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Morning Notes: Miller, van Riemsdyk, Virtanen

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K’Andre Miller will miss out on his next opportunity to impress the New York Rangers staff as he’s been forced off the USA Hockey World Junior Summer Showcase roster due to illness. Miller, selected 22nd-overall in June’s draft, will give up his spot to Max Gildon, a third-round pick of the Florida Panthers who attended the Showcase last summer as well.

Miller will play this season at the University of Wisconsin, and continue to develop as a defenseman after switching positions from forward just two years ago. Though he’ll need time to develop his defensive instincts further, there are already signs that Miller could grade out as a top-end option for the Rangers down the line. His length and skating ability should allow him to thrive in the NCAA right away, though the World Juniors may have to wait until next year.

  • James van Riemsdyk knew that he wouldn’t be back with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season long before he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, as his former team was up front with him heading into free agency. van Riemsdyk told media including Adam Kimelman of NHL.com that the Maple Leafs informed him they would be going in a different direction a few weeks before July 1st, and that he was grateful to them for being so honest. Interestingly, if we’re to believe that John Tavares made up his mind to go to the Maple Leafs just the night before signing, the team was prepared to let van Riemsdyk walk regardless and would have had an immense amount of cap space to go after other free agents. Signing a five-year $35MM contract with the Flyers, van Riemsdyk was arguably the second-best free agent option on the market behind Tavares.
  • Jake Virtanen has a lot of pressure on him to perform up to his high draft status this season, and he’s enlisted the help of a somewhat non-traditional source. Pavel Barber, the YouTube stickhandling sensation, has been working with Virtanen this summer according to Mike Johnston of Sportsnet. Barber runs coaching camps across North America and is known for his off-ice stickhandling routines, and Virtanen apparently can already feel an improvement in his game. After struggling to carve out a top-six role for himself despite a sixth-overall draft selection, any help is appreciated by Virtanen and the Vancouver Canucks. The 21-year old forward signed a two-year contract yesterday, and has a lot of pressure on him to perform in the next couple of seasons.

Ottawa Senators Sign Adam Tambellini

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The Ottawa Senators have signed some forward depth, adding Adam Tambellini on a one-year two-way contract. The deal will pay Tambellini $650K at the NHL level and just $85K in the AHL. Tambellini was not issued a qualifying offer from the New York Rangers and became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

It was a surprise when Tambellini, 23, didn’t receive a qualifying offer this summer, since he’d been a solid player in the Rangers organization for the past three seasons. Scoring at least 13 goals and 32 points in each of his professional seasons, the third-round pick could have been given another two-way contract in 2018-19. He is no longer waiver-exempt, but it seems unlikely that any team would claim him at this point in his career. For the Senators he’ll have to go through the same process, but without any NHL experience to speak of he’ll likely clear with no problem.

For Ottawa, he’ll join a Belleville Senators team that is looking for offense after scoring just 194 goals last season. That put them near the very bottom of the league, something they’ll need to change if they are to compete for the Calder Cup playoffs. Tambellini can certainly help the AHL squad, but there isn’t much reason to think he’ll play a big role for Ottawa this season.

Snapshots: Offer Sheets, Hall, O’Gara

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With a limited pool of quality unrestricted free agents this year and quite a few impressive names among restricted free agents available, one has to wonder whether this might be the year that a team makes an attempt to pry away one of them with an offer sheet.

Sure, no team has used an offer sheet since 2013 when the Calgary Flames attempted to sign center Ryan O’Reilly away from the Colorado Avalanche. It didn’t work and since then, there hasn’t been one. Yet with names like Noah Hanifin, Dylan Larkin and William Nylander still available, you would think a team might attempt to go the offer-sheet route.

However, Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that won’t be happening this year, if again. The scribe informally polled nine general managers, who all collectively said there would be no offer sheets handed out this summer. One reason is that general managers see it as a way to drive up salaries, which they don’t want, and since almost all offer sheets are matched, then what would be the point? Custance adds that the compensation for offer sheets must be changed, so teams might be more willing to let a player go.

  • Chris Ryan of nj.com analyzes the success of Hart Trophy winners the following year they won, as he wonders how New Jersey Devils Taylor Hall will respond next season after winning the Hart Trophy with a 39-goal and 93-point season. While most of the previous winners (going all the way back to the 2006 season) saw a decline in their play the following year, most of them still put up solid numbers and still were in the voting for the Hart Trophy the following year, even if they didn’t win it. Edmonton’s Connor McDavid finished fifth in the voting the following year, while 2016 Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane finished sixth the next season.
  • Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that former Boston Bruins defenseman Rob O’Gara, who was traded at the trade deadline to the New York Rangers as part of the Nick Holden trade felt the trade was bittersweet. The 25-year-old blueliner was still on his entry-level contract and had only played 11 NHL games before the trade, but the four-year Yale University product had already lost some faith in him. In a league where youth thrives, O’Gara had already run out of time as he failed to crack Boston’s rotation and was often passed over for promotion by younger defenseman. In New York, however, he got a legitimate chance to take on a more permanent role, as he played in 22 games, a role he hopes to hold onto this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Rangers, Grant, Guentzel, Ho-Sang

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The New York Rangers have made a few changes, but so far remain quiet this offseason as the real changes the team has made has been in their coaching staff. From new head coach David Quinn to assistant coaches Greg Brown and David Oliver, the team expects many of the changes to be within the organization as new coaches mean using players in different ways, which could see several players see big improvements.

Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down some of the changes the coaching staff intends to implement this season and suggests the team could get boosts in performance from multiple players, targeting Kevin Hayes, Pavel Buchnevich, Brady Skjei and Kevin Shattenkirk.  Assuming Hayes isn’t traded this offseason as has been rumored, the team could see him take another step in his development.

Shifted into a shutdown role more recently, Hayes has been successful, but he has the skills to be a top offensive forward if needed, which could happen this season. Buchnevich is another offensive force who has been slowed by injuries, while the team has high expectations for Skjei and Shattenkirk (finally healthy) to return to form as top-four defenders.

  • The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) explains the reasoning behind the Pittsburgh Penguins’ recent signing of center Derek Grant. While there has been recent talk about the excessive amount of centers the team has, there have been even more after the team added Grant. Yet, Yohe writes that the Penguins feel the team needs as many centers as they can find for depth purposes and that Grant could find himself playing either center or wing, depending on how training camp shakes out. However, the possibility the team might still make a late offseason trade remains a legitimate possibility, suggesting that Derick Brassard could be moved still.
  • The Athletic’s Nick Kelly (subscription required) writes that Pittsburgh Penguins Jake Guentzel is enjoying his offseason this year, while playing in Da Beauty League, because he got some extra time off when the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs this past year. While he has no wish to get that extra time off again, Guentzel has spent his time this offseason in the weight room in hopes of becoming a more well-rounded player. He hopes to take his game to the next level after a full season in which he tallied 22 goals and 48 points last year. However, he scored just two goals in his final 20 games, suggesting he needs to work on his strength and conditioning to take that next step.
  • Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that the New York Islanders Joshua Ho-Sang should get a clean slate with a new coaching staff and management coming into the fold. Ho-Sang is expected to take on a full-time roll with the organization this year after he spent most of last season in the AHL due to issues with Ho-Sang’s attitude. The 22-year-old criticized management about how they were handling their development. He started the season in New York, posting solid numbers, including two goals and 12 points in 22 games, but was sent down to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to work on other parts of his game and played 50 games there, but struggled at times, finishing with just eight goals.

Jimmy Vesey Re-Signs With New York Rangers

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The New York Rangers have avoided arbitration with one of their restricted free agents, signing Jimmy Vesey to a two-year contract worth a total of $4.55MM. Vesey was scheduled for an arbitration hearing on July 30th, which will no longer be necessary.

Vesey, 25, probably has more name recognition than most middle-six wingers in the league that are coming off back-to-back seasons with fewer than 30 points. That’s because of the saga that unfolded in the summer of 2016, when Vesey told the Nashville Predators he wouldn’t sign with them coming out of college. Even after trading a third-round pick for his rights the Buffalo Sabres couldn’t convince him to sign, and Vesey eventually became an unrestricted free agent. Despite connections to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, a then 23-year old Vesey decided to sign with the New York Rangers and was immediately inserted into their lineup.

In the two years since exiting Harvard following his Hobey Baker-winning season, Vesey has scored 33 goals and 55 points in 159 games. While that is fine production for a player that cost the Rangers nothing but an entry-level contract, it’s not quite what people were expecting when he was one of the most talked about stories of the 2016 offseason. There’s an obvious knack for goal scoring in Vesey, but there hasn’t been a consistent enough offensive or defensive presence to really consider him a key member in the Rangers’ quick rebuild. Instead he presents as a secondary scoring threat that is valuable and now reasonably priced at an average annual value of $2.275MM.

If Vesey is to really live up to the hype that surrounded him two summers ago, he’ll have to do it quickly before several younger prospects really make their mark and start demanding minutes with their on-ice play. Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson both received a taste of NHL action last year but could be full-time options for the team this season, while others like Brett Howden and Vitali Kravtsov aren’t far behind. Vesey will be an unrestricted free agent once again at the end of this two-year deal, meaning if he doesn’t show enough to justify a long-term contract this season he could find himself on the trade block at some point.

Snapshots: Rangers, Wilson, Mitchell

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The New York Rangers have hired David Oliver and Greg Brown as assistant coaches, rounding out David Quinn’s new staff in preparation for 2018-19. Lindy Ruff, a holdover from the last staff, will also be retained as an assistant. Oliver actually hired Quinn as head coach when working as GM of the Lake Erie Monsters, and even served as an assistant for him before the head coach was promoted to Colorado and then departed for Boston University.

Brown is coming in from Boston College where he has spent nearly a decade and a half, coaching elite collegiate talents including Rangers forwards Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. Quinn should be quite familiar with Brown from their days coaching against each other at the college level, and will try to bring a new enthusiasm and style to the Rangers as they continue to rebuild their NHL organization.

  • Tom Wilson is still without a contract, and according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post the Capitals preference is to work out a long-term deal with the power forward. The two sides have had “steady dialogue” and GM Brian MacLellan admitted that he’s the top priority right now. Even if a deal isn’t imminent, it’s clear that there will be something done to keep Wilson playing for the Capitals for some time. After a successful season with 35 points, Wilson really dominated in the playoffs for the Capitals and recorded 15 points in 21 games while making an impact physically on almost every shift. Selected in the first round six years ago with a hope that he’d turn into a premiere power forward in the NHL, the Capitals and Wilson are starting to see the results of his hard work.
  • Torrey Mitchell has signed a one-year contract in Switzerland, leaving the NHL after a decade and 666 regular season games. The 33-year old forward recorded 11 points last season while suiting up for 60 games between the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings, but may not have received much interest in free agency. He’ll join Lausanne HC for next season to hit the ice with other former NHL players like Joel Vermin, Dustin Jeffrey and Christoph Bertschy.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Three RFAs

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The Colorado Avalanche are down to one restricted free agent remaining – defenseman Patrik Nemeth – after announcing three contract extensions today with RFAs. Goaltender Spencer Martin, defenseman Ryan Graves, and defenseman Mason Geertsen, whose deal had already been leaked, have all signed one-year contracts for upcoming season. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Martin, the most well-known of the trio, has been a mainstay in net in the minors for the Avalanche for the past few years. Martin has made 84 starts for the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage over the past two seasons as well as three NHL appearances. Martin’s numbers at both levels are rather pedestrian, but the 23-year-old was Colorado’s top goaltender prospect until the team used a third-round pick on big Finnish keeper Justus Annunen this June. Between losing that title and the team’s additions of Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz in net, Martin is facing a big season in 2018-19 with his relevance in the Avs’ system in doubt.

Graves, 23, was just recently acquired by Colorado at the trade deadline in a swap of defensive prospects with the New York Rangers. The big blue liner was a 2013 fourth-round pick who has produced well in the AHL to this point in his pro career, but has yet to get a shot at the NHL. Graves is far from a polished prospect but still has some upside to his game that brings both physicality and play-making ability.

Like Graves, Geertsen has also failed to make it to the highest level yet in his career. Similar to Graves in size and experience, at 23 Geertsen still lacks a pro-caliber offensive game. Last season was his first spent entirely in the AHL, as Geertsen has previously spent extensive time in the ECHL.

New York Rangers Sign Five Players

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The New York Rangers have officially announced that Chris Bigras, Steven Fogarty, Boo Nieves and Rob O’Gara accepted their qualifying offers and have re-signed with the team for next season. John Gilmour, who was eligible for arbitration but decided not to file, has also agreed to a one-year two-way deal. Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post gives us each player’s NHL salary next season:

  • Bigras: $832,500
  • Fogarty: $708,750
  • O’Gara: $874,125
  • Nieves: $709,750
  • Gilmour: $650,000

Perhaps the player with the greatest chance at making an NHL impact among this group is Gilmour, who performed admirably in a 28-game sample last season. The Providence College standout signed with the Rangers in 2016 after failing to come to a contract with the Calgary Flames who had drafted him in the sixth round, and promptly found success at the AHL level. In 120 minor league games the last two seasons Gilmour registered 51 points despite the Hartford Wolf Pack really struggling to contend. In his brief NHL taste with the Rangers he recorded five points but registered positive possession statistics and showed off his strong skating ability.

That skating and relative youth—Gilmour turned 25 in May—are exactly what the Rangers are trying to bring to their defense corps as they navigate a rebuild, giving Gilmour an inside chance to play in the NHL this season. He is still waiver-exempt, but could potentially be a full-time player if he performs well enough in camp to impress new coach David Quinn who should be very familiar with Gilmour from his time in Hockey East with Boston University.

Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Oleksiak, Skjei

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With the team’s work with their restricted free agents now complete, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen now has time to work on more important projects for the team. The GM’s top priority is to attempt to talk to star Artemi Panarin and try and talk him into signing a long-term deal. Now, NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that Kekalainen intends to meet with Panarin in France on Monday.

Panarin, who will be an unrestricted free agent next season, could become the headline superstar available to teams like John Tavares was this offseason. The 26-year-old originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded a year ago to Columbus to alleviate salary cap issues. He posted excellent numbers with the Blue Jackets in the first season, putting upu 27 goals and a career-high 82 points. He has already stated that he isn’t willing to discuss an extension “as of now,” and it has been suggested by his agent Dan Milstein that the Blue Jackets might be better off trading him now.

Kekalainen obviously hopes that he can either convince Panarin to consider signing an extension soon or be convinced that he will have to make a trade to get Panarin to a team that he wants to play for.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to a three-year, $6.4MM deal a few days ago, but it shows how far the 6-foot-7, 255-pound blueliner has come, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Unable to break into the Stars’ lineup throughout the first five years of his career, he found himself traded to Pittsburgh where assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Sergei Gonchar altered his entire game like the franchise has done in the last few years with other blueliners such as Justin Schultz, Ian Cole and Chad Ruhwedel. Using film, they have worked on his defensive skills, penalty killing, his shot and his stickhandling to start and have high expectations for him next season. His offense has already started as in 47 games with Pittsburgh he posted four goals and 14 points.
  • Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down the New York Rangers restricted free agency dilemma, especially looking at what to do with defenseman Brady Skjei in regards to giving the blueliner a bridge deal or long-term deal. The scribe looks back to forward Kevin Hayes, also a restricted free agent, who received a two-year bridge deal, but now will cost the team quite a bit of money. Skjei, who is coming off a down year, might be better off with a bridge deal to see what kind of player he becomes over the next two seasons. However, a long-term deal might also be quite beneficial because it would come at a lower cost. Even if he doesn’t become more than a third-pairing defenseman, a low-cost long-term deal has quite a bit of trade value as well.

Rangers Re-Sign Rob O’Gara

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With the deadline to accept qualifying offers now just a day away, Rangers defenseman Rob O’Gara has accepted his qualifier, reports CapFriendly (Twitter link).  The deal will pay just over $874K in the NHL (105% of his base salary from last season) and $70K at the minor league level.

New York acquired O’Gara back in February from Boston in exchange for defenseman Nick Holden (who has since signed with Vegas in free agency).  Prior to the trade, he spent most of last season with the Bruins AHL affiliate in Providence, suiting up in 43 games while playing just eight times with Boston.

Following the trade, he became a regular on New York’s third pairing, playing in 22 games while averaging a respectable 17:10 in ice time.  Considering that the Rangers have not really done much to add to their back end this summer (aside from adding Fredrik Claesson), O’Gara has a good chance to reprise that role next season which likely played a role in him merely accepting his qualifying offer over negotiating a lower NHL salary in exchange for more guaranteed pay in the AHL.  If he fails to make the team, he will gave to clear waivers in order to go back to the minors.

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