defenseman Jacob Trouba, instead agreeing to terms on a new contract. The deal is for seven years and carries an average annual value of $8MM. Trouba was scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 25, but will no longer require it. CapFriendly provides the full breakdown:

  • 2019-20: $4.0MM salary + $8.0MM signing bonus
  • 2020-21: $2.0MM salary + $8.0MM signing bonus + NMC
  • 2021-22: $2.0MM salary + $6.0MM signing bonus + NMC
  • 2022-23: $6.0MM salary + NMC
  • 2023-24: $8.0MM salary + NMC
  • 2024-25: $6.0MM salary + 15-team NTC
  • 2025-26: $6.0MM salary + 12-team NTC

This contract is exactly the reason why the Winnipeg Jets decided to move on and trade the 25-year old Trouba this summer, as they wouldn’t have been able to afford a deal of this magnitude even if he had wanted to sign long-term there. The Jets have Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine to sign this offseason and already have huge commitments laid out for several others. The Rangers meanwhile had nearly zero long-term commitments when they acquired Trouba for Neal Pionk and a first-round pick, though they subsequently gave Artemi Panarin $81.5MM in free agency.

Signing Trouba is another signal that the Rangers are finished their tear down and are starting to turn the corner towards a competitive team once again. After spending a little over a year selling every asset they could to acquire draft picks and prospects, the Rangers have now added a top-pairing defenseman, superstar winger and second-overall pick in one offseason, not to mention nabbing top college prospect Adam Fox from the Carolina Hurricanes. Though the team is still projected to be very young this year with names like Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Lias Andersson and Brett Howden fighting for playing time, the additions of Trouba and Panarin are not ones made by a rebuilding club.

The new contract for Trouba will buy out six years of unrestricted free agency, as an arbitration decision of one year would have taken him to the open market. Despite being only 25 he has already played six full seasons in the NHL, totaling 408 regular season games. After taking on a bigger powerplay role last season with the Jets, Trouba set a career-high in points with 50 while still averaging nearly 23 minutes a night. He will immediately become their top right-handed option, forming quite the formidable pairing with Brady Skjei if the team decides to go that route.

At $8MM however, a huge responsibility will be placed on Trouba’s shoulders. The deal makes him the fifth-highest paid defenseman (in terms of cap hit) in the league, tied with John Carlson and Brent Burns. Both of those players have reached the 70-point mark, with Burns being a previous Norris Trophy winner as the league’s best defenseman (three-time finalist). He’ll have more than enough opportunity to get to that level in New York, but it’s still a gamble for the Rangers to make at this point.

In fact, this deal (when combined with Panarin’s) puts the Rangers into a tight salary situation of their own. The team still has Brendan Lemieux and Anthony DeAngelo to sign and an arbitration hearing scheduled for later this month with Pavel Buchnevich. In order to afford new contracts for all three the Rangers will have to make an additional roster move, whether that is trading a player like Vladislav Namestnikov or buying out someone like Kevin Shattenkirk. The team will get another buyout window a few days after the Buchnevich arbitration is settled, which will give them some more flexibility. There is also the possibility of trading veteran forward Chris Kreider who sits as the third-highest paid forward on the team and is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Either way, this contract for Trouba comes with real consequences for the Rangers. The 25-year old defenseman is an excellent player, but he now has even more pressure to perform than ever.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

No Trade Interest In Shattenkirk, Smith, And Namestnikov

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With the Rangers needing to find out ways to clear out salary cap space in the near future, their trade chips don’t appear to be drawing much interest.  Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that Brendan Smith has yielded no interest while the only way they can move fellow buyout candidate Kevin Shattenkirk is if they take back another onerous contract (which wouldn’t do much to help their cap situation).  Meanwhile, they haven’t had any takes for winger Vladislav Namestnikov yet either.  With basically two weeks until their second buyout window opens up (which could come earlier if both Jacob Trouba and Pavel Buchnevich re-sign before their scheduled hearings), GM Jeff Gorton will certainly be active in the coming days to try to find a fit on the trade front.

Minor Transactions: 07/18/19

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As July marches on and we get closer to arbitration hearings and contract holdouts, teams continue to fill our their organizational depth charts. Here are some minor moves from around the league:

  • The Toronto Marlies continue to add more depth, signing Ryan Johnston and Michael Kapla to AHL contracts. Kapla spent last season with the Binghamton Devils and Iowa Wild, recording 24 points in 66 games. The defenseman is a former Umass-Lowell captain that played five games in the NHL during the 2016-17 season. Johnston meanwhile spent the last two seasons in the SHL, but also has ten games of NHL experience under his belt.
  • The Hershey Bears have signed Tariq Hammond to an AHL deal, bringing in another former Binghamton defenseman. The 25-year old played 43 games for the AHL Devils last season, recording three points. Hammond was part of the 2017 NCAA champion University of Denver squad alongside other NHL players like Troy Terry, Henrik Borgstrom, Dylan Gambrell and Will Butcher, and took over as captain the following season.
  • The Hartford Wolf Pack have signed Ryan Dmowski to another AHL deal, keeping him in the organization after he joined them earlier this spring out of college. The 22-year old left winger had four points in ten games down the stretch for the Wolf Pack, and will likely be asked to play a bigger role in his first full professional season.
  • Carolina has brought in some AHL depth, announcing the signings of wingers Hunter Shinkaruk and Colin Markison plus defenseman Derek Sheppard to AHL deals.  Shinkaruk, a first-round pick of Vancouver back in 2013, had a disastrous season with Montreal’s farm team and was non-tendered last month.  Meanwhile, Markison has posted back-to-back 27-point seasons with Texas of the AHL while Sheppard was quite productive at the ECHL last season with 40 points in 57 games.

New York Rangers Agree To Terms With Phillip Di Giuseppe

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Though it has been expected for a few days, the New York Rangers finally made it official today when announcing they have agreed to terms with Phillip Di Giuseppe on a one-year contract. Di Giuseppe was an unrestricted free agent after failing to receive a qualifying offer from the Nashville Predators.

The 25-year old was picked 38th overall in 2012 by the Carolina Hurricanes, and eventually found a way onto the team as the 12th or 13th forward. Playing 147 games over parts of four seasons for the Hurricanes, he recorded 41 points but never could quite escape the minor leagues entirely. Last year after being placed on waivers for the second time, he was claimed by the Predators and played three games for them. Held scoreless in those he was on waivers once again and even the Hurricanes didn’t put in a claim to bring him back. He finished the year with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.

Even if Di Giuseppe isn’t going to make a huge impact at the NHL level, he still represents some nice forward depth for the Rangers. He can be the first call-up if the team runs into injury trouble and doesn’t want to sit a top prospect in the press box, or serve as an experienced leader at the AHL level. He will need waivers again obviously, but at the end of training camp when everyone has a full roster it would be surprising to see him claimed. That is of course assuming he doesn’t play his way onto the team, which is still possible given the uncertainty any roster filled with prospects and rookies has.

Poll: How Many Unresolved Arbitration Cases Will Require An Award?

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In the NHL, the salary arbitration process is more often used as a negotiating tool – an incentive to get a deal done before the uncomfortable setting of a hearing and the unknown of an arbitrator’s decision – than it is for its actual purpose. A vast majority of players who file for arbitration end up settling before their hearing or even at the last moment before an award is handed down. Last year, 44 players filed for arbitration and 40 settled prior to their hearing. The year before, all 30 cases were resolved before an arbitration award could be made.

So what about this year? There were initially 40 cases of player-elected arbitration and one case of team-elected arbitration (the St. Louis Blues and goalie Ville Husso), but that number is now down to 25 open cases. That’s a substantial drop-off, but time is running out for some RFA’s and their teams to come to terms, as the first scheduled hearing is set to take place on Saturday, July 20th. Listed below are all of the remaining cases:

July 20: Brock McGinn, Carolina Hurricanes
July 21: Andrew Copp, Winnipeg Jets
July 22: MacKenzie Weegar, Florida Panthers; Zach Aston-Reese, Pittsburgh Penguins; Ville Husso, St. Louis Blues; Christian Djoos, Washington Capitals
July 23: Evan Rodrigues, Buffalo Sabres
July 24: Oskar Sundqvist, St. Louis Blues; Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets
July 25: Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers
July 26: Colton Sissons, Nashville Predators
July 27: Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames
July 28: Mirco Mueller, New Jersey Devils
July 29: David Rittich, Calgary Flames; Pavel Buchnevich, New York Rangers
August 1: Remi Elie, Buffalo Sabres; Chandler Stephenson, Washington Capitals
August 2: Linus Ullmark, Buffalo Sabres; Charles Hudon, Montreal Canadiens; Will Butcher, New Jersey Devils
August 4: Jake McCabe, Buffalo Sabres; Anton Forsberg, Carolina Hurricanes; Sheldon Dries, Colorado Avalanche; Rocco Grimaldi, Nashville Predators; Joel Edmundson, St. Louis Blues

Given the time constraints and the complexity of each of these cases, how many will feel forced to go to hearing? Will Trouba be one of that select group, as he was last year? Will the Sabres struggle to settle four cases before their scheduled hearing dates? Will the Blues see through their team-elected case with Husso? Will other goalies prove to be difficult negotiations? And will polarizing players like Bennett and Buchnevich fail to find common ground with their teams? Or will it be under-the-radar players like Gemel Smith and Brett Kulak last year who go through the full process?

There are many questions left about this group of restricted free agents and time is running out before we know the answers. So the choice is yours: will we see an unprecedented class of arbitration awards or will all or most cases reach a resolution in the coming weeks?

[Mobile users click here to vote]

Rangers Have Made Vladislav Namestnikov And Pavel Buchnevich Available

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With the Rangers needing to clear up some cap space following their acquisition of winger Artemi Panarin earlier this month, defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Brendan Smith have come up as speculative candidates to be bought out during the second buyout window.  However, as Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post notes, they are looking at the trade market as well and have made wingers Vladislav Namestnikov and Pavel Buchnevich available.

Namestnikov struggled in his first full season in New York and came up well short of the 48 points he produced with the Lightning and Rangers in 2018-19. He had just 11 goals on the season, not the type of production that they were expecting when they signed him to a two-year, $8MM contract last summer.  However, on an expiring deal, there should be teams with some interest that believe a change of scenery could help him get back to his Tampa Bay levels.

Buchnevich’s presence here is a little more interesting.  The restricted free agent had a career-best 21 goals last season and has emerged as a capable middle-six winger for New York.  While he is going to salary arbitration, it seems unlikely that he’d be able to command the contract that Namestnikov has.  Since he still has three years of team control remaining, GM Jeff Gorton should be able to command a strong return if they do indeed move him.

Cyrgalis also mentions Chris Kreider as a potential trade possibility although for a different reason entirely.  If they can agree on a contract extension, then he clearly wouldn’t be made available.  However, if they wind up still being far apart on a new deal, then it’s certainly possible that he could find himself on the move.

As things stand, the Rangers have a little over $7MM in cap space, per CapFriendly.  However, defenseman Jacob Trouba will basically take up all of that with Buchnevich, Anthony Deangelo, and Brendan Lemieux still needing new contracts as well.  Their second buyout window won’t open up until Trouba and Buchnevich both sign.  If Buchnevich was to go to his hearing on July 29th, his reward wouldn’t come until the end of the month which would give Gorton about two and a half weeks to deal with his cap crunch.  That makes the Rangers a team to watch for in the coming weeks.

Latest On Rangers’ Jacob Trouba

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While many people expected that the New York Rangers would lock up defenseman Jacob Trouba quickly after the team acquired the blueliner from Winnipeg in June, that still has not happened. Now with a pending date of July 25 for his arbitration hearing, it’s possible that the two teams will go down to the wire and there’s no guarantee that Trouba won’t sign just a one-year deal or force arbitration.

In fact, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks suggests that while he thought the Trouba deal would already be done, he now wonders whether Trouba has a different plan after all. While Trouba could sign a seven-year deal now, somewhere between $7.5-7.8MM and about $55MM total. However, if he’s willing to bet on himself, the 25-year-old could turn this into a nine-year deal worth as much as $70MM. Trouba could be looking to ink a one-year deal this summer and then would be eligible to sign an eight-year pact after the trade deadline and could really cash in then.

However, the one flaw in Trouba’s plan is whether the Rangers are going to be willing to take the chance that they could lose him for nothing at the end of the year if Trouba decides he doesn’t like it in New York and chooses to sign elsewhere. The Rangers could opt to flip him at the trade deadline if there is no sign that he wants to sign.

Of course, Trouba gave Winnipeg a short list of teams he would play for last month and the Rangers were one of those teams, so it’s unlikely he’s already decided he doesn’t want to stay. Brooks writes that he still believes that Trouba and the Rangers will come to an agreement on a long-term deal as general manger Jeff Gorton and Trouba’s agent Kurt Overhardt have been conducting extensive negotiations, but at the same time, he adds that it is possible that Trouba is trying to get another $15MM out of the Rangers.

Another possibility is that if Trouba could lose quite a bit of money if he gambles on himself and struggles in New York. The Rangers are ready to commit seven years to him right now. Trouba, as well as the Rangers, view him as a top-line defensive player, but often playing in New York creates new pressures. However, Trouba has gambled on himself before, signing a one-year deal with Winnipeg last season and he proceeded to produce a career-high eight goals and 50 points. Also, there is little motivation to get a deal done and real pressure won’t get started until a couple of days before his arbitration day hearing, so we’ll see how things shake out.

Metropolitan Notes: Williams, Voracek, Kreider

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It’s been a busy offseason for the Carolina Hurricanes as the team has worked hard to improve their roster in hopes of keeping themselves relevant after a impressive playoff run last season. The team has already signed restricted free agent Sebastian Aho after matching the offer sheet he signed with the Montreal Canadiens. The team traded for Erik Haula and signed Ryan Dzingel to a reasonable deal as well. They also brought back goaltender Petr Mrazek to bolster their goaltending.

However, there is one thing still missing from their offseason so far and that’s a decision from veteran forward Justin Williams. News & Observer’s Luke DeCock writes that while Williams is still trying to decide whether he will return for a 19th season. The 37-year-old was still quite productive last season, putting up 23 goals and 53 points. However, he wants time before committing for another season.

DeCock writes that the expectation among the team is that Williams will return, but at the same time, no one really knows what he will do. However, Williams return could make a huge difference to their fortunes next season. While the team likely doesn’t need him to be a top-six scorer anymore, the team needs his leadership and abilities as he would get a simpler role as a bottom-six option.

  • The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor (subscription required) analyzes the recent play of Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek, who has seen his role as a top-line forward change. The 29-year-old has moved to the second line and is starting to see a change in his long-time role, according to O’Connor, who writes that the veteran is no longer a play-driver like he has been in previous years. Since signing his eight-year, $66MM deal back in 2015, he’s hasn’t put up peak numbers with the exception of his 2017-18 season in which he put up 20 goals and 85 points. While he once was a player who could lead a pair of rookies on his line, the belief is that he is no longer that player. While still a solid middle-six option, it looks like Voracek is entering a new phase in his career even though he has five more years at $8.25MM AAV.
  •  The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman (subscription required) writes the New York Rangers must make a decision on what they want to do with Chris Kreider. The 28-year-old forward is in the final year of his contract and should acquire a significant raise from his $4.63MM AAV this season. Goldman writes that while the team technically could wait to make a decision on whether they want to re-sign Kreider until the trade deadline next year, waiting that long could have its own problems. With Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Kappo Kaako and Vitali Kravtsov expected to join their lineup this season, the team could challenge for a playoff spot, which might make it difficult for the Rangers to trade off Kreider and then the team could conceivably lose him for nothing if they don’t intend to bring him back. With rumors that it might cost New York seven years at $7.3MM per season, the team has to make a big decision soon.

Kaapo Kakko Signs Entry-Level Contract

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The New York Rangers have agreed to terms with Kaapo Kakko on his three-year entry-level contract, getting a bit of business done before restricted free agents take up the rest of the summer. Kakko’s deal will likely kick in this season as he is expected to play in the NHL, and should contain a huge number of performance bonuses.

Kakko, 18, was the second overall selection in last month’s NHL Entry Draft after an outstanding season in Finland and internationally. The rangy, powerful forward broke Aleksander Barkov’s Liiga record of goals scored in one season by an under-18 player with 22, and won Rookie of the Year. That performance wrapped around an outstanding effort at the World Juniors where he and his Finnish teammates took home the gold medal. Kakko scored the game-winning goal in the final against Team USA and draft rival Jack Hughes.

With some unfinished business after his TPS squad was eliminated from league playoffs, the teenager then suited up for Finland again at the IIHF World Championship where he recorded six goals in ten games and once again helped Finland capture the gold. Even with nearly unprecedented success in his draft year, he was unable to pass Hughes for the honor to be selected first overall.

The Rangers won’t be complaining though, as Kakko is exactly the kind of franchise-changing talent that they can put in the middle of their rebuild. The team had already been growing a strong program with recent trades, but have now obviously turned the corner towards competing with the selection of Kakko and signing of Artemi Panarin. The wingers should form the basis of a solid forward core for years to come while other young talents like Filip Chytil, Lias Andersson, Brett Howden and Vitali Kravtsov fill in the rest of their impressive depth chart.

Obviously there may be growing pains for Kakko in his first season, but after showing he can compete against NHL stars at the international level he should step right into a substantial role with the Rangers in 2019-20.

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