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Buffalo Sabres Give GM Kevyn Adams Multi-Year Extension

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed general manager Kevyn Adams to a multi-year extension, the team announced Wednesday. Terms of the contract have not been reported or released.

Adams is entering his third season as general manager and 14th season with the organization overall as an executive. First joining the Sabres as a development coach in 2009-10 after announcing his retirement in early 2009, Adams made the jump to the NHL bench after just two seasons. Named an assistant coach for the 2011-12 season, he was behind the bench for the first two seasons of the team’s current 11-season playoff drought. At that point, he was named a director of the team for 2013-14, whose responsibilities included overseeing Buffalo’s youth hockey program.

For the 2019-20 season, Adams made the jump to senior vice president of business administration, taking on a role working much closer with owners Kim and Terry Pegula. With Buffalo firing Jason Botterill prior to the 2020-21 season, the Sabres named Adams general manager in what was a surprising move at the time.

It’s a move that has worked out well, though, as Buffalo’s finally seemed to solidify an upward trajectory in their years-long rebuild. With Adams being dealt a tough hand early in being forced to trade superstar center Jack Eichel, he received a package that so far includes Sabres top-six forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, as well as 2022 16th overall pick Noah Östlund. The Sabres also still have a 2023 second-round selection courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Adams has also had to lock down a good portion of Buffalo’s core, and it’s been so far, so good. He signed All-Star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin to a three-year bridge deal in September of 2021 and got Tage Thompson under contract for seven years a few weeks ago, although the jury remains out on that massive contract.

Owner Terry Pegula gave a statement on the hiring:

Kevyn’s leadership and vision over the past two seasons has proven to be invaluable, and I am confident in his ability to continue to move us forward as an organization. He is respected by players, coaches, staff, and peers around the league alike due to the poise with which he carries himself and the respect he reciprocates to every individual he encounters. He has grown in different roles throughout the organization, providing him unique perspectives that help him perform at the highest level as general manager.

Nathan MacKinnon Signs Eight-Year Extension

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Nathan MacKinnon isn’t going anywhere. The Colorado Avalanche superstar has signed an eight-year extension to stay in Denver through the 2030-31 season. The deal will pay MacKinnon an average of $12.6MM per season, meaning he will be the highest-paid player in the league, just eclipsing Connor McDavid’s $12.5MM AAV.

The deal, which kicks in for the 2023-24 season, will double his current cap hit of $6.3MM, a deal that has become one of the greatest bargains in the entire league. MacKinnon signed the seven-year deal in 2016 when he was still putting up an average of just 50 points per season. Things have certainly changed since then, with three appearances as a Hart Trophy finalist and a Stanley Cup this past spring.

There are few players in the league that can impact a game as much as the 27-year-old center. MacKinnon’s incredibly powerful skating stride can separate him from defenders in an instant, his offensive instincts are among the best in the world, and his shot creation results in plenty of opportunities for himself and his linemates. Since 2017-18, his first true superstar campaign, his 442 points trail only McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, while his points-per-game are behind only McDavid and Nikita Kucherov.

Incredibly, if MacKinnon didn’t already have nine seasons of NHL action under his belt, he wouldn’t have even reached unrestricted free agency this summer, having only turned 27 at the start of September. That means the extension will span his age 28-35 seasons, and that the Avalanche won’t be on the hook for a big number as he enters his late-thirties. While it remains a huge number to carry, it is likely still a bargain for the next couple of seasons while MacKinnon remains an elite player. If the salary cap takes a big jump, it could remain one for the majority of the extension.

There is no short-changing MacKinnon here though. The superstar will receive $85.34MM of the $100.8MM deal in the form of signing bonuses, and a full no-movement clause will kick in right away and last throughout the entire extension. CapFriendly gives the full details:

  • 2023-24: $775K salary + $15.725MM signing bonus
  • 2024-25: $775K salary + $15.725MM signing bonus
  • 2025-26: $800K salary + $15.25MM signing bonus
  • 2026-27: $9.15MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
  • 2027-28: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus
  • 2028-29: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus
  • 2029-30: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus
  • 2030-31: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus

It’s a massive commitment from the Avalanche, though one that is very much deserved. Not only is MacKinnon one of the best players in the league but he also has been through the worst the franchise has to offer, when Colorado was putting up historically-bad results. In 2016-17 the team won just 22 games, finishing dead last and more than 20 points behind the next worst. They would go on to lose the draft lottery as well, though that ended up inn their favor, as the fourth-overall pick was Cale Makar.

While the Conn Smythe this year went to Makar it could have easily been MacKinnon to take home the playoff MVP, after leading the postseason with 13 goals in 20 games. For his career, he has performed at an incredibly high level when the games matter most, scoring 41 goals and 93 points in 70 career playoff games.

With this deal, along with extensions already worked out for Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, and Artturi Lehkonen, the team’s competitive window remains wide open for the foreseeable future. It also likely leaves some money on the table, which will help out when Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen need extensions down the road (2024 and 2025 respectively).

MacKinnon may end up playing his entire career with Colorado, given how long this new deal extends. His potential free agency is now something Avalanche fans won’t have to think about for a very long time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

P.K. Subban Announces Retirement

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Just a few minutes after Zdeno Chara packed up his gear, P.K. Subban decided to do the same. The veteran defenseman has announced his retirement in a long Twitter post, which reads in part:

I remember my dreams of playing in the NHL and winning a Stanley Cup, similar to the guys on the Don Cherry Rock’em Sock’em tapes at the end of every volume, with the black eyes, broken bones, and tears of joy. To this day, I still dream about it.

However, the end of this chapter is closing and after 13 years in the NHL, I have made the decision to retire. 

Subban, 33, never did get a chance to raise the Stanley Cup over his 834-game NHL career, but was one of the best in the league for quite a while. The 2007 second-round pick burst onto the scene in 2010 as a high-flying rookie with the Montreal Canadiens, gaining fans and creating excitement every time he touched the puck. In his third season he won the Norris Trophy, scoring 38 points in the shortened 2012-13 season while logging more than 23 minutes a night.

He would be a Norris finalist twice more. Once with the Canadiens in 2015 and once with the Nashville Predators in 2018, following his 2016 trade that shocked the hockey world.

Overall, Subban will finish his career with 467 points in 834 games, not exactly the numbers that you would have predicted if you only saw him play as a youngster in Montreal. The last few seasons have not been very kind to his high-risk, high-reward game, with just 59 points coming in 189 games with the New Jersey Devils.

Still, there was a time that Subban was among the very best in the league and there seems to be little doubt about his future as a broadcaster – given he has already dabbled in that side of the game over the years.

Zdeno Chara Signs One-Day Contract With Boston Bruins; Announces Retirement

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One of the most legendary players in NHL history has officially called it quits today. Zdeno Chara has announced that he will be retiring from professional hockey, signing a one-day contract this afternoon with the Boston Bruins to do it as a member of the team he is connected to most.

In a post on Instagram, “Big Zee” released the following:

After 25 seasons of professional hockey 1,680 NHL regular season games, 200 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and hundreds of international games I am proud to announce my decision to retire from the National Hockey League. In doing so, I am honored to return to TD Garden today to sign a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins and officially finish my career with the team that has meant so much to me and my family.

There are so many people that have helped contribute to my success, including all of you, and I look forward to properly thanking everyone this afternoon.

Starting his career with the New York Islanders back in 1997 after being selected in the third round, Chara would eventually find his way to the Ottawa Senators where he became a true star. After four years patrolling the blueline of Canada’s capital, he would join the Boston Bruins where he would spend the next 14 seasons and 1,023 games.

In total, his 1,680 regular season games put him seventh all-time in NHL history, first among defensemen. Even as he entered his mid-forties, he was still playing regularly for the Washington Capitals and, finally, the Islanders once again, as a bookend for his career.

The winner of the 2009 Norris Trophy, and a finalist on five other occasions, Chara should not have to wait long to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He got close to the Stanley Cup several times, but only lifted it once, in 2011 with the Bruins.

There are few players that have ever been more imposing, more dominant, or more recognizable than Chara, whose 6’9″ frame will be missed by many on NHL rinks moving forward. With 209 goals, 680 points, and 2,085 penalty minutes, there was something unique about the gigantic defender.

Sean Couturier Out Week-To-Week, Potentially Season-Ending

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6:10 PM: Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Flyers are “hoping” that Couturier’s back will heal in six to eight weeks. He also adds that if Couturier’s back doesn’t heal in that timeframe, surgery would be required, which would leave Couturier out for what Seravalli called a “significant period of time.”

5:00 pm: The Flyers have released an official statement on Couturier, confirming that he has an upper-body injury. His official status is week-to-week, although that shouldn’t discredit the reports of SanFilippo and Friedman.

3:55 pm: Philadelphia Flyers star center Sean Couturier has a herniated disk in his back that could keep him out for the entire 2022-23 season, reports Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo. It’s expected that Couturier will be out for at least several months.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the Flyers and Couturier are seeking out a second opinion to determine the exact nature of the injury. It’s unclear whether it’s the same issue that kept Couturier out for all but 29 games last season.

Couturier, now 29, has played just 74 games over the past two seasons after winning the Selke Trophy in 2020. The Flyers have certainly felt his absence, missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1993 and 1994. Given the state of the team now, especially without Couturier, it’ll be a third such season in 2022-23.

One of the league’s best defensive forwards, Couturier’s stock has risen astronomically over the past five seasons after a somewhat slow start to his career. Elevated in the lineup for the 2017-18 season, Couturier then enjoyed back-to-back 76-point seasons while playing over 20 minutes a game. Now the team’s uncontested no. 1 center with Claude Giroux gone from the team, he’s the heart and soul of the Flyers’ offense.

Significant back injuries in back-to-back seasons also don’t bode well for Couturier’s long-term future. If it’s another significant injury that requires him to miss the whole season, it becomes a question mark whether Couturier will be able to return to his previous level of play when healthy.

The Flyers have been busy adding forwards on the PTO market in the past few days, including Antoine Roussel and Artem Anisimov. Neither of them, even if they sign, would come even close to replacing Couturier’s crater-sized hole in the Flyers’ lineup. Kevin Hayes will have a huge role to play next season as the team’s likely first-line center for the foreseeable future after having 31 points in 48 games last season.

What might have been at least a mediocre season for the Flyers if everything went right now seems over before it even began. Without Couturier, it’s hard to imagine this edition of the Flyers finishing anywhere outside of the bottom-five teams in the league, if not bottom-three. It’ll be an incredibly challenging first season for new head coach John Tortorella, who’ll be tasked with reconfiguring the offense in Couturier’s absence.

Jordan Kyrou Signs Eight-Year Extension

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A few days ago it was reported that Jordan Kyrou and the St. Louis Blues were working on an extension. It appears those talks were positive, as Kyrou has signed an eight-year, $65MM extension. The deal is the same as the one that Robert Thomas signed earlier this summer, carrying an $8.125MM cap hit through the 2030-31 season.

Kyrou released a statement on the deal:

I’m so thankful to the Blues organization for putting their trust in me and giving me the opportunity to wear the Blue Note for the forseeable future. Being able to call St. Louis my home is amazing. I can’t say enough about how much I love the city. And to the best fans in the League, I can’t thank you enough for always showing me love and support.

Kyrou, 24, had a brilliant season in 2021-22, registering 27 goals and 75 points in 74 regular season games and then another seven goals in 12 playoff matches. The young winger attacks with incredible speed and finesse, registering those points despite averaging fewer than 17 minutes a night.

In fact, among players with at least 40 games played this season, Kyrou ranked 15th in the entire league in 5v5 points/60 at 2.93. That put him just behind Jonathan Huberdeau and Thomas, the latter actually tied with him. His 1.29 5v5 goals/60 tied him with Johnny Gaudreau, and Jake Guentzel for 21st in the league, showing just how dominant he was in his opportunity.

An extension like this suggests that the opportunity for Kyrou will only grow in the years to come, with more minutes being funneled to him and Thomas as the new core pieces of the offense. Notably, both Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly, veteran talents who have led the Blues for years, are scheduled for unrestricted free agency next summer. While these massive long-term deals certainly don’t rule out extensions for the older forwards, the Blues are obviously focused on their emerging stars and wanted to get them locked up as soon as possible.

Remember, the salary cap ceiling will start raising again in the years to come, meaning long-term contracts signed now may look like bargains down the road. With this extension not kicking in until Kyrou is 25, the Blues have essentially bought his entire prime.

The two young players will continue to be linked not only because of their team but also their financials so far. Kyrou and Thomas are both in the final year of identical two-year, $5.6MM bridge deals they signed in 2021, meaning their contract status will basically be identical for the better portion of their careers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Tim Stutzle Agrees To Eight-Year Extension

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As the Ottawa Senators head into a season filled with excitement and high expectations, general manager Pierre Dorion had some more fun for fans at today’s media availability. The team has agreed to an eight-year extension with Tim Stutzle, avoiding any restricted free agency with the young forward. The deal is for a total of $66.8MM and will carry an average annual value of $8.35MM. Stutzle is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and was scheduled to be an RFA next summer. The full details are as follows:

  • 2023-24: $5.0MM
  • 2024-25: $6.5MM
  • 2025-26: $9.0MM
  • 2026-27: $9.0MM
  • 2027-28: $10.0MM + 10-team NTC
  • 2028-29: $10.0MM + 10-team NTC
  • 2029-30: $9.9MM + 10-team NTC
  • 2030-31: $7.4MM + 10-team NTC

It is an eye-popping amount for the 20-year-old, who has played just 132 games at the NHL level, but Stutzle showed last season that he is on track to be a dynamic offensive player for a long time. With 22 goals and 58 points in 79 games, he trailed only Brady Tkachuk for the team lead while making the transition to center. The Senators are betting that his meteoric rise will only continue in the future, making this contract look like a bargain down the road.

That bet, while a decent one to make on a player this young and talented, also comes with a fair amount of risk. The Senators do not have unlimited funds to throw around, and with Tkachuk, Joshua Norris, and Thomas Chabot all signed for big-money deals, things may get tight down the road if any of them take a step backward. Remember, the Senators are also going to face a tough negotiation with Alex DeBrincat at some point, who has just one year left of RFA status after this season and will likely be looking for a massive contract.

Still, for a team that has had trouble retaining their stars in the past, the idea of having this core locked up through essentially their entire prime is great news for Senators fans. The drafted-and-developed talent will be sticking around, at least until the team decides it is the right time to move on.

Stutzle, the third overall pick from 2020, is penciled in as the team’s second-line center for next season and could find himself between elite talent like DeBrincat and Drake Batherson, making quite the trio. For a team that has been near the bottom of the league for the last several years, the Senators top-six (and perhaps top-nine) looks quite formidable.

This contract will certainly be held up by other restricted free agents as well, given how much it relies on projection over actual results. Stutzle has just 34 goals to his name at the NHL level, fewer than Norris scored last season alone. He will nevertheless be paid more than his older teammate, who will start his own eight-year deal this season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vancouver Canucks Extend J.T. Miller

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After a summer of trade rumors, it seems the J.T. Miller saga has reached its conclusion. The Vancouver Canucks announced today that their star center has signed a seven-year, $56MM contract carrying an $8MM AAV.

As mentioned, this deal comes after an offseason where Miller, who was set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, was a frequent target of all sorts of trade rumors and speculation. Last month, we covered how Miller’s representation had made it clear that they would be cutting off all contract talks once the 2022-23 season began. So, that upcoming deadline might have moved the pace of contract talks forward. The Canucks might have paid attention to what happened to the Calgary Flames with their own star forward, Johnny Gaudreau after Gaudreau took a similar stance last season and cut off extension talks once the 2021-22 season began. Gaudreau left for Columbus in the summer, and the Flames had to scramble to find a replacement as a result.

With this extension signed, the Canucks have avoided a similar fate. This deal is one of extreme significance for the Canucks. First and foremost, they have locked in their star centerman for what could end up being the rest of his playing days. Miller will be 30 when the contract begins, and by the time it finishes he could be at or near the end of his NHL career.

With that in mind, the seven-year term might concern fans of the Canucks. It’s unlikely that Miller will be worth the $8MM cap hit he’ll command when he’s past the age of 35. That being said, though, it’s not a certainty that he’ll be an ineffective player, and the expected rise of the cap could limit the damage of this deal in its later years. If Miller can age as gracefully as Claude Giroux, for example, who received a three-year deal at a $6.5MM cap hit despite turning 35 in January, then the term will be less of an issue. But he’ll need to stay in top shape in order to do so.

The benefit of this seven-year term, though, is that the cap hit of the deal is lower than some might have expected for a player of Miller’s caliber. Miller was extremely productive last season, scoring 32 goals and 99 points in 80 games. He was an elite offensive force, showcasing the ability to take over shifts and elevate the play of his linemates.

If Miller can continue to produce at around a point-per-game rate, Miller will be underpaid at an $8MM cap hit. Miller’s cap hit is lower than that of Sharks center Tomas Hertl, who has a career-high of 74 points, and identical to that of Ryan Johansen, who has crossed the 70-point plateau just once in his career. To put it simply, Miller’s market value is higher than the $8MM he’s being paid, which, at least in the short-to-medium term, is a win for the Canucks. It’s just the final few years of this deal that pose the most downside risk.

Looking at this more broadly, the contract has major implications for the Canucks franchise as a whole. This is not an extension a team signs if they are looking to re-tool or rebuild. This is an extension that a team signs when they want to capitalize on the next few years. With this extension, the Canucks have seemingly given themselves a green light to operate in a win-at-all-costs manner in the short term. For a franchise still waiting on its first Stanley Cup victory, that’s a sensible choice to make.

The challenge for the Canucks with this contract comes in terms of how it impacts the rest of GM Patrik Allvin’s roster construction. The team’s captain and second-line center, Bo Horvat, is set to hit free agency next summer. With Miller now extended, Elias Pettersson capable of playing center, and other long-term contracts already on their books for Quinn Hughes, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, and Ilya Mikheyev, will the Canucks be able to finalize a Horvat extension? Should they?

That’s an issue for the team to solve after next season, and perhaps the answer can come in the form of shedding their relatively highly-priced middle-of-the-lineup players such as Tanner Pearson and Jason Dickinson. For this season, the mandate for coach Bruce Boudreau is clear: win as many games as possible and try to go on a playoff run. There are those who believed the Canucks would be best served to enter into a rebuild, and with this contract, it’s clear that’s not the direction the organization will pursue.

Will it work out for them? At this point, we don’t know. But what we do know is that the Canucks have found a way to retain one of their most talented players for what could end up being the rest of his playing days.

There will be those who don’t like the cost of this contract or the term that’s attached, and that’s understandable. Retaining J.T. Miller’s services will cost the Canucks a lot of money over the next few years, and the team’s front office has chosen to accept the immense risks of that come along with that commitment. But if Allvin and team president Jim Rutherford want to give the Canucks the best possible chance of winning a Stanley Cup in the next couple of seasons, there really was no other choice they could make.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Buffalo Sabres Extend Tage Thompson

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Tage Thompson to a seven-year, $50MM extension beginning in the 2023-24 season. The contract has a cap hit of $7.143MM and runs through 2030-2031.

General manager Kevyn Adams spoke on the deal:

Tage Thompson embodies the pride we expect from every player who wears the Buffalo Sabres sweater. His success last season is a testament to his unrelenting dedication to his craft and commitment to bettering the team both on and off the ice, which we believe will help us reach even greater heights moving forward. We are thrilled to extend Tage, keeping him and his family in Buffalo for many years to come.

Thompson, who will turn 25 in October, exploded for a breakout campaign in 2021-22. Playing in 78 games, Thompson shattered his previous single-digit career-highs in goals and assists, tallying 38 goals and 30 assists for 68 points. Widely credited due to the coaching of Don Granato and moving Thompson to center, he flourished in what was a promising year for him and the team overall.

He’ll need to keep up that pace now, though. More than $7MM per season is a massive commitment for one season of more than 15 points, but it could end up being a bargain just the same if he improves on those numbers. Any opinion of the deal will solely rely on one’s opinion of Thompson’s ceiling and how much development one thinks he has left.

In any event, Thompson is the team’s number one center for the long haul now. He heads up a deep group of young centers that includes Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, Casey Mittelstadt, and Matthew Savoie, who all have the potential to be long-term, high-end top-nine fixtures for Buffalo.

It also gives the Sabres a degree of financial certainty that they’ve lacked in recent years. Forced to take on contracts purely to get to the salary cap’s spending floor, deals like Thompson’s given to young players instead of bloated free agent deals are a smarter way of managing money as Buffalo exits their rebuild.

Thompson will be 33 when the deal expires, meaning this will take Thompson all the way through his prime, in all likelihood.

ESPN’s Kevin Weekes was first to report Thompson and the Sabres were close on an extension.

Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Mike Sullivan

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Mike Sullivan is locked in long-term as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Today, the team announced a three-year extension for the esteemed coach, beginning after the 2023-24 season and lasting through 2026-27.

Sullivan gave a statement today on his extension:

My family and I are excited to continue the journey in Pittsburgh. Words can’t express the respect and gratitude I have for what we have accomplished during my tenure with the Penguins. It is a testament to the character of the people and players in this organization, and the standard of excellence that we have established collectively. I’m grateful to Fenway Sports Group and the Penguins management group for their trust and confidence in me.

Sullivan is quickly transforming into one of the most important figures in Penguins’ history. His tenure as head coach has been nothing short of elite from a management perspective, guiding the team to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017 while also consistently keeping a standard of excellence throughout regular season play. The significance and amount of injuries that the Penguins have faced, especially in recent years, have been overcome largely in part due to Sullivan’s coaching.

In 507 games behind the Penguins bench, Sullivan has a record of 297-156-54 or a points percentage of .639%. He has a playoff record of 44-38.

If he remains Pittsburgh’s coach for the duration of his new extension, it’ll be at least a 12-year tenure for Sullivan as the team’s head coach. With seven seasons under his belt already, he’s been the longest continuously-serving coach in Penguins history, and he’s tied with Eddie Johnston for total seasons served behind the bench as head coach for the organization.

In the coming years, Sullivan could be given the tall task of leading the Penguins out of the Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin era. Both of their contracts expire prior to 2027, and while they surely may re-sign, it’s unlikely that they’ll be at the same dominant level of play. Without a slam-dunk prospect in the system to solidify the future, the team will rely heavily on Sullivan’s coaching performance to keep them competitive.

But that’s all Sullivan’s done so far in Pittsburgh — keeping them competitive. The team has the longest active playoff streak in the NHL, dating back to 2007, and it was one he singlehandedly saved in 2016 after taking over for Mike Johnston midseason after just a 15-10-3 start. Going 33-16-5 the rest of the way, Sullivan and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup in the first two seasons he served behind the bench, and while their playoff success has been limited since that point, Sullivan’s managed to keep the ship turned in the right direction.

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